Chapter 3: Marriage is Not a Possibility
Xu Yinglian was escorted to the entrance of Golden Ridge Cave Abode.
This foolish junior sister had red eyes and still hadn’t completely calmed down.
Simply because she uttered offensive words in the Scripture Lecture Hall, she apologized to Qiu Changtian in a low voice, seriously.
Of course, Qiu Changtian wouldn’t take it to heart.
To tell the truth, with the task of seizing the Heaven-Mending Stone weighing heavily on his mind, he couldn’t be bothered to see this junior sister as a contender.
His real enemy was the unknown person living in the Jade Void Palace who possessed the Heaven-Mending Stone fragment!
To obtain this Innate Spiritual Treasure, it was highly likely that the other party was a great figure at the level of a Supreme Elder, ranking even above the Ziwei Master.
Whether it was persuasion, deception, or theft, the current Qiu Changtian did not have the confidence to obtain the Heaven-Mending Stone fragment from them.
Explaining the whole story was out of the question. Leaving aside whether the other party would believe it or not, just the fact of how he knew about the calamity of the Age of Dharma Decline was unexplainable.
Not to mention the Kunlun Mirror within him, which was an Innate Spiritual Treasure of the same caliber as the Heaven-Mending Stone.
Once it was revealed to anyone, it would inevitably bring disaster rather than fortune to him!
After sending the junior sister back, Qiu Changtian returned to his cave abode, sat on the stone bed and meditated for several hours, circulating the True Qi in his body according to the routes in the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,” thus slightly filling his Qi Sea.
Having completed his cultivation for the day, Qiu Changtian once again called out in his mind:
“Ah Jing! Ah Jing!”
Only after a long while did a resigned voice come through:
“What is it?”
“It’s time to go to Shushan,” reminded Qiu Changtian.
The Kunlun Mirror fell silent for a moment before asking:
“What do you plan to do about Xu Yinglian?”
“Naturally, I’ll refuse,” Qiu Changtian said with a laugh, “Women only affect the speed of my cultivation!”
Kunlun Mirror: …
“What’s wrong? Isn’t that right?”
“Xu Yinglian’s Yuan Yin is naturally extremely pure. If you could Dual Cultivate with her and achieve Yin Yang Harmonization, it would be greatly beneficial to you,” stated the Kunlun Mirror truthfully.
“You, a lustful mirror, how do you even know the method of Dual Cultivation?” Qiu Changtian asked suspiciously, “Tell me, have you taken a fancy to something about her?”
“Xu Yinglian has the Phoenix Bloodline,” explained the Kunlun Mirror, “Though it is thin, it still holds its rank.”
“Phoenix Bloodline, so what?” mocked Qiu Changtian internally, thinking, “As expected,” and then pressed on with his questions.
“The Phoenix Bird is the true spirit within the demon kind, possessing fiery blood,” the Kunlun Mirror spoke frankly. “If you Dual Cultivate with her and stimulate the True Spirit within the depths of the bloodline, I can engrave the ‘Phoenix Bloodline’ talent into the mirror.”
“And then what?” Qiu Changtian sighed and asked, “To gain the ‘Phoenix Bloodline’ talent, I’d have to play Xu Yinglian’s role, right?”
“Yes,” replied the Kunlun Mirror, “Her persona is ‘seeking victory’, you should be very familiar with her.”
Silent in thought, it wasn’t until quite some time had passed that Qiu Changtian said:
“First, take me to Shushan.”
“All right,” the Kunlun Mirror started to operate, and Qiu Changtian felt a great brightness in his Sea of Consciousness, his three souls and seven spirits seemed to be vibrating.
[Countdown to world destruction: one thousand years.]
[Please hurry in finding the Heaven-Mending Stone.]
The Kunlun Mirror recited mechanically:
[Point Two: Shushan Shangqing Faction, Qingluo Peak.]
[Identity: Ling Yunpo.]
[Mirror Flower Water Moon Template overlay, time-space travel in progress.]
Ling Yunpo abruptly opened his eyes.
At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged on a soft bed, surrounded by the vintage furnishings of an ancient bedroom.
On the wall near the bed hung a copper mirror.
Upon gazing into the copper mirror, he saw a dark-haired young man, handsome and valiant, with a resolute expression.
Although his features were quite similar to those of Qiu Changtian, the temperament was entirely different, bearing a hint of a great grievance.
To personify this temperament, it was like a dark youth who was bent on avenging his family murdered by his own brother, who had then escaped into hiding…
Switching from Qiu Changtian to Ling Yunpo required only activating the Mirror Flower Water Moon of the Kunlun Mirror, creating a permanent illusion that subtly influenced the senses of everyone around.
No matter whether by sight, hearing, smell, or touch, no matter how anyone attempted to perceive him, the image they would discern would no longer be Qiu Changtian, but the current Ling Yunpo.
Of course, maintaining this image required assuming the corresponding persona.
If the inner persona did not match the outward appearance, and the Synchronization Value fell severely low, it might alert others that something was amiss, posing a risk of breaking the Mirror Flower Water Moon.
As for time-space travel, it was a unique skill of the Kunlun Mirror.
It could lock onto a space-time coordinate, transporting oneself to the designated time and place of the coordinate.
For example, Qiu Changtian had spent an entire day at the Kunlun Taiqing Sect.
At night, he would transport his body to the Shushan Shangqing Sect at the dawn of the same day, then disguise himself as Ling Yunpo using the Mirror Flower Water Moon Technique.
In this way, it would seem as if “Qiu Changtian” and “Ling Yunpo” could appear at different places at the same time, thus creating an alibi for both identities.
The reason for doing so was, of course, because the second fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone was hidden within the Shushan Shangqing Sect.
“Little Mirror, can you detect the location of the second Heaven-Mending Stone fragment?” Ling Yunpo asked solemnly.
“The location remains unchanged,” answered the Kunlun Mirror, “three thousand meters beneath the earth.”
Ling Yunpo: ………
Three thousand meters beneath the earth, what the heck? Am I supposed to dig down?
But it was obvious that whoever could hide something three thousand meters under the ground of Shushan had to be a significant figure of the Shushan Shangqing Sect—perhaps even at the level of a Supreme Elder.
It was still best to take the long view and plan carefully.
“Junior Brother, are you up?” The call of a Senior Sister came from outside.
“Senior Sister!” Ling Yunpo hurriedly put on his clothes and got up.
As he opened the door, he saw Senior Sister standing charmingly outside, smiling at him.
Senior Sister An Zhisu was the sole disciple of Su Jian, the Peak Master of Qingluo Peak of Shushan, and had already reached Great Perfection in the Refining Mansion stage, just one step away from Core Formation.
However, since her master Su Jian was in secluded cultivation and unavailable for guidance, An Zhisu’s cultivation had not progressed, forcing her to shift her focus to managing secular affairs.
For example, taking disciples on behalf of her master and training junior brothers.
As Ling Yunpo looked over, he saw Senior Sister An dressed in a light yellow short blouse and an off-white long skirt today, her hair tied in an elegant bun behind her head.
With a pure and lovely appearance, combined with her gentle and sisterly temperament, she was irresistible to any man.
However, there was a fierce aura faintly discernible between her brows…
This was the ferocity she had garnered as a Shushan Sword Immortal from countless life-or-death battles, ensuring that Ling Yunpo wouldn’t dare to underestimate her.
“Junior Brother, since you joined Qingluo Peak only yesterday, today I will tell you about cultivating immortality,” An Zhisu said with a smile as she led him towards the Contemplation Hall.
“To begin cultivating from a mortal body, you must first ‘Fasting,’ then ‘Qi Refinement,’ and finally master the ‘Sword Control Technique.’ Cultivators call this ‘passing through three trials.’
“Because Master is in seclusion, I will pass on three scrolls of scripture to you for now.”
“‘Nine Spirits Return to the Sun and Unite the Divine Supreme True Jade Scripture’, for fasting and abstaining from grains;”
“‘Supreme Primordial True Record’, for opening the Qi Sea;”
“‘Shangqing Secret Transmission Shushan Swordsmanship’, for learning to control the Qi and mastering the incantation of our school’s swordsmanship.”
As Qiu Changtian, Ling Yunpo had already mastered these ‘three trials’ thoroughly.
But now, impersonating Ling Yunpo, he used Mirror Flower Water Moon to disguise himself as a mortal who had not entered the Qi Refinement Realm, patiently listening as Senior Sister An explained the contents of the entry-level scriptures in detail.