Xu Qingtong pondered for a moment. Remembering how many matters he needed to attend to, he asked, "Elder Guo, this disciple has some worldly affairs to settle. They may take some time."
"I wouldn't dare keep you waiting. Could you let me handle them alone, then return to the sect on my own once I'm finished?" Xu Qingtong asked tentatively.
Guo Tianyu thought for a moment, then took out a Jade Token and handed it to Xu Qingtong. "This is an ordinary Identity Jade Token. Once you return to the valley, exchange it for an Inner Disciple Jade Token. I'll wait for you both at the Market for half a month. If you can't make it back by then, you'll have to return to the sect on your own."
Xu Qingtong bowed as he accepted the Jade Token and thanked Elder Guo.
Then Guo Tianyu asked, "Will you two return to the Market first, or leave from here?"
Xu Qingtong cupped his hands. "Elder, I wish to visit Bingzhou to attend to some personal matters."
Guo Tianyu took out several Flying Talismans and handed them to Xu Qingtong, saying, "Be careful on the road. Go and return quickly!"
Dongfang Hui had wanted to accompany Xu Qingtong, but found it difficult to bring herself to ask. In the end, she could only follow Elder Guo back to the Market.
Xu Qingtong bade Elder Guo farewell, took out the Red Sun Sword, and sent it hovering in the air before jumping onto it. He had already mastered the Object-Controlling Art and had long wanted to try the Flying Sword Technique, but had never had the opportunity.
Only when he stepped onto the Flying Sword did he discover that his dreams were plump, while reality was all skin and bones. The moment he stepped onto it, the sword abruptly sank, sending him tumbling off.
After several more attempts, Xu Qingtong gradually got the hang of channeling magic power into the sword and controlling it with his Divine Sense. At last, he could just barely manage the Flying Sword Technique.
However, after flying for roughly a quarter of an hour, he had less than a third of his magic power left. Xu Qingtong thought, The Flying Sword Technique really does consume spiritual power. No wonder Elder Sun Biao uses Flying Talismans instead of riding a sword.
He took out a spirit stone and held it in his hand, absorbing spiritual qi as he flew on his sword.
After an hour of flight, his magic power was nearly exhausted despite the replenishment from the spirit stone. He had no choice but to descend, find a clean spot, and sit down to meditate and rest.
As Xu Qingtong meditated to recover, he sent his Divine Sense into the Seven-Star Bracelet. Seeing Xiao Qi still lying lazily on the hillside, he swept his Divine Sense into the little stone house, found the Alchemy Insights his master had left him, and began studying them.
After resting for an hour, he had recovered most of his magic power. Xu Qingtong put away the Jade Slip, took out a Flying Talisman, and attached it to his leg. With a surge of magic power, he immediately rose into the air.
The Flying Talisman consumed far less magic power than the Flying Sword, but its speed was considerably slower. Xu Qingtong estimated that the Flying Sword Technique was nearly twice as fast as using a Flying Talisman. However, a Flying Talisman lasted longer; with only one person aboard, it could sustain flight for almost three hours.
Xu Qingtong studied his master's Alchemy Insights as he flew, so he did not find the journey boring.
Toward evening, Xu Qingtong reached Upper Yang Village. Not wanting the villagers to see him, he did not enter the village, but landed beside the woods at the foot of the hill behind it.
Xu Qingtong approached a grave, knelt respectfully, and kowtowed three times. "Father, your son has returned. I have become a cultivator. Today, I have come to bid you farewell. I don't know when I will be able to return!"
Xu Qingtong sat before his father's grave for an hour. Scenes from his childhood flashed through his mind, and his father's voice and smiling face seemed to appear before him. His vision blurred.
Seeing that the sun was about to set, Xu Qingtong wiped his eyes, rose to his feet, stepped onto his Flying Sword, and drifted away.
The sky had already darkened, but Xu Qingtong did not stop. He checked his bearings and flew straight toward Bingzhou.
Near midnight, a figure appeared at the entrance to Black Wind Stronghold. Before the two bandits guarding it could challenge him, a streak of red light flashed before them. Both fell to the ground without so much as a groan.
The newcomer was Xu Qingtong. Five years earlier, he and his mother had passed through this place. His mother had been murdered, and he himself had been hunted down, escaping with his life only after nine brushes with death.
Xu Qingtong released his Divine Sense, taking in the entire stronghold at a glance. There were twenty-three people in all. He had killed two, leaving twenty-one.
Behind the main hall at the center of the stronghold stood a large room containing a large bed. Three people lay on it, one man and two women, engaged in adult games.
When Xu Qingtong saw the man, he nearly failed to restrain the urge to strike. This was the very villain who had killed his mother.
Hadn't his manhood already been severed? How could he still do such filthy things?
Xu Qingtong put the question aside and swept his Divine Sense toward a neighboring room. Eleven people were inside, shouting boisterously as they gambled with gusto. In another room were six people, three to a table. "Five champions... six, six, six..."
After learning the situation inside the stronghold, Xu Qingtong pondered briefly and made his decision. Not one of these people was good; every last one deserved to die. To kill them all without a soul knowing and ensure no survivors remained, he would have to strike without making a sound.
He went behind the main hall and drove two strands of Divine Sense directly into the women's heads. Both women immediately froze.
The bandit chief was thoroughly enjoying himself when the two women suddenly stopped moving. Opening his eyes, he saw them staring blankly. He sat up and was about to lose his temper when red light flashed, and his head fell off!
The Red Sun Sword swept across the two women as well, and their naked bodies collapsed.
Xu Qingtong repeated the process, first attacking the six drinkers with his Divine Sense, then sweeping the Red Sun Sword across them. All six had their heads severed from their bodies.
But something unexpected happened when he dealt with the eleven gamblers. As his Divine Sense attacked the eighth man, the first man he had struck actually recovered and shouted, "The wind's turned foul! Run for it!"
Xu Qingtong could no longer spare attention for the remaining three. He sent the Red Sun Sword cutting through the others. In an instant, seven fell dead, while another had both legs severed.
He released his Divine Sense and discovered that the three who had fled were already at the stronghold's entrance. Xu Qingtong hurriedly called out Xiao Qi, gave an order, then began interrogating the man whose legs had been cut off.
A short while later, Xu Qingtong killed the man with a stroke of his sword and carried the wealth he had looted outside the stronghold's gate. Calling over Xiao Qi, who was guarding three corpses, he strode away.
The next day, Xu Qingtong made inquiries near the place where his mother had been killed and learned that, after her death, a kindhearted family had buried her nearby.
He found that family and had them lead him to his mother's grave. Xu Qingtong knelt and kowtowed three times to his mother, then bowed in thanks to the person who had buried her, leaving the family a considerable sum of gold, silver, and jewels.
After the family left, Xu Qingtong gathered his mother's remains, intending to take them back to Upper Yang Village and bury her together with his father.
Leaving Black Wind Pass, Xu Qingtong flew for another six to eight hours, arriving at Houtang Town toward evening.
Chen Jialiang was overjoyed to see Xu Qingtong return. He hurriedly closed his shop and brought him into the back hall.
Xu Qingtong knelt and kowtowed to his uncle and aunt in greeting, then began recounting his experiences over the past few years.
When he said that the immortal who had taken away their fifth-generation ancestor had now become his master, Chen Jialiang was dumbstruck.
That evening, the family sat together, eating and chatting. Xu Qingtong even shared a little wine with his uncle.
Early the next morning, Chen Ruoling came to call Xu Qingtong to breakfast, only to find that he was already gone, leaving the room empty. Xu Qingtong had left a long letter, a book, and several bottles of elixirs that prolonged life and preserved beauty. He had also left all the gold, silver, and jewels looted from Black Wind Stronghold. He had taken not a single coin, leaving everything behind before quietly departing. This wealth was enough to feed his uncle's family for the rest of their lives!
Before you continue