Chapter 70: Chapter 5: Using Reverse Psychology to Rescue Junior Sister Xu
Jade Void Palace, Scripture Lecture Hall.

As the disciples finished listening to the scriptures and were about to rise from their meditation cushions, they heard the Ziwei Master suddenly speak:

“Qiu Changtian, remain.”

Therefore, the fellow senior brothers and sisters quickly exchanged glances, then their eyes unanimously fell upon Xu Yinglian.

Xu Yinglian frowned slightly but did not speak. She simply rose indifferently and left.

Based on past incidents, if the Ziwei Master asked someone to stay, it often meant that he would keep both Qiu Changtian and her behind—but this proved nothing.

What difference did it make if she wasn’t kept this time?

Although Xu Yinglian was competitive by nature, she was not so trivial as to fight for the Sect Leader’s attention, she was not a child after all.

As she left unfetteredly, the others looked at each other and then left one after another.

Thus, only Qiu Changtian was left in the Scripture Lecture Hall.

“On the first day of next month, the Shushan Demon Locking Tower will open,” the Ziwei Master said with closed eyes, speaking leisurely, “There is a ‘Blood Pool’ inside.”

“Bathing in the Blood Pool can accelerate Marrow Cleansing, strengthen the Root Bone, and replenish vitality. It will greatly benefit you.”

“On the twenty-ninth of this month, at the third watch of the night, come here alone. I will arrange for a true master to take you to Shushan.”

“Do not let others know about this, especially your Junior Sister Xu. Understand?”

Wow, master is giving me special one-on-one instruction! Qiu Changtian quickly bowed and said:

“Disciple understands.”

No sooner had his words fallen than the Ziwei Master tapped him lightly yet firmly on the head with the handle of the horsetail whisk.

“Do not think that your master is being partial. It’s just that my Kunlun Taiqing Sect and the Shushan Shangqing Faction aren’t particularly close. It took an owed favor from the Shushan Sect Leader for your master to secure a spot for you.”

“If your Junior Sister knew about this. her obsessions would surely deepen. Then, you alone will be held accountable by your master.”

Qiu Changtian said solemnly:

“Disciple understands the painstaking intent of master. After leaving this room, I will not reveal a single word!”

The Ziwei Master nodded slightly and then let out another long, helpless sigh, sounding both melancholic and advisory:

“Zhang Tian.”

“You have the Daoist Heart Clarity of an unrivaled talent. Most of the difficulties and dangers on this path of cultivation turn invisible when it comes to you.”

“However, those crises that can’t be dispelled are even more perilous for you.”

“The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations are inevitable. Only by treading cautiously, as if on thin ice, can you see a sliver of hope for survival. Have you remembered?”

“Disciple has remembered,” Qiu Changtian affirmed seriously.

“Very well,” the Ziwei Master nodded slightly, “You may go.”

Qiu Changtian bowed respectfully and then got up and left.

After an unknown amount of time, from behind the golden curtain and atop the nine-colored lotus dais, another long and resigned sigh was heard.

Highly accomplished in cultivation and having been at the helm of Kunlun for many years, there’s hardly anything in this world that can pose a challenge to the Ziwei Master.

Except… only the future fate of this Direct Disciple has been calculated by him thousands of times over and yet remains elusive.

It’s as if it’s being concealed by someone.

But in this world, who could possibly hide a fate from him, the Ziwei Master’s calculations? If it were an immortal, that would be one thing, but if, by any chance, it is the Heavenly Dao…

Qiu Changtian returned to Golden Ridge, only to find Xu Yinglian in white clothes, waiting for him at the entrance of the cave dwelling.

Ah, this… Could she possibly know?

Impossible! I haven’t spoken a word to her since coming from the Scripture Lecture Hall!

“Senior Brother,” Xu Yinglian saw him finally return and seriously said:

“My Great Bright Fire has made minor achievements. I wonder how your Five Thunder True Law is coming along?”

Is she suggesting another contest? Qiu Changtian was almost speechless.

Enough with the constant competition—swordsmanship, Daoist discourses, Daoist Magic. Does it ever end?

“The Five Thunder True Law is immensely powerful and must not be wielded lightly,” he found an excuse to decline.

“No matter,” Xu Yinglian was prepared, “To the west of Kunlun, on the way to the Extreme West, there is a long and narrow valley, an uninhabited area called ‘Congling Xuan Pass,’ where we can fully exercise our Daoist Magic.”

Qiu Changtian was somewhat surprised; Junior Sister Xu had clearly come prepared!

To refuse again would make this foolish junior sister think he was looking down on her, so he could only get rid of her as soon as possible and talk later.

The two then took to sword flight, heading west.

The entrance to the Extreme West was obstructed by a vast expanse of barren mountains, also known as “Congling.” Except for the summer season, the mountains were always covered in heavy snow and uninhabited.

Arriving at the Congling passageway described by Junior Sister Xu, Qiu Changtian saw winding barren mountains on both sides and a tremendous gap in the middle, as if it had been forcibly blasted open by a great deal of Daoist magic.

Traveling several dozen miles along the mountain pass, the corridor gradually narrowed.

“Should we stop here?” Xu Yinglian stopped the sword light, asking for confirmation.

“Mm,” Qiu Changtian nodded reservedly.

Xu Yinglian then turned to gaze at a distant rock wall and chanted an incantation:

“Floating Morning Light, shine forth ten thousand ren!”

In that instant, brilliant light burst forth, spewing from her mouth and nose outward, turning into a mass of intense fiery clouds that landed on the rock wall, instantly melting and eroding it!

In just a few breaths, tens of meters wide and nearly a hundred meters deep of mountainous rock and soil had been burned to flying ash by the Great Bright Fire.

Qiu Changtian: ?

If it had been Jade Pivot Thunder, firstly, it wouldn’t have blasted such a large area, and secondly, it couldn’t have burned all that soil and rock to nothing.

Junior Sister Xu, you’ve been plotting this for a long time!

Looking at her own achievement in front of her, Xu Yinglian also felt somewhat proud and glanced sideways at Qiu Changtian.

Qiu Changtian sighed for a moment, then began to form hand seals and chanted:

“Sound that shakes the three realms, Tai Yi Divine Thunder, shatter!”

Semi-transparent thunder light emerged from his hands, silently shooting towards the mountain wall ahead.

A thunderous explosion that could shake heaven and earth nearly deafened Xu Yinglian.

After the dust cleared, the two of them, looking past a mess on the ground, saw nothing but empty space where the mountain wall used to be.

Moreover, the ground and rocks within a radius of over a hundred meters around them had been leveled (and this was Qiu Changtian specifically restraining its power).

As for the marks of the Great Bright Fire that Xu Yinglian had used earlier, they had been completely covered by the Tai Yi Thunder, leaving not a trace behind.

[Invincible Character Setting, Synchronization Value +1]

[Invincible Character Setting, Synchronization Value +1]

[Invincible Character Setting, Synchronization Value +1]

…

The Kunlun Mirror directly prompted with a tenfold notification.

Xu Yinglian: ……

She silently gazed at the scene before her, her expression forlorn, remaining speechless for a long time.

“No matter how strong Daoist magic is, after all, it’s just an external technique,” having racked up a wave of Invincible Character Setting synchronization values, Qiu Changtian spoke contentedly, “As Kunlun cultivators, in the end, we still need to consider our cultivation realm…”

“If it comes to cultivation realm, can I defeat senior brother?” Xu Yinglian asked softly, her expression vague, eyes misty, and even a trace of sorrow appeared in her tone.

Bad! The junior sister’s Daoist heart is wavering!

She’s deviating!

Seeing Xu Yinglian’s face grow increasingly shadowed with demonic qi, Qiu Changtian hurriedly stepped forward, grabbing her hands tightly, and said sternly:

“So what?”

“Does a temporary defeat mean you’re doomed to be behind for life?”

“Xu Yinglian, don’t make me look down upon you!”

“My junior sister Xu Yinglian should be the one who obsessively seeks to surpass me, who never yields, not someone who becomes resentful and self-pitying, sinking into depravity just because of a temporary loss!”

This thunderous voice jolted Xu Yinglian abruptly awake, and her previously dim Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, affected by the violent emotions, quickly resumed its operation.

Seeing the demonic qi on her face quickly recede and her expression clear up again, Qiu Changtian had just breathed a sigh of relief when Xu Yinglian suddenly grabbed the collar of his long robe, forcibly pulling his head down toward her.

Her flushed face was very close to Qiu Changtian’s, close enough for him to see the bright fury about to erupt in her eyes:

“Who did you just call trash?!”