Chapter 69: Chapter 4: Return to Kunlun, Reunion with Song He
The great Shushan tournament was just around the corner. After practicing swords with his senior sister for several days, Ling Yunpo returned to Kunlun to play the part of Qiu Changtian again.

Coming back from the Pavilion Secret Realm, Qiu Changtian’s junior brothers and sisters had all gained a great deal.

Xu Yinglian ranked at the forefront in the trial, thereby obtaining a powerful Daoist Magic from the Pavilion, named the “Tai Su Yuan Jun Zhen Xuan Great Bright Fire.” It was said that its might was no less than that of the Five Thunder True Law.

Every morning at sunrise, Junior Sister Xu would sit cross-legged on the top of Golden Ridge precisely on time, cultivating this technique.

When the sunrise illuminated the sea of clouds, she would open her mouth to breathe, ingesting the precious solar Qi and converting it into Sun Qi, then swallow saliva with her eyes closed, pouring it into her limbs and five viscera.

After a while, as the Sun Qi refined the scenery within her, a bright, dazzling red light shone through her body, both inside and out, making Xu Yinglian look like a little gilded figurine, her jade skin luminous, shining brilliantly.

As for the other junior brothers and sisters, they had also successfully advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Rank.

Guan Zhan acquired a Flying Sword, keeping it close to his chest so that no one else could see it.

Yan Zhitui got a book, although not a Daoist tome but a book-shaped Magical Treasure, which led him to read laboriously through the night.

Chen Zhen and Zhong Tianhuai chose Elixirs, intending to return to their diligent cultivation, eager to press on with their Qi Refinement.

Only the little girl Jian Qingnan did not choose a Flying Sword Treasure, instead selecting a book called “Zhou Yi Pointer to Mystical Heart Sutra,” likely following the wishes of the Qingzhou Jian Family, wanting her to continue developing towards the art of Tai Yi fortune-telling and calculations.

Of course, the one who reaped the biggest harvest was certainly Chief Qiu.

Not to mention Luo Yan’s side, just the Thunder Method sections from the Five Thunder True Law alone, by association and extension, elevated his understanding of Thunder Method by a notch.

The Jade Pivot Thunder had a blue light and a red color, a palm-sized thunder ball. By comparison, Immortal Capital Thunder was greyish-red in color, its form unstable, but its flight speed was much faster than that of Jade Pivot Thunder, striking out like lightning with a “crack!” extremely fast.

Polar Thunder was completely black and also a condensed ball of thunder light. It appeared deep and unfathomable, emanating a chilling cold that was oppressive on close contact, and when it struck a rock wall, its power was tremendous. The surrounding area would even frost over and split, clearly having an effect similar to a refrigeration system, fitting for a type of thunder that was particularly effective against the aquatic produce of the Dragon Clan.

As for Tai Yi Thunder, it had no color to it at all; holding it in one’s hand was like holding an almost transparent thunder ball, with a very broad range of attack.

Because its power was less concentrated, its ability to damage a single target was not as strong as the other three types of thunder, but in terms of moving mountains and altering landscapes, it was second to none.

Apart from the Thunder Method, Qiu Changtian, who had advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Rank, obtained the second derived technique from the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,” which was the “Lesser Shangyang Sword Qi.”

The activation method was somewhat similar to the Six-Pulse Divine Sword, compressing pure True Qi in the meridians to whet its sharpness, and then projecting it out from the Shangyang point on the index finger to injure the enemy.

This Sword Qi was colorless and intangible, extraordinarily effective for sneak attacks and assassinations.

The only drawback was that its attack power was not very high (compared to Thunder Method). Not to mention something like the Divine Fire Mantle, a defensive Magical Treasure, even if the opponent used a Flying Sword to block it, they could easily stop the Lesser Shangyang Sword Qi.

It was said that a Nascent Soul Elder from Kunlun (a Direct Disciple of the previous Sect Leader and now the senior brother of Ziwei Master) had devoted an unknown amount of effort and finally optimized this Lesser Shangyang Sword Qi, renaming it the “Taiqing Xuanmen Intangible Sword Qi.” It retained its stealthiness while greatly enhancing the Sword Qi’s lethality.

Qiu Changtian made some inquiries and found out that the elder listed Intangible Sword Qi as a secretly inherited technique.

That is to say, it would only be taught to Direct Disciples.

As a Direct Disciple of the Ziwei Master, he obviously could not switch to the sect of this senior uncle, so he had to let it go.

In order to master the Thunder Method quickly and to maintain a high Synchronization Value for his persona, Chief Qiu still kept up with the rhythm of “going out for trials once every ten days.” The rest of the time, he holed up in his cave dwelling, routinely lecturing, refining Qi and cleansing marrow, and studying the central principles of the Five Thunder True Law.

That afternoon, he once again led several outer sect disciples back from a grueling trial outside, and went to the administration hall on Jade Void Peak to turn in the task.

Those outer sect disciples, receiving their task rewards, were overwhelmed with gratitude towards Chief Qiu, thanking him profusely, and then they left reluctantly.

Chief Qiu had long grown accustomed to the praise and thanks from his Kunlun fellow disciples, so he simply continued to calmly browse the task catalog, when out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed someone approaching the counter and speaking quietly with the Kunlun officials.

Hmm, it seemed to be Song He.

Qiu Changtian immediately remembered that this person was Song He, the second senior brother under the Ziwei Master, whose strength was second only to the Chief Disciple, Xu Changqing, among the Foundation Establishment disciples directly taught by the Ziwei Master.

However, the rules of Kunlun were different from those of Shushan; only the position of Chief Disciple was determined by strength, while the ranking of other disciples was determined by their natural talent. Whether under the Ziwei Master or the other Nascent Soul Elders, this was the rule.

As a result, compared to the brilliant and shining Chief Disciple Xu Changqing, this second senior brother Song He was much more low-profile.

He was thinking about this when he saw Song He suddenly look up, smile, and greet him:

“Junior Brother Qiu, have you returned from another experience outside?”

Qiu Changtian keenly noticed that Song He’s gaze lingered for a moment on the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword on his back.

The Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword, wielded by successive Heads of the Kunlun Sect, was entrusted to him by the Ziwei Master for protection during each of Qiu Changtian’s outings, which spoke volumes about his status in the Master’s eyes.

“Yes.” Qiu Changtian nodded, “Senior Brother Song, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I’ve come to deliver the possessions of two junior brothers who’ve passed away,” said Song He, staring into his eyes as he spoke slowly.

Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan, although not Chief Disciples, were disciples under the Ziwei Master and had mysteriously disappeared in the Pavilion Secret Realm, not returning even by the time the realm’s gates closed.

The Pavilion trial was not supposed to be lethal. If one was killed by the trial’s restrictions, they would be teleported out at the brink of death from severe injuries.

However, if they were killed by other trialists within the secret realm, there was no such protective mechanism.

If Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan did not return before the closure of the Pavilion, it was highly likely that they had perished within, but it was not known whether the culprit was a Kunlun disciple, a Penglai disciple, poison, a Heart Demon, or perhaps accidental harm from the impact of wide-ranging lethal Daoist magic… In the world of cultivation, there are simply countless ways to end a life.

The Ziwei Master used divination for a while but couldn’t come up with any results and could only set off to return to Kunlun.

After returning to Kunlun, both were judged by the Taiqing Sect to have died.

As for the possessions left in their dwellings, naturally they had to be packed and sent to their families in the secular world.

“Alas.” Qiu Changtian sighed, “The trial of the Pavilion Secret Realm, left by the Clarify Sect, should have been straightforward; how could such a disaster have happened…”

Seeing no flaw in his demeanor, Song He withdrew his gaze and said lightly:

“The path of cultivation is inherently against the heavens; how can there be any straightforward path?”

“Any hardship and danger must be broken through with great resolve and great wisdom.”

“If you cannot break through, then you will fall, and there is no reasoning behind it.”

Qiu Changtian smiled warmly:

“You are right in your teachings, senior brother.”

Song He nodded slightly in an encouraging manner, patted his shoulder, and then left with his hands behind his back.

As Qiu Changtian watched his back recede from the duty hall, he quickly said in his mind:

“Ah Jing, when he patted my shoulder just now, did he do something to me?”

“No, he didn’t,” replied the Kunlun Mirror.

“However,” its voice paused, then continued, “this Senior Brother Song He of yours…”

“…actually harbors a very well-concealed enmity towards you. Hmm, it would be more appropriate to call it ‘malice’.”