Chapter 232: The Swallow Returns to its Nest, a Mix of Dragons and Fish

The newcomer was the Purple Seed disciple from Qin Haoxuan’s own team, Li Jing. When he saw Qin Haoxuan from a distance, he was shocked to find that in the short three months since they had last seen each other, the spiritual energy aura on his body was much more abundant. His heart leaped in surprise; it seemed Qin Haoxuan’s strength had increased rapidly during this period. But the smile on Li Jing’s face only grew warmer.

He walked over quickly and said, “Junior Brother Qin! Since we were separated last time, I have been worried about you. The outside world is not like the Taichu Sect; it is full of evil and heretical paths. Now that I see you have returned safely, I can finally be at ease.”

Seeing that it was Li Jing, Qin Haoxuan smiled faintly. “I have troubled you with your concern, Senior Brother Li. I did indeed encounter some trouble after we were separated that night, but fortunately, I ran into our sect’s elder, Master Chi Lian, and was able to turn calamity into fortune. By the way, is Elder Chi Lian here? I have not yet had the chance to thank him in person.”

The existence of Master Chi Lian made Qin Haoxuan extremely uneasy, so the moment he saw Li Jing, he couldn’t help but ask about his whereabouts. If he were here, he would flee without hesitation.

“Is that so? Then it is a pity. I heard that Elder Chi Lian was injured in a duel with a Spirit Tree Realm rogue cultivator and has already returned to the sect to recuperate,” Li Jing said with a sigh. He then saw Lan Yan beside Qin Haoxuan, and his eyes lit up. “Junior Brother Qin, who is this young lady?”

“My friend, Lan Yan,” Qin Haoxuan introduced. He then pointed to Li Jing. “This is Senior Brother Li Jing.”

Learning that Master Chi Lian was not here and had even returned to the sect to recuperate, the great weight in Qin Haoxuan’s heart was lifted, and his smile became even happier.

After he had introduced Lan Yan, Li Jing’s gaze lingered on her for a few more seconds, as if trying to guess her relationship with Qin Haoxuan. With her beauty and temperament, even in the Hundred Flowers Hall, which was full of female disciples, it would be hard to find someone who could compare. Li Jing couldn’t help but look a few more times, then said politely, “Hehe, Miss Lan Yan, Junior Brother Qin and I are the closest of friends. Please do not feel constrained here. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Lan Yan looked at him and just said a polite, “Thank you.”

Her attitude towards him was cool. After being rebuffed, Li Jing looked slightly embarrassed, then let out a laugh and turned his head to look at Qin Haoxuan. “Come, Junior Brother Qin. Let’s go inside first. It’s too noisy with all the fighting out here. You must be tired from your long journey. I will arrange a place for you to rest.” He made a gesture of invitation, leading the three of them into the military camp.

Knowing that Master Chi Lian was not here, Qin Haoxuan’s suspended heart also settled down. He naturally followed him in. No matter what, as long as he was with the disciples of the sect, his basic safety was guaranteed. So, he smiled faintly. “I’ll have to trouble you, Senior Brother Li.”

As they walked through the camp, Qin Haoxuan discovered that whether it was the new disciples or the older ones from the tenth-plus-leaf and twentieth-leaf realms who had been sent down to gain experience, they were all extremely respectful to Li Jing. And he, in turn, maintained a kind smile, but the superior air that emanated from him showed that their relationship was one of a superior and his subordinates.

Could it be that these older disciples have all become Li Jing’s underlings? Here, where there were so many cultivators, Xing, who was still playing the role of Hua Lao, did not dare to speak. If he were to accidentally reveal a trace of his demonic energy, he would be surrounded and crushed by countless cultivators. Fortunately, Hua Lao had always been an unremarkable mediocrity, and no one paid him any attention.

Seeing so many Taichu disciples gathered in the camp, Qin Haoxuan asked with surprise, “With the strength of our sect, we could have just sent one elder to eliminate the rogue cultivators supporting the rebellion. Once they were gone, the king would have no backing, and the war would naturally end. But why hasn’t it ended yet?”

Li Jing smiled faintly. “I cannot guess the Sect Master’s intentions. But I estimate it is to temper us new disciples. The sect has sent a hundred disciples this time, most of them at the ten-plus-leaf and twenty-leaf level. By the way, your Senior Brother Ye Yiming is also among them.”

“Oh! Senior Brother Ye is also here!” Qin Haoxuan’s eyes lit up. Although the people here were all Taichu disciples, he only had a nodding acquaintance with them. But Ye Yiming, who was from the same hall and was also his Guiding Senior Brother, was different.

Along the way, he saw many familiar faces, among them two of Master Chi Lian’s disciples, including his eldest, Xi Mufan. He and his junior brother, Linghu Gang, looked at Qin Haoxuan with sinister expressions.

“Senior Brother Xi, that Qin Haoxuan has actually come,” Linghu Gang whispered to him. “Master said to capture him alive. But with so many people here, what should we do?”

A cold, sinister sneer appeared on Xi Mufan’s lips. “No rush.”

Li Jing’s efficiency was not bad. He quickly arranged two tents for them, one for Qin Haoxuan and Xing, and the other for Lan Yan. Not long after Qin Haoxuan had entered his tent, a familiar figure arrived. It was none other than his senior brother, Ye Yiming. He was one of the one hundred and one disciples the sect had sent down the mountain for training, and the sole representative of the Nature Hall. He had rushed over the moment he heard Qin Haoxuan had arrived.

Seeing him after three months, Qin Haoxuan was also very happy. Although Li Jing acted kind and amiable, it was only to win him over. But Ye Yiming was, in the truest sense, his family.

Ye Yiming looked at him, who in just three months had gone from the Fourth-Leaf to the Seventh-Leaf, and was extremely gratified. “Junior Brother Qin, it’s good that you’re alright! These past few months, I’ve been worried to death about you.” Feeling the concern in his words, Qin Haoxuan’s heart was filled with a wave of warmth. The cultivation world still had some warmth, after all.

Ye Yiming looked him up and down again. “With your cleverness, I actually guessed that you would be able to turn misfortune into fortune. What I didn’t expect was that in just one year of cultivation, you’ve already reached the Seventh-Leaf realm. It truly is beyond my expectations. Come, let’s have a little spar.”

“Bring it on, Senior Brother,” Qin Haoxuan said with a confident smile, condensing a Heaven-Cleaving Slash, ready to accept his test. The fourth-level slash formed a cyan blade of qi, which trembled slightly, causing the air to ripple.

An expert knows with a single move. Seeing his fourth-level art, Ye Yiming’s eyes lit up, and he also condensed his own. “Junior Brother, take this!” His was one level higher, a fifth-level art, and its blade qi was a purplish-red. Fearing he would injure him, he deliberately only used fifty percent of his spiritual energy. The purplish-red blade of qi was not too fast. Qin Haoxuan raised his arm, and his own blade of qi drew a strange arc, colliding with Ye Yiming’s. Ye Yiming’s blade was on the verge of collapsing, and at the same time, he was forced back several steps before he could steady himself.

“Good! I didn’t expect you to be so formidable, Junior Brother. I won’t hold back anymore,” he said, laughing instead of getting angry. This time, he used eighty percent of his spiritual energy, and his slash brought with it a sharp, hissing sound of tearing air. Qin Haoxuan’s expression hardened, and he once again raised his cyan blade of qi to meet it head-on.

BOOM! Both of their blades of qi collapsed, and the dispersed spiritual energy made the tent flap loudly. Ye Yiming stood his ground, but Qin Haoxuan’s feet sank three inches into the earth. He stumbled for a moment but ultimately did not retreat a single step.

Ye Yiming laughed heartily and patted his shoulder. “Junior Brother Qin, your strength truly surprises me! To be able to take a blow from me at eighty percent of my power and not even change your expression. What have you gained in these past few months? Or do you have any questions about your cultivation?”

Qin Haoxuan’s expression turned serious. “My greatest gain was to see clearly the distinction between an immortal and a mortal, and the law of the jungle in the cultivation world.”

After they had both sat down, he recounted everything that had happened since he had left the mountain: being chased by Master Chi Lian, how he had evaded him, the assassination of Hua Yang and the others, which had eventually provoked the Mountain Hermit Yunhe, and then how he had made Yunhe and Master Chi Lian fight each other. Ye Yiming was completely captivated by his story.

When he heard how he had tricked Master Chi Lian into fighting Yunhe, and then had the audacity to go and ambush him, he sighed with admiration. “Junior Brother, compared to you, where I lose is that I don’t have your guts. If it had been me, I would have run as far away as possible long ago. Who would have dared to track him?” Ye Yiming sighed deeply. He looked at the unharmed Qin Haoxuan, and a sense of admiration rose in his heart. This junior brother of his was bold yet careful.

Qin Haoxuan just smiled simply. If not for Xing being by his side, he also wouldn’t have dared to chase after him. “Senior Brother,” he said, “a cultivator is one who vies for life against the heavens. If we even dare to do that, what’s a Spirit Tree Realm cultivator to be afraid of?”

Hearing his words, Ye Yiming nodded with admiration. He quickly took out a jade vial and a few bags of powder from his robes. “I was so excited to see you, I almost forgot about this. This is the Qi-Circulating Pill and the Meridian Protecting Powder that Junior Sister Xu brought for you. It passed through several hands before it got to me. She is truly thoughtful.”

Accepting the items, Qin Haoxuan was also deeply moved. While he was out on his trial, she had calculated that he would have used up his supply and had sent more to him from so far away.

After putting them away, he slapped his head, remembering an important matter. “Chatting with you, Senior Brother, I also forgot something. I have already cultivated the Sea-Gathering Art to the third level and am now at the Seventh-Leaf of the Spirit Sprout Realm. But the first half of the manual that Master gave me can no longer help me improve my realm.”

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