Chapter 63: Fourth, it's over, someone is trying to harm me!

After Zhou Qing returned to his room, he looked at the hen, whose eyes were bulging as it stared blankly at a wooden pillar. Feeling a pang of heartache, he took out spirit eggshells, superior-grade spirit stones, and empty shells of supreme-grade spirit stones, crushed them, and placed them before it.

"The losses this time are simply too great!"

The hen seemed to smell something; it hurriedly lowered its head and began to peck "da-da" at the brick seam nearby.

Zhou Qing hurriedly straightened its head.

Watching it eat with great relish, Zhou Qing finally stood up, returned to the table, and took out the two mid-grade spirit stones bestowed upon him by Elder Duanmu Shu. Only then did he feel slightly better.

"Adding these two, along with the three thousand inferior-grade spirit stones earned from the trade fair, this counts as my entire fortune!"

Zhou Qing carefully put them away, then took out the broken sword and examined it thoroughly.

"This sword looks as if it was never broken at all. Could it be that it looked like this when it was forged?"

Zhou Qing muttered to himself, then found a whetstone and busied himself with it for a while.

Sparks flew everywhere, but the rust didn't come off at all; it was incredibly stubborn.

"Forget it. Regardless of whether it's good or bad, at least this sword is very deceptive. No one would take it seriously if they saw you pull out such a rusty, broken sword. Someone might even stretch out their neck for you to chop, mocking the jagged blade for not being sharp enough!"

Zhou Qing imagined the scene and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Afterwards, he held the broken sword and gestured a few times at the whetstone in front of him, then brought the sword down.

The whetstone was instantly sent flying, slamming hard into the hen's rear. The hen immediately flapped its wings and squawked "ge-ge-ge" incessantly.

The smile on Zhou Qing's face froze instantly, and he looked at the broken sword in utter disbelief.

"No way?"

If it's this dull, how can it hurt anyone?

Could it have a hidden attribute, like tetanus?

Zhou Qing tried injecting spiritual power into it again, but there was still no change.

He spent such a high price just to get this thing?

Zhou Qing's heart went cold, and he began to console himself.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Wait until tomorrow, and I'll use 【Daily Appraisal】 to check it out!"

After putting the broken sword away, he took out the biggest harvest of this trip—the jade slip of the "Azure Thunder Sword Art"—and felt a surge of excitement.

The jade slip was entirely silver, exuding a mysterious and unfathomable aura, as if it contained boundless, majestic power within.

Zhou Qing took a deep breath and slowly pressed the jade slip against his forehead.

As his spiritual sense probed inside, a vast and peerless force surged in with a boom.

He saw a vast, boundless void where thunderclouds churned like a raging sea, and lightning flashed like the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting.

The power of that thunder seemed capable of destroying the entire universe in an instant.

Bolts of lightning, thick as dragons, raged violently in the void, blooming with dazzling, mesmerizing light.

Every bolt of lightning contained a terrifying, world-destroying power that made one tremble in awe, shaking even the soul.

Immediately following this, sword Qi galloped across the void.

The extremely sharp sword Qi was like peerless divine swords, cutting through the void with unparalleled sharpness, emitting shrill, piercing whistles that could shatter gold and crack stone.

The sharpness of that sword Qi seemed capable of severing everything in the world, both tangible and intangible.

Countless strands of sword Qi intertwined and gathered, forming a surging, majestic ocean of swords, its power shaking the heavens and the earth.

Zhou Qing was stunned, immersed in this shocking scene, and a sense of boundless heroism welled up in his heart.

Following this, these scenes of intertwined thunder and sword Qi soon transformed into lines of chilling silver text.

"Azure Thunder rises, spiritual power surges, the Hundred Meetings point opens, divine intent condenses, the Chest Center point gathers, thunder power is born..."

Zhou Qing hurriedly sat cross-legged and began to try it out bit by bit according to the incantation...

Early the next morning, Zhou Qing, who had been cultivating all night, had just opened his eyes when a knocking sound echoed outside the courtyard.

"Fourth, Fourth—"

Hearing this sound, Zhou Qing was speechless.

He checked that he was dressed before getting up to open the door.

As soon as he opened it, he was startled when he saw Yan Xiaohu's haggard face.

"Third Shixiong, what's wrong with you?" Zhou Qing asked hurriedly.

Yan Xiaohu looked at Zhou Qing, his eyes red, and said, "Fourth, I might be dying!"

"What exactly is going on?" Zhou Qing's heart sank.

Yan Xiaohu said, "Thanks to your reminder yesterday, I realized that I really can pee those flowers and plants to death. My urine is poisonous! No, to be precise, I've been poisoned. Someone is trying to harm me!"

Zhou Qing: "..."

"The person who poisoned me has truly superb methods. I checked myself thoroughly and couldn't find anything. I had no choice but to go to the Exchange Hall late last night and trade for two detoxification pills. Guess what? The flowers and plants where I peed today turned yellow again."

"Fourth, our waste is the best fertilizer for those plants, let alone for cultivators. Look at the surroundings of your courtyard; they are lush and green. My side is almost becoming a desert."

"Tell me, what should I do?"

Yan Xiaohu's eyes were full of despair.

Zhou Qing hurriedly tried to comfort him.

When facing the siege of the Azure Flame Dao Palace, you weren't afraid of death at all. How can you be so scared by a baseless suspicion?

"Third Shixiong, don't worry yet. Have you looked for Master?" Zhou Qing pulled him inside and poured him a cup of water first.

Yan Xiaohu gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, then wiped his mouth and sniffed his nose: "Master isn't here; it seems he was called away by the Zhang Sect. Heaven knows when he'll be back. Fourth, you must help me this time."

"That's a given, but Third Shixiong, how should I help you?" Zhou Qing asked, sitting opposite him.

Yan Xiaohu immediately leaned forward, grabbed Zhou Qing's hand, and said, "Isn't your nose very sensitive? You can even smell the scent of something as obscure as Spirit Turtle Liquid. Just pee a little in this teacup, and help me smell it to see what kind of toxin it is, so I can prescribe the right medicine."

Zhou Qing: "..."

"Third Shixiong, let's go to Divine Peak and find Master right now. He will definitely be able to find out."

"What if he can't find out? Just help me smell it; it's better to be prepared."

"I have a cold recently, my nose is blocked. A-choo, a-choo. Let's go, let's go. Don't worry, I'm with you."

"But—"

"There are no 'buts', let's go quickly!"

…………

When they saw Mo Xingjian, the two hurriedly bowed.

"Did you two cause trouble again?" Mo Xingjian looked at their expressions, especially Yan Xiaohu's, and asked with a sinking heart.

Both shook their heads, and Yan Xiaohu immediately began to recount his physical condition with tears and snot.

"Master, is their revenge already here? I'm the first to bear the brunt. You must save me—"

Yan Xiaohu cried.

Mo Xingjian immediately made a shushing gesture, then looked around. After confirming no one was there, he placed his hand on Yan Xiaohu's pulse to check.

Soon, his expression changed drastically.

Seeing this, both felt their hearts skip a beat.

"Sigh~"

Immediately after, Mo Xingjian let go of his hand, sighed deeply, and looked at Yan Xiaohu with a complex expression.

"W-what's wrong?" Yan Xiaohu only felt his throat dry and his eyes blur; he was on the verge of fainting.

Mo Xingjian did not answer but looked at Zhou Qing.

"It seems your ranking needs to move up. From now on, you are the third!"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Zhou Qing could react, Yan Xiaohu clutched his heart, rolled his eyes, and fell straight down.

(End of chapter)