Qin Chu and Qian Xun's return once again drew the attention of the Cultivators outside Heaven Sword Mountain, as the commotion they caused a while ago was the greatest.
Nodding to Qian Xun, Qin Chu entered the inner area of the Level 4 Sword Intent Stele, consumed a Medicinal Pill, and simultaneously Cultivated his Origin Qi while refining his Sword Intent.
Qian Xun, like Qin Chu, took out a Medicinal Pill and consumed it, then began his Cultivation.
Inside a courtyard in Qingtian Mountain, Qin Lingxi and Palace Master Yin Yue sat facing each other. Qin Lingxi's face was filled with anxiety because there was no news of Qin Chu, not a single bit. After escaping from Vermilion Bird Holy Land, Qin Chu had vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared. Not only could the forces of Qingtian Mountain not find Qin Chu, but some hidden powers of Vermilion Bird Holy Land also had no information on him.
"Qin Chu won't be in any danger, will he?" Palace Master Yin Yue asked, looking at Qin Lingxi.
"Probably not! That night we killed all the guards arranged by the White Tiger Holy Clan in Vermilion Bird Holy Land. The news of Qin Chu's appearance shouldn't have leaked out. He might have run into the deep mountains or a place no one notices, hiding to Cultivate; or perhaps he ran out of the scope of our investigation," Qin Lingxi said after thinking for a moment.
Subsequently, Qin Lingxi arranged for more people to expand the search area.
Qin Lingxi couldn't find Qin Chu's news mainly because after Qin Chu left the Qingtian Mountain area, he never entered a city while riding a beast carriage. On his way to Heaven Sword Mountain, he always stayed in mountainous regions.
The distance from Qingtian Mountain to Heaven Sword Mountain was too great. Qin Chu traveled for more than twenty days without entering a city, which meant he cut off all leads for Qin Lingxi and others to investigate.
Cultivating under the pressure of Sword Intent, Qin Chu would move a little distance forward every so often, increasing the suppression of the Sword Intent released by Heaven Sword Mountain on himself.
Because he had no shortage of Valley-Breaking Pills and Origin Spirit Pills, Qin Chu had completely settled down.
The Vice City Lord of Heaven Sword City was very interested in Qin Chu and Qian Xun, but it was only an interest, without any ulterior motives, because Su Mu was involved. Su Mu was a Sword Dao expert from Central State, and he thought highly of Qin Chu and Qian Xun. If the Holy Martial Sect were to do anything to Qin Chu and Qian Xun, Su Mu would come knocking, and things would become very difficult.
The higher-ups of the White Tiger Holy Clan were enraged. The Vermilion Bird Holy Clan had been defeated, and their clan lands had been taken, yet there were always remnants causing trouble. The White Tiger Holy Clan members guarding Vermilion Bird Holy Land were constantly being killed, which made them very uncomfortable. Sending a large number of experts would result in an empty search, while leaving only a few guards would lead to them being killed.
As for managing Vermilion Bird Holy Clan, that was even less realistic, because Vermilion Bird Holy Land was very far from the White Tiger Holy Clan's lands. If attacked, it would be difficult to coordinate, and furthermore, the Yanlei Holy Clan would not agree.
Ignoring Vermilion Bird Holy Land would be tantamount to allowing the Vermilion Bird Holy Clan to rise from the ashes, which was also unacceptable. This situation put the White Tiger Holy Clan in a dilemma, so they could only send people to the Yanlei Holy Clan to invite someone over to discuss how to handle this matter.
After Cultivating for a month in Heaven Sword Mountain, Qin Chu withdrew. It wasn't that he ran out of Medicinal Pills, but that constantly refining his Sword Intent had made his mind somewhat fatigued. He planned to rest.
In fact, many Cultivators in Heaven Sword Mountain were like this; they usually Cultivated for a while and then came out.
When Qin Chu came out, Qian Xun naturally followed him out. He was now on the same rhythm as Qin Chu.
After leaving Heaven Sword Mountain, Qian Xun treated Qin Chu to a grand meal, and then they returned to the Yunlai Inn.
To recuperate his mind, Qin Chu went straight to sleep in his room, and Qian Xun did the same.
After a long sleep, Qin Chu and Qian Xun met in the inn's small garden. Qian Xun's maid brewed a pot of tea and then stood to the side.
"Qian Xun, with your guards and maids, your Family background must be quite impressive," Qin Chu said, looking at Qian Xun.
"It's just a regular Family power, no one dares to bully us casually; it's barely passable," Qian Xun replied.
Qin Chu knew Qian Xun might be being modest, so he didn't ask further. After drinking a cup of tea, the two strolled around Heaven Sword City. In the past, Qin Chu either lived in the deep mountains or Cultivated in a Sect, so he was quite curious about everything in a big city.
In Heaven Sword City, ordinary people used gold and silver for daily necessities like food, clothing, housing, and transportation. However, when it came to Cultivators, resources were exchanged according to rules: first-tier resources were exchanged with first-tier resources; second-tier resources were exchanged with second-tier resources, and so on. Generally, the mainstream Medicinal Pill of each tier was used as a unit. For example, a third-tier weapon would be measured by the value of how many third-tier True Origin Pills; a fourth-tier weapon's price would be calculated by how many fourth-tier Spirit Origin Pills.
"Without a unified currency, it's quite troublesome," Qin Chu said.
"There is a unified currency, and this is the unified currency, but it's relatively rare. This item is universal; as long as you have enough, buying fifth-tier and sixth-tier items is no problem at all." Qian Xun took out a Spirit Stone and showed it to Qin Chu.
"This is the unified currency?" Qin Chu looked at the Spirit Stone in Qian Xun's hand with some surprise.
"Yes, but it's generally only used for exchanging fifth-tier and sixth-tier resources. No one would be foolish enough to use Spirit Stones to exchange for anything below fifth-tier," Qian Xun explained to Qin Chu. He noticed that Qin Chu lacked some basic common knowledge, such as not knowing about Su Mu, the Heaven Sword, or Spirit Stones.
"I must find a way to get some Spirit Stones. With Spirit Stones on me, I'll feel much more confident!" Qin Chu said.
"These things are too rare. Some Spirit Stone mines are controlled by major powers. The Five Great Holy Clans have them, the Holy Martial Sect has them, the Southern Heaven Sect has them, and I don't know about others, because even if some powers discover Spirit Stone mines, they wouldn't dare to say anything. That would lead to attacks, or even the destruction of their Sect," Qian Xun told Qin Chu.
After circling the city, Qin Chu and Qian Xun went to the tavern where Su Mu had previously drunk. They had a hearty meal of strong liquor and braised meat before returning to the inn.
Qian Xun went back to his room to rest, while Qin Chu fell into thought. Recently, he had felt somewhat lost. Apart from Cultivation, he didn't know which path he should take. He had clues about his background, but what good were they? His enemies were the White Tiger Holy Clan, the Yanlei Holy Clan, and the Black Tortoise Holy Clan also had a part. These were top powers in Central State. How many people like him could they kill? This made Qin Chu feel that besides Cultivation, there was no other path he could take. His parents and aunt were missing, and he didn't know how to find them.
Looking at the moon outside the window, Qin Chu sighed. Under the same sky, he had enemies and relatives, but he didn't know where to go. Should he just stay in Heaven Sword Mountain forever?
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Chu felt that overthinking was useless. He still had to stick to his current path, first to live stably. Only by living stably could he do more things.
Getting up in the morning, Qin Chu tidied himself up, planning to go to Heaven Sword Mountain again. At this moment, Qian Xun ran to Qin Chu's side, "Do you know? The little princess of the Azure Dragon Holy Clan ran away from her Family, and then issued a public statement, saying that she would absolutely not marry the little prince of the Western Wind Imperial Dynasty."