Ling Yunpo returned to Qingluo Peak.
"Senior Sister!" He searched the Daoist temple on Qingluo Peak but could not find An Zhisu.
She must have either gone to buy wine or... oh, right.
Following the descending corridor, continuing downward, Ling Yunpo stepped into the secret chamber.
In the secret chamber deep within Qingluo Peak, An Zhisu was kneeling on a ditation mat, babbling non-stop to her father about the recent events:
"...Master, Little Brother and the Taoist friends he t last ti went out to relax."
"Alas, although it’s a good thing, I always feel a bit lost."
"In this respect, I am after all not as smooth as Little Brother."
"He surely won’t despise for this, right..."
Behind the rock wall, stillness reigned in silence.
"Little Brother, have you returned?" Noticing the movent behind her, An Zhisu quickly stood up, her expression one of surprise... and unease.
The words she just said to Master, they hadn’t all been overheard by Little Brother, had they?
"Little Brother." An Zhisu spoke softly, her expression even showing a rare bit of shyness, "When did you co in?"
"Ah?" Ling Yunpo feigned ignorance, "I’ve been back for a long ti now."
"Then you, then you…" An Zhisu was at a loss for words, it took her a mont to shift the topic, "How did you enjoy yourself outside?"
This was not her usual swordsmanship practice—if she couldn’t advance head-on, Senior Sister An would often choose to maneuver from the flanks to restrain the opponent, instead of directly fleeing.
"It was pretty good." Ling Yunpo launched a major move, "Senior Sister, I’ve reached Core Formation."
An Zhisu: ?????
The fleeing Senior Sister An was penetrated directly by her junior brother’s Man-Sword Unity.
It took her several minutes to digest this information before she finally said, incredulously:
"How could it be... what grade of Golden Core did you form?"
"Upper Third Grade." Ling Yunpo’s eyes shone with firm resolution, his voice carrying three parts of tragic determination and seven parts of no regrets.
Without hesitation, better to rack up good impressions first and discuss the rest later.
"High Grade Golden Core..." An Zhisu unwittingly let out a sigh of relief (since a High Grade Golden Core is the basic threshold for future Feather Transformation into a Golden Immortal), but then she felt a bit sad and pained.
With Little Brother’s talent and ability, he should have been able to form a Second Grade Golden Core.
If he were lucky enough, even a First Grade Golden Core wouldn’t be out of the question...
An Zhisu unconsciously ignored the difficulty of forming a First Grade Golden Core, her mind rely silently churning those thoughts that would seem ridiculous if spoken aloud, feeling as if her heart might sorrowfully contract into a tight ball, spasming endlessly.
"What about you, Senior Sister?" Ling Yunpo asked with a smile, "How many years has it been since you reached the Refining Mansion Cultivation?"
"I..." An Zhisu fell silent for a mont, then said somberly, "Almost three hundred years, I guess."
rcurial Elixir Liquid, Cloud Sea Empty Cocoon, Millennium Stone Milk, Sea Bodhi, and Zhu Marrow Elixir, together accounted for one hundred and sixty years.
After securing second place in the White Jade Capital Secret Realm, she found two Secret dicines of the Purple Mansion in the Fire Elent Cave, plus the Purple Mansion Secret dicine that Su Jian fed her when she first entered the Refining Mansion stage, along with the accumulated fruits of her own silent Breathing practice over many years...
The total amounted to three hundred years of Refining Mansion Cultivation.
No matter what, she had obtained almost all the Purple Mansion Secret dicines that were readily available along the Shushan route.
Including the great competition at the White Jade Capital, a rare event, I’ve barely managed to accumulate three hundred years... As for the remaining hundred years, I simply have no idea where to start searching, and the hope is extrely dim.
Even for the foremost beneath the Golden Core of Shushan, the Second Grade Golden Core is so difficult to achieve, let alone other cultivators.
"No matter what, Senior Sister mustn’t rush into Core Formation." Ling Yunpo advised patiently, "As your junior brother, I have already beco a Golden Core True Person, and in the future, I can ensure the safety of Qingluo Peak, allowing you to firmly sprint towards the threshold of the Second Grade Golden Core."
"If Senior Sister rushes into Core Formation and disappoints my painstaking efforts, then it’s not only Master who wouldn’t accept that—I couldn’t accept it either!"
With each ntion of "your junior brother," he repeatedly poked at An Zhisu’s protective nature, so much so that at this mont she simply couldn’t speak, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, her eyes red-rimd, thinking to herself how much her junior brother had sacrificed for her, truly unsure of how to repay him.
Sigh, owing him so much, I probably can only spend the rest of my life slowly repaying him...
The two of them spent a tender mont together in the secret chamber on Qingluo Peak, not only to reinforce the goodwill that had built up but also to allow Senior Sister An ti to accept the situation.
Feeling that the mood was about right, Ling Yunpo then brought up the matter at hand:
"Senior Sister, now that I have ford my Golden Core, the reward we obtained from the Sect Leader after discovering the secret realm of Mount Tianmu in the White Jade Capital—the Demon Locking Tower Command, can now be used. We might even find the Purple Mansion’s secret dicine for Senior Sister."
"Mhm." An Zhisu responded in a soft voice.
Ordinarily, Senior Sister An might have maintained her pride and told Ling Yunpo not to waste his efforts looking for dicine for her.
After all, it’s the senior sister who should look after and guide the junior brother, not the junior brother who should run errands for the senior sister.
However, Senior Sister An at this mont was imrsed in guilt and emotion over the "great sacrifices her junior brother had made for her," naturally she found Ling Yunpo’s suggestion completely acceptable and was willing to go along with whatever he said.
An Zhisu was completely defeated, her capacity for thought lost!
The two of them set off right away, as Qingluo Peak had no duties that required imdiate reporting to the sect, and took various elixirs with them before flying in the direction of Thunder Plains.
Upon reaching Thunder Plains, they saw the imnse Demon Locking Tower piercing into the valley, with its upper part covered in copious blackened spots from the dragon’s breath left over from the last ti the Jiaolong caused trouble.
The lower part was hidden in the deep and serene mist that filled the valley, appearing extrely quiet, profound, and mysterious.
As soon as Ling Yunpo approached the tower, a Golden Core True Person flew out on his sword and challenged:
"This is not the ti for the Demon Locking Tower to be open. What business do you two juniors from Qingluo Peak have here..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Ling Yunpo take out the Demon Locking Tower Command and handed it to him.
An Zhisu did the sa, and after the Golden Core True Person flipped over the two tokens, checking their authenticity, he scoffed and said:
"You really want to waste it here? A re Foundation Establishnt Realm cultivator can at most descend to the thirtieth floor of the Demon Locking Tower. What good things could you possibly find..."
His voice trailed off, followed by an awkward silence.
The Cultivation Realm of the Shushan Sword Immortal is sowhat easier to determine than that of a Kunlun Cultivator, probably because everyone uses sword control, and from the size and clarity of the sword light beneath their feet, one can roughly estimate the robustness of their True Yuan.
The green sword light under Ling Yunpo’s Myriad Bamboos Sword was noticeably more substantial than the azure sword light under An Zhisu’s Harsh Cold Sword (and that was with Ling Yunpo deliberately restraining his True Yuan output).
This Sword Immortal from Qingluo Peak had actually ford a Golden Core without a word!
"True Person Zhenxuan, may I ask if my Senior Sister and I may enter the tower now?" Ling Yunpo asked politely.
"Mhm." The guardian of the tower gave a chilly nod, stepping aside to clear the path, while thinking to himself:
"The Po Yun Sword Immortal, as a junior brother, managed to form a Golden Core early, while the Weed-Cutting Sword Immortal, as his senior sister, remained in the Foundation Establishnt Realm. Isn’t this a typical case of inverted cultivation levels?"
"Considering that Ling Poyun has not been initiated for long and his lifespan is far from reaching its end, the reason for him forming his Golden Core early is clear."
"These senior sister and junior brother pair, they do share deep affection and loyalty. It’s just a pity they failed under the star of the Seven Kills... Hm?"
"Could it be... could these two have cultivated the Sentint Inquiry Path ahead of ti?"
As he thought more about it, the more he felt sothing was off, hastily pulling out a small sword from his sleeve. In an instant, it turned into a streak of light, carrying a ssage to report to his Peak Master.
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