Chapter 43: Escorting Qin Wushuang to Breach the Sect Gates

Although Qin Wushuang's expression flickered and vanished in an instant, Qin Anyu still caught it. Yet, his heart remained as calm as still water, not minding it in the least.

Qin Lingxue, on the other hand, grew somewhat annoyed and retorted, "Second brother, is there something wrong with your eyes? Which eye saw us wanting to join the sect? We came here simply to let you know that we are going to look for our parents. If you want to come, you can join us; if you don't, you can stay here. But my eldest brother has said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will not be returning to the Song State."

Having spent more than a month in the close company of Qin Anyu and Qin Youqin, she had deeply realized that a sect was nothing special and fell far short of her eldest brother. Not to mention the cultivation methods, her own combat prowess had been improving at a breathtaking speed, not to mention that nameless cultivation technique that caused her to make tangible progress every single day.

Hearing him speak in that condescending tone once again, she grew quite angry.

Qin Wushuang, however, lacked such awareness and advised her, "Little sister, your primary task right now is to advance to the Qi Condensation realm, so that you will have the ability to rescue our parents. I have already entrusted people to gather news about them. Once there is any news, I will invite some masters and senior brothers to take action."

Whether it was due to his arrogance blinding him or his genuine inability to discern Qin Lingxue's cultivation level, he failed to notice that she had already advanced to the Qi Condensation realm. In Qin Anyu's eyes, the density of true Qi within Qin Wushuang's body was far inferior to hers.

Qin Anyu then asked, "Do you have any news right now?"

Qin Wushuang shook his head. "Not yet."

He then turned to Qin Lingxue and said, "Little sister, it is extremely difficult for you to take these two and search without any destination. If you run into the enemy, will you even be able to protect them?"

Qin Anyu said calmly, "If it weren't for little sister wanting to come, I wouldn't have bothered coming at all. You are also in the Qi Condensation realm; haven't you noticed that among the four of us, you are the worst? Having cultivated in the Wuyuan Sect for all these years, have you learned nothing about observing with your heart?"

Seeing that he remained as blind as ever, Qin Anyu felt he had to give him a reminder.

Qin Wushuang instantly grew furious. "I am the worst..."

Qin Lingxue immediately interrupted him, "Second brother, the medicinal herbs from last time were all harvested by Big Brother and Sister Youqin. You must have benefited greatly from using them. Both Sister Youqin and I can independently slay Qi Condensation realm beasts. Have you ever killed one?"

When they were emerging from the collapsing mystic realm, the beasts beneath the precipitous cliff had been running amok. Although they had all been toyed with by the three of them, under the influence of the miasma, the beasts had grown emboldened and still launched attacks against them. The ultimate result was that every single attacker was slain.

She produced a three-hundred-year-old mortal-grade medicinal herb. "Second brother, can you trade for herbs like the ones from last time within the sect? Let me tell you, I have advanced to the Qi Condensation realm, and Big Brother and Sister Youqin have advanced as well. We could use herbs like this as we pleased, though we don't even need them anymore now."

This time, it was Qin Wushuang's turn to be astonished. He was not only shocked that all three of them had broken through to the Qi Condensation realm, but also stunned by the herb in her hand—especially the five words "as we pleased."

Qin Anyu stated, "According to the intelligence I gathered, our parents have already been captured and taken to the Dali Kingdom. It seems I told you about this last time as well. If you wish to participate in the rescue, come along; if not, we won't force you. But I must tell you that after rescuing our parents, we will be leaving this plane."

This barrage of information completely short-circuited Qin Wushuang's brain.

Last time, he hadn't paid attention to a single word Qin Anyu had said.

Captured and taken to the Dali Kingdom? Had he mentioned that?

And what did "leaving this plane" even mean?

Qin Lingxue didn't give him time to react, adding, "After rescuing our parents, we will go to a higher-level plane. By then, you'll be the only one left here."

Only then did Qin Wushuang snap out of his daze. "What plane?"

Qin Lingxue, having already learned about these concepts from Qin Anyu, replied, "Our plane is called the Lingqiao plane, where the highest cultivation realm one can reach is merely the Qi Condensation realm. To cultivate to higher realms, one must step out. The reason those seniors in the sect gradually vanished is likely because they walked out."

The continuous disappearance of mid-stage and late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators within the Wuyuan Sect was widely whispered about among the sect's Qi Condensation practitioners. Ordinary disciples were simply unaware of it, and even those who caught wind of the rumors assumed it was just death by natural causes.

Qin Wushuang was also aware of those rumors, but upon hearing Qin Lingxue's words, a thunderous roar echoed in his mind, and his perspective instantly broadened.

So that was how it was. There were even higher-level planes, and he certainly ought to go.

Without hesitation, he said, "Wait a moment, I'm coming with you."

Qin Lingxue tossed a three-foot storage ring to him. "Didn't you used to envy other people for having storage rings? Here."

Qin Wushuang glanced at the storage ring, then looked at her, and finally looked at Qin Anyu and Qin Youqin. "You aren't going to use it yourself?"

Qin Lingxue giggled. "Who says we aren't? We all have them. Big Brother killed quite a few mid-stage Qi Condensation experts from the Putian Sect and harvested plenty. Hurry up and get ready, we're pressed for time."

After he caught the storage ring and ran back into the sect, Qin Youqin smiled and said, "Young Master, Young Miss, Second Young Master probably saw us carrying bundles of luggage and misunderstood."

Qin Lingxue nodded. "That must be it."

Turning to Qin Anyu, she asked, "Big Brother, can you really tell the difference between the Qi Condensation realm and the Breath Gathering realm with your naked eyes?"

Faced with this question, he was momentarily taken aback as well. "Can't you guys tell?"

Both of them shook their heads, their eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, realizing a moment later that the issue stemmed from his own immensely powerful spiritual soul. Their spiritual souls were at a normal level, so they couldn't discern it. An embarrassed look crossed his face. "Perhaps I have some special abilities."

He immediately made a mental decision to impart soul-cultivation techniques to them later, striving to substantially enhance their soul power before they found their parents.

After waiting for two hours without seeing Qin Wushuang emerge, Qin Anyu frowned. He told the two of them to wait here and walked toward the gate guard commander, stating that he wanted to go inside to fetch Qin Wushuang.

Upon hearing this, the commander immediately refused, shouting sternly, "Who do you think you are? Don't you know the rules of our sect? Outsiders are strictly forbidden from entering!"

Qin Anyu said with a well-meaning attitude, "I am in the Qi Condensation realm, so I can go in."

The commander actually widened his eyes in disbelief. "You say you are, so you are?"

Not wanting to waste any more words with him, Qin Anyu walked straight ahead toward the interior.

As a Immortal Emperor, maintaining a pleasant demeanor toward such lackeys was already showing them immense courtesy. Since the man didn't know what was good for him, he couldn't blame an Immortal Emperor for holding them in contempt.

The commander was also a Qi Condensation cultivator. Seeing Qin Anyu trying to force his way in, he swung his broadsword downward while roaring at the top of his lungs, "On guard! Someone is trying to force their way into the sect!"

Before his blade could fully descend and his shout could fade, the commander was sent flying straight into the gatehouse, shattering doorframes all the way through, as a pillar of blood sprayed into the sky.

The rest of the guards were merely in the Breath Gathering realm. Seeing the commander's fate, the speed at which they had been charging forward abruptly slowed down, yet in the next instant, they continued to press forward anyway.

As members of an organization, they could not afford to show cowardice at such a critical moment, nor could they retreat, otherwise life would become very difficult for them afterward.

Qin Anyu charged all the way through. The ten guards were sent flying in all directions, some tumbling backward through the air, while others sprawled and crawled away in retreat.

Seeing the sudden outbreak of conflict, worry clouded Qin Lingxue's face. "Wasn't Big Brother being a bit too impulsive?"

Qin Youqin, however, held a different view. "Young Miss, Second Young Master hasn't come out for such a long time, which means he must have run into some trouble. In my opinion, the most likely scenario is that his storage ring was discovered by someone, arousing their jealousy and greed. If there weren't some other reason, he would have at least come out to say a word. Only in this kind of situation would he fail to do so—either he was injured, or he was imprisoned and had no chance to come out."

With that, she drew her sword, stowed her bundle into her storage ring, and walked toward the main gate.

Seeing this, Qin Lingxue followed suit, stashing away her bundle, drawing her sword, and walking toward the main gate as well.