“Chirp!”

Upon seeing the bath tub behind Xu Taiping, which was emanating a strong medicinal scent, little monkey Ping’an shrank back in fear and kept retreating.

“Just throw the letter to me.”

Xu Taiping couldn’t help but laugh as he reached out to little monkey Ping’an.

A few days ago, he had poured the energy core opening soup into the bath tub and had to step out for a bit. Little did he expect that the monkey would sneak in out of curiosity and jump in for a soak, only to end up in so much pain that it collapsed inside. It took several days of recuperation in a gourd to recover.

Ever since then, it would take a wide berth around the bath tub.

“It’s, it’s a message from the Seventh Peak Master, delivered here.”

The monkey stretched out its arm, handing the letter to Xu Taiping.

Since Xu Taiping didn’t intend to hide Ping’an’s existence, the monkey would usually watch over the courtyard when he was away, and would even collect letters by itself, paying with a few merit points.

“The Peak Master sent another letter? I hope it’s not related to Elder Sansan. Speaking of which, I’ve been practicing my swordplay for eight or nine days and haven’t even seen Elder Sansan. Could it be that he’s not satisfied with my performance?”

Xu Taiping speculated with some concern.

Upon opening the letter, he was greeted with a row of extremely sloppy characters.

It took him a while to decipher the message—

“Elder Brother Four has been chopped. Those of you not in seclusion, gather at the Hundred Grass Hall on the peak!”

The handwriting was messy, but the message was much more straightforward.

“Elder Brother Four? Senior Brother Four? Senior Brother Four has been chopped?”

Xu Taiping was surprised and confused.

His Senior Brother Four from the Seventh Peak, originally named Zhou Liang, had changed his name to Zhou Yidao out of obsession with his sword. Although they didn’t interact much, Xu Taiping knew that his sword skills were excellent and he had few equals in the Gazing Abyss Realm.

“Let’s go and see what’s happened.”

He shook his head, deciding not to overthink it for now.

He quickly got dressed and released Baiyu from the gourd, instructing both the monkey and the bird, “I’m heading to the Hundred Grass Hall on the Seventh Peak. You two watch the house. Don’t let anyone in, and if someone forces their way, retreat to Fan Tower and lock the doors.”

“Alright, Xu Taiping.”

Ping’an nodded obediently.

“Got it!”

Baiyu yawned continuously, perched on Ping’an’s head.

“Oh, I must leave a message for Elder Sansan just in case he comes looking for me today.”

Just as he was about to sprint across the rainbow bridge, Xu Taiping turned back.

He hurriedly returned to the courtyard, grabbed a relatively flat and clean wooden board, and quickly carved a message on it before dashing toward Moon Scooping Lake.

…

Seventh Peak.

Hundred Grass Hall.

Disciples of the Seventh Peak who were injured would almost always come here for treatment.

By the time Xu Taiping arrived, nearly all nine disciples of his generation were present.

He even saw his Senior Sister, who had been out of sight for a while.

Aside from her, Xu Taiping immediately noticed his Senior Brother Four, Zhou Yidao, lying unconscious on the sickbed.

“Senior Brother Four is seriously injured?”

Xu Taiping was genuinely shocked.

He could sense that Zhou Yidao’s energy was extremely weak, but oddly, there was only one knife wound on his chest.

“The knife wound on his chest is strange; the blade energy there is constantly consuming his True Qi and vitality.”

Fairy Lingyue’s voice suddenly echoed in Xu Taiping’s mind.

“No wonder he’s so weak.”

Xu Taiping suddenly understood.

“However, the doctors of the Seventh Peak have already treated his wound. With some time, he should be able to wake up.”

Fairy Lingyue continued.

Xu Taiping nodded silently, relieved.

Although not very close, as fellow disciples of the Seventh Peak, he naturally didn’t want to see anything bad happen to Senior Brother Four.

“Taiping, come here, over here.”

Zhao Linglong finally noticed Xu Taiping and quietly waved him over.

“Senior Sister.”

Xu Taiping quickly walked over.

“Senior Sister, what exactly happened to Senior Brother Four?”

He whispered to Zhao Linglong.

At that moment, the Peak Master was discussing something with Senior Brother Qingxiao and the Senior Sister, seemingly not intending to pay attention to them for the time being.

“I’m not quite sure what happened exactly. We’ll have to see what Father and Senior Sister and Brother have to say.”

Zhao Linglong shook her head.

She had been in seclusion practicing her swordsmanship and wasn’t well-informed about external affairs.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

At that moment, Peak Master Zhao Qian suddenly coughed lightly, quieting the noise in the hall, and gestured to everyone, “Let’s go to the main hall. Don’t disturb Elder Brother Four’s rest. We can talk outside.”

…

Inside the main hall of the Hundred Grass Hall.

“Now that everyone is here, Elder Brother Two, please tell everyone about Elder Brother Four’s situation.”

After arriving in the main hall, Zhao Qian glanced at Qingxiao.

Qingxiao nodded and cleared his throat before speaking:

“Fellow disciples, last night at midnight, a patrolling disciple found Elder Brother Four severely injured and unconscious on Ziyun Slope. He was brought to the Hundred Grass Hall and was barely saved.”

“What’s even stranger is that Doctor Liu from the Hundred Grass Hall only found one wound on Elder Brother Four, and it was a knife wound that didn’t seem too severe.”

“After a thorough examination by Doctor Liu, it was discovered that this knife wound contained a strange blade energy that was continuously consuming Elder Brother Four’s True Qi and vitality.”

“After this discovery, Doctor Liu and the Peak Master joined forces to pull Elder Brother Four back from the brink of death.”

Hearing this, the disciples in the hall were shocked.

Xu Taiping silently admired Fairy Lingyue, as she had just come in and managed to accurately assess Senior Brother Four’s condition through her spiritual perception.

“So, the one who severely injured Senior Brother Four is also a blade user?”

Zhao Linglong said in surprise.

“From the wound, it seems the assailant did use a blade, but whether it was a human is uncertain.”

Qingxiao said gravely.

At these words, everyone was taken aback, sensing that there was more to what Elder Brother Two was saying.

“Elder Brother Two, do you mean that the one who injured Senior Brother Four was not human, but a demon?”

Elder Brother Eight, Wu Liang, couldn’t help but ask.

Qingxiao didn’t answer, instead looking towards the Senior Sister.

The Senior Sister of the Seventh Peak, named Jiang Zhi, was a very petite woman with delicate features like a porcelain doll. If Zhao Linglong hadn’t introduced her to Xu Taiping, he would have believed she was Zhao Linglong’s younger sister.

“Since you haven’t been on the Seventh Peak for long, you probably haven’t heard of the Red-haired Blade Demon, have you?”

The Senior Sister asked Xu Taiping and the others in her crisp and pleasant voice.