Leonard Brooks opened up numerous stone caves and chambers for cultivation, storing treasures, and keeping scriptures on the side near the rock wall. In front of the caves, he built a garden spanning over a dozen mu, which served as the daily living quarters for Leonard Brooks and his daughter Evelyn Brooks. In addition, during his lifetime, Edward York and other servant boys, maids, and family guards also lived in this garden.

Outside the garden was a cliff several hundred meters deep, with only a narrow, steep stone staircase leading to the outside world.

A spiritual spring flowed down from the high cliff, cascading into the center of Splashing Cloud Cliff and forming a deep pool. The water then overflowed to the southeast, tumbling down the cliff again to become a waterfall, its mist spreading like drifting clouds.

This is also the origin of the name Splashing Cloud Cliff.

Around the spiritual pool, spiritual herbs and trees such as jade ganoderma and purple paulownia were planted everywhere. No special formation or restriction was needed, as most of the spiritual energy from the spring was absorbed by these lush plants. Even ordinary people living here could prolong their lives.

A dozen or so spiritual cranes raised at Splashing Cloud Cliff soared in the air, playing in the jade-like flying spring. Henry Brooks secretly felt that this was truly a place fit for immortals. Compared to the blood-soaked wasteland littered with the remains of strange ghosts, this place was countless times better. Unfortunately, he was about to be driven down the mountain.

Chapter 9: Qi Veins

From beginning to end, Evelyn Brooks never appeared, but before Henry Brooks left, Lillian Sutton came running over again, this time under Evelyn Brooks's orders, to retrieve the token that allowed him to enter and exit the Splashing Cloud Cliff cave residence on Qingxi Peak.

This meant that unless he was summoned, Henry Brooks would no longer be able to freely enter Leonard Brooks's Splashing Cloud Cliff cave residence, let alone wander around Qingxi Peak.

When he arrived at the Tieliu Ridge Dao Institute, he would receive a new Dao soldier disciple token, but the many privileges he enjoyed thanks to Leonard Brooks would be gone.

After that, Lily Sutton also hid away and did not show herself again.

Although Leonard Brooks's will could not be defied, at this moment it was Evelyn Brooks who was in charge. Even if Henry Brooks was not afraid of Lily Sutton harboring ill intentions, he did not dare to go to Evelyn Brooks to ask for someone. He secretly thought that this tigress had a fiery temper—if she hadn't already killed him with a single blow and thrown him off Splashing Cloud Cliff, it was only out of respect for her father Leonard Brooks.

Henry Brooks quickly packed his belongings into a bundle. When he stepped out of his bedroom, he saw Samuel Clark and William Carter still empty-handed, waiting in the courtyard, apparently planning to descend the mountain just like that.

Henry Brooks was slightly taken aback and asked, “Are we really walking to Tieliu Ridge?”

“Miss said the spiritual cranes of Splashing Cloud Cliff have the same status as Dao soldier disciples; Young Master Xing is not even a Dao soldier disciple yet. If you ride a spiritual crane and one of those feathered beasts throws a tantrum halfway and tosses you off…” William Carter, being a bit more tactful, explained to Henry Brooks with an awkward smile.

Henry Brooks snorted coldly and glanced toward the courtyard where Evelyn Brooks was in seclusion. Even though he dared not provoke this tigress at the moment, he could not suppress the resentment in his heart.

Evelyn Brooks was not simply trying to drive him out of Splashing Cloud Cliff for some peace and quiet—she was clearly trying to teach him a lesson.

The Wuwei Army was responsible for the military defense of the northwest region of the Great Yan Empire, and as its counterpart, the Taiwei Sect’s core function was to train and supply qualified officers and junior military officials for the Wuwei Army.

True disciples of the Taiwei Sect like Leonard Brooks all held important military positions in the Wuwei Army; the most elite Dao yamen soldiers of the Wuwei Army were almost all made up of the Taiwei Sect’s most basic Dao soldier disciples.

Therefore, in addition to the inner sect peaks like Qingxi Peak deep within the Taiwei Mountains, the Taiwei Sect also established many Dao Institutes in various counties of Hexi to train Dao soldier disciples.

These Dao Institutes corresponded to the outer sect system of ordinary sects, but since the Taiwei Sect’s Dao Institutes mainly trained junior military officials or elite Dao yamen soldiers for the Wuwei Army, all disciples selected for cultivation at the Dao Institutes were called Dao soldier disciples, with no distinction between menial or outer disciples.

The Tieliu Ridge that Henry Brooks was heading to was one of the Taiwei Sect’s many outer Dao Institutes, located at the southwestern edge of the Taiwei Mountains, adjacent to the important military town of Mengcheng in Hexi. It was a key point for entering the Taiwei Mountains from the counties of Hexi and for connecting westward to the border counties of Jinzhou.

Although Tieliu Ridge was also part of the Taiwei Mountains, it was actually in the outer ranges beyond the main mountains, connected by side roads but over a thousand li away.

Now that Evelyn Brooks would not allow him to ride a spiritual beast to Tieliu Ridge, and instead had Samuel Clark and William Carter “escort” him on foot for over a thousand li, what else could this be but a show of displeasure?

……

Over the years, Henry Brooks had become more worldly and tactful, but deep down he still had a streak of pride. He felt that Evelyn Brooks was trying to teach him a lesson, but he did not believe she would really just sit by and watch him die of exhaustion in the Taiwei Mountains.

If he wanted to turn things around and stay in the Taiwei Sect to cultivate, not only could he not let Evelyn Brooks look down on him, but he also could not let people like Samuel Clark and William Carter despise him. More importantly, if he wanted to survive and have his soul adapt to his new body, he had to temper his physical body through hard training.

This kind of hardship was nothing to a martial cultivator focused on physical training.

With these thoughts, Henry Brooks did not go to argue with Evelyn Brooks. He packed his bundle and started down the stone steps, descending Qingxi Peak one step at a time.