Starting My Cultivation With Time Management-Chapter 893 - 33 Long-Held Breath

The two left the Xuan Yin Cave and returned to the valley, where they saw Su Jian standing bored at the mountain peak, controlling two swords to duel each other, playing the game of ambidextrous combat.

"Come out already?" Seeing them emerge, Su Jian descended on his sword and asked, "How did it go?"

"Very smoothly," Ling Yunpo replied with a smile.

"That’s good to hear." Su Jian nodded and then said, "In that case, it’s time to prepare for the tribulation."

"Should the tribulation be faced within the Shushan territory?" Ling Yunpo asked.

"Naturally," Su Jian responded without a second thought. "Facing it outside would be far too risky."

"I see," Ling Yunpo nodded. "Then we’ll prepare for the tribulation within Shushan. It’s just that…"

"Don’t worry." Su Jian chuckled. "At that time, immortals will also make an appearance. If another traitor like the last time shows up, the Dual Polarity Dust Sword Formation will promptly execute them before they can interfere in the tribulation."

"That’s a relief!" Ling Yunpo exhaled visibly, his expression relaxing.

An Zhisu stood silently by the side, listening. She couldn’t help but wonder if the two of them were even talking about the same thing.

She was just about to speak when Su Jian had already taken off on his sword, heading to report the good news to Long Eyebrow Immortal.

"Let’s go, Senior Sister." Ling Yunpo smiled and said, "We’ll return to Qingluo Peak to rest."

An Zhisu followed her junior brother, silently returning to Qingluo Peak, where she entered her room and inspected her own dantian internally.

In general, at the Obscure Weave Rank of the Golden Core Realm, one must dissolve the Golden Core to nourish the dantian with its essence, laying the foundation for the next step towards forming the Nascent Infant.

Since the Golden Core itself is of utmost yang and rigidity, the process of dissolving the core is exceedingly slow, akin to the painstaking task of refining the Purple Mansion back in the Foundation Establishment Realm—it’s no exaggeration to call it a slow grind.

However, there exists an equally fiery and intense item like Dragon Blood, which incorporates the principle of fire conquering metal, allowing the Golden Core to dissolve rapidly and transform into profound obscurity.

For ordinary Golden Core Cultivators, this method is far too extravagant. After all, to craft a Dragon Blood Pill, the dragon in question must at least be of the Ancestral Realm. Ever since the Demon Race migrated en masse to the Eastern Emperor Realm, where could one find an Ancestral-level dragon?

Even the current most powerful demonic beings in the Cultivation Realm are probably the Kunpeng species. These creatures mostly roam alone and don’t form territorial groups, which is why the Human Race tolerates their presence.

As for Jiaolong, those intelligent demonic creatures, most of them are locked away in the Demon Locking Tower… In short, An Zhisu was fully aware of just how precious the Dragon Blood Pill was.

It was precisely for this reason that when her junior brother offered this rare opportunity to her, she felt an overwhelming sense of resistance and discomfort.

In this world, senior sisters are supposed to cherish, protect, and care for their junior brothers. Why, then, is it entirely the opposite in my case?

It’s all because I’m too useless…

Now, even though An Zhisu had already reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm, she felt no joy about her cultivation progress, only an uncontrollable urge to sigh repeatedly.

Nah, I’d better go and explain things to our master.

She arrived at the Demon Locking Tower just in time to catch Su Jian coming out. She explained the situation in detail.

Su Jian was dumbfounded upon hearing this. What? The one who’s reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm isn’t Qing Heng, but Su’er?

Recalling his earlier conversation with Ling Yunpo, Su Jian quickly realized that there had been a massive misunderstanding.

Come to think of it, Qing Heng is just too competitive. How could he have made such a wager with the Tai Yin Suming Sword? But perhaps it’s precisely because of his fierce competitiveness that he caught the attention of the Tai Yin Suming Sword.

At this thought, Su Jian didn’t feel any anger. After all, it doesn’t matter if the Dragon Blood Pill goes from Qing Heng to Su’er—it’s still a win for the Qingluo Peak line.

But what about Long Eyebrow Immortal? How should this be explained to him?

After racking his brains for a long time, Su Jian could only take An Zhisu with him and head back to the lower levels of the Demon Locking Tower.

Originally, Long Eyebrow Immortal had been overjoyed upon hearing from Su Jian that Ling Yunpo had already consumed the Dragon Blood Pill and reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm. His heart knot was resolved, and his old heart comforted.

From Long Eyebrow Immortal to Su Jian and then to An Zhisu, this master-disciple lineage’s unreasonable protectiveness was deeply ingrained. The earlier dislike towards Qingluo Peak stemmed from Su Jian’s actions, projecting resentment and refusing to acknowledge Qing Heng and Jiao Xiao as his grand-disciples.

Now the situation had reversed: Long Eyebrow Immortal was willing to recognize Qing Heng as his grand-disciple and even wanted to compensate him generously. Qing Heng, however, borne resentment from past events, and wasn’t willing to accept his grandmaster’s kindness.

Being fiercely protective by nature but unable to shield the target of that protectiveness—how could Long Eyebrow Immortal not be upset?

On the flip side, Qing Heng seemed to be a sensible child.

On the one hand, he held on to his sense of pride and dignity, refusing to let greed for benefits compromise him.

On the other hand, he knew how to gracefully accept an elder’s goodwill, ensuring they wouldn’t lose face.

Why hadn’t such a child been noticed earlier?

Long Eyebrow Immortal delved into deep reflection, completely oblivious to the fact that his own stubbornness was at fault.

After all, ignoring all flaws when liking someone and overlooking all merits when disliking someone was an age-old tradition of Long Eyebrow and Su Jian’s lineage.

Just as Long Eyebrow Immortal was feeling puzzled and confused, Su Jian arrived once again with An Zhisu to pay him a visit.

Compared to Su Jian, Long Eyebrow Immortal was far more cordial towards An Zhisu—mainly because she’d never attacked him with a Flying Sword before.

"Oh, Jiao Xiao." He nodded slightly towards Su Jian before turning to An Zhisu with a kind expression. "What brings you here, child? Are you facing any difficulties in cultivation, or do you need some resources?"

"Reporting to Master." An Zhisu bowed her head respectfully, then carefully began narrating the events.

The more she spoke, the worse she felt, thinking that she was truly an unworthy senior sister for relying on her junior brother to support her cultivation progress. Her mood sank as she spiraled into guilt and shame.

Long Eyebrow Immortal listened with wide-eyed astonishment. After a moment, he said:

"So… are you telling me he hasn’t reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core Realm?"

"No," An Zhisu was so embarrassed she could barely look up.

Long Eyebrow Immortal turned toward Su Jian, his whiskers slightly twitching as he muttered under his breath:

"He’s far too competitive."

"Indeed," Su Jian agreed with a nod. "Qing Heng… he’s so competitive that he even made a gamble with the Tai Yin Suming Sword."

"But if not for that, how could he have won the sword’s favor?"

Now that Long Eyebrow Immortal thought about it, that was indeed true.

For a divine sword like the Tai Yin Suming Sword, it would naturally choose its master on its own. Only someone like Qing Heng, possessing extraordinary talent, courage, wit, and an unyielding spirit, could gain the sword’s recognition.

As the two of them were lost in their musings, they completely failed to realize that, had the Tai Yin Suming Sword overheard their thoughts, it would have roared with laughter.

In any case, since the "no external assistance" bet was in place, Shushan couldn’t afford to intervene forcefully. The Tai Yin Sword Master would have to rely on himself.

That said, if his senior sister Jiao Xiao could reach Nascent Infant first and grow stronger, it would help stabilize and enhance their overall relationship with the Tai Yin Sword Master.

With that thought, Su Jian said:

"In that case, let Su’er prepare to face the Nascent Infant Heavenly Tribulation."

"Agreed." Long Eyebrow Immortal nodded.