Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Hidden Front

"Master, good morning! Here are some flowers for you!"

Yun Miao took out a wild flower that she had prepared long ago from her storage bag and was about to go and improve her master's favorability for the day. However, as soon as she stood up, she found that there were several bright red stones like pigeon blood at her feet.

"What's this?"

She looked around in confusion and saw that a pit had appeared in the orchard in the distance. Xiao Hei was jumping out of the pit with a red stone in his mouth. He shook off the dirt on his body and then placed the red stone in front of her.

Sect Leader Chang walked over and said, "This is low-grade Red Yang Iron. It must have been buried here on purpose to prevent insects from infesting the roots of the peach trees."

Yun Miao squatted down and looked into the amber eyes of the dog with emotion: "Xiao Hei, do you think I like these stones, so you dug them specially for me?"

Xiao Hei nodded, and pushed the piece of Red Sun Iron towards Yun Miao again, sweeping his tail lightly behind him.

Yun Miao felt a lump in his throat for some reason, so he rushed over, hugged Xiao Hei in his arms, and rubbed his furry face.

"Xiao Hei, you're so nice! You're the second best puppy I've ever seen!"

Her voice gradually choked up. "Reserve food...it gave me stones before. Are you the reserve food I know? That bastard said he ate you, so he must be lying, right?"

Xiao Hei subconsciously wanted to shake his head, but finally stopped and let her hold him to wipe his tears.

When Master Chang saw his little disciple started crying while talking, he immediately asked her nervously what was going on.

Yun Miao rubbed against Xiao Hei's body. When she looked up again, her eyes were only slightly red. She hugged Xiao Hei gloomily and said, "Nothing, Master, let's start the class."

Although she could talk about the food reserves in a joking manner on the fairy boat, now... she didn't want to say anything.

Seeing this, Master Chang did not ask any more questions, but just secretly took note of the matter.

Tian Laokou transmitted a voice through the air: [Brother, please come to the medicine house later. I have something to tell you.]

*

Qifeng, animal shed.

More than a dozen winged tigers taller than humans were lazily lying in their respective dens. In addition to the main peak, there were such animal sheds on the eight immortal peaks and the outer disciples' peaks. The winged tigers raised in them were public mounts specially prepared by the sect for disciples who had not yet learned to fly.

These winged tigers possessed the ancient Qiongqi bloodline. While their intelligence was far inferior to that of the human-faced owl, their flying speed was five times that of the human-faced owl. Simply speak to one of them, and it would quickly carry the disciple to their destination.

Huo Xin flew from Ti Peak to Qi Peak on a winged tiger. At this moment, she was standing in the open space in front of the animal shed waiting.

Because of the heavy workload assigned by her master and the Enlightenment Hall these days, she hadn't had time to see Yun Miao, and could only contact her through the disciple order. Yesterday, she heard that Yun Miao was going to Qifeng to have someone forge that piece of top-grade Xuanxin ore into a magical instrument, so she and Tan Xiaobai squeezed out time to meet up at Qifeng together.

Firstly, they heard that the senior sister Pi Xixi that Yun Miao found had a bad reputation, and they were afraid that Yun Miao would be cheated.

Secondly, these newly-minted disciples had been led by Senior Sister Ning to the Li Lake to dig for treasure not long ago. She was lucky enough to dig up a piece of medium-grade Xuanxin ore, so she also wanted to come to Qifeng to see if she could forge a handy magic weapon. She could use it temporarily in the early stage, and then think about her own magic weapon when her cultivation level was improved and she had more money.

Soon, a huge black shadow appeared on the horizon.

When Huo Xin looked up, he saw a sturdy winged tiger holding Tan Xiaobai in its mouth and flying towards them with its huge wings flapping. Because the wind was too strong, Tan Xiaobai, who was wearing an apricot-yellow disciple uniform, was blown like a chicken with its feathers blown off.

When it was about to land, the winged tiger spat out the human being that was in the way in its mouth onto the ground, then glided gracefully into the animal shed and began to drink water.

Tan Xiaobai rolled on the ground for a few times and finally stopped at Huo Xin's feet.

Huo Xin wordlessly reached out and helped the man up: "What's wrong with you?"

Tan Xiao stood up with stars in his eyes, adjusting his hair crown and clothes at the same time.

"The other day, the senior sister who taught us in the introductory hall told us that the winged tiger was stupid and couldn't understand what people were saying. So, I suddenly had an idea and secretly called the winged tiger a big fool. I thought he wouldn't understand, but... "

He glanced angrily at the winged tiger in the animal shed, which had its rear end facing him: "Senior Sister, you have misled me!"

Huo Xin: "...Serves you right."

"Huo Xin! Xiaobai!"

At this moment, Yun Miao came riding on his sword in an elegant manner.

Tan Xiaobai immediately jumped up and down and waved: "Boss!"

When Huo Xin heard the voice, he was about to greet Yun Miao happily, but when he looked up, he saw the fat, short, strange wooden sword at her feet.

Although Huo Xin had heard Yun Miao talk about this wooden sword through the disciple order a long time ago, he couldn't help but look away. For a swordsman who pursues strength, this wooden sword that can't cause any harm to people and can only be used for fun is simply a deformity.

Obviously, Huo Xin was not the only one who thought so. A male sword disciple who met Yu Jian passing by burst into laughter at the sight of him.

"Your sword is so ugly! Where did you get it? Can a sword like this really hurt someone?"

Although Tan Xiaobai also felt that the boss's sword was strange, he still stepped forward with a stern face to support the boss.

"Stop talking nonsense. What's so ugly about the boss's sword? It's obvious that you don't know how to appreciate it!"

Yun Miao narrowed his eyes and landed calmly on the ground. "It's true that I can't hurt anyone. My master said that I'm too competitive. As the saying goes, too much strength can break easily, and showing off one's edge isn't necessarily a good thing. He was afraid that I'd hurt myself and others with a sharpened sword, so he made this for me himself. This sword is called Hidden Edge."

She held her Shangfang Bao sword horizontally, and stroked with her other hand with her fingers together, her tone deep.

"I really can't use it to hurt anyone now, but it's said that powerful sword cultivators can eventually transform even the most powerful flowers and leaves into swords. The reason the Sword Peak Master is called the Purple Bamboo Sword Master is because he once killed 100,000 demon cultivators with a single purple bamboo after his natal sword broke. He became famous in that one battle."

"Since the edgeless purple bamboo can kill a hundred thousand demon cultivators, my edgeless wooden sword can naturally do the same."

"Now I am hiding my edge within. When I achieve great mastery of the sword, I will be able to hide my edge without a blade, yet still possess a blade. This—this is the true meaning of this hidden edge. Brother, do you understand?"

The sword cultivator's laughter gradually faded, and his expression became serious. He first looked thoughtful, then rolled over to the ground, bowing to Yun Miao with sharp eyes.

"Thank you, junior sister, for your advice." He understood!

He pulled out a long brocade box from his storage bag and presented it with both hands: "Brother, I can't take advantage of you for nothing. I'm short of money and have nothing to thank you for. This is just a three-hundred-year-old water orchid that I picked not long ago. It's quite beautiful. Consider it a thank you gift."

Eh? Any thank you gift?

Isn't this a mockery of the plot, but a randomly refreshed easter egg mission, where you can get rich rewards as long as you meet the hidden conditions?

The small flame in Yun Miao's heart instantly extinguished, and he took the brocade box with a bright smile: "Thank you, Senior Brother, you are so polite. Take care, Senior Brother. I wish you a speedy success in swordsmanship!"

Huo Xin and Tan Xiaobai stood behind Yun Miao, watching this sudden change in amazement. Is this even possible?

After Yun Miao said goodbye to her generous senior brother, she turned around and saw Huo Xin looking at her with admiration in his eyes.

"I didn't expect you to have such a high level of understanding in the way of the sword. You've only been practicing swordsmanship for a dozen days, and you've already gained such a profound understanding of the way of the sword. It seems you're even stronger than I thought."

Perhaps due to the insights she had accumulated from her ten years of consistent sword training, she was able to absorb Qi into her body, aided by her daily medicinal baths, and enter the first level of Qi Refining soon after joining the Body Peak. After more than half a month of training, she successfully broke through to the second level yesterday, and couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself.

Now it seemed that she was far behind Yun Miao in both cultivation and state of mind. But it didn't matter, she would work hard to catch up.

Tan Xiaobai nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Yes, yes, Boss, you are really amazing!"

Huo Xin: "Before, I thought you were too aggressive in provoking Mo Aotian and agreeing to a duel with him in the ring. I didn't expect you to understand Zang Feng's intention so quickly."

Tan Xiaobai: "Yes, yes, I was almost scared to death when I heard that you fainted in the ring. It was really too reckless. But the facts have proven that you are indeed the most powerful. Even Mo Aotian is no match for you. Just now, that senior brother was impressed by your wisdom after just one encounter!"

Huo Xin: "Especially the last sentence, 'Hidden edge, no edge, but also has edge', is really thought-provoking."

Tan Xiaobai: "That's right, that's right, it's deafening!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Yun Miao was confused for a moment, then suddenly realized. She glanced in the direction where the senior brother left, and only after making sure that the other party had gone far away did she confide in her two friends.

"Didn't I tell you before about this wooden sword that Master carved for me? He was just trying to prevent me from causing trouble with a sharpened sword. He even said that if I had the guts, I'd use this fat sword to stab someone..."

"This is the sword he carved for me from a piece of broken wood he picked up at Danfeng. He didn't even give it a name. 'Cangfeng' is just something I just came up with. How could you actually believe it?"

Tan Xiaobai was shocked: "What? Boss, you said that a single purple bamboo can kill 100,000 demon cultivators. Naturally, a bladeless wooden sword can also do that. And there's also a hidden blade and no blade..."

Yun Miao said confidently, "Of course I'm just bragging. He just laughed at my sword, it would be embarrassing if I didn't say anything. And bragging doesn't cost any contribution points anyway."

Huo Xin was astonished: "Just... bragging?"

"Yeah, bragging."

Yun Miao threw the Shangfang Bao Sword into the storage bag and said calmly and proudly, "What do you mean by hiding my edge? I don't want to hide it. I just want to show off my edge, to shine brightly and blind everyone's eyes."

It doesn't matter that her master didn't give her a sharpened sword, she made a colorful sword herself, and then chased after others and stabbed them hard! Hehehe!

Tan Xiaobai pondered deeply.

Tan Xiaobai suddenly understood.

Tan Xiaobai gave a thumbs-up in admiration again: "As expected of you, Boss. You can brag so majestically. I've learned a lot from you, little brother!"

Huo Xin, whose mind was already confused:...What on earth are you learning?

"Hey, what are you standing there for? Let's go."

Yun Miao stepped forward and took Huo Xin's arm. At the same time, he turned around and told Tan Xiaobai to hurry up: "Senior Sister Pi Xixi is very busy. We can't be late."

The three of them slowly walked towards the disciple residence of Qi Peak. In order to make it convenient for the disciples to travel, the animal sheds of each peak were very close to the disciple residence.

At the same time, two people were riding on clouds high above their heads. The man and the woman were both wearing wide robes with big sleeves, and their feet were on auspicious clouds. The strong wind in the sky made their sleeves flutter, and their black hair dance wildly, giving them the demeanor of immortals.

They stopped and glanced down, and only continued to ride the cloud forward after Yun Miao and the other two had gone far away. In a blink of an eye, they were above Jianfeng.

A stern-faced man had a jade-colored bamboo stalk tucked into his waist. He looked like the bamboo forest at Jianfeng Peak, quiet and solemn, his back always straight, a hint of old-fashionedness evident. This man was Jianfeng Peak Master, Purple Bamboo Sword Master Che Ruojin.

The woman was dressed in blue, with a gentle face and a sword scabbarded in a navy blue at her waist. She tilted her head with a smile, "Is that your new disciple?"

"No. That's the master's new disciple."

Che Ruojin pushed aside the mist and pointed at a small black dot on the sword peak below. "That's the disciple I recently accepted. Like you, he was born with a sword bone and a gold-type spiritual root."

"Is he actually the disciple of Master Chang?"

The woman glanced down at the gray-clad youth practicing swordplay beneath the waterfall. "Although your disciple appears to be very talented, I still find that girl more interesting. She's holding the Hidden Blade, and even muttering the phrase 'Hidden Blade', but she's incredibly arrogant, her brilliance clearly on display. Truly a fine sword sharpened to the point of sharpening its edge."

She pressed down the cloud and landed in a secluded bamboo forest.

"If only I had met her a few years earlier, I could have taught her a few tricks."

Che Ruojin said coldly, "Sword Immortal Shui Furong from a few years ago would never say such a thing."

Shui Furong smiled brightly as she sat on a stone bench in the bamboo forest. "Oh? What do you think I'll say?"

Che Ruojin lowered his eyes and raised his hand to touch the purple bamboo at his waist. "You only know how to say that this little girl is so interesting and should be my disciple. What? She is the young disciple that Master Chang just accepted? Che Ruojin, help me prepare a sturdy and beautiful sack. If someone comes and asks you if you saw the robbers who kidnapped Master Chang's beloved disciple, just say you saw nothing."

"Hey, hey, even if we're close friends, you can't just smear my innocence. I'm not a fool, how could I possibly ask you for a sack? Isn't that Qing waiting for you to bring Sect Leader Chang to arrest me?"

Shui Furong laughed heartily: "I will just leave you alone, take that girl and leave. By then, it will be too late for you to pursue me."

Che Ruojin raised his eyes and looked over: "If you like, you can go and teach her a few more of your unique skills now. But remember to send it back at night, otherwise the leader will be furious and scold you."

Seeing that he seemed serious, Shui Furong couldn't help but put away her smile.

"No, after all, you know my sword... is broken."

Everyone knows that Sword Master and Sword Immortal are close friends. Everyone also knows that Purple Bamboo Sword Master's natal sword was broken many years ago when the Demon Cult attacked Xuantian Sect. Since then, Sword Master has only used bamboo as a sword.

But few people know that the Sword Immortal's sword had actually been broken long ago. Now, inserted in the scabbard is just a broken sword with only the hilt and half of the blade.

Che Ruojin looked at her sharply and said, "If your sword is broken, just get another one. If you're like me and don't want to refine your natal sword anymore, then you can chop down anything in my purple bamboo forest you want."

Shui Furong smiled again, but her smile was bitter: "You know, I am different from you."

Her hand touched the scabbard, and her voice was as light as a flowing cloud, which disappeared with a gust of wind: "The sword at the waist can be replaced, but what should I do if the sword in my heart is broken?"

*

The buildings on each peak usually have some of the characteristics of the peak. For example, the overall style of the Danfeng architecture is more pastoral, and there is a large vegetable garden in front of and behind the disciples' residence.

Every disciple of Danfeng has his or her own exclusive vegetable garden. This not only makes it convenient for alchemists to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of various spiritual plants through planting, but also makes it convenient for them to be used whenever they want. As soon as the spiritual plants are picked, they are put into the alchemy furnace and refined into delicious pills, ensuring that they are fresh and pollution-free, and you will want to eat them again and again.

The architectural style of Qifeng, in Yunmiao's opinion, was remarkably magical. Looking down from Qifeng's heights, one could see numerous gigantic compasses, gourds, pagodas, and tortoise shells, scattered across the mountaintop, mid-mountain, and foot. From time to time, people were seen entering and exiting.

They looked like magical weapons, but were actually buildings. They might have been considered merely buildings, but in reality... they were truly magical weapons. Furthermore, each one was a top-grade spiritual treasure crafted by the masters of the previous Qi Peaks.

Once any unusual movement occurs, these seemingly harmless magic weapons will immediately wake up, either turning into a defensive state to protect all the disciples inside, or turning into an offensive state to fly up and kill everyone.

Yun Miao was envious of this. After all, who wouldn't want to live in a luxurious, fully-furnished tank armored vehicle? However...

She looked up at the huge bronze tripod half-buried in the ground, her eyes filled with shock. "I understand the principle, but why is the disciple residence of Qifeng a huge tripod?"

This huge bronze tripod is covered in green rust, bearing the heavy marks of time. About two-thirds of it is buried deep underground, including the tripod feet, with only the upper half of the tripod exposed above ground.

But even this small part is a hundred meters high, with a sense of reaching straight into the sky, trying to compete with the heavens for height. People standing below it are like tiny ants, forcing people to tilt their heads as high as possible to see its top.

Huo Xin was also gazing at the giant bronze tripod with astonishment. Upon hearing this, he sighed, "This Heaven and Earth Tripod is no ordinary artifact. It's a top-grade spiritual treasure that our ancestor brought back from the ancient Xuantian Sect ruins. Because the Heaven and Earth Tripod had always been on Qi Peak and was difficult to move, as it was large and took up too much space, a certain generation of the sect leader simply designated it as a residence for Qi Peak disciples."

"First, I hope that disciples can comprehend the meaning of 'The Heavenly Dao uses the heaven and earth as a cauldron to refine all living things, alchemists use metal and wood as a cauldron to refine the five elements, and cultivators use themselves as a cauldron to refine the Dao heart.' Second, the Heaven and Earth Cauldron itself is a top-grade spiritual treasure. The disciples of Qi Peak, living within it year-round and being influenced by it, are likely to gain a deeper understanding of refining."

Yun Miao suddenly realized that this large pot... no, large cauldron had a serious meaning. She had thought that the head of Qi Peak, Yang Yan, was the female leader of a cannibal tribe who enjoyed drinking human flesh and bone soup. However... "What are the ancient Xuantian Sect ruins?"

Huo Xin was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, "I almost forgot that you have been punished to farm these days and have not gone to the Enlightenment Hall with us, so you don't know these things. It seems that I will have to make time to help you make up for it later."

She was about to explain to Yun Miao when Tan Xiaobai next to her immediately realized that this was a good time to show her courtesy to the boss.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

Seeing how enthusiastic he was, Huo Xin stepped aside and said, "Okay, then you can do it."

Tan Xiaobai immediately cleared his throat and began to speak in a rhythmic manner about the history of Xuantian Sect that the senior sister from the Enlightenment Hall had taught them.

In ancient times, a horrific, yet unknown, catastrophe struck, wiping out humanity and extinguishing countless traditions. After the catastrophe, humanity thrived again after tens of thousands of years, and the world of cultivation began to prosper once again.

It was also during that period that people discovered the ruins of ancient sects and found many lost traditions from them.

Those who inherited the ancient traditions were grateful for this favor, and to repay their debts and repay their karma, many, after achieving success in cultivation, chose to rebuild their own sects on the ruins of their predecessors, recruiting disciples and thus renewing the legacy of these long-lost sects. The founder of the Xuantian Sect was one of these individuals.

"It's said that the Grandmother, being hunted by the enemy, was forced to flee into the Xuantian Mountains. However, at that time, the Xuantian Mountains were the lair of many vicious demons, and the deeper you went, the more dangerous it became. There were truly hundreds of ghosts and demons, a multitude of demons dancing wildly, mountains of corpses and blood, and forests of bones."

The young man in apricot-yellow clothes quickly opened his folding fan, his face serious. "Grandmother Ancestor was horrified, thinking this was the end. Could this be her final resting place? However, there is always a way out. Our Grandmother Ancestor was blessed by heaven and had great fortune, so she was not destined to die."

"Instead, her luck turned, and she unexpectedly discovered the ancient ruins of the Xuantian Sect hidden deep within the mountains. After overcoming numerous dangers, she found many inheritances and magical treasures within. The Ladder to Heaven, the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth, and the Xuantian Ring currently worn on the Sect Leader's thumb are three of the highest-grade ancient magical treasures she found in the ruins.

"As the saying goes, no matter how powerful a high-level magic weapon is, it can't compare to a spiritual lower-grade spiritual treasure. The power of a top-grade spiritual treasure is naturally self-evident. However, the Grandmother Ancestor knew that she had too many enemies. Even with three spiritual treasures protecting her, it was not yet time to leave. So, she immersed herself in cultivation in the ruins, entering a state of selflessness."

"One hundred years later, just when her enemies thought she had long since perished in the Xuantian Mountains, she emerged from her seclusion, her strength greatly increased. First, she fought back to avenge the day's pursuit, then she gradually devoured the land, finally slaughtering the entire Xuantian Mountains, completely restoring peace and prosperity to this vast expanse of beautiful mountains and rivers!"

"Finally, the Grandmother, grateful for the kindness the ancient Xuantian Sect ruins had shown her, established the current Xuantian Sect on the site of the ruins, and it dominated the region. Tens of thousands of years later, through the unremitting efforts of more than a dozen generations of sect leaders and disciples, it has earned the reputation of being the world's number one sect."

The young man put away his folding fan, stood with his hands behind his back, and gazed up at the huge bronze tripod, as if sighing softly for that turbulent era: "Calculating the time... it's almost been a Yuanhui since the ancient catastrophe."

"Are the classes in the Enlightenment Hall so interesting?"

Yun Miao said suspiciously, "This story sounds quite interesting, but...why does it reek of a third-rate melodramatic story?"

"Because he just read too many storybooks and is talking nonsense."

Huo Xin speechlessly elbowed Tan Xiaobai, who was blocking his way, and said that the plot of the story was correct, but there were not so many messy descriptions at all.

Yun Miao understood: I understand. What Tan Xiaobai said and what Senior Sister Qimengtang said is the complete difference between unofficial history and official history. The unofficial one is just shit.

-----------------------

The author has something to say: Tan Xiaobai: It is said that the grandmother of the founder was being hunted by the enemy. Although she had seen the enemy raising a fork to stab her, she remained calm in her heart. She just twisted her body and escaped from the fork. Before escaping into the mountains, she sneered and said, "Three hundred years in the east, three hundred years in the west, don't look down on me, I am poor!"

Grandmother: ...Come here, drag this unfilial disciple out and shoot him with arrows a hundred times. If he's not dead, shoot him a thousand times!