Chapter 46: The Qingyu Qingshu Qingshu Xian Zong

At that moment, Yin Xiao looked at the bronze furnace and said, "What two thousand spirit stones?"

The man from Tianji Sect, seeing this, narrowed his eyes: "Brother, what do you mean by this?"

"What do I mean? This isn't an auction—just because you bid doesn't mean you have to buy? Are you Tianji Sect trying to force a sale?" Yin Xiao shot back.

The Tianji Sect man stared in utter disbelief—how could someone be this shameless?

Is this how the Cangyan Dao Palace conducts itself?

"Get lost! This junk wants two thousand spirit stones? When did Tianji Sect become so poor?"

After speaking, Yin Xiao turned and left with his men, leaving the vendor standing frozen, still holding the furnace.

"Fuck you!"

The vendor, finally snapping out of it, began screaming curses.

After all these years of cultivation, he'd never seen such a brazen, shameless person!

But he, only at mid-Foundation Establishment, was no match for them.

"Twenty spirit stones!" Just as the vendor turned away, crestfallen, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

He turned to see Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu grinning at him.

The vendor's face twisted with bitterness and anguish.

"Two thousand turned to twenty—what a staggering drop!"

…………

On the way back to the sect, Yan Xiaohu carefully examined the bronze furnace, then tossed it straight to Zhou Qing.

"Twenty spirit stones is a total rip-off, but it sure did piss off Yin Xiao—that's worth it. I've got a little rumor—want to hear it?" Yan Xiaohu said mysteriously.

Zhou Qing, however, was fondling the furnace, then shook his head: "No."

"Come on, you're doing this on purpose! If you won't listen, I'll tell you anyway—Master Senior Sikong Yan of Cangyan Dao Palace has been courting Immortal Xuanyou Immortal, but all these years, it's been one-sided affection."

"So Senior Sikong Yan gave a secret order to all his disciples—guess what it was?" Yan Xiaohu grinned.

Zhou Qing shook his head.

Yan Xiaohu said: "You wouldn't guess—it was to have all his disciples subtly court Immortal Xuanyou Immortal's disciples. To win over that cold immortal, you must first break in from within."

"If you turn her disciples into your own, you'll always know her movements, whereabouts, and why she refuses him—benefits galore."

Zhou Qing listened, utterly astonished.

Such tactics felt downright underhanded.

"Where did you hear this?" Zhou Qing asked.

Yan Xiaohu said: "I pieced it together from scraps of evidence. That's why I say Yin Xiao is no good—he's courting Cui Cui Yingying only to fulfill his sect's mission."

Hearing this, Zhou Qing faintly understood the true intent behind his third master's actions.

If Yin Xiao truly loved Cui Cui Yingying, and Zhou Qing had accidentally seen something he shouldn't have, then yes, it would've been immoral.

Especially since he came demanding an explanation—it would've been understandable.

But if the man was merely putting on a show to win favor, then everything changes.

In short, Yan Xiaohu wanted Zhou Qing to shed any guilt over possibly disturbing others.

"I understand, Third Master," Zhou Qing said with a smile.

That night, after feeding the old hen powdered spirit stones, Zhou Qing carefully examined the bronze furnace.

The inner walls bore dark stains, seemingly devoid of spiritual energy; without close inspection, one might mistake them for ordinary grime.

Who could have guessed this was the blood of a dying beast, the Su Ni?

Yet he did not refine it using the appraisal method with elixir fire, as suggested—he followed the method taught by Second Uncle, soaking and bathing in it to cultivate.

Besides, he wasn't an alchemist and had no elixir fire.

Steam rose from the tub as time passed slowly; the blood on the furnace's inner walls seemed to dissolve in the water, just like the shattered bones of the Chiyan Chiyan Longshi before, slowly seeping out tiny droplets of crimson.

Under the stimulation of Zhou Qing's Silver Dragon Hand and Silver Dragon Step techniques, these droplets activated some hidden power, radiating pressure that seeped into his body.

Zhou Qing suppressed a grin and threw himself fully into cultivation…

BOOM!

A massive silver dragon, roughly ten meters long, erupted into view—the slope halfway up the mountain collapsed instantly.

Zhou Qing lifted one foot and vanished from his spot, reappearing instantly at the crater's edge.

His face was slightly pale, but his expression was wildly exhilarated.

Staring at the shattered hill before him, he still couldn't believe it—in just seven days, he'd fully mastered both Silver Dragon Hand and Silver Dragon Step.

Not only that—absorbing premium spirit stones consecutively had also pushed him smoothly into Foundation Establishment's late stage.

"Whether it was the shattered bones of the Chiyan Chiyan Longshi or the residual blood of the Su Ni, they merely gave me a nudge—ultimately, it was my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment that unlocked my comprehension to an unbelievable level!"

Feeling the lingering spiritual power in his body, Zhou Qing murmured softly.

"Lately I've been reading ancient texts—even the top-ranked Heavenly Dao energy, Yin and Yang, shouldn't have caused me such drastic changes. There's only one possibility: this isn't ordinary Heavenly Dao energy—it's undergone an anomaly, like the old hen."

SHHH! SHHH!

At the sound, patrol disciples rushed over, bowed immediately upon seeing Zhou Qing.

"Clean it up!"

Zhou Qing gave the order, then turned and left.

Back in his room, he stared at the dimmed premium spirit stones, feeling a pang of regret.

"Between the hen's spirit eggs and these stones, they should push me one more level," Zhou Qing guessed, then carefully stored them away.

After recovering, his token received a message from Mo Mo Xingjian.

"Come to the Council Hall at once!"

When Zhou Qing arrived, his third master Yan Xiaohu also just landed.

"Did you cause trouble again?"

Both asked in unison.

"No."

Both shook their heads together.

"Then what's going on? Mo's voice sounded angry—I thought you'd been spying on someone bathing again," Yan Xiaohu sighed in relief.

Zhou Qing was speechless—now even you think that of me?

They entered the hall and immediately saw Mo Mo Xingjian seated at the top, face dark with anger.

In the past, guilty as they were, they'd have dropped to their knees on sight and blurted their practiced line: "Master, we're sorry!"

But now, with clean consciences, they walked in openly.

"About two hundred disciples from Qingyu Qingshu Qingshu Xian Zong vanished after attending the Jiaoyi Society—they haven't returned to their sect!"

At Mo Mo Xingjian's words, both instantly paled.

"Two hundred people? Did they get lost?" Yan Xiaohu exclaimed.

Mo Mo Xingjian's expression was grave: "According to Qingyu Qingshu Qingshu Xian Zong's report, over a hundred of their soul lamps have gone dark. The rest are unreachable—including several core disciples. Oh, and Cui Cui Yingying, the one who came looking for you before, is among them."

Hearing Cui Cui Yingying was among them—and that so many had died—Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu were utterly stunned.

Cui Cui Yingying was at least Golden Core level. For so many to vanish so mysteriously, someone had clearly begun targeting Qingyu Immortal Sect.

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(End of Chapter)