Like Xiaodong and Xiaoxi, Jiangbei is also far removed from the area where the Primordial Spirit Earth Vein converges. It is located upstream of the Great River's water vein, where the spirit vein converges. The Spiritual Energy here is much thinner than the famed mountains and great rivers, making it a place where demons rarely appear and cultivators seldom enter. For mortals, such areas are relatively safer; at least they don't have to worry about their homes being destroyed by an unexpected shockwave one day. Hence, since ancient times, this place has been a gathering place for mortals.

Luo Family Village, a small village in Jiangbei, is not large. As the name implies, most people in this village bear the surname Luo.

It is said that their ancestors belonged to the same clan and even produced illustrious cultivators, great cultivators.

This small village has a canal drawn from the Great River. The land it occupies is neither particularly good nor bad compared to the surrounding area. There are a few skilled farmers tending to the land here, and occasionally in the brown fields, a couple of plots of fertile black soil that seem to ooze can be found. But overall, the soil here is mainly brown and yellow.

The village people all live in a row of brick houses.

A village as ordinary as can be.

In this area where mortals gather, there haven't been cultivators for several generations. The people of Luo Family Village actually hardly believe in the legend of having illustrious immortal ancestors anymore.

But now Wang Qi knows that the legend is true. Their ancestors did indeed produce cultivators of illustrious status.

The Palace Master of Luofu Xuanqing Palace, Mahayana Venerable, who held dominion over the cultivators in the world.

That was over ten thousand years ago.

Without wanting to disturb others, Wang Qi landed next to the village and said softly to Zhen Chan, "Back then, when Luofu Xuanqing Palace and Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao clashed, the mortal clans related to Luofu Xuanqing Palace cultivators were all wiped out by Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao... Well, you should know that Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao has always been domineering and extreme in their actions. They believe firmly in the connections between clan and sect, leaving no chances for their opponents. Only the branches farther away and those with generations without producing cultivators managed to escape..."

Zhen Chan calmly said, "I know. This branch cannot be direct descendants of my godfather's line. However... like you said, we only take the Primordial Essence Bloodline Root."

Wang Qi replied, "That's a good way to see it."

"The enemy is still alive. Although in my lifetime it's unlikely I'll kill him with my own hands, I always have the chance to watch how he dies." Zhen Chan spoke calmly. In his youth, he was designated as the next Sect Leader of Luofu Xuanqing Palace, enjoying success devoid of sorrows. Yet in his "later years," for unknown reasons, he fought against Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, losing the entire sect, perishing himself, leaving only a residual soul, persisting for over ten thousand years, witnessing the cycle of rise and fall, his mental state different from before.

Wang Qi's face rarely showed a trace of ferocity: "I have a score to settle with Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao too... Maybe in a year or two, when your body is ready, I'll be able to venture overseas to destroy Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao."

Zhen Chan was about to reprimand "Absurd" but turned to laughter, recalling how Wang Qi faced off against Divine Separation Stage while at the Foundation Establishment Stage and how after Core Formation, he defeated multiple Divine Separation Stage opponents. Even if relying on the advantages of magic artifacts, it was remarkable.

Besides, what does a magic artifact mean to Wang Qi? Zhen Chan knew Wang Qi had just submitted two noteworthy papers. Though the old man didn't know how significant the papers were, he could see from Wang Qi's triumphant expression that one exceeded all his past works in value.

Would such a genius cultivator lack magic artifacts in the future?

It's possible in a few years not only will his cultivation be stronger, but the magic artifacts he carries will be sharper!

Perhaps in just a few years, Wang Qi could face Mahayana Cultivators head-on.

With that thought, Zhen Chan could only smile bitterly: "Hahaha, Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, ten-thousand-year struggle only to be wiped out by a cultivator of just over a decade or two—back in our time, ten or twenty years into cultivation meant Foundation Establishment stage!"

After laughing, Zhen Chan asked Wang Qi, "What now? Are we going to find the main branch of the clan to take samples?"

"No, just look around, pick whichever you find pleasing to the eye."

Zhen Chan frowned, "Why is that?"

"You have to understand, in any generation, if there's a woman who secretly had an affair without being discovered, it's possible for a foreign Primordial Essence Bloodline Root to mix in... mix in 'stealing the dragon and substituting the phoenix,' you can't say that over ten thousand years in your family a woman never had an affair, right?" Wang Qi advised, "So, this matter, you can only confirm by yourself."

"How to confirm it?"

"With your eyes," Wang Qi shrugged, indicating his helplessness, "just pick someone who seems suitable?"

"Suitable appearance..." Zhen Chan burst into anger, "Is this arranging a marriage or choosing a son-in-law? Just pick someone suitable? Can this matter be so casually handled?"

Over ten thousand years, how much can a family's appearance change? Let's put it this way, modern China sees Hemudu people, the first reaction isn't 'which nation is this friend from' but rather 'what kind of demon is this'.

Ten thousand years mean nothing to an accomplished cultivator, but to mortals, too many things can happen.

This time, Wang Qi wasn't joking about the ring old man: "There really isn't a better way. The Immortal Alliance has already narrowed the scope from all of Shenzhou to a few specific locations. What more can you be dissatisfied with?"

Zhen Chan was at a loss for words. After a while, he asked, "So does that mean we still have to check each one by one?"

"If you don't want to see it with your own eyes, there's another way." Wang Qi thought for a moment, waved his hand, and threw out hundreds of small red cylinders from the storage bag. Those cylinders quickly transformed into mechanical birds, which flapped their wings and flew into the village: "These little guys can automatically record the faces of all Luo-named men in this village. Oh, right, before we came here, Innate Peak at Tianling Ridge especially sent me a path rank, saying that it could automatically calculate a person's appearance a certain time before or after recording their face."

Zhen Chan's eyes lit up, but he was still a bit skeptical: "Does your modern cultivation even study these seemingly useless techniques?"

"These are by-products of research on 'growth' and 'aging'," Wang Qi explained.

Zhen Chan acknowledged: "Then help calculate the appearances equivalent to the ages of twenty to fifty in mortals."

"Parameters, twenty to fifty..."

As dozens of mechanical birds flew around Luo Family Village, a series of three-dimensional images were synthesized. Then, two Immortal Artifact level calculators began to operate, using the repeated algorithms provided by Tianling Ridge to calculate the youthful or prime appearances of those men.

"Doesn't look like... doesn't look like." Zhen Chan carefully examined the 3D images of these mortal faces, trying to discern a characteristic of some acquaintance from ten thousand years ago.

This observation lasted two days.

However, soon he was disappointed.

"None of them... only that seven-year-old kid's nose might resemble a bit when he grows up."

"Luo Longxiang... remember this one." Wang Qi selected the child mentioned by Zhen Chan from the identity records provided in advance by the Immortal Alliance and made a note. Then, he comforted Zhen Chan, saying, "You should know... these kinds of things, based on luck, rarely happen overnight. We have plenty of places left to explore."

After this, Wang Qi continued down the Great River, starting from Jiangbei and heading eastward. The former site of Luofu Xuanqing Palace at Luofu Mountain was originally on the northern bank of the river, and the families and children of Luofu Xuanqing Palace's cultivators naturally resided there. When Luofu Xuanqing Palace was swept away by the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, these mortals fled along the Great River. The path Wang Qi was taking now was essentially the escape route of the relatives of Luofu Xuanqing Palace's mortals from ten thousand years ago.

Zhen Chan's godfather's Luo Family, as well as his own Su Family, mostly expanded along this "route of escape." Of course, these people didn't always stay in one place after fleeing. For instance, during the Demon Emperor's rebellion, they had to migrate again, so Wang Qi's route also differed from the mortals' original path of escape.

However, just as the Divine Capital was within sight, Wang Qi turned away. Shenzhou East Land was the hardest-hit area during the Demon Emperor's rebellion a few hundred years ago, and hardly any mortals survived. The current inhabitants mostly migrated here from other places later.

After concluding the eastward journey, Wang Qi turned northward. The Holy Infant Sect preached in the North Wilderness back then, attempting to eradicate the ancient Divine Tao of the Northern tribes. To achieve this, they relocated a group of people from the inland. A branch of the Su Family ended up there.

The Holy Infant Sect was quite successful back then. The current Northern tribes have already been assimilated. Among modern cultivators, some even have Northern bloodlines—such as Bai Ze God Monarch. In the North, Wang Qi successfully found the descendants of the Su Family, who had become nomadic tribesmen.

Here, Wang Qi fully experienced the grassland lifestyle. Large roasted meats, horse milk wine.

Unfortunately, Zhen Chan still did not find what he was looking for.

After having the last meal of cheese paired with wine, Wang Qi, full and satisfied, resumed his journey.

This time, he headed south. Aside from fleeing east, a small portion of Luofu Xuanqing Palace's people also fled south back then, all the way to Xiaoxi.

Once again soaring into the sky, Zhen Chan suddenly sighed: "Interesting."

"What's up, old man?"

"When I was a cultivator, I hardly cared about my kin, and who would have thought that now they're all gone, old me is still desperately trying to see traces of them in a bunch of mortals... My few bothersome brothers, and... and... hahaha, I never scrutinized their faces like this when they were alive! It feels like I'm now just a mortal old man, trying to see the echoes of the past in the faces of descendants... Interesting. Is this what it's like to regain a mortal heart?"

"Enough, enough, I'm tired of looking. There are still five or six places to go before Xiaoxi, right? Let's check out one or two more places, then it'll be over."

Wang Qi questioned, "Aren't you very concerned about your own matters?"

"What man isn't concerned at all?" Zhen Chan sighed, "But just like you said, ten thousand years is actually a long time... long enough that anything could change."