Chapter 1617: Chapter 1597: Forming an Alliance
"Aren’t you afraid of leading our Woon Xin astray? You’re known to be a ruthless person." The elder snorted, took a bite of the cold cake, and nodded in satisfaction.
Luo Qianqian tilted her head, looking at the elder: "If the enemy that harmed Brother Woon Xin stood before you, would you hesitate? I do not believe it. Kindness and leniency are for family and friends. When dealing with enemies, one must be ruthless and eradicate them completely!"
Luo Qianqian wasn’t bothered by the elder’s attitude. He was merely a senior worrying about the younger generation, much like her own grandfather.
When her brother had an accident before, her grandparents were worried too but didn’t express much to her. Now that her brother was severely injured, they knew not to worry excessively, for worry upon worry only breeds more anxiety and does not comfort those concerned.
Even when hearing about those cruel matters, her family never uttered a word of blame towards her.
Wouldn’t they also want to personally take revenge on their enemies? It was just a lack of capability. If action were taken, their Nine Heavens Pavilion would surely lose against the Blessed Land Cave Heaven.
"Are you really a girl?" The elder was taken aback, then shook his head speechlessly: "But what you said makes sense. Mercy towards the enemy will certainly bring injury... Then, tomorrow, I will rely on you to take good care of Woon Xin."
"???!!!" Luo Qianqian’s mouth dropped open: "You mean, Woon Xin will also be... She’s still so young, no!"
"She’s on the list, otherwise why would she have come along?" The elder smiled and shook his head: "Even without the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Sword Art, Woon Xin is outstanding among the younger generation, not much weaker than Bai Jian."
Luo Qianqian curled her lips—so, Bai Jian as the senior brother was merely temporary? In the future, maybe the Ten Thousand Sect would only have a senior sister, and no senior brother...
"Also, I’m here to... ahem, take some snacks from your Forget Worries Tea House back with me, not this one." He pointed at the peppermint lotus pastry on the table with disdain: "Snacks should be sweet, what’s there in bitter to eat?"
"..." Stop the fire...
These words, Luo Qianqian dared not speak out loud. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
The elder casually dropped ten Jade Tokens: "Inject spiritual power, they’re for communication in the field tomorrow, our people have already done so."
After speaking, he glanced at Luo Qianqian again: "You are still very weak now, don’t directly confront the Water Ripple Sect."
Luo Qianqian was momentarily stunned by these words.
But she nodded. She never planned to confront them head-on, she wasn’t foolish. Against the Water Ripple Sect now would be seeking death. Not even preserving a jade fragment from the clay tile was possible, they would be pulverized, leaving no trace behind.
"The four from Nine Heavens Pavilion come out." Luo Qianqian directly commanded.
He Wenyu jumped out, looking at the Jade Tokens on the table with excitement. The ability to contact each other meant a greater chance of safely getting to the end.
"Inside the Mountain and River Map, if you encounter danger, just crush the Jade Token you receive tomorrow, and you’ll be safely transported out, with no threat to your life. But be wary of opponents’ potentially deadly moves," conveyed the Second Elder from the Ten Thousand Sect, partly explaining tomorrow’s activities—a reason even the Sect Leader didn’t stop him.
He Wenyu nodded at these words, easing Luo Qianqian’s worries a bit.
"What is the Mountain and River Map?"
"..."
The elder didn’t want to speak anymore; they were completely clueless!
He had to start from the beginning.
The Mountain and River Map is a secondary Divine Artifact, a space of another realm. Unlike other map Divine Artifacts where living beings can reside, inside it, there are no Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to nurture, just a simple space, unable to produce Spiritual Energy. Thus, within the Mountain and River Map, there is no supply of Spiritual Energy; one must reduce consumption and possess supplements and spiritual objects to replenish Spiritual Energy. As named, it displays mountains and rivers inside; aside from crushing the Jade Token to exit, the only way to pass through the first stage is by reaching the Peak of the Mountain and Edge of the Waters within a month, enduring trials inside the Map, and obtaining the tangible form of Mountain and River Qi.
In the final sect competition, sects without the tangible form of Mountain and River Qi are eliminated.
When the eliminated sects are fewer than half, entrants are determined by the order of when the first person from each sect comes out, progressing to the next round and stopping when half the sects remain.
But if more than half are eliminated, the contest continues, moving to the next round without a repechage. The tournament considers that sects unable to obtain Mountain and River Qi do not qualify to proceed.
Within the Mountain and River Map, fighting is permissible, but outside, it is prohibited.
Meaning, even if another obtains Mountain and River Qi, you can seize it. Since Mountain and River Qi serves as a gateway key, typically one would inject Spiritual Power and transport away immediately, not lingering for theft.
"Teacher, I’ve brought it, just don’t get mad..." Bai Jian leaped over the wall into the courtyard, seeing everyone around the table, then spotting the ten Jade Tokens, he paused, looking speechless: "Teacher, you’re messing with me, huh?"
He had worried that the teacher might bully those from Nine Heavens Pavilion, but clearly, he’s the one being teased...
These Jade Tokens had been prepared as backups he suggested, yet clearly, he was being fooled.
"What’s wrong with messing with you? Go buy those snacks! More of them!" The elder retrieved the list of snacks Woon Xin had that day from He Wenyu’s hand with a wave of disdain: "Why do I have such a dull disciple like you, so unaware."
Bai Jian left, feeling aggrieved. Was he really that dim? Clearly, the teacher had praised him as most gifted below those three...
The Woon family father and son, and the young junior sister...
Sighing, he turned away again—what can one do, it’s his teacher after all? Whatever the teacher says, goes.
Returning later, he held a Jade Bracelet, beaming.
"Back? Quick, don’t keep your junior sister waiting or else!" The elder glared at him, then smiled at Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu: "See you tomorrow; sleep well, little girls."
"Take care, Second Grandpa." Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu escorted him to the door with smiling eyes and mouths, releasing a breath only once he left.
He Wenyu, puzzled, looked at Luo Qianqian: "Their Ten Thousand Sect is so big, surely they have Spatial Storage Devices? Why is it so delightful when they receive one?"
"In a big sect, such things probably require special contributions to obtain, right? Even Bai Jian doesn’t have one. But giving it to Woon Xin is different." Luo Qianqian reflected while gazing at the Jade Tokens in her hand: "We won’t lose out either, after all, Woon Xin is our friend—we can’t let her call us sisters in vain."
Even though that Jade Bracelet didn’t have as much space as He Wenyu’s, it could still hold quite a lot.
The good items had already been divided among sect members; what she retrieved for her Second Uncle then had a special meaning for her.