Chapter 166: The Seventh Peak is Her Home....
The voice was lyrical and unearthly. But at the same time, it was cold, and when it entered Xu Qing’s ears, it became an iciness that pierced through all of his body, leaving him shivering. He exhaled, and his breath became white vapor in front of him. His eyebrows and hair were starting to freeze, and he felt himself going stiff from head to toe. It reminded him of times in the past when he had encountered deadly grues. Even the air around him seemed to crack as if it were turning to ice, and that wasn’t even to mention his 44 dharma apertures. Xu Qing felt like they were dead. His dharma force seemed incredibly sluggish, and his spirit seas were the same. As for his life flame, in this state, he couldn’t even ignite it!
He felt absolutely shaken to the core. The sense of security he’d acquired after getting his life flame was completely gone. And now he realized what it was like to be in the presence of someone truly powerful. They could prevent him from entering the profound radiance state!
That said, he wasn’t completely powerless to fight back. As the coldness spread through him, he could still sense warmth in his life lamp. It didn’t seem affected at all by the invasion of frigid cold. In fact, Xu Qing suspected that he actually could use it to light his life flame. That realization made his guard go up even further. He knew that he absolutely, positively couldn’t allow anyone to know about his life lamp. After confirming that his shadow was still covering the lamp, he took a deep breath and, with great effort, turned around.
As he did, he saw that there were two women standing behind him. One was middle-aged, the other was younger.
The middle-aged woman was dressed in a crimson, double-breasted official’s garment. It was embroidered in gold thread with the images of butterflies and flowers, and was as extravagant as the rising sun. However, that did nothing to dispel the iciness that she exuded from head to toe, or the seemingly endless depths of her phoenix-like eyes. It was as if everything she looked at would be turned into ice. And anyone who looked into her eyes for long enough would be shaken to their soul. Right now, this woman was looking right at Xu Qing.
Her clothing was not that of any specific mountain peak. And Xu Qing had never seen her in Seven Blood Eyes. However, he had seen the young woman who was standing next to her.
She wore a voluminous daoist robe of pale violet, which almost resembled a formal gown. She had an ancient sword strapped to her back, and her hair was tied into a ponytail. She seemed valiant and formidable, but at the same time, whatever skin her garment didn’t cover was fair and slightly rosy. She seemed heroic, but at the same time, warm and tender. In fact, she was smiling at him, and her eyes were like glittering crescent moons. This girl was none other than Ding Xue. [1]
She blinked a few times as she looked at him, an enigmatic smile playing out on her face. “Elder Brother Xu, this is my aunt. She’s the vice-peaklord of the Seventh Peak, providing assistance to my uncle, the peaklord.” [2]
Within Ding Xue’s softly spoken words were something of a warning.
Despite the fact that the vice-peaklord’s mere gaze made Xu Qing feel like he was about to be frozen, he clasped his hands respectfully and said, “I’m Disciple Xu Qing. Well met, Vice-Peaklord.”
She seemed surprised to see him react in this way. Looking him up and down, she said, “Relax.”
She could see how brightly her niece’s eyes were shining. Having been around the block herself, she knew what that gaze meant. Sighing inwardly, she reduced the intensity of the coldness in her gaze. Her voice also seemed softer as she said, “I summoned you here today to give you a mission. I want you to be Ding Xue’s dao protector for a time.”
“Aunt,” Ding Xue blurted, reaching out to grab the older woman’s arm, “we’re just friends helping each other out!”
Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever, and he remained standing in place just like before. But inside, he was shocked. For one thing, he could never have guessed that Ding Xue would have such an impressive background. Beyond that, from what he could tell, this vice-peaklord’s cultivation base gave him the same feeling as when he’d encountered the peaklords out at sea.
More than ever, he realized how terrifying people on the level of the peaklords were.
In response to Ding Xue’s outburst, the middle-aged woman’s cold gaze turned a bit warmer. Patting Ding Xue’s head, she said, “Xu Qing, I know you and Ding Xue are friends. So I’m not asking this of you as the vice-peaklord. Instead, I’m asking it as a member of the older generation. The front lines aren’t safe, but Ding Xue has to be here. And I have other matters to attend to that I can’t ignore. I’m worried about Ding Xue’s safety, so I want you to take care of her for a month. What do you think? Once the mission is over, I’ll give you the right to leave the war at any time you want. Plus, I’ll also give you three entropic teleportation talismans.”
When Xu Qing heard ‘entropic teleportation talismans,’ his heart started beating faster. Entropic teleportation talismans were a type of jade talisman that were actually more expensive than magical devices. A single one would usually sell for more than 700,000-800,000 spirit stones.
They were also very rare, and when they appeared, people would often fight over them. Back when Xu Qing went to the Brightness Pavilion in the Sixth Peak’s Rocbright District, he had seen one, except it wasn’t for sale. Items like that could count as an extra life, as all you had to do was crush it, and it would randomly teleport you to another location. It could be nearby, or it could be 5,000 kilometers away.
This alone made it obvious that Ding Xue had specifically asked for Xu Qing to be her dao protector. After all, there were countless top experts who would fight fiercely for the chance to get three entropic teleportation talismans.
Xu Qing looked at Ding Xue.
When she noticed, she blushed slightly, and gave him a sweet smile.
Seeing that, Ding Xue’s aunt shook her head. Handing a bag of holding to Ding Xue, she coolly said, “You two make the final decision.”
With that, she turned and left.
Seeing that, Ding Xue hurried up to Xu Qing and said, “Elder Brother Xu Qing, my aunt usually stays in the Westcoral Archipelago as opposed to Seven Blood Eyes. Remember back when you escorted me across the sea? I told you I was going to visit her. [3]
“Zhao Zhongheng insisted on coming with me, and my aunt’s so nice that she gave him a medicinal pill. If you had come with me, I bet she would have given it to you instead. Zhao Zhongheng used that pill to make his Forbidden Sea dragonwhale. What a cheapskate.”
Xu Qing thought for a moment, then looked at Ding Xue and asked, “Who is Seventh Peaklord to you?”
“He’s my uncle,” she said with a smile.
Xu Qing didn’t say anything in response.
“My aunt and uncle are daoist partners, but they have differing views on some things, and because of that, my aunt moved out of Seven Blood Eyes. That’s why she lives in the Westcoral Archipelago now. However, because of the war, she came back.
“Elder Brother Xu Qing, can you please agree to watch over me? I’m here to fill out my résumé. You see, conclave disciples get assessed every so often. And my uncle wants to send me to the Seven Sect Coalition. If I want my application to be accepted, I have to have some real-life experience. By the way, going forward, I really want to focus on plants and vegetation. And that’s why I’m hoping you can help.”
Ding Xue was very direct in explaining the entire situation. At the same time, she put the bag of holding into his hands. Clearly, she was going to give him the entropic teleportation talismans whether he agreed or not. He looked at the bag of holding, and then at Ding Xue.
He had always liked the way she seemed so enthusiastic about learning new things. And whether it was the Foundation Establishment jade slips she’d given him, or these three entropic teleportation talismans, he knew he had no logical reason to refuse to help her. If he did, he would feel bad. So he nodded. Within the bag of holding were glowing jade slips that pulsed with dharma force.
“Awesome! Thank you, Elder Brother Xu Qing!” Ding Xue looked extremely excited, and even reached out to grab Xu Qing’s arm, though he pulled it away from her reach. She didn’t seem bothered by that. Smiling, she led him to a nearby teleportation portal to leave the central command base.
After that, Ding Xue would spend the evenings with her aunt, and the rest of her time with Xu Qing gaining experience on the front lines. Ding Xue was smart. Though she had fought to get this chance to work with Xu Qing, she didn’t allow her personal feelings to show. And she repeatedly got him to agree to go on special missions.
Xu Qing knew that as a conclave disciple, Ding Xue had access to different missions. Conclave disciples got better rewards. Furthermore, their missions were usually less dangerous. Most of them could be finished without going out onto the battlefield. That said, conclave disciples were tied much more deeply to the sect. If ordinary disciples got into some irresolvable conflict with the sect, they could simply leave, and no one would care. But if something like that happened with a conclave disciple, they would be hunted down and killed. In other words, being a conclave disciple came with ups and downs.
Xu Qing wasn’t envious of them. And he was actually very pleased with the current arrangement. On a daily basis, he would take Ding Xue out to accomplish all sorts of random missions. They were things like transporting goods from one island to another, taking care of funerary arrangements after battles, or tracking casualties. None of them were very difficult, and none involved life-threatening danger. When they had free time, she would ask him about plants and vegetation, and would always show her respect for knowledge by offering spirit stones.
To Xu Qing, her payments of one or two hundred spirit stones didn’t seem as amazing as before, but as the saying went, piling up many grains of sand will make a pagoda. About a week later, the missions available to Ding Xue started getting more difficult. For example, she was tasked with finding Merfolk traitors or Seazombie infiltrators.
That said, though they were more difficult, they came straight from central command to her, so they weren’t extremely dangerous. The sect was quick to provide her with such missions, which made sense considering she was trying to fill out her résumé.
Ding Xue was obviously taking the matter very seriously. Even when the missions became dangerous, she didn’t hold back from fear of getting hurt. In fact, the more dangerous a mission was, the more eager she was to finish it. Of course, with Xu Qing watching over her, she always ended up more scared than hurt, and any dangerous situations were resolved.
However, that made Ding Xue a bit nervous. This wasn’t exactly how she had planned things out. That was especially true after she realized the month time-limit for the mission was approaching. One morning at dawn, she suddenly appeared in front of Xu Qing coughing up blood. Face pale, she staggered in place as if she might fall over at any moment.
Xu Qing stared at her in shock, not quite sure what to do. Examining her more closely, he saw that her cultivation base was in chaos. Her energy was clotting, blocking her meridians. And if it wasn’t fixed quickly, she could suffer serious injuries. Face pale, she said, “Elder Brother Xu, it’s my fault. I was in too much of a rush. I know I’m weak. I really just want to reach the great circle as quickly as possible. Last night I experienced a mishap and ended up injuring myself. My aunt is out on the battlefield, so she can’t help.”
“Why don’t you just rest for a few days,” Xu Qing said. “You can finish more missions after you’re better.”
“No!” she blurted. Are you really telling me to go rest, you dolt! If I did that, then I would have hurt myself for nothing!
1. Although Ding Xue has been mentioned a few times in recent chapters, the last time she appeared “on-screen” was in the chrysanthemum mollusk scene starting in chapter 107. She was introduced in chapter 82. ☜
2. Just to reiterate, the specific title used here in Chinese is “mother’s younger sister (aunt).” So Ding Xue is related by blood to her aunt, while the peaklord is her uncle by marriage.What’s also of note is that when Ding Xue and Xu Qing met in chapter 82, she told him to address her as Elder Sister. In chapter 107, she still addressed him as Junior Brother. Now she’s addressing him differently. ☜
3. Ding Xue initially mentioned her aunt in chapter 84. Fun fact: she also mentioned her aunt in chapter 108. ☜