The Heart Soul Crystal and Qi Men’s Grudge

“Gong Lingfeng just spoke to you, Little Chi. A few casual words would have sufficed; why did you need to be so earnest?” After the two had walked some distance, Su Hanxing impatiently turned to Chi Qiu, his voice laced with a hint of urgency.

“You yourself said the Gong family wields considerable power. As a rogue cultivator, how could I possibly provoke them? Besides, I didn’t conceal my presence like you did, so it wouldn’t be difficult for the Gong family to uncover my identity. It was better to be truthful,” Chi Qiu explained, assuming Su Hanxing was concerned about her identity being exposed. She then added,

“Only the Daqi Imperial Family and the Meng family knew we were traveling together. The Meng family has already withdrawn from this Yinglong Tomb expedition, and the Daqi Imperial Family would certainly not inform the Gong family. You can rest assured.”

“It seems I didn’t think things through. I wasn’t worried about my identity being exposed, but rather…”

Upon hearing Chi Qiu’s words, Su Hanxing immediately realized his misstep. He clasped his hands in apology. While he was indeed concerned about exposure, his true, pressing reason for dissuading Chi Qiu was his reluctance to see her converse at length with Gong Lingfeng.

“Rather what?” Chi Qiu asked, puzzled.

“This… it’s nothing. Oh, by the way, Little Chi, what’s your impression of Gong Lingfeng?” Su Hanxing deftly changed the subject, redirecting the conversation to Gong Lingfeng.

“I’ve rarely encountered a scion of an influential family who treats rogue cultivators with such affability. However, his true objective is undoubtedly to recruit me into the Gong family, to bear him descendants with exceptional cultivation talent,” Chi Qiu replied, her expression tinged with indignation. Clearly, her impression of Gong Lingfeng was quite poor.

“Hahahaha…” Hearing this, Su Hanxing chuckled softly, choosing not to elaborate further.

“Right, why didn’t you touch that crystal earlier? Instead, you had me touch it. What exactly was it?” Chi Qiu suddenly recalled Su Hanxing’s peculiar action and turned to inquire.

“There’s no need to worry. That crystal is called a Heart Soul Crystal. Its purpose is to reflect one’s divine soul. Cultivators in the God Concealing stage have their soul and flesh merged, so touching it reveals the color of their divine soul, allowing one to ascertain if a cultivator has reached the God Concealing stage,” Su Hanxing explained with a light chuckle, then continued,

“I didn’t touch the crystal because of the Tianyan Method, the inherited technique of my Tianyan Sect. It possesses the ability to temper the divine soul, making the souls of those who cultivate it vastly different from ordinary people. As a member of the Gong family, Gong Lingfeng would surely know of this. If it were exposed that I am a disciple of the Tianyan Sect, then my true identity would become known to everyone.”

With that, Su Hanxing spread his hands, a gesture of helplessness.

“I see. So, my divine soul glowed golden on that Heart Soul Crystal, likely due to being tempered by that golden lightning,” Chi Qiu mused, nodding thoughtfully. She was, in fact, still harboring a few secrets, such as the golden lightning fetus.

Presently, that golden lightning fetus was floating and sinking within the Sea of Consciousness in her mind, absorbing and exhaling golden tribulation lightning. This tribulation lightning possessed immense power, yet it caused Chi Qiu no harm whatsoever.

As they walked and conversed, the two quickly reached the end of the path. There, several cultivators clad in robes adorned with Bagua Yin-Yang diagrams stood guard over a formation. The array, roughly five zhang square, bore intricate patterns, with array flags fluttering, appearing quite mystical.

“It’s a teleportation array. No need to worry,” Su Hanxing whispered.

Hmph—

As Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing passed by the robed cultivators, one of them let out a cold snort, clearly displeased with the pair. This left Chi Qiu somewhat bewildered.

Su Hanxing, however, was stifling a laugh. He pulled Chi Qiu, who had paused for a moment, and confidently stepped into the teleportation array. As the array patterns on the teleportation formation slowly lit up, a burst of light enveloped the two, and their figures vanished.

“How utterly baffling. I wonder which sect those people belonged to,” Chi Qiu muttered, feeling slightly annoyed after being inexplicably snorted at.

“Hahahaha, Little Chi, there’s no need to be angry. Those people are Gate of Wonders disciples; they were all wearing Gate of Wonders robes,” Su Hanxing laughed heartily. Since they had seized the Gate of Wonders’ opportunity, it was only natural for their disciples to harbor some resentment.

“Gate of Wonders disciples, you say? But I recall Tan Xiao wasn’t wearing robes like that,” Chi Qiu remarked. She had seen Tan Xiao, the chief disciple of the Gate of Wonders, during the martial arts competition. While he also wore a Taoist robe, it wasn’t like these.

“Tan Xiao’s robe is a high-grade magical artifact. With such a treasure, he naturally wouldn’t want to wear ordinary Gate of Wonders robes,” Su Hanxing explained to Chi Qiu. Having sparred with Tan Xiao, he naturally knew him inside and out.

Chi Qiu nodded, yet noticed Su Hanxing’s uncontrollable suppressed laughter. Feeling a touch of strangeness, she immediately asked, “What’s so amusing?”

“Whenever I imagine other cultivators from different sects passing through this teleportation array, and then one of them letting out a cold snort, I just can’t help but want to laugh,” Su Hanxing’s lips twitched slightly.

Chi Qiu connected the dots from Su Hanxing’s words and instantly found it quite amusing herself, a slight curve gracing her lips. The two cheerfully continued for several dozen breaths, soon encountering other cultivators.

At the very front of the queue of cultivators stood a figure both Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing recognized: Tan Xiao. He was eight chi tall, with an icy demeanor, clad in a black Taoist robe adorned with subtly gleaming mountains, rivers, and a bright moon.

Tan Xiao’s reputation preceded him, and his current expression was one of extreme displeasure due to the stolen opportunity. Consequently, the cultivators present all stood silently, not daring to incur his wrath. Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing, not wishing to stir up further trouble, also stood quietly at a distance, refraining from speaking.

After approximately half an hour of such silence, a clear, resonant laugh suddenly broke the stillness from afar.

“Brother Tan, I’ve completed the cultivation assessment. I’m just waiting for your command to charge toward the treasure hall and slay that great fiend,” the newcomer declared. It was none other than Gong Lingfeng.

“Brother Gong certainly has excellent methods…” Tan Xiao’s composure faltered slightly. He gritted his teeth, enunciating each word with palpable fury.

“I must also thank Brother Tan for his generosity, willing to share this opportunity with everyone,” Gong Lingfeng replied with a smile, completely unperturbed by Tan Xiao’s anger.

With Gong Lingfeng’s arrival, the atmosphere immediately lightened considerably. The many cultivators began to whisper amongst themselves, a group that naturally included Chi Qiu and Su Hanxing.

“What is Gong Lingfeng’s strength like? He doesn’t seem weaker than Tan Xiao, but why didn’t he participate in the martial arts tournament?” Chi Qiu, finding Gong Lingfeng’s confidence somewhat peculiar, turned to Su Hanxing and asked.

“Gong Lingfeng’s strength… he should be stronger than Tan Xiao. As for why he didn’t participate in the martial arts tournament? That’s because the competition restricts participants to cultivators under the age of thirty. Gong Lingfeng was likely over thirty last year, so he couldn’t enter,” Su Hanxing explained. As the chief disciple of the Tianyan Sect, he was naturally well-informed about such matters.

Chi Qiu nodded. To her knowledge, the recent coordinated effort by numerous forces to pressure the Gate of Wonders into submission was orchestrated by Gong Lingfeng himself. From this perspective, Gong Lingfeng’s capabilities, both in strength and cunning, were indeed top-tier and not to be underestimated.

“Since everyone has arrived, let us depart,” Tan Xiao said, forcibly suppressing the rage in his heart. He turned and walked eastward without a backward glance.