Chapter 23: The One I'm Going to Kill is You, the Monster Who Has Gotten Stronger

At the same time, in a certain cave abode within the Layered City area, Song He asked in a deep voice,

"That Qiu Changtian actually went out for field training?"

Song He appeared to be in his forties, with pale skin and short whiskers, giving off an honest and reliable impression. His current realm was at the great perfection of the Transforming the Foundation Rank, placing him second among the Chief Disciples under the Ziwei Master at the Foundation Establishment Stage, only inferior to the Chief Disciple, Xu Changqing.

During the usual scripture lectures, he would sit on the second cushion behind Xu Changqing. However, last time he was begrudgingly forced to give up his seat to Qiu Changtian, who had just been formally accepted as a disciple, an utterly humiliating scenario that nearly disrupted his Qi Cultivation Technique.

"Indeed," Zhao Wencheng replied with a grin, "Brother Song He, after all, he's just a Qi Refining Rank youngster, why worry excessively about it?"

This man was Song He's junior brother and confidant, looking even younger, not yet thirty, with eyes that spun with considerable scheming and calculation.

"Exactly," said the fellow junior brother Qiu Yuan, chiming in, "There won't be more than twenty years until Xu Changqing, our Chief Disciple, goes through the Core Condensation Tribulation."

"Even if that person has Daoist Heart Clarity and exceptional talent, at most he'll only reach Qi Refinement Perfection and begin Marrow Cleansing by the time Xu Changqing forms his core."

"Plus, assuming he has the devil's own luck and climbs the celestial ladder. By some fluke, if he achieves great success in Marrow Cleansing, he would just barely enter the Transforming the Foundation Stage."

"By then, how could he possibly compete with you, Brother Song He, who's at the great perfection of the Transforming the Foundation Rank, for the position of Chief Disciple?"

The two spoke confidently, clearly not optimistic about Qiu Changtian reaching the great perfection of the Transforming the Foundation Rank realm before Xu Changqing, the Chief Disciple, formed his core, advancing two ranks in the process.

Yet Song He's brows were still tightly furrowed; it took him a while before he said,

"I heard the Pavilion is about to open."

"What Pavilion?" Zhao Wencheng asked in surprise.

"Could it be the East Sea Pavilion?" Qiu Yuan was also astonished.

"Besides that one, which other Pavilion could it be?" Song He sighed deeply.

"If it's really the Pavilion in the East Sea," Zhao Wencheng suddenly thought of something and exclaimed in shock, "Master must have planned early on for him to go on a venture to the East Sea Pavilion, thus acquiring a massive amount of True Qi, directly skipping over the decades of drudgery that would normally be required at the Qi Refining Rank."

"Then, through the methods of bone refining and marrow washing, they will help him accelerate through the Marrow Cleansing Stage, transforming Qi into True Yuan, and establishing the Purple Mansion."

"Skipping two ranks, in the end investing resources at all costs to push him to the great perfection of the Transforming the Foundation Rank before Xu Changqing forms his core, striving to take over the position of Chief Disciple!"

The expression on Qiu Yuan's face also darkened as he agreed,

"Highly likely! If not for this, why would Master have allowed him to sit on the second cushion that day?"

Song He was silent for a long while before he finally sighed,

"The path of cultivation is narrow; it does not accommodate two people walking side by side. One must struggle to be the first."

Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan's expressions immediately turned serious.

The position of Chief Disciple at the Foundation Establishment Stage was critically important for their senior brother.

The source of this stemmed from the Ziwei Master himself. This aloof master was often busy with affairs and cultivating, only giving a scripture lecture to his Chief Disciples every ten days, and sometimes even canceling for various reasons.

As for private question-and-answer sessions, one should not even think about it, it was a pipe dream.

Any difficult question encountered in their cultivation, they would have to turn to the Chief Disciple for answers.

To ensure the Chief Disciple was capable of this, the Ziwei Master would carve out time to provide personal tutoring and answer questions exclusively for him.

The "Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra" was known as a true mantra of Immortal Sects, notoriously abstruse and difficult to understand. Saying, "Every word conceals a pearl; every sentence hides a secret," is not an exaggeration at all.

The Ziwei Master personally answered questions, which was certainly far more effective than having the Chief Disciple answer them instead.

Becoming the Chief Disciple meant that one could receive the Ziwei Master's guidance, leading to a more perfect understanding and comprehension of the Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra, and naturally the grade of Core Formation achieved in the future would also be higher.

Not to mention, the grade of Core Formation for all past Chief Disciples had never been lower than Third Grade.

As for the Direct Disciples of the Sect Leader who were not the Chief Disciple, the worst were said to be of Fifth Grade, with not a few achieving the Fourth Grade in each generation.

It was clear that the position of Chief Disciple had too great of an interest behind it for anyone not to contend for it.

Song He said, "There is no room for two to walk together, one must strive to be the first," which also meant a very simple thing:

That was to use any means necessary to strike at Qiu Changtian!

"Daoist Heart Clarity, the stakes are too great," Qiu Yuan said with a grave expression. "There are countless eyes within Kunlun watching. Trying to secretly remove him while not raising any suspicions towards us is as difficult as ascending to heaven from flat ground."

"Don't forget, even when he goes out for trials, our teacher bestows upon him the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword for protection!"

"Then we just won't take direct action," Zhao Wencheng narrowed his eyes. "Such rare talent as Daoist Heart Clarity, how can it not attract envy? Why not use a scheme to 'borrow another's knife to kill'..."

"'Borrowing another's knife to kill' can completely clear us of involvement?" Song He sighed deeply.

"Even if we do nothing, should Qiu Changtian perish halfway through his cultivation, whether he chokes to death on water, falls to his death, or is assassinated by a traitor from the Demon Sect...from the perspective of 'he who benefits is suspect,' won't they still suspect me?"

Both junior brothers were left without words.

"The key is evidence." Song He shook his head. "Once he dies, all stakeholders will be under suspicion, it's just a matter of who is more or less suspect."

"But we Kunlun are an upright and reputable Sect! We must pay attention to evidence in our actions and convince people with reason. We can't act like the Demon Cult and capture people for soul extraction interrogation just because of suspicion."

He then slapped his head and made a decision:

"As long as it's done cleanly, it can be done!"

Zhao Wencheng and Qiu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then also nodded slightly.

Song He was their generation's Chief Disciple, and although they too were disciples of the Ziwei Master, they did not have the qualifications to attend the scripture lectures and could only wait for Song He to return from the lectures to teach and answer questions for everyone.

Their personal interests had long been tied to Song He.

"So, how does big brother plan to proceed?" Qiu Yuan asked cautiously. "Qiu Changtian usually doesn't leave the Golden Ridge Cave Abode, and it's rare for him to go out from Kunlun on trials. Plus, with the Sect Leader's gift of the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword for protection, even if we don't consider secrecy, there aren't many opportunities for action."

"That's simple," Zhao Wencheng suddenly had an idea. "In fact, there is one place that Qiu Changtian will surely visit in the future, and where he cannot possibly take the Tai Yi Dividing Light Sword with him."

"You mean..." Song He contemplated for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"The East Sea Pavilion?"

While these three were discussing their strategies in the secret chamber, Qiu Changtian had already handed over the Spirit Stones to the Kunlun Mirror, instructing it to transport them to the location of Ling Yunpo.

"Who would have thought that for getting rid of that Demon Path Cultivator, the Sect would reward me with so many Spirit Stones," he remarked.

"A lot?" The Kunlun Mirror asked curiously. "Every time I time-space transport you to a save point, the Spiritual Energy consumed is tens of thousands times the amount of these Spirit Stones."

"That's different," Qiu Changtian said nonchalantly. "You are an Innate Spiritual Treasure, after all. Even just the amount of Spiritual Energy contained within yourself is considered wealthy in the realm of Magical Treasures, so let's not compare."

Kunlun Mirror: ?