“I heard Senior Brother Zhao has gotten married?” Qin Xiumo didn’t directly answer. His gaze when looking at Zhao Jianian remained icy.
“Yes.” Zhao Jianian, unsure of what Qin Xiumo was thinking, cautiously replied, “Unfortunately, Junior Brother missed the wedding banquet, but it’s okay. Once we leave Ten Absolutes Mountain, I’ll treat you to a nice dinner and wine.”
Wei Yuanzhong also smiled, “Junior Brother Zhao’s Dao companion is a renowned beauty in the Southern Realm. Junior Brother Qin must know about her too.” He paused, noticing the atmosphere was more harmonious than before, and relaxed a bit, “Speaking of which, Junior Brother Qin, if you meet a female cultivator you like, you can also consider forming a Dao companion bond.”
Wei Yuanzhong looked at Qin Xiumo with a teasing smile, “That medical cultivator girl just now seemed quite nice. She has a good heart, and—” He stopped, feeling a bit awkward as he suddenly remembered how his usually aloof junior brother had helped the girl collect spirit stones. Regardless, it was evident that Qin Xiumo really cared for her.
“She is indeed very good,” Qin Xiumo smiled.
Seeing him smile, Wei Yuanzhong relaxed even more. Even Zhao Jianian breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Junior Brother Qin was just angry that he failed to return as promised and didn’t know that he had deliberately caused the incident. Now that a crisis was averted, Zhao Jianian found his wounds less painful, probably because of the medicine taking effect.
“Hahaha,” Zhao Jianian laughed, “If Junior Brother really likes that girl, we can bring her back to the Southern Realm after leaving the Ten Absolutes Mountain. She’s not a cultivator from the Southern Realm, right? Which sect does she belong to?” He remembered that Meng Qi seemed quite familiar with Xue Chengxuan and was also a medical cultivator, so he asked, “Is she a disciple of the Feng Alliance?”
“No,” Qin Xiumo’s reply was concise.
“You can’t be like this, Junior Brother. It’s okay to be cold and talk less in front of us, but you have to be more proactive in front of a girl,” Zhao Jianian said laughingly, “Senior Brother will teach you later.”
“Haha,” Qin Xiumo chuckled lightly.
Zhao Jianian was even more delighted to see this. His plan had worked, causing Qin Xiumo to fail his tribulation and go into qi deviation, yet he couldn’t feel relieved. Without confirming Qin Xiumo’s life or death, he was left in constant fear, worried that Qin Xiumo might suddenly appear one day and take revenge.
However, now that Qin Xiumo was engaging in conversation and even smiling at him, Zhao felt a mix of annoyance and relief. Annoyed to see him alive and stronger, yet relieved at the prospect of not falling to his sword. Moreover, with Qin Xiumo unaware of the underlying truth, there would be plenty of chances later…
“It’s about time,” Zhao Jianian hadn’t finished his thoughts when he suddenly heard Qin Xiumo’s words.
“What?” he asked instinctively.
What greeted him was a sword light, faster and sharper than before. This time, even Wei Yuanzhong couldn’t react in time, and by the time he moved, Qin Xiumo’s natal sword had already pierced through Zhao Jianian’s neck.
The strike was too fast and sudden!
Zhao Jianian’s face still bore a smile. His eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend that Qin Xiumo had actually killed him in front of their senior brother.
How dare he?!
He…
Zhao Jianian’s throat made a gurgling sound, but he could no longer utter a complete syllable. In fact, even with such a severe injury, he might not necessarily die, as he carried with him life-saving pills given by their master before entering Ten Absolutes Mountain.
Right, the pill…!!!
Zhao Jianian tried to move his fingers, only to realize his entire body was stiffened. Even the aura in his body and spiritual sea was frozen solid. Let alone reaching for the medicine in his storage pouch, he couldn’t even bend his fingers.
His throat continued to make gurgling sounds, desperately trying to vocalize.
“Junior Brother Qin, you?!” Wei Yuanzhong was shocked and furious, “How could you do this to your own senior brother?! To your fellow sect member!” As he spoke, he quickly took a small porcelain bottle from his storage pouch, poured out a pill, and tried to put it into Zhao Jianian’s mouth.
“Ugh.” Wei Yuanzhong suddenly grunted. His body went limp, and he fell to the ground. The pill in his hand fell onto the grass and rolled away.
Qin Xiumo stepped forward slowly, picked up the pill, and sniffed it: “Jiuhuanyang Pill.” He flicked his finger and tossed the pill beside Wei Yuanzhong, coldly stating, “Even if you have a Nirvana Pill, it wouldn’t save his life now.”
“You…” Wei Yuanzhong, although completely weakened, was still conscious and able to speak, “Why did you… do this to us?”
Qin Xiumo didn’t answer, just stood upright, coldly looking at the pale-faced Zhao Jianian.
“I want him dead, so I kill him.” He spoke indifferently, “To avoid further trouble.”
“Trouble?!” Wei Yuanzhong was stunned, then burst into rage, “You killed your own senior brother just to reach the top of Ten Absolutes Mountain?! You fiend!” He couldn’t believe it. Even if Junior Brother Qin was always somewhat aloof, famous for his genius in the sect and usually keeping to himself, Wei Yuanzhong had always thought that he wasn’t a heartless person.
“Why didn’t you kill me too?” Wei Yuanzhong asked harshly, “Qin Xiumo, as long as I live, I will make sure to kill you to rid our sect of evil!”
Qin Xiumo glanced at him coldly. His natal sword still hung in the air, but it did not move towards Wei Yuanzhong.
“Heh—” Wei Yuanzhong scoffed coldly, “That medical cultivator girl, she didn’t ask about our origins or status, and she saved all of us in one go.”
Hearing him mention Meng Qi, Qin Xiumo’s lips curved up in an almost imperceptible gentle arc: “That’s just the kind of person she is.”
“Do you think she would love a fiend like you! If she knew what you had done, she would definitely…”
Wei Yuanzhong’s words were cut off midway. His eyes widened as he saw a blue-robed woman slowly approaching from behind Qin Xiumo.
It was Meng Qi.
“Is this the person?” Meng Qi had just come out of the second challenge. As Xue Chengxuan had said, it was very simple, merely testing her knowledge of spiritual herbs and flowers. In the second challenge, there were many square tiles on the floor, each depicting a spiritual plant in lifelike detail. As Meng Qi stepped on each tile, new questions appeared on the sky screen above her. She just had to choose the tiles with the correct plant according to the questions, and she would be safe.
Meng Qi passed the second challenge effortlessly and quickly. As she came out, she happened to see Wei Yuanzhong collapsing. She heard their conversation and, looking at the stiffened body of Zhao Jianian, understood the situation when she saw him wearing a similar robe as Wei Yuanzhong.
She glanced at Wei Yuanzhong and knew that Qin Xiumo had no intention of killing him, but just made him unable to move temporarily.
“Yes,” Qin Xiumo replied to Meng Qi’s question after a moment of hesitation.
“Oh,” Meng Qi stepped forward and gently placed her hand on Zhao Jianian’s wrist.
“Fellow Daoist Meng!” Seeing the situation, Wei Yuanzhong hastily said, “Please save him! You can do it.”
“He’s already dead,” Meng Qi stood up after a quick examination.
“!!!” Wei Yuanzhong was shocked.
How could it be?!
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