Return to Qingyun

Small Pond Town,

After obtaining Zhou Yi Xian's Escape Technique, Jiang Ming studied it for several days and finally managed to use it at a basic level. However, when Jiang Ming used it himself, his control was far more precise than Zhou Yi Xian's, and the distance was on an entirely different level as well.

Today happened to be the fifteenth, the night of the full moon, when the Full Moon Well would reveal its wondrous power. After dinner, Jiang Ming headed straight for the woods outside Black Stone Cave. He did not want to wait another month. After all, he had been away for quite some time, and it was not yet the right time for the other volumes of the Heavenly Book. He could only wait for an opportunity. There was no need to remain outside any longer, so he might as well return to Qingyun and first learn Tian Buyi's alchemy methods, the Divine Sword Lightning Control True Art, and the like.

Before long, Jiang Ming found the Full Moon Well in the woods outside Black Stone Cave. Upon closer inspection, he felt there was nothing unusual about it. It was merely an ordinary water well. He then prepared to send his spiritual sense into the well to investigate, but when it entered, he saw nothing besides the well water, moss on the walls, silt, and stones beneath the water. There was not the slightest sign of anything unusual. This only made Jiang Ming even more curious and confirmed that there really was something wrong with the Full Moon Well. Nothing being wrong was the biggest problem, was it not?

Jiang Ming slowly withdrew his spiritual sense and sat beside the well, lost in thought. Every so often, he looked up at the sky to see whether the full moon had arrived.

"The full moon is out..." Jiang Ming, who had been looking up at the sky, immediately rose to his feet and peered into the bottom of the well. At that moment, all was silent. Jiang Ming stared into the well, then raised his head again after only a short while.

Yet his expression showed no change, and no one knew what Jiang Ming had seen. What was the person or thing he loved most? No one knew. Jiang Ming said nothing either. After remaining silent for a long time, he even forgot his task of investigating the Full Moon Well. This was the best possible time, after all. He was alone here, immersed in silence, so naturally no one would come to remind him.

Only after some time did Jiang Ming finally come back to himself. He had no intention of continuing the investigation and simply headed back the way he had come.

The next day, Small Pond Town's tavern

At noon, after eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Ming finally set out on the road back to the Qingyun Sect, his face once again full of its usual vigor. Taking out his treasured sword, he leisurely flew it toward Qingyun Mountain. If anyone had seen him, they would definitely have said, was this traveling? He was clearly sightseeing! His speed was painfully slow, barely faster than walking.

What should have been roughly half a month of sword flight was dragged out by Jiang Ming into two whole months. After flying for a short while, he would descend to look for food and drink. At night, he would stop to sleep, and he did not follow any route at all. He had thoroughly turned his journey into a culinary tour, truly catching people off guard.

"Ah... I got here so quickly. Happy times really are short-lived." Jiang Ming actually sighed as he looked at Qingyun's gates at the foot of the mountain. Yet he climbed Qingyun Mountain with a smile on his face, heading toward Da Zhu Peak.

Da Zhu Peak, before Shou Jing Hall,

Standing outside Shou Jing Hall, Jiang Ming looked at its plaque and was filled with emotion. When he had first arrived, he had stood outside Shou Jing Hall in exactly the same way. The only difference was that Shui Yue had led him up Da Zhu Peak back then.

Although Jiang Ming had been curious about the Qingyun Dao Arts at the time, he had not been determined to join the Qingyun Sect. He had simply let fate take its course. Later, after joining Da Zhu Peak, he discovered over two years that Tian Buyi, that fat old Tian, was always sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. Su Ru, his master's wife, was equally strict with his senior brothers, yet she only wanted them to surpass those who came before them. Even after years without progress, she never lost hope, just as parents always hoped their children would become dragons and phoenixes. Even if they amounted to nothing, they remained treasures in their parents' hearts. Tian Ling'er was always clever and mischievous, but how had she later come to favor Qi Hao, who was so much older? Jiang Ming had always found that puzzling. His senior brothers often laughed and roughhoused together, and it had all been so warm.

"Jiang Ming, you're back from the mountain! Why are you standing outside the hall instead of going in? Master and Mistress will definitely be happy to know you've returned..." Song Daren was extremely excited when he saw Jiang Ming suddenly standing blankly before Shou Jing Hall.

"Oh! Senior Brother Daren! I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I forgot for a moment..."

"How has Da Zhu Peak been since I left? Are Master and Mistress still the same as before?" Jiang Ming asked Song Daren in a doubtful tone. He suddenly wanted to know about Da Zhu Peak and whether anything had changed because of his departure.

Seeing Jiang Ming like this, Song Daren walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with some excitement, "After you left, Master and Mistress were pretty much the same as before. Whenever they had nothing better to do, they used you as an example and trained us from time to time. It just felt strange without you... Oh, right, after you went down the mountain, Master took in another disciple named Zhang Xiao Fan. He is still in the three-year coursework stage, though he occasionally helps Sixth Brother with chores... Let's go see Master and Mistress first. They will definitely be happy to see you back."

"Then let's go...!" Jiang Ming immediately followed Song Daren toward the Inner Hall.

The moment they entered Shou Jing Hall, Song Daren shouted, "Master, Mistress, look who's back!"

As soon as they entered the Inner Hall, they saw Master and Mistress sitting inside, drinking tea as though they had been discussing something. They heard Song Daren's voice from afar and were just about to rebuke him when they saw Jiang Ming enter the Inner Hall alongside Song Daren. Tian Buyi suddenly looked at the familiar face by the door and said, "Seventh?"

Hearing this, Su Ru looked toward the entrance. "Ming'er? You're back from the mountain?"

Jiang Ming walked forward and cupped his hands to Su Ru and Tian Buyi. "Reporting to Master and Mistress, your disciple Jiang Ming has returned from the mountain. This journey went very smoothly, and I have now found my own magic treasure. Please take a look..."

"Clang..." Jiang Ming immediately took out the Soaring Frost Sword and presented it to Tian Buyi and Su Ru with both hands.

"A fine sword, not at all inferior to a divine weapon of the Nine Heavens. It seems you gained much from this journey." Tian Buyi glanced at Jiang Ming's sword and was about to pick it up. But the instant he gripped the hilt, he felt a force of suction coming from the blade. The sword trembled continuously, trying to drain Tian Buyi's cultivation. Startled, Tian Buyi released it.

"Buyi, what is wrong?"

"Master?"

"Seventh, this sword of yours?" Tian Buyi looked at his hand, his gaze turning cold as he looked at Jiang Ming with suspicion.

Seeing this, Jiang Ming immediately understood. I was still too careless. In particular, the material of the Soaring Frost Sword's blade had been specially reforged by Sword Worship Villa and Iron God Island together. After that enhancement, its power had increased greatly, but correspondingly, its requirements for the wielder had also become higher. He then said, "Reporting to Master, this sword is called the Soaring Frost Sword, also known as the Life and Death Soaring Frost Sword. It is forged from special materials and has two sides in one body. One side is called the Heart Sword and governs life, while the other is called the Demon Sword and governs death. This divine sword possesses spirituality. When wielded, it changes according to the sword heart of its wielder. Anyone other than its master who picks it up will suffer the sword's backlash. Just now, Master was affected by the Soaring Frost Sword's backlash."

"What? There is such a strange sword?"

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