sbdcsierra Chapter 487 We have no choice.
Chapter 487 We have no choice.
After leaving Jiyuan Peak, Xu Qizhou did not follow Xue Lan's advice to go to Yunhui Peak, but instead flew on his sword to Zhihe Cliff, which is behind Xuanling Peak.
With the Ascension Ceremony imminent, the entire Xuanhuang Sect was in a frenzy of activity, and even the monthly Crane Dance Banquet was canceled. Zhihe Cliff was deserted, with only a slender and aloof figure standing there.
Within a small, restricted area, the sound of the flute lingered, melodious and lingering.
"There is sorrow in your flute playing." The young man spoke to the flute player as soon as he landed, his tone gentle yet helpless.
"This is the ritual music of the sect, where does the sorrow come from?"
As the flute music ceased, Xu Qinghe, with a faint smile on her cool and aloof face, turned and bowed to Xu Qizhou.
"Qinghe greets her elder brother. The headmaster asked me to wait for you here."
Xu Qizhou remained silent, a gentle smile on his face as he looked at his younger sister. After a long while, he finally spoke slowly:
"haven't seen you for a long time."
He was two years older than Xu Qinghe, and they had been cultivating together in the Xuanhuang Sect since childhood, inseparable.
Setting off to conquer the desolate region marked the first time the two had ever been separated in their lives.
Twelve years, it really has been a long time.
"How long has it been?"
"It's only been a decade or so, which is but a fleeting moment in the life of us cultivators."
Xu Qinghe smiled gently, first glancing at the aura emanating from her elder brother, then at the Frostless Sword hovering behind the young man:
"Congratulations, brother."
"Huh?" Xu Qizhou didn't react at first, until he saw the teasing smile in his younger sister's eyes, then he awkwardly spoke:
"What congratulations? What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Have you been looking at those picture books in Ruoshui City again?!"
Xu Qinghe blinked:
"In the eyes of mortals, there are countless gods and immortals; fate and karma are merely the conjectures of the authors..."
"Nothing is as interesting as what I saw with my own eyes."
After saying this, the woman gently raised her hand to cover her lips with her sleeve, revealing only a pair of bright eyes that shone with a faint light.
Xu Qizhou was ultimately a sword cultivator who wasn't good with words, and he used all his eloquence to berate Xue Lan. He couldn't utter a single word in the face of his younger sister's teasing and joking.
The young man called upon his sword spirit in his consciousness:
"No frost?"
Wu Shuang remained silent and gently turned her back.
Xu Qizhou was deeply saddened.
They forgot that their own sword, the Legend of Sword and Fairy, also didn't like to talk.
Unable to think of a straightforward rebuttal, the young man changed the subject:
"How did Master know I would go to Jiyuan Peak as soon as I returned, and that's why he sent you here to wait for me?"
"This one!" Xu Qinghe's eyes crinkled into a smile.
"Because a disciple saw Junior Brother Du complain to you about Xue Lan."
The woman had a playful smile on her face and spoke in a light tone:
"I was waiting for the great formation of Jiyuan Peak to be broken again, but it didn't happen... How boring!"
"Something's not right with Xue Lan," Xu Qizhou sighed.
"She carries an aura of death about her." The young man slowly walked up to Xu Qinghe and stood beside her.
"It gives me the feeling that she wouldn't even flinch if I were to chop her up on the spot."
"What happened?"
Xu Qinghe let out a long sigh of relief, the smile on her face vanishing instantly, replaced by a hint of coldness in her voice:
"Brother, did you bring back what Master Uncle instructed us to bring back?"
“Of course.” Xu Qizhou flipped his hand, and a golden ball of light appeared in his hand. A sword-shaped talisman floated in the center of the talisman, and the crimson runes on the thin yellow paper flickered like breathing.
This item is none other than the Xuanhuang Sword Talisman, the most treasured artifact of the Xuanhuang Sect.
The young man looked at Xu Qinghe, his tone tinged with doubt:
"Qinghe, is there some unexpected event at this Ascension Ceremony?"
"Otherwise, why would I have been asked to bring the Xuanhuang Sword Talisman back from the front lines?"
Xu Qinghe gently bit her lip, deliberately lowering her voice:
"It's Xue Lan."
"Xue Lan?" Xu Qizhou was startled; the young man's expression was somewhat anxious.
"What happened to her?"
"Has it caused you to lose the sensation of pain again, or is it a problem with your eyes?"
The female cultivator gently shook her head: "Neither."
"Xue Lan has succeeded as the head of the Ten Thousand Crafts Workshop. To prevent the demons from using their energy to locate her and harm her... the elders of the six sects discussed and planned..."
"I plan to sever her connection with the Xuanhuang Sect's lineage using the Xuanhuang Sword Talisman."
Xu Qizhou's mind went blank for a moment.
The young man spoke very quickly:
"No... who discussed it with whom?"
"Elders of the Six Sects and Twelve Schools."
"Xue Lan agreed?"
Xu Qinghe looked into her brother's eyes:
"I didn't dare to see Xue Lan, so I asked Xiao Tong..."
"It seems Xue Lan has agreed!"
Xu Qizhou's knuckles clicked once.
"Let's go see Master."
In an instant, the youth transformed into a streak of light and headed towards the front peak of Xuanling Peak.
"Brother!" Xu Qinghe hurriedly followed, and the two streaks of light arrived at the mountainside of Xuanling Peak in no time.
The two junior disciples guarding the mountain immediately bowed to the two of them upon seeing them:
"Greetings, Senior Brother; greetings, Senior Sister Xu."
The long steps were covered with fallen leaves. Xu Qinghe smiled quickly at her two junior brothers, then lifted her skirt and caught up with the person in front of her.
"Brother!"
"Brother!"
The young man ahead remained silent, simply continuing to walk upwards.
A woman's cold voice came from behind:
"Brother!"
The young man stopped and turned around helplessly.
Xu Qinghe rarely called him "senior brother" unless she was really angry.
The woman behind him followed:
"This matter is known only to the two of us."
“My senior brother said you are the senior disciple of Xuanling Peak, and you have been self-disciplined and courteous since childhood. You should know what to do.”
Xu Qinghe's voice was a little hoarse, and there was a faint redness in the corner of her eyes.
"us……"
The woman's voice trembled slightly with emotion:
"We didn't have a choice, did we?"
The woman slowly turned around and walked in front of Xu Qizhou:
"Like Siyin, she will ultimately have to bear the sword vein power of the Longsword Sect. Yan Chengxue must keep calculating for the Thunder Kui Grand Formation..."
A single tear rolled down the woman's cheek and landed on the stone steps beneath her feet...
“Like me… waiting for your corpses in the Xuanhuang Sect…”
Xu Qizhou was slightly taken aback.
"Brother, the sect leader has started looking for someone to teach me how to operate the sect's grand formation." Xu Qinghe stopped outside Dao Xuanzi's cave.
The fallen crabapple blossoms at the entrance remain unswept, their crimson petals stinging the eye.
Xu Qinghe stood amidst the fallen petals and turned to look at Xu Qizhou:
"The tune played on Zhihe Cliff just now was the final note of the Seventy-Two Tunes of Xuanhuang—'Let's Go Back'."
"It is divided into two parts: the first half is joy, and the second half is the return of the soul."
The woman gently raised her hand, opening the restrictions on Dao Xuanzi's cave dwelling, then turned to give her brother a bright smile:
"Master Master is waiting for you."
Xu Qizhou walked into the cave and heard a woman's laughing voice behind him:
"Brother, I've only learned the first half..."