Chapter 277: Chapter 69: Penglai Recaptured, Kunlun Prepares for War
Miss Shi earned a fortune in the secret realm, but for Luo Yan, those magical treasures and Immortal Swords were hardly impressive.
After all, whether in terms of cultivation realm or combat ability, the two were not on the same level.
In Shi Liuli’s camp, what could serve as the main force among the magical treasures and Immortal Swords would have to compete with the likes of the Green Duckweed Sword, Five Elements Divine Light, and Five Thunder True Law in Luo Yan’s arsenal—all terrifyingly powerful tools that could overcome those of higher ranks and might not even get a chance to be used.
Miss Shi was blissfully unaware of this, excitedly showcasing her newly acquired “superpower” to Elder Shi Ding.
“If my junior brother sees how amazing I’ve become, he will surely be shocked!” she said proudly.
Elder Shi Ding smiled without saying anything.
“By the way, where’s junior brother?” Shi Liuli suddenly realized that Luo Yan, who had accompanied her, was not there.
“He went back to the sect to call for help, so I told him to stay there,” Elder Shi Ding said awkwardly, not revealing that he was unable to lift the entrance restrictions and had therefore sent Luo Yan to get reinforcements.
Shi Liuli did not mind, simply chattering with her father about the things that had happened in the secret realm.
Both rose on their swords and Shi Liuli said,
“This sword is called ‘Purple Extreme Core Encompassing’; what do you think, father?”
“A fine sword,” Elder Shi Ding nodded with a smile. “However, swordsmanship requires diligent practice to make progress; otherwise, it’s difficult to improve.”
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“My swordsmanship is already very impressive,” Shi Liuli muttered.
The two flew a long distance, crossing vast seas, and finally returned to Penglai Immortal Island, only to find Yuqing View in ruins.
The Master of Xuan Du and Ziwei Master stood in the air talking. Groups of Kunlun Cultivators and Yuqing Cultivators flew by below on their swords, with serious and somber expressions.
Elder Shi Ding: ?
Shi Liuli: ?
The two of them were clueless about what had happened, completely baffled.
Back at Heavenly Craft Workshop, Elder Shi Ding was shocked to see that the eldest disciple, Linghu Chu, was pale as death, evidently having suffered severe internal injuries, and was currently taking elixirs to refine.
The third disciple, Liang Ruohua, was silent, focusing solely on tallying the resources lost in the workshop, with Luo Yan helping as his assistant.
As for the treacherous second disciple, Lei Caiyan, and the fourth disciple, Shi Wenshi, their whereabouts were unknown, leaving no trace behind.
“Junior brother!” Shi Liuli immediately ran over excitedly, activating the star sand to swirl around her, “Look at this!”
But Luo Yan just nodded wearily and said,
“Knowing that elder sister has returned unharmed eases my mind.”
“What a reaction!” Shi Liuli was somewhat unhappy, but Elder Shi Ding quickly called her over and asked Liang Ruohua,
“Has Penglai been attacked?”
Liang Ruohua nodded and explained the situation in full detail.
Hearing this, Elder Shi Ding’s face turned ashen, and he nearly passed out from shock.
The betrayal of the second disciple led to the breaching of Penglai’s protective array, resulting in heavy losses throughout the sect.
The fourth disciple was killed, the eldest disciple’s foundation was heavily damaged, possibly affecting his Nascent Infant Rank…
How could nearly half of my disciples be gone just because I stepped out for a while?
Luo Yan then comforted his master, saying,
“Master, our Heavenly Craft Workshop has been rather lucky! You don’t know about the neighboring Hundred Herbs Pavilion; over a dozen disciples died leaving only one, Elder Miao Bao is so angry he’s considering setting a bounty…”
“Enough, Luo Yan!” Elder Shi Ding scolded.
The so-called comparison that highlights one’s fortune may not be morally correct, but its effectiveness is immediate.
Elder Shi Ding was initially quite annoyed, but after hearing that the situation next door was even worse, much of his anger dissipated.
After much contemplation, he could only sigh deeply and went to seek forgiveness from the Master of Xuan Du.
As soon as Elder Shi Ding left, Shi Liuli, unable to contain herself any longer, grabbed Luo Yan’s arm, shockingly asking,
“That can’t be true, can it? Are you joking!? You’re saying that the second elder sister killed the fourth elder brother; how is that even possible…”
She spoke incoherently, then saw that everyone was silently watching her, and gradually she couldn’t help but burst into tears.
Although Second Senior Sister Lei Caiyan was usually introverted and reticent, she had a comparatively close relationship with Shi Liuli.
The naive Miss Shi had long regarded her as family.
Now that she suddenly learned that her supposed kin was the traitor and had even turned around and murdered Fourth Senior Brother, Miss Shi felt as if her entire worldview had shattered… just like a flower in a greenhouse that accidentally glimpses the cruel world outside, and suddenly can’t accept it.
“Junior Brother, take her back,” Liang Ruohua said softly, seeing Miss Shi trembling as she began to sob.
“Okay,” Luo Yan immediately took Shi Liuli’s hand, and they walked toward the Heavenly Craft Workshop.
After escorting Miss Shi to her room, Luo Yan was about to turn around and leave when he suddenly heard Shi Liuli murmur:
“Junior Brother, will you also become a traitor?”
Luo Yan slowly turned around, and with the best acting he had ever performed in his life, he said helplessly with a light smile,
“How could that be, Senior Sister?”
After leaving Shi Liuli’s room, Luo Yan returned to his own residence and instructed the Kunlun Mirror,
“Ah Jing, let’s do a save point reload to Kunlun this time.”
“Okay,” the Kunlun Mirror began to chant.
[Save Point One: Kunlun Taiqing Sect, Golden Ridge.]
[Character Identity: Qiu Changtian.]
[Mirror Flower Water Moon Template overlaying, initiating time-space travel.]
Upon arriving at Kunlun, at dawn, Qiu Changtian, as usual, lectured his junior brothers and sisters on the scriptures.
After the lecture, everyone dispersed to their duties, except Xu Yinglian, whom Qiu Changtian called aside.
“What is it, Senior Brother?” she asked with a puzzled expression.
“We’re going to the Extreme West,” Qiu Changtian said with a smile, “you are now a Refining Mansion rank cultivator, and I want to see how strong you’ve become.”
Xu Yinglian immediately became serious, a fighting spirit flaring in her eyes.
That’s right, I’m also a Refining Mansion rank cultivator now.
The perfection of a cultivator’s Purple Mansion only determines the grade rank after Core Formation and doesn’t affect the cultivator’s own combat power.
In other words, although Senior Brother has been in the Refining Mansion longer than I have, now that we are on the same rank, our combat strength should be about the same.
“Good!” she immediately said seriously, “Then please don’t hold back, Senior Brother!”
The two flew on their swords to the skies above the Extreme West, where Qiu Changtian stood with his hands behind his back, letting the wind whip his Taoist robe as he calmly said,
“Please make the first move, Junior Sister.”
Xu Yinglian didn’t speak but quickly started to think.
A Refining Mansion rank cultivator has their True Qi in the Dantian condensed into True Yuan, which is many times more powerful, and therefore they often control two swords in battle.
One is used for flying and rapid areal maneuvering to enable swift and agile movement. Naturally, this excludes environments where flying is prohibited or impractical.
As it’s merely for locomotion, there is no particular requirement for the flying sword’s rank, and most cultivators would just take any random sword from the Sword Repository to make up the numbers.
The other sword is used as a weapon to attack the opponent. Since this determines the outcome of a magical competition, it must be the Immortal Sword that the cultivator relies on the most.
As most cultivators cannot multitask, they focus either on moving and evading or on launching full-force attacks at any given time.
Apart from Shushan’s unique Two-Handed Sword Control Technique, it’s almost impossible to manage both simultaneously, to run and fight at the same time.
However, Xu Yinglian had recently taken a special trip home to learn a technique called “Luan Bird True Spirit Technique.”
The Xu Family of Southern Heaven breeds many spiritual birds. When a spirit bird has reached the end of its life, its soul can be extracted and refined, then attached to a sword.
The bird spirit and the owner’s intent are in harmony; with just a thought, they can direct the flying sword beneath their feet to turn agilely, achieving a transformation that is somewhat akin to Shushan’s secretive Two-Handed Sword Control Technique, transitioning from a “foot soldier” to a “professional cavalry.”
This time, she was determined to show her Senior Brother what she was capable of!