“What we should think about now is the Ten Absolutes Mountains,” Meng Qi reiterated, “Don’t let these irrelevant matters distract us.”
“…” Yan Xuan was at a loss for words. How was this a trivial matter? If Meng Qi is Ling Ji’s daughter, then she is the daughter of the leader of the Duankong Sect, the young lady of one of the strongest sword sects in the world. Her life would be completely different from now on.
“You…” Yan Xuan thought for a moment, “Do you know what kind of person Ling Ji is?” He didn’t wait for Meng Qi to answer: “Even in the Western Realm, he is a legend!”
“Let me put it this way, almost all the young sword cultivators in the four realms grew up listening to the legends of Ling Ji. He is a sword cultivator who is more talented and powerful than anyone else in the world.” Yan Xuan went on and on. “At the age of twenty, he was already a Void Comprehending cultivator, with a strong, unparalleled natal sword. During those years, Ling Ji traveled through Three Thousand Worlds, leaving his name behind wherever he went, just like a trailing blaze. Many evildoers were scared just by the mention of his name.”
“Among the various legends about him in the Western Realm, the most widely circulated one is about how he immediately journeyed into the Starfallen Sea as soon as he entered the Void Comprehending stage, all alone with just a sword as a companion. He slashed and slashed as he made his way into the Sea, killing countless beasts and other dangerous creatures. The Starfallen Sea, dangerous enough to have a reputation as a purgatory, seemed to be his home turf.”
“By the time he finally departed the Starfallen Sea, he brought out many long-lost jade slips and even the bones of a predecessor who had fallen in Starfallen Sea many years ago. That person was a prominent figure in a major sect, and his only daughter personally came to offer herself as a servant to repay the great favor. But Senior Ling Ji refused.” Yan Xuan said, “Even now, he has no dao companion.”
He turned to look at Meng Qi, “Originally, the Duankong Sect was known for its sword arrays that were unmatched in the four realms, but Senior Ling Ji alone with a single sword was even more powerful than their arrays. And it is said that he was the only one who mastered Duankong’s strongest secret sword technique.”
“I see,” Meng Qi nodded.
“Ah, right.” Yan Xuan muttered, “We once joined forces with the Demon Realm to attack the Devil Realm. That was over twenty years ago, I think? At that time, the ten major sects of the Three Thousand Worlds each sent cultivators to form an alliance, and the leader was Senior Ling Ji.”
Meng Qi nodded.
“But after that, he went into seclusion. My father says that when a cultivator reaches a certain realm, they will all be like this, no longer trapped by worldly affairs, and wholeheartedly pursuing the Dao.” Yan Xuan continued, “So this time he became the new leader of the Duankong Sect, and even my father was somewhat surprised.”
When he finally finished, he looked at Meng Qi again: “Ahead is the Jingyuetian building, you should go back.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?” Meng Qi asked.
“I’ll be in the city. If you want to find me, go to that tavern. Before the Ten Absolutes Mountains open, I’ll be there every evening,” after a moment of hesitation, Yan Xuan said to her.
“Okay,” Meng Qi nodded. She had been out for almost a day — the sky was already showing the light of dawn, and the prosperous city was gradually waking up.
“Meng Qi.” Yan Xuan stood with her on the street at a corner away from the Jingyuetian building. He looked straight into Meng Qi’s eyes and suddenly asked again, “One last question, why did you choose to cooperate with me?” He didn’t let Meng Qi speak, rushing to say, “Aside from the fact that I am the son of the Jingyuetian Sect Leader.”
“Um.” Meng Qi thought for a moment and said, “Your inner core is almost completely shattered, I want to see if I can cure it. You can consider it my personal interest.”
She looked at Yan Xuan and asked back, somewhat awkwardly, “Do you know Senior Lin Yan?”
“I do,” Yan Xuan nodded. Lin Yan was an ancient great healer, a legend. Her deeds were well known even to those who were not medical cultivators.
“I regret not being born ten thousand years earlier, to fight alongside Senior Lin Yan. Or to be able to do my utmost to heal her after she was injured.” Meng Qi smiled. “This is probably a dream every medical cultivator shared, so…” She patted Yan Xuan on the shoulder and said, “Young man, sorry, you are probably a substitute for Senior Lin Yan.”
After Meng Qi finished speaking, she strode towards the Jingyuetian building.
Yan Xuan remained in place, standing still as he stared at Meng Qi’s retreating figure. After a while, he also walked towards the building. The disciples of Jingyuetian still treated him with the same respect and politeness, but ever since his injury, he always felt that this politeness carried a hint of sympathy or some other emotion. At this moment, Yan Xuan didn’t think too much about it. He quickly returned to the sect through the teleportation array in the building.
“Father,” Yan Xuan quickly reached his father’s residence. He knocked on the door, and upon receiving permission, pushed the door open.
“You’re back.” Yan Shunbei’s residence was located on a cliff within Jingyuetian’s precinct. A house stood by the cliff, surrounded by a small patch of green pines. Under the trees were a stone table and stone benches, and Yan Shunbei was sitting there. The chessboard on the stone table was already filled with numerous black and white pieces. Hearing his son’s footsteps approaching, he didn’t look up but continued to place the pieces, as if nothing was more important than the chess game in front of him.
Yan Xuan sat down opposite him: “I met Meng Qi.”
“Oh?” Yan Shunbei put down the white piece in his hand and looked up at his son, “How was she?”
Yan Xuan picked up a black piece and placed it casually on the board: “Quite unique.”
Yan Shunbei didn’t comment, and after a moment of silence, placed another white piece.
Yan Xuan played chess very quickly, placing another black piece, seemingly without thinking. After a dozen moves, the white pieces were already in a clearly losing position.
Yan Shunbei frowned and brushed his sleeves, scattering the pieces on the board: “You’re just causing trouble!”
Yan Xuan smiled and said nothing more. He threw the remaining black pieces in his hand into a box nearby and said, “Father, you have also seen the last part of the Grand Tournament’s footage that day, I think Meng Qi is trustworthy.”
“What happened yesterday?” Yan Shunbei asked.
“She spent half a day healing a commoner in the city who was injured by demonic energy. She told me that she cannot turn her back on a patient in need.”
“Aren’t you worried she was faking it for you?” Yan Shunbei asked.
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> She patted Yan Xuan on the shoulder and said, “Young man, sorry, you are probably a substitute for Senior Lin Yan.”
Haha I love Meng Qi! 😸