Chapter 91 Extra: Yue Qingyuan and Shen Qingqiu

1

With a loud clang.

Shen Jiu kicked the small, dark wooden basin away.

He crossed his arms and remained silent. The boy, who appeared to be either fifteen or fourteen, shrank back.

His younger brothers around him were all giving him encouraging looks, but he steeled himself and said defiantly, "Chen Jiu, don't be so domineering. This street wasn't bought by you, so why can't we be here too!"

The street was wide and flat, bustling with people. Some pedestrians watched the children fight, while most others hurried by.

If one were to beg, this would indeed be an auspicious place.

This kid dared to challenge him. Shen Jiu lowered his head, ready to grab a brick and teach him a lesson, when a tall boy walked over. Seeing Shen Jiu roll up his sleeves and lower his head, he quickly came up and stopped him: "Xiao Jiu, let's go somewhere else."

Shen Jiu said, "I'm not going. I'll stay here."

The boy seized the opportunity to complain: "Seventh Brother, he bullied me."

Yue Qi said, "I'm not bullying you, Fifteen, Little Nine is just joking with you."

Shen Jiu said, "Who's joking with him? I'm telling him to get lost. This is my territory, and I'll kill anyone who tries to take it from me."

With Yue Qi blocking their way, Shiwu grew bolder and shouted, "Don't think you're so great! You always hogging the best spots in every new place. Everyone's been wanting to beat you up for a long time!"

Yue Qingyuan scolded, "Fifteen." Shen Jiu, struggling, kicked Yue Qi's shin: "You want to beat me? You dare to? You're incompetent, so you blame the place. You bastard, who's your Seventh Brother? Try saying that again!"

"You're the bastard! You'll be sold off sooner or later! Sold to be a pimp!"

Yue Qi was both amused and exasperated: "Where did you learn such nonsense!" She pulled Chen Jiu toward the side of the road while coaxing her: "Alright, you're the most capable. We don't care where we are, let's go to another street."

Chen Jiu stomped on his foot: "Get out of my way! Are you afraid of him? We're not afraid of a one-on-one fight, or even a group fight!"

Yue Qi knew, of course, that if Shen Jiu really fought with them, he would resort to underhanded tactics, gouging out eyes and groin, he was really vicious. In the end, it would be others who would suffer and cry in fear. He suppressed a laugh and said, "Have you stepped on enough? Stop stepping on me. Brother Qi will take you to play."

Shen Jiu said fiercely, "Play my ass! It would be fun if they all died."

Yue Qi looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

If there are seven and nine, then naturally there are one to six.

However, among the early adopters, those aged 6 and above were either resold or died prematurely.

Shen Jiu was a thin, small bundle. Yue Qi held his head as they sat on the ground. In front of them was a "blood letter" that read: "My brother and parents are dead. I am searching for my relatives in another place. I am lonely, miserable, and adrift."

According to the instructions, Yue Qi should have cried loudly, but he couldn't cry no matter what he did, so this task always fell to Shen Jiu, who was supposed to be pretending to be half-dead from illness.

He's small, but has a pretty face. When he cries, he bursts into tears, and passersby, feeling sorry for him, readily give him money. Calling him a money tree is no exaggeration.

As Yue Qi grew older, he became increasingly unwilling to do this kind of work, so he was assigned to keep watch and patrol.

Just as the two were about to leave the busiest street, they suddenly heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves.

The vendors on both sides were terrified; some pushed their carts away, while others ran for their lives, as if facing a formidable enemy. Yue Qi was confused. Just as Shen Jiu pulled him to the side of the road, a tall, magnificent horse galloped around the street.

The horse's bit was actually made of pure gold, gleaming and heavy, and atop it sat a spirited young master. His face was strikingly beautiful, with long, narrow eyebrows and eyes, and two piercingly bright points in his dark pupils. The hem of his purple robe flared wide on either side of the saddle, while the sleeves were tightly cinched, and a jet-black whip was held in his fair hand.

Shen Jiu was dazzled by the golden light and couldn't help but stick his head out. Yue Qi quickly pulled him back, and the two of them moved away from each other.

They hadn't gone far when they suddenly heard screams and a deafening roar. A group of his underlings rushed over and threw themselves at Yue Qi, their noses and eyes smeared with tears. Shen Jiu was furious, and Yue Qi quickly asked, "Why are you crying? What happened?"

Someone cried out in despair, "Fifteen is gone!"

Yue Qi immediately stopped in his tracks: "He didn't follow?"

The child wailed, "The street was too chaotic just now, I didn't see clearly..."

Yue Qi said, "Don't rush, tell me slowly."

It turned out that the young master on horseback, leading his servants, had turned the corner of the street and caught sight of Fifteen and his group out of the corner of his eye. He wrinkled his nose and asked, "Where did you come from?"

A servant said, "Young Master Qiu, I wonder where this beggar came from."

The young master said, "What's the point of keeping these filthy things?"

Without needing further instructions from their master, the servants brazenly came over and drove the people away.

Fifteen had finally managed to wrest the territory from Chen Jiu, so how could she be willing to be driven away like this? She stretched out her neck and shouted, "What right do you have to kick me out..."

He was about to say, "This street isn't yours," when the young master waved his hand, and a dark shadow fell, leaving a bloody whip mark on his face.

The whip mark was only millimeters away from his eyeball. Fifteen didn't even have time to feel the pain; he was just stunned.

The young master smiled brightly and said, "For no reason other than that this street was built by my family."

Fifteen, whether from fright or pain, collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Shen Jiu burst into laughter before he could finish listening, but his laughter quickly faded. Yue Qi counted the people and found a few missing. He turned around and said, "You go first, I'll be right there."

Shen Jiu gloated: "Don't meddle in other people's business. Does that guy surnamed Qiu really dare to kill them?"

Yue Qi shook his head and said, "You go back first. I'm the eldest, I can't just ignore this."

Shen Jiu said, "He won't die. At most, he'll get a beating. If he doesn't die, he'll learn his lesson."

Yue Qi said, "Let's go back."

Shen Jiu couldn't stop him and scolded, "Seventh Brother, you're meddling too much!"

After he finished cursing, he followed.

2

Qiu Jianluo thought Chen Jiu was very fun.

It's like hitting a dog. If you hit a dog, it will droop its head and cower to the side, whimpering. It's not much of a threat, but it's also not very interesting. But if you step on the dog, it will growl softly, look at you fearfully, and dare not fight back. That's much more interesting.

He slapped Shen Jiu across the face. Shen Jiu must have cursed the Qiu family's ancestral graves a hundred and eighteen times in his heart, but he still had to obediently take the kick and obediently offer his face for him to hit.

It's so much fun!

Qiu Jianluo couldn't help but laugh out loud as she thought about it.

Shen Jiu had just received a good beating and was cowering to the side with his head in his hands. Seeing him laughing so hard that he was bent over, he really thought he was crazy.

When Qiu Jianluo first bought Chen Jiu, she kept him locked up for a few days until he was covered in dust and dirt. When he felt disgusted with himself, he picked him up like a kitten and handed him over to a few burly servants to "wash and clean" him.

So, Shen Jiu was thoroughly thrashed, his skin almost scraped off, before he was carried back to the study.

After scalding away the years of grime, her face, shoulders, and arms, rubbed so vigorously, appeared rosy and white, and her damp hair still steamed. Dressed neatly and standing respectfully to the side, she looked rather pitiful.

Qiu Jianlu tilted her head and looked at it for a long time. She felt a little strange and a little fond of it. She didn't kick it out as she had originally intended.

He asked, "Can you read?"

Shen Jiu whispered, "I recognize a few."

Qiu Jianlu spread out a sheet of snow-white paper and tapped the table: "Write it down for me to see."

Shen Jiu reluctantly picked up a small wolf-hair brush, but his grip was quite proper. He dipped his brush in ink, thought for a moment, and first wrote a "seven," then paused and wrote a "nine."

Although the strokes are reversed, they are neither crooked nor slanted, but rather upright and elegant. Qiu Jianluo asked, "Where did you learn that?"

Shen Jiu said, "It depends on who wrote it."

This kid knows nothing but blindly copying, yet he manages to fool people. Qiu Jianluo was greatly surprised.

So he became even more amiable, mimicking the tone of his former teacher, and praised, "You have some talent. If you're willing to study hard in the future, you might be able to get on the right path."

Qiu Jianluo is four years older than Chen Jiu. At the age of sixteen, she is highly regarded by her parents. Raised in a house built of gold bricks, she doesn't care about anyone else. Her only precious darling is her younger sister, Haitang.

Haitang was the apple of the Qiu family's eye, and Qiu Jianluo had always been a good older brother to her. In the past, he wished his sister would never marry, but after Chen Jiu arrived, he had other plans.

Qiu Haitang really likes Shen Jiu.

If we can teach Shen Jiu well, becoming a son-in-law wouldn't be bad. With my sister around, I can keep Shen Jiu around for fun. As long as he's obedient, everything will be fine.

Marrying him means no need to travel far, and you'll still have to rely on your own family for food, clothing, and daily necessities—it's practically the same as not being married at all. Aside from the possibility that he might be a bit of a scoundrel trying to get his hands on a swan, there's almost nothing wrong with him.

Qiu Jianluo had a pretty good plan, and she often warned Chen Jiu: "If you dare to make Haitang unhappy, I'll make sure you lose your life."

"Without the crabapple blossoms, I would have killed you long ago."

"People should be grateful and repay kindness. Our family has made you a decent human being, so even if you were to repay us with your life, it would be the least you could do."

The older Shen Jiu got, the more she understood that she couldn't disobey this person in the slightest. She had to do whatever he said, even if she felt disgusted inside, she couldn't show it, otherwise she would be beaten.

But deep down, he always missed the day he first met Qiu Jianluo, the only day he ever drove that beast Qiu Jianluo to madness.

Yue Qi insisted on taking Shiwu and the others back, and they were about to run into Qiu Jianluo's horse. In that instant, Shen Jiu forgot Yue Qi's warning that their "magical arts" should not be seen by others, and the gold turned into a sharp blade, piercing into the horse's bones.

Qiu Jianluo spurred his horse around in circles in the street, the horse bucking wildly. Chen Jiu cursed inwardly, wishing it would fall off and break its neck, but surprisingly, his riding skills were superb. Even with the horse's front hooves dangling in the air, he remained firmly seated on the saddle, roaring, "Who did this?! Who did this!"

Of course, it was Shen Jiu who did it.

However, if Shiwu hadn't spoken up when Qiu Jianluo came to his door later, no one would have known that he was the one who had done it.

If they hadn't saved him, Fifteen would have been trampled to death under the Qiu family's hooves. He escaped with his life, only to betray them. Fifteen deserved to be trampled to death. Yue Qi shouldn't have gone back to save him in the first place. He deserved to die!

Shen Jiu found solace in repeatedly chewing on these sweet yet futile and malicious associations, thus enduring day after day of torment.

3

Shen Jiu had thought a lot about why Seventh Brother hadn't come back to find him.

But he never imagined that they would meet again under these circumstances.

He repeated the motion of raising and lowering his sword, blood splattering everywhere, a gruesome scene. Blood splattered into his eyes, but he merely blinked, showing no further expression; his movements were calm and practiced.

After Wu Yanzi took him out of the Qiu family, what he taught this "disciple" the most was how to kill, commit arson, steal, and fish in troubled waters. For example, during the Immortal Alliance Conference, he robbed a group of naive and ridiculous young masters from noble families who thought they were cultivation elites, stole their storage bags, and disposed of their corpses.

When Yue Qi found him, he must have been stunned by his inhuman and ghostly appearance, ignoring the corpses of other sect disciples on the ground, and took two steps forward.

Shen Jiu shuddered and suddenly looked up.

When Yue Qi saw his face clearly, her eyes instantly turned red.

Shen Jiu hurriedly shouted, "Don't come any closer!"

He was somewhat disoriented, and his first reaction was to throw himself to the ground, snatch the distress flare from the corpse, and release it into the sky.

A strange, eerie laugh came from the dense forest nearby.

"My dear disciple, who is this person who has frightened you like this? Are you afraid even now?"

As soon as Shen Jiu let go, the firework tube in his hand fell silently to the ground.

He turned around abruptly: "Master, it's not that I'm afraid of him. I just accidentally let those guys on the ground set off their distress fireworks. Someone's probably coming soon!"

Yue Qi finally realized that the situation seemed extremely critical. Without making a sound, he drew a burst of spiritual energy with his fingertips.

Wu Yanzi snorted, "I saw the fireworks just now and guessed it was something like this. You're usually so quick and efficient, what happened this time!"

Shen Jiu lowered his head and said, "It's all my fault."

Yue Qi stood in front of them, raised his sword, glanced at Chen Jiu with slightly reddened eyes, and said in a hoarse but unusually firm voice: "You cannot leave."

Shen Jiu glared at him angrily.

Wu Yanzi sized him up, then scrutinized his sword, and sneered, "From the Azure Sky Mountain Sect. Or perhaps the Sky Peak? Xuan Su, Yue Qingyuan?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiu was slightly taken aback, but quickly added, "Master, since he's from Cang Qiong Mountain, we can't kill him in a short time. We should escape quickly. If they catch up with us, we're finished!"

Wu Yanzi sneered, "Although the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect is large, I am not afraid of a junior. Besides, he asked for his own death."

When he actually started fighting Yue Qi, Shen Jiu realized that his previous worries about Yue Qi's life were utterly ridiculous.

He was terrified of his "master," Wu Yanzi, while Yue Qi, or rather Yue Qingyuan, could easily handle him even without drawing his sword.

However, he couldn't be completely at ease, because he was familiar with Wu Yanzi's fighting style and trump card for survival. Wu Yanzi had a set of cursed black talismans, and he had seen Wu Yanzi throw out these talismans countless times after falling behind, unexpectedly killing his opponents. Even many renowned cultivators couldn't escape this move, let alone Yue Qi, who clearly had little experience in fighting and was very methodical.

However, Wu Yanzi didn't get a chance to throw out that set of black talismans this time. Because Shen Jiu stabbed him in the back.

Yue Qi grabbed his hand and ran for their lives. After a fierce battle, the two were still in shock and leaned against a tree, panting heavily.

After calming down, Shen Jiu began to carefully examine Yue Qi.

He was composed and elegantly dressed, exuding the air of a distinguished family. He was nothing like the miserable, chaotic world he had imagined.

This is Yue Qingyuan, not Yue Qi.

Yue Qingyuan was excited and opened his mouth to speak, but Shen Jiu, with a stern face, asked bluntly, "You joined the Cang Qiong Mountain Sect?"

Yue Qingyuan seemed to have thought of something, and his excited expression weakened slightly, his face gradually turning pale.

"You became the top disciple of Qiongding Peak, why didn't you come back to find me?"

"I……"

Shen Jiu waited for a while, but didn't hear anything more. He said, "Why don't you continue? I'm waiting for you. Anyway, I've already waited for several years, so waiting a little longer won't hurt."

Yue Qingyuan could no longer continue speaking.

Shen Jiu crossed his arms and finally heard Yue Qingyuan's low voice: "It's Seventh Brother who's sorry."

A chilling, overwhelming rage, thick with the smell of blood, rose in Shen Jiu's heart, as if he could truly taste the blood that had overwhelmed him with rage.

He was first a submissive, timid rat, then a rat scurrying about in the gutter, hated by everyone. No matter how he changed, he was still a rat. Hiding his head and tail, he couldn't stand the light. He wasted his youth, squandering his time. Yue Qingyuan, on the other hand, was a true phoenix soaring to the top, a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

He said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... all you ever knew was to say sorry."

Shen Jiu sneered, making a definitive statement: "It's useless."

Some people are born bad. Shen Jiu thought he was probably one of those vicious bad apples. Because he had an extremely strong and clear thought:

He would rather see Yue Qihan's shabby corpse lying in some unknown corner than see an elegant and unharmed Yue Qingyuan.

4

Shen Jiu hates too many things and too many people.

If a person hates everything, then their personality is bound to be difficult to describe as good.

Fortunately, when he became Shen Qingqiu, he already knew how to make it at least not superficial.

Among the Cangqiong Mountain Sect, the one he disliked the most was undoubtedly Liu Qingge.

Liu Qingge was a prodigy, exceptionally talented, possessing high spiritual power and astonishing swordsmanship. He came from a wealthy family with both parents alive. Any one of these qualities alone would be enough to make him grit his teeth and toss and turn for three days and three nights, let alone all of them combined.

At the annual martial arts competition of the Twelve Peaks of Cangqiong Mountain Sect, Shen Qingqiu's opponent was Liu Qingge.

The outcome was, of course, an inevitable defeat.

Losing to the future master of Hundred Battles Peak is nothing to be ashamed of; in fact, it should be the case, it's just normal.

But Shen Qingqiu would never think that way. What he could see was not the amazement of others at him for persisting in his struggle for so long, but only Liu Qingge's self-righteous arrogance as she held the tip of the Chengluan Sword to the brim of his throat.

Qingjing Peak prides itself on being a gentleman's peak, and Shen Qingqiu plays the gentleman's role with ease, but Liu Qingge always manages to drive him to the brink of rage, making him unwilling to even waste the energy he would otherwise put into pretending to be harmonious with his fellow disciples.

Shen Qingqiu said, "Liu Qingge, I'll kill you sooner or later!"

Liu Qingge glanced at him: "With you?"

With just two words, Shen Qingqiu sensed endless malice in them and turned his wrist.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yue Qingyuan pressed down his elbow to stop him from drawing his sword, and turned around to shout, "Aren't you leaving!"

Liu Qingge seemed too lazy to argue any longer, let out a cold laugh, and vanished in an instant. Only the two people in the warm red pavilion remained, one disheveled, the other impeccably dressed.

Yue Qingyuan pulled Shen Qingqiu out of bed, his voice unusually angry: "How could you do this?"

Shen Qingqiu asked, "How am I?"

Yue Qingyuan said, "Disciples of the Cangqiong Mountain Sect are fighting each other in brothels. Does that sound good?"

Shen Qingqiu said, "If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, who will know which sect or school it is! Cangqiong Mountain Sect is Cangqiong Mountain Sect. Which rule of Cangqiong Mountain Sect stipulates that its disciples cannot come here? Cangqiong Mountain is not a Buddhist temple or Taoist temple. It can't control heaven and earth or my looking for girls."

While the Cangqiong Mountain Sect has no explicit rules, cultivators are expected to understand the principles of purifying the mind and cultivating one's character, and to be self-disciplined, especially the Qingjing Peak, whose peak master has always been known for his integrity. This unwritten consensus has become Shen Qingqiu's excuse.

Yue Qingyuan was speechless, swallowing his words, and muttered, "I won't tell. Junior Brother Liu and the others won't tell either. No one will know. It's just... women are detrimental to cultivation."

Shen Qingqiu sneered: "Didn't you hear the tone of your junior brother Liu's words? Whether it was insulting or not, it was still like that."

Yue Qingyuan was silent for a moment, then said, "Junior Brother Liu is actually not a bad person. He wasn't targeting you; he's just the same to everyone."

Shen Qingqiu scoffed, "'The same for everyone'? Senior Brother Sect Leader, please don't lie to me. The same for you too?"

Yue Qingyuan patiently said, "If you show him kindness, he will repay you twofold."

Shen Qingqiu said, "My senior brother, the sect leader, is truly kind and understanding. But why didn't he show me kindness first? Why didn't he show me any pity first?"

Having become so impervious to swords and spears, Yue Qingyuan found it difficult to speak.

He couldn't say it directly: if you hadn't tried every trick in the book to sabotage him and embarrass him after the martial arts competition, he wouldn't be so jealous and hostile towards Liu Qingge now. If he said it, Shen Qingqiu would definitely turn on him even more ruthlessly.

The girls who were originally in the Warm Red Pavilion had been frightened away, and Shen Qingqiu had no interest in staying there. She shook off his hands, jumped off the bed, pulled her clothes up from her shoulders, sheathed her Xiuya sword, and turned around to ask, "How did you know to come here to find me? Who informed you?"

Yue Qingyuan said, "I went to Qingjing Peak but didn't see you. Instead, I saw the junior brothers from Baizhan Peak preparing to go up."

What are you planning to do up there?

"..."

The conflict actually happened quite coincidentally.

A disciple of Hundred Battles Peak was on a mission in a remote town when he happened to see a familiar face enter Warm Red Pavilion.

Like Liu Qingge, everyone on Hundred Battles Peak harbored little goodwill towards Shen Qingqiu. Seeing this opportunity, they weren't about to let it slip by, immediately following him inside. They mocked Shen Qingqiu for his usual hypocritical and aloof behavior, saying that his presence in such a place was a disgrace to the sect.

After a few words, Shen Qingqiu severely injured him. Upon returning to Hundred Battles Peak, the disciple was encountered again by Liu Qingge. Enraged by the confrontation, Liu Qingge immediately flew over on her sword to settle the score, ready to deliver a resounding punch.

If Yue Qingyuan hadn't caught the Hundred Battles Peak disciples who were planning to ambush Shen Qingqiu's bamboo house on Qingjing Peak, who knows what kind of mess they would have made of this small town.

Seeing that Yue Qingyuan remained silent, Shen Qingqiu could guess that Baizhan Peak was not planning anything good, so she didn't ask any further: "What are you going to Qingjing Peak for? Didn't I tell you not to come looking for me?"

Yue Qingyuan said, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Shen Qingqiu said, "Senior Brother Laoyue, you've gone to great lengths. I'm doing very well. Although I'm a rather unpleasant character, thankfully the Peak Master of Qingjing Peak doesn't mind."

Yue Qingyuan followed behind him and sighed, "If you're really doing well, why do you never stay overnight at Qingjing Peak?"

Shen Qingqiu gave him a sinister look.

He knew that Yue Qingyuan must have thought he was being ostracized at Qingjing Peak.

Actually, he was wrong this time. Although Shen Qingqiu was not popular with his peers, he was not so ostracized that he couldn't even share a dormitory room.

He simply hated being crammed together with people of the same sex.

Back then, after being beaten by Qiu Jianluo, he would always crawl into Qiu Haitang's arms, trembling. That was the only place he could hide. This woman used to be their eldest sister. But as she grew older, she was sold to a withered old man as his second wife.

Liking women is not shameful at all, but treating women as saviors and seeking confidence in their arms is extremely shameful, even without being told. That's why he would rather die than tell anyone, especially Yue Qingyuan.

Shen Qingqiu said slowly and deliberately, "If I said that I was not having a good time on Qingjing Peak, what do you plan to do? Send me to Qiongding Peak?"

Yue Qingyuan thought for a moment and said solemnly, "If you want to."

Shen Qingqiu snorted decisively, "Of course I don't want to. I want to be the head disciple, are you willing to give up that position to me? Are you willing to let me be the sect leader?"

He declared firmly, "Among the twelve peaks, Qingjing Peak is at least ranked second. I might as well wait to sit in that position."

Yue Qingyuan smiled wryly: "Xiao Jiu, why do you always have to be like this?"

Hearing that name, Shen Qingqiu felt a chill run down his spine, and felt incredibly annoyed: "Don't call me that!"

Among the Qing generation, Shen Jiu was quick-witted and quite favored by the peak master. Therefore, although he had only been a disciple for a short time and his foundation was not as good as others, he was still chosen as the next successor. After the peak master named his first disciple, his original name was abandoned.

In the past, Qiu Jianluo forced him to learn to read and write, but Shen Jiu refused, driving the peak master to madness. Now, however, he has won the favor of the Qingjing Peak Master precisely because he is smarter than others in reading and memorizing. What's even more ridiculous is that out of all the names in the world, the peak master just happened to give him the name "Qiu".

No matter how ridiculous or infuriating it may seem, Shen Qingqiu would never abandon it. This name represents a completely new life for him from this day forward.

Shen Qingqiu composed himself and said with a smile, "I have forgotten my original name."

"Please forget about it, Senior Brother Sect Leader."

Looking at his smile, Yue Qingyuan couldn't say anything, no matter how much he wanted to say.

5

Shen Qingqiu finally couldn't hold back any longer and went to Qiongding Peak.

Shen Qingqiu avoided visiting Qiongding Peak as much as possible. Yue Qingyuan, on the other hand, avoided visiting it whenever possible.

The annual Twelve Peaks Martial Arts Tournament was a rather troublesome affair for him.

The twelve peaks of the Cangqiong Mountain Sect have a fixed ranking, which is unrelated to the strength of each peak, but is determined solely by the time when the sect's first generation of peak masters rose to fame. Subsequent peak masters address each other according to this ranking, not by the order in which they joined the sect. Therefore, even though he joined the sect much later than Liu Qingge, Qingjing Peak was ranked second, only after Qiongding Peak, and Baizhan Peak was ranked seventh, so Liu Qingge still had to respectfully call him "Senior Brother."

However, because of this ranking, the disciples of Qiongding Peak and Qingjing Peak are always placed in the same formation, and the head disciple must stand together.

When Yue Qingyuan couldn't catch him at other times, he would seize the opportunity to bombard him with questions. From cultivation insights to the mundane details of food and shelter. Shen Qingqiu, though annoyed, wasn't foolish enough to embarrass the sect leader's chief disciple in public. For every twenty questions Yue Qingyuan asked, he would reply with one, distant yet polite, while his mind wandered to the incantations he'd memorized the night before and other matters.

This is the most comical scene at the annual martial arts competition. These two may not know it, but for many disciples, the only amusement before the competition officially begins is watching the two chief disciples, one ignoring the silence and whispering to each other, and the other absentmindedly humming and hawing.

Therefore, when Shen Qingqiu took the initiative to go to Qiongding Peak, not only was Yue Qingyuan surprised and happy, but almost all the disciples present found it extremely interesting.

Shen Qingqiu had nothing to say and no interest in being made a fool of. He applied for the right to stay and cultivate at Lingxi Cave and then left immediately.

The Lingxi Cave was rich in spiritual energy and isolated from the outside world. As Shen Qingqiu walked through it, his expression grew increasingly gloomy.

The time wasted under Qiu Jianluo and Wuyanzi still had an impact.

Among the new generation of peak masters, Yue Qingyuan was naturally the first to reach the Core Formation stage. Qi Qingqi and Liu Qingge broke through almost simultaneously, and even mediocre figures like Shang Qinghua of An Ding Peak caught up in the cultivation level before officially taking over.

The more anxious Shen Qingqiu became, the more stuck he felt. He was restless and anxious, feeling as if he had swallowed hundreds of pounds of tobacco firecrackers every day, burning in his stomach and mind, making him irritable and furious.

With him in such a state, naturally no one dared to provoke him. However, not daring to provoke him didn't mean Shen Qingqiu would let him off the hook.

Luo Binghe was clearly using the wrong introductory cultivation method given to him, and should have died from bleeding from all seven orifices and his body exploding, but why did he not die from that? Instead, his cultivation level was steadily improving!

I've told Ning Yingying a thousand times to stay far away from Luo Binghe and not to get mixed up with him, so why do I see them whispering in front of me every day?

Shen Qingqiu was suspicious and paranoid, always feeling that everyone was talking behind his back about his inability to form his core, that they were dissatisfied with his position, and that they wanted to secretly take his place.

If this seclusion in Lingxi Cave fails to lead to a breakthrough...

Shen Qingqiu sat on the stone platform, lost in thought, which only made him break out in a cold sweat. His breathing became labored, and he saw stars. At the same time, a surge of spiritual energy was rampaging through his meridians. This was no small matter. Panicked, he quickly sat down and tried to regain his composure.

Suddenly sensing someone approaching from behind, Shen Qingqiu felt a chill run down his spine. He abruptly drew his Xiuya sword, halfway out of its sheath, and shouted sharply, "Who?!"

A hand gently pressed on his shoulder.

Yue Qingyuan said, "It's me."

Shen Qingqiu: "..."

Yue Qingyuan continued to channel spiritual energy into him, calming the turbulent spiritual currents, and said, "It's my fault, I frightened you, junior brother."

Shen Qingqiu was genuinely frightened by his own wild thoughts, which is why he couldn't stand being exposed. He retorted angrily, "Who are you trying to scare?! Senior Brother Sect Leader never goes into seclusion in the Lingxi Cave, so why is he trying to take my spot the moment I arrive!"

Yue Qingyuan said, "It's not that I never come in. I... have come in before."

Shen Qingqiu was baffled: "Who cares whether you've been here or not?"

Yue Qingyuan sighed, "Junior brother, can't you just say less and focus on calming your breath?"

On the dried-up stone candlestick, a faint flame flickers.

After seeing the entire cave dwelling he had chosen, Shen Qingqiu was taken aback and blurted out, "Was there a deadly battle here?"

The cave walls were covered with marks from knife and axe cuts, resembling layers of scars on a human face, grotesque and terrifying.

Yue Qingyuan said from behind him, "No. Fighting is not allowed inside Lingxi Cave."

Besides the sword marks, there were also large patches of dark red blood.

Some marks look like they've been pierced by a sharp blade, spraying onto the rock face. Others resemble someone bowing their forehead against the rock wall, as if pleading for something, leaving marks from repeated pounding.

Shen Qingqiu stared at the bloodstains, which had almost turned black, and said, "Then... someone died here?"

When the two of them were together, Yue Qingyuan was usually the one talking patiently; there had never been a time when Yue Qingyuan remained silent. Shen Qingqiu was very uncomfortable with this, and goosebumps rose on his skin. Reluctantly, he made conversation, saying, "I heard that Lingxi Cave sometimes imprisons people who have gone astray in their cultivation?"

After a long silence, Yue Qingyuan gave a weak "hmm," neither confirming nor denying.

Shen Qingqiu said, "It seems this person really wanted to get out, and struggled for a long time before dying."

If all this blood came from the same person, they would be half-dead, if not dead.

As Shen Qingqiu was speaking, she suddenly felt that Yue Qingyuan's hand on her shoulder was not quite right.

He asked suspiciously, "What's wrong with you?"

After a long pause, Yue Qingyuan finally said, "It's nothing."

Shen Qingqiu shut up.

He couldn't see Yue Qingyuan's expression, but his hands were trembling slightly.

6

When Shen Qingqiu woke up, she felt a cool sensation coming from her wounds. The excruciating burning pain she had experienced earlier had eased considerably.

He barely opened his eyes and saw a figure kneeling beside him, looking down to check on his condition.

The black hem lay flat on the moss-covered stone ground in the cracks, heavily pressing down on an ancient longsword and several empty medicine bottles.

The sword belonged to Xuan Su. The man still had that gentle and handsome face, but he was much paler than usual, and looked very tired.

Of course, it was Yue Qingyuan's face. At this point, only Yue Qingyuan would still come to see him.

Shen Qingqiu spoke, his voice hoarse: "How did you get in?"

Luo Binghe was determined to make things difficult for him, so why would he allow Yue Qingyuan to be imprisoned in the water dungeon to keep him alive?

Seeing that he could still speak, Yue Qingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, and while holding his hand, whispered, "Don't talk anymore. Concentrate your energy and focus your mind."

He wanted to transfer spiritual energy to Shen Qingqiu to help her wounds heal faster. This time, Shen Qingqiu finally managed not to shake him off, because she was thinking to herself: That's right, he is, after all, the leader of a sect. No matter how tough Luo Binghe and that old man from Huanhua Palace are, they still have to show some respect on the surface.

But it probably took quite a bit of effort to get in.

As spiritual energy flowed through the wound, the excruciating pain of his flesh tearing open felt like steel needles piercing him. Shen Qingqiu gritted his teeth, and instead of laughing out of hatred, he said, "That little bastard Luo Binghe certainly has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

Hearing the deep malice in his tone, Yue Qingyuan sighed.

Yue Qingyuan wasn't actually a person who liked to sigh, but Shen Qingqiu always had the ability to make him suffer.

He said wearily, "...Junior brother. Now that things have come to this, why don't you even reflect on your own mistakes?"

He would swallow his pride and bear the pain, never admitting his mistakes, especially in front of Yue Qingyuan, where he was even less likely to back down.

Shen Qingqiu said, "What wrong have I done? What else is Luo Binghe but a bastard? Just you wait. He won't be satisfied with dealing with just me. If there is any great upheaval in the cultivation world in the future, my only mistake will be that I didn't kill him with a single sword strike back then."

Yue Qingyuan shook his head, as if he had expected this answer, and had no desire to offer any further advice or admonition. At this point, any words of advice would be useless.

He suddenly asked, "Did you really kill Junior Brother Liu?"

Shen Qingqiu didn't want to read his expression at all.

But she couldn't help but glance at Yue Qingyuan's expression.

He paused, then abruptly pulled his hand out of Yue Qingyuan's grasp and sat up from the ground.

Yue Qingyuan said, "I didn't expect you would actually kill him."

Shen Qingqiu said coldly, "You've already killed them, don't you think it's too late for you to criticize me now?"

Yue Qingyuan said slowly, "I have no right to criticize you."

His face and eyes were utterly calm, so calm that Shen Qingqiu was inexplicably furious: "Then what do you mean?!"

"Junior brother, have you ever thought that if you hadn't treated Luo Binghe that way back then, none of this would have happened today?"

Shen Qingqiu chuckled to himself.

Yue Qingyuan tilted his head slightly upwards.

Shen Qingqiu knew that her words were like stabbing him in the chest. At first, she was very pleased, but when she saw him sitting blankly on the ground, staring at her, all his composure and dignity gone, as if he had aged many years in an instant, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

It was probably pity.

Even when Mount Tai collapses before him, the ever-composed and unflappable Sect Leader Yue of the Cangqiong Mountain Sect, at this moment, truly evoked a sense of pity in him.

This compassion suddenly relieved something that had been weighing on Shen Qingqiu's heart for many years.

He thought happily that Yue Qingyuan had truly been kind and righteous to him.

Even if you feel guilty, you should have made amends long ago.

Shen Qingqiu said, "Go away. Let me tell you, even if we did it all over again, the result would still be the same. I am vicious and full of resentment. Today, Luo Binghe wants me to die a horrible death, and it is all my own fault."

Yue Qingyuan asked, "Do you still harbor hatred in your heart?"

Shen Qingqiu laughed heartily: "I only feel good when I see others unhappy. What do you say?"

"If you still harbor hatred," Yue Qingyuan nodded, straightening his posture, "draw out Xuan Su and take my life. At least that will extinguish your hatred."

Shen Qingqiu scoffed, "Sect Leader Yue, you want to kill me here? Don't you think Luo Binghe has given me enough charges? Besides, who do you think you are? I'm beyond saving, and Sect Leader Yue is just trying to make yourself look like a cure. That's a bit too much of a compliment."

Yue Qingyuan seemed to have mustered up his courage and called out, "Little Nine..."

Shen Qingqiu said decisively, "Don't call me that."

Yue Qingyuan lowered his head, grasped his hand again, and channeled a continuous stream of spiritual energy to alleviate his injuries.

As if his courage had been shattered, Yue Qingyuan did not speak again for the rest of the time.

After losing, Shen Qingqiu said, "Get out of here. Don't ever show your face in front of me again."

Yue Qingyuan then went outside.

Go as far as you can, Master Yue.

If I manage to escape this calamity, I must never have any further contact with someone like Shen Qingqiu.

7

Shen Qingqiu stared at the entrance to the cellar with his only remaining eye.

After watching for who knows how many days, Luo Binghe finally arrived.

Even in the dark and damp dungeon, Luo Binghe remained elegant and immaculate, his footsteps leaving behind black, stained bloodstains.

"As expected, Sect Leader Yue kept his promise. I really have to thank Master for that poignant and moving letter written in blood. Otherwise, I certainly wouldn't have been able to succeed so easily. I originally wanted to bring Sect Leader Yue's body back for Master to see, but the arrow was coated with a strange poison. When I got close and touched it lightly, Sect Leader Yue... Alas, I can only bring back his sword as a keepsake for Master."

Luo Binghe lied to him.

Luo Binghe is a treacherous and shameless liar who tells far too many outrageous lies.

But Shen Qingqiu didn't understand.

Luo Binghe sat down in the chair beside him. This was his usual seat when he watched Shen Qingqiu wail and scream. He scraped the tea leaves floating in the steaming cup and commented, "A famous sword is worthy of a hero. Xuan Su is indeed a fine sword, and it is worthy of this Sect Leader Yue. However, there are even more profound aspects to it. Master is enjoying his retirement here. If you have some free time, you can take a good look at it. It will definitely be very interesting."

He had imagined countless times that during their last meeting in the water dungeon of the Illusionary Flower Palace, he would use every bit of his sarcasm and malice to tell Yue Qingyuan to get lost, and Yue Qingyuan would leave. He might not have accepted the invitation in blood. But any mortal who could think rationally would not have stepped into this blatantly obvious trap.

I don't understand.

Why?

Didn't they say they weren't coming?

Luo Binghe was fairly satisfied with the result and said with a smile, "Oh, by the way. Although Master's letter written in blood was deeply moving, it was rather hasty and casual. After all, it was written under intense pain, and I understand. So, to show my sincerity, I have specially attached two other things."

Shen Qingqiu understood that the "other things" were the two legs that originally grew on his body.

This is absolutely hilarious.

He won't come when I call him. But he comes even when I tell him not to.

Shen Qingqiu wore a cold smile: "Ha. Haha. Yue Qingyuan, Yue Qingyuan."

Luo Binghe was initially in a pleasant mood, but seeing his strange smile, he became inexplicably unhappy.

He asked gently, "What are you laughing at?"

Shen Qingqiu ignored him and chuckled to himself.

Luo Binghe suppressed his smug expression and asked seriously, "Master, you don't actually think that pretending to be crazy will work on me, do you?"

Shen Qingqiu said, word by word, "Luo Binghe, you're a bastard, do you know that?"

Suddenly, all around fell silent.

Luo Binghe stared at him, and Shen Qingqiu stared back at him intently.

Suddenly, Luo Binghe raised the corner of his lips, placed his right hand on Shen Qingqiu's left shoulder, and gave it a squeeze.

The screams were piercing and terrifying.

Blood gushed from the severed wound on Shen Qingqiu's right arm, and he screamed and laughed at the same time, gasping for breath, "Luo Binghe, hahahaha... Luo Binghe..."

The scene was extremely jarring.

For Luo Binghe, torturing Shen Qingqiu was usually an extremely pleasurable experience. Shen Qingqiu's screams would make him feel like he was floating on air. But this time, for some reason, Luo Binghe wasn't enjoying it as much.

His chest heaved more and more violently. He kicked Shen Qingqiu, sending him spinning several times on the ground, blood splattered everywhere.

Luo Binghe had torn off his legs in the same way, as if ripping off the limbs of an insect. After the pain became so intense, as if he were in hell, the feeling suddenly seemed unreal.

Shen Qingqiu, on the contrary, spoke clearly and logically: "Luo Binghe, you are where you are today thanks to me. Why don't you thank me? Instead, you are so ungrateful? You really are an ungrateful bastard, hahaha..."

After his initial rage, Luo Binghe suddenly calmed down, smiled sinisterly, and said softly, "You want to die? There's no way you'll get away with it so easily. Master, you've committed countless evil deeds in your life. You've harmed those who had grudges against you, and you've harmed those who had no grudges against you. Even when you're half-dead, you've managed to drag a sect leader down with you. If you don't die slowly and suffer the same pain as everyone else, how can you face them?"

With a wave of his hand, Xuan Su's broken sword fell to the ground.

Upon hearing this sound, Shen Qingqiu felt as if a fist had been stuffed into his throat, and his laughter stopped abruptly.

Amidst his disheveled hair and blood-stained face, his eyes shone even brighter, as if burning with white flames. He trembled as he moved toward the broken sword.

Everything is gone.

There's only one sword left.

Luo Binghe's current situation was brought about by his own efforts, but who single-handedly shaped his fate?

Yue Qingyuan should not have met such an end.

To fulfill an old covenant decades in the making, to complete a promise that is ultimately futile.

The sword broke and the man died.

That shouldn't be the case.

The blood streaks spread, and just as they were about to converge into a knot, they deviated from their course.

It's broken.