VHSTS CH22.1

Xuanlingzi’s words felt like a bucket of ice water poured straight down over Luo Jianqing’s head.

Across all of Taihua Mountain, even Sect Master Haoxingzi Zunzhe knew nothing about the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record, and Xuanlingzi was supposed to be in closed-door seclusion. That was the sole reason Luo Jianqing had dared to unleash the Nine Plundering Heavens Record so boldly. Yet now, Xuanlingzi was asking him how he had won.

Luo Jianqing’s body went stiff, completely at a loss for how to answer.

After a brief pause, Xuanlingzi’s indifferent voice sounded once more: “I heard from Sect Master Shixiong that you used One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses. That is a sword technique meant for the Nascent Soul realm. Have you already mastered it? Perform it once so Weishi may see.”

Luo Jianqing’s entire body relaxed in relief, though his back was already drenched in cold sweat. Summoning the Shuangfu Sword, he effortlessly executed One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses. In an instant, Shuangfu split into nine streaks of blue-green sword light that shot fiercely into a peak opposite Yuxiao Peak, sending jagged boulders flying and earth cascading down.

Back inside Beidou Zhenjun’s ruins, Luo Jianqing had still been unable to cast this sword technique smoothly. However, over the past half year of deeply studying the Nine Plundering Heavens Record, he had discovered that the spiritual power inside his body had become fundamentally different from the past thirty-odd years.

By normal logic, rejected as he was by the Heavenly Dao, Luo Jianqing could no longer absorb spiritual qi from heaven and earth. Yet after cultivating the Nine Plundering Heavens Record, a wondrous force had formed within his meridians. It swept across the land, plundering the springs and autumns of grass and trees, and along with them, plundering the laws and restrictions the Heavenly Dao imposed upon those plants!

Relying on these stolen laws, Luo Jianqing’s body could forcefully contend with the Heavenly Dao to seize spiritual qi.

Indeed! He was no longer humbly drawing qi from heaven and earth, but snatching it outright!

The Nine Plundering Heavens Record stood in direct defiance of the Heavenly Dao; it was plundering the heavens themselves!

Half a year of study had allowed Luo Jianqing to completely master the First Plunder of the Nine Plundering Heavens Record, though he remained unable to fathom the Second Plunder. Every time he circulated the technique to its climax, it abruptly stalled. Even so, the First Plunder alone already enabled Luo Jianqing to cast the Nascent Soul lethal technique One Sword Transforms into Nine Lotuses across major realms without ever missing his mark.

Seeing this, Xuanlingzi nodded in satisfaction. After offering a few brief pointers, he returned to his bamboo cottage to resume seclusion.

Holding his sword beneath the moonlight, Luo Jianqing gazed with complicated eyes at the tightly shut door of the bamboo cottage. Gradually, his gaze darkened; narrowing his eyes, he walked back into his own cottage and resumed closed-door cultivation.

Seven days later, Luo Jianqing received a voice transmission from the Sect Master and prepared to depart for Flowing Flame Valley.

Zuo Yunmo was unable to join the expedition this time. Having overdrawn his spiritual power to unleash the Azure Cloud Sword a second time and then suffering heavy injuries from Luo Jianqing, although Zuo Yunmo’s body had mostly recovered, Haoxingzi forbade his disciple from venturing into Flowing Flame Valley just to be safe.

Early that morning, Luo Jianqing packed a few simple belongings into his storage ring. As he stepped out the door and was about to pull it shut, he suddenly saw a tall, slender figure standing right in front of his cottage. Luo Jianqing’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at Xuanlingzi, who had emerged from seclusion at some unknown moment.

Master and disciple stood before the bamboo cottage, neither speaking a word.

A gentle breeze brushed through the slender emerald leaves of the bamboo grove, stirring a soft rustling sound like a lighthearted melody.

After a long silence, Luo Jianqing couldn’t resist stepping forward and saying, “Shifu, Sect Master Shibo has already sent word. My shidi, shimei, and I will set out for Chang Prefecture under Elder Shan’s leadership to enter Flowing Flame Valley.”

Xuanlingzi acted as though he hadn’t heard a thing. Only after Luo Jianqing repeated himself did he ask softly, “Jianqing, how is your cultivation of the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record progressing?”

Luo Jianqing froze slightly.

Xuanlingzi turned his head to look at him, a fleeting glint flashing across his cool, narrow eyes. Speaking calmly, Xuanlingzi said, “For a cultivator, sword techniques are secondary; far more important are your cultivation method and whether you and your sword are of one mind. Flowing Flame Valley is no ordinary place. Since you are going, Weishi will bestow a gift upon you today to serve as an expedition magic treasure.”

Luo Jianqing gasped in surprise: “Shifu?”

Xuanlingzi suddenly swept his sleeve, wrapped an arm around Luo Jianqing’s waist, and transformed into a streak of flowing light, soaring out of Yuxiao Peak. He set Luo Jianqing down gently atop the summit of an adjacent peak beside Yuxiao Peak, while he himself stepped out into the empty air between the two peaks.

Treading effortlessly upon thin air, the white-robed, wide-sleeved Zunzhe walked step by step to the exact midpoint between the two mountain peaks.

Luo Jianqing watched Xuanlingzi’s actions in bewilderment. Naturally, he knew what an “expedition magic treasure” was. Whenever little shimei went out on trials in the past, Yuqingzi Zunzhe doted on her terribly, handing over piles of high-grade treasures and pills just to ensure her precious disciple returned safely.

In the past, however, Luo Jianqing had gone on countless perilous expeditions without ever receiving a single magic treasure.

Even without Xuanlingzi stating it aloud, Luo Jianqing understood that his Shifu valued a cultivator’s own strength and disliked relying on external artifacts.

Yet now, Xuanlingzi said he was giving him a magic treasure?

While Luo Jianqing stood thoroughly perplexed, Xuanlingzi reached the center between the two peaks. Fierce mountain gales howled through the chasm, whipping Xuanlingzi’s long, ink-black hair into the air and making his wide robes dance wildly. Suddenly turning his head toward Luo Jianqing, Xuanlingzi revealed a smile of peerless grace upon his cool, aloof face.

Xuanlingzi sent a voice transmission across the chasm: “Weishi shall play a tune for you to aid you in achieving an early breakthrough.”

Barely had his words fallen when a resonant, majestic zither melody rang out abruptly.

Zheng!

Luo Jianqing widened his eyes in shock, staring in disbelief at the sight unfolding before him.

With a single pluck of Xuanlingzi’s hand, vast, surging spiritual power roared forth, galloping across the void between Yuxiao Peak and the adjacent peak as though striking an invisible zither string. Luo Jianqing hurried to the cliff’s edge and looked down. Spanning the chasm between the two peaks were shimmering strands of golden spiritual power transformed into zither strings, gleaming with pure gold radiance beneath the sunlight!

Taking mountains as his zither, and spiritual power as its strings!

Standing high above the nine heavens, Xuanlingzi’s music sounded as though it descended directly from the celestial realms, breathtaking and soul-stirring.

With every sweep of his sleeve and pluck of a string, his movements traced graceful arcs through the air, flowing like drifting clouds and running water in seamless perfection. Luo Jianqing had never heard this melody before, yet every single note struck thunderously against his chest, carrying a profound, awe-inspiring enlightenment that cleansed his meridians and gradually clarified his mind.

The music manifested into tangible visions between the peaks: immortal cranes took flight, colorful ribbons fluttered in the air, and auspicious clouds gathered overhead.

The wondrous melody echoed softly across all of Taihua Mountain. Every disciple set aside whatever they were doing to listen intently to the unfamiliar tune. Cultivators on the verge of bottlenecks suddenly grasped epiphanies, some breaking through on the spot; even Yuqingzi Zunzhe, who loved shutting herself in her cave abode to refine pills more than anything, flew out in astonishment to look toward Yuxiao Peak.

“Who possesses such immense fortune to have Xuanlingzi-shidi personally play the Yuxiao Zither for him?”

At this very moment, Luo Jianqing closed his eyes, immersing himself in that mysterious state of enlightenment.

He heard the sound of flowers blooming and fading across the earth; he heard the playful chatter of fish and shrimp in mountain streams; he heard the rustling collision of every gust of wind against tree leaves; and he heard the quiet sighs of every living creature growing and multiplying.

Lush yellow blossoms are naught but prajna; emerald green bamboo are all dharmakaya.

The Second Plunder of the Nine Plundering Heavens Record: Plundering the Dharma-Meaning of All Living Beings!

Luo Jianqing’s mind suddenly cleared completely, finally glimpsing the supreme realm belonging to the Second Plunder!

In the next instant, the final refined note soared thunderously straight into the clouds, scattering countless motes of golden light across all of Taihua Mountain. Countless spirit beasts ran excitedly out of their caves to bathe in the golden spiritual glow, while immortal herbs swayed joyfully as their surrounding spiritual qi grew markedly richer.

Standing at the very center of that golden radiance, Luo Jianqing felt a refreshing coolness wash through his body as warm, gentle spiritual power poured into every single acupoint across his frame, soothing his meridians until he felt utterly refreshed and at ease.

When the melody ended, Luo Jianqing opened his eyes and looked at Xuanlingzi hovering in mid-air. With a single sweep of his sleeve, Xuanlingzi caused the spiritual zither strings spanning the peaks to vanish instantaneously.

Xuanlingzi stepped forward toward Luo Jianqing. Appearing to take only a few paces, he arrived directly in front of Luo Jianqing; golden light flickered briefly within his pale eyes, and even Xuanlingzi looked slightly pale at this moment, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

Luo Jianqing lifted his gaze to look at him, and Xuanlingzi lowered his eyes to look back at Luo Jianqing.

After a brief pause, Xuanlingzi gently pressed a fingertip to the space between Luo Jianqing’s brows.

Luo Jianqing felt a sudden warmth between his eyebrows. Before he could even react, Xuanlingzi turned around swiftly, clasped his hands behind his back, and spoke flatly: “This wisp of spiritual sense will accompany you into Flowing Flame Valley. Jianqing, if you fail to cultivate diligently, Weishi will naturally know.”

Luo Jianqing’s heart trembled faintly. His lips parted as countless words surged up into his throat, only for him to swallow them all back down in the end.

Bowing respectfully in salute, Luo Jianqing turned and flew away.

Not long after he departed, Xuanlingzi, who had kept his back turned the entire time, suddenly staggered a step, nearly tumbling off the cliff. A streak of flowing light flashed across the sky as Yuqingzi Zunzhe arrived with a laugh, saying, “Shidi, what inspired you to play the zither today… Shidi, what happened to you?!”

Xuanlingzi waved a hand dismissively, yet Yuqingzi immediately sent out thousands of fine threads of spiritual sense to probe around Xuanlingzi’s body.

In the very next second, Yuqingzi’s eyes widened in shock: “Half your primordial spirit! I already heard from Haoxingzi-shixiong that the last time Jianqing went on a trial, you actually tore your primordial spirit in half to follow him in and suffered heavy injuries. Shidi, it hasn’t even been a full year, and you’ve split your primordial spirit again. You…”

“Shijie, you need say no more.”

Yuqingzi snapped in exasperation: “That’s Flowing Flame Valley we’re talking about, not some minor Nascent Soul cultivator’s ruins! Without a physical body, your split primordial spirit’s strength plummets drastically, barely at the early Mahayana or even Tribulation Transcendence realm. If you run into danger inside, you won’t even be able to escape! Shidi, losing half your primordial spirit puts even your life in peril!”

Pale-faced, Xuanlingzi offered no reply. Only when Yuqingzi clamored, “While Jianqing hasn’t gone far, you must take that half of your primordial spirit back!” did Xuanlingzi unleash a surge of sharp sword qi, blocking Yuqingzi’s path.

The handsome Zunzhe spoke indifferently: “Shijie, he is my disciple. If you dare do anything to him without my permission, I will collect the debt item by item from your disciple, Mu Tianxin.”

Yuqingzi’s eyes bulged in disbelief, struck completely speechless for a moment.

One ke later, the group of disciples departed Taihua Mountain’s protective barrier under Elder Shan’s guidance.

The journey from Taihua Mountain to Flowing Flame Valley was long. Even aboard an elder’s flying magic treasure, they traveled for ten full days before finally arriving at Flowing Flame City in Chang Prefecture. By now, countless cultivators had already gathered inside Flowing Flame City, many from established sects, and even more rogue cultivators.

Once Flowing Flame Valley opened, anyone below the Nascent Soul realm was free to enter. However, most rogue cultivators faced nine deaths for every single chance at survival and rarely emerged with treasures, whereas sect disciples typically banded together and reaped far greater harvests.

Upon arriving in Flowing Flame City, Elder Shan walked familiarly to the sole inn in town and claimed the room plaques reserved for Taihua Mountain.

This inn had been opened specifically by the City Lord of Flowing Flame City to host visiting cultivators, staying shut for fifty years at a time, then living off the profits for the next fifty whenever it opened. Every opening, rooms were reserved exclusively for the “One Mountain, Four Sects, Eight Great Clans, and Sixteen Sects,” while all other cultivators had to compete for lodging through their own strength.

Once Taihua Mountain’s party entered the inn, the elders of the other four sects came over to converse with Elder Shan. As the five chatted amicably, Luo Jianqing began arranging rooms for each disciple, thoughtfully assigning private single rooms to every female disciple, while the male disciples doubled or tripled up together. Even Luo Jianqing himself planned to share a room with Xie Zizhuo, leaving not a single spare room left.

Hearing this, Xie Zizhuo hurriedly waved his hands: “Shixiong, take a room by yourself! I happen to have some business to discuss with Little Nineteenth, so I’ll squeeze into one room with him and Eighteenth Shidi. Right, Little Nineteenth? Hehehe.”

Nineteenth Shidi snickered slyly: “Yes, Eldest Shixiong, Xie-shixiong and I have lots and lots of things… to talk about.”

Seeing the two grinning lecherously, Luo Jianqing raised an eyebrow. “Fine, then, but none of you are allowed to leave the inn tonight.”

Xie Zizhuo’s face immediately fell. “Shixiong! We finally get a chance to come down the mountain. How can you ground us?!”

Luo Jianqing sneered coldly: “As if I wouldn’t know where you’re planning to sneak off to? Watch out or I’ll report this straight to your Shizun, and we’ll see how he deals with you when we get back.”

Xie Zizhuo and the others wilted on the spot.

Meanwhile, Elder Shan was still conversing with the four Body Integration elders from the other sects. Handing subsequent arrangements over to team leader Luo Jianqing, Elder Shan headed upstairs into a private parlor to exchange intelligence on Flowing Flame Valley and discuss how to track down and eliminate that Nascent Soul demon cultivator once the disciples entered the valley.

Luo Jianqing had the disciples sit down and ordered several dishes so everyone could fill their stomachs first. Although cultivators could practice bigu once they reached Foundation Establishment, every dish served at this inn was prepared using top-grade spiritual plants.

Expensive things had their perks, and since the side dishes were remarkably delicious, Luo Jianqing ate several extra bites himself.

Before they had finished eating, however, the crisp clatter of metal rang out across the inn’s main hall. Luo Jianqing kept his head lowered, calmly picking up food with his chopsticks, while Xie Zizhuo and the other disciples looked over curiously just as a soft, velvety voice spoke up: “So what you’re saying is, there are no rooms left?”

The voice was light, bewitching, and slightly high-pitched, lilting upward at the end like a feather brushing softly across everyone’s hearts.

Xie Zizhuo gasped under his breath: “Shixiong, there’s actually a man in this world who’s so pretty he looks just like a girl!”

In the very next instant, a sharp whistle cut through the air straight toward Xie Zizhuo.

Caught off guard in astonishment, Xie Zizhuo failed to react, only for Luo Jianqing to lift his chopsticks and pinch a slender needle neatly between the tips. The speaker let out two soft, low laughs and retorted, “You tactless little brat. The man sitting right next to you is even better-looking than I am! Why did you only say I look like a woman and not him?”

Luo Jianqing lifted his head to look at the newcomer.

Clad in a blood-red robe embroidered with dark crimson hidden patterns, the man had gathered his long hair up with a white jade hairpin. His exquisite, alluring peach-blossom eyes curved with a smile as an ambiguous gaze locked onto Luo Jianqing. With a smiling face, crimson lips, and such a slender frame, no matter how one looked at him he resembled a woman, yet cultivators would never mistake someone’s basic gender.

This was a man, and a man who looked far too much like a woman.

Xie Zizhuo finally snapped back to his senses. As a notorious bully of Taihua Mountain, when had he ever swallowed such an insult? Slapping his palm onto the table, he barked, “What’s that supposed to mean?! Naturally my Shixiong is better-looking than you, and my Shixiong doesn’t act like a sissy like you do!”

Before the man could narrow his eyes and speak, Luo Jianqing spoke calmly: “It is indeed true that my shidi spoke rudely first, yet Your Excellency resorting immediately to a poisoned needle is making far too much of a fuss.”

The red-clad man chuckled coldly: “Little beauty, your shidi just called me a sissy.”

Xie Zizhuo opened his mouth to curse again, yet barely had he uttered the first syllable before Luo Jianqing sealed his voice shut.

With a flick of Luo Jianqing’s finger, the poisoned needle transformed into a faint gleam and shot straight back. The red-clad man swept his sleeve to retrieve the needle. Luo Jianqing cupped his hands and said, “I apologize on my shidi’s behalf. However, Your Excellency, please explain what you meant by using this poisoned needle as well. Even though you have reached the late stage of Golden Core, Taihua Mountain has never had a custom of letting others bully us.”

The man asked in a peculiar tone, “People from Taihua Mountain?”

Luo Jianqing lowered his eyes slightly. “Does Your Excellency have some insight to share?”

Hearing this, the man laughed instead of getting angry, his bewitching eyes sizing Luo Jianqing up and down. Luo Jianqing remained completely unfazed, whereas Xie Zizhuo and the others bristled with fury. Even Wei Qiongyin drew her sword, glaring dangerously at the stranger.