Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Ling Yunpo had rehearsed countless times.

Scenarios like a sudden exposure of identity, Senior Sister An suddenly realizing something was wrong, being surrounded and attacked by Shushan elders, or even being captured and killed by the Long Eyebrow Immortal had all been considered… In terms of response and quick wits in the face of danger, he feared no one present could match him.

Therefore, while Senior Sister An and the Demon Path monks from Asura Path on the opposite side were still recovering from the shock of the unexpected encounter, he had already merged with the Qing Ping Sword into Man-Sword Unity. His Sword Light enfolded An Zhisu and he turned around, rushing toward the south.

The reason for not entangling with these monks was extremely simple:

The audacious presence of so many monks on the plateau without any restraints or disguise indicated that the offensive and defensive postures of the Asura Path and Shushan had reversed, and now it was definitely the Asura Path that had the upper hand.

Other peaks of Shushan Sword Immortals have the protection of Nascent Soul Elders, but our Qingluo Peak does not, and among the group of monks opposite us, who knows if there are any Nascent Soul Rank elders?

If you are involved, you will surely suffer the consequences!

It wasn't until the Sword Light had charged almost a hundred yards that the monks abruptly came to their senses.

Weren't the two people before them Qing Heng and Jiao Xiao True Person from Shushan?

Whether from Kunlun, Penglai, or Shushan, almost all well-known Orthodox Sect cultivators with enough potential had made it to Mount Wutai's wanted list. Kill one person, get a reward. The upper echelons of Mortal Life Sect personally guarantee it, they said, reliable for young and old alike.

However, although these bounties were enough to tempt any Demon Cult cultivator sunken in internal strife, the difficulty of hunting them down was so great that it made even more cultivators hesitant to try.

The reason is simple: the protection of the Orthodox Sects.

Among them, even though Qing Heng was a Third Grade and Jiao Xiao was a Second Grade Golden Core, it was said that they were not favored by the high levels of Shushan. Thus, they often had to venture out on their own in search of opportunities, making them significantly easier targets than other Orthodox Sect cultivators. As a result, most Demon Path cultivators took note of their appearance.

Now seeing Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu running away, how could the monks from the Asura Path not recognize them? They immediately split into two groups:

Two-thirds of them chased after them at full speed.

The remaining third went back to Iron City Mountain to bring back the elders so that they could swallow up these two pieces of fat meat altogether!

Ling Yunpo, carrying An Zhisu, quickly broke free from the plateau and entered the rainforest to the south.

"Ah Jing," he quickly asked, "Are the pursuers still behind us?"

"They're still following." Kunlun Mirror answered, "They are using spirit eagles to watch you."

Following Ah Jing's directions, Ling Yunpo saw a hardly discernable black dot on the distant horizon.

It turned out to be the spirit eagle of the Asura Path. These birds had their eyes long trained by the monks using secret techniques, giving them an incredibly far sight range, even surpassing that of an average cultivator's attack range.

Ling Yunpo estimated and understood that at this distance, probably only Qiu Changtian's Thunder Method could reach.

Rather than risking exposure of his identity by using the Thunder Method, it would be better to fly at low altitude with his Senior Sister, using the canopy of the rainforest to escape pursuit.

With this in mind, Ling Yunpo quickly exchanged a glance with An Zhisu, and the two of them simultaneously lowered their Sword Control altitude and disappeared into the woods.

Sword Control through the forest required dodging potentially protruding trunks and branches while flying at high speed. Most cultivators, lacking the necessary reaction speed, were forced to reduce their flying speed.

But Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu, having practiced the Seven Kills Sword Technique for many years, had long since developed the ability to multitask. Not only did their Sword Control not slow down, but their Life-bound Sword Artifacts led the way, slashing from side to side, clearing away any obstructing branches, to avoid getting cut during high-speed flight.

"Did we shake them off?" Ling Yunpo asked again.

"We shook off the original pursuers," Ah Jing with the lightning radar quickly reported, "But a new one has shown up, and he's faster than you, rapidly closing in!"

Ling Yunpo snorted coldly and instantly burst out from the treetops on his Flying Sword, his gaze darting quickly backwards.

There he saw a burly, bald monk with a gleaming, shiny scalp, dressed in a bright red cassock, holding a purple-gold alms bowl in his left hand and clasping ironwood prayer beads in his right, stepping through the air towards him with an advanced technique.

"I am Ge'ermu," the monk declared, raising his hand in salute, and announced loudly, "Spare a moment for some guidance, Qing Heng and Jiao Xiao True Persons!"

After speaking, his raised hand suddenly slapped through the air, and a powerful surge of energy transformed into a huge black palm, following his movement thunderously down onto Ling Yunpo's head!

In a flash of lightning, Ling Yunpo barely had time to turn the Qing Ping Sword upward for a stab, only to feel an unbearable force coming through the sword, sending the Qing Ping Sword flying back at him in an instant.

Monk Ge'ermu, however, was taken aback: despite being a Nascent Soul Cultivator himself and using the fiercely powerful Great Hand Seal, he had not managed to break the Shushan cultivator's life-bound sword artifact, but merely knocked it away?

This Shushan's Qing Heng True Person had just advanced to Third Grade Golden Core, but his root bone and the grade of his Flying Sword were indeed superior. Not bad at all! Worthy of being a disciple of that Seven Kills guy!

He burst into hearty laughter, then suddenly turned and reached straight for the Flying Smoke Sword coming at him from behind.

An Zhisu's gaze grew sharper, and the Flying Smoke Sword, following the changes in her Sword technique, nimbly passed beneath Ge'ermu's palm and struck his lower abdomen, emitting a dull sound akin to breaking leather.

To no avail, it didn't penetrate at all, barely tearing his cassock.

An Zhisu quickly retreated to Ling Yunpo's side and said,

"This man is the Iron Vein Elder."

Ling Yunpo's expression also darkened.

Asura Path monks with their personal names and Dharma names tend to be quite difficult to remember, so the Central Plains cultivators often prefer to disregard their names, giving them easier-to-remember nicknames.

The Iron Vein Elder was one such notorious Nascent Soul Elder from the Asura Path. His Cultivation Realm wasn't particularly high, but he was extremely skilled in magical combat.

The most troublesome aspect was his practice of the secret "Iron Vein" technique, which could harden the skin of his entire body to become impervious to blade and spear. Even the sharpest of Flying Swords could hardly penetrate an inch, earning him the nickname "Shushan's Nemesis."

After all, facing the Iron Vein Elder, the attribute of the Immortal Sword itself was rather irrelevant – no matter how sharp, it was ineffective against the Iron Vein Dharma Body. It required the Cultivator himself to have a high enough Cultivation Realm and True Yuan to be robust enough for the Immortal Sword to breach the elder's defenses.

Ling Yunpo, having formed a First Grade Golden Core, possessed True Yuan far superior to his peers but still no match for a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

Which meant that relying solely on the Immortal Sword would likely be insufficient to break this man's defense.

With this thought, anger surged in his heart, a fierce courage rising at the edge of his fear, wishing he could immediately knock Senior Sister An unconscious, surround the opponent with Five Elements Divine Light to obliterate him, and follow up with a Tai Xiao Thunder to kill Ge'ermu across ranks on the spot.

Of course, that was impossible. It was best to honestly make a run for it with the senior sister.

Ling Yunpo gave another meaningful glance to An Zhisu, who immediately understood tacitly. Their figures shook in unison, and they both executed the Cloud-Parting Eight Trigrams Step, disappearing from Ge'ermu's sight in a blink.

"Interesting," Ge'ermu said not with anger but delight, his eyes narrowing with greed, "So now there are Shushan cultivators who practice stepping techniques? And judging by the speed of movement, it's no less than my Revolving Wheel Godly Step!"

He continued, "In that case, this technique must indeed be fated for me! In appreciation of your coming here to form this connection, I will simply send you to paradise, leaving your corpses intact, and I won't even claim the reward!"