Heaven-and-Earth Treasures

"It's fine. He looks pretty clever to me. Maybe he just doesn't want to talk."

Li Qingqiu looked at Yuan Li and smiled softly. He beckoned to him, and Yuan Li immediately came around the table and curled up against his thigh.

He wasn't worried about Yuan Li's growth. After all, Yuan Li had the Master's Heart Fate, which meant he was bound to be clever.

He chatted casually with Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue while waiting for the disciples to serve the dishes, but his thoughts had already drifted to the Fortune Inheritance.

Night fell. Just as the meal had finished being served, Yang Jueding and the others finally returned.

Yang Jueding walked at the front, his expression strange. Xu Ning and Qin Ye followed behind him. As for the other disciples, they had gathered at the new courtyard below the mountain gate, hotly discussing the battle that afternoon.

Zhang Yuchun rose and asked, "Elder Yang, how did it go?"

Everyone else looked to Yang Jueding as well, their expressions tense. This was the first time anyone had provoked the Qingxiao Sect so brazenly. If they lost, there would surely be endless trouble in the future.

"We drove them off," Yang Jueding replied. "It was thanks to Xu Ning."

At that, everyone in the courtyard let out a sigh of relief.

"Xu Ning stepped in? What about you? You couldn't handle those people from the Juesheng Sect?" Li Sifeng seized on the key point and asked at once.

Yang Jueding looked a little embarrassed. He gave a dry cough and said, "The Juesheng Sect is no simple matter. They have the support of the Linchuan Tang Clan, and their sect master is a peerless expert. He even defeated Zhu Wuliang, the number one martial artist in Cangzhou. I truly wasn't his match."

"Zhu Wuliang? Zhu Wuliang of the Blazing Flame Divine Palm?" Cheng Canghai's eyes widened. He pressed for confirmation, his voice trembling as he stared at Xu Ning with a look as if he'd seen a ghost.

Seeing his expression, Yang Jueding's face relaxed. "That's right, Zhu Wuliang of the Blazing Flame Divine Palm. The Juesheng Sect's master is named Yan Wujin. He was unknown before, but I imagine it won't be long before he makes a name for himself throughout the martial world."

By now, Li Qingqiu had lost interest. "Sit down. We can talk while we eat."

Yang Jueding and the other two sat down immediately, and everyone else began asking Xu Ning about her battle with Yan Wujin.

"Yan Wujin's cultivation was truly formidable. I'd never seen anyone with such abundant Internal Energy. He could even make an entire lake boil. But Xu Ning's sword was stronger. Her Sword Qi actually carried lightning, and it could pierce through Yan Wujin's Internal Energy. You should've seen Yan Wujin's face—his eyes were practically bulging..."

The more Yang Jueding spoke, the more animated he became, and everyone gained a deeper understanding of Xu Ning's strength.

Why did it sound as if Xu Ning was even stronger than Jiang Zhaoxia?

They looked at Xu Ning again. She sat obediently beside Li Dongyue, eating her meal, and it was hard to connect her with the powerful fighter who had defeated Yan Wujin.

The meal was lively. Xu Ning's victory over the Juesheng Sect had greatly boosted the Qingxiao Sect's morale.

In a guest room, Su Xiling was also telling Zhu Yan about the battle. She was far more shocked than Yang Jueding, because she understood even better just how strong Yan Wujin was.

"An Entered-Realm expert was defeated by a young woman? That's unbelievable. Could the Qingxiao Sect really have an immortal watching over it? I never imagined anyone in the sect could be stronger than Jiang Zhaoxia, and younger, too. How did she cultivate such power?"

As Su Xiling spoke, the teacup in her hand trembled.

Zhu Yan remained calm. She said softly, "There will always be someone beyond you, and a heaven beyond the sky. The world's chance encounters are too numerous to count; there will always be some beyond our reach. Xu Ning is this formidable, which means her master, Li Qingqiu, must be even more formidable."

Su Xiling came back to herself. "Could what the Qingxiao Sect disciples say be true? Did an immortal appear in Li Qingqiu's dreams and teach him a technique?"

Zhu Yan didn't answer. She couldn't tell whether it was true or not, either.

That night, many people were destined to lie awake.

After dinner, Xu Ning followed Li Qingqiu back to his room and described Yan Wujin's strength in detail.

"Master, I could defeat him, but I couldn't kill him. His martial arts were truly formidable. If Elder Yang had fought him, I fear he'd have been gravely wounded within three moves."

Xu Ning sounded rather frustrated. After reaching the fifth layer of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, her confidence had soared. After all, even Jiang Zhaoxia hadn't reached that realm yet, and Xu Ning had opened up an enormous gap between herself and the other disciples. She hadn't expected her first battle after breaking through to end in failure.

Li Qingqiu sat on a stool. Seeing Xu Ning's defiant expression, he couldn't resist pinching her cheek. Smiling, he said, "What more do you want? You said yourself that Yan Wujin was formidable. Without you, Yan Wujin and his Juesheng Sect might have become the overlords of the Guzhou Martial Arts World. He must be devastated."

"Master, I feel like my talent for swordsmanship isn't very good. My Internal Energy's attributes, though, have given me lots of ideas. I want to focus on researching them from now on. Is that all right?" Xu Ning didn't avoid her master's hand. She looked at him and asked earnestly.

Li Qingqiu replied with satisfaction, "Of course. Finding your own path—that's what it means to truly graduate."

"I don't want to graduate, Master. I want to stay with you forever, and stay in the Qingxiao Sect forever."

"Haha, if that's what you want, then I'm happy. But if you fall in love someday and want to go down the mountain, I won't stop you."

"Pah, I'm not that shallow."

The candlelight cast the shadows of master and disciple at an angle across the wall. Looking at Xu Ning, Li Qingqiu thought of her when she'd first come up the mountain. Back then, she had been dirty and scrawny. Now she had undergone Bone-Shedding and Marrow-Changing and possessed the air of an immortal cultivator. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly at how quickly time passed.

The master and disciple chatted for a while longer, then Li Qingqiu sent Xu Ning away.

After Xu Ning closed the door, he waited another dozen or so breaths, then opened the Legacy System and activated the Fortune Inheritance.

[Claim Fortune Inheritance Reward]

[Activate Fortune Inheritance]

[Checking for Fortune Inheritance]

[Fortune Inheritance detected. A Heaven-and-Earth Treasure has been found. Accept the Fortune Inheritance's guidance?]

A Heaven-and-Earth Treasure?

Li Qingqiu was intrigued and immediately chose to accept. The next moment, his thoughts were pulled into a dream.

In the dream, he couldn't control his body. He could only watch himself make his way through the mountains and forests, heading toward some unknown place.

The Tai Kun Mountain Range was vast, lying in the southeastern reaches of the Great Li Dynasty. To the east stretched hundreds of li of deep mountains, shrouded in miasma and rarely visited by people. They said that beyond those mountains lay an endless ocean, but no one had ever managed to cross that stretch of deep wilderness. Lin Xunfeng had warned them before never to go east; if they encountered thick fog, they had to retreat.

The mountain where the Qingxiao Sect stood was still dozens of li from that wilderness. To ordinary people, the Qingxiao Sect was already deep in the mountains; finding it was no easy task. And the endless mountain ranges beyond the sect were enough to strike fear into anyone's heart.

In his dream, Li Qingqiu passed through layer after layer of miasma. He didn't know how far he had traveled when he saw a huge tree, a hundred zhang tall, with countless branches and innumerable hanging vines. The surrounding woods seemed like its subjects, bowing in worship. The image was blurry, though, and he couldn't make out the tree's true appearance.

When Li Qingqiu awoke and recalled the tree's shape, he was still shaken.

It was the first time he'd ever seen a tree so tall.

But since this was a Fortune Inheritance, the tree must surely bring him unimaginable benefits.

Li Qingqiu decided to set out before dawn and get there as soon as possible.

Beneath the night sky, Tang Ziqi helped the disheveled Yan Wujin along.

"Let's stop here for now. I have to use my energy to treat my injuries," Yan Wujin gritted out.

Tang Ziqi quickly helped him to a tree. As Yan Wujin sat down and began circulating his energy, Tang Ziqi still looked dazed.

Even now, when Tang Ziqi thought back to Xu Ning, he couldn't help shuddering. He couldn't tell whether it was from fear or because the night was too cold.

He walked to one side and sat down, taking the waterskin from his waist. As he quenched his thirst, he tried to think clearly.

All the disciples they'd recruited from under Zhu Wuliang had run off. If they wanted to establish a sect again, they'd have to choose another sect to use as a stepping stone.

Next time, they had to stay far away from the Tai Kun Mountain Range!

The forest was silent, with only the occasional cold breeze passing through.

Tang Ziqi had traveled a hundred or two hundred li and was already exhausted. Leaning against the tree trunk, he actually fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes and saw Yan Wujin sitting opposite him, warily watching their surroundings.

"What is it?"

Tang Ziqi rubbed his eyes and asked weakly. His gaze instinctively swept around, and soon he grew alert.

He didn't need Yan Wujin to answer. He could tell something was wrong.

Why was there thick fog in every direction?

There hadn't been so much fog when he'd gone to sleep.

"Something's wrong with this place. I suspect we fled in the wrong direction," Yan Wujin said gravely. After resting for three hours, he had recovered somewhat, and his voice was strong again.

Tang Ziqi frowned deeply, his expression changing. "They say there's an uninhabited region deep in the Tai Kun Mountain Range, where miasma runs rampant. Anyone who enters never comes back. Demons lurk there, and even wild beasts dare not set foot inside."

Yan Wujin slowly rose. "Looks like the rumors are true. We have to leave. Something feels wrong."

Tang Ziqi hurried to his feet. After looking around, the two decided to flee in the direction they'd come from.

A whole night had passed. The Qingxiao Sect's people should have given up chasing them by now.

Yet after they had run for several li, they still couldn't escape the fog. They grew more and more uneasy, feeling as if something was watching them from within it.

"Wait!"

Yan Wujin suddenly called out to Tang Ziqi, who stopped and looked at him nervously.

"This is where we rested earlier," Yan Wujin said, his expression grim. He pointed at a tree, and Tang Ziqi looked closely, noticing a character carved into its trunk.

Tang Ziqi panicked completely. Though he was well-read, he'd never encountered such a perilous situation.

Crack!

The sound of a branch snapping reached them, startling both men into turning around. They saw a figure emerging from the thick fog, and the two immediately braced themselves for battle.

Li Qingqiu stepped out of the fog, his left hand resting on the hilt of the Heavenly Rainbow Sword. He looked relaxed as he walked up to Yan Wujin and Tang Ziqi and sized them up.

The two recognized the Qingxiao Sect robes he wore. They exchanged a glance but made no sudden moves.

"Who are you, and how did you get lost here?" Li Qingqiu asked.

Tang Ziqi hurriedly cupped his fists. "We were chased here by our enemies and have been lost for several days. Young brother, do you know how to get out?"

Before Li Qingqiu could answer, Yan Wujin turned to look in another direction and said, "I didn't expect this place to be so lively. Stop hiding and come out."

At that, Li Qingqiu and Tang Ziqi turned to look.

A patch of grass shifted in the thick fog. Soon, a disheveled old man staggered out. His hair was white and tangled, his robe filthy and worn, and he carried a gourd in his hand, looking as if he were drunk.

Li Qingqiu looked at the disheveled old man, thoughtful.