Junior Sister Xu Wants a Bath

The Kunlun Mountain Range is located west of the Divine Land, stretching from Xining Commandery in Yong Province to the east, to the deserts and Gobi of the far west, spanning nearly four thousand li.

For people of the Divine Land to go to Kunlun to seek apprenticeship, they must depart from Guanzhong, cross Longyou to Xining Commandery.

Then, they would take the Qiangzhong Road into Shazhou, pass through the three towns of Ruoqiang, Qiemo, and Yutian along the northern foothills of the Kunlun Mountain Range, and finally arrive at Shule Town to rest for a few days.

After that, they would head south into the Kunlun Mountain Range and reach the Kunlun Sky Pillar.

However, for Kunlun disciples to travel out, it was not so troublesome.

They only needed to fly their swords from the Sky Pillar, fly east along the trend of the Kunlun Mountain Range, passing through the three regions of Cengcheng, Xuanpu, and Fantong in order. Not long after exiting the Kunlun Mountain Range, they would reach Xining Commandery.

Then, they would turn southeast and cross Longyou to reach Chang'an.

The entire journey, approximately six thousand li, could be completed in just an hour and a half.

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian took to the air on their swords, traversing the entire mountain range from west to east, arriving at Jade Void Peak on the eastern edge of Fantong.

Jade Void Peak is the location of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect's external affairs hall. Both the management of external industries and the assignment of trial missions are uniformly handled here at Jade Void Peak.

Located at the foot of the northeastern mountain of Jade Void Peak is "Chitai," the largest market outside Kunlun. Within it lies the "Kunlun Spring," which is said to have beautifying effects when soaked in. It is a sacred place where the female disciples of the Kunlun Taiqing Sect linger and are reluctant to leave.

After spending a moment in the Jade Void Peak affairs hall, Xu Yinglian began to feel like going for a soak in the Kunlun Spring.

However, seeing that Qiu Changtian was still patiently browsing the mission jade plaques on the wall, she had to forcibly suppress her urge and continued to help him choose.

"Cooperate to explore the newly discovered ruins of the Qishan earth vein?" Her gaze fell upon one of the missions, and Xu Yinglian suddenly spoke, her tone eager, "This one looks good, it's challenging."

"Not taking it," Qiu Changtian's reply was equally concise.

"Then how about this one?" Xu Yinglian asked again, "Search for a heavily injured demonic cultivator who escaped from Beimang Mountain and fled here?"

"Not taking it either."

"Why?" Xu Yinglian asked, puzzled.

"Because it's all too troublesome," Qiu Changtian said, his gaze drifting towards the jade plaque for "Eliminate rampaging demonic beasts" next to it.

Hunting demonic beasts, these types of missions have clear objectives and short procedures, allowing for quick acquisition of spirit stone rewards, which he could then quickly give to Ling Yunpo to alleviate his urgent need!

"Troublesome?" Xu Yinglian asked, perplexed, "We are out for trials, what are we afraid of trouble for?"

Qiu Changtian chuckled:

"Exploring ruins? Who knows how large the ruins are or how long it will take to explore them?"

"As for searching for a heavily injured demonic cultivator, who knows where that fellow has run off to? If the mission takes ten days to half a month with no result, I'm afraid there won't even be time to soak in the Kunlun Spring!"

Xu Yinglian's face flushed, thinking her thoughts had been seen through by him. Her voice unconsciously lowered:

"If necessary, I won't soak in the Kunlun Spring this time, there will always be opportunities in the future..."

"Who said that about you?" Qiu Changtian glanced at her, "I meant I want to soak in the Kunlun Spring."

At this, the black-haired, straight-haired Junior Sister's expression rapidly turned icy, and her eyes began to look terrifying.

"What do you think of this mission?" Qiu Changtian pointed to a nearby jade plaque, "Hunting demonic beasts, are you interested?"

"Let's forget it," Xu Yinglian sneered repeatedly, "Chasing demonic beasts in the deep mountains and dense forests, with dim visibility, I'm afraid my Flying Sword might accidentally miss and stab Senior Brother."

"Does Junior Sister perhaps have poor eyesight?" Qiu Changtian asked in surprise, "I've never heard of someone confusing a four-legged demonic beast with a cultivator before."

"Although their appearances are different, they both have a stinky, annoying aura," Xu Yinglian turned her gaze away, "If I close my eyes, I really can't tell the difference."

"So why would Junior Sister use Sword Control Technique with her eyes closed? Are you planning to assassinate Senior Brother and seize the position of Chief Disciple?"

"If Senior Brother could be so easily assassinated by Junior Sister, wouldn't that just prove Senior Brother is unworthy of the Chief Disciple position?"

"Uh, did you just say 'assassinate'?"

"Senior Brother misheard, Junior Sister said 'accidental kill'."

"There's still a difference between accidental kill and assassination, how could I possibly mishear?"

"It seems Senior Brother's ears aren't too good either. Perhaps I should recite a 'Tong Er Ting Xi Charm' for Senior Brother. Otherwise, if you can't even hear Master's lectures clearly, the junior disciples will suffer when you relay them."

"Junior Sister, don't change the subject!"

"Listen not with your ears, but listen with your heart; listen not with your heart, but listen with your qi..."

"So stop reciting!"

Seeing that Qiu Changtian was rendered speechless by her words, Xu Yinglian couldn't help but reveal a cold smile.

She had finally found a way to hold her own against Senior Brother: to respond with sharp, aggressive, and chilling words, engaging in a direct verbal battle.

Although this was completely contrary to the family teachings of the Xu Family of Tiannan, and the clan elders would likely faint from anger if they heard her speaking so bitingly, she was even more unwilling to be emotionally compromised and lose her composure under Qiu Changtian's words, as that would be another unbearable defeat.

Qiu Changtian caught a glimpse of her smile from the corner of his eye and sighed inwardly.

"Let's take this mission to hunt demonic beasts," he said, pointing at the plaque.

"Since Senior Brother won't heed my advice, don't blame me if something happens," Xu Yinglian deliberately tried to scare him.

"Rest assured, Junior Sister," Qiu Changtian smiled, pointing to the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword on his back.

Speaking of the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword, it's worth mentioning that before and after the destruction of the ancient Chan and Jie sects, the system of Flying Swords was different.

Firstly, for the ancient Chan and Jie sects, there was no concept of "tiers" of Flying Swords; all Flying Swords were of the Immortal Sword caliber.

However, after the destruction of the two sects, artifact refiners lost the method for forging perfect Immortal Swords. Consequently, they could only forge Flying Swords of lower grades for use by Cultivators below the immortal level.

Thus, a classification system from the First to the Tenth Order emerged, known as the "Heavenly Stems Sword Forging Method." The restoration of the forging method for Tenth-Order Immortal Swords became the dream of all artifact refiners.

Secondly, to compensate for the combat power of lower-grade Flying Swords, research into Daoist Magic seals on Flying Swords had to be intensified.

For example, a Ninth-Order Flying Sword would have nine Daoist Magic spells of varying strengths sealed within it. As the user's cultivation realm increased by one level, a layer of the Flying Sword's Daoist Magic would be unsealed, perfectly matching the user's strength and realm.

For instance, Qiu Changtian's Yuyan Sword, because he is currently in the Qi Refining Stage, can only unseal the first layer of Daoist Magic, which is called "Dragon Qi Coiling Cloud Sea."

By simply forming a sword seal with his hand and reciting either aloud or silently, "Jin Yun Luo Yu, Yu Hong Sheng Yan," he can activate the Daoist Magic on the sword, unleashing a multitude of light swords to attack and restrain enemies.

However, the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword, being a super-powerful Immortal Sword that existed since ancient times, naturally does not adhere to this Tenth-Order Heavenly Stems Sword Forging Method.

It only possesses three Forbidden Spells (so-called Forbidden Spells are extremely powerful ancient Daoist Magic spells). Two of these were sealed by the Ziwei Sect Master, leaving only one, called "Connecting Mountains and Seas Corner."

Once activated, it can conjure endless mountains and seas, trapping and suppressing enemies within them. It can be considered an almost universally effective means of self-preservation and offense.

After listening to Qiu Changtian's explanation, Xu Yinglian no longer continued to provoke him.

Although she was eager to win and proud, she was not so arrogant as to look down upon the Forbidden Spells of an Immortal Sword.

Since Senior Brother had the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword to protect him, no matter how formidable the demonic beast they were hunting was, it could not threaten their safety.

Thinking this, she became somewhat eager to try again, wishing they could find the demonic beast's whereabouts immediately and kill it before Senior Brother could.

"When do we set off?" Xu Yinglian urged.

"Don't rush. To find the demonic beast's whereabouts, we first need to contact the other disciples who have accepted this mission," Qiu Changtian said leisurely.

"Before that, why don't you go soak in the Kunlun Spring first? How about it?"