Zhuji Peak.
Chu Xingchen gently sipped his tea, casually toying with the chess pieces in front of him as he played Connect Five against Xie Lingyu.
Qinghe leaned against Xie Lingyu, itching to try. Go was too difficult; even if you put ten Qinghes together, they wouldn't be a match for Xie Lingyu.
But Connect Five was different. Even Qinghe could have a thrilling match against Xie Lingyu.
Chen Baiqing stayed by his master's side, flipping through the Tianyan Sect's precious ancient texts.
A large portion of these texts were actually inaccessible even to many Tianyan Sect disciples, yet Bai Xuanling had freely procured quite a few, and the Tianyan Sect Sect Master had even recommended some.
Over these past few days, Chen Baiqing's scope of knowledge had expanded significantly.
He learned about many strange tales and anecdotes he had never heard of before, as well as detailed records of legendary creatures.
He also found answers to many mysteries he had been curious about in the past.
Chen Baiqing was naturally extremely satisfied with what he was reading.
However, Cui Hao's good days had come to an end.
Zhou Ping had already been handed over to Zhang Miaoyu.
Cui Hao had the "privilege" of being personally drilled by Bai Xuanling. However, according to Cui Hao, it wasn't training at all, but blatant revenge!
It was revenge against him for selling the Ten-Complete Great Restoration Pills!
Li Yingling was currently cultivating in deep meditation within the training room. After all, with such a rich concentration of spiritual energy, the temptation was simply too great for Li Yingling, who possessed the [Cultivation Genius] trait.
Furthermore, the training room on Zhuji Peak had a spiritual energy condensation effect.
Every so often, Chu Xingchen could sense the feedback of Li Yingling's cultivation.
Speaking strictly in terms of the Golden Core stage... this progress in cultivation was truly terrifying to the extreme.
Li Xingtian was sorting through the recent acquisitions. The Tianyan Sect operated a general store there where one could both buy and sell.
Holding Bai Xuanling's token allowed one to enjoy the highest level of treatment there.
Li Yingling had also handed over her harvests from Dongsheng Shenzhou and other places to Li Xingtian.
Those acquisitions truly opened Li Xingtian's eyes. Were there really so many good things in Dongsheng Shenzhou?
Although when strictly comparing value, Li Yingling naturally couldn't match Li Xingtian's harvest.
But Li Xingtian had been using his clairvoyance to wheel and deal in Zhongzhou.
Li Yingling had merely taken a stroll around Dongsheng Shenzhou and achieved a harvest of this level.
Moreover, Li Xingtian had heard from Zhang Miaoyu that Li Yingling had even formed a large team, and quite a significant portion of the harvest had been distributed among everyone.
Even under those circumstances, Li Yingling's harvest was enough to leave Li Xingtian dumbfounded.
At this moment, Li Xingtian understood why Li Yingling had told him to tag along with her.
He also understood his Master's words—"Don't compare yourself to your eldest senior sister; her luck is just a bit too good."
However, regarding the matter of sorting through the harvests, Chu Xingchen had originally intended to hand the task over to Cui Hao.
After all, that kid's specialty was turning one coin into three.
But alas, he had been dragged away by Bai Xuanling to take revenge, so let that be.
The money Li Xingtian lost would just be considered a refund from Cui Hao selling pills.
Chu Xingchen, wearing a serious expression, made a move at random.
Before Xie Lingyu could react, Qinghe cheered out loud first:
"Black-hearted brat, big dummy! You messed up, didn't you!"
Chu Xingchen looked slightly surprised, and after examining the board for a moment, a look of regret appeared on his face.
At this point, Xie Lingyu could no longer hold back, so she silently placed a piece and ended the game.
"Lost again..." Chu Xingchen looked a little helpless.
Qinghe watched for a while; Chu Xingchen and Xie Lingyu played several games, and he lost them all decisively!
She didn't expect this black-hearted brat to have such a dark heart, yet turn out to be such a terrible chess player.
Qinghe, looking confident, nudged Xie Lingyu and said:
"Let Qinghe play against him!"
Xie Lingyu glanced at the innocent-looking Qinghe, stood up without a word, and yielded her seat to Qinghe.
Qinghe sat down, quickly cleared the pieces from the board, and started preparing to thoroughly crush Chu Xingchen with great enthusiasm.
From now on, he wouldn't dare call her 'Silly Qinghe' anymore, and she could openly call him 'Silly Brat' too!
Chu Xingchen placed a piece casually, then his gaze turned toward the courtyard gate.
He saw Lin Luoyu walking in from outside.
Chu Xingchen asked casually, "Finished cultivating at Cangjian Peak? I heard one can get a spiritual sword for free there. With your aptitude, it shouldn't be difficult."
Lin Luoyu was still at the Foundation Establishment stage; the System's spiritual treasure reward would come at the Golden Core stage.
Although the swords at Cangjian Peak couldn't compare to the one from the System, getting one for free—how could that be a bad deal?
Lin Luoyu walked in, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Chu Xingchen, and explained:
"I don't really want the swords over there, so I didn't take one."
Chu Xingchen's reaction was calm upon hearing this; he simply nodded lightly to show he understood.
It was a good thing Cui Hao wasn't here; otherwise, Cui Hao would probably look at her with the expression of a prodigal son.
If Cui Hao had seen Qingming at Cangjian Peak, let alone if Qingming allowed him to touch it, even if it didn't, Cui Hao would probably figure out a way to take the mountain peak along with Qingming home together.
Even if he couldn't use it, placing it in the sect as a landscape rock in the style of the Sword in the Stone to ward off evil spirits would be fine.
Chu Xingchen placed a piece quickly, setting a simple trap to lure Qinghe in.
"As for your plans, this Master supports you. Since you are done cultivating, we need to start preparing to handle a major matter for the sect."
Chu Xingchen dropped a piece, then stood up without looking at Qinghe, who wore a look of shock and extreme regret. He said:
"Baiqing, go notify the others. Prepare to set out."
Chen Baiqing closed the book in his hand and replied with a light smile:
"Alright, Master."
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