Chapter 35 Senior Brother 2 Do you want to learn swordsmanship? I can teach you.
In the Beast Taming Arena, a white light screen spans the entire central hall, revealing the entire Jade Cloud Sect. From time to time, spiritual light flashes and silver lines crisscross the screen.
Suddenly, a bright light appeared on the route from the Immortal Dao Academy to the south of the Jade Cloud Sect, indicating that someone from the Immortal Dao Academy had sent a message about riding a silver-winged roc.
"Huh? Isn't this unclaimed land? Could someone have taken it?"
The disciples of the Beast Taming Arena glanced at the light screen, which was connected to the Thousand Machine Academy. Sure enough, the words "Mysterious Sword Peak" soon appeared on the nameless peak.
"He's probably a sword cultivator."
The disciple didn't care. He glanced at the spotlight, took the guiding thread, and planned to summon a silver-winged roc to take the order.
These roc birds, which serve as mounts for the cultivators of the sect, are usually kept in spirit beast tablets. Today happens to be their day to be let out, and they are now frolicking in the bird forest.
With a whistle, several roc birds quickly responded and came running.
"Go to the Immortal Academy immediately."
Such shuttle missions were very frequent. Even without a guide route, the roc that had been flying in the Jade Cloud Sect for many years would not fly the wrong way. Therefore, the disciple casually threw the guide route on the ground and turned to leave.
Immortal Academy?
Upon hearing this, several roc birds turned their heads and suddenly lunged at the path leading to the destination, as fast as lightning.
"Gah—"
"You went last time! It's my turn!"
"Whoever grabs it first gets to go!"
A flurry of feathers flew as several large rocs fought over each other, but a smaller roc that came from behind took advantage of the chaos and snatched away the bird that had been leading the way.
"It was the cunning Number Thirty-Six! It stole it!"
The number thirty-six roc gripped the guide route tightly with its claws, flapped its wings and flew into the sky. It looked down triumphantly at its companions below, who had to stay obediently in the bird forest because they had no guide route.
It's finally its turn again!
If we're talking about the most popular job for the Rocs, it has to be the Immortal Dao Academy. Every time they hear it's the Immortal Dao Academy, there's bound to be a scramble for it. Although they don't always get to meet that person, if they do, they might just get a Beast Spirit Pill!
Moreover, even without the Beast Spirit Pill, Number Thirty-Six rushed to the Immortal Dao Academy, eager to see that person...
With a loud cry, the silver-winged roc folded its wings and gently landed on the platform outside the Immortal Academy.
Upon realizing that the person walking this way was indeed her, its eyes lit up, and it discreetly shook its feathers, trying to make itself look clean and tidy.
"Little Silver? It's you this time~"
Xu Xing patted the roc's silvery-white wing, fed it a beast spirit pill, and turned to smile, "Senior brother, speaking of which, there was a time when Little Silver saved me."
Shen Du glanced at the number "thirty-six" carved on the roc's beak, then sat on the back of the bird with Xu Xing before asking, "What happened?"
Xu Xing then recounted his encounter with Yao Dong, saying, "Xiao Yin helped me dodge several attacks, and in the end, thanks to my senior brother's sword energy, I was able to kill that person."
"By the way, senior brother, when was that sword energy released? I had no idea."
The two had met before Shen Du went into seclusion, but Xu Xing had no idea when Shen Du had left sword energy on him.
"What has become of that villain?" Shen Du didn't answer, but instead asked Yao Dong.
"He's dead."
Xu Xing did not mention that he had gone to the Hall of Punishments because of this.
"Once we reach Xuanjian Peak, I will re-condense sword energy to protect you."
"Thank you, senior brother."
Xu Xing didn't stand on ceremony. The Jade Cloud Sect wasn't as safe as she thought. After her experience at the Trial Platform, she planned to refine more defensive magical artifacts.
She was worried that her cave was too small to even hold the materials for refining weapons, but now that Senior Brother Shen Du was willing to lend her Xuanjian Peak, it solved her immediate problem.
So when Shen Du asked her if she wanted to move to Xuanjian Peak, Xu Xing immediately agreed. A spiritual peak is so large that even if they lived on the same peak, the two of them probably wouldn't see each other often. Besides, Xu Xing didn't intend to hide his alchemy and weapon crafting from Shen Du. Since they were going to cooperate, mutual trust was the most basic requirement.
Mentioning Yao Dong reminded Xu Xing of the twisted face on Yao Dong's face when he tried to kill him that day, and of his fellow disciples on the trial platform who were killing each other because of the Boiling Blood Inducing Technique...
Is this just how the Jade Cloud Sect is? Or is this just how the cultivation world is? Xu Xing pondered silently.
Chen Du sat behind her, her long hair blowing in the wind, revealing her fair profile. Her face, which was always smiling and full of vitality, was expressionless at this moment.
"Something on your mind?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xing snapped out of his reverie and whispered, "I'm wondering, who possessed Dean Zhai's body? And why would they do such a thing..."
"Boiling Blood is a technique used by demonic cultivators. Even if those who possess bodies are not demons, they are still related to them."
"Demon..." Xu Xing murmured, "Senior brother, have you ever seen a demonic cultivator?"
"Yes, most demons are ferocious. If you encounter one, stay away."
Shen Du’s voice was low and slow. “A thousand years ago, the demonic beasts rioted. In order to resist the demonic beasts, the three races joined forces to fight back and maintained a superficial peace. However, the demons have always been warlike. With the spiritual energy and demonic energy rising and falling, they would not want to see human cultivators prosper.”
"Have you heard of the conflict in the demon realm over the position of demon king?"
Xu Xing nodded. "I heard from A Yao that after the fall of the former Demon King, various forces in the Demon Realm have been fighting fiercely for the position of Demon King."
The demon realm is different from the human realm. They do not have sects, but rather divide power based on race and bloodline. Currently, the three most powerful races in the demon realm are the snake race, the tiger race, and the deer race.
The former Demon King was of the snake race and was said to possess the bloodline of the ancient Xiang Liu. He was incredibly powerful, and during his reign, he greatly strengthened the demon race. Fifteen years ago, after the Demon King's fall, the three races engaged in open and covert struggles, creating chaos as none of them submitted to the others, and the battle remains unresolved.
"The chaos in the demon realm is the work of the demon race. It is they who stirred up trouble that has kept the conflict going until now."
"Do they intend to target human cultivators?"
They cannot act openly against high-level cultivators, but they can use underhanded tricks to slowly erode them from the bottom up. Aren't the new disciples in the Qi Refining stage the very foundation of the Jade Cloud Sect?
"The Punishment Hall will investigate thoroughly. If they really are demons, they wouldn't only target the Jade Cloud Sect. However..."
Shen Du changed the subject, "Even if they weren't demons, human cultivators have never stopped fighting openly and covertly for resources."
"If you need anything done but it's inconvenient for you to show up in person, you can tell me."
Xu Xing was able to figure out the methods of alchemy and weapon crafting on her own during the Qi Refining stage, which must have been due to her own good fortune. Shen Du had no intention of exploring it, but since someone like Yao Dong had taken a liking to her, how could she not have caught the attention of others?
We need to be more cautious.
"I understand, I will be more careful from now on."
As the two were talking, the silver-winged roc had already flown into the sea of clouds.
The wispy white clouds floated beneath my feet, a gentle breeze caressed my face, and golden light flickered among the layered mountains, creating a dreamlike and enchanting scene.
Xu Xing let out a soft breath, feeling as if the wind had blown away much of the pent-up frustration in his heart.
Passing through the sea of clouds, a solitary peak appeared before the two.
It was springtime, and the lush green forest covered the mountain peaks, interspersed with touches of pink, creating a vibrant scene of life.
Wow! Such rich spiritual energy!
The Chuyun Peak where Wen Lu was located was also a third-order spiritual vein, but the Chuyun Peak had been inhabited by the cultivators of the Scripture Pavilion for many years, so the spiritual energy had naturally diminished. Xuanjian Peak, on the other hand, had just welcomed its master. As soon as Xu Xing landed, he was covered in the dissipated spiritual energy.
"Thank you, Little Silver." Xu Xing took out another Beast Spirit Pill.
The silver-winged roc nuzzled her hand affectionately before spreading its wings and flying away.
Xuanjian Peak itself had been roughly repaired. They stood on a relatively flat and open spot at the top of the peak, and Xu Xing then realized that the crimson color he saw in the air was actually a large peach blossom forest.
Spring is in full bloom here, but the distant cliffs seem to evoke a chilling wind, making it a perfect place for sword practice.
Thinking of the fantasy novels he had read, Xu Xing rubbed his hands together and pointed excitedly at the smooth cliff face, saying, "Senior brother, should we carve the peak's name there?"
Shen Du hadn't expected this, but seeing Xu Xing's expectant eyes, he nodded, used his finger as a sword, and golden sword energy burst forth from between his fingers, deeply engraving the three characters "Xuanjian Peak" on the cliff face.
"Amazing! No wonder you're a sword cultivator!"
Sensing the sharp sword energy, Xu Xing sincerely admired it. After Senior Brother Shen Du advanced to the Golden Core stage, his sword energy became even more refined. She could feel its unstoppable sharpness just by watching from the side.
"You want to learn swordsmanship?"
However, Shen Du misunderstood her meaning.
"Huh? Me?"
Xu Xing was taken aback. Wen Yao and Zhao Linglan were all magic cultivators, while only Zuo Qiuxu and Shen Du were sword cultivators by her side.
"If you want to learn, I can teach you before you become an apprentice."
To be honest, Xu Xing has hardly ever faced anyone head-on. In every competition, she focuses on defense, and her most comfortable weapon right now is still the Five Spirits Cleaver.
Because it was stained with Yao Dong's blood, Xu Xing didn't want to use it for cooking, so he simply used it as a weapon, and surprisingly, it worked quite well.
Over the past four years, Xu Xing has learned a little about all five elements of magic, but she is not proficient in any of them. She mainly uses fire in alchemy and has a slightly better control over fire. However, it would not be accurate to say that she is an alchemist. As for swordsmanship, she has never even considered it.
Seeing Xu Xing's somewhat confused expression, Chen Du suddenly asked, "Xu Xing, why do you cultivate immortality?"
It's not that no one has ever asked her this question; it seems everyone is very determined about their goals.
Although Wen Yao possesses four spiritual roots, her unique physique allows her to cultivate smoothly. She desires to grow up quickly and seek revenge on those who harmed her.
Zhao Linglan is exceptionally talented and is dedicated to studying water-based magic, hoping to gain the strength to protect herself.
Although Wang Lianhua found cultivation somewhat difficult, she always worked very hard, hoping to have a long lifespan so she could be with her daughter.
They were all saying, "Xu Xu, you must work hard to cultivate and improve your cultivation level."
"Xu Xu, why do you cultivate immortality? Everyone needs a goal, right?"
But it seems that Xu Xing really doesn't have it.
In her past life, she had no relatives or friends and lived a monotonous life day after day, but she had no worries about food and drink and never needed to think about what she would do in the future.
Xu Xing knew that her friends meant well. For cultivators, having clear goals and a firm will is essential for long-term success. Her habitual "lazy and gluttonous" behavior in front of others was a major taboo for cultivators.
But she didn't want to be perfunctory with her friends; she couldn't very well say that she was only thinking about "having fun," could she?
"I……"
Xu Xing hesitated, "I just think alchemy and weapon crafting are really fun..."
Okay, I'll just say what's on my mind.
She looked at the ground with some discouragement, thinking that Senior Brother Shen would probably try to persuade her, just like everyone else.
"The alchemy and artifacts are indeed exquisite, and you are very talented. Since you want to keep 'playing' forever, then this is your path."
Xu Xing suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at Shen Du.
“Swordsmanship is also a lot of fun,” Shen Du said, reaching out to pick two peach branches from the forest. He handed one to Xu Xing, a slight smile appearing on his usually calm face. “Want to learn?”
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Author's Note: Thank you Bai Bai Bai and Xi Xi for the nutrient solution, *kiss* [sprinkling flowers]
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