Volume 12 is missing Chapter 61: A Cup of Wine in the Spring Breeze
It was the time of the Spring Equinox, the wheat was growing, the sun was shining brightly, and the clouds were rising.
Longhu Mountain is not a sacred mountain, but it does have a spiritual vein, so many small families and sects have settled here, and a medium-sized cultivator market has been formed at the foot of Longhu Mountain.
There is a restaurant near the street in Fangshi, which is crowded and bustling.
The spiritual food sold in the restaurant is not very special and can only be said to be neither good nor bad, but its unique green plum wine is very popular among the female cultivators nearby.
Green Plum Wine is brewed with the unique Lingli of Longhu Mountain. It has a mild taste with a slight sweetness. When you drink it, it also has the unique fragrance of wine. It can be regarded as one of the specialties of Longhu Mountain.
Tan Tai Qing Run sat by the window, drinking alone, looking out along the window.
Since the fall of the underworld, in addition to practicing, her most important task in the past twenty years has become "eliminating bandits" and tracking down and eradicating the evil practitioners who are causing chaos in the country.
Compared to what Lu Qingshan did, what she did seemed too insignificant.
But that doesn't mean what she did was meaningless.
Tan Tai Qing Run was not some kind of genius. Even though she knew that she was being trained in the Shou Tower, with her talent, she could only break through to the sixth realm in twenty years.
But she was also very rational and never fantasized about anything. She only wanted to fulfill her responsibilities, just like the man who took on the responsibility of guarding the Eastern Region.
Everyone has their own responsibilities.
She came to Longhu Mountain this time because she received a tip that some cultivators were spreading rumors and stirring up people's hearts in Longhu Mountain under the pretext that the war between Taoism and Demons was about to break out, and this needed to be thoroughly investigated.
At this moment, Tan Tai Qingrun put down the wine glass in his hand and looked towards the stairs.
There, a man and a woman were climbing up the stairs and just appeared.
The man was calm and gentle, the woman was dignified and pretty, and their behavior was intimate. It was obvious that they were a pair of Taoist lovers with a close relationship.
But this is not the point, nor is it the reason to attract Tan Tai Qingrun's attention.
The sensitivity of his "profession" made Tan Tai Qingrun feel a dangerous aura from this seemingly very young Taoist couple.
She looked at the two of them inconspicuously, trying to find clues.
The Taoist couple sat down at the only empty table, ordered a few ordinary spiritual dishes from the restaurant, and then asked for a pot of green plum wine.
At the table next to them were four female practitioners. They looked like a master and three disciples. Judging from their temperament, they were obviously sword practitioners.
From a few casual conversations that he overheard by chance, Tan Tai Qingrun realized that these four people were not cultivators from the Eastern Region, but were from the Zhongtian Region.
Their master came to the Eastern Region to visit friends and brought the three sisters along, presumably wanting the three disciples to see the world.
It seemed that they had indeed seen the world, so the three women kept chattering from beginning to end, discussing the customs and people they saw along the way.
“Even though more than ten years have passed, it still feels incredible to think that the leader of the Sword Sect in the Eastern Region is actually a man younger than me.” The eldest sister among the three, a woman with a hint of coquettishness in the corners of her eyes, sighed casually.
"It would be great if I could meet this young sect leader, even if it's just a glimpse from afar. It is said that in addition to his unparalleled talent, his appearance is also the best in the world. I really want to see what he is like." The youngest sister blinked and said with longing.
"You little slut, you're missing a man, right?" the second sister teased.
"No, I didn't..." The junior sister was stuck in the middle of her sentence.
Because, the man in the Taoist couple who had just sat down at the table next to them was savoring the Green Plum Wine, but at this moment, as if stimulated by something, he suddenly stood up and looked at them in disbelief.
"You said that the leader of the Sword Sect in the Eastern Region is younger than you?!" the man looked at the eldest senior sister and asked directly.
The eldest sister was stunned, but nodded subconsciously. Then she saw the extremely complicated emotions revealed in the man's eyes at that moment.
That was a complexity that she couldn't fathom.
"Has the Sword Sect's leader been replaced?" The man asked again after getting a positive answer.
“You are not a cultivator from this region?” Before the elder sister could answer the man’s question, the younger sister tilted her head and looked at the man suspiciously, and then said to herself: “Even if you are not a cultivator from the Eastern Region, you shouldn’t…”
The man was stunned, obviously not understanding why the woman asked this question. After thinking for a while, he nodded and replied, "I am a cultivator from the Eastern Region."
"So, who is the current leader of the Sword Sect?" Although he didn't get a direct answer, the man figured out the answer based on their reactions. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask again.
"Of course it's me, could it be Lu Qingshan?" the junior sister said without hesitation.
The witty remark immediately caused a burst of laughter from other people in the restaurant.
Tan Tai Qing Run couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.
It’s not that the woman was impolite, it’s just that Lu Qingshan’s name was too famous, like a legend, and had already spread throughout the seven regions.
From the great cultivators at the ninth level to the minor cultivators at the beginning of Qi training, who doesn’t know Lu Qingshan?
Not to mention, this is the Eastern Region.
This man is not a three-year-old child, but a cultivator from the Eastern Region. To others, asking such a question does not seem like a sincere request for an answer, but rather a way of looking for trouble.
Although she could see that the man seemed really unaware.
Could it be that he is a monk who has been in seclusion for decades and has just come out?
Apart from this reason, Tan Tai Qingrun could not think of any other reason why the man, although a cultivator from the Eastern Region, did not know Lu Qingshan.
The most talented sword cultivator in Tianyuan years, the youngest leader of a Dao Sect in history, the youngest cultivator of the eighth realm...
With so many halos, although Lu Qingshan's strength is not as good as Chu Mushen, his popularity is already almost the same as Chu Mushen.
Even among the group of female cultivators, Lu Qingshan's name is more famous than Chu Mushen, and he is the real "top streamer".
But it is not surprising, because this Sword Sect leader is unrivaled in talent and even beauty. More importantly, he still has no Taoist partner. He is an extremely romantic figure in the world.
Recently, a saying has become popular among the female cultivators in the Eastern Region. I think after a period of fermentation, it will spread to the other six regions:
It takes ten years to be able to cross the river together, and a hundred years to be able to reach the green mountains.
"Hehe..." Thinking of this, Tan Tai Qingrun chuckled and put down the wine glass in his hand.
It takes a hundred years to build Lu Qingshan?
If I could really cultivate like Lu Qingshan, a thousand years would not be a pity...
…
…
Haoran Palace, the palace of Li Shiyi, the master of Haoran Peak.
Although Li Shiyi lost all his righteousness and cultivation after the battle in Zhongling, no one dared to underestimate him because of the Sword Sect or his contributions.
Therefore, his palace has always been located in the core area of Yumen Pass and has never changed.
Clear and melodious footsteps sounded outside Haoran Palace.
The maid who had been waiting outside the palace saw the man walking slowly and took a sneak peek. She couldn't help but sigh:
Everyone said that this young clan leader was very good-looking, but no one expected him to be so handsome.
Not only does she have a good appearance, but she also has an even better temperament. There is an indescribable charm in her every move, which is incomparable to that of ordinary men.
"Master Lu, come with me. The peak master has been waiting for you for a long time." The maid lowered her head and said.
Lu Qingshan followed the maid into the gate, then walked straight all the way to a tall building in Haoran Palace.
"The peak master is waiting for you upstairs." The maid whispered.
Lu Qingshan nodded and walked in slowly.
Climbing up the stairs, you will reach the top without realizing it.
What caught his eye was a simple wooden table and chair. Li Shiyi was sitting by the window. There was a wine pot and two wine glasses on the table. It was obvious that they were waiting for him.
Without any polite greetings, Lu Qingshan sat down directly opposite Li Shiyi.
Before Lu Qingshan came, Li Shiyi was wandering in his mind absent-mindedly.
His eyes fell out the window and he could see beams of light constantly coming in and out of Yumen Pass, announcing the increasingly intense friction outside Yumen Pass.
Just at that time, spring rain fell, gently hitting the window, and the spring breeze brought a little chill.
Seeing Lu Qingshan coming, Li Shiyi came back to his senses, picked up the wine pot and poured a glass of wine for Lu Qingshan, pushed the wine glass and made a gesture of invitation.
Sect Leader Lu raised his glass, and the emerald green wine flowed down his throat, refreshing his heart.
"Good wine," he praised.
Li Shiyi said leisurely, "It's not really a good wine, but brewed from the peach blossoms on my Haoran Peak."
Those peach blossoms were planted by Ji Chuan.
His disciple has always been a person who loves flowers, and has an elegance that is completely different from other sword practitioners, which is exactly suitable for cultivating his noble spirit.
Thinking of this, Li Shiyi couldn't help feeling sad.
He put down the wine jug and said, "I've seen intelligence that the three Burning Moon Lords have started to make some moves recently."
Lu Qingshan stretched out his finger and gently turned the wine glass, and said in a deep voice: "Although the war has not started and the demon army has not yet entered the battlefield, the three masters have sent many middle and high-level demon cultivators to lurk outside the pass and kill our Yumen Pass cultivators."
"They are very cunning. They are divided into many teams, each of which is led by a high-level demon cultivator. They even deliberately hide their strength and let our cultivators pass on messages before they die. When the nearby Yumen Pass cultivators hear the news and rush to support us, they will cause us a second round of heavy casualties."
"The demons suffered a little loss a few years ago, and they can't wait to fight back." Li Shiyi frowned.
Lu Qingshan nodded and said, "After all, this can only be said to be a minor incident. The loss is still within the acceptable range, but the implication revealed in it is not very good."
"Since they have sent all the high-level magic cultivators in their clan into the battlefield, it won't be long before the army enters the country." Li Shiyi sighed, knowing what Lu Qingshan meant by his bad words.
"This battle is not easy to fight." Lu Qingshan said.
If you don’t manage a household, you don’t know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are.
He had known for a long time that Yumen Pass was difficult to defend, but only after he took the position of the leader of the Sword Sect did he realize how difficult it was.
The two looked at each other, with equally deep worry in their eyes.
Some things need not be said, but they all know it.
Compared to the natural bloodline of the demons, it is too difficult for human cultivators to obtain it. Once they are involved in a battle that consumes the strength of masters and their foundation, their disadvantages are too obvious.
In the Burning Moon Region, there are more than three thousand ninth-grade demon cultivators. Compared with the ninth-level cultivators in the Eastern Region, they have an absolute advantage in numbers, and it can even be said that they are crushing them.
Not to mention the existence of the Three Soldiers and Demons.
Chi Zun, Zhan Zun, and Ming Zun are all top combat forces with a level of thirty times the ninth rank and above, and a fluctuation of around thirty-five times the ninth rank.
When the three masters challenged each other to a battle outside Yumen Pass, although they were completely defeated by the three peak masters of the Sword Sect in the end, Lu Qingshan knew exactly what the situation was like inside.
——That was just a short-term victory gained by the three peak masters using their best tricks.
Originally, if everything was arranged properly, the three peak masters' special skills would only target one person, and it would be very likely that they could directly kill a demon lord.
Now the three of them were brought out to fight separately. Although they all helped to win, they did not kill even a single Demon Lord. In the final analysis, it could only be considered a miserable victory.
Because the three injured ones can make a comeback after decades of recuperation, but the three peak masters can no longer use their trump cards.
Without special means, in the entire Yumen Pass, except Lu Qingshan himself, only Yu Canghai, Xue Wushao and Zang Xiu can barely fight against the Three Masters.
And it's just one battle. If we really want to decide the winner, we will definitely lose.
It can be said that in terms of top combat power, after losing Xie Qingyun, Yumen Pass was a little stretched.
But this is the most important thing.
——The war between monks is different from the war between mortals.
In mortal warfare, the more troops the better.
It cannot be said that the number of people is not important in the war between monks, but the most important thing is always the top monks who can truly produce the most decisive effect.
"The good news is that the combat power of Yumen Pass has been steadily improving, with cultivators emerging from time to time. In just ten years, we have achieved a number that would have taken thousands of years to achieve." Lu Qingshan said with a smile.
Ten years had passed in a flash since he returned to Yumen Pass.
The reign title changed from the 17th year of Tianyuan to the 27th year of Tianyuan.
Ten years is just a moment for most monks.
But whether it is for Li Shiyi, who is rebuilding for the fourth time, or for Lu Qingshan, ten years is enough time for them to undergo many changes.
Even Yumen Pass has undergone significant changes in the past ten years.
"This is not good news at all..." Li Shiyi shook his head. Compared with the gap between the human race and the demon race, the newly emerged cultivator is just a drop in the bucket.
He said slowly, "But the people the Sect Master brought are indeed extraordinary."
Li Shiyi was not referring to Zang Xiu, but Zang Xiaojian and Qin Yitian.
Yes, among the new cultivators that emerged in Yumen Pass during this period, the most famous ones are Zang Xiaojian and Qin Yitian.
To be honest, Lu Qingshan himself was quite surprised.
Not to mention the impression that Zang Xiaojian has always had of being innocent, Qin Yitian has always been gentle in character.
Who could have thought that these two would be so outstanding on the battlefield.
Since Zang Xiaojian came to Yumen Pass, he has been actively patrolling and killing enemies. In the past ten years, he has made remarkable achievements, killed many demon cultivators, and won the recognition of the monks in Yumen Pass.
Especially when everyone first saw that she was petite and looked like a sword cultivator, they subconsciously thought that she must be extremely weak.
As a result, they really encountered demon cultivators. When the battle started, Zang Xiaojian was even more wild than the physical cultivators. He took the absolute melee route, fighting head-on with those demons who cultivated divine and devil bodies, punching them in the flesh, which made a lot of people drop their jaws.
As for Qin Yitian, she was famous for her extraordinary swordsmanship and was even regarded as the second best female swordsman after Xia Daoyun.
Xia Daoyun...
Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan lowered his eyes.
It has been exactly ten years since Xia Daoyuan left Yumen Pass.
"How much do you still need?" Li Shiyi has a good eye. Even though his cultivation has not recovered yet, he can still see that Lu Qingshan has been accumulating luck in the Eastern Region while guarding Yumen Pass for the past ten years.
However, in his opinion, Lu Qingshan must be preparing his luck in advance to pave the way for the future, but he never expected that Lu Qingshan was doing it for the so-called "advanced task".
"I don't know either." Lu Qingshan shook his head, feeling helpless.
Gathering luck is different from practicing cultivation. It follows the laws of nature and cannot be cheated like practicing cultivation.
Although Lu Qingshan is the cultivator with the highest status in Yumen Pass and the center where the luck of the Eastern Region gathers, unless there are special circumstances, he can only rely on time to gather enough luck from the Eastern Region.
Ten years passed in a flash, and his Seven Tribulations Realm advancement task was still in a gray, unfinished state.
Fortunately, although he didn't know the progress, Lu Qingshan could feel that the time limit should not be long, at most another ten to twenty years.
At this moment, Lu Qingshan seemed to sense something. His hand holding the wine glass stiffened, his pupils dilated suddenly, and he looked out the window.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Li Shiyi's cultivation had not yet recovered, and his perception was far inferior to Lu Qingshan's, so he did not find anything unusual. However, seeing the expression of Lu Qingshan, who was always calm, he knew that something big must have happened. His expression became solemn.
Lu Qingshan withdrew his gaze from the window, raised his wine glass and took a sip.
"Since Peak Master doesn't like the previous good news, then I'll give you another good news." Lu Qingshan raised the corner of his lips slightly, and said with a strange look, as if smiling.
"Huh?" Before Li Shiyi could react, his eyes blurred and two more people appeared, a man and a woman.
The man was wearing a green shirt, with a warm and gentle smile on his face that he was very familiar with, and was looking at him with slightly red eyes.
Li Shiyi was stunned, watching the man holding the hand of the woman beside him, walking towards him step by step, lowering his head and bowing deeply.
“Master…”
The air seemed to be held tight.
After a while, Li Shiyi couldn't help laughing. He raised the wine glass in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.
"Glad to be back!" he said.
More than twenty years of blankness were wiped out with just one word, without any questions or explorations.
At that time, there were clouds in the sky, the breeze blew the leaves, and the rustling sound of rain hit the window. The man could no longer bear it and shouted:
"The unworthy disciple Ji Chuan and his wife Qiu Shiyin come to see the master!"
