Could You Really Do It?

Soon, sect elders arrived, only to find the place deserted.

Lu Changsheng watched quietly from a distance. Once they arrived, no one else needed to say anything; the Ning Household would naturally tell them.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, the Ning Household hurried over and recounted what had just happened.

Elder Cangyun nodded, then sprang away toward the outskirts of the city.

Watching them give chase, Lu Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief. This sort of thing was far too nerve-racking. Those people from the Profound Heaven Sect had looked like savage fiends, and he had nearly lost his life. Even thinking about it left him shaken.

Just as he was thinking of returning to the sect, he discovered that all of Cangyun City had been sealed off. No one could leave, and people were conducting checks.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he simply found an inn and went straight to sleep.

That was how things stood, anyway. There was no need for him to worry about it anymore.

The next day, he slept until noon before slowly getting up.

The sect had finished its investigation, and he strolled leisurely toward Qingyun Peak.

Along the way, he greeted everyone he saw out of habit. Instead of heading straight back to the summit, he went to where the inner disciples gathered.

He had previously promised Qingyun Peak's inner disciples that he would help explain the problems they encountered in their cultivation.

"Senior Brother Changsheng!"

Everyone greeted him warmly when they saw him.

"I've asked about all your questions for you," Lu Changsheng said. "Let's get started!"

With that, he sat down and explained things to them one by one.

Whether it was the Sword Dao, cultivation, talismans, or pill refining, he had dabbled in them all whenever he had nothing to do.

They were all paths he had traveled himself, anyway. Answering their questions was as easy as driving a light carriage down a familiar road, and amounted to reviewing things once more.

He never tired of it, either.

After all, strong youths meant a strong sect. Nurturing the sect's younger generation was the path to sustainable development.

There were some things he could not withstand alone. Ultimately, he needed a powerful sect.

Even though he had beaten up the sect master just a few days earlier, he knew full well that the sect still had an even more powerful ancestor.

Only that afternoon did Lu Changsheng finish answering all their questions.

He was not afraid of anyone noticing anything amiss, either. After all, he carried his eldest senior brother's cultivation insights with him. If anyone really asked, his eldest senior brother could take the blame.

Night slowly fell before Lu Changsheng made his way up Qingyun Peak, supporting his lower back.

The aftereffects of his cultivation had not completely faded, and after sitting all afternoon, his poor lower back was struggling to bear it.

When he arrived, he found people standing everywhere around him. Only then did he remember that the Ning Household was coming up the mountain today.

Looking over, he saw a young woman sitting there. It was Ning Yuxin, waiting quietly without any anger.

"How did I forget about this?"

Lu Changsheng spoke.

Everyone turned to look.

Ning Yuxin looked back, while Ning Yuchen came forward first. "Impressive, Senior Brother Changsheng. Only coming back now!"

"Ahem, what nonsense are you talking about? I had something to do today!"

"I know you had something to do. I understand. I understand everything!"

Ning Yuchen looked at the hand Lu Changsheng was holding against his lower back, his face covered in an innocent smile.

At that moment, Ning Yuxin also came over. "Senior Brother Changsheng!"

Although she thought little of him, she remained polite.

"Junior Sister Ning, right? Are neither of my senior brothers here?" Lu Changsheng asked.

Ning Yuxin shook her head. "I haven't seen Eldest Senior Brother at all. Second Senior Brother seems to be refining pills in the Alchemy Chamber, so I didn't disturb him!"

"I see!" Lu Changsheng glanced over, then said, "Eldest Senior Brother is a cultivation maniac. There's no telling when he'll return. I'll go look for him tomorrow. You should rest first!"

Though Lu Changsheng called it making arrangements, he merely pointed casually toward the empty rooms to one side.

There were only the three of them on Qingyun Peak, anyway. There was plenty of room.

Ning Yuxin nodded and took her leave without another word.

Ning Yuchen asked, "Senior Brother, where should we put these things?"

"What things?"

"The things Eldest Senior Brother likes!"

At those words, Lu Changsheng's eyes immediately lit up. He raised a hand and pointed toward his own room, telling them to carry everything inside.

Looking at the several large, fully packed chests, his grin nearly stretched to his ears.

Once that was done, Ning Yuchen said, "Senior Brother, sorry for the trouble, but please look after my older sister. I'll be leaving now!"

"Junior Brother, you..."

Before Lu Changsheng could stop him, he had already disappeared with his people.

With how desperately hurried he looked, there was no telling what urgent business he had that could not wait another moment.

Lu Changsheng stopped bothering about it, rubbed his hands together, and went straight into his room.

His eyes went wide at the sight of the chest after chest of Spirit Stones. There were five large chests in all, containing a full ten thousand or more Spirit Stones. A cloth pouch appeared in his hand, and every Spirit Stone went into it.

Besides the Spirit Stones, there was another chest filled entirely with Sword Dao texts, and a fine sword lay inside a brocade box.

He ignored all of those, however. He could just find a time to toss them into his senior brother's room.

As a direct disciple, he received only ten Spirit Stones a month. Ten thousand would take him a hundred years to save up.

"The Ning Household really deserves its reputation as the wealthiest. They're so rich!"

The more Lu Changsheng looked, the more excited he became. With Spirit Stones, he could cultivate again. Who knew how much trouble that would save him?

"If Eldest Senior Brother married into the Ning Household, wouldn't he have more Spirit Stones than he could spend in this lifetime?"

He kept muttering to himself.

Just then, Lu Changsheng sensed a presence and went outside to check.

A streak like a rainbow swept across the sky as Zhou Qingyu arrived on his flying sword.

"Eldest Senior Brother!"

Lu Changsheng called out.

Zhou Qingyu glanced at him and could not help sighing.

He clearly knew what had happened the night before, but did not reproach him, merely offering a reminder.

"Things haven't been peaceful lately. Be more careful when you go out!"

"All right!"

Lu Changsheng nodded.

At the same time, Ning Yuxin heard the commotion and came outside. A smile immediately appeared on her face, and she greeted him from afar.

"Senior Brother Qingyu!"

"Junior Sister Ning!" Zhou Qingyu nodded expressionlessly.

"Have you just returned from cultivating, Senior Brother?" Ning Yuxin asked.

"Mm!"

Faced with the young woman's warm greeting, brimming with joy, Zhou Qingyu remained unmoved. He glanced at her before slowly speaking.

"Junior Sister Ning, you've traveled thousands of miles to cultivate at the Azure Cloud Sect. If you need anything, just ask Changsheng. He'll arrange everything properly for you!"

"He..."

"Get some rest early!"

Before Ning Yuxin could finish speaking, Zhou Qingyu had already turned and entered his room, leaving only Lu Changsheng and Ning Yuxin behind.

Lu Changsheng felt a headache coming on, too. He did not know whether his senior brother was truly clueless or playing hard to get.

She was the daughter of the wealthiest man in Cang Province. Where couldn't she go to cultivate? Why insist on coming here?

To put it plainly, she had come for him, yet he would not even spare her a few more words.

Ning Yuxin felt dejected, a complicated expression appearing on her face.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng said, "Eldest Senior Brother is just like that. He's obsessed with cultivation and devoted to the Sword Dao. For my first two years on the mountain, he left me to roam free, too. You'll get used to it!"

"But he..."

"Junior Sister, this won't do. Do you know how you should capture a man?"

"Capture his stomach?"

Lu Changsheng froze. "We're cultivators. What's this about capturing his stomach? Does he have time to eat?"

"Then what should I capture?"

"Do you absolutely have to capture something?"

Lu Changsheng felt rather helpless.

Ning Yuxin frowned. "Then what should I do?"

"Cater to his interests, of course!" Lu Changsheng said earnestly. "He's devoted to the Sword Dao, so you should practice the Sword Dao. Wouldn't that give you something in common to talk about?"

Hearing this, Ning Yuxin's eyes lit up. She thought it made a great deal of sense.

Looking at Lu Changsheng, she found that he did not seem quite as much of an unprincipled wastrel as she had imagined. At least on this matter, his advice was very sound.

But then Ning Yuxin reconsidered and said awkwardly, "But the Sword Dao is difficult to cultivate. Just getting started takes an enormous amount of time and effort. I..."

"That's because you haven't found the right method. Getting started really isn't that hard!"

"It's simple?"

"Not difficult at all!"

"Then what should I do?"

"Just come to me!"

"To you?"

Ning Yuxin froze, then asked timidly, "But... could you really do it?"

Those words silenced the entire mountaintop!