Chapter Fifty-One Revenge Plan

  Being different usually brings pride, but being different in everything can't help but feel a bit strange, and even have the feeling of being rejected.

  Xiao Qiu's first day at Yang Shen Peak didn't go very smoothly. The Flowing Light Treasure Mirror refused to appraise his cultivation, and the Ancestral Tower even played a big joke on him: it first displayed all the inheritances, but ultimately pointed out to him a nameless inheritance that had been interrupted for many years and only had female disciples.

  Lin Xiao's serious expression still flashed in Xia Qiu's mind, and he didn't take the anomaly of the ancestral temple as a joke. He forbade his disciples from choosing an unnamed subject, and his tone had not only a reminder but also a hint of disgust. This disgust may have nothing to do with Xia Qiu, but rather that this line of inheritance should be cut off forever.

  "I should have come to Yangshen Peak a day later and cultivated for a month before going to the Ancestor's Tower." After lunch, the rest of the day was free time, but Xiao Qiu didn't feel like strolling around and came to Dalang Shen Xiuying's room again.

  "It doesn't matter, anyway you'll soon catch up, and then Shen Yi won't be so smug. Alas, he really has seven apertures open, and smoothly passed through the four trials of wind, thunder, fire, and mountain. Little Autumn brother, you must surpass him!"

  Xiao Qiu smiled slightly, vaguely remembering that he seemed to have already passed the tribulation successfully, but it was like an unreal beautiful dream. He walked to the bedside and sat down, "Let's talk about revenge, what's going on with Shen Yi now? What's this expression of yours?"

  Daliang opened his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitated, as if Xiao Qiu had done something excessive and he didn't dare mention it. "Uh... yeah... that's right, we said on the first day, cultivators 'eat from different utensils, sit in different seats', so... each person needs to live in a separate room."

  Xiao Qiu got up and took a look at the low and hard wooden bed, "Sorry, I need to learn the rules of Yangshen Peak slowly."

  Daliang's face suddenly turned red, "Little Autumn brother, sit down, it's okay, this little cultivation of mine... won't affect you."

  Xiao Qiu smiled and said, "I think I'll go to sleep for a while. In the past month, I don't think I've really slept at all. If I stay here any longer, I might just collapse in front of you."

  Dah Ryong, although he tried to persuade him, Xiao Qiu still returned to the thirty-seventh house of Du, right next door, in the last room of a row of houses with exactly the same layout. Xiao Qiu pulled out a wicker trunk from under the bed, inside which were a few changes of clothes and not many personal items. He put the Baorundan and copper ring inside, sat on the bed in a daze, and fell asleep without even changing his clothes. He was indeed tired, unable to think, and didn't want to think either.

  Maybe everything will be back to normal after a good sleep.

  No dreams, no disturbance, until she opened her eyes, Xiao Qiu only then realized how sweet this sleep was.

  "Are we disturbing you?"

  "No."

  Xiao Qiu sat up with a flip, staring at Fangfang and Xiao Qingtuo, until they felt somewhat uneasy, even a little flustered, before confirming that this was definitely not a dream.

  "Haven't you woken up yet?" Fangfang asked.

  "Didn't Taoist practitioners say 'eat different utensils, sit on different seats'? You..."

  Fang Fang and Xiao Qing Tuo sat on the edge of the bed, seemingly having been there for a while. "If you mind, we'll leave."

  "No, no, I don't mind, but... won't this affect your cultivation?"

  "It's not that big of a deal, besides I'm currently 'one trick pony', what's there to worry about." Fangfang indeed didn't mind, even the fact that her cultivation had made no progress seemed to have no effect on her mood.

  She is very happy.

  Xiao Qingtao was even more delighted, her round eyes curved into two crescent moons, and she couldn't help but speak up, "Little Autumn brother, everyone misses you, Fangfang especially misses you. You clearly didn't do anything wrong, making you reflect for a month is really unfair."

  Xiao Qiu scratched the back of his head, still not used to that soft and gentle "Little Autumn Brother". He rummaged through his chest for a few times, took out a small leather pouch and a copper coin. "This was left for you by Er Liang."

  Xiao Qingtao was stunned, the smile on her face instantly disappeared, and then solidified into shock and confusion, as if she had heard a devastating news like a thunderclap on a sunny day.

  Xiao Qiu regretted it and cast a pleading glance at Fang Fang.

  Fang Fang hugged Xiao Qingtuo's shoulders and whispered: "If you want to cry, just cry. You've been holding back for so long."

  Tears welled up in her eyes, but ultimately didn't fall. Xiao Qingtuo wiped them away and took the pouch of copper coins in hand. "Even if Mount Pong's sect expels me from the mountain gate, and Furuo Mountain doesn't let me return home..." Xiao Qingtuo's face turned red; she had never made such a resolute vow before, and it was a bit embarrassing. "Five years later, I will also take revenge on Shen Xiuyi."

  As the sun approached dusk, the small house was dimly lit. Xia Qiu suddenly stood up on the bed, and this day he had already seen many things that made him confused, as if in a dream. At this moment, he finally heard a sentence that he thought he would hear long ago: "You must avenge!"

  Fang Fang and Xiao Qing Tuo looked up at him.

  Xiao Qiu sat back down and said in a low voice, "Five years sounds like a long time, but for cultivators it's just the blink of an eye. We can't just indulge in empty fantasies, we need to make a plan."

  "Call Shen Xiuying over, she must want to avenge her brother even more." Little Qingtiao suggested.

  Xiao Qiu nodded, "I'll go call Da Liang and ask others for their opinions. Where is a more convenient place to talk? Here is not big enough or secluded enough."

  "Go east to Half Moon Forest, it's the quietest place there." Little Green Peach immediately thought of a location.

  Daliang didn't say another word and followed Xiao Qiu out the door. The two of them went to another house to find someone.

  Shen Hao pushed open the door and saw the two of them, nodded and said: "You've been sleeping all this time, I was thinking of going to find you. Come on, let's discuss Erliang's matter."

  Xiao Qiu felt that these few people were enough, Shen Hao decided to call all the partners in Yelin Town, "Everyone is very concerned about Erliang's affairs, and one more person means one more strength."

  Ban Yue Lin is located on the edge of Yang Shen Peak, with tree species different from other places, all of which are tall and slender white birch trees, sparsely distributed. It is said to be very suitable for viewing the new moon, but Xiao Qiu didn't feel it. He stood on a protruding boulder, looking around in all directions, and found that this place was indeed suitable for secret talks. If an outsider approached, they could see it at a glance.

  Just a little further east and it's no longer within the range of Yangshen Peak, separated by a single line. On this side, it's still lush and green, while on the other side, it's covered in white snow, creating a striking contrast that's quite breathtaking.

  This time the discussion was not very successful, with nine people speaking one after another. Most of the time was spent reminiscing about Er Liang and expressing anger towards Shen Geng, but there were no detailed ideas on how to take revenge.

  "Okay, you go ahead and speak." Xia Qiu gazed out at the darkening sky, interrupting everyone's chatter, deciding to have each person speak one by one.

  "I say... let's cultivate diligently, opening up is the first step, then it's passing through the gates, and after that is solidifying the elixir. Five years later, we must make Shen Geng know that we are not weak at all compared to him."

  "What's next?" Shen Hao asked.

  "Next... let's see Shen Gang's attitude first. If he refuses to admit his mistake, I... I'll fight him to the death."

  "What if it's mistaken?"

  Dah Ryong was speechless when asked, "That... that's why he's been suppressed in his training all this time. He's delayed for five years, no way he can compare to us."

  "He won't admit his mistake," Xia Qiu said, and suddenly many voices echoed in her mind, all filled with resentment and discontented shouts. "I heard him muttering to himself when I was on the cliff of reflection. After he comes out, he will still kill people, or as he puts it 'exterminate demons', and we are his targets."

  Everyone was stunned, and it wasn't until a while later that Da Liang hesitantly said: "Xiao Qiuge, did you hear Sheng Geng's voice? Are...you two together thinking about something?"

  "Of course not, Si Gu is in a cave of his own, but he won't be too far from me, I can hear his voice clearly."

  "Is it always audible, or just occasionally?"

  Xiao Qiu was somewhat annoyed, "This is not important, the key is that Shen Geng hates me, hates all of you, he thinks that Master Bao is shielding us, and after five years, he will still come out to kill people."

  The crowd fell silent again, and Meng Fei Huang spoke up: "Shen Gang is going to go mad, right? If that's the case, then the problem will be simple. Five years later, he'll be eliminated by the Dao, become a useless person, just like... that crazy Mei."

  Such speculation sparked everyone's interest. Da Liang most hoped for this outcome, "The Sect Master and the First Seat will avenge Er Lang, which is even better than killing Shen Geng."

  Xiao Qiu didn't know how to express the urgency of the situation to his companions. In the past month, he had heard Shen Geng's voice many times, and it was not that of a person on the verge of going mad. On the contrary, Shen Geng's voice became increasingly calm, and finally, there was no emotional fluctuation at all, only a flat tone expressing his inner wishes.

  "Break the demon!" These two words were frequently muttered by Shen Geng, and in Xiao Qiu's opinion, not only would Shen Geng not fall into madness, but his cultivation might even progress further, to the point of condensing his energy into a dan.

  Shen Hao spoke up, "Wait a minute, are we just going to wait for Shen Gang to apologize or go crazy? If that's the case, why are we still gathered here discussing this? In my opinion, we should openly and honorably avenge Er Liang. Isn't it true that every disciple of Peng Shan who has condensed their energy into a dan must participate in some kind of martial arts competition?"

  "We also need to forge our own magical instruments." Mu Feihuang added, "The official name of the martial arts competition is 'Combining Instruments and Discussing Tao', it's said that only in this competition, Taoist priests who kill people will not receive any punishment."

  "Really?" Dai Liang was somewhat skeptical.

  "I heard it from a senior brother of mine, he knows everything. Anyway, we just need to work hard on our cultivation and then take revenge for Erlang during the battle of Mobei."

  Finally having a planned shadow, Xia Qiu said: "Everyone go and ask about the details of He Qi Lun Dao again. If it's true, five years later will be our time for revenge."

  "Shen Gang is now a Dao Fruit of the Transcendence Path, but five years later he doesn't even have an Inner Dan, what qualifications does he have to participate in the Joint Equipment Dao Conference?" Da Liang thought of a question.

  Tongguan is another name for Hu Tong San Tian, crossing this boundary can condense the air into a pill, and it is also considered to be the most difficult pass in the nine-level Taoist fruit, with only half of the Taoists able to sigh at the gate.

  "Don't underestimate Shen Geng, although he is alone in his thoughts, his cultivation will not fall behind, and it's very possible that he will condense his energy into a dan within five years."

  "What about us?" Mu Fei Huang's gaze swept across everyone, "Shen Hao has made the most progress, and now he has only just opened his ears, nose, and four orifices, and passed through a tribulation. It's been said that it gets harder and harder as you go on, and the vast majority of people need to spend ten years to cultivate their inner elixir. Five years from now, whoever can pass the gate will already be quite exceptional, after all, we're not disciples of the Daoist sect like Shen Gong."

  "That's right, I saw many Taoist priests with the surname Shen in the lineage of the Precepts Department today."

  "There are also many in the Wu Xing department." Shen Hao said, although having the surname Shēn doesn't necessarily mean they're from the same family, but Shēn Gēng was already familiar with the three fields at the age of ten or so, which indeed makes one think of his family background.

  "I've already cleared the Three Fields," said Xia Qiu, but his words trailed off in uncertainty. "I think that's right, but I need to leave the Nurturing Spirit Peak to verify it."

  Yangshen Peak restricts spellcasting, Xiao Qiu must leave this place and go to the icy sky and snowy land outside, in order to know whether the experiences of the past month were all just a dream.

  (Collection wanted Recommendation wanted)