Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs

Volume 1: Carrying Wine and Singing Long Songs Chapter 2: Three Thousand Years of Qi Refining

"Grand Elder Uncle, although I am your junior disciple, you shouldn't bully me too much."

"Otherwise, that Thunder Beast with cultivation comparable to the Mahayana Stage—I fear no one in the current Righteous Path Alliance could defeat it alone. If that happens, it won't just be a catastrophe for the Azure Nether Sword Sect; it will be a disaster for all living beings."

"Why is Grand Elder Uncle in such a rush to go down the mountain?"

During this process, Bai Qiuran did not speak, watching him silently the entire time. Only after the matter had settled did he sigh: "Time truly flies. That naive, ignorant kid from back then has now become a Sect Master of a generation."

Bai Qiuran—this was a name that existed only on the oldest sect registry of the Azure Nether Sword Sect.

"Then what the hell are you afraid of!" Jueyunzi looked at these three little bourgeois who lacked any fighting spirit, had betrayed the revolution, and had immediately surrendered to the dark forces. He then looked at the dark forces leaning against the door, watching him with a mocking smile, and finally let out a long sigh.

Bai Qiuran asked again.

"Forget it, Grand Elder Uncle."

Speaking of this topic, a look of anticipation appeared on Bai Qiuran's face.

After arriving at the Sect Master's private residence on the Main Peak, Jueyunzi led the elders into the main hall, but he did not take the seat of honor, instead yielding the main seat to Bai Qiuran.

His master, Daoist Qingming, was overjoyed, even abandoning his plans to enter seclusion to face the Heavenly Tribulation, coming out personally to refine a batch of super-grade Foundation Establishment Pills for Bai Qiuran.

Ignoring the presence of several elders, he grabbed Sect Master Jueyunzi by the lapels.

After pondering for a moment, Jueyunzi said: "The Thunder Beast's attack destroyed the preparations we made for selecting disciples. Bieyun, I leave this matter to you; restore the arrangements as soon as possible. As for the candidates waiting in the Sword Hanging Town at the foot of the mountain, the Azure Nether Sword Sect will cover their food and lodging expenses for these three months."

Jueyunzi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

"That is exactly the case."

"Uh, I was planning to put it up for auction at the next Righteous Path Alliance auction."

"Also, the reconstruction of the Mountain Protection Array and the Mountain Gate must be prioritized."

After the Thunder Demon Venerable was slain by Bai Qiuran's sword, Jueyunzi reacted immediately. In his capacity as Sect Master, he ordered the first generation of red-robed direct disciples to clean up the aftermath, then led the elders to welcome Bai Qiuran, their Qi Refining Stage Grand Elder Uncle, onto the Main Peak.

Bai Qiuran pointed at Jueyunzi and said: "Besides, you don't practice any Poisonous Technique; what use do you have for this thing? You might as well let me handle it."

As a result, three thousand years of time had passed in the blink of an eye. His master, Daoist Qingming, had successfully crossed the tribulation and ascended to immortality in broad daylight. His Senior Disciple Brother had succeeded as Sect Master only to fail his tribulation and perish. Even the sixth-generation descendant of his youngest junior sister had successfully reached the Foundation Establishment Stage and learned to ride the wind on a sword.

The Second Elder, Xuan Yunzi, was the first to step forward.

"It is all thanks to Grand Elder Uncle's protection."

"Postpone it by three months."

"That seems to be the logic."

"This..."

Bai Qiuran made a show of walking out, muttering: "I'll go find little Liu Yun for travel expenses, and while I'm at it, I'll chat with her about that time three hundred years ago when you, Xuan Yun, Fu Yun, and Bai Yun teamed up to peek at her and Qing Yun bathing at the Moon Gazing Pool..."

Bai Qiuran asked him: "Of the five major sects of the Righteous Path Alliance, tell me, which of the other four Sect Masters can you not beat in a one-on-one fight?"

Jueyunzi wore a troubled expression.

"Sect Master Senior Brother!"

"And among the four branches of the Demonic Sect, which of the leading old demons can you not beat?"

"I want to go down the mountain, give me travel expenses! Oh, and a Heavenly Heart Grass, give them all to me."

Jueyunzi thought for a moment.

Jueyunzi's handsome face was full of indifference.

Jueyunzi was stunned: "The Azure Nether Sword Sect's disciple selection ceremony is coming up soon. Now that the Thunder Beast has attacked, other sects might receive news of it. Without Grand Elder Uncle here to hold the fort, I fear there may be complications..."

Jueyunzi still declined.

"Enough nonsense!"

Bai Qiuran did not disappoint, focusing his mind and continuing to work hard. At the age of seventeen, he became the fastest among his peers, and at the time, the fastest cultivator in the history of the Cultivation World to reach the tenth level of the Qi Refining Stage.

"The Thunder Beast attacked. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the disciples, but our mountain gate needs time to recover."

The Sixth Elder, Qing Yun Yuan Jun, said gently: "When Sect Master Senior Brother fought the Thunder Beast, the leaking spiritual power and Sword Qi destroyed quite a few buildings, including two warehouses. The supplies inside are likely damaged as well and need to be replenished and repaired."

"Grand Elder Uncle."

Bai Qiuran waved his hand: "That's it. I don't believe that you, a Sect Master plus a group of Body Integration and Spirit Severing Stage elders, can't handle a disciple selection?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Since ancient times, there has been an order of seniority. Grand Elder Uncle is our elder; as disciples, we should naturally do our utmost to find what he wants to show our filial piety."

"This time, many thanks to Grand Elder Uncle for the rescue."

"Sigh, Sect Master Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother are just speaking out of righteousness."

Bai Qiuran was one of the disciples adopted by Daoist Qingming after being spotted by him. He was an orphan picked up from a battlefield by Daoist Qingming. Before Daoist Qingming found him, he had been wandering the battlefield, surviving by scavenging from corpses.

Until today, even the little brat he had brought into the sect seven hundred years ago while traveling down the mountain had become a Grand Elder, entering a death-seclusion to prepare for the Heavenly Tribulation, while he was still struggling tirelessly to successfully reach the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Hmm, I'll leave this matter to you. Qing Yun, you lead the first generation of direct disciples to oversee this. I will have Liu Yun allocate the necessary funds to you."

Carrying the Foundation Establishment Pill personally bestowed by his master, and carrying the blessings of his fellow disciples and the seniors of the Cultivation World, Bai Qiuran entered seclusion that night to break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage. He took the pill, centered his energy in his dantian, focused his will through his meridians and bones, and then, three days later—

"I feel like I'm about to break through recently."

Qing Yun Yuan Jun and Liu Yun Yuan Jun, the two female elders of the Azure Nether Sword Sect, bowed and withdrew to handle the matter after receiving their orders.

"Whatever you want, just say it, and I will have someone deliver it to Seven Star Peak. How could I let you come and get it yourself!"

"Seeing that you are here, I am relieved."

"Why are you two so excited?"

Jueyunzi laughed: "You said the same thing last time, and it turned out that the hen you raised two hundred years ago to lay eggs had already formed a golden core and shapeshifted, yet you were still in the Qi Refining Stage, having only broken through a dozen more levels. Do you know? Before the Grand Elder entered death-seclusion, he grabbed my hand, snot and tears running down his face, saying that the day he left seclusion would be the day of his tribulation, and that he might not have the chance in this life to see Grand Elder Uncle successfully reach the Foundation Establishment Stage."

Jueyunzi hesitated: "I think I should still have the upper hand..."

"What are you afraid of?" The Third Elder, Bieyunzi, who was on the side, said: "Sect Master Senior Brother, what about tomorrow's disciple selection?"

Bai Qiuran clenched his fists, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Bai Qiuran asked.

"Yes."

He had broken through to the eleventh level of the Qi Refining Stage.

Jueyunzi said to Bai Qiuran very sincerely.

The Fifth Elder, Bai Yunzi, said woodenly: "Besides, you were the one who led the way back then. When Liu Yun and Qing Yun get angry, you're the one who suffers the most in the end."

Bai Qiuran laughed: "I'm going down the mountain tomorrow."

In such chaotic times, a brilliant and talented sword immortal emerged. He called himself Qingming, and relying on a single azure sword, he slew demons and monsters, bringing peace to the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou. Afterward, he arrived near Qingming Mountain in Guzhou, adopted several talented disciples, and founded the Azure Nether Sword Sect.

"I know that when you climbed over the wall to go [traveling] thirty years ago, you encountered one on the road. Don't even think about trying to pull the wool over my eyes."

"You want travel expenses, and as a disciple, I will naturally prepare them for you. But a thing like Heavenly Heart Grass is something that is hard to come by even for us. It's not in the Azure Nether Sword Sect's medicine storehouse; where do you expect me to find it for you..."

"Hmm..."

"Alright, if you won't give it, fine."

At the time, everyone didn't take it to heart, thinking that Bai Qiuran had a unique talent. Even his master, Daoist Qingming, comforted Bai Qiuran, saying that there were strange people and talented scholars in ancient times who reached fifteen levels of the Qi Refining Stage, and that his future achievements would be limitless, and so on.

When he was chosen as the next Sect Master successor, he had often encountered encirclements organized by the Demonic Sect and even other cultivation sects. In moments of extreme danger, it was Bai Qiuran who stepped in to save his life.

And Bai Qiuran, as the disciple with the highest talent at the time, he... he successfully cultivated to the sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-fourth level of the Qi Refining Stage.

Three thousand years ago, demons and monsters ravaged the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou, and the common people suffered unspeakably. The major cultivation sects of the time had suffered heavy losses from the war with the Savage Lands' Demon Race and had not yet recovered their vitality; they were like clay bodhisattvas crossing a river, unable to even save themselves.

At that time, the entire Azure Nether Sword Sect, and even the Cultivation World—which had experienced the great war and the demon catastrophe and was languishing, in desperate need of new blood—had high hopes for him, believing he would become the second Daoist Qingming.

"I have a feeling that I will definitely succeed in Foundation Establishment this time, but my super Foundation Establishment Pill is still missing a few medicinal ingredients, and I need to go down the mountain to find them."

"Besides, even if I give it to you, it doesn't mean you'll be able to break through to Foundation Establishment. In the end, it would just be a waste..."

Sect Master Qingming looked full of righteousness.

"Grand Elder Uncle has guarded the Azure Nether Sword Sect for over three thousand years. Now he only wants a small poisonous herb, and you are unwilling to give it to him?"

Bai Qiuran's talent was very high, and his intelligence was among the best among his fellow disciples. He began practicing at ten, and by twelve, he had already broken through the bottleneck of the mortal body, gathering the three flowers above his head and the five energies in his chest, officially stepping onto the path of cultivation.

Because he possessed a Wood Spirit Root of the Heavenly Spirit Root level, he was spotted by Daoist Qingming, who brought him up the mountain and took him as a disciple, ranking him third.

Jueyunzi nodded, but asked again: "But why does Grand Elder Uncle suddenly want to go down the mountain? You haven't left Qingming Mountain for hundreds of years since you moved to Seven Star Peak."

For the next little while, Jueyunzi and the elders discussed the recent affairs of the sect, arranging everything in an orderly manner.

"Cut the crap, are you giving it or not?"

Bai Qiuran answered very gently: "I am the only one left of the first generation of disciples taken in by my beloved master. Protecting the sect he left behind is naturally my duty."

Jueyunzi ordered calmly.

The Second, Fourth, and Fifth Elders on the side all changed color.

"I think, perhaps, possibly, maybe, roughly, that I am just a tiny bit stronger."

The Fourth Elder, Fu Yunzi, followed and closed the door.