Chapter 415: Pulled Up the Roots of Shushan

Yuzhou City.

Jing Tian woke up dazed, feeling that everything from last night was like a dream—the sentient great sword, the depths of the Eastern Sea, the sword immortal, and Long Kui in her wide-sleeved flowing immortal robe…

Wide-sleeved flowing immortal robe!

Jing Tian suddenly perked up, hurrying to the storage room under the pretense of putting pledged items away, rummaging through it frantically—sure enough, the wide-sleeved flowing immortal robe was gone.

Sigh…

Jing Tian had felt familiar seeing the dress on Long Kui yesterday, never imagining Gu Qing had truly taken it from Yong'an Pawnshop's storage…

There was nothing Jing Tian could do; he hastily restored everything in the storage room to its original place, hoping Zhao Zhao Wenchang wouldn't notice or pursue it, then rushed out the door—colliding with Zhao Zhao Wenchang right at the threshold.

"Jing Tian, you don't want to live?"

Zhao Zhao Wenchang shouted from behind.

Those words jolted Jing Tian—he still had the iron caltrop poison in his body. After fleeing Yong'an Pawnshop, he headed toward Tang Men, seeking Tang Tang Xuejian to cure the deadly poison. But he hadn't run far before he spotted that slender figure lingering nearby.

"Tang Xuejian!"

Jing Tian hurried forward, seeing Tang Xuejian's face, and felt reassured.

"Where did you go last night?"

Tang Xuejian lifted her eyes, sounding slightly angry.

"Last night…"

At the mention of last night, Jing Tian felt a thousand words rising, yet none to say—his experience had been too bizarre to be believed.

Tang Xuejian narrowed her eyes, stepping closer to study his guilty expression, saying: "You're not going to make up some tired old lie about being taken as a disciple by a peerless sword immortal and training all night, are you? That's so cliché."

"… "

Jing Tian scratched his head and said: "Last night, there really was a sword immortal taking disciples."

After last night's events, Gu Qing had called Jing Tian aside, asked him a few simple questions, and Jing Tian, overjoyed, immediately became his disciple. That night, Gu Qing had taught him Qionghua Sword Art. Though brief, that single night had transformed Jing Tian—when he stood before Tang Xuejian again, he was a different man.

"Nonsense."

Tang Xuejian shook her head, pulling out the antidote to the iron caltrop poison and handing it to Jing Tian: "Your poison is shallow—you could've gone ten or twenty days without issue. But I keep my promises, so here's the antidote."

After returning to Tang Men, Tang Xuejian had faced great upheaval herself. Now she carried the Five Poisons Beast and was fleeing for her life. But before leaving, she remembered Jing Tian's poison, slipped into his room at night—found him gone—and began lingering outside Yong'an Pawnshop.

"The antidote's given. I'm off to roam the Jianghu."

As she spoke, Tang Xuejian kept glancing at Jing Tian, then let out a light huff: "Still need someone to run errands."

Tang Xuejian wanted to take him along—Jing Tian was more than willing—but before leaving, he brought Tang Xuejian to the Li Xiaoyao Inn in Yuzhou City.

Inside, Tang Xuejian saw two people in the main room: a young woman in purple Miao attire holding a child, and a girl with blue hair. Jing Tian entered and bowed to the purple-clad woman: "Sister Zi Bi Xuan," and to the blue-haired girl: "Sister Long Kui." Under their guidance, he headed upstairs.

"Sister Zi Bi Xuan and Master seem like lovers, but not quite—they tease and flirt, yet stay within propriety," Jing Tian explained to Tang Xuejian. "Sister Long Kui says she's my sister, and I feel close to her too. She's studying the Ghost Dao under Master. They say her ghost power is the lowest in the Six Realms—only Master can guide her to immortality."

Tang Xuejian found all this confusing, eyeing Jing Tian as if he were utterly unreliable. Just then, as they entered the room, they overheard Gu Qing speaking with the innkeeper.

"Your child can be named Li Li Sansi."

"He can join my sect later."

Li Li Sansi was Li Li Xiaoyao's father. To touch Li Li Sansi meant altering Li Li Xiaoyao's very foundation—now firmly under Gu Qing's influence.

Jing Tian entered at that moment, bowed to Gu Qing, and introduced Tang Xuejian.

Everything from last night told Jing Tian: Gu Qing was a living immortal. Following Gu Qing offered a path to immortality. So last night, he'd swiftly become his disciple. Now, hearing Tang Xuejian planned to roam the Jianghu, he brought her along too.

When there was benefit, Jing Tian naturally thought of Tang Xuejian.

"Are you really a sword immortal?"

Tang Xuejian tilted her head, studying him. She was created by the goddess Xi Yao of Heaven to accompany Fei Peng, born from a divine tree fruit, bound to Jing Tian from birth. They had fallen in love at first sight, each longing for the other—even seeing Gu Qing didn't shake her devotion.

Gu Qing gestured with one hand; the Xihe Sword flipped in midair, glided once around the room, then clanged back into its sheath.

Tang Xuejian's eyes lit up.

"If you wish to become my disciple, I'll accept you—for Jing Tian's sake."

Gu Qing spoke with serene calm.

The main cast of Sword and Fairy III was the most elite in the entire Sword and Fairy series: a descendant of Nüwa, a divine tree fruit, a reincarnated divine general, and Long Kui, a thousand-year ghost cultivator. Together, they had truly defeated the gods in Haidicheng and the Heavenly Realm through sheer strength.

Tang Xuejian hurried forward to kneel and pay homage.

Gu Qing gladly accepted her as a disciple and taught her Taiji Xuanqing Dao. This method, refined through the Five Scrolls of Heaven and Gu Qing's accumulated insights from the White Snake and Baolian Deng worlds, was now vastly different—and far more adept at wielding divine arts.

"Master!"

Tang Xuejian, having received the teachings, immediately began complaining: "At Tang Men…"

"Tang Xuejian!"

Gu Qing stopped her: "You and Jing Tian have both learned Daoist arts and sword techniques—you can handle Tang Men's upheaval. You may not prevail at first, but with a little refinement, Tang Men and Pili Tang will be within your grasp."

Pili Tang was easy to crush—so why not crush it?

A man must save face!

With Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian settled, and Li Li Sansi and the future Li Li Xiaoyao secured at the Li Xiaoyao Inn, Gu Qing turned his thoughts to Situ Zhong of Shushan—the future Wine Sword Immortal—who had not yet joined Shushan. As for Sword Saint Du Gu Yuyun, he had joined as a child and already trained within Shushan.

Gu Qing wasn't suddenly aiming to expand Qionghua and crush Shushan—he simply wanted to poach Xu Xu Zhangqing's people.

The Nine Difficulties of Dao cultivation include attachments to spouses and lovers, entanglements with fame and fortune. Gu Qing took Xu Xu Zhangqing's wife and friends precisely to help Xu Xu Zhangqing achieve immortality!

(End of Chapter)