Chapter Thirteen: The Three’s Discussion
Inside the cave on Fanglao Mountain, Qu Yi removed the Hidden Dust Formation. In this cave, Qu Yi, Bai Man, and Wu Yuan had spent a month practicing together with Qing Wugui. After taking the Heart-Connecting Cold Mushroom and the Nine-Aroma Heavenly Fruit, Qing Wugui had used their powerful medicinal effects to expel most of the toxins. However, some toxins remained hidden within his internal organs, and he could only wait to find an excellent pill to completely eliminate them. Due to these remaining toxins, Qing Wugui, who was still in the early stage of the Yuan Ying phase, had a strength comparable to that of someone in the later stage of the Jin Dan phase. Yet, his training method was very unique—he lacked a Yuan Ying in his body, with all his energy distributed throughout his body. Over years of combat, he had developed a strong sword spirit and numerous deadly techniques. As a result, among the group, Qing Wugui was the strongest.
Qu Yi took out the Jin Dan and Yao Dan pills he had obtained over the past three months. He classified them according to the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—before swallowing them. By energy level, there were three Jin Dan and Yao Dan pills of each of the five elements in the early Jin Dan stage, and one each in the middle Jin Dan stage. After swallowing them, Qu Yi felt his energy increase by about 20%. With his current strength, he might even be able to defeat a cultivator in the later Jin Dan phase.
Bai Man practiced “Gorgeous Splendor” quietly to strengthen her own strength. Wu Yuan, on the other hand, was the most bored. Since he couldn’t go out to hunt monsters, he couldn’t consume their essence, so his strength couldn’t improve.
After all four finished practicing, they looked at each other. “Qing Wugui, you must have come from another planet, right? Are there enemies chasing you?” Qu Yi finally asked the question he had been thinking about.
On Cuimu Planet, only the former four sect leaders possessed strength at the early Yuan Ying stage. The fact that Qing Wugui had no Yuan Ying at all was even more astonishing.
Qing Wugui smiled faintly and nodded. “Yes. My home is on Liupan Planet, the core planet of the entire cultivation world. I was being chased, so I fled to Tianfeng Planet. There, my pursuers poisoned me. After killing them, I came here.”
Hearing this, Qu Yi felt deep sympathy for Qing Wugui. His situation was very similar to his own—both were being chased by powerful enemies, and both had lost their sects and were forced to flee, becoming outcasts in the world.
“Our situations are very similar. Our Xianyun Sect was once one of the four major sects on Cuimu Planet, but it was destroyed by a powerful enemy. Now, my senior sister and I are on the run, planning to return and avenge ourselves once we’ve achieved mastery in cultivation,” said Qu Yi with emotion.
Qing Wugui simply shrugged. As someone who had been fleeing everywhere, he could fully understand the feeling of having one’s sect destroyed and having to escape from enemies.
“Qu Yi, I have a proposal. From now on, we’ll be brothers. Let’s work together to explore the cultivation world—what do you say?” Qing Wugui said excitedly, his eyes burning with passion.
“Okay, from now on we’re brothers. This cultivation world will eventually belong to us,” Qu Yi also shouted passionately, filled with an unknown sense of boldness.
Wuyuan, who was standing by, immediately started barking and stared at Qu Yi and Qing Wugui.
“Of course, you’re also included, Wuyuan,” Qu Yi quickly added.
Woof! Wuyuan proudly hopped around, its dragon head shaking nonstop.
……
At that moment, two groups of people arrived at the main peak of Huoyue Sect, the Lifire Peak. One group was led by Xuan Gu Shangren, consisting of Xuanyang Temple members—Jia Ping, Ding Shun, Cheng Chang, Qingyang Shangren—along with thirty Golden Core cultivators. The other group was led by Lingji Shangren, including Yusu Temple members—Mu Zhen, Lian Ming, Qiu Yu, Bingyu Shangren—along with thirty-two Golden Core cultivators.
These two groups came to the main peak of Huoyue Sect and immediately called out, asking Linghuo Shangren to come out for a moment.
Linghuo Shangren had been feeling frustrated lately. He had traveled all the way from Tianfeng Planet to Cuimu Planet, hoping to easily obtain the Jade Sword. But things took a dramatic turn—he not only failed to get the sword but also wasn’t sure where it was now. Sensing the two groups outside the peak, Linghuo Shangren became even angrier. He immediately flew out of his meditation room, leaving a trail of blazing flames behind him, revealing his fury.
“Oh, it’s Xuan Gu and Lingji. You’ve also come to Cuimu Planet. What do you want by bringing such a large group to Huoyue Sect?” Linghuo Shangren glared angrily at Xuan Gu Shangren and Lingji Shangren.
Meanwhile, Yongshan also brought the remaining twenty-five Golden Core cultivators of Huoyue Sect behind Linghuo Shangren.
Of course, Linghuo Shangren’s two subordinates, Qian Shun and Wan Chang, had already arrived beside him, standing on either side.
Seeing Linghuo Shangren’s expression, Xuan Gu Shangren realized that this hot-tempered guy likely still hadn’t obtained the treasure he was after, so he felt much more relieved.
“Brother Linghuo, as you know, Xuanyang Temple originates from our Black Bone Sect. I heard from Chengchang that you led your men to destroy Xianyun Sect. Naturally, I’m worried you might once again resort to violence to destroy Xuanyang Temple, so of course I had to come to Cuimu Planet to intervene,” said Senior Black Bone coldly.
Upon hearing this, Senior Lingji also immediately said, “That’s right. Just like Brother Black Bone, I’m also worried that one day Brother Linghuo might, in a bad mood, go to Yusu Sect to vent his anger. Of course, I had to come to discuss things with Brother Linghuo.”
With red eyes, Senior Linghuo glared at Senior Black Bone and Senior Lingji, his expression angry, but his heart remained calm. After thinking for a moment, he realized that these two must have also heard about the Jade Sword and were coming to compete with him for it.
“I see. If that’s the case, Brother Black Bone and Brother Lingji, you needn’t worry. I destroyed Xianyun Sect because I heard that Huaiqing from Xianyun Sect colluded with sea monsters to kill Senior Hanshang from our Huoyue Sect. That’s why I came to punish them. Since Xuanyang Temple and Yusu Sect haven’t offended Huoyue Sect, I won’t bully the younger generations,” said Senior Linghuo with a smile.
Senior Black Bone and Senior Lingji inwardly scoffed. What a hypocrite! If there were treasures hidden in those two sects, Senior Linghuo would have already destroyed Xuanyang Temple and Yusu Sect long ago.
“With Brother Linghuo saying that, it doesn’t dispel our concerns. Since we’ve all come to Huoyue Sect, won’t you invite us in for a chat?” asked Senior Black Bone with a smile.
Senior Linghuo’s lips twitched. He knew the two had indeed guessed the reason for his arrival on Cuimu Planet. This time, he really couldn’t avoid it.
“That was my oversight. Brother Black Bone, Brother Lingji, please come with me to my residence to have a talk. Let Yongshan take care of the others,” said Senior Linghuo promptly.
In an instant, Senior Linghuo, Senior Black Bone, and Senior Lingji disappeared, heading to a secret place to discuss matters.
Meanwhile, Yongshan greeted the guests from Xuanyang Temple and Yusu Sect with a beaming smile.
……
Senior Linghuo, Senior Black Bone, and Senior Lingji arrived at the top of a mountain peak and set up a soundproofing array around them to prevent external spiritual senses from detecting them, before beginning their discussion.
“Linghuo, let’s not beat around the bush. Did you discover some treasure when you came to Cuimu Planet?” asked Senior Black Bone with a smile.
Senior Lingji also immediately stared at Senior Linghuo.
Elder Linghuo immediately looked embarrassed and then said worriedly, “To be honest with you both, the leader of the Xianyun Sect, Huaiqing, possesses a low-grade spiritual artifact with a fire attribute, which is perfect for me. Naturally, I wanted to take it. But when I killed Huaiqing, his storage bracelet was taken by someone else.”
Elder Linghuo knew he couldn’t just brush them off casually, but he also couldn’t reveal the truth, so he made up a lie, claiming the jade sword was a low-grade spiritual artifact.
Elder Xuan Gu and Elder Lingji were stunned for a moment before pretending to understand. Creating a low-grade spiritual artifact required the cultivation level of the Hebi stage, which was indeed enough to tempt Elder Linghuo. Yet, how could they easily let him deceive them? They pretended to believe it while calculating their next moves.
“Brother Linghuo, haven’t you found the storage bracelet after all this time? Is there any reason for that?” Elder Lingji asked with a smile.
“Lingji, I’ve found it. Otherwise, would I still be here on Cuimu Planet? As for why I haven’t found it, to be honest, I’m also confused. Logically, no one on Cuimu Planet should be able to escape my spiritual detection, yet I haven’t found any suspicious individuals. I’ve also captured some disciples who fled from the Xianyun Sect, but upon questioning, they’re not the ones I’m looking for. I’ve been quite frustrated lately,” Elder Linghuo admitted truthfully.
Elder Xuan Gu and Elder Lingji immediately asked for details to understand better.
After thinking for a while, Elder Linghuo thought that since these two had come, he couldn’t just send them away easily. It would be better to involve them and have them do some hard work, so he could later find a way to take the jade sword himself.
So, he explained the situation of attacking the Xianyun Sect and also told them everything he knew about the Xianyun Sect as held by the Huoyue Sect.
Elder Xuan Gu and Elder Lingji immediately fell silent, thinking rapidly.
“Brother Linghuo, I think the storage bracelet was most likely taken by Qu Yi,” Elder Xuan Gu suddenly said.
“I think so too. It’s very likely Qu Yi,” Elder Lingji agreed.
Elder Linghuo was surprised and immediately asked, “Why?”
Elder Xuan Gu smiled and spoke openly, “Brother Linghuo, haven’t you considered that Huaiqing’s daughter, Bai Man, doesn’t practice cultivation, so she naturally doesn’t have the ability to fly down from the mountain and escape. And you said you didn’t find Bai Man’s body when searching Chuiyun Peak. Think about it—in such chaos, who would take the initiative to protect her? Only Qu Yi. In other words, at the time of Huaiqing’s death, besides Elder Dongzhen and Bai Man, there was also Qu Yi on Chuiyun Peak.”
The Spiritual Master nodded and added, “According to the intelligence provided by the Fire Moon Sect, Qu Yi must be carrying some treasure that can conceal his presence. This explains why he fled quietly right after obtaining the storage bracelet.”
This Spiritual Master had guessed wrongly, mistaking the capabilities of the Hidden Dust Array for those of the Dimensional Ball.
“Haha, you two have made me see it too. Fifteen Golden Core cultivators from the Fire Moon Sect were killed in an ambush while patrolling in the Immortal Cloud Sect—very likely by that Qu Yi,” said Ling Huo Master, his eyes shining.
“What?”
Xuan Gu Master and Spiritual Master were both shocked.
Ling Huo Master looked at them in confusion and immediately asked, “Do you two know where Qu Yi is?”
“Fangluo Mountain!” Xuan Gu Master and Spiritual Master didn’t bother hiding it anymore. Given their shocked expressions, it was impossible to deceive Ling Huo Master. It was better to tell him directly rather than let him follow them.
It turned out that when Xuan Gu Master and Spiritual Master were transported to Fangluo Mountain, they found that the Golden Core-level monsters there were almost extinct. They naturally connected this with the deaths of the Fire Moon Sect’s Golden Core cultivators and realized that Qu Yi was in desperate need of Golden Core artifacts. After killing those cultivators, he went to hunt the monsters.
In an instant, Ling Huo Master, Xuan Gu Master, and Spiritual Master all teleported together, flying straight to Fangluo Mountain.