Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
Qin Liehu hosted his good friend, Xu Dahan and his son, with some hot tea and desserts.
The maidservants served desserts that were meticulously prepared. Xu Lie chomped down on it.
“Eat slowly.” Xu Dahan could not help but glare at him.
“Haha, eat more if you like it,” Qin Liehu said with a laugh.
Xu Lie nodded immediately.
When Xu Dahan saw this, he could not help but shake his head and smile wistfully. “Liehu, back then, we were a bunch of old buddies but you are really impressive now. You even have cultivators guarding your home. High officials like the county governor also come to your family as a guest.”
“How could it be because of me? It’s all because of Yun’er,” said Qin Liehu.
“Young Master Qin is kindhearted to help this child of mine,” Xu Dahan said. “I know that it was because of you. I’ll remember this for sure. The gifts I give will probably be nothing to your Qin family.”
“Why are you talking about this?” Qin Liehu said immediately. “We have a friendship that was tested by life and death. Also, your son is only entering Scenic Mountain Sect as an in-name disciple. What happens in the future will depend on the young fellow.”
Xu Dahan turned to look at his son.
Xu Lie’s cheeks were bulging from the food he stuffed in his mouth but he nodded immediately.
“Do well!” Xu Dahan said.
Xu Lie swallowed the desserts in his mouth and said immediately, “Don’t you worry, Father.”
“The path has opened up in front of you, so do well.” Xu Dahan was filled with anticipation. Even family clans with greater powers than his would find it extremely difficult to send their children into Scenic Mountain Sect. Now, his son, Xu Lie, was ahead of many children from large family clans.
…
Hong family.
“Brother, without my permission, no one is to disturb me.” Hong Lingtong instructed solemnly.
“Don’t worry,” replied his eldest brother.
“Okay.”
Hong Lingtong entered the chamber and with a rumble, a stone door closed.
The seclusion chamber was specially constructed. It had traps and array formations. It was almost impossible for people beneath the Connate realm to barge in.
“Back then, I confronted the greatest danger by stealing the treasures left behind by the ancients from Black Demon King’s son.” Inside the chamber, Hong Lingtong sat cross-legged on a mat. “Now that I’ve done sufficient preparations, I can break through into the Connate at any time! The seclusion this time… is first to fix my treasure and secondly to enter the Connate realm. When the time comes, my strength will increase by leaps and bounds.”
“I’ll also be qualified to investigate the Immortal Cave Abode.” Hong Lingtong thought to himself. “However, I’m still quite lacking and won’t be able to enter alone. It’s best if I get a partner? Qin Yun is extremely powerful and he had saved me from Black Demon King. Furthermore, he is very trustworthy and is suitable for being roped in.”
“I’ll leave everything to after I make a breakthrough.”
Hong Lingtong stopped thinking and closed his eyes to calm his mind.
******
Days passed one by one.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao were still thinking of the possibilities of revenge from the Zhongli family! However, it never came. In a blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. It was almost winter.
The morning sun rose and the sun was nice and warm.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao basked in the sun as they leisurely walked down the streets.
“Where do you plan on eating?” Yi Xiao asked with a smile.
“We haven’t come out in days. Why don’t we go to Cloud Restaurant? I want to eat their Hot Oil Noodles. In all of Grand Dominance, only their rendition has the local flavors of Qin Prefecture. Back when I toured the world, I went to Qin Prefecture and had a taste of it.”
Cloud Restaurant was quite an extravagant place but many of their dishes were very authentic.
Yi Xiao could not help but laugh. “Look at you, you are almost drooling.”
“Just thinking of it makes me want to drool.” Qin Yun said with a laugh.
“Alright, let’s do it. Let’s go to Cloud Restaurant.” Yi Xiao nodded.
The two strolled down the bustling streets that had hawker stalls lining the sides. Commoners were bargaining at the stalls.
Not far ahead was a stall that repaired umbrellas.
The owner was an elder with a messy white beard. He wore a thick patched cotton jacket. Although he was old, his hands were nimble. In a moment, he repaired an umbrella. He handed it to the woman in front of him with an honest smile. “The repair is done.”
The woman took the umbrella, opened it and closed it a few times. After a careful inspection, she smiled and nodded. She took out two coins from her pouch and handed it over. “Here you go.”
The elder stretched out his somewhat blackened hand and accepted it with a beaming smile.
The woman turned and left.
The elder sat down and continued repairing the umbrellas the other customers left with him. He would look up at times as the sunlight shined on him. He also found it very comfortable. As he looked at the commoners on the street, his eyes were filled with unsophisticated passion.
When Qin Yun and Yi Xiao walked over from afar, Qin Yun also noticed the umbrella-repairing elder. With his eyesight, he could tell at a glance that he was a skilled craftsman.
Now, even without his flying sword, Qin Yun could sense a three-hundred-foot radius around him. Within this range, he could instinctively make a judgment purely with his subconscious.
“Phew.”
The umbrella-repairing elder looked at Qin Yun and Yi Xiao as he smiled humbly.
When facing rich scions, these ordinary craftsmen would appear very humble. Following that, he lowered his head and continued with his work. He picked up an umbrella and studied it carefully. When Qin Yun and Yi Xiao passed his stall, his focus was still on the umbrella. He pressed the button on the umbrella and was about to open the umbrella to study it carefully.
When he pressed the button, the umbrella opened—
“Boom!!!”
The umbrella in his hand instantly blasted out dazzling red streams of light. It was much more terrifying than any Demon Annihilation Crossbow or Star Chasing Crossbow.
At that moment, he was only ten feet away from Qin Yun and Yi Xiao!
A distance of ten feet!
The umbrella suddenly shot out the red beams at a supersonic speed. That instantaneous speed was not inferior to Qin Yun’s flying sword. This bit of distance was not something even Connate True Core realm cultivators could react in time! Even if they subconsciously reacted, their bodies might not be able to parry it in time.
Multiform Poison Codger was best at machinery arts!
Some umbrellas had more complicated structures. A specially-made umbrella was enough to prevent cultivators from noticing anything special.
“Die.”
“If I was a kilometer away, a sword immortal would be able to easily kill me with a flying sword. Even if I had more powerful techniques, I would not be able to do a thing to you at a great distance. Now that you are right in front of me, my machinery arts is a forbidden art that the imperial government keeps disclosed. Hmph! Even typical soldiers can threaten powerful cultivators with a Star Chasing Crossbow. As for this specially-made umbrella of mine… it has killed someone at the Connate True Core realm before. He reacted eventually but did not have the time to block it.” The old man’s eyes were filled with excitement.
“Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!”
The red light that shot out from the umbrella formed nine beams! Every beam was extremely fast and ruthless! Most importantly, the distance was very short!
Qin Yun noticed it from the corner of his eyes as a cold glimmer flashed across his eyes.
Weng–
Formless waves instantly enveloped the surroundings.
The area within a sixty-foot radius instantly turned silent. There was complete isolation both in and out. Beyond sixty feet, no one could see what was happening within sixty feet of Qin Yun. When the elder saw the surroundings turned dark, his expression could not help but change. However, he continued staring at the nine red beams of light with anticipation.
The nine red beams that shot out at high speed was enveloped by an invisible will.
“Sword Intent Unleashed, Naturally Formed Domain!”
Unlike his initial breakthrough, Qin Yun’s sword intent domain could now envelop a region of sixty feet.
The sword intent wrapped around the nine red beams of light, causing their speed to rapidly slow down! They posed a threat because of the machinery arts but their speed was constantly reducing with the sword intent obstructing them. Finally, they stopped an inch in front of Qin Yun. They were nine black steel needles and the reason why they manifested as red beams of light was purely that of their immense speed.
Multiform Poison Codger widened his eyes as he looked at Qin Yun in horror.
The scene that had just happened left him astounded!
Without using his flying sword, Qin Yun was able to make the nine black steel needles stop! He knew very well that impeding them purely with Heaven and Earth powers at a distance of ten feet would, at best, reduce the steel irons by a hundredth.
“Intent domain? How is that possible. The legendary intent domain… is only mastered by a total of six Connate Golden Core realm experts in all of Jiang Prefecture, including the imperial government and the Daoist and Buddhist sacred lands. And most of the six have only gained a basic grasp of the intent. Qin Yun has already reached the stage of an intent domain?” Multiform Poison Codger was flabbergasted.
While reeling in shock, he hurriedly sent a voice transmission, “Don’t kill me. I’m Multiform Poison Codger. I’m skilled in machinery arts. I cultivate in the Physical Establishing Sage and am best at transformations. I…”
He wanted to live! Naturally, he had to demonstrate his usefulness!
Before he even finished his voice transmission, a piece of cloth, containing sword intent, from the ruined umbrella in his hand flew up.
Pew!
It pierced through his heart, widening Multiform Poison Codger’s eyes as he collapsed to the ground. His body contorted as he reverted to a thin and short tyrannical elder. That was Multiform Poison Codger’s true appearance.
Inside the sword intent domain, everything could contain sword intent and become a powerful weapon.
When Qin Yun saw this scene, he thought to himself. “My breakthrough in sword intent should only be known by you and Yi Xiao. Since you know of it, it’s best you die.”
