“Master-Uncle, rest assured, this Disciple is very clear-headed.” Qing Feng smiled bitterly, looking at the collapsed thatched hut. “It’s just this residence… I just replaced the bluestone bed last month, and now even the roof is gone.”
Qing Feng dusted off the wood chips from his clothes and cupped his hands towards the courtyard entrance, saying, “Master’s Wife, you are discerning. Master-Uncle Lian did discuss this matter with me. Thinking about the future development of Chen Ming Peak, this Disciple suggested he offer the Star River Pond to Master and then use his private assets to benefit all the Disciples of the peak.
This was originally a good deed to consolidate the strength of the entire peak and sacrifice oneself for the greater good, but who would have thought…”
He deliberately paused for a moment, looking at the roof that had been ripped off by sword qi, and smiled bitterly, “Master-Uncle not only flatly refused but also destroyed my residence.”
Zi Yun’s fingertips played with the tassel at her waist, and her lips curved slightly upon hearing this: “Oh? Asking someone to give up their entire fortune for the public good?” She suddenly flicked her sleeve, sweeping up a celadon fruit plate three feet away. “Wait here, Master’s Wife will go pick some fresh spiritual oranges for you.”
Before her voice faded, her moon-white skirt had already transformed into a streak of light, streaking across the sky.
At this moment, inside Lian Buyao’s cave abode, Dong QiSheng was anxiously pacing back and forth. Seeing his Master return with a gloomy face, he hurriedly went up to him: “Did that fellow relent?”
“That brat is arrogant!” Lian Buyao slammed his palm onto a profound crystal stone table, shattering it. “Not only did he refuse to hand over the True Inheritance qualification, but he even dared to presumptuously demand that we offer up the Star River Pond!”
Dong QiSheng’s pupils constricted: “How dare he be so insatiably greedy? What good is a mere Foundation Establishment second-layer waste, even if he gets the Purple Rock inheritance? He probably can’t even hold a sword steady.”
“Exactly!” Lian Buyao’s true qi surged around him. “The spiritual liquid in that pond only yields three drops every ten years; it should rightfully be given to Disciples with exceptional talent.” Before he finished speaking, a chilling sword qi pierced through the air.
Zi Yun floated down amidst the flying debris, a few emerald orange leaves intertwined in her dark hair. She glared at the Master and Disciple, who had been knocked to the ground by the sword qi: “This Venerable One wants to see what kind of ‘talent’ is worthy of actions that defy Master and destroy ancestors?”
Lian Buyao struggled under the crushing pressure, which felt as heavy as a thousand tons, and roared, “Dong QiSheng is the only hope for the Ziyan Sword Debate! If you harm him, you will ruin the future of Chen Ming Peak!”
“One whose Sword Heart is clouded, even with Nascent Soul cultivation, is but scrap metal.” Zi Yun lightly tapped her toe, and the foundation of the entire cave abode rippled like waves. The blood beads Lian Buyao spat out solidified into ice crystals in mid-air, clinking as they fell to the ground.
When the stream of light reappeared, Qing Feng was hanging a dust-repelling bell on the eaves of his newly built bamboo hut. Seeing Zi Yun toss him a golden-veined spiritual orange, he smiled and added another illusionary charm to the array in front of his door.
At the summit of Hu Ji Peak, Qi Yuancheng’s fingertips ignited a faint blue flame, burning a jade slip to dust. This Venerable One, who had presided over Hu Ji Peak for many years, looked at the bamboo forest, which resembled a mountain of red clouds, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
“Father, have you received any interesting news?” Qi Lin, who was standing by his side, offered new tea at the opportune moment.
“That Elder Lian of Chen Ming Peak is even more insatiably greedy than I imagined,” Qi Yuancheng lightly brushed his sleeve:
“Dong QiSheng was merely incited by Lin Qian’s few words and rushed to Lian Buyao to demand a True Inheritance slot. Guess what? This Spirit Transformation Elder actually lowered himself to seek an opportunity from Qing Feng and, after being refused, had his cave abode smashed by Zi Yun.”
Qi Lin’s teacup paused slightly: “I heard long ago that Elder Su has a fiery temper. I didn’t expect her to even disregard the face of a Nascent Soul Elder?”
“Both he and his wife have temperaments that cannot tolerate any slight. Qin Heng is an open flame, and Zi Yun is a hidden thunder.”
Qi Yuancheng took the teacup and sipped lightly, “Qing Feng is her inverse scale; he and Zi Yun have a life-and-death friendship.”
The young man suddenly understood upon hearing this: “No wonder Father always says Qing Feng is the key to breaking the deadlock. It’s just that this cunning boy always manages to turn misfortune into good fortune; he actually managed to win the True Inheritance trial a few days ago.”
“No matter.” The Tiger 疾 Peak Lord’s eyes glinted. “Let’s see how Lian Buyao performs this play. His Master, Ma Bingyun, when she was an Elder of the Disciplinary Hall back then, certainly used many underhanded methods…”
Before he finished speaking, a sudden thunderclap exploded from the heavens. Above Chen Ming Peak, two streaks of rainbow light pierced through the clouds. Ma Bingyun’s furious roar, imbued with Nascent Soul pressure, echoed through the peaks: “Zi Yun, allowing your Disciple to commit violence and destroy someone’s cave abode, is this the rule of your Chen Ming Peak?”
The emerald birds among the peaks scattered in fright, and thousands of Disciples looked up. They saw purple lightning surging within the clouds, and Zi Yun’s plain white figure rose into the air, the Ice Soul Sword at her waist already unsheathed three inches of cold light:
“Elder Ma, if you want to talk about rules, why don’t you first ask your good Disciple what kind of logic it is for a Spirit Transformation cultivator to forcefully demand an opportunity from a Foundation Establishment Disciple!”
The two pressures collided in mid-air, causing the thousand-year-old ancient pine at the summit of Chen Ming Peak to sway without wind. All the forces secretly observing held their breath at this moment.
In front of the Chen Ming Peak Deliberation Hall, the Second Elder, Lian Buyao, was shrinking his neck, hiding to one side. The middle-aged female cultivator beside him suddenly shouted sharply, “Why isn’t that slut Zi Yun rolling out yet!”
The woman was wearing a faded brown robe, with sharp, slanted lines at the corners of her eyes. It was Ma Bingyun of Zhijian Peak. At this moment, her spiritual energy surged, and the Spirit Transformation realm pressure caused the young Disciples’ blood and qi to churn.
Suddenly, a cold light pierced through the air, and the Chen Ming Peak Lord, Qin Heng, arrived, stepping on his sword. His dark robes fluttered, and his brow was furrowed with a thousand years of frost and snow: “Elder Ma of Zhijian Peak, it’s quite interesting for you to come to my Chen Ming Peak to show off your might.”
“Presumptuous!” Ma Bingyun’s withered face turned crimson. “This Venerable One is your direct Master-Uncle!”
Qin Heng slammed his sword sheath heavily onto the ground, and the bluestone bricks cracked in a spiderweb pattern: “There is no Master-Uncle honorific in the list of Grand Elders. If we’re talking about seniority, this Venerable One would like to ask, is trespassing on the main peak and intimidating the Peak Lord’s wife the rule taught by Zhijian Peak?”
Before he finished speaking, a crisp sword cry came from the sky. Zi Yun floated down, stepping on sword light condensed from ice crystals, and extended a slender jade finger from her wide sleeve: “Master-Uncle’s Star River Courtyard had its west wall collapse last month? What a coincidence, my Disciple’s thatched hut also had its roof beams torn down the day before yesterday.”
Ma Bingyun’s withered hand clenched, her knuckles turning white: “A mere outer Disciple, is he even worthy of being compared to Qi Sheng?” A slick-haired young man emerged from behind her, who was indeed her Disciple, Qi Sheng. “My Disciple is vying for the True Inheritance position.”
“True Inheritance?” Qin Heng suddenly laughed, flicking a wisp of sword qi from his fingertip that severed the jade pendant at Qi Sheng’s waist. “Just with this ‘Heavenly Talent’ who can’t break through the Foundation Establishment realm in three years? Master-Uncle might as well open the Star River Pond to all Disciples for body tempering; that would actually be doing something practical for Chen Ming Peak.”
“You brat, how dare you!” Ma Bingyun summoned her Natal Azure Edge Sword, but its sword light collided with a sky full of crimson clouds. Qin Heng’s Blazing Fire Sword Intent transformed into nine fire phoenixes, forcing her to stumble backward, her hair disheveled like a madwoman.
The bluestone ground exploded, forming a deep pit, and Ma Bingyun collapsed onto the pile of shattered stones, her face still etched with disbelief.
Qin Heng sheathed his sword, the dark iron sword guard reflecting his stern brows and eyes: “By the Chen Ming Peak Lord’s order, since Elder Ma has entered Zhijian Peak, she is forbidden from stepping foot on the main peak for a hundred years.”
The mountain wind swept across the Sword Testing Platform, and Qin Heng stood with his hands behind his back under the green pine, his dark Daoist robe fluttering.
This Sword Venerable, who had presided over Chen Ming Peak for twenty years, now had a hint of frost and snow in his brows.
“Old Hei, look, Elder Ma’s Profound Ice True Qi can’t even break through Master’s protective aura.” Qing Feng lightly tapped the battle situation, and Elder Ma Bingyun’s flushed old face was reflected in the Profound Light Mirror.
The black jade Kirin wagged its tail and sneered, “Still stuck in the Spirit Transformation realm after three hundred years, if it were me, I’d have gone into seclusion out of shame.”