"You haven't cultivated in a long time?" Evan Yang looked at the woman suspiciously, waiting for her to explain further.
Seeing Evan Yang's puzzled face, the woman said, "This cultivation art is very difficult to practice. If it were like an ordinary art, failing wouldn't matter, but for this one, only success is allowed. If you fail, you might never be able to hear sound again."
"What? It's that dangerous?" This was the first time Evan Yang had heard of such a terrifying cultivation art—failure meant losing your hearing. Most people wouldn't dare try such an auxiliary technique.
"Our sect already has very few disciples, so for everyone's safety, the past sect masters sealed the technique away somewhere and don't let disciples touch it," the woman said.
Evan Yang nodded in understanding. "No wonder. With such a dangerous art, naturally not many people would want to learn it."
"Yes, everyone thinks so," the woman replied.
"Do you know where Thousand-Mile Echo is sealed?" Evan Yang thought for a moment, then asked curiously.
The woman frowned. "You want to learn it?"
"I just want to take a look." Evan Yang did want to learn it, but for safety's sake, he planned to check it out first.
The woman looked at Evan Yang, not understanding what he meant by 'take a look,' and sized him up. "You?"
"Where is it? Take me to see it," Evan Yang requested.
Seeing Evan Yang so eager, the woman manipulated something in a certain direction within the secret chamber, and soon a spatial portal appeared before Evan Yang.
"What's this?" Evan Yang hadn't expected there to be another space inside this secret chamber.
"This is our sect's spatial realm. Inside, we store precious and sealed items. You can go in and find it yourself," the woman said to Evan Yang.
Curious, Evan Yang entered the space, while the woman stayed outside.
Once inside, Evan Yang found the realm was huge, with mountains and rivers, and several buildings scattered throughout.
Each building was labeled, and one was marked 'Thousand-Mile Echo.'
"Such a big building?" Evan Yang hadn't expected a single cultivation art to have such a large house, and walked in curiously.
Inside, he found the walls covered in murals, recording Thousand-Mile Echo's cultivation method, with notes about potential problems during practice—most seriously, the hearing loss the woman had mentioned.
Evan Yang read the contents, gradually becoming absorbed. At first he felt nothing, but later it seemed as if something blocked his ears, making everything sound extremely muffled.
At first, Evan Yang didn't notice anything unusual, but only after finishing everything did he snap out of it and realize he couldn't hear anything at all.
"What's going on? Why can't I hear the sound of water anymore?" Evan Yang had previously been able to hear the water flowing outside the building, but now there wasn't a single sound, startling him.
He tried several times, but his ears seemed to have stopped working—no sound entered, shocking Evan Yang. "Did I really lose my hearing?!"
The sudden change was unbelievable. Evan Yang had only looked at Thousand-Mile Echo's method and ended up like this. He couldn't believe it. "Me..."
"Kid, what's wrong with you?" Old Clam transmitted his voice, sensing Evan Yang's emotional turmoil.
When Evan Yang finally heard a sound again, he managed to regain a bit of feeling. "I thought I'd lost my hearing."
"Lost your hearing?" Old Clam asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, I can't hear the water outside anymore," Evan Yang replied, still confused.
"How could that be?" Old Clam was shocked to hear Evan Yang couldn't hear any sound.
But it was true—apart from transmitted voices or spiritual sense, he couldn't hear any other sound at all.
Unable to accept this reality, Evan Yang closed his eyes and thought about the Thousand-Mile Echo method. It was the first time he'd seen it, and he had memorized it unintentionally.
After a while, Evan Yang heard the sound of water again.
"I'm back to normal!" Evan Yang rejoiced, running out of the building and confirming he could hear sounds again.
Curious, he circulated Thousand-Mile Echo to see what caused his hearing loss just now.
But the result was the same: whenever Evan Yang circulated the method here, he couldn't hear any sound; when he stopped, his hearing returned to normal.
"Strange, really strange." Evan Yang hadn't expected this outcome after studying Thousand-Mile Echo.
Wanting to understand more accurately, Evan Yang left the space and found the woman waiting outside.
"Master's Wife," Evan Yang said.
"What's wrong?" The woman asked, seeing Evan Yang's confused expression.
Evan Yang explained everything that had happened to the woman.
After hearing Evan's account, Grace frowned. "That's strange. Normally, it's all or nothing—either you can't hear anything at all, or you succeed and your hearing is transformed. But with you, as soon as you circulate the art, you can't hear anything, and when you stop, you recover. I've never seen that before."
"Has this ever happened before?" Evan asked, genuinely curious.
"Never," Grace shook her head.
Hearing this, Evan felt a bit frustrated. He could only stay in the secret chamber, while Grace resealed the spatial treasury. She then turned to Evan and asked, "So, what are your plans now?"
"I'm already in the late-stage Soul-Forming Realm. If I keep cultivating behind closed doors, I doubt I'll break through any further. I need to go out and wander—maybe I'll find new opportunities and insights that way," Evan replied. He knew that breakthroughs often required real-world experience and enlightenment, not just seclusion.
Grace nodded. "I agree. But I have one request before you go."
"What is it?" Evan was curious what Grace would ask of him.
"I want to recover my senior brother's body. So, once you reach the Spirit-Wandering Realm, if you ever find a way into that space, please bring my senior brother's remains back—or come find me, and let me go myself," Grace requested, her tone earnest.
Actually, Evan already knew how to enter that place, but only he knew the method. His current cultivation wasn't high enough, and revealing it would cause trouble. So he suppressed the truth for now and said solemnly, "Yes, I promise—I’ll bring Master back."
"Good. That's enough," Grace said, visibly moved.
(Webnovel filler notice skipped per guidelines.)
"Master's Wife, I'll be leaving now," Evan said. He had no more business here, and the Three Snow Eccentrics were not something he could confront yet. Staying would only risk exposing Snowflake Sect to more trouble.
"Wait, there's something else you should know," Grace said. She was about to see Evan off, but suddenly recalled something important.
"What is it?" Evan hadn't expected Grace to have another request.
"It's about that Wu Family woman. She was once a disciple of Snowflake Sect, but she betrayed you, and has long since returned to the Wu Family. If you ever see her again, bring her back so our sect can deal with her properly," Grace explained.
"She betrayed me? That Wu Family member?" Evan immediately knew who Grace meant—the Wu Family girl, who was also a Snowflake Sect disciple and once called him Martial Uncle. Hearing she had sold him out, he was both curious and troubled, wondering what exactly she had done.
Grace explained the situation: years ago, the Three Snow Eccentrics managed to capture Evan because the Wu Family woman had leaked information. The Eccentrics themselves had told Snowflake Sect about it, but by then she was already gone, and the sect lacked the manpower to retrieve her. Everyone in Snowflake Sect wanted her brought back for proper punishment.
After hearing the whole story, Evan sighed helplessly. "So it’s another mess I caused. Still, I'll keep it in mind—if I ever find her, I'll bring her back."
"Alright, go on then," Grace said. Evan nodded, and after Grace paused to think, she led him through a hidden passage that exited the mountain on the opposite side.
This passage was on the opposite side of the main entrance, specifically chosen to avoid detection by the Three Snow Eccentrics. Only the sect master knew of it, and she brought Evan out through this route.
"Master's Wife, I promise I'll return someday. And as for the Three Snow Eccentrics—when I have the strength, I'll drive them out for you," Evan said earnestly.
Grace smiled at Evan's words. "Don't worry. Those three can't truly threaten our sect—at most, they just harass us. If you can reach the Spirit-Wandering Realm, I'll be thrilled."
"Alright, Master’s Wife, I'll be going now," Evan said, glancing at Grace before quietly leaving.
Grace watched Evan’s departing figure, then returned to the secret chamber.
Inside the chamber, she met with three other people.
One of the short women asked, "Master, has he left?"
"Yes. He's a genius. Staying here won't help him advance—only by wandering outside can he break through to Spirit-Wandering Realm someday," Grace replied.
"Master, is he really late-stage Soul-Forming Realm now?" asked the other short man, doubting what he'd heard.
"Absolutely. I’ve personally sensed his aura—there’s no mistaking it. He’s truly late-stage Soul-Forming Realm," Grace confirmed.
The three exchanged glances, then listened as Grace told the last man, "I've already explained your disciple's situation to him."
"Hmph, I won’t get involved in their affairs. But since she harmed my junior sister, she must accept our sect’s punishment," said Violet Mountain.
Everyone nodded. That was the best outcome.
Evan had barely taken a few steps outside when he was spotted by the Three Snow Eccentrics.
The three suddenly appeared at Evan’s side. The one-armed man glared at him. "I knew you were hiding in Snowflake Sect. This time, you can't escape us."
"So it really was you," the fat man laughed.
All three wore different smiles, as if years of resentment were about to erupt onto Evan.
"Kid, you’re pretty good at hiding. Now, hand over the sealing art and we’ll let you go. Otherwise... heh, you’ll die here!" threatened the fat man.
Evan showed no fear. Instead, he smiled, "Nice to see you all."
"Kid, it's been years. Looks like you've grown some backbone," the fat man said with a cold laugh.
"I've always had plenty of backbone," Evan replied with a grin.
"I bet you’re just pretending," the fat man sneered.
Evan ignored his mockery and faced the three. "You'd better not die here. What you owe me—right now I can't collect, but someday I will. Consider this your warning: if anything happens to Snowflake Sect, you three will pay with your lives!"