I was chased at the beginning, and I got the first quick sword

Chapter 523 Quest Chain Integration

"Alas, what a pity, Master Cao was a good man."

"A lone white horse roams the martial world, a golden sword cuts down evil voices across ten thousand miles... How could someone like him die?"

"I heard that the Alliance Leader had a deep friendship with Master Cao. He guarded the body for a long time and personally handled Master Cao's funeral arrangements before rushing back to join everyone."

"The young lady Lingfei and Master Cao were deeply in love. I heard that she built a hut in front of Master Cao's grave and wanted to spend the rest of her life there."

"Heaven is blind! Tell me, who exactly killed Master Cao?"

"The alliance leader had already ordered an investigation... but the results have not yet been released."

"I believe that no matter who did this, the Alliance Leader will seek justice for Hero Cao."

Almost half a month has passed since Cao Qiupu's death.

But the discussions did not subside; instead, they intensified.

Especially those who had just joined the team and intended to contribute to the martial arts world of the Southern Region all heard about the death of Cao Qiupu, the White Horse Golden Sword. For a time, some lamented and others sighed with regret.

This fueled their increasingly heated discussion.

The night was colorful, and inside the tent, Chu Qing sat quietly at his desk.

On either side stood Liu Zhaonian, Tie Lingyun, and a group of others.

Ren Beiming stood in the middle and spoke:
"In conclusion, it is likely that Master Cao was worried that his mount, Brother Bai, would cause trouble if he went out that night, which is why he left to search for him."

"During the search, we encountered that group of people."

"For reasons unknown, those people attacked Master Cao."

"At that time, Master Cao was already suffering from the wounds of the Ten Deadly Caves. After several battles, he was no match for him, and his Divine Sound Sword was broken."

"Afterwards, he was chased all the way, traveling more than ten miles, and finally the great hero Cao was captured..."

"After lingering there for several days, I can conclude that Master Cao was not without the ability to fight back at that time, and had even managed to injure the opponent."

"Judging from the marks, the sword must have wounded the opponent's shoulder."

"Furthermore... we can see from the footprints left by the murderer at the place where Master Cao was killed."

"This murderer is heading towards the place where we gathered back then, and now, it is very likely that he is right next to us."

Tie Lingyun's face darkened:
"You mean, after that person killed Cao Qiupu, he actually returned to our side as if nothing had happened?"

"Exactly."

Ren Beiming nodded:
"But half a month has passed since this incident, and finding the murderer will be as difficult as climbing to the sky."

"will not."

Chu Qing said softly:

"The Divine Sound Sword is no ordinary weapon. It appears to be a complete sword, but in reality, it has seven orifices inside."

"The wounds inflicted by this sword are different from those of ordinary people..."

"At first glance, it may look the same as any other wound, but the more it heals, the more the scar will resemble a normal wound."

"Now, half a month has passed, and Jue Tian Pass is right in front of us."

"To quell external aggression, we must first secure internal stability. Before engaging the Heavenly Evil Cult, we must root out this malignant tumor and avenge Brother Cao!"

Tie Lingyun suddenly realized:
"I see. I didn't expect the Divine Sound Sword to have such an effect. In that case, the past two weeks have provided us with the evidence to identify the murderer!"

Liu Zhaonian clasped his hands and said:
"In that case, gather everyone together early tomorrow morning, divide them into two lines, men and women, and regardless of age, everyone should expose their shoulders to check the situation."

"Although it's a clumsy method, it will surely lead us to the murderer."

Chu Qing nodded:

"Let's do it this way. Although it will be a lot of trouble, I've seen everyone discussing this matter for some time now, and they obviously want to avenge Brother Cao and get justice."

The others nodded in agreement, and Kassapa, who was standing to the side, clasped his hands together in prayer.
“Amitabha, if we can find the murderer and punish him, then the spirit of Benefactor Cao in heaven will surely find solace.”

"The master is right."

Chu Qing waved her hand gently:

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone should go and get some rest."

The group clasped their hands in agreement and turned to leave.

However, Liu Zhaonian, Ouyang Tianxu, Tie Lingyun and the others paused for a moment as they walked out. After exchanging glances, they pretended nothing had happened and went out.

In the blink of an eye, only Chu Qing, Wu Qianhuan, and Wenrou remained in the entire tent.

Wu Qianhuan reached out and smoothed Chu Qing's brow, saying softly:

"Stop frowning all the time. You look much older these days."

Life is full of disappointments.

Wenrou leaned gently against Chu Qing's other side, softly comforting him:
"If you're really feeling unwell, then practice with Sister Wu. I'll cheer you on from the sidelines!"

Wu Qianhuan blushed and pinched Chu Qing's waist:
"Don't talk nonsense."

"Even if we really have to practice martial arts, I'll drag you along."

Wenrou then said in a very serious tone:

"That won't do. The Heavenly Bright Sword Technique is a secret technique passed down through Sister Wu's sect. How could I possibly covet it?"

After the battle at the Ten Deadly Caves, Wu Qianhuan became even more obsessed with practicing martial arts with Chu Qing.

For the past two weeks, Chu Qing has often been frowning because of Cao Qiupu's matter.

But the tasks that needed to be done were never neglected.

However, she was accidentally caught red-handed by Wenrou, and she has been teasing her about it ever since.

However, Wu Qianhuan was not one to be easily bullied; she glared at Wenrou:
"I understand now. You don't want to cultivate with him, you only want to be with him..."

Wenrou was no longer the naive girl she once was, and naturally understood the meaning behind those words. However, she showed no hesitation and nodded decisively.

"Yes, that's what I think too."

Wu Qianhuan gasped and asked Chu Qing:
"Ever since she started practicing that [Unchanging Heavenly Book], she seems to be getting bolder and bolder. As the saying goes, extremes meet, could she be developing some kind of problem?"

Chu Qing sighed:

"She has been accumulating this for too long, and now it's like a surging tide... She needs to improve her cultivation further before she can calm it down."

"The surging tide..."

Wu Qianhuan's eyes were somewhat unfocused.

Chu Qing noticed the odd look in her eyes and immediately coughed lightly.
"Alright, alright, not tonight."

"Why?"

Wu Qianhuan was somewhat surprised.

Chu Qing said softly:

"Because I have something to do tonight."

"But there's nothing important to do tonight..."

Even Wenrou didn't quite understand.

"Believe me, something is going to happen soon."

Chu Qing tapped her finger lightly on the table. Wu Qianhuan and Wenrou exchanged a glance and then said:
"In that case, shall we stay here, or go back first?"

"Go back and get some rest. We have to set off early tomorrow morning."

"it is good."

The two agreed and turned to leave.

This time, Chu Qing was the only one left in the tent. He silently opened the system interface.

Since the last time I obtained the blank stele from the First Emperor's Tomb, the system has added a Martial Arts Stele and many other pieces of information.

However, Chu Qing hasn't had time to deal with it during this period.

The main issue is that there's one option he's been hesitating and struggling with.

Now, with a thought, the options appeared before me.

[Incomplete task chains can be merged!]

[Is it integrated? 】

This was a clue that appeared in the tomb of the First Emperor Wu on the day it was discovered, but it has been left aside for some time now.

The main reason is that it's unclear what this thing will look like after it's been fused together.

Currently, his task chain should only consist of one thing: [not listed on the leaderboard]!
The experts on the Demon Extermination Ranking, whom he had previously thought were insurmountable, were now no different from chickens and dogs in his presence.

The difficulty of the task was really not worth mentioning.

After thinking about this, Chu Qing hesitated for a moment and then chose:
"Merge." [Merge successful!]

[Trigger Clue: The Meeting at the Mirror of Retribution!]

[Triggering Commission: No Name on the List (End)]

【Do you want to receive it? 】

"..."

Chu Qing was stunned; this hint was somewhat unexpected.
"After the fusion, did it directly give rise to the final mission form?"
"The clue has also turned into the Meeting at the Mirror of Retribution... It seems that we really can't miss this meeting on the fifth day of the tenth month."

He slowly exhaled and selected 'Claim'.

[The mission: No name on the list! (Exterminate all those on the evil list!)]

[Current Stage: End.]

[Current progress: Zero.]

[Quest Reward: Three Crimson Treasure Chests.]

Chu Qing blinked:
"Three? Is this supposed to make up for the losses in the mission chain? Then why give me a chance to merge them..."

"This thing only appeared after the system's computing power was improved."

"So the system calculated that I was going to kill everyone at the Mirror of Retribution meeting anyway."

"To avoid trouble, they created this task chain fusion option?"

"But if that's really the case, then I should consider myself to have made a profit."

After all, if Chu Qing encountered all the experts on the Demon Extermination List of the Demon Mirror Platform at the Demon Mirror Platform Gathering, then based on the nature of this system, it would probably treat all of them as a mission.

This means that he only has one reward option: an optional treasure chest.

Now that we have three crimson treasure chests and can preset the desired martial arts categories, it's already an extremely good result.

"That's good too. Let's settle the feud between me and Niejingtai on the fifth day of the tenth month."

As he finished speaking, he glanced up at the night outside the tent:
"But judging by the time, those who are supposed to come should have arrived by now."

Just as this thought crossed my mind, I heard a series of hurried footsteps.

Soon, the guards' voices came from outside the tent:
"Master, please stop here. The Alliance Leader is already resting. If you have urgent business, please come again tomorrow."

Kasher's voice rang out from outside the tent:

"This humble monk has urgent business to discuss with the Alliance Leader. Please inform him of this matter, as it concerns lives and cannot be delayed."

As the two guards were in a dilemma, they heard Chu Qing's voice:

"Please invite Master Kassapa in."

Upon hearing this, the two men who were blocking Kasyapa immediately lowered their hands to stop him.

"Master, please come in."

Kassa clasped his hands together and entered the tent. He glanced at Chu Qing once and then knelt down.
"Alliance Leader, I just saw a message from my sect. It seems that a disciple of the Great Sumeru Zen Temple has escaped the blockade of the Western Regions and has now entered Tongtian Ridge."

"Within Tongtian Ridge, the compass is useless, but if they are merely lost, they certainly won't rashly use the fire signal."

"Now that they've even resorted to such methods, I'm afraid things are going to turn out badly."

"Please, Alliance Leader, have mercy and grant us your aid. Our Great Sumeru Zen Temple will repay you with our lives."

After Chu Qing finished speaking, he stood up and flicked his sleeve:
"Get up. Saving lives is urgent. Master Jiashe, why do you need to perform such a grand ceremony? I have no reason not to save lives."

"Please lead the way, Master!"

"Thank you, Alliance Leader!!"

Kassa's face was full of gratitude as he turned and left the tent.

Chu Qing then spoke softly:
"Someone is coming."

Two people suddenly entered the tent:

"Greetings, Alliance Leader."

"You two, come with me."

After saying that, he left the tent, and the two men immediately followed behind him.

Gashyapa glanced back, especially at the two strangers, and felt a little surprised.

Without much thought, he leaped up and headed deeper into Tongtian Ridge.

The four regions and one state of the world are all isolated by the Tongtian Ridge.

The Ghost Emperor Palace is located in a small branch of Tongtian Ridge, and it is the only branch that isolates the north and south of the ridge.

But where Chu Qing and the others are now is a genuine branch of the Tongtianling Mountains.

The complexity of the internal paths is far greater than before.

Without a specially made compass, it would be impossible to find a path here, let alone head straight for the Heavenly Gate.

However, Jiashe seemed quite familiar with the surrounding paths, and traveled through mountain valleys and treacherous peaks, taking a full half hour to complete the journey.

Chu Qing suddenly spoke softly:
"Wait a moment."

Jiashe suddenly turned around and looked at Chu Qing:

"What is the Alliance Leader doing here?"

Chu Qing shook her head slightly:

"Nothing... I'm just curious about something."

Kassa looked even more astonished:

"Alliance Leader, is now the time to talk about this?"

"Now is the time to talk about this."

Chu Qing said softly:

"After all, if we go any further, I'm afraid there won't be many opportunities to have a proper talk."

"...What does the Alliance Leader wish to say to this humble monk?"

"Tell me, why did you choose to join the Heavenly Evil Cult?"

When Chu Qing spoke, his expression was calm and his tone was peaceful, without a trace of questioning, as if he were simply curious.

At this moment, however, the expression on Gash's face became somewhat complicated.

But after the initial complexity, a sense of confusion arises:
"Alliance Leader, what...what do you mean by that? This humble monk is sworn enemies with the Heavenly Evil Sect."

"How could we possibly seek refuge with them?"

"is it?"

Chu Qing chuckled and suddenly glanced at Jiashe's shoulder.

Two sharp, hissing sounds were heard, and the clothes on the shoulder were torn, revealing the shoulder underneath.

On his arm, there was a strange-looking wound.

It looked like a sword wound, but within the wound, there were also fine, scattered traces of other injuries.

Now, as the scars solidify, the shapes become increasingly bizarre.

Gashyapa instinctively reached out to cover it, but he was still a step too late.

Then he sighed softly:
“I have never lied before, but now I have become a person who speaks a lot of lies.”

"But I wonder when the alliance leader discovered this?"

"Half a month ago."

Chu Qing said casually.

"impossible!"

Kassa's expression changed drastically:

"How could it be half a month ago?"

"Nothing is impossible."

Chu Qing clapped her hands gently:

"Come, let me introduce you to a friend."

Then, Chu Qing's two guards stepped forward, and one of them casually lifted the human skin mask off his face.

The face that appeared was none other than Cao Qiupu!
Cao Qiupu said in a deep voice:
"Master Jiashe, you never thought that I, the ghost you personally helped to be released from suffering, could now stand before you so openly?"

(End of this chapter)