Chapter 11: Visitors on Qingluo Peak
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Finally returning to Shushan, Ling Yunpo was in high spirits.
Of course, the Green Duckweed Sword and the Myriad Avatar Absolute Immortal Sword along with their Sword Box had been concealed by him somewhere outside, after instructing Ah Jing to cast an Illusion Technique to shield it from divination, and the coordinates were already completely fixed.
When he returned to Qingluo Peak with Senior Sister An, he would have Ah Jing use the Teleportation Technique to teleport the marked Sword Box back—In fact, if it weren't for Senior Sister An's accompaniment, there would have been no need for such trouble; he could simply have had Ah Jing teleport him along with the swords.
Ah Jing's ability to teleport only worked on himself, and although the limitation was significant, it essentially affirmed his status as Ling Yunpo's "destined one."
Ling Yunpo continued to ponder his next moves when he saw a Sword Light approaching from afar, it was none other than the Jade Capital Sect Leader.
The Jade Capital Sect Leader had also been quite troubled recently.
Before taking on the role of Sect Leader of Shushan, he had no great enmity with Su Jian, and his regard for An Zhisu and Ling Yunpo was more of admiration than jealousy.
But since his proposal to save people was rejected by Long Eyebrow Immortal, he had no room to oppose and could only secretly contact some undercover agents in the Demon Cult to see if there was any trace of the two...
Then he saw Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu chatting and laughing as they flew over from below.
Jade Capital Sect Leader: ???
He swiftly turned his Sword Light and descended in front of the two, expressing his astonishment:
"You..."
"Sect Leader." Ling Yunpo was the first to salute with a fist-greeting, followed by An Zhisu who also paid her respects.
Finally coming to his senses, the Jade Capital Sect Leader calmly asked:
"When did you two return? How did you come back?"
"Reporting to Sect Leader," Ling Yunpo replied, "We just flew back on our swords."
Jade Capital Sect Leader: ......
Nonsense, who doesn't know you flew back on your swords? What I'm asking is how you got through the Demon Cult's defenses!
However, he figured that having to pass through the heavy restrictions of the Demon Cult, the two must have expended a considerable amount of energy and True Yuan, so the Jade Capital Sect Leader nodded and said:
"You two should return to your peak and rest. Tomorrow at Chen hour we will convene a sect assembly at the Ancestral Master Hall, all Golden Core True Persons are to attend."
Having said that, he left on his sword with a sweep of his sleeve.
Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu returned to Qingluo Peak, where Senior Sister An went first to report to their master in the secret chamber of Qingluo Peak, while Ling Yunpo found a deserted place in the Taoist temple and had Ah Jing teleport the Sword Box over.
In earlier years, before he had made a name for himself in Qingluo Peak and due to the insufficient monthly stipend within the peak, he would have Ah Jing teleport Spirit Stones over from Qiu Changtian's side to support his cultivation in Shushan.
In fact, were it not for the need to strictly maintain different personas, and to avoid letting one persona's possessions be used by another, he would have already combined all resources from all personas.
Upon opening the Sword Box, he saw the Myriad Avatar Absolute Immortal Sword lying quietly inside, while the Green Duckweed Sword began to float in midair.
"How's it going?" Ling Yunpo inquired.
"Playing dead," the Green Duckweed Sword snorted with a hint of a mocking laugh, "This sword has no Sword Spirit, thus it is stubborn and unadaptable."
"Sword Master only needs to keep it locked in the box. After some time, it will inevitably recognize the situation," it assured.
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"This is very good," Ling Yunpo allowed the Green Duckweed Sword to return and left the Thunder Punishment Sword to monitor the Extermination Immortal Sword before he quietly departed.
Although the two of them went straight back to Qingluo Peak, they had encountered the Jade Capital Sect Leader on the way, so the news quickly spread out.
Duan Fenhai came to visit that very night, claiming that he had finally achieved first place in the Foundation Establishment Realm disciples' competition, ascending to the top of the Immortal Sword Ranking.
Although this was because Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu had vacated their spots due to their Core Formation, Fenhai had indeed fought hard to earn his place, and so he was quite proud, specially coming over to tell the two that he had become the foremost under the Golden Core.
After Duan Fenhai left, Lin Duanshan was the next to visit.
Lin Duanshan had come this time first because he heard that the two had not returned safely, so he asked about the situation, and then he exchanged intelligence with them.
The number of people from the Demon Cult this time was roughly the same as the last time they besieged Penglai, but the number of high rank cultivators was far greater, making them more troublesome to deal with.
But Shushan prided itself on not being weak like Penglai, so they did not ask for reinforcements from other sects, choosing instead to remain calm and composed, ready to deal with changes quietly.
As of now, the Heavenly Demon and Nether Ghost paths had deployed the most troops, followed by the Mortal Life Path.
The Hell Path remained silent, and the remaining two paths, with limited strength, had also joined in the fray, but at most, they could only seal off the southwest and northwest directions, unable to pose a real threat to Shushan.
Ling Yunpo also shared some information about the periphery of Shushan, mainly feeling that the Demon Cult's outward aggressiveness did not seem to indicate any real intention to attack, which he found somewhat strange.
Lin Duanshan agreed, saying that everyone inside Shushan felt that the Demon Cult's arrival was not with the intent to attack Shushan, but rather to use the threat of attack to exert pressure.
As for the purpose behind the Demon Cult's pressure, it was not clear yet, but...
"But recently, there's a rumor that the Demon Cult lost some kind of wicked treasure and suspects that it was stolen by Shushan, which is why they have joined forces to come and demand an explanation," said Lin Duanshan with a sneer. "Regardless of what kind of treasure it is, since it's an artifact of evil, we in Shushan would definitely not covet it, so this is obviously a false accusation."
"Indeed," Ling Yunpo agreed, "The Demon Cult has used this kind of excuse more than once. Didn't the Asura Path accuse our people in Shushan not long ago, saying that we stole some of their treasures? In my opinion, it's just an excuse to start a war, utterly despicable."
"Yes," pondered Lin Duanshan, "however, I heard that what the Asura Path lost last time and what the Demon Cult is now claiming 'wicked treasure' they've come to demand are not the same thing..."
"It doesn't matter whether it's the same thing or not," Ling Yunpo interrupted, "A fabricated excuse can be anything they want it to be, can't it? Even if they say we stole the Nuwa Stone, the Fuxi Dual Swords, or the Shennong Nine Cauldrons, we need not delve too deeply into it."
"Hmm," Lin Duanshan sighed, "right now, the sect also wants to see what exactly the Demon Cult is plotting behind the scenes."
"Regardless of its true purpose, with such a large display of force, a battle is inevitable."
"During this time, you should also try to maintain your condition as much as possible; who knows when the sect might assign you to go out and battle."
This was indeed useful information... Ling Yunpo thought to himself, agreeing aloud.
After seeing off Lin Duanshan, Senior Sister An came out of the secret chamber just in time, and Ling Yunpo shared all the news with her.
It wasn't much later that Guan Shanyue came to visit, calling from outside:
"I heard that Junior Brother Ling and Senior Sister An have returned?"
"Senior Sister Guan, please come in," Ling Yunpo went out to welcome her inside.
Upon entering, Guan Shanyue immediately said with a smile:
"Junior Brother Ling, I hope you don't mind me asking you a question."
"The 'wicked treasure' the Demon Cult spoke of, it wouldn't happen to be in your hands, would it?"