Ling Jia and the others were pleased with Gu Qinghe’s progress.

With his cultivation base reaching the Golden Core stage, not a single cultivator in the Northern Seven Mountains would dare oppose him.

They left the cave and returned to the main mountain path. Along the way, Gu Qinghe turned his head and asked,

"Did anything happen while I was gone?"

Ling Jia shook her head. It was not that nothing had happened, but rather that she simply did not know.

Yan Ran and Liu Xi told Gu Qinghe that he had been cultivating nonstop for three months, absorbing a large amount of yin-attributed spiritual qi and breaking through rapidly.

From the moment Gu Qinghe began cultivating, not one of the three women had left.

They stayed there guarding him, waiting for an uncertain amount of time.

Fortunately, they only had to wait three months before Qinghe came out of his cultivation cave.

Three months... the speed of absorbing spiritual qi increases as one’s cultivation base rises.

Because of that, it was only natural that they had no idea what had happened on this mountain during those three months.

As Gu Qinghe and the others flew through the sky, his attention suddenly shifted to the side.

One of his hands rose and formed a hand seal, summoning a golden bell that instantly blocked a mysterious flying sword attack coming from the snowy forest.

An explosion occurred, but none of the three women were injured.

Gu Qinghe’s strength had increased drastically, allowing him to withstand powerful attacks without fear of harm.

"Are you also planning to go to the Fourth Peak Palace?" an old man asked while standing on a flying sword.

Gu Qinghe’s eyes glowed with a bright golden light as he activated his cultivation vision.

Early Foundation Establishment? But how could he be on the fourth mountain?

He waved his hand to the side, gathering qi and instantly dispersing the cloud of smoke surrounding him.

Now his view was completely clear. The man in front of him wore the robes of a wandering cultivator, not affiliated with any sect.

That alone was enough to make Gu Qinghe wary. He was far more cautious of someone like this than people from established sects or clans.

Ling Jia and the others also looked ahead, noticing that the old man’s spiritual qi aura was not particularly strong.

The three women exchanged glances, puzzled.

"His strength feels solid, but why is his cultivation base so low?" Ling Jia asked softly to Gu Qinghe.

Gu Qinghe narrowed his eyes, flew forward, and cupped his hands in greeting while lowering his head.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist."

"You’re not going to attack me? Other cultivators usually do when they pass through here," the old man replied.

"I already attacked you, so hurry up and strike back," he added.

This was suspicious and strange. It would be best not to act rashly. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I believe, Fellow Daoist, that you did not intentionally send that sword toward us. None of us were injured, so we do not take it too seriously."

The old man smiled and flew closer to Gu Qinghe.

Their eyes met, and Gu Qinghe was shocked to see golden light shining within the old man’s eyes.

Not only could he see his body and soul, but also the bag of holding at Gu Qinghe’s waist.

A wide smile spread across the old man’s face as the golden qi light in his eyes faded.

"Interesting. I never imagined there would be a Primordial Soul inside a Golden Core cultivator," the old man said.

Gu Qinghe was startled and quickly flew back, shocking Ling Jia and the others.

The three women had never seen such an expression on him before.

"You... who are you?!" Gu Qinghe demanded.

"Is your destination the Eighth Peak?" the old man asked.

Gu Qinghe fell silent, not answering. His focus remained locked on the old man before him, whose strange behavior and abilities were deeply unsettling.

He’s the only cultivator who can directly see my primordial soul. Who exactly is he?

"Since you didn’t attack me, I’ll help you," the old man said.

He tapped his bag of holding and threw out a dark gray plate. Gu Qinghe caught the token and tried to examine it with his soul vision.

However, it was just an ordinary token with no apparent significance.

Its contents were empty, even though the carvings on it looked ancient, like a formation of runes.

"What can we do with this token?" Ling Jia asked, confused.

"You’ll understand once you reach the peak palace."

"Only those who have it can ascend the last three peaks."

Amid a swirling blizzard, the vortex surrounded the old cultivator.

Gu Qinghe narrowed his eyes as he watched the old man’s qi presence vanish without a trace.

Ling Jia and the others witnessed the same thing. It was clearly something they had never expected.

"He disappeared without being detected by our qi senses. Who exactly was he?" Yan Ran asked.

"Judging from his abilities and behavior, I’m sure he’s the reason behind what’s happening at the Fourth Peak Palace," Liu Xi replied.

"We should hurry and find out what that token is for," Ling Jia urged.

Gu Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then nodded. He stored the token in his bag of holding and left the area.

Unlike the third mountain, which was filled with monsters, almost the entire climbing route on the fourth mountain had very few monsters.

There were only two possibilities: either the monsters had been eliminated, or the fourth mountain was designed with minimal monster presence.

They continued moving without stopping until they exited the snowy forest area.

They arrived outside the Fourth Mountain’s Snow Palace and looked ahead clearly.

There were far more cultivators gathered there, some standing on the ground, others on the palace walls, some riding flying swords, and many going in and out of the palace.

Too relaxed. What was going on?

Ling Jia felt that the atmosphere was strange.

There was no fighting, and the cultivators were lounging around as if waiting for something or someone.

Gu Qinghe sharpened his gaze and said while turning his head, "Don’t tell anyone about that token."

"Yes, Senior."

He and the others stepped into the palace, observing how crowded it was inside.

Some cultivators noticed Gu Qinghe’s arrival, and quite a few were shocked that his cultivation base had reached the Golden Core stage.

Gu Qinghe ignored their attention. His focus was on the treasure chambers.

His steps stopped when he reached the inner courtyard. There were seven treasure rooms, all of them already open.

Some cultivators were relaxing in the courtyard, sitting on the floor or on the stairs.

"The main treasure room is already open," Ling Jia said.

"That’s not surprising, considering how many cultivators are here. Their strength is more than enough to defeat the rune array defense mechanisms."

Among them, Li Xiaoman suddenly appeared in front of Gu Qinghe. She drew her sword and charged straight at him.

However, Gu Qinghe’s cultivation base had increased tremendously. With just the golden qi light in his eyes, Li Xiaoman’s body collapsed helplessly to her knees on the floor, coughing up blood.

"Golden Core? How is that possible?!" Li Xiaoman cried out.

Two elders flew over and cupped their hands. "We ask that Master Gu Qinghe spare Li Xiaoman."

Gu Qinghe turned his head and sensed that their attitude had softened greatly. His attention lingered on their behavior.

Because Gu Qinghe’s cultivation base was now comparable to Ming Hui’s in the past, neither of the Yin-Yang Sect elders dared to oppose him.

He waved his hand, removing the cultivation pressure from Li Xiaoman.

"Listen to me, Li Xiaoman!"

"You and I are different."

"What do you mean?" Li Xiaoman asked sharply.

"You are merely the child of the head of the Yin-Yang Sect’s Pill Refinement Hall, while I am Gu Qinghe," Gu Qinghe said softly.

"I hope you understand the vast difference between us."