Far away in the Imperial Palace of Yuyang Commandery, Zhou Ming experienced another Breakthrough in his cultivation just as Empress Su Mingyue was locked in a fierce battle with Zhao Chongyuan and Yuwen Shuo at the mouth of Qingyun Mountain.

Within the Dantian, that purple-gold Golden Core had originally been floating quietly, its surface covered in circulating Dao patterns, emitting a warm and deep purple light.

As hundreds of thousands of Causal Chains broke in large swathes on the Qingyun Mountain battlefield, a surging heat flow poured into the Dantian like a burst dam.

Under the impact of this continuous torrent of magic power, the light on the surface of the purple-gold Golden Core grew brighter and brighter.

It shifted from a gentle light purple to a dazzling bright purple, then from bright purple to a blinding, scorching white.

The blurry phantom inside the Golden Core began to tremble violently, as if something imprisoned within the core walls was desperately trying to break free.

At a certain moment, the light within the Golden Core suddenly contracted sharply, then exploded with a boom.

The purple-gold core walls were breached from the inside, shattering inch by inch into countless tiny specks of light.

Those specks of light did not dissipate but were entirely absorbed by the phantom in the very center, which transformed from void to solid at a speed visible to the naked eye.

First the head, then the torso, and finally the limbs; the facial features, strands of hair, and the folds of the robes were all rendered in vivid detail.

It was a miniature version of Zhou Ming, purple-gold in color, sitting cross-legged in the very center of the Dantian, its eyes slightly closed, surrounded by a faint halo of light.

The Nascent Soul.

As the Nascent Soul formed, a sensation of extreme coolness rushed into Zhou Ming's Sea of Consciousness.

It felt as if someone had poured the ice spring of an entire snowy mountain into his brain all at once.

The boundaries of his Divine Sense began to expand rapidly, breaking through the ten-thousand-meter mark with ease after starting from around nine thousand meters.

Then, propelled by the continuous influx of coolness, it continued to spread further into the distance.

A day and two nights passed, and as the heat flow from the Qingyun Mountain battlefield gradually subsided, the range of Zhou Ming's Divine Sense had steadily settled at a radius of forty kilometers.

Within a radius of forty kilometers, from the Imperial Palace to the city of Yuyang Commandery, from the commandery city to the surrounding towns and farms.

From the merchant caravans on the official roads to the hunters on the mountain paths, everything was visible in vivid detail, all within his perception.

Zhou Ming spread out his Divine Sense, intending to perform a routine sweep of the defenses, but discovered a manor on the edge of a town about twenty li away from the Imperial Palace.

The manor looked unremarkable from the outside, with gray tiles and white walls, a few jujube trees planted in the courtyard, and an old ox cart parked at the entrance.

But inside the manor's main hall, a group of people had gathered, all of whom had thick Causal Chains hanging above their heads, with cultivation levels ranging from the Skin Refining Realm to the Tendon Refining stage.

In Zhou Ming's Divine Sense, they looked like a small patch of candles lit in the darkness.

A figure sat in the main seat of the hall, tilting their head to listen to the people below, brows furrowed.

It was actually the Fang Yuan.

This kid had been the first to master the Dushi Sutra back in the Marquis's estate, and had fled immediately after the incident where Zhuzi beat Steward Zhang to death.

Zhou Ming later knew from the Causal Chain that he was still alive, but he hadn't expected that not only was he alive, but he had gathered such a group of followers with not-insignificant cultivation levels, and had clearly become their leader.

The Fang Yuan's cultivation had also improved significantly, reaching the fourth level of Qi Refining, equivalent to a Tendon Refining expert.

Among the wild, self-taught Loose Cultivators, he could be considered top-tier.

Zhou Ming gathered his Divine Sense to carefully eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Saint, let's continue heading north. Once we cross the northern border line, we can reach the Great Yuan Dynasty."

"At that time, the sky will be vast for birds to fly, and the sea will be wide for fish to leap; we won't have to hide anymore, and we can continue to build up the Zongsheng Sect."

The speaker was a burly man with a thick beard standing on the Fang Yuan's right, with a cultivation level at the Tendon Refining stage, his tone urgent.

The Fang Yuan did not answer immediately.

He sat in the main seat, his fingers tapping on the armrest of the chair rhythmically.

After a moment, he spoke, his voice much deeper and steadier than when he was raising horses at the Marquis's estate:

"It's not that I want to stay here in Yuyang Commandery; I just want to figure out the origin of the Dushi Sutra."

"I discovered this Cultivation Technique right here in Yuyang Commandery. If I don't figure out its origin, I feel restless and uneasy, as if there is a fish bone stuck in my throat. I always feel that this Cultivation Technique is not that simple."

"Saint, never mind the origin. It won't be too late to investigate slowly after we achieve our great cause." Another thin, tall man urged anxiously.

"Saint, with the Su Family's control over You Province, it is too dangerous for us to stay here."

"Although Empress Su Mingyue is currently leading troops outside, the garrison in the commandery city has not relaxed at all."

"The new Commandery Governor Zhou Ming looks all smiles, but he strikes harder than anyone. You know about those great families that were raided and wiped out before."

"Please think twice, Saint. Staying here for even a quarter of an hour longer increases the danger." The burly man with the thick beard clasped his hands and said in a deep voice.

"Please think twice, Saint." The others in the hall followed suit in unison.

Zhou Ming withdrew his Divine Sense and leaned back in his chair, pondering to himself.

The leader of the Zongsheng Sect wasn't killed by Yuwen Shuo and Zhao Chongyuan outside An Province city, so how did another Saint emerge?

And this Saint was actually the Fang Yuan?

Could it be that the person who provided the Dushi Sutra Cultivation Technique to the Zongsheng Sect was the Fang Yuan?

After he gave that copy of the Dushi Sutra to the Fang Yuan, the Fang Yuan had practiced it and followed the book's instruction: "Those who master the divine technique must pass it on to a hundred people."

He spread it all the way north, and finally, it fell into the hands of the Zongsheng Sect?

Following this line of thought, the whole matter fell into place.

He had failed to preach the scripture in the ruined temple and was called a demonic heretic by a beggar, so he had to find another way to scatter the scriptures into the mansions of noble families and the streets of the marketplace.

It was the Fang Yuan who inadvertently took one of the seeds he had scattered out of the Marquis's estate,

And brought it to a wider world.

That religious rebellion that swept through most of the Great Xia, those imperial guards who were trampled to death by countless sect members in front of the city gates of An Province.

The bloody battle between the loyalist army and the Zongsheng Sect in Cang Prefecture and An Province, the death of Emperor Zhengde, and the fall of the Marquis of Yongning in battle.

In the end, it all had inextricable links to that copy of the Dushi Sutra he had scattered on the haystacks in the horse-raising yard of the Marquis's estate.

Of course, the Fang Yuan himself did not know that the source of all this was him, Zhou Ming.

However, this kid was truly a talent.

To be able to escape from the Marquis's estate and raise a team to become a Saint in such a short time.

And to have hidden for so long under the nose of Yuyang Commandery without being discovered.

If he hadn't just broken through to the Nascent Soul realm today and expanded his Divine Sense range, sweeping over this remote manor, he might really have let him continue hiding.

Letting them go north to wreak havoc on the Great Yuan Dynasty was a good idea.

The cultivation of this group was around the Tendon Refining stage, and the Fang Yuan was at the fourth level of Qi Refining; throwing them into the Great Yuan territory would also be a significant source of chaos.

The Great Yuan Dynasty had been eyeing the north for so long; it was time to let their own backyard catch fire as well.

However, this kid was still hesitating, so he had to add some fuel to the fire.

Zhou Ming raised his hand to summon the imperial guard captain outside the door and ordered:

"I just received a tip-off that remnants of the Zongsheng Sect might be hiding in a manor near a town twenty li east of the city."

"Take a squad there to check it out, and be sure to search carefully."

The captain clasped his hands, accepted the order, and left.

Zhou Ming leaned back in his chair and probed his Divine Sense back into that manor.

Before long, the sound of hurried horse hooves rang out on the outskirts of the town, and the light of torches illuminated the night sky above the town.

The people in the manor's main hall clearly heard the commotion, and several people rushed to the windows to look out, their faces changing drastically.

"Saint! It's the imperial guards from the palace, it seems they are coming for us!" The burly man with the thick beard said urgently.

The Fang Yuan stood up abruptly, his face devoid of panic, but instead showing more decisiveness.

He looked out the window for a moment, then turned around, his tone no longer hesitant: "Pass down the order, we withdraw tonight. Head north, cross the border."