Chapter 120: Does Brother Ming have a girl he likes?
Heavenly Profound Gate’s Climbing Heaven Mountain, also known as the Mountain of Seeking the Dao, or alternatively, the Mountain of Questioning the Heart.
Legend has it that this mountain was carried over by the founding ancestor of Heavenly Profound Gate from the Tian Shan range of the Southern Demon Realm during the sect’s establishment.
When cultivators step onto this Climbing Heaven Mountain, their chosen path will be tested, and their daoist heart will be questioned again and again.
The higher you climb, the more resolute your daoist heart is deemed to be.
Among the younger generation, only Qingwan ascended step by step all the way to the peak of Climbing Heaven Mountain without any hesitation.
In comparison, the outer sect disciples participating in the inner sect selection trial fall far short.
These outer sect disciples are selected through outer sect martial competitions.
According to the rules of Heavenly Profound Gate, reaching halfway up the mountain allows one to fully pass the inner sect selection and officially become an inner sect disciple.
But…
Currently, Qingwan believed that among these outer sect disciples participating in the inner sect selection, less than one in ten would succeed.
As Elder Chen put it, this batch of outer sect disciples was the worst he had ever seen.
But she remembered Elder Chen saying the same thing last time too.
Sure enough, out of the three hundred disciples who climbed Climbing Heaven Mountain, only twenty-five reached halfway.
The highest climber was still nearly fifty zhang away from the summit.
Nevertheless, the inner sect trial finally came to an end.
Before Xia Donghua and others could invite Qingwan to visit the neighboring Watch-the-Sea Peak, Qingwan eagerly flew back to her Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers.
Upon returning to the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers, Qingwan saw her master waiting for her amidst the sea of flowers.
“Master.” Qingwan approached and performed a kowtow. “Why have you come?”
“There is something I wish to discuss with you, Qingwan,” Wang Xuan slowly said.
Qingwan tilted her head. “What is it?”
Wang Xuan extended her hand and gently rubbed her disciple’s head.
“Qingwan, you have already reached the late stage of Sea Observing Realm. Your master has been holding back your cultivation progression, not allowing you to enter the Dragon Gate Realm, partly for the Rootless Mystic Realm trial and partly so that when you undergo the ‘Carp Leaping Through the Dragon Gate,’ the Dragon Gate would be higher. Now, it’s time for you to descend the mountain.”
“Descend the mountain?” Qingwan blinked, then her beautiful peach blossom eyes lit up with joy exceeding even the beauty of the flower sea. “Master, does that mean I can return to Wudu?”
Wang Xuan shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. “I’m not sending you down to return to Wudu.”
“Oh…” Qingwan’s peach blossom eyes immediately filled with disappointment. “Then Master, what mountain am I descending?”
Wang Xuan looked into her disciple’s eyes. “Didn’t I just say? Your cultivation level is sufficient, and you’ve almost completed the practice of the Heavenly Profound Heart Method. But your worldly experiences are still lacking. This descent is both a trial and a mission to seize a treasure.”
“Another treasure hunt?” Qingwan found such missions rather boring.
A few years ago, Qingwan remembered that upon arriving at Heavenly Profound Gate, her first task was also to seize a treasure, eventually obtaining a Daoist Heart Lotus.
After eating it under her master’s instruction, she didn’t feel much different.
Now, why another treasure?
“Master, what is this treasure?” Qingwan asked.
“Not even I know what this treasure is,” Wang Xuan replied. “I merely foresaw that there will be a rare treasure appearing in Baiwa City of Qingyang Jun, at the border of Wu Kingdom.
Baiwa City is on the boundary between Wu Kingdom and the Southern Demon Realm. Other sects may have also predicted this and sent cultivators there.
This time, the personal disciple of the White Crane Peak leader, the sect leader’s son, and the son of the Sword Peak leader will accompany you. We depart tomorrow, so prepare well. You must proceed cautiously on this trip to Baiwa City.”
“Yes,” Qingwan bowed in acknowledgment.
After informing her of the mission, Wang Xuan added no more words, only discussing her recent understanding of the dao before leaving.
Once her master departed,
Qingwan quickly strode over to the flower bed before the little wooden house.
Looking at the blood rafflesias in bud before the wooden house, the young lady squatted down and gently touched them. “You guys should bloom soon. Ideally, when I return, you’ll bloom. Once you bloom again, I can see Brother Ming.”
As if hearing the young lady’s voice, the blood rafflesias swayed gently in the wind, as if nodding lightly.
“Speaking of which, after all these years, does Brother Ming still remember our agreement? Does Brother Ming like any girls?”
The young lady supported her chin with her pale hand, pouting and muttering to herself.
The nearly eighteenth-year-old maiden felt somewhat melancholy.
“You useless dog, hurry up!”
“I’m already going fast!”
“Hurry my ass! Walk a bit, rest a bit. At this pace, it’ll take half a year to find Her Highness the Princess!”
“Ah, don’t rush! We’ve already determined Her Highness’s direction. Finding Her Highness is only a matter of time. There’s a human saying: you can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry.”
“Shut up!”
The one-legged firebird riding on the big black dog pecked fiercely.
The black dog winced in pain but did not resist.
The black dog, feeling wronged, could only silently quicken its pace.
“To be honest, I really don’t want to go to Wu Kingdom.” The black dog sighed while walking. “Back in Wu Kingdom, I almost got slaughtered by the Emperor of Wu and turned into a hotpot.”
“You have the nerve to say that! Not only did you fail the mission, but you wasted a Void-breaking Pearl. When you returned, you were severely reprimanded by the Chancellor!” Firebird Bifang snapped irritably.
“If you think about it, we’ve discovered the Ten Thousand Ancient Spiritual Roots, right?” The black dog chuckled. “That counts as making up for it.”
“It’s only because you got lucky!” Bifang turned her head. “But speaking of which, Wu Kingdom really has had good luck lately. A few years ago, it wasn’t about innate saintly bodies or innate sword bones, it was about the Ten Thousand Dao Spiritual Roots.”
“Normal.” The big black dog smiled. “Since Wu Kingdom borders the Southern Demon Realm, the geographical position is terrible, so the Tiandao compensates. Wu Kingdom’s poor geographical location naturally means some compensation for Wu Kingdom.”
“Don’t talk about that! Our main tasks this time are two!” Firebird Bifang said. “One is to find Her Highness the Princess and awaken her memories. The other is to kill Xu Ming and extract his Ten Thousand Ancient Spiritual Roots!”
“If we fail this time, dead dog, you know the consequences!” Firebird Bifang looked at the big black dog, her eyes narrowing.
The usually carefree big black dog put away his smile and nodded seriously. “I know, even without you saying it.”
