VGAB Chapter 46

Bang!

The Tianyan’s disciple, Xiao Mo, who had just been wearing a warm smile, was struck by the spiritual power sent by Qi Heng and sent flying into a tree about ten meters away. He, along with the tree, crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and leaves.

Qi Heng coolly dropped a word, “Blind,” and then vanished on the spot.

“Are the immortal beings of the cultivation world this fierce?” Xiao Mo quickly got up from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and rubbing his chest. He wasn’t injured, but when he collided with the tree trunk, he bit his tongue.

“It’s your blindness that got you what you deserved,” scolded an elderly voice.

Xiao Mo pulled a jade pendant from his chest and grinned, “Master, you’ve been single for a thousand years, so you naturally don’t understand these nuances. When a beauty hits someone, it can hardly be called a beating!”

There was no response from the jade pendant.

Qi Heng returned to the Jade Sword Peak. In this world, his identity was the Chief Disciple of the Jade Sword Peak at the Tianyan Sect. However, the Jade Sword Peak had long declined, and it was now desolate, with only a few puppet servants mechanically cleaning the area.

After all, in the vast Canglan Realm, compared to the relatively simple qualifications required for entry into other practices like healing, magic, or alchemy, the threshold for swordsmanship was extremely high.

But entering was only the first hurdle, the simplest one in the path of swordsmanship. The real difficulty lay in the second hurdle – the arduous journey of cultivation, and the greatest challenge for swordsmen was advancing through each realm.

In the cultivation world, ordinary cultivators who undergo a Thunder Tribulation only attract three lightning bolts belonging to their current realm. However, for swordsmen, starting from the Golden Core stage, every breakthrough would bring down the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder – a full nine bolts of lightning. To overlook any of them meant one’s soul might be scattered.

It was as if the heavens were proclaiming that they did not accept the existence of swordsmen in this world.

Even though swordsmen could easily become invincible when crossing realms, in this perilous environment, few dared to risk their lives to practice swordsmanship.

This lack of willingness led to the absence of new swordsmen in the cultivation world for several years.

The last time a swordsman emerged was Qi Heng’s master, Xuan Wei Zi, who was the Peak Master of the Jade Sword Peak in this world.

When it came to showing respect for swordsmen, the cultivators of the cultivation world, upon reaching the Nascent Soul stage, would address a swordsman as “Sword Lord.”

But the Sword Lord Xuan Wei recently failed his advancement and perished on the Jade Sword Peak.

Under the Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder, it was said that both body and soul were obliterated.

However, Qi Heng knew that Xuan Wei Zi’s soul didn’t completely perish. A tiny fragment of his soul escaped from the Jade Sword Peak and, aided by a protective talisman, fell into the mortal world.

And it happened to land in the hands of Xiao Mo.

Thinking about Xiao Mo, Qi Heng had a bit of a headache. The protagonist of this world was the most visually impaired Tianyan’s disciple he had ever seen, in both his lives.

In this life, at least his body was fine, but in the previous life, that cursed cannon fodder had a face so ugly that even he couldn’t stand to look at it.

The blind Tianyan’s disciple, however, single-mindedly believed that Qi Heng was handsome, convinced that Qi Heng used a disguise technique to deliberately test his character.

Later, due to Qi Heng’s lack of cooperation, the curse began to control Qi Heng’s body and follow the plot, involving various attempts against Xiao Mo. But in Xiao Mo’s eyes, it seemed as if Qi Heng was intentionally seeking his attention.

Moreover, each move from the curse facilitates the progression of the plot, resulting in Xiao Mo’s improvement in cultivation or the acquisition of treasures, to varying degrees.

After several occurrences, even the most oblivious person would sense something was amiss. It wasn’t normal for coincidences to happen every time. So, Xiao Mo interpreted it as Qi Heng openly opposing him while secretly providing him with opportunities.

What was originally supposed to be a cannon fodder character, trampled and defeated, took an unexpected turn in Xiao Mo’s blind eyes.

That was the first time the curse was left helpless and had withdrawn from the world due to frustration.

After the curse withdrew, Qi Heng regained control of his body because the curse’s interference had ceased. This provided an opportunity for Qi Heng, and under a twist of fate, he discovered the method to remove the curse.

However, Qi Heng hadn’t expected that upon returning to this world, the protagonist was still blind, and this time, the misidentification was even more outrageous as the protagonist mistook him for a female cultivator.

Well, let it be.

Qi Heng pinched his brow and entered a stone chamber, where he set up a gathering spirit formation and began absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

After undergoing the restoration of his merit in the past two worlds, the damage to his soul had been mostly repaired. So, as he entered cultivation, his body was suddenly enveloped in a storm of spiritual energy.

With no restriction from the depletion of spiritual energy and his Dao heart intact, Qi Heng made progress almost effortlessly, facing hardly any obstacles.

Six months later, Qi Heng’s cultivation finally encountered resistance. Sensing the arrival of a heavenly tribulation, Qi Heng halted his cultivation, stood up, and replaced the spirit stones within the gathering spirit formation.

The Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder had taken shape.

The clear sky suddenly turned dark, roiling black clouds filled the air, and thunder resounded.

The entire Tianyan Sect was enveloped in darkness as the purple tribulation thunder, accompanied by lightning and thunder, descended mightily.

A loud roar.

Disciples on the square ceased their activities and turned their attention to the source of the sound.

“Could it be a senior disciple from the Jade Sword Peak undergoing tribulation?” someone said in a trembling voice. They still remembered the recent incident when tribulation thunder struck, leading to the fall of the Peak Master of Jade Sword Peak. When the Sect Leader arrived, there was not a trace of his soul left.

In the very moment he spoke, several more tribulation thunders fell, extremely fast, and they seemed to be heading directly for the outcome of annihilating the soul.

“No, this tribulation thunder is unusual,” said Qing Xu, the Sect Leader of the Tianyan Sect, who had been observing everything. “Inform the disciples to return to their rooms immediately and not to go outside.”

Tribulation thunder of such magnitude could shatter a person’s Dao heart, leaving behind an insurmountable fear.

The various Peak Masters appeared before Qing Xu.

“Sect Leader, something is amiss with Jade Sword Peak. All nine tribulation thunders have already fallen, but why haven’t they dissipated yet?”

Qi Heng’s spirit-gathering formation was destroyed when the third of the nine tribulation thunders fell, and his protective robes lost their effectiveness.

The stone chamber was in disarray, but Qi Heng remained calm and collected, his only possession being a spiritual sword floating in mid-air.

“Give up!” a majestic voice resonated from the depths.

Qi Heng opened his eyes, and the spiritual sword floated gently into his hand. Another bolt of lightning tore through the stone chamber and came directly at his face. Qi Heng brandished the sword, managing to intercept the lightning.

“Dealing with them one by one is too slow. Let’s speed things up.”

Perhaps the heavens heard this statement, as the rumbling in the sky grew louder. After a long buildup, several bolts of lightning, about the size of a bowl, struck down.

Qi Heng calmly summoned his spiritual sword, then raised his hand and formed a gesture. The sword shot upward to meet the tribulation thunder.

To onlookers, it appeared as if he was using an egg to strike a rock, but there are always surprises in the world.

The spiritual sword and the tribulation thunder engaged in a standoff for a while. Then, numerous bursts of lightning lit up the sky as the sword chased the dispersing tribulation thunders, absorbing each one into its blade.

Reluctantly, the dark clouds in the sky scattered, and a gentle rain began to fall. This was the heavenly rain that nurtured all living things after a cultivator successfully crossed their tribulation.

The spiritual sword descended slowly before Qi Heng. It no longer radiated the pure aura it had before but was instead enveloped in an aura of thunder and lightning.

Qi Heng raised his hand to grip the hilt, and the lightning’s energy on the sword instantly dissipated, making it appear like an ordinary mortal blade.

“Chengyuan, have you successfully crossed your tribulation?” Chengyuan was Qi Heng’s Daoist name, and he looked at the person who had suddenly appeared before him, the Tianyan Sect’s Sect Leader Qing Xu.

“Hey,” Qing Xu noticed something unusual because he couldn’t see through the cultivation level of this Jade Sword Peak’s Chief Disciple. 

Keep in mind that he had already reached the stage of Nascent Soul, and it was impossible for him to be unable to discern the cultivation level of a junior!

Qing Xu was astonished, “Chengyuan, what’s your current cultivation level?”

Qi Heng raised his gaze and, while suppressing his true cultivation level, calmly replied, “Early Nascent Soul.”

“It can’t be! If it’s in the Early Nascent Soul stage, there’s no reason for me to be unable to see your cultivation level.” Qing Xu was surprised. Just a short while ago, he was still at the Foundation Establishment stage, and now, he had ascended two major realms. Such talent explained the immense power of the previous tribulation thunder.

Qi Heng looked at the spiritual sword in his hand and added, “It might be because of this. It mistakenly absorbed the tribulation thunder, which may have affected your ability to sense my cultivation level.”

The tribulation thunder was formidable, and it wouldn’t permit anyone to scrutinize it closely. Qing Xu, feeling a bit shaken, revealed his true cultivation level after seeing Qi Heng put away the spiritual sword, which finally put his mind at ease.

As the thunder subsided, disciples of the Tianyan Sect were finally allowed to leave the outer gates.

The spiritual rain continued for half a day, and the outer disciples of the Tianyan Sect also spent half a day in the rain, for absorbing such heavenly rainfall would benefit their personal cultivation.

For several consecutive days, there was a lingering sense of fear throughout the Tianyan Sect.

“Facing such terrifying tribulation thunder, the individual from Jade Sword Peak managed to withstand it.”

After a week in seclusion, Xiao Mo had just returned from the back mountain to his residence in the outer sect. He overheard a disciple in the courtyard, who was watering the spiritual herbs, make this remark.

Xiao Mo was curious, but the old man inside his jade pendant was even more eager. He quickly transmitted, “Hurry and ask if they are talking about the chief disciple of Jade Sword Peak.”

“Master, do you know that person?” Xiao Mo was curious.

“I know him. Please ask for me,” the voice from the jade pendant was somewhat muffled.

Xiao Mo tidied his appearance and showed a curious expression. “Senior brothers, who are you talking about?”

“Xiao Mo!” The disciple raised his head and, upon seeing Xiao Mo, his expression soured. “Where have you been? It’s your turn to clean today, and you’ve hidden away instead!”

Xiao Mo: “…”

He had completely forgotten about this. In the mortal realm, he had a servant to attend to him. How could he have known that even after joining a sect in the Immortal World, he would have to start as a menial disciple?

So, Xiao Mo didn’t get any useful information and instead ended up with a load of chores.

“You’re too clueless,” the soul inside the jade pendant sighed with frustration.

After a visit from the sect’s master and a couple of days, Qi Heng became the new peak master of Jade Sword Peak.

“Please, Sword Lord Chengyuan, infuse a wisp of your soul into this command token,” an inner sect steward presented a jade token.

Qi Heng’s eyes flickered slightly. He held the jade token for a while, and then the token shimmered briefly, indicating that a fragment of his soul had been infused into it.

Qi Heng placed the jade token back into the jade tray.

“Thank you, Sword Lord,” the steward said before leaving, satisfied that everything was in order.

Once the steward had departed, Qi Heng raised his hand, and an identical jade token appeared in his palm.

Qi Heng’s eyes turned extremely cold as he crushed the jade token that contained hidden intentions.

In his previous life, the Tianyan Sect had controlled all its disciples using this method to fill that Ascension Array.

What was the “Number One Immortal Sect”? Nothing more than a group of lunatics who would stop at nothing for ascension.

A paper crane for sending messages wobbled in, self-igniting without any fire.

“Immortal, Immortal, are you there—?”

Clearly, the speaker had low cultivation, as the rest of the words weren’t recorded.

However, Qi Heng’s expression darkened because he recognized the voice—it was that of this world’s destined individual, Xiao Mo.

On the back mountain, Xiao Mo looked at the old, tattered books arranged before him in surprise. He hadn’t expected that he could learn and actually send out the message through the paper crane.

Could his talent really be that good? Learning it with just a glance?

However, while he was learning, he had been thinking about the immortal he had seen that day.

With this in mind, Xiao Mo quickly took out his jade pendant and patted it twice.

“Master, can this paper crane really find the person I want to find based on my thoughts?”

The voice from the jade pendant sounded a bit annoyed, “Yes. When you infuse it with spiritual energy and think of someone, it will locate that person.”

“But the paper crane has never seen that immortal, and I just thought about it in my mind. How can it be sure that it’s the person I want to find?” Xiao Mo asked curiously.

“What?” The voice from the jade pendant was startled. “What immortal? Who did you think about when infusing the spiritual energy?”

Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment, then said suspiciously, “It’s, it’s that white-robed immortal who dressed as a man from that day. Don’t you remember, Master? She even struck me with a palm.”

The jade pendant fell into a moment of silence, and after a while, the voice from inside softly spoke, “Blame it on my blindness in the past.”

Thinking that I had found a prodigy, I impatiently took you as my disciple. But who would have thought that in the end, you would turn out to be a complete fool who can’t tell the difference between a man and a woman?

“What do you mean by ‘blindness’?” Xiao Mo asked curiously, “Was my master blind in the past?”

The voice from the jade pendant was clearly frustrated, “I advise you to be cautious in the near future.”

“I haven’t caused any trouble recently, so why is my master angry again?” Xiao Mo couldn’t make sense of it and felt that his master was great in many ways, except for his groundless worries and inexplicable anger.

The person in the jade pendant still didn’t want to engage with him, so Xiao Mo stuffed the remaining half of the spirit paper used to make the paper crane into his pocket and walked towards the exit of the mountain, planning to return to his residence via a small path.

However, just as Xiao Mo reached the entrance of the back mountain, he saw a white-clad figure standing outside, holding a sword.

“Xiao Mo.”

The moment he saw the person’s face, an unexpected surprise welled up in Xiao Mo’s eyes.

“How come you’re here, Immortal?” he asked.

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