Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 67 The Path to Becoming a Powerful Sect
Seeing her deep in thought, Lu Xingzhou continued, "There are many aspects to human relationships... I don't know if your Tianyao Holy Land's cultivation requires the understanding of romantic love, but during your time with Shen Tang, you've already witnessed many other things..."

"for example?"

"The struggle for the throne within the royal family, the killing of siblings, the father breaking his daughter's leg, the mother's death shrouded in mystery yet beyond our control—isn't this change in kinship just another manifestation of human nature? The city lord raises demons, poisoning the creatures under his rule, all for the sake of mere demonic arts—isn't this just another manifestation of human nature... You witnessed the whole thing, yet you weren't moved or given any thought?"

"No."

"That's because it's always someone else's business, and has nothing to do with you. When you feel that it's related to you, and you'll toss and turn over those things at night, that might be the time for you to reach the top three ranks."

Dugu Qingli felt that this made some sense, but perhaps her master didn't mean it that way. He thought that when she could experience something firsthand and still have a calm and unwavering heart, that would be the true mark of her cultivation.

She didn't argue, but simply asked, "You yourself have only just obtained a top-grade cultivation technique, and you probably haven't even fully mastered it yet, so how do you know other people's methods?"

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "Because I have the backing of the world."

I've read far too many novels; the so-called "cultivating the mind in the mortal world" is nothing more than a few basic elements. Just now I was analyzing how this nine-rank system is a completely flawed classification system—is this something people accustomed to this system in the Great Qian Dynasty would think...?

Dugu Qingli didn't understand this sentence and said again: "I have no personal experience to share. I am an orphan and was adopted by my master when I was young. I have no family affection. If you want to talk about family affection... my master is it."

Lu Xingzhou didn't know why he couldn't say many things to Shen Tang, but he couldn't suppress his desire to tease the much more aloof little white-haired girl.

For example, I really wanted to tease the little robot right now, to trick her into trying out a romantic relationship, starting with you and me... But when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I remembered Shen Tang's gentle gaze, and in the end, I didn't say a word. Instead, I said, "Let's start with friendship."

Dugu Qingli was silent for a moment, then said softly, "You really think of her in everything, even this is to tie me to her."

Lu Xingzhou hesitated, feeling somewhat ashamed.

This sentence refers to himself, not Shen Tang... This misunderstanding seems to have led to a deeper understanding.

But Little White Hair's quiet tone sounded like a sublime praise, didn't it?
A thought flashed through his mind, and he replied directly, "I'm your friend too."

Dugu Qingli couldn't discern the source of her slight dissatisfaction at that moment, nor why she felt much better immediately after hearing those words.

Is this just one aspect of human nature?

I think I'm starting to feel something... This is indeed a change in mood I've never experienced in over ten years of working on the glacier, although the fluctuations are very subtle.

The furnace lid popped open, and five Snow Melting and Rejuvenating Pills jumped out. Lu Xingzhou waved his hand, and the pills floated automatically to Dugu Qingli's front: "How has the market reacted to our sales of Snow Melting and Rejuvenating Pills these past few days? How has the Incense Burning Pavilion reacted?"

Dugu Qingli said, "I just came out of seclusion and didn't inquire about these things. If you want to know, I'll have Shen Tang come find you later. Wait..."

"Ok?"

"Has she not been updating you on the situation these past few days?"

"……No."

Dugu Qingli looked at him suspiciously. She knew that a while back, Lu Xingzhou had taken A'nuo to live in the back mountain, and Shen Tang had been running there every day, exhausting himself going up and down the mountain. Now, with no one bothering him, and even A'nuo not wanting to stay long down there because of the high temperature, shouldn't Shen Tang have been taking advantage of the situation to come every day, all the time? Why hadn't he come anymore…?

Lu Xingzhou coughed twice: "Do you still want to leave now?"

Dugu Qingli said earnestly, "If it's beneficial for cultivation, then I'll stay a while longer. If I'm sure it's not useful, then I'll leave."

"It's good that you're not leaving... Let Shen Tang come over. Besides asking about the situation, I have some things I need her help with."

"What kind of help? Since you're my friend, why didn't you ask me?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Actually, it was because after resting for these past few days, he felt he could try to do some rehabilitation training, and occasionally he could stand up and walk a few steps. But this was definitely not as good as having someone help him walk more. Anuo was too short to be supported, and it wasn't appropriate to let anyone else in at this time. The only person Lu Xingzhou could think of was Shen Tang.

They've hugged so many times already, Shen Tang probably won't mind too much. Didn't she offer to help him up that day? A little more contact can ease the awkwardness of that kiss on the cheek.

But the little white-haired guy asked the question very seriously...

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and decided to be direct: "I just need to be helped to walk, just like you helped Shen Tang before."

Dugu Qingli stood there, silent for a long time.

Just now you were saying why your friends didn't ask me for help, but now that they actually asked, you've refused?

How should I reply? The line burned out, the system is down. Lu Xingzhou found her expression amusing and teased her, "I helped you up when you were injured."

"Where did you get support..." Dugu Qingli stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence, recalling the past when she was injured and sat on his lap to walk forward.

Is that what you call supporting someone? Supporting them with the hilt of a sword?
It would have been better if this hadn't been mentioned. Now that it had, Dugu Qingli wouldn't dare to even get close to him. To this day, she still couldn't understand why she had inexplicably gone blank, felt weak all over, and was even leaking fluid that time... If we're talking about a crisis, it was probably the most dangerous moment she had ever experienced in her cultivation. A sneak attack from a mere ninth-rank cultivator would probably have killed her there.

Thinking of this, he was so frightened that he ran away: "I can't help you with this, I'll go and call Shen Tang."

Lu Xingzhou chuckled as he watched her flee in disarray. He had been worried that she would become even colder after her breakthrough, but he hadn't expected her to still be so adorable.

However, this is only the fourth rank... the third rank is the dividing line...

"You're smiling like a gossip auntie. Do you really like Qingli that much?" Shen Tang's voice came, her expression stern.

"..." Judging from the timing of this sudden appearance, Shen Tang must have arrived quite early. Where was she hiding to watch me and the white-haired guy interact? What's her mentality...?

Lu Xingzhou just smiled and said, "Qingli is simple-minded and very cute."

Shen Tang said with a straight face, "Do you think my thinking is complicated?"

“But I still told her to go to you for help.” Lu Xingzhou looked into her eyes and answered seriously, “And the facts have proven that only you can help me.”

When their eyes met, Shen Tang was defeated in an instant.

No wonder people say they look at dogs with such affection; that gaze is so deadly, it's practically cheating.

She pursed her lips, but still walked over to him and said curtly, "Get up, let me help you walk a bit."

Lu Xingzhou stood up, and Shen Tang put her arm around his shoulder, then warned him sternly, "If you dare to sneak up on me like that day again, I'll teach you a lesson!"

Lu Xingzhou just smiled.

Shen Tang didn't say anything more, and carefully helped him walk for a while before getting to the point like an old married couple: "The development of the pill and flying sword industry has been proceeding exactly as you predicted these days."

That kiss seems to have passed just like that, leaving no trace.

Lu Xingzhou responded naturally: "Be more specific?"

"We commissioned Wanbaoge, the most famous auction house in Xiazhou, to auction several 'Broken Mountain' swords, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Now, when Xiazhou's elite discuss flying swords, they generally agree that those from our sect are the best. On the surface, we're only auctioning a small number of high-grade swords, which doesn't conflict with the Cangshan Sword Sect's lower-grade flying swords. But judging from this trend, as long as we release lower-grade flying swords, we'll definitely dominate the market." Shen Tang said, a hint of admiration in his voice, "The trend is exactly as you predicted. You're so young..."

"Stop...Are you trying to trick me into calling you 'sister' again?"

"Hmph." Shen Tang snorted and muttered, "Some elders also expressed their opinions, saying that they don't know if it will escalate the conflict with the Cangshan Sword Sect."

"That's a matter for later. Before that, we hadn't completely fallen out with the Cangshan Sword Sect, so they would continue to observe. If we can successfully suppress the Incense Pavilion, the Cangshan Sword Sect will simply withdraw from the Xiazhou market. After all, the loss of such a small county is not a very serious matter."

Shen Tang turned to look at him meaningfully: "Now that the secret realm has opened, the earth's veins in Xia Prefecture will gradually recover. Xia Prefecture might even be upgraded back to its original status in the future..."

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "Then they can only blame themselves for missing this opportunity."

This is the final move in all the planning. What others perceive as a "base in a county town" is actually the capital of a prefecture, the Dragon and Tiger Spirit Mountain, overlooking thousands of miles. However, the Heavenly Sword Sect must become strong enough to withstand the storms before this happens; otherwise, it will only be working for others' benefit.

Lu Xingzhou then asked, "Do you know why we chose the Incense Burning Pavilion as our primary enemy?"

Shen Tang was taken aback: "Isn't it because they want to compete for Danxia Mountain, creating a natural conflict?"

"This is just the surface-level cause of the conflict," Lu Xingzhou said. "These alchemy sects are different from other sects. They focus on alchemy, and combat is not their forte. Therefore, most of their martial force is not cultivated by themselves, but rather they recruit renowned experts from all sides. These experts are greedy for a stable supply of pills and are willing to provide protection, which is basically the same as the bodyguards and guards hired by aristocratic families..."

Shen Tang understood the unspoken meaning: "You mean that in this kind of environment, the loyalty and reliability of the strong in the Incense Pavilion are questionable."

“Yes, they are not as reliable as the guards trained by aristocratic families from childhood. In essence, they are outsiders.” Lu Xingzhou said slowly, “I have been thinking, were the two guards who assassinated you that day really ordered by Bai Jingtian? Even if Bai Jingtian really ordered them, were they really that obedient? Most likely, they were just pawns in someone else’s hands.”

Shen Tang asked thoughtfully, "What does this have to do with you dealing with Fenxiang Tower first?"

"Yes," Lu Xingzhou said. "After the Tianxing Sword Sect merged with the Danxia Gang, it doesn't lack disciples, but it lacks strong fighters who can fight immediately. So it has to keep Qingli, which is actually not very fair to Qingli. If you really wait for a group of disciples of the upper three ranks to be trained step by step, when will that be... After you destroy the Fenxiang Tower, can't you use those strong fighters who have nowhere to go?"

(End of this chapter)