Time never stopped just because you couldn't bear to see it go.
A happy life was brief and hurried.
No matter how long it lasted, you would always feel it was too short. Perhaps that was what happiness meant.
"Master, I have something for you." Chen Qinglin took out a Qi Gathering Pill and offered it to Xie Feng.
Xie Feng took it and looked at it. Shocked, he said, "This is far too precious, Qinglin. I can't accept it."
Although Xie Feng very much wanted it, he still refused. He would have accepted something like fine wine, but even if he sold the martial arts school, he couldn't afford a Qi Gathering Pill.
"Please take it, Master."
"Your disciple has no use for this pill anymore. Think of it as a token of filial respect from your disciple."
"If you feel you owe me, please look after my parents and the Chen Clan in Qingyan Town for me." Chen Qinglin pressed the pill into Xie Feng's hand as he spoke.
"All right. Focus on your cultivation at Qingfeng Mountain, Qinglin. I'll look after Qingyan Town."
"I know you're a thoughtful child. You and your senior sister are both at Qingfeng Mountain, so make sure you look after her."
"Taking you as my disciple is the greatest blessing of my life."
Xie Feng held Chen Qinglin's hand and sighed with emotion.
"Father, Mother, Xiaoxiao, Qingyun, Clan Head, Brother Qingshi..."
"I'm off!" He and Xie Jingyun leaped onto the Green Feather Eagle. It soared straight into the sky and disappeared from everyone's sight.
He left some medicinal herbs used for martial arts training, several bottles of Body Tempering Pills, and tens of thousands of taels of silver with the clan, for Clan Head Chen Yucheng to manage and put to use.
He also gave Chen Qingshi several bottles, and the martial arts school several more.
As for his family, that went without saying. Chen Qinglin left Chen Qingyun ample pills and medicinal herbs.
Chen Qingyun could now practice martial arts, and had officially become Xie Feng's disciple.
With the support of Body Tempering Pills, Chen Qingshi had reached the Body Tempering Fourth Level. He had been training at the Chen Clan Manor these past few days, while also teaching the children.
Over the past month, under Chen Qinglin's guidance, five people in the Chen Clan had become Body Tempering First Level Martial Artists. There seemed to be quite a lot of clan members with good aptitude for martial arts.
Chen Qinglin suspected that the Chen Clan had once been a martial arts family.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have so many talented clan members.
His own aptitude was above average. Thinking about it that way, his father and the others must have had potential too.
He'd told his father and the others to practice martial arts in their spare time. He wondered if they would surprise him when he returned next time.
Chen Qinglin was lost in thought and didn't notice the way Xie Jingyun was looking at him.
If only Junior Brother were a few years older, Xie Jingyun thought, watching Chen Qinglin in secret.
It was just that Junior Brother didn't like to show off. Even at Qingfeng Mountain, he was probably among the best.
Sigh...
I wonder if Junior Brother would mind...
Xie Jingyun, what are you thinking? Chen Junior Brother is only fifteen, three years younger than you!
Under the Spirit Stabilizing Plate's protection, no wind could blow inside.
But the thoughts of the two of them still wandered all over the place.
In the sky, the light gradually faded.
The clouds grew dark, and fierce winds swept across heaven and earth.
Thunder shook the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder roared—a storm was coming!
It struck without warning, in an instant!
Chen Qinglin had no choice but to make the Green Feather Eagle fly lower, skimming close to the ground as he and Xie Jingyun searched for a cave to take shelter in.
"Why did it suddenly start raining? The weather was perfectly fine when we set out."
"I don't know. Let's find somewhere to take shelter first. In weather like this, the Green Feather Eagle can't fly safely through the sky."
"There aren't any villages or shops around here. Looks like we won't make it back to Qingfeng Mountain today."
Qingfeng Mountain lay on the border between Cangzhou and Yunzhou. Setting out from Qingyan Town in the morning, they could reach the mountain by evening.
Caught in this sudden downpour, they could only return later than planned.
Meanwhile, on a cliff not far from Chen Qinglin and Xie Jingyun...
A mysterious person dressed in a black robe stood on the cliff face.
"This must be the Rain Curtain Secret Realm!" The Black Robe concealed the person's appearance, making it impossible to tell whether the figure was male or female. He stared at the cliff and murmured to himself.
"Half a year! I finally made it from Eastern Xuan Domain to Eastern Ridge Domain and found this secret realm!"
A mysterious Sword-shaped Jade Pendant appeared in his hand. The Mysterious Person tossed it toward the cliff face.
At once, ripples appeared across the cliff, gradually taking the shape of a doorway.
Seeing this, the Black Robe flashed forward and leaped through the door...
Not long after he entered, a giant eagle flew toward the area.
"Junior Brother, look! Isn't that a door over there?" Xie Jingyun suddenly spotted a doorway on the cliff to their left and pointed it out to Chen Qinglin.
"Why is there a door standing on a cliff face? Could it be a senior's cave abode?" Chen Qinglin had spotted it too, and felt puzzled.
But then he remembered the adventures in the storybooks he'd read in his previous life. He was tempted to go and see for himself.
"Junior Brother, could this be a cave abode left behind by some senior, with an inheritance inside? Let's go take a look!"
Xie Jingyun was excited. In this world, there were often tales of lucky people who had their families wiped out by enemies, were forced off a cliff, discovered the inheritance of a great senior, mastered profound martial arts, and finally took revenge.
"All right."
He had the Green Feather Eagle approach the door, then told it to wait nearby.
Only then did he and Xie Jingyun leap through the doorway.
As soon as they entered, dizziness swept over them.
When his senses returned, he found himself in an unfamiliar place, and his senior sister, Xie Jingyun, was nowhere to be seen.
A teleportation gate? Is this a secret realm?
He looked around. Rain fell everywhere. A lake stretched out in front of him, with a peach grove on either side. The peach blossoms were dazzlingly bright.
He gazed across the lake and saw a small island at its center.
Perhaps Senior Sister was sent to the island in the middle of the lake, Chen Qinglin thought.
For some reason, Chen Qinglin felt that the rain in this space was strange. The endless curtain of rain seemed like a world of swords.
The thought startled him. How could such a small place be home to an expert of that caliber?
He didn't dwell on it. The most important thing now was to find Senior Sister.
He easily chopped down a tree, whittled it into the shape he wanted, and pushed it into the water.
He leaped onto the tree and used True Qi to propel it toward the center of the lake.
After entering the secret realm with Chen Qinglin, Xie Jingyun had felt a bout of dizziness. When she came to, she found herself separated from her junior brother.
After searching around, she discovered she was on a small island in the lake.
At the island's center stood a palace, surrounded by exquisite, elegant pavilions. A few gazebos stood near the water.
Unable to find her junior brother, Xie Jingyun decided to explore the palace.
The palace wasn't overly ornate. Once inside, she found that it had an old-fashioned, understated elegance.
Every wall inside the palace was carved with a scene.
Some showed a person practicing swordplay in the mountains; others depicted several people sitting together, discussing the sword. There were scenes of a duel at a mountain peak, martial arts practice in a courtyard, swordplay in the rain, and a battle against a flood dragon...
Xie Jingyun followed the scenes with her gaze until she reached a wall bearing a carving of someone dancing with a sword in the mountains. Captivated, she focused her mind on it.
The Black Robe, who had entered earlier, ignored the paintings on the palace's outer walls and went straight toward its center.
He knew, of course, that these paintings held a great opportunity. It was said that each one contained a sword technique.
They were gifts Rain Sword Emperor had left for those who came here. Even if they failed to obtain the final inheritance, at least their journey had not been in vain.
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