“You’re giving me a gift?” Liu Zijin was slightly surprised.

“Junior Brother Taiping, treasures from the mountain should not be taken down by a Junior Sister.”

At this moment, Du Qianjiang reminded Xu Taiping.

“It’s not any treasure.” Xu Taiping lifted a small wooden box that he had been tucking under his arm with one hand and then used the other hand to open the lid.

As soon as the lid was lifted, a bright golden light shone out from the box.

Everyone looked closely, speechless.

It turned out that Xu Taiping had brought a box of gold.

However, soon after, the jovial Peak Master Shen said:

“Still, Taiping, you’ve thought this through. Down the mountain, this stuff is more useful than any elixir or magical treasure.”

“Thank you.”

Liu Zijin also smiled happily at this moment, then took the box that Xu Taiping handed to her.

What made her happy was not what Xu Taiping had given her, but that in the vast Qingxuan Sect, there were still people who cared about her.

“Liu Zijin, now that you’ve seen the person, it’s time to hit the road.”

At this time, the Spirit Crane urged again with its grey wings.

Hearing this, Liu Zijin’s eyes dimmed again, but soon she squeezed out a smile on her somewhat haggard face and said:

“Goodbye, Junior Brother Taiping.”

As she spoke, she clutched the box of gold tightly.

“Goodbye.”

Xu Taiping also smiled and nodded.

…

Outside the mountain.

In a lush mountain forest.

Liu Zijin stood alone under a huge fir tree.

Above her, in the sky of the forest, a Spirit Crane was slowly disappearing into the horizon.

Staring at the small path in the forest ahead, Liu Zijin stood there in a daze.

Despite her calm and composed demeanor when bidding farewell to her master and the others, it was all a facade to reassure those who still cared about her.

In reality, she was still feeling desperate and powerless.

She had no idea how to continue living after losing her sister, losing her Spiritual Bones, and being unable to avenge her great grudge.

“I’m sorry, Master, Senior Brother, and Junior Brother Taiping, I might disappoint you once again, but this will be the last time.”

Liu Zijin stood motionless, murmuring to herself.

Then, she put down the box of gold given by Xu Taiping and took out a dagger for self-defense from her waist, drawing it from its sheath.

She had no motivation to leave this mountain and enter the mundane world.

“Sister, your useless little sister is coming to see you. This time we will never be apart.”

As she said this, she pointed the dagger at her own chest.

“Crack!”

But just then, in the quiet forest, a strange sound of ice breaking suddenly rang out.

Liu Zijin instinctively lowered the dagger.

Following that, the “crackling” sound continued.

Listening carefully, Liu Zijin realized that the sound was actually coming from the box at her feet.

The box that Xu Taiping had given her.

“Could it be that Taiping hid something under this gold?”

Driven by curiosity, Liu Zijin put down the dagger, opened the box, and then took out the gold ingots one by one.

When she picked up the ingots, she suddenly found that they were cold to the touch, as if they had been chilled in an ice cellar.

After removing all the gold ingots on top.

Liu Zijin saw a large block of ice that had already cracked.

“What is this…”

A puzzled Liu Zijin picked up the large block of ice.

And when she finally saw the front of the ice block, her pretty face froze.

It was a head encased in ice.

It was Lu Chen’s head.

After being stunned for a long time, Liu Zijin suddenly fell to her knees.

Then, a loud wailing echoed through the forest.

However, the sound, though heart-wrenching, seemed more like an emotional release than a cry of despair.

As the sun set and the evening glow spilled into the forest, Liu Zijin, her voice hoarse, stopped crying.

She stood up, wiped the tears from her face forcefully, and then looked at the mountain path ahead and said:

“I have no right to die here. For the sake of the sisters who met by chance, Junior Brother Taiping dared to assassinate that Lu Chen. What face would I have to see my sister?”

“If this Mortal Bones cannot walk the path of a Cultivator, then I will walk the path of a martial warrior. Even if I cannot achieve immortality, my cultivation must not stop here!”

With this thought, she placed Lu Chen’s head properly, picked up the wooden box, and with determined steps, walked towards the small path at the foot of the mountain in the afterglow of the sunset.

…

The next day, at noon, the sun was scorching.

At Five Elders Pond, on the Sword Platform.

“Boom!”

With a loud rumble, the figure of Jiang Zhi, the Senior Sister of the Seventh Peak, was sent flying backward, and the blue light barrier that had been covering her and the other six disciples of the Seventh Peak, including Dugu Qingxiao, shattered in an instant.

“Ah, if only she could have held on a little longer, just a little longer, and the time would have been up, then the Fifth Peak would have lost this round of breaking the formation.”

Seeing this scene, Wu Liang, the eighth disciple of the Seventh Peak, sighed with some unwillingness.

Sitting beside him, Xu Taiping also showed a look of regret.

Today was the third match of the Seven Peaks competition, ‘Cutting Through Metal.’

This match was about the offense and defense of sword formations. The competing parties would draw lots to decide who would attack and who would defend. Then one side would form a killing array, and the other a defensive array, to see whether the spear could break through the shield or if the shield could withstand the spear.

In this match, it was clear that the “shield” of the Seventh Peak had not been able to withstand the “spear” of the Fifth Peak, and they had been thoroughly defeated.

“It’s no surprise that the Seventh Peak, which always comes in last, has lost all three matches so far, and this round they were defeated right away, and even by the Fifth Peak, which was already short-handed. If I were a disciple of the Seventh Peak, I would be so ashamed that I’d dig a hole and bury myself on the spot.”

“Their skin is thick, don’t you see? Even if they lose all seven matches, they will still participate in the next Seven Peaks competition.”

Among the noisy voices in the Cloud Pavilion, several disciples sitting behind Xu Taiping and Wu Liang, from an unknown peak, suddenly started mocking the Seventh Peak.

“You guys…”

“Eighth Senior Brother.”

Eighth disciple Wu Liang rolled up his sleeves, ready to argue with the few behind them, but before he could stand up, Xu Taiping pressed him back into his seat.

“Let them talk. Their mouths are their own. In the next match, we’ll perform well and shut them up.”

Xu Taiping smiled at his Eighth Junior Brother.

“Ah…”

Eighth Junior Brother sighed again.

Given the current state of the Seventh Peak, even he had little hope for the next match.

“Let’s go, to meet Senior Sister and the others.”

Xu Taiping stood up, smiling and patting Eighth Junior Brother’s shoulder.

“Mhm.”

Eighth Junior Brother nodded heavily, his face somber.

And as they were leaving, they overheard several disciples discussing their Seventh Peak—

“I heard that the Seventh Peak is also participating in the fourth match, ‘Water Piercing Stone.’”

“Didn’t they say one of their disciples was injured and couldn’t participate?”

“It seems they’ve roped in that newly initiated disciple to fill in.”

“That Xu Taiping?”

“Yes.”

“Does Xu Taiping know how to control the sword?”

“He’s only been initiated for a few months; I doubt it.”

“Then we’ll have a good show to watch tomorrow.”

Clearly, in this Seven Peaks competition, the Seventh Peak had become the laughing stock of all the disciples in the Qingxuan Sect.