Chapter 45 Duanmu (Part 4) So rich.

One night, Qingxing returned the books she had borrowed from the mansion's study the day before. On her way back, she heard a commotion in the misty forest. Thinking that a disciple was cultivating so diligently, she decided to go and take a look, to study the differences between the Duanmu family's cultivators.

But as soon as she entered, she realized that the person in the misty forest was none other than Duanmu Tingzhu, who had been clamoring to go to sleep since dusk.

The moonlight shone down, refracting the bamboo branches in the misty forest in various shapes and sizes. Duanmu Tingzhu stood in front of these bamboo branches, constantly flicking talisman paper in his hand, one after another. It seemed that he would not give up until he could use a talisman technique that satisfied him.

Qingxing watched quietly. The talisman paper that she had picked up casually now seemed to weigh a ton in Duanmu Tingzhu's hands. He held one in one hand, straining so hard that his knuckles turned white.

The darkness swallowed most of the noise, and the Blood Peach Forest fell into silence. But the quieter it was, the more jarring the popping sounds of the talismans became. And those off-key popping sounds were like slaps to his face.

"Please..." After wasting several talismans, Duanmu Tingzhu changed to a two-handed posture. He unfolded the talisman, bit his finger, and drew on it forcefully.

The handwriting was crooked and uneven, yet it was more profound than ever before.

As the last stroke was made, a drop of water fell on top of the ink.

Duanmu Tingzhu lowered his head, and Qingxing couldn't tell whether it was sweat or tears.

“…Guide Kunling!” Qingxing heard him whisper.

The ground trembled for a moment, then returned to calm.

After a few moments of silence, Duanmu Tingzhu spoke again in a trembling voice: "Summon Kunling!"

A few green caterpillars flew by, and a pebble slid down from a height.

Qingxing lowered her eyes and slightly moved her fingers.

At the same time, Duanmu Tingzhu's heart was filled with anger and resentment. He suddenly raised his hand and slammed the talisman on the ground: "I said, Yin Kunling!"

The moment the talisman touched the ground, a muffled shout came from below. Duanmu Tingzhu was stunned. A moment later, thick stone walls suddenly rose up around him, with sand and stones falling from the walls, and in no time he was completely surrounded.

But the wall only rose halfway before it stopped.

Duanmu Tingzhu watched quietly. After a few moments, he stepped forward and gently stroked the earthen wall.

In his eyes, everything around him became increasingly blurry.

After a long while, he pursed his lips, slowly squatted down, buried his head in his arms, and murmured, "I will be the number one talisman cultivator in the world..."

In the misty forest, the chirping of insects and birds made Duanmu Tingzhu's sobbing sound seem insignificant.

When he was pierced by the spiritual net by the tethering thread, he felt no pain, at least that's what he thought at the time.

Jiu Qu Chen had already cleaned the silk threads inside his body, leaving none behind.

But Duanmu Tingzhu always felt that the thread was still inside him, and when he saw his mother, the thread took root firmly in his heart.

The roots grew deeper and deeper, even sprouting thorns that pierced through every moment he touched the talisman.

The boy's cries were faint and fragmented. Qingxing watched, her right hand rising and falling again. After struggling several times, she finally turned away, leaving Duanmu Tingzhu space to vent.

Xuan Ying had warned them beforehand that the massive teleportation array could cause discomfort and asked them to prepare accordingly. So the next day, even though she was so sleepy she couldn't tell which way was which, Qing Xing still upheld her principle of "keeping her word" and went to each of her fellow disciples' rooms to wake them up from their deep sleep.

Chen Mo and Wenren Xi didn't need her to call them. Xie Yuzhou was also the type to wake up immediately at the slightest sound. The hardest ones to get up were Shen Wan, who loved staying up late, and Duanmu Tingzhu, who had stayed up all night for some unspeakable reason.

"Senior sister, can you braid my hair?" Shen Wan said, her eyes still closed, as she wrapped herself in the blanket. Her voice was soft and sticky. "I don't want to get up!"

Qingxing wasn't buying it and said calmly, "Who was it that insisted I supervise you last night?"

She paused for a moment, then added, "Tingzhu is already up."

"Who can compare with him in this respect!" Shen Wan rolled over, wrapping herself up like a dumpling. Then, as if thinking of something, she chuckled. "Senior Sister's unique teleportation array is amazing, more powerful than any other teleportation array! Senior Sister, could you use a teleportation array to send me directly to my bed in the Northern Wilderness Continent?"

Qingxing shook her head helplessly. She waved her hand, and the Endless Wood beside her immediately flew to the bed. A tender bud sprouted from the tip of the Endless Wood staff, quietly approaching the face of the girl who was pretending to be asleep on the bed. Then, it quickly and lightly tickled her nose. Shen Wan felt as if she had been pricked by a needle and sat up from the bed with a "whoosh".

"Achoo!"

Shen Wan poked her head out from under the covers, rubbing her nose and loudly protesting, "How could Senior Sister do this!"

"Can't you get up now?" Qingxing pulled her over, tore off the blanket like a crab, and folded it neatly to the side.

"The rooster hasn't even crowed yet, and you're already telling me to get up." Shen Wan muttered under her breath, unwilling to get out of bed.

She sat down in front of the dressing mirror, stared blankly at her messy hair for a long time, and finally pouted and pretended to cry, "Waaah, senior sister, I don't know how to braid hair."

"The rooster crowed way too long ago." Seeing how lazy she was, Qingxing simply took out a communication talisman and whispered, "Xie Yuzhou, Shen Wan doesn't know how to comb her hair, you do it..."

But before she could finish speaking, Shen Wan suddenly unleashed Jiu Ming, the icy blue sword energy piercing through the talisman and pinning it straight to the wall, where it formed a thin layer of frost.

Qingxing maintained the posture of pinching the talisman and slowly turned her head to look at her.

"Haha, haha, I'm so sorry, Senior Sister..." Shen Wan's cheeks flushed red. She chuckled awkwardly and scratched her head. "I can actually comb hair a little... such a small thing... there's no need to trouble Senior Brother..."

"Okay." Qingxing lowered her hand. "Then I'll wait for you in the Misty Forest."

Under Shen Wan's guilty gaze, she closed the door and walked towards the misty forest.

It was the coolest time of summer. The sun gradually rose, and the clear sunlight lazily shone on the white walls and blue tiles of the mansion, casting shimmering reflections on the corridor pillars and walls.

The past few days have felt like a famine, with daily memories flowing through her mind like a stream, and Qingxing feels like she is constantly on the move.

Now that things have calmed down, it's the first time she's properly observed the Duanmu residence.

In addition to their own children, the Duanmu family recruits students from outside the family every year to protect the Blood Peach Forest. They recruit a large number of students each time.

They have their own unique spell system, which is enough to put them in the middle of the pack even among the major sects. In addition, they receive a lot of spirit stones every month, so the number of people who come to participate in the entrance test is even greater.

The test was not strict, and the number of people who passed depended entirely on the whim of the homeowner.

If the cultivation sects in the world were ranked by the number of people, the Duanmu family would be far ahead of the rest.

Therefore, on the way to the Misty Forest, Qingxing could see groups of Duanmu family disciples at any corner. They were either busy practicing various spells or running and jumping to train their physical fitness. In short, none of them were idle.

Even in the pavilions used for resting, you can see two or three cultivators reciting sword techniques.

Qingxing glanced at it briefly, pondering in her mind: With so many cultivators to support, and monthly wages only increasing, wouldn't the Duanmu family's treasury really be in debt?

She glanced at the exquisite paintings overhead, and combined them with the aerial view she had seen before, thinking that the mansion occupied about one-tenth of the Blood Peach Forest, yet it was still so exquisitely built...

Even when expanding a small scripture pavilion on Mount Taihua, they couldn't bear to spend too much effort on the details.

The Duanmu family is really rich.

I wonder if he has paid off Duanmu Tingzhu's debt yet.

Qingxing's mind wandered for a while, and soon she arrived at the misty forest.

The first person she saw was Duanmu Tingzhu, who looked listless and was lying on his side with his right hand as a pillow.

Wenren Xi took a peeled egg and gently rolled it over his eyes, complaining as she did so, "Junior brother, did you go steal a cow last night? You're almost turning into a little bear."

“Why would the young master steal a cow?” Qingxing said, walking over and tapping his temple with one hand.

Nourished by spiritual energy, Duanmu Tingzhu felt much better. He opened one eye and calmly said, "I didn't steal the cow. I went to practice talisman techniques."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was stunned.

During these days, although Duanmu Tingzhu also cultivated with them, he still had a knot in his heart. Each time, he only practiced basic spells such as mental cultivation and spiritual power circulation, and never touched the talisman in front of them.

They all avoided talking about it, but unexpectedly, he brought it up himself.

"What?" Duanmu Tingzhu rolled her eyes at their silence and said arrogantly, "Am I the kind of person who resigns myself to fate? No matter who wants to cripple me or make me never touch talismans again, I won't let them have their way. I'll cultivate myself. Not only will I cultivate myself, I'll become the number one talisman cultivator in the world!"

"What talent limitation? I can succeed even without that thing!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and finally stood up, his chest heaving violently.

"Okay." Although she didn't know what he had been thinking about all night and why he had suddenly become so insightful, Qingxing nodded and said affirmatively, "I believe you."

Wenren Xi looked at him with a smile: "I also believe in my junior brother."

Chen Mo didn't speak, but simply extended one hand and gave Duanmu Tingzhu a thumbs up.

Seeing everyone's support, Duanmu Tingzhu felt embarrassed. He rubbed his burning cheeks, and just as he was feeling a little lost, Shen Wan arrived.

Xie Yuzhou was following behind him.

"Junior brother, why did you draw two black bugs under your eyes?" Shen Wanren's voice reached everyone's ears even before he got close.

Duanmu Tingzhu rolled her eyes again: "Why don't you talk about yourself? Your soul is still in bed, you're even swaying when you walk!"

The two started bickering back and forth. Seeing that Duanmu Tingzhu was really alright, Qingxing sat down on the stone bench and poured herself a cup of tea.

"Junior sister, we're going to the Northern Wilderness Continent. Are you nervous?" Wenren Xi asked with a smile.

Qingxing took a sip of tea: "I'm not nervous."

Wenren Xi shrugged: "I think you should be a little nervous."

Qingxing asked in confusion, "Why?"

Wenren Xi: "For no reason, after all, the martial arts arena is a gathering place for many heroes."

Qingxing raised her eyebrows slightly but did not answer.

"Hey, stop playing around, let's go!" Jiu Qu Chen suddenly appeared out of nowhere, shouting and interrupting the group's conversation.

"Aren't you leaving at night?" Xie Yuzhou asked, echoing everyone's thoughts.

“Yes, that’s right.” Shen Wan glanced at the azure sky. “It’s only just past noon, it’s not even dark yet!”

"Who told you you could only leave at night?" Jiu Quchen glared at him. "We're here to visit, not to steal! It's so impolite to go so late at night."

After saying that, seeing that no one reacted, he clicked his tongue and tossed a few Qiankun bags to Qingxing: "Gather at the teleportation array in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"

"Okay," Qingxing replied, distributing the bags to the others.

Only Qingxing responded to him, while the other disciples either looked up at the sky or down at the ground. After several comparisons, Qingxing appeared to be the more obedient one.

Jiu Quchen clicked his tongue, feeling fortunate: Luckily, he had taken in a well-behaved disciple. The sect leader's two beloved disciples were ADHD and autism, and he didn't know how she managed to get through it.

He clicked his tongue and suddenly realized that he hadn't heard his elder sister's voice transmission for a long time.

Once things settle down in the Northern Wilderness, he'll definitely give Jiu Chaoying a good chance to play the victim!

Qingxing quickly finished packing her things. When she arrived at the teleportation array, besides Duanmu Yi and some other cultivators, only Xuan Ying and Chen Mo were waiting there.

After waiting for another incense stick's time, the others gradually arrived. The Duanmu family cultivators surrounded them in a circle, forming hand seals in preparation for activating the magic array.

"My God, it's full of spirit stones!" Guda stared at the wide, recessed trench around her, her eyes shining as it was filled with spirit stones.

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Tingzhu said smugly, "Hmph, my family is richer than a country."

"Heh, young master of the Duanmu family, who's richer than a country, how about giving me some money?" Guda sneered.

Duanmu Tingzhu clutched her wallet tightly: "No way! Father only just agreed to let me travel, and the money he gave me was too little!"

Qingxing stood beside Jiuquchen, listening to their childish words, and gently shook her head.

"Wishing you all smooth sailing and resounding success!"

Duanmu Yi raised his hand, and the cultivators from all directions simultaneously poured spiritual power into the spirit stones in the ditch. The spirit stones ignited, forming a white light barrier that surrounded the people from Taihua Mountain.

Qingxing's vision gradually blurred, and the buzzing in her ears grew louder. Suddenly, Jiu Quchen's voice broke into her ears.

He laughed nonchalantly, "I've heard that the Northern Wilderness Continent has a wide variety of delicious food. I'll definitely have to sample it properly when I get there."

Qingxing didn't know who he was talking to, so she remained silent.

The white light grew brighter and brighter, enveloping everyone's faces. Before entering the compressed space, Qingxing vaguely saw a figure rushing towards Duanmu Yi and saying something to him.

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Yi raised his hand towards them, waving it repeatedly, his mouth opening and closing as if he were saying something.

"Your father is saying goodbye to you," Shen Wan reminded Duanmu Tingzhu.

Tingzhu didn't even look up: "Don't lie to me, my father never does that!"

Qingxing looked at Duanmu Yi, who was still waving, and whispered, "She didn't lie to you."

But as soon as Duanmu Tingzhu looked up, the teleportation array was activated, and everyone instantly disappeared from Duanmu's residence, leaving behind a blank space.

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Author's Note: Next dungeon is here! [Lower-eared rabbit head]