Chapter 312: Chapter 29 Kunlun Routine
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Upon reaching the small city by Jiang-an’s banks, after making sure Long Hu was settled, Long Long began to load his saved game.
If he kept mingling with the little fox, he’d soon forget all about the character settings and plots of the other story lines.
Objective: Kunlun!
[Location one: Taiqing Sect of Kunlun, Golden Ridge.]
[Character Identity: Qiu Changtian.]
[Mirror Flower Water Moon Template overlay, traveling through space-time.]
Qiu Changtian stepped out of his cave abode to see a clear sky and snow-covered peaks— the scenery was uniquely splendid.
Several celestial cranes stretched their wings and glided across the clouds, emitting long cries that resounded like a majestic orchestra, stunning to the ear.
The Kunlun Mountain Range, truly a sacred land of immortal cultivation! Spending even a day here felt as though it purified one’s soul.
Qiu Changtian was in a peaceful mood when he saw several streaks of sword light tearing through the sky, heading rapidly eastward.
Alright, it seemed that Kunlun was also in a state of war readiness.
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Seeing that his junior brothers and sisters were not in the cave abode, Qiu Changtian rose on his sword and went to visit Qing Yang True Person, Xu Changqing.
When he arrived at Xu Changqing’s cave abode, he saw Qing Yang True Person sitting erect on a stone platform.
Xu Yinglian, along with a few other Kunlun cultivators from The Xu Family of Southern Heaven, were scattered about the cave, each sitting with a solemn expression.
“Senior brother,” Xu Yinglian quickly greeted him as he entered the cave abode and motioned for him to sit beside her.
“Changtian has arrived too,” Qing Yang True Person sighed.
“Is it inconvenient? Then, I’ll come back later,” Qiu Changtian said with a smile.
After all, judging by the identities of everyone present, it was clearly an “internal gathering of the Xu Family from Kunlun.”
“Now that you and Yinglian have become Daoist companions, you’re also part of our Xu Family,” Qing Yang True Person paused briefly and continued, “Stay for a while and listen.”
He then resumed the topic they were discussing before.
As Qiu Changtian listened carefully, he came to understand that the Taiqing Sect was currently at war with the Nether Ghost Path of Mount Beimang.
The average quality of a Kunlun cultivator was much higher than that of a Nether Ghost Path cultivator.
According to the intelligence gathered by The Xu Family of Southern Heaven, the casualty ratio between Kunlun and the Nether Ghost Path in conflicts was generally maintained at about one to eight.
However, the Taiqing Sect was selective and not indiscriminate in accepting disciples, recruiting a group every thirty years, roughly a few hundred people.
The Nether Ghost Path wasn’t so particular; essentially, anyone who could undergo fasting and pass three tests was accepted, with the more powerful ones chosen for the “Judge” squad for focused cultivation, and the rest were mostly left to fend for themselves.
Even with a casualty ratio of one to eight, the Nether Ghost Path not only could afford it but even seemed eager to continue exchanging at this rate.
The Nether Ghost Path cultivators, accustomed to cutthroat competition, employed various treacherous and ruthless tactics, each as fearless as the next, all for the elixirs and magical treasures carried by Kunlun cultivators.
Sometimes, there would even be instances where a lone Kunlun cultivator was ambushed by three or four waves of Nether Ghost Path cultivators in succession, completely depleting his True Yuan in the process.
The Xu Family of Southern Heaven was extremely concerned about this and hence convened an internal meeting, advising their family cultivators to minimize outings for the time being.
If they did need to go out, they were advised not to take the direct route to the Guanzhong area to the east, but instead to travel south into the plateau region first, circle around through Bashu, and then enter the Central Plains, to avoid ambushes by Nether Ghost Path cultivators.
Qiu Changtian found it speechless to think that the illustrious Kunlun Taiqing Sect, revered as one of the Three Pure Ones, was now helpless against the minor Nether Ghost Path—it was quite peculiar.
However, he was not entirely ignorant about the Demonic Path; he also knew that although the Nether Ghost Path claimed to be based in “Mount Beimang,” in reality, that area had been scoured by the Kunlun elders countless times without ever truly discovering the enemy’s stronghold.
The reason was simple: according to Wen Yang, the actual location of the Nether Ghost Path was said to be deep underground beneath Mount Beimang, accessible only through a unique secret technique that the Kunlun cultivators would have no hope of finding.
After the meeting concluded, Qiu Changtian was left alone with Qing Yang True Person for a private conversation.
Qing Yang True Person specially cautioned him that since you thwarted the Intercepting Cult’s sword array in the East Sea, their wariness of you has greatly increased.
Qiu Changtian was utterly speechless. With my invincible character setting, not increasing my synchronization value would be impossible, and the more I improve it, the more the Demon Cult will dread me, looking for ways to trip me up…
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At the end of the day, it all boiled down to one thing: not being strong enough!
If he could be as powerful as the Ziwei Master, so that the Demon Cult couldn’t even find anyone willing to go against him, wouldn’t that solve everything?
Seeing that Qiu Changtian seemed a bit dejected, Qing Yang True Person changed the subject and said:
“However, ever since the last time the Intercepting Cult Immortal Slaying Sword Formation was broken, even those demon path cultivators who have never seen you know about your formidable strength.”
“As long as you don’t make a scene when you go out, preventing those Nascent Soul cultivators from finding an opportunity to ambush you, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
Qiu Changtian chuckled, nodding in agreement.
He was aware that the stance and position of the Xu Family of Southern Heaven were completely different from those of the Ziwei Master.
The Ziwei Master, knowing that his Second Grade Golden Core was stable, wished that he would stay in the Golden Ridge Cave Abode forever and not venture out until the Core Formation was reached after a hundred years or so.
Just becoming a Golden Core True Person, with the many Thunder Methods at his command, he was sure to become a vital force for Kunlun.
But the Xu Family of Southern Heaven hoped that their son-in-law would go out and earn fame more often, so that the Xu Family could gain corresponding political prestige.
The two strategies, one conservative and the other aggressive, could not truly be judged as better or worse.
Qiu Changtian still had to make rational judgments and choices based on his actual situation.
Upon leaving the cave abode, he saw Xu Yinglian waiting for him at the doorway.
Today, Junior Sister Xu was as always garbed in a plain white Daoist robe, her black hair flowing over her shoulders, and from head to toe, there was not a speck of makeup, not even a single hairpin.
My Xu Yinglian is like this, never bothering with things like makeup or beautification; her natural beauty alone scores twelve out of ten (Note: where ten is the full score).
“Senior Brother.” Xu Yinglian nodded slightly and said, “Grand Elder told you about the reward, right?”
“Mhm.” Qiu Changtian didn’t deny it.
“From what I see,” Xu Yinglian said coolly, “Senior Brother might observe how the Demon Cult reacts subsequently.”
“If they significantly increase the reward for you openly, then there’s no need to worry too much.”
“As Grand Elder said, with the war now between the Righteous and Demon Paths, the Demon Cult’s higher echelon lacks manpower and can’t possibly monitor a cultivator who hasn’t achieved Core Formation all the time.”
“As long as Senior Brother doesn’t broadcast his whereabouts widely.”
“Indeed.” Qiu Changtian nodded in agreement.
“But if they don’t increase the reward and instead stay silent about the breaking of the Intercepting Cult Sword Formation, then Senior Brother must be careful,” continued Xu Yinglian.
“Junior Sister means…” Qiu Changtian pondered for a moment, then asked, “To feign weakness by pretending strength?”
“Exactly,” Xu Yinglian said earnestly. “Not publicly increasing the reward doesn’t mean that there aren’t any private bounties.”
“If the Demon Cult truly wants to eliminate Senior Brother, and not just express an opposing stance through the reward, then choosing to lie low to lull Kunlun would be a more likely strategy.”
“Thank you for your concern, Junior Sister,” Qiu Changtian said with a gentle smile.
“Mhm.” Xu Yinglian had a hint of inexplicable shyness, but her expression remained flawlessly cool as she continued, “I think our family, the Xu Family’s stance, as conveyed by Grand Elder, is a bit hasty.”
“But I trust Senior Brother has his own judgment on this matter and doesn’t require my undue interjection…”
“Junior Sister.” Qiu Changtian suddenly clapped his hands and said, “There is one thing that I do need to earnestly seek Junior Sister’s opinion on.”
“What is it?” Xu Yinglian asked, widening her eyes in curiosity.
“Since we have become Daoist companions, shouldn’t we live together so that we can take care of each other in our daily lives?” Qiu Changtian said tenderly, “About the living arrangements after moving in together, I would like to ask for Junior Sister’s thoughts…”
“I have a pill furnace still working on elixirs in my abode!” Overwhelmed, Xu Yinglian quickly found an excuse to flee, “Let’s talk next time! Next time!”
“Don’t leave, Junior Sister!” Qiu Changtian was not willing to let her escape, “Senior Brother also has some understanding of alchemy; I can help Junior Sister with it!”
This topic had been brought up several times, and today he had to get an answer!