Chapter Thirty-Four: Tears Fall on Mingyue Peak

  Standing on the Clear Wind Cliff, gazing at the Bright Moon Peak, Qing Yan expressed his longing wish to Qing Xu and said, "Big Brother Master, when can I fly over this distance by myself without your help?"

  Qing Xuan thought for a moment, then said "You have successfully built your foundation, but the true energy can only flow inside and not be used outside. You are now strong and light, agile and quick, with a robust physique, and senses that surpass those of ordinary people, all of which are the result of the thick true energy circulating within your body. But if you want to fly freely in the void, you must emit that true energy from inside your body, condense it outside, and then you can control objects, wield swords, and fly without a trace!"

  Qingxu spoke eloquently, and Qingyan listened with rapt attention. When Qingxu finished speaking, he asked, "Big Brother Master, when can I circulate my energy externally and control objects with my sword?"

  "Ordinary people want to drive objects and wield swords, at the very least they need 30 or 40 years of cultivation. I used nearly 10 years back then to be able to wield a sword and fly, and that was still borrowing the extraordinary spiritual energy of this Qingtuan Mountain to achieve such speed. But little junior brother built his foundation in just over 100 days, which is almost 10 times faster than others. At this rate, driving objects and wielding swords would take about 3 or 4 years of effort." Thinking of this, he said to Qingyan, "With your current cultivation speed, it will probably take about 3 years for you to be able to wield a sword and fly!" After finishing speaking, he looked at Qingyan and thought to himself, "You must be thrilled now!"

  Zhī Qīngyán listened and didn't show the expected joy, but just nodded and said "It really takes three years to fly in the sky!" It seemed that Qīngyán's words only proved some things.

  Qing Xu looked at him with such a dull expression, and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He didn't know that at the time, Zhao Wuji had once said to Qing Yan that he only needed three years' time to let him fly freely in the sky. And after Qing Yan heard what Qing Xu said, he thought that three years was nothing special.

  "After feeling disappointed and empty, he suddenly remembered something and said, 'Little brother, today is the last time I'll take you flying. From now on, if you want to come to Qingfeng Cliff, you can only rely on your own strength!'"

  Qing Yan heard this and exclaimed in surprise, "Why?"

  "I've told you before, haven't I? Once you successfully build your foundation, I'll be going into seclusion to cultivate my Taiqing Dao power! So from now on, it's just you alone who will come to Qingfeng Cliff to cultivate. I won't be able to accompany you anymore!"

  Qing Yan remembered that Qing Xu had said so, but the time passed too quickly, making him feel like it was just yesterday. It was really hard to accept. But everyone has their own business, and he couldn't always rely on his senior brother. He could only reluctantly say "Alright! Senior brother, don't stay in seclusion for too long, I'm bored alone!"

  Listening to Qing Yu's words, he knew that the child was too lonely by himself. However, there was no way around it - people had to adapt to a life of solitude. Especially for cultivators like themselves, loneliness and boredom were inevitable, requiring companionship for an extremely long time, even a lifetime. Patting Qing Yan's shoulder, he comforted him, "Don't be too sad, time passes quickly for us. Who knows, by the time I exit my seclusion, you might already be able to fly with your sword! At that time, we brothers can soar through the skies together, what a wonderful feeling!"

  "Big Brother Master! I will work hard to cultivate, and I must reach the state of driving objects and controlling swords before you leave the pass. I want to fly with you in the sky!"

  Qingxu smiled and nodded, encouraging him, "Little brother, I believe you can do it!"

  His eyes are filled with determination and confidence, making people feel that what he says will definitely be done.

  But fine words are just fine words, before mastering the flying sword, how to get from Mingyue Peak to Qingfeng Cliff is a problem. Flying in the sky is easy, but running underground is also very troublesome, that is to climb mountains and cross rivers.

  Qingyan took a look at the situation below Qingfeng Cliff, and his heroic spirit was immediately reduced by half. At least seven or eight small hills were waiting for his arrival. The most terrifying thing was that the place where Qingfeng Cliff was located was like a steep cliff cut by a knife, smooth and mirror-like. Just looking at it made one's eyes dizzy, let alone climbing up. At this time, Qingyan's heroic spirit had almost disappeared, and he thought to himself, "How can I get up here? If I'm not careful, I'll fall down..." A chill ran from his back to the top of his head, and his face turned pale.

  Qingxu saw the change in his complexion, secretly smiled in his heart, and said with a serious expression on his face: "Younger brother, this road is indeed difficult to walk, but it will get better once you get used to it. Besides, cultivation can be done anywhere, let's take it slow!"

  Qingyan listened to him speaking lightly, and he couldn't help but grit his teeth and say "Senior brother is right, get used to it!" Without realizing that his voice had already changed. In his heart, he was already crying out "Get used to it, but how can I get used to it?!" It's so hard!

  His heart had long been laughing secretly, this road is difficult to walk, but it refers to ordinary people. After Qingyan built the foundation, he was truly light as a swallow and powerful beyond measure, and later crossing mountains and rivers would be like walking on flat ground! He just didn't know his own abilities yet, so naturally he was more afraid in his heart. Qingxu didn't point it out, having the chance to scare this little junior brother once was also a great pleasure!

  Qing Yan didn't know that Big Brother Master was so despicable, and his heart had been thinking about how to get used to this treacherous road tomorrow.

  Qing Yu didn't say much more and once again, with Qing Yan's imperial aura, they flew over the air back to Ming Yue Peak. Qing Yan had something on his mind and wasn't in the mood to enjoy the thrill of flying anymore.

  Back at Mingyue Peak, Qingxu immediately asked Qingyan to cook a meal to comfort and console him. The reason was to repay him for the hardships he had endured in protecting Qingyan for 100 days.

  Qingyan readily agreed and cooking was a piece of cake. After a spin in the kitchen, he found many fresh vegetables there. At that time, he didn't think much and started to get busy. Just after a series of clinking sounds, a table of dishes was placed in front of Qingxu.

  Qing Yu didn't stand on ceremony, picking up his chopsticks and digging in. He looked like he hadn't eaten for a hundred days, or at least ninety-nine. Qing Yan had been starving to the point where his stomach was stuck to his back, and he had already eaten quite a bit while cooking. Now he too started eating ravenously. The two of them devoured the entire table of food in a flurry!

  "Ah" Qingyan let out a satisfied burp, it's so comfortable! It's really true that people are made of iron and food is steel, if you don't eat for one day you'll be anxious with hunger. I haven't eaten for 100 days now, and now I feel like eating a full meal is one of life's greatest pleasures!

  Qingxu also looked normal, sitting with his eyes closed as if still savoring the flavor of the meal.

  Qingyan's mind became more agile after eating his fill. He thought of someone and asked Qingxu, "Big Brother Master, how is Ti Hu doing now?"

  After listening quietly, he said casually, "Tie Hu, yeah! It's great that you've been practicing at home these past few days."

  "Really? Elder Brother, when did you teach him to cultivate his skills? Weren't you always accompanying me at Qingfeng Cliff?"

  "Ah, Master was with you just now," he said, suddenly waking up with a start. "Luckily I didn't reveal anything," he thought to himself, hastily adding, "Whenever Iron Tiger is mentioned, I get angry. Those few days when he couldn't find me, he went to Mount Cangyan and caused trouble everywhere. There was no other way, so at the time, seeing that your cultivation was peaceful and nothing out of the ordinary, I went down to teach Iron Tiger a lesson. In the end, he agreed to become my disciple, so I transmitted the introductory mental method for him to practice at home. I planned to formally accept him as a disciple after Master comes out of seclusion. Ah, little brother, after I go into seclusion, if you have time, go take a look at Iron Tiger at Iron Manor, which is not far from here, and help me keep an eye on him so he doesn't cause more trouble!"

  Qingyan agreed readily and said "Alright! But will he listen to me?" Thinking of Tiewu's tall and sturdy build, he didn't have an inch of confidence.

  "Ha! He dares not listen to me? You're his junior master, and besides, he knows that if it weren't for you speaking up for him, I wouldn't have taken him on as a disciple. Little junior brother, Iron Tiger has a pure and kind heart, but his temper is too violent, and with his innate divine strength, it's easy for him to get into trouble - you need to keep an eye on him!"

  Qingyan knew he couldn't shirk it and had no choice but to agree reluctantly.

  "It's getting late, I'll pass on the second layer of heart technique for Tai Chi Dao Li's Tai Chu realm to you tomorrow. Although Tai Chu is divided into nine layers, after building a successful foundation, this second layer of heart technique will run through the next eight layers. By following this heart technique and cultivating one layer at a time, you can eventually break through Tai Chu and reach Er Yi realm. Do you understand?"

  Qingyan heard clearly and knew the key to this heart technique. He hastily said "I understand! Please, Big Brother Master, impart the heart technique!"

  Qingxu didn't waste any words and had Qingyan recite the heart mantra several times until he remembered it clearly. After Qingyan memorized it, he asked a few more questions to confirm there were no mistakes before slowly explaining it.

  After Qingyan had memorized and fully understood the heart formula, Qingxu asked him a few more times to make sure he was correct. Only then did he say, "From now on, your cultivation will depend on yourself. Even if your senior brother is by your side, he won't be able to help you much. You must remember these two sentences: 'Cultivation should not be rushed, and the Tao is natural; all things can be understood!' These were words that our master once said to me, and now I'm passing them on to you!"

  Qingyan solemnly said, "Disciple understands! Please be at ease, Master and Big Brother. I will definitely remember the teachings of Master and Big Brother!"

  With a clear and cheerful smile, the young junior brother understood. He said, "Then I can rest assured. Also, there are several Taoist classics in your bedroom, which can be helpful for cultivation when you have time to take a look. Alright, I'll head back to Qingming Peak now. Young junior brother, farewell!" After finishing speaking, he was about to leave.

  Qingyan was a bit reluctant and didn't say anything. He just sent Qingxu out of Songfeng Temple, and only then said "Big Brother Master, you must come see me as soon as you leave the temple!"

  "Little brother, you've grown up so much now, look at how tall you are, almost as tall as me! I trust that you'll take good care of yourself. Don't worry, big brother will come out and visit you when the time is right. By then, I hope you'll have become a true man, a real gentleman. You won't disappoint me, will you?"

  Qing Yan nodded vigorously and said loudly, "I won't let you and Master down!"

  With a clear and empty view, there's nothing more to entrust, so I bid you farewell, and flew towards the Azure Mystic Peak.

  Qingyan looked at Qingxu's rapidly disappearing figure, and the tears he had been holding back burst forth. His master was in seclusion! His senior brother was also in seclusion! Even Zhao was in seclusion! The empty Mingyue Peak was left with only him standing alone, the wind blowing through the pine branches causing them to tremble lightly, making a "shhh" sound, and only these few pine trees accompanied Qingyan as he wept.

  A person, a peak, a bright moon, and a small Taoist temple - is this the taste of loneliness and solitude?

  Soft breeze and bright moonlight, accompany me every night as I sleep!

  Everything has to start all over again tomorrow!