Sect Leader Is Under Great Pressure CH 082 Seven Talents Of Kun-Lai, With Talisman As Head
The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the rays of the morning sun slowly climbed the eastern horizon, marking the end of the month-long stay at Qingqiu.
Xiao Mi, bored, watched the distant flying peaks from the cave entrance, her three tails swaying, and her pretty black eyes brimming with unconcealed envy.
Yesterday, both her father and mother had returned, and her father was truly fine! They had rolled around in their nest, hugging and kissing. Her father's newly grown fur was especially soft, making it very comfortable to cuddle.
Then, her father said that her mother still needed to go back to the flying peak to take care of something. Her father saw her mother off, leaving Xiao Mi alone in the cave. She really wanted to see those flying peaks herself. In the two hundred years since she was born, she had never seen them up close.
She attempted to run out of the cave, but a nearby large fox skillfully grabbed her back.
"Let me go," the little fox squeaked, struggling in his mouth. "I just want to go out and have a look. They're all about to leave."
The large fox nudged her back into the cave, nuzzling her. "Don't make a fuss. The clan leader ordered us three to protect you. You can go out once they're gone."
The little fox whined a couple of times in displeasure, lying on the ground with a face full of despair.
In the distance, the sun had already risen, and the numerous flying peaks in the plains had started to glow with seals, seemingly gathering the power to ascend.
After a while, seals appeared on almost every peak. The little fox noticed a raggedly dressed, wounded man hobbling toward the nearest flying peak. He even fell and rolled a long distance but still pressed forward with an unstoppable determination, leaping onto the mountain peak already several feet off the ground.
"He actually made it," the large fox beside her chuckled lightly, his seven tails swaying in apparent delight.
"Didn't get sucked dry by those vixens," the other two guarding large foxes also chuckled.
The little fox looked at them in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"That man is a very bad demonic cultivator who wants to steal foxes and eat them," the guarding large fox bared his teeth in a predatory gesture. "He especially likes to eat little foxes like you that run around."
The little fox was unfazed, merely looking at him with a "you must be kidding" expression.
"Alright," the guarding large fox retracted his exaggerated expression, speaking gently. "So the clan leader had a few large spirit demons lure him to the Xianghai Cavern, where seven vixens were tasked with 'taking care' of him until the flying peaks were ready to depart."
"Seven?" the little fox exclaimed in awe. "No wonder. You can barely handle three at a time, right?"
The three large foxes looked shocked, and the leader, displeased, said, "Xiao Mi, you're still young. You should only worry about this when you turn three hundred."
The little fox huffed and continued to longingly watch the distant flying peaks. She saw that the peaks had begun to rise, one after another, flying away.
It was an awe-inspiring sight.
Suddenly, a gentle voice laughed, "Xiao Mi, you really want to go on the flying peaks, don't you?"
Accompanying the voice was a silhouette against the light, but there was no trace of its presence, and even the figure itself was blurry.
The three foxes tensed up, immediately shielding Xiao Mi behind them. Xiao Mi sensibly ran towards the cave, where her mother's aura remained, making it a place few would dare to enter.
However, Xiao Mi suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious after just a few steps.
The three foxes, startled, leapt at the figure, but it was just a shadow.
"Trade Feng Qingxiu's life for this little fox's soul," the figure said softly, shaking the transparent, struggling little fox in its hand before vanishing into the wind.
"Quickly, inform the clan leader!" one of the large foxes urgently picked up the unconscious Xiao Mi and raced toward the distant flying peaks.
But as the last flying peak took off, in just a few breaths, the floating landmasses disappeared into the sea of clouds, like mirages.
There was no way a few ordinary foxes could catch up to the full speed of the flying peak.
***
On the flying peak, Qiu Yuansheng was making tea for Feng Qingxiu. His specially crafted tea pills were always in high demand and perpetually sold out.
A green pill and clear spring water were added to the teapot, lightly whisked a few times, and the tea in the cup turned emerald green, exuding a delicate fragrance and an aura of spiritual energy that calmed the mind.
"The tea pills are made from early spring spiritual tea combined with the essence of medicinal pills," Qiu Yuansheng said with a smile. "The Shennong Alchemy Book categorizes various herbs into superior, middle, and inferior types. It compares superior herbs to monarchs, middle herbs to ministers, and inferior herbs to officials. It states that alchemy should be like governing a country, requiring the cooperation of monarchs, ministers, and officials to produce top-grade pills."
"Senior Brother Qiu doesn't seem to fully agree?" Feng Qingxiu took a small sip of the tea. Although he didn't know much about tea, the tea's calming effect was enough to show its extraordinary quality.
"No, I quite agree, otherwise how could there be so many kinds of pills," Qiu Yuansheng smiled. "I'm just a little puzzled and would like to discuss a couple of things with Senior Brother Feng."
"Senior Brother Qiu is a great talent in the Dao of alchemy; I'm afraid my understanding is limited and I can only listen," Feng Qingxiu said, not out of modesty but because he was genuinely unfamiliar with alchemy.
"No matter, just listen," Qiu Yuansheng said. "The relationship between the monarch and his ministers has existed since ancient times, but when I refine pills, I always like to introduce new ideas, so I've often experimented with 'monarch-less' pills."
Feng Qingxiu looked confused. What is a monarch-less pill?
"It's said that every medicine is three parts poison. A monarch-less pill is one where the ingredients counterbalance each other..." Qiu Yuansheng found this explanation too complex, so he gave an analogy. "Ordinary pills are like a country, with the monarch being the most powerful, but minor matters are handled by the ministers, and the monarch merely oversees. A monarch-less pill is like the current state of the human world, with no supreme ruler, only various lords balancing each other, but it can still maintain stability."
Feng Qingxiu understood—it was two different types of pills—but he also felt that Qiu Yuansheng's meaning seemed to go beyond that.
"So I refined many different ratios of pills, each with various uses, though the number of furnace explosions was a bit high," Qiu Yuansheng said. "Kun-Lai is like a pill, with the Sect Leader as the monarch, the elders as the ministers, heaven and earth as the furnace, and we as the assistants."
"So, Senior Brother Qiu, what exactly are you trying to say?" Feng Qingxiu asked politely.
"Do you have internet here?" Qiu Yuansheng asked directly.
Feng Qingxiu's face turned pale.
"What!" You Jia, who was eavesdropping under the pretense of being wary of Qiu the Venomous Snake, instinctively jumped out, his eight tentacles waving around his body maniacally.
Qiu Yuansheng never acted without certainty, so if he said that, he must have something to rely on!
Qingnu also unconsciously moved closer.
Guan Yuli and Ying An, along with Huang Wei, all gathered around.
Only Feng Qingxiu was still a bit dizzy. "Senior Brother Qiu, how did you manage to jump directly to this topic?"
"Do you know what the greatest benefit of my tea pills is?" Qiu Yuansheng asked confidently.
"Alleviating internet addiction!" Qingnu clapped her hands suddenly, realizing. "Right, Qing Xiu, you don't show any signs of internet withdrawal at all. It's understandable if you didn't use it much during the Foundation Establishment stage, but you've been using it for so long now without any signs of withdrawal. Tell us, did the Sect Leader give you special treatment?"
"There is something off. You're the Sect Leader's apprentice, but in all the recent Kun-Lai communications through firebirds, you haven't sent a single letter to the Sect Leader," You Jia said, looking at him with suspicion.
"Eh..." Huang Wei quickly performed a divination and found that the heavenly secrets were hidden. "I can't figure it out. This is a clear confession!"
"Sharing is caring." Qiu Yuansheng sipped his tea slowly, saying, "I told you so much not to seek advice. Senior Brother Feng is not good at lying, so don't struggle."
For the first time in his life, Feng Qingxiu experienced the formidable nature of one of the Seven Talents, facing a direct and fatal blow with no chance of fighting back, feeling utterly defeated.
"...But my internet connection is terrible, it takes ages to load anything," Feng Qingxiu muttered.
"That's definitely not a problem!" the surrounding prodigies exclaimed simultaneously.
"But the Sect Leader won't agree..." Feng Qingxiu whispered.
"That depends on you, Senior Brother Feng," You Jia shook him with his eight arms. "If you can convince the Sect Leader, I'll let you eat one of my arms!"
"Yeah, I won't charge you for surgeries in the future!"
"No charge for medicine either!"
"I'll kill for you without any fee..."
"Aren't you all here to protect me?" Feng Qingxiu looked at his suddenly mutinous senior brothers and sisters with great disappointment.
"We are the ones who need protection now!"
"Right, equality, we want equality!"
***
The news quickly spread across the various peaks.
Bai Shuixian whispered to Yan Zhao, complaining that the Sect Leader favored this apprentice too much, as they never had such treatment.
Then she ordered her flying peak to move closer to the Zhuiyun Peak.
However, her disciple replied that the closest position to Zhuiyun Peak was already taken, and for safety, each peak must maintain a certain distance.
"Drive them away!" Bai Shuixian casually commanded. As a Kun-Lai elder, she had the authority.
"But it's taken by Senior Brother Yang Fuyin from Taiyi Peak," the disciple said in a small voice. "Previously, when the Sect Leader's apprentice constructed a flying peak without notifying Senior Brother Yang, he taught the entire Taiyi Peak a lesson they didn't forget. It's said he's still looking to make trouble."
Bai Shuixian hesitated, feeling a bit disheartened. "Oh, that boy... Fine, the second spot will do."
Taiyi Peak immediately occupied the best spot closest to Zhuiyun Peak. Among Kun-Lai's Seven Talents, the talisman was the head, and with their eldest senior brother, they dared to defy anyone except the Sect Leader.
They also sent messages to all the peaks, warning anyone who dared to compete with them to expect their flying peak to be unable to fly.
On Taiyi Peak, a young man with long, slender fingers played with talisman seal, speaking softly, "Just get close enough, no need to interfere with anything else."
The cultivator beside him nodded and left to convey the orders.
The residence became quiet, and after a moment of silence, the young man calmly put down the Net Charm.
"Qiu Yuansheng is up to something again," the young man marked dozens of talisman seals on a diagram, muttering to himself, "The Net Charm converts characters into Yin-Yang talisman seals, then transforms them back into characters. Previously, I discovered that Zhuiyun Peak had special seal vibrations and influenced them with similar vibrations, which is why I told him. And now, he's directly asking about it."
"If only I had joined the construction of Zhuiyun Peak back then," he added a few more talisman seals, feeling that there were numerous troubles ahead, habitually talking to himself, "The Yuntian Domain is vast, known as the Cloudy Sky Hundred Realms. Soon we will head to the nearest Ziyun Dao Realm of Yuntian Domain. Wenjian Peak Master An Xian has been guarding this place for a century, investigating events from a hundred years ago. I wonder if she has the items I want."
"An opportunity is approaching. My spiritual ward detected a divine soul fluctuation just before, intercepting a small creature. I don't know who wanted to snatch it, but I ended up saving it." He held a piece of amber with a transparent little fox figure inside. He had always despised soul-summoning techniques and directly snatched it when he saw someone performing such an evil art.
"I'm at the ninth level of talismanic seal mastery, at the peak, but lacking certain things to break through. Managing the expedition is always a hassle," the young man put down the talisman ward and began calculating the next step. "Xiao Qiu will evade me, but one day he won't be able to escape."
"You'd better not let me catch you," the young man said softly, looking at the little fox.