In the sea of clouds, Su Qinian and Liu Yuanqing, who had been guarding at the summit of Sunset Peak, opened their eyes.
Liu Yuanqing’s eyes were filled with a layer of green light as he checked the state of the array. He said to the nearby Su Qinian, “The time is almost up; the first batch of spiritual energy refinement should end. Go call that girl Yue Qianchi to guide them.”
“Why do we have to call Yue Qianchi? Can’t we handle it?” Su Qinian was puzzled.
Yue Qianchi was only at the Golden Core stage.
If something unexpected happened, wouldn’t it be more valuable if they, as Transcenders, handled it?
“You don’t understand anything! The cauldron inside is extremely hot; any clothes would be burned away. Could our old bones look at that?”
“Huh, you’re right.” Su Qinian realized this and chuckled, “Alright, I’ll send a message to Yue Qianchi then.”
However, at that moment, the sky above Sunset Peak suddenly changed.
With a thunderous roar, the earth trembled.
A giant green hand made of spiritual energy stretched out from the cloud layer and grabbed onto the array on the peak.
Liu Yuanqing: “!!!”
Su Qinian: “!!!”
“This aura… It’s Li Qingran’s master!” Su Qinian was dumbfounded, his voice trembling slightly, “Old Liu, are you sure your array can withstand it? If that person discovers what Li Qingran is going through now, we won’t die, but we’ll be stripped to the bone!”
“Shall, shall be fine,” Liu Yuanqing was also startled by the giant green hand, forcing himself to stay calm, “Don’t worry, my array was famous in the True Martial Sacred Land back then!”
“How so?”
“Well, there was a female elder who asked me to set up an array for her. I thought she was meditating, but it turned out she was having an affair with another elder. The person outside kept trying to break in for hours but couldn’t open it.”
Su Qinian: “… You really are a stubborn ass!”
“That was all in the past!” Looking at the creaking array, Liu Yuanqing’s lips trembled, his voice distorting, “Hurry! Help stabilize the array! It’s about to give way!”
In the next second, the sound of shattering echoed across the entire Sunset Peak.
The massive array, composed of dozens of smaller arrays, shattered under the giant hand’s assault. The explosive energy released, which should have destroyed the mountain, was instead crushed and absorbed by the giant hand.
Su Qinian and Liu Yuanqing were pushed back by a tremendous force, nearly a kilometer away.
The two stood dumbfounded in the clouds, too afraid to move.
Only the cauldron remained in front of Sunset Peak. Although no one else appeared, an overwhelming pressure enveloped the entire peak.
The Sword Pavilion disciples were silent, their instinct telling them to look up and see who was blocking the sky. But a force pressed against their necks, not maliciously, yet forcing them to look down at the ground.
…
Chen Huaian was very angry now.
Even though he saw Li Qingran’s naked body, he was still furious.
Without a doubt, Li Qingran was beautiful. Her hair flowed like clouds, her eyebrows like distant peaks; her skin was like condensed fat, her figure enchanting. She had a face as pure as a daffodil flower, yet possessed a devilish figure that even a demoness from the demonic sect would be ashamed of.
At first glance, he blushed; at second glance, he was seething with anger.
Li Qingran’s face was pale, her body covered in poison.
Every inch of her skin bore marks of burns from the medicinal fire.
With the help of the array, her wounds healed quickly.
But the constant burning and healing process was the most painful.
When her spirit consciousness descended, she maintained her kneeling posture inside the cauldron, her eyes closed, her back straight, hands holding the medicine mud in front of her chest. Under the purification of pure water spiritual energy, the medicine mud had been refined, becoming a transparent gel-like substance.
[This is what you call spiritual energy refinement?]
Chen Huaian paid 66 yuan to help heal Li Qingran’s injuries while sending a voice transmission.
[Why didn’t you tell me clearly before?!]
Li Qingran slowly regained consciousness, feeling a warm power repairing her meridians corrupted by the poison. Recognizing the familiar spirit consciousness, she immediately knew it was her master.
Everything she had hidden had been discovered by her master.
Li Qingran lowered her head, biting her lower lip, at a loss.
[Speak!]
Her voice trembling, she stammered, “Master, disciple did not intend to deceive you. Disciple only wanted to help you. The Hundred Herb Detoxifying Pill’s materials require this step of spiritual energy refinement, but the process does not affect disciple’s body…”
That stern gaze did not waver, offering no response.
Li Qingran’s voice grew softer with each word until she finally bowed her head, allowing two tears to fall to the ground.
“Master, I’m sorry…”
[Painful?]
“Yes,” she dared not lie anymore.
[Hmph!]
A piece of clothing landed in front of her. The voice in the void softened slightly.
[Wear it, go to the small room, and wait there. I will deal with you later!]
Li Qingran shrank her head, carefully pouring the refined medicinal liquid into a small porcelain bottle in front of her before starting to dress.
As she dressed, her cheeks turned redder, a faint blush lingering in her eyes.
Chen Huaian shifted his view away from the cauldron.
He opened the map, zooming in on two green dots floating in the sky.
Liu Yuanqing and Su Qinian standing in the clouds came into focus.
[Liu Yuanqing, Su Qinian!]
The moment the voice exploded in the void, both old men trembled three times.
[I entrusted Li Qingran to the Sword Pavilion hoping she could grow happily, not suffer here. I trusted you greatly, yet now? Are you feeding my trust to dogs?]
Su Qinian and Liu Yuanqing felt bitter.
Didn’t Li Qingran say her master was gravely ill and surrounded by great demons?
How could they have the leisure to watch over Sunset Peak?
And remotely dismantled their painstakingly set up array!
Feeling the rising anger in the void, Liu Yuanqing hurriedly stepped forward to explain, “Senior, please calm down. Let me explain, if you find my explanation unsatisfactory, you can punish us later.”
Chen Huaian snorted coldly.
[I’m listening!]
…
[So, because the Danzong Patriarch Zhou Xuanzi refused to lend the cauldron, Li Qingran had to choose this dangerous method for spiritual energy refinement?] Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes, his tone full of anger.
Just now, Liu Yuanqing and Su Qinian explained everything in detail.
“Senior could have directly asked Li Qingran about this matter,” Liu Yuanqing said with a bow, “What we did was all for the purpose of refining the Hundred Herb Detoxifying Pill for you. This was also Li Qingran’s own choice.”
“Senior, as a Sword Pavilion disciple, I should not have agreed to Li Qingran harming herself. This is my fault,” Su Qinian said with a solemn expression, stepping back and bowing to the void, “Senior, could you give me some time? I need to disguise myself before going to Danzong to seize that cauldron!”
Chen Huaian laughed when he heard this.
[Does my Sword Pavilion only know how to steal and sneak around?]
Su Qinian’s face turned red, embarrassed, “It’s my mistake. I am not skilled enough, and I let the Old Ancestor see me in a bad light…”
[To think a mere Danzong would make you all so cautious!]
Chen Huaian spoke without a hint of embarrassment or shortness of breath.
With a wave of his hand, sixty thousand yuan brought him infinite strength.
His words shook the clouds above Sunset Peak:
[Directly send it up to me!]
[Let them know that whatever the Sword Pavilion wants must appear on Ten Thousand Sword Peak immediately!]
…
…
Li Qingran
