Ming Li grabbed Zhou Zixi’s sleeve, but couldn’t prevent him from disappearing after finishing his words. In the end, there was nothing beneath her fingertips.

This made her very displeased. She lightly rubbed the fine snowflakes falling from heaven and earth between her fingertips, icy cold, making her even more clearheaded.

It seemed her junior brother hadn’t truly intended to ignore her for over a month; rather, he had been unable to appear.

That night, she returned to the new dormitory, and Dou Lanmin secretly came to her door, saying, “The wedding is before the Four Directions Examination, so Bei Dou’s planned timetable has been moved up.”

At this point, Dou Lanmin was finally willing to fully trust Ming Li and told her about his undercover mission in Nan Que: “My mission in Nan Que is to confirm the location of the Infinite Mirror. It would be even better if I could take it away, but I don’t have enough strength, so I can only dream about it.”

Ming Li knew he was discussing serious matters, so she reinforced the sound-blocking formation in the room.

She asked, “How was Shi Fei lost in the first place?”

Dou Lanmin sat with a well-behaved posture and said, “I don’t know the specific situation. I only know that not long after you died in the Northern Border Ghost Plains, while the Sect Leader was finishing up the ___ in the Northern Border Ghost Plains, Bei Dou was attacked. These people were almost all Seven Meridian Boundary Masters, each extremely familiar with Bei Dou. They divided into three routes to attack Jade Pivot, Heavenly Authority, and Dipper Academy, killing two academy principals, seriously injuring three, sacrificing over a hundred disciples, and taking Shi Fei from Dipper Academy.”

Ming Li’s expression became serious as she firmly committed these numbers to memory.

“Afterward, it was determined that a total of thirty-nine people attacked Bei Dou, and sixteen of them died at Bei Dou.”

“Their techniques were all different, their origins unknown. They weren’t from the same sect but came for the same purpose.”

“In these past few years, the Sect Leader and several academy principals have found sixteen of those who are still alive, but they’re very tight-lipped, absolutely refusing to mention the mastermind behind it or Shi Fei’s whereabouts.”

Ever since Bei Dou was attacked, Heavenly Pivot Academy Principal Dan Xun had been traveling around looking for the thirty-nine attackers. In five years, he had found sixteen people, but for someone of his caliber, this was an unsatisfactorily slow pace.

Ming Li narrowed her eyes slightly. Of the thirty-nine people who attacked the mountain, thirty-two were now dead, leaving seven.

Dou Lanmin’s tone grew increasingly serious: “Initially, there were just some suspicions about Nan Que. What raised doubts was during the Four Directions Examination several years ago, when Nan Que made no effort to hide their suppression of Bei Dou after their victory. Without any prior reason, they forced Bei Dou to withdraw all their strongholds in the south. Apart from displaying their arrogance, perhaps it was also because they had a guilty conscience.”

Since then, Bei Dou had focused particularly on Nan Que and finally determined that Shi Fei should be in Nan Que.

“Nan Que is extremely vigilant against Bei Dou, so they had to choose unfamiliar faces for undercover work and also guard against their people,” Dou Lanmin sighed as he said this. “According to Senior Brother Fu Yuan’s guess, it seems Bei Dou has a mole passing information to outsiders.”

Does Bei Dou have a mole?

Ming Li frowned and asked, “Who?”

Dou Lanmin shook his head and said, “The academy principals are looking into this matter. I don’t know yet. My objective is just to successfully enter Nan Que, and when I find the location of the Infinite Mirror, I can also look for Shi Fei.”

Ming Li: “It sounds like Shi Fei isn’t the most important?”

Finding Shi Fei seemed more like a secondary task.

Dou Lanmin said innocently, “That’s what Heavenly Pivot Academy Principal means. Because the true purpose this time isn’t to find Shi Fei, but to destroy Nan Que’s Infinite Mirror.”

Qu Zhuyue’s intention was that finding Shi Fei didn’t matter for now, but Nan Que’s Infinite Mirror must be destroyed.

Ming Li fell silent upon hearing this, but there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.

This was indeed something that Aunt Qu would do.

Supreme-grade divine weapons were extremely rare in the world. The difference between them and other divine weapons was that they possessed an inexhaustible supply of star power, enough to sustain a super sect for thousands of years without depleting.

Star power was the most basic and indispensable element for cultivators. Even for Pilgrims with eight meridians mastered, once their star power was exhausted, they could hardly use any spiritual techniques.

Bei Dou’s loss of Shi Fei meant a lack of star power supply, which would put them far behind the other three super sects, creating a power gap that would be difficult to bridge in the future.

This impact would exacerbate the already severely injured Bei Dou, gradually dragging down a super sect that once stood at the pinnacle.

If Nan Que had been the mastermind behind the attack on Bei Dou to steal Shi Fei, they would inevitably face frenzied retaliation from Bei Dou.

If they weren’t already certain it was Nan Que’s doing, Qu Zhuyue wouldn’t have given such an order.

Ming Li pondered, “Shi Fei should indeed be in Nan Que. Previously, when I passed by Jing Xiu’s Tai Wei Forest, I vaguely sensed Shi Fei’s power there.”

“In Jing Xiu?” Dou Lanmin was a bit surprised. “Jing Xiu is still sealed off now. Previously, we thought it was because of the Earth Ghosts breaking into Tai Wei Forest, but it’s been over a month, and it still hasn’t been unsealed. Perhaps it’s also because they’re afraid someone else might intrude and discover Shi Fei hidden inside.”

The more he spoke, the more reasonable it seemed.

“Shi Fei has been found, and you’re back, Senior Sister. The senior brothers and academy principals will be overjoyed when they hear this!” Dou Lanmin rubbed his hands in anticipation, but saw Ming Li shake her head and calmly say, “Since Bei Dou has a mole, don’t tell them I’m still alive yet. If you can contact Senior Brother Fu Yuan or Heavenly Pivot Academy Principal, prioritize informing them about Qing Ying’s situation, and also Zixi…”

When mentioning Zhou Zixi, Ming Li paused, thinking of his Earth Ghost identity, and ultimately decided to resolve it herself.

Dou Lanmin: “Is there any news about this Senior Brother Zhou?”

“I’ll handle his matter,” Ming Li said.

Dou Lanmin nodded in confusion: “It would be good if there were news. I heard Dipper Academy’s Principal is very worried about him, and also about the Principal’s son. It seems they left Bei Dou together back then, but there’s been no news of them to this day.”

Ming Li’s eyelids twitched when she heard this: “My brother isn’t at Bei Dou?”

Dou Lanmin shook his head: “The senior brothers all say they haven’t seen him for several years and have no news of him. But because he’s not a Bei Dou disciple, they can’t mobilize disciples to search for him. Moreover, Dipper Academy Principal can’t leave Bei Dou, so only Heavenly Pivot Academy Principal helps look for him while searching for the attackers outside.”

Dong Yeshou couldn’t leave the current Bei Dou; it was precisely because of him that Bei Dou could hold on until now.

The state of being just one boundary level away from mastering all eight meridians is called the Life-and-Death Boundary. Although Dong Yeshou was at the Life-and-Death Boundary, his strength was comparable to a Pilgrim’s, and he could break through to become a Pilgrim immediately if he wanted.

But the problem lay here—if he broke through, he would become a Pilgrim, but would also certainly die.

When the thirty-nine people attacked Bei Dou, Dong Yeshou killed sixteen of them with all his might, including four who were also at the Life-and-Death Boundary. However, he was severely injured in the battle and ultimately could not prevail. Shi Fei, the sect’s treasure, was stolen, and he fell into a coma for nearly seven days before barely waking up, his injuries still not fully healed to this day.

Dong Yeshou had to stay at Bei Dou to prevent further losses. Now, others feared his presence and dared not cause trouble at Bei Dou, so even though his disciple and son were missing, he couldn’t leave to search for them.

Ming Li knew her father’s character. He would prioritize Bei Dou’s interests, but he also absolutely wouldn’t give up on important people.

There being no news for so many years could only mean one thing:

He was truly severely injured.

Perhaps he was just holding on now, and if it came to a desperate situation, he would certainly choose to break through.

When Bei Dou was attacked years ago, Dong Yeshou already had the idea of breaking through, but Qu Zhuyue stopped him. Because the goal of these thirty-nine people was Shi Fei—Shi Fei could be lost and eventually found again, but they had already lost Ming Li, the Sect Leader was seriously injured, two academy principals had died, and countless others were severely injured. If they lost Dong Yeshou at this time, Bei Dou’s future would be grim.

Dong Yeshou had been holding on like this until now.

Ming Li finally saw Bei Dou’s current situation clearly—it was even worse than she had imagined. No wonder Qu Zhuyue was so ruthless, not even bothering to find a way to seize Nan Que’s supreme-grade divine weapon, but choosing to destroy it directly.

She suppressed the emotions churning within her and calmly said, “From what I know, Cui Yuanxi gave the Seven Star Command to Qing Ying that day. When the barrier on the mountain is broken, you should go and smash her Seven Star Command.”

Dou Lanmin nodded, inevitably curious: “But Senior Sister, how do you plan to break that barrier? I’ve observed for so many days, and it seems to be a restriction enhanced by divine weapons. With your current boundary level, it would be very difficult.”

Even a Pilgrim would need to exert some strength to break that barrier. After Cui Yaocen forcibly broke through the barrier last time, Cui Yuanxi reinforced it during repairs. Now, even Cui Yaocen would need to use fifty percent of her power to break it.

“I’ll find a way,” Ming Li said.

Dou Lanmin didn’t doubt her at all. If she said she had a way, then she did. He had complete confidence in Ming Li.

After Dou Lanmin left, Ming Li lay on the bed for a while, thinking about her missing brother and her father confined to Bei Dou. Finding it difficult to sleep, she got up and headed toward Yi Xiu Academy.

*

The snow kept falling at Yi Xiu Academy.

Ming Li came to the back of the Central Hall. At the end of a small path covered by snow stood a high platform. On the platform was the anchoring point of the massive Four Seasons Formation. The formation diagram glowed in the night, with countless purple star lines intertwining and shuttling back and forth. Anyone not specializing in the Eight Meridian Formations would certainly become dizzy after just a glance.

She walked up to the platform and approached the formation diagram, raising her head to observe the natural formation diagram before her.

Perhaps because the natural formation’s star lines were too vast and complex, no one besides those at the academy principal level could affect it in the slightest, so there was no guard. Li Yansi had been busy lately and hadn’t had time to repair it.

Tens of thousands of intersecting star lines and black symbols slowly operated and rotated. After considering the formation effect she would need, Ming Li began to work.

The advantage of a natural formation was that as long as you had the strength, you could modify and change it.

Ming Li was so focused on altering the Four Seasons Formation’s star lines that she didn’t notice when Zhou Zixi appeared. Her junior brother didn’t call out to her either, quietly standing behind her and watching.

After some time, she sensed something and looked back. Seeing Zhou Zixi, her eyes filled with a smile.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Ming Li paused to ask.

But Zhou Zixi just tilted his chin up and said, “Senior Sister, focus.”

Ming Li turned back to continue manipulating the star lines. “I’m going to expand the range of the Four Seasons Formation to cover all of Nan Que, so I can find where you’re being held in Nan Que.”

“Senior Sister, don’t waste your energy. You only need to extend the Four Seasons Formation’s range to Boundary Peak to rescue your little junior sister,” Zhou Zixi said casually. “I never said I was being held in Nan Que.”

“Not in Nan Que?” Ming Li turned to look at him again, somewhat surprised.

Zhou Zixi walked to her side and reached out to brush away the hair strands that had been blown messily by the wind and snow. He didn’t answer her question but instead looked at the star lines she was manipulating and said, “The natural formation itself contains enormous power. With your circulating qi incantations assisting it, it’s enough to break the barrier at Boundary Peak.”

Such a large natural formation was already considered an existing force above divine weapons.

Yi Xiu Academy relied on it alone to control the four seasons, only because they couldn’t move or change its star line arrangement. If it could be modified, the Four Seasons Formation could do many more things.

Ming Li had a very clear idea of how to transform the Four Seasons Formation. Her fingertips quickly manipulated the star lines. Knowing that her junior brother still wouldn’t tell her where he was being held, and that he would disappear again if she pressed him, she changed the subject: “You’re a genius with Eight Meridian Formations. If you were doing this, you’d probably be even faster than me.”

Zhou Zixi frowned upon hearing this: “Senior Sister, such words coming from a genius like you seem rather mocking.”

Ming Li said generously, “Then we’re both geniuses.”

Zhou Zixi watched silently as she modified the star line diagram without speaking.

Ming Li continued, “In the past, you often came to me for guidance on the Eight Meridian Formations and Circulating Qi Meridians. From your insights and innovations, I truly felt you were a genius.”

“Senior Sister,” Zhou Zixi said casually, “if I didn’t have unique insights and innovations, I couldn’t make you, a Pilgrim, turn your head to look at me.”

Ming Li’s hands, manipulating the star lines, paused.

An ordinary disciple who had just entered the sect, even with the fastest Eight Meridian Formation arrangement technique, would still be far from enough to make someone at the pinnacle lower their head to glance at him.

So when Ming Li asked if he wanted to be taken up at Falling Star Pool, Zhou Zixi shook his head and refused. He looked at Ming Li standing on the edge of a ten-thousand-foot cliff, knowing that one wrong step would mean falling and shattering into pieces, yet he was determined to climb up there with everything he had.