Qingzhu Peak.
The mountain was planted with all kinds of bamboo, their colors bright and varied.
Green, black, white, purple...
It was said that at the peak grew the wondrous Spirit Gathering Bamboo. This kind of spirit bamboo could gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transform the surrounding environment.
Living there long-term could even enhance one's martial cultivation.
The essence of the Inner Qi Realm was to accumulate energy and open the meridians within the body. Energy was generally accumulated by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, taking various Spirit Pills, spirit medicines, Spirit Meals, Spirit Food, and other things rich in spiritual energy.
Ordinary Martial Artists generally absorbed only the same, unvaried spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
A thousand years ago, most Spirit Pills and Miraculous Medicines rich in spiritual energy were controlled by forces such as the Famous Mountains Great Sects and Noble Families Dynasties.
Legend had it that a thousand years ago, Outer Realm Demonic Evils invaded, and Martial Dao Sky-Supporting Giants rose up in those turbulent times. After a century of war, they had initially driven back the Outer-Realm Demons.
But this world had also been left scarred. After the war, several giants held a secret meeting, though no one knew what they had discussed.
The only thing known was that afterward, they jointly announced they would support the development of martial arts in the True Spirit Realm and make all kinds of martial arts techniques available. There were even rumors that peerless secret methods for breaking through to the Dharma Aspect and Void Cavern realms had been passed down.
The whole world erupted with excitement. Over the following centuries, who knew how many sects and how many heroes had emerged.
Five hundred years ago, countless rare treasures, unusual Spirit Beasts, world-shaking secret arts, wondrous cultivation methods, and more had suddenly appeared.
Ordinary Martial Artists all guessed that the giants at the pinnacle had made another breakthrough.
At the foot of Qingzhu Peak, Chen Qinglin and the two women arrived.
Su Yuexing tossed a Sound Transmission Talisman from her hand, then began chatting with the other two.
"Just wait here. I know Senior Sister Chang Yan of Qingzhu Peak. When she comes down, I'll ask her for you."
"This Sound Transmission Talisman is amazing." Chen Qinglin pretended to be amazed, as if he had never seen one before.
"Convenient, isn't it? Talismans only appeared in the last five hundred years. They spread from the Central Region, and by the time they reached us, two or three hundred years had passed." Su Yuexing explained.
"I didn't see anything in your hand just now, Senior Sister. How did you make it appear?" Chen Qinglin had noticed the ring on Su Yuexing's finger and had his suspicions, so he asked on purpose.
Before Su Yuexing could answer, Ling Ling held up her fair finger and waved it in front of Chen Qinglin.
"Junior Brother, you haven't seen a Storage Ring before, have you? Look! This is one."
"There's a Void Space inside a Storage Ring, where you can keep lots of things. That way, when you leave the sect on a mission, you don't need to bring a bag. I took out the Sound Transmission Talisman from mine, too."
Chen Qinglin praised it with an admiring expression, indulging his junior senior sister's urge to teach.
But inwardly, he thought, So this martial world has plenty of surprises waiting for me to discover!
"Senior Sister Ling, where can I buy a Storage Ring?" Chen Qinglin was quite tempted by one.
"They sell them at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion in Qingfeng City, down the mountain. Mine is a Human Tier Low Grade Storage Ring. It cost me a hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."
"I'm so poor now, working at the Disciple Promotion Office and having to find excellent disciples for my master. My life is so miserable! Boo-hoo-hoo..." Ling Ling acted heartbroken as she spoke.
"..." You call that miserable? Chen Qinglin was speechless.
"Don't listen to your Senior Sister Ling talking nonsense."
"She stole your master's Spirit Wine and drank it, so your martial uncle punished her by making her do missions."
"Your senior sister has never even left the sect. Her little nest egg came from doing missions within the sect, and from your master and senior brothers and sisters taking pity on her and giving her money." Su Yuexing finished, then shot Ling Ling a look. She clearly knew her friend's temperament.
"Don't kick a man when he's down, Yuexing! Next time you go on a mission, take me with you. I'm running out of money for good food."
"..." Chen Qinglin saw his senior sister in a new light. She had money to spend even without doing missions, and she'd dared to steal her master's Spirit Wine. Master Fu Shenxing's punishment might as well have been no punishment at all...
As they chatted, the person Su Yuexing was waiting for arrived after the time it took to brew a cup of tea.
"Yuexing, you're here."
Following the voice, a lovely young woman came down from Qingzhu Peak. She was tall and wore a blue martial outfit, her hair neatly tied in a ponytail. She looked bold and spirited.
She was greeting Su Yuexing.
When she came closer, Su Yuexing introduced everyone to one another.
"Big Sister Chang Yan, you finally came."
"Ling'er, Junior Brother Chen, this is Senior Sister Chang Yan of Qingzhu Peak."
"Last time, when we went to kill the Evil Method Cultivator who had slipped into Youzhou, I went with Senior Sister Chang Yan. I was lucky to have her looking after me."
"Big Sister Chang Yan, this is my good friend, Ling Ling of Qingyun Peak, and her junior brother, Chen Qinglin."
"Yuexing, I heard you're at the Mission Hall now. What brings you here?" Chang Yan greeted the two women before turning to speak with Su Yuexing.
"This Junior Brother Chen Qinglin wants to find someone on Qingzhu Peak, but he doesn't know anyone here, so I came to introduce him. And, well, I missed you, Big Sister Chang Yan." Su Yuexing looked at Chang Yan with utmost sincerity as she spoke.
"All right, all right, I know." Chang Yan was a straightforward woman, and she couldn't withstand Su Yuexing's tactics. "Who are you looking for?"
"Senior Sister Chang, we're looking for Senior Sister Xie Jingyun, a disciple of Elder Meng Yunling of Qingzhu Peak. Is Senior Sister Xie here?" Chen Qinglin stepped forward to answer.
"Junior Sister Xie? Wait here. I'll go call her."
Then she added apologetically, "Everyone on Qingzhu Peak is a female disciple. Male disciples can't enter without special permission."
"Junior Sisters Ling and Su can come with me, though."
"Please go with her, Senior Sisters. I'll wait here." Seeing the two women's conflicted expressions—they wanted to go but didn't want to leave him behind—Chen Qinglin spoke up first.
"It shouldn't take long."
"Then we'll go. Wait here for us, Junior Brother." Ling Ling hesitated.
"Mm..."
"Let's go." Chang Yan took out a Qingzhu Peak disciple's Jade Talisman and led the two women onto the peak.
Chen Qinglin waited there for a while. Before Ling Ling and the others had come back down, he saw several disciples heading his way.
When they spotted Chen Qinglin, they gathered around him and spoke in hushed voices. "Junior Brother, are you here to check out the senior and junior sisters from Qingzhu Peak, too?"
"Let me tell you, I heard some beautiful junior sisters came with the latest batch of new disciples. I didn't expect you to be one of us, Junior Brother. Heh heh heh!"
They chuckled lewdly. They didn't look bad themselves, and their clothes were fancy, but the moment they spoke, they ruined their whole air.
"I'm waiting for someone, Senior Brother!"
"We understand. We're here waiting for someone, too." Seeing their faces that said, We know exactly what you mean, Chen Qinglin felt there was no way to explain himself.
So he couldn't be bothered to explain. He waited there and listened to them talk.
"Senior Brother, will we get to see the new junior sisters today? We've been coming here for several days in a row!"
"What's the rush? If you don't want to watch, you can leave. I'll wait here by myself."
"Heh heh, what are you saying, Senior Brother? How could we leave you here alone? I heard one of the junior sisters who entered Qingzhu Peak is so beautiful she could put all other women to shame. What was her name again, Hua..." He scratched his head, unable to remember for a moment.
"Hua Yunqing?" Chen Qinglin remembered the young girl from the disciple recruitment gathering and answered.
"Ah, right, right, that's her name! I knew you were one of us, Junior Brother. You even found out her name, but you denied it. Heh heh heh!"
They waggled their eyebrows at Chen Qinglin.
"Song Yong, you're corrupting another junior brother!" A voice came from behind them. They turned around and saw Chang Yan and the others coming down.
"Senior Sister Chang Yan, we were just passing by. How can you slander us out of nowhere?" Song Yong hurriedly replied.
"Get lost, or I'll beat you up." Chang Yan looked at him with disdain.
Song Yong wasn't a bad person, really. He just liked looking at pretty senior and junior sisters, and was always running his mouth without a shred of seriousness.
"Senior Sister Chang Yan, don't hit us. We really were just passing by." As he spoke, he signaled to the others and Chen Qinglin with his eyes, urging them to leave with him.
Watching this scene, Chen Qinglin wordlessly hopped over beside Senior Sister Ling Ling and joined the women in looking down on Song Yong and the others.
Song Yong stared at him, dumbfounded, then secretly gave Chen Qinglin a thumbs-up.
"I heard a junior brother was looking for me. Was that you?"
Several young women came down with Chang Yan and the others. One of them, dressed in a pale-yellow skirt, spoke to him.
Chen Qinglin looked at her. The most striking thing about her was her eyes, whose pupils seemed especially lively, giving her a spirited air.
"It was me, Senior Sister. Do you know Iron Sword Martial Arts School?" Chen Qinglin asked in return.
"Ah! How do you know about Iron Sword Martial Arts School?" The woman was surprised, but still answered, "My father is Xie Feng of the school. May I ask who you are, Junior Brother?"
"Senior Sister Xie, Xie Feng is my master. He asked me to bring you this letter." As he spoke, he took the letter from his robe.
Xie Jingyun took the letter and stepped aside to read it. Only after a long while did she come back and say to Chen Qinglin, "So you're the junior brother Father recently took in. From now on, just call me Yun-jie. I'll look after you. If you run into any difficulties, you can tell me."
"Here's my Sound Transmission Talisman. If you need anything, come find me."
"..."
After receiving a letter from home, Xie Jingyun seemed rather emotional. Perhaps she hadn't been in touch with her family for some time.
She pulled Chen Qinglin over and talked about Iron Sword Martial Arts School, asking about Xie Feng, Xie Jingjiang, and the others.
The other senior sisters who had come with her—Ling Ling, Su Yuexing, Chang Yan, and the rest—joined the conversation as well.
It wasn't until dusk that Chen Qinglin said his goodbyes, and only then did Xie Jingyun reluctantly stop talking.
He thanked the senior sisters profusely, then returned with Ling Ling to Qingyun Peak.
Sometimes, Chen Qinglin felt he was a lucky person.
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