Chapter 213 : Abandoning the Task
The origin of the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl was ultimately glossed over.
Yun Qingyue clearly knew the Little White Tiger harbored secrets, but since she had explicitly stated she couldn't tell, Yun Qingyue wasn't the type to press aggressively. So she temporarily set aside this topic, and the Little White Tiger asked again about Yun Qingyue's injuries.
Perhaps because she had received such great benefit from the Little White Tiger, Yun Qingyue didn't conceal anything from her, explaining everything in detail from the Strange Fire to the Square Seal. Finally, with a flip of her palm, the Square Seal engraved with fierce beast totems appeared in her hand: "I had originally planned to turn this Square Seal over to the sect in exchange for resources, but now it seems to have quite a background, so it's better to keep it."
The White Tiger flicked her ears, appearing unconcerned: "If Senior Sister finds it useful, just keep it. Besides, it's still helping suppress the Strange Fire now, how could you give it away?"
The Square Seal had looked extraordinary from the beginning, and naturally it was more beneficial to keep such a good item for oneself than to surrender it. However, when they first obtained this Square Seal, the Little White Tiger had contributed significantly, yet all the benefits went to herself. Yun Qingyue felt she couldn't brazenly enjoy it alone, and since sword cultivators weren't particularly dependent on magical treasures, she had considered exchanging it for resources... but now it seemed she would have to be shameless this once.
Just as she was thinking about how to find some compensation, her wrist was wrapped by a tiger tail, and the Little White Tiger tilted her head to look up and ask: "Senior Sister, when will you be able to refine the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl and subdue the Strange Fire?"
Yun Qingyue's current physical condition was quite complex. On one hand, her meridians were severely injured by the Strange Fire; on the other hand, there was still an unsubdued Strange Fire in her dantian. Although the ice spiritual energy contained in the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl was extremely rich, as long as she hadn't refined it and subdued the Strange Fire, eight or nine parts out of ten of her spiritual energy would be constrained, greatly disadvantaging her healing.
However, Yun Qingyue couldn't provide an answer to the Little White Tiger's question, especially regarding the process of the Strange Fire transforming into Ice Flame—something she had never heard of and didn't know how long it would take. After careful consideration, she still shook her head: "I don't know either."
Hearing this, the Little White Tiger sighed, her face full of worry: "I see..."
Seeing her little tiger's pretense of maturity, despite her cold temperament, Yun Qingyue's eyes couldn't help but fill with a trace of amusement: "With the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl you gave me, my injuries will gradually heal. Why are you making such an expression?"
The White Tiger straightened up, appearing composed and wise, about to speak when a knock sounded at the door. The words at the tip of her tongue immediately faltered as she turned to look. At the same time, Yun Qingyue had already removed the room's restrictions and invited the person in.
The door opened, and in came Peak Master Qingyu.
Seeing her master arrive, Yun Qingyue immediately rose to salute: "Disciple greets Master."
Peak Master Qingyu nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping across the room, just catching a white figure stealthily trying to slink into a corner.
The Little White Tiger had a remarkably good memory. Although a year had passed, she still clearly remembered how she had snuck into the Canglán Secret Realm. At that time, the single-minded cub hadn't considered the consequences at all, but now, facing Peak Master Qingyu again, she was written all over with "cowardice." Had she known who was at the door, the tiger cub would certainly have found a hiding place earlier.
But now it was obviously too late to hide. Feeling the gaze upon her, the Little White Tiger felt the fur on her back about to bristle. Yet she had to stop her attempts to sneak away and timidly turn around to call out: "Peak Master..."
Peak Master Qingyu ignored her, either still remembering the past incident or simply not bothering with it anymore. She walked directly to her disciple's side to examine her injuries, then frowned and asked: "How did you end up like this?"
Facing her master, Yun Qingyue clearly held nothing back and promptly explained everything.
Like master, like disciple—the Little White Tiger couldn't help but tense up to the point of bristling when Yun Qingyue mentioned the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl, but surprisingly, Peak Master Qingyu didn't ask anything. She only slightly knitted her brows when she heard that Yun Qingyue still had a flame of Strange Fire in her dantian: "The cultivation world is full of wonders, but for ice and fire to merge, I fear it won't be accomplished in a day or two."
Yun Qingyue nodded in agreement. In fact, without the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl, she wouldn't dare to even think about Ice Flame: "Master speaks truly. Upon returning to the sect, this disciple plans to go to Spirit Peak for closed-door cultivation, and emerge only after refining the Strange Fire."
Hearing this, Peak Master Qingyu nodded: "That's good." After a pause, she added: "In a few days, I'll send someone to escort you back to the sect."
Yun Qingyue had been in the Little White Tiger's innate space the whole time, and after being released, she had quickly taken medicinal pills to refine, so she knew nothing about what had happened in the outside world. Hearing Peak Master Qingyu speak like this, she was somewhat surprised: "Master isn't returning to the sect?"
Peak Master Qingyu's eyes darkened at her words: "I'm afraid I can't return for now."
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On Mount Mingzong, the righteous and demonic factions faced each other at a distance, the atmosphere so tense it seemed ready to explode at any moment. However, after waiting for many days, the righteous side saw neither demonic cultivators coming to provoke them nor signs of battle.
As time passed, the situation inevitably became somewhat peculiar and difficult to comprehend.
"Those demonic fiends must have some scheme. We need to be doubly cautious," the various sect elders warned their disciples.
The atmosphere on the righteous side grew more solemn with each passing day, with disciples forming teams to patrol the surroundings carefully every day. It seemed as if one moment of carelessness would give the demonic path an opportunity to exploit.
However, in reality, the four demonic sects had no interest in waging war with the righteous path at this time—since the day the secret realm closed, when the Celestial Demon Sect and the Harmony Sect confronted the Nine Abyss Sect for accountability but received no satisfactory answer, the atmosphere among the four sects had become subtly strained. The loss of disciples was one aspect; the failure to bring out many resources from the secret realm was another. The demonic path prioritized benefits, and their fragile cooperation immediately showed cracks.
Just as the Celestial Demon Sect and the Harmony Sect were about to fight with the Nine Abyss Sect, the Crimson Blood Sect still maintained a stance of watching from the sidelines. Eventually, this fire spread to the Crimson Blood Sect Leader.
The Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect, accompanied by the elder of the Harmony Sect, came to request an audience: "Sect Leader Zhu, the Nine Abyss Sect child has acted so recklessly, causing our disciples to perish in the secret realm. I hear the Crimson Blood Sect has also suffered many losses—doesn't the Sect Leader plan to seek justice?"
The Crimson Blood Sect Leader's reaction was flat: "If they lacked skill, what does it matter if they died?"
The Vice Sect Leader of the Celestial Demon Sect was momentarily stunned, forgetting that the Crimson Blood Sect was full of reckless madmen; it wasn't surprising that their Sect Leader would say such a thing. However, with interests at stake, it was a different matter.
Seeing the other three sects huddling together whispering, while the Nine Abyss Sect, which had originally taken the lead, was about to become the target of everyone's arrows, Chu Yang and a group of elders finally grew anxious. In the end, they had no choice but to offer substantial resources as compensation to barely quell the situation—fortunately, the Nine Abyss Sect had been the first to discover the Canglán Secret Realm and had already obtained considerable resources from it, otherwise, this compensation would have been crippling.
However, after this incident, the alliance on the demonic side clearly loosened significantly. There were many minor frictions and skirmishes with the righteous path, but large-scale battles never erupted, and figures at the elder and sect leader level never appeared.
Seeing that the situation remained relatively stable, Peak Master Qingyu thought the timing was perfect and planned to send her disciple back to the sect for closed-door cultivation and recuperation.
Yun Qingyue had no objections. Although it seemed like desertion in the face of imminent battle, her current condition truly wasn't suitable for combat. Since staying wouldn't help, it was better to leave rather than becoming a burden. So she agreed to her master's suggestion and asked the Little White Tiger: "Does Jianbing want to return with me?"
The Little White Tiger naturally didn't want Yun Qingyue to take risks. Her tail swayed as she was about to agree, when the system suddenly reminded her: "Host, have you forgotten? You still have an unfinished task. The progress of the demonic cultivator elimination task is (31/32), just one more to complete. If you leave and Chu Yang dies at someone else's hands, you'll never be able to complete this task."
The Little White Tiger hesitated due to her compulsiveness, but Peak Master Qingyu didn't give her much choice, deciding for her: "This place won't lack for Jianbing's fighting strength. She should go with you. Now that her cultivation has improved, she can look after you on the journey."
Hearing these words, the Little White Tiger instinctively puffed out her chest, visibly proud.
Seeing this, the system inwardly said "oh no," and sure enough, the Little White Tiger didn't refuse—compared to the so-called task, her Senior Sister's safety was naturally more important. She wanted to escort her Senior Sister back to the sect, and as for that incomplete task, she could simply not look at the task panel in the future!
The matter was thus settled, and Peak Master Qingyu was decisive in her actions, arranging for Yun Qingyue's return to the sect the very next day. Apart from the escorting elder, there were hardly any companions for her journey. Though Su Hao and the others were severely injured, they could recover quickly after taking medicinal pills, and since they had limited opportunities to deal with demonic cultivators before, they were all kept behind for tempering.
Before departure, fellow disciples came to bid farewell, including Zhong Heng, who had just advanced to the Nascent Soul stage and was consolidating his cultivation. He specially emerged from seclusion to see her off. Having advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he seemed to feel closer to his Senior Sister, with hope of catching up, and patted his chest, saying to his Senior Sister: "Senior Sister, rest assured and focus on your seclusion. This Junior Brother will help kill several demonic cultivators for you."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She responded with a simple "alright," then bid farewell to everyone before boarding the small spirit boat with the Little White Tiger in her arms. Peak Master Qingyu personally escorted her for several hundred miles, gave her more instructions, and then returned.
Standing at the bow of the boat, watching her master depart, Yun Qingyue finally let out a long sigh.
The Little White Tiger nestled obediently in her arms. Seeing her low spirits, she raised her paw to pat her arm gently, comforting her: "Don't be sad, Senior Sister. You're just returning for closed-door cultivation for a while. After you refine the Ice Soul Condensation Pearl and become stronger, it won't be too late to face the demonic cultivators again."
Yun Qingyue nodded slightly, quickly adjusting her mindset. She held the Little White Tiger at the bow for a while longer, watching as the spirit boat sailed swiftly, moving farther and farther from Mount Mingzong, then turned to return to the cabin to cultivate.
Suddenly, darkness fell before her eyes, and the entire spirit boat was plunged into blackness...