Meanwhile, in a cave mansion somewhere in the upper city, Song He asked in a low voice:
"That Qiu Changtian actually went out on an expedition?"
Song He looked to be around forty, with a fair face and a short beard. He had a rather honest-looking appearance. His cultivation was now at the pinnacle of the Abode Transformation Stage, and among the Foundation Establishment Stage chief disciples under the Ziwei Sect Master, his strength ranked second, behind only Great Chief Disciple Xu Changqing.
During lectures, he usually sat on the second meditation cushion behind Xu Changqing. Last time, however, he'd been forced to give up his seat to Qiu Changtian, who had just formally joined the sect. The humiliation had been so unbearable that it had nearly shattered his hard-won composure.
"Indeed." Zhao Wencheng replied with a cheeky grin. "Senior Brother Song He, he's just a greenhorn at the Qi Refining Stage. Why worry so much about him?"
He was Song He's junior fellow disciple and trusted aide. He looked younger, not yet thirty, and the way his eyes darted about made it clear he was a man of schemes.
"Exactly." Their junior fellow disciple Qiu Yuan chimed in beside him. "The day Great Chief Disciple Xu Changqing forms his core and undergoes tribulation is at most twenty years away."
"That man may have a Clear Dao Heart and peerless talent, but when Xu Changqing forms his core, he'll be at most at the pinnacle of the Qi Refining Stage, just beginning the marrow-cleansing process."
"Even if he gets lucky and climbs the Heavenly Ladder, at best he'll barely complete marrow cleansing and enter the Abode Transformation Stage."
"How could he possibly compete with you, Senior Brother, at the pinnacle of the Abode Transformation Stage, for the position of Great Chief Disciple?"
The two spoke with such certainty that neither believed Qiu Changtian could leap two stages and reach the pinnacle of the Abode Transformation Stage before Great Chief Disciple Xu Changqing formed his core.
Yet Song He's brows remained tightly knit. After a long pause, he finally said:
"I heard the Departure Palace is about to open."
"What Departure Palace?" Zhao Wencheng asked in surprise.
"Could it be the East Sea Departure Palace?" Qiu Yuan was also astonished.
"Which other Departure Palace could it be?" Song He sighed wistfully.
"If it really is the one in the East Sea, then—!" Zhao Wencheng suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Master must have planned this long ago. He intends to send him to the East Sea Departure Palace, where he'll gain a vast amount of True Qi and skip the Qi Refining Stage's usual twenty years of painstaking cultivation."
"Then, with bone-tempering and marrow-cleansing techniques, help him speed through the marrow-cleansing stage, transform his qi into True Essence, and build his Violet Palace."
"He'll leap two stages, and then, with resources poured into him regardless of the cost, charge straight to the pinnacle of the Abode Transformation Stage before Xu Changchang forms his core—and inherit the position of Great Chief Disciple!"
Qiu Yuan's expression darkened too, and he chimed in:
"Very likely! Otherwise, why would Master have let him sit on the second meditation cushion that day?"
Song He fell silent for a long while, then sighed mournfully:
"The road to immortality is narrow. It cannot be walked by two side by side. We can only fight to get ahead."
Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan's expressions immediately turned grave.
The position of Great Chief Disciple at the Foundation Establishment Stage meant far too much to their senior fellow disciple.
The root of the matter lay with the Ziwei Sect Master. Their aloof Master was usually swamped with work and still had to cultivate. He lectured the chief disciples only once every ten days, and even then, he sometimes canceled for one reason or another.
As for private guidance, they could forget about it. They might as well dream.
Whenever they encountered difficulties in their cultivation, they could only ask the Great Chief Disciple to answer on the Master's behalf.
To ensure the Great Chief Disciple was up to the task, the Ziwei Sect Master would set aside time to give him special instruction and answer his questions personally.
The Nine Heavens Pure Micro Entrance True Words was an immortal method, famed for being abstruse and difficult to understand. Calling it "every character concealing a pearl, every sentence hiding a secret" was no exaggeration.
The difference between receiving answers directly from the Ziwei Sect Master and having the Great Chief Disciple answer in his place was immense.
Becoming the Great Chief Disciple meant receiving the Ziwei Sect Master's guidance. One's understanding and mastery of the Pure Micro True Words would be all the more complete, and the grade of one's future core would naturally be higher.
To say nothing of the rest, not one Great Chief Disciple in history had formed a core below the third grade.
As for the Sect Master's personal disciples who weren't Great Chief Disciples, the worst was said to have been fifth grade, and there had been plenty of fourth-grade cores in every generation.
It was clear that the position of Great Chief Disciple came with far too many benefits for anyone to let it go uncontested.
Song He's words, "It cannot be walked by two side by side. We can only fight to get ahead," had a simple meaning:
They had to do whatever it took to sabotage Qiu Changtian!
"A Clear Dao Heart is far too significant." Qiu Yuan's expression was solemn. "Countless eyes across Kunlun are watching him. Secretly getting rid of him without anyone suspecting us would be harder than climbing to heaven from flat ground."
"And don't forget, even when he went out on an expedition, Master gave him the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword for protection!"
"We don't have to strike directly." Zhao Wencheng narrowed his eyes. "How could such a rare talent as a Clear Dao Heart not arouse envy? Why not borrow someone else's blade to kill him..."
"And that would completely clear us of suspicion?" Song He sighed wistfully.
"Even if we did nothing, if Qiu Changtian choked to death while drinking, fell and died while walking, or was assassinated by a demonic cult mole halfway through his cultivation... wouldn't people still suspect me, reasoning that whoever benefited must be a suspect?"
His two junior fellow disciples were at a loss for words.
"What matters is the evidence." Song He shook his head. "If he dies, everyone with a stake in the matter will come under suspicion. The only question is who'll face more of it and who'll face less."
"But Kunlun is an upright sect! We must act with evidence, so people can be convinced. We can't be like the demonic cults and drag people in to have their souls searched just because they're suspected."
At last, he slapped his forehead and made up his mind:
"As long as we leave no traces, we can do it!"
Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded along.
Song He was the Great Chief Disciple of their generation. Although they too had become disciples of the Ziwei Sect Master, they weren't qualified to attend the lecture hall. They could only wait for Song He to return after lectures and teach everyone, answering their questions.
Their interests were already bound up with Song He's.
"Since that's the case, Senior Brother, how do you plan to strike?" Qiu Yuan carefully reasoned. "Qiu Changtian usually never leaves Jinling Cave Mansion. He rarely goes out on expeditions beyond Kunlun, and the Sect Master gave him the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword for protection. Even setting secrecy aside, there aren't many chances to make a move."
"That's simple." Zhao Wencheng suddenly had an idea. "There's actually one place Qiu Changtian is certain to visit in the future, and he won't be able to bring the Taiyi Splitting Light Sword with him."
"You mean..." Song He only pondered for a moment before narrowing his eyes.
"The East Sea Departure Palace?"
Just as the three of them were plotting in the secret chamber, Qiu Changtian had already handed the spirit stones to the Kunlun Mirror and had it transport them to Ling Yunpo's location.
"I never expected the sect to reward me with so many spirit stones for getting rid of that demonic cultivator," he said with a sigh.
"Is that a lot?" the Kunlun Mirror asked curiously. "Every time I send you through time and space to reload a save, the spiritual energy I use is tens of thousands of times more than what's in those spirit stones."
"That's different," Qiu Changtian said casually. "You're a congenital spirit treasure. Even your own spiritual energy reserves put you in the wealthy-widow tier among magic treasures, so don't compare yourself to me."
Kunlun Mirror: ?
Before you continue