Killing You, the Monster Who Got Stronger

At the same time, in a Cave Mansion somewhere in the layered city, Song He asked in a deep voice:

"That Qiu Changtian actually went out for experience training?"

Song He looked to be around forty, with a fair complexion and a short beard, appearing quite honest. His current realm was the Great Perfection of the Abode Transformation Stage, and his strength ranked second among the Foundation Establishment Realm Chief Disciples under the Ziwei Sect Master, second only to the Great Chief Disciple Xu Changqing.

Normally, when the Sect Master lectured, he sat on the second cushion behind Xu Changqing. However, he was forced to give up his seat to the officially initiated Qiu Changtian last time, which was truly humiliating and nearly ruined his Qi nurturing cultivation.

"That's right," Zhao Wencheng replied with a grin. "Senior Brother Song He, he's just a young brat in the Qi Refining Stage after all, why worry so much?"

This was Song He's junior disciple and confidant. He looked even younger, not yet thirty, and his eyes darted around, appearing quite cunning and calculating.

"Exactly," added junior disciple Qiu Yuan beside him. "At most twenty years until Great Chief Disciple Xu Changqing's Core Formation tribulation."

"That person has a Clear Dao Heart and unparalleled talent. By the time Xu Changqing forms his Core, he'll at most be at the peak of Qi Refining and begin Marrow Cleansing."

"Even if he got lucky and climbed the Heavenly Ladder, barely achieving Great Marrow Cleansing, he'd only just barely enter the Abode Transformation Stage."

"How could he possibly compete with you, Senior Brother, at the Great Perfection of the Abode Transformation Stage, for the position of Great Chief Disciple?"

The two spoke with certainty, neither optimistic that Qiu Changtian could leapfrog two realms to reach the Great Perfection of the Abode Transformation Stage before Xu Changqing formed his Core.

However, Song He's brow remained furrowed. After a long pause, he said:

"I heard the Departure Palace is about to open."

"What Departure Palace?" Zhao Wencheng asked, stunned.

"Could it be the East Sea Departure Palace?" Qiu Yuan was also surprised.

"Besides that one, which other Departure Palace could it be?" Song He sighed faintly.

"If it's truly the East Sea one, does that mean!" Zhao Wencheng suddenly thought of something and exclaimed, "Master must have planned for him to go to the East Sea Departure Palace to gain a massive amount of True Qi, skipping the original twenty years of painstaking effort in the Qi Refining Stage."

"Then, using the method of bone refining and marrow cleansing, he'll accelerate his passage through the Marrow Cleansing stage, convert Qi into True Essence, and establish a Purple Mansion."

"Leaping two realms, and finally investing resources without regard for cost, he'll charge to the Great Perfection of the Abode Transformation Stage before Xu Changqing forms his Core and inherit the position of Great Chief Disciple!"

Qiu Yuan's expression also turned grim, and he chimed in:

"Highly possible! If not, why would Master have let him sit in the second cushion that day?"

Song He fell silent for a while, then sighed with a weary breath:

"The path of cultivation is narrow; it cannot accommodate two people walking together. One can only strive to be first."

Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan's expressions immediately turned serious.

The position of Great Chief Disciple of the Foundation Establishment Realm was far too important to their Chief Senior Brother.

The root of the problem lay with the Ziwei Sect Master. This aloof master was usually busy with many affairs and also had to cultivate. He only lectured the Chief Disciples once every ten days, and would occasionally cancel due to various reasons.

As for private consultations, don't even think about it; dream on.

When they encountered any difficult problems during their cultivation, they could only rely on the Great Chief Disciple to answer them.

To ensure the Great Chief Disciple had this ability, the Ziwei Sect Master would personally allocate time to tutor him and answer his questions.

The Nine Heavens Pure Micro Entrance True Words was a true immortal technique, notoriously obscure and difficult to understand. It was no exaggeration to say that "every word hid pearls, every sentence concealed secrets."

The difference between the Ziwei Sect Master personally answering questions and the Great Chief Disciple answering on his behalf was absolutely vast.

Becoming the Great Chief Disciple meant receiving the Ziwei Sect Master's guidance, leading to a more perfect understanding and comprehension of the Pure Micro True Words, and consequently, a higher grade of Core Formation in the future.

If nothing else, the Core Formation grades of past Great Chief Disciples had never been lower than third grade.

As for the Sect Master's direct disciples who were not Great Chief Disciples, the worst was said to be fifth grade, with many achieving fourth grade each term.

This showed how immense the benefits behind the position of Great Chief Disciple were, leaving no room for them not to fight for it.

Song He's words, "cannot accommodate two people walking together, one can only strive to be first," meant something very simple:

They had to resort to any means necessary to stop Qiu Changtian!

"A Clear Dao Heart is too significant," Qiu Yuan said with a solemn expression. "Countless eyes are watching from Kunlun. To secretly eliminate him without drawing suspicion to ourselves is harder than climbing to heaven."

"Don't forget, even when he went out for training, Master bestowed him the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword for protection!"

"We simply won't act directly," Zhao Wencheng narrowed his eyes. "Such a rare talent as a Clear Dao Heart, how could it not attract jealousy? Why not use the stratagem of killing with a borrowed knife..."

"Using a borrowed knife can completely clear our tracks?" Song He sighed faintly.

"Even if we do nothing, and Qiu Changtian choked to death while drinking water halfway through his cultivation, or died from falling, or was assassinated by a demon sect spy... from the perspective of who benefits, wouldn't suspicion still fall on me?"

The two junior disciples were speechless.

"The key is evidence," Song He shook his head. "Once he dies, all stakeholders will be suspected, it's just a matter of who more and who less."

"But our Kunlun is a righteous sect! We must act with evidence and convince others. We can't be like the demonic sects, arresting people and extracting their souls for reading their minds based on suspicion."

He then slapped his forehead, making up his mind:

"As long as we cover our tracks cleanly, we can do it!"

Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then also nodded slightly.

Song He was the Chief Senior Brother of their generation. Although they were disciples of the Ziwei Sect Master, they did not have the qualification to attend the lecture hall. They could only wait for Song He to finish listening and then lecture and answer questions for them.

Their personal interests were already tied to Song He.

"Since that's the case, Senior Brother, how do you plan to make your move?" Qiu Yuan analyzed cautiously, "That Qiu Changtian never leaves Jinling Cave Mansion, and rarely ventures out of Kunlun for training. Plus, he has the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword bestowed by the Sect Master for protection. Even if we disregard secrecy, there isn't much opportunity to strike."

"That's simple," Zhao Wencheng suddenly had an idea. "Actually, there's one place Qiu Changtian is bound to go in the future, and where he won't be able to bring the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword."

"You mean…" Song He pondered for a moment before narrowing his eyes.

"East Sea Departure Palace?"

Just as these three were discussing their strategy in the secret chamber, Qiu Changtian had already handed over the spirit stones to the Kunlun Mirror, instructing it to teleport him to Ling Yunpo's location.

"I didn't expect the sect to reward so many spirit stones after dealing with that Demonic Dao cultivator," he remarked with emotion.

"A lot?" the Kunlun Mirror asked curiously. "Every time I teleport you back for a save, the spiritual energy consumed is tens of thousands of times more than these spirit stones."

"That's different," Qiu Changtian said casually. "You're a congenital spiritual treasure. Your own spiritual energy reserves are already top-tier among magical treasures. Don't compare yourself to me."

Kunlun Mirror:?