This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

The West Rat King looked at Cry Soul Real Person, who was now dead beyond any possibility of resurrection.

His eyes were glazed over.

Everything had happened too quickly.

Lu Qingshan had merely issued him one instruction—to unleash the Soul Loss Technique in coordination with him when needed—and he had charged towards Cry Soul Real Person without a second thought.

——He hadn’t even had time to react, instinctively casting the Soul Loss Technique alongside Lu Qingshan.

By the time he realized what had happened, Cry Soul Real Person was already a corpse.

???

This was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, yet he had been slain with a single sword strike.

The West Rat King began to question his entire existence as a rat.

At the same time, relief washed over him.

It was a good thing that he had cowered quickly; otherwise, he reckoned he’d be a dead rat by now.

"Let’s go," Lu Qingshan called out to the stunned West Rat King.

The West Rat King snapped back to reality and hastily leapt onto Lu Qingshan’s shoulder, appearing obedient.

With a flash, Lu Qingshan swiftly left the area.

...

Inside the inn where Lu Qingshan had temporarily settled.

"What are we doing here now?" The West Rat King looked at Lu Qingshan, who had been quietly drinking tea since returning to the inn, and puzzled.

Seeing Lu Qingshan in this state, there must be something afoot.

"Waiting for someone," Lu Qingshan explained.

"Waiting for whom?" The West Rat King’s confusion deepened.

"Don’t worry, they should be arriving soon," Lu Qingshan said, pouring himself another cup of tea.

Knock——

There was a knock at the door.

The West Rat King was startled, could it be that someone had really come?

"Is Lu Qingshan there?" The voice was cool but incredibly mellifluous.

"Come in."

The door to the room was pushed open from the outside.

It hadn’t been locked at all.

The visitors were a man and a woman, both Cultivators. The female cultivator was clad in white, her beauty unparalleled, her demeanor icy as if she were a snow lotus from the Heavenly Mountain—none other than Dantai Qingrun.

As for the male Cultivator, he appeared middle-aged, but his hair was a mix of black and white, as if it had been highlighted intentionally.

Dantai Qingrun, who had also noticed the door had been left unlocked, cast a meaningful glance at Lu Qingshan: "You’ve been waiting for us for quite some time, haven’t you?"

Lu Qingshan shook his head: "Not long, not long. You’ve been quite swift."

"Not only did you not conceal anything, but you also purposefully left Cry Soul Real Person’s corpse. If we still couldn’t quickly deduce what transpired and trace it back to you, Yuanshan Tower would be no better than garbage." Dantai Qingrun was unimpressed with Lu Qingshan’s praise.

The destructive power wrought by Cultivators during magical combat was far too terrible, often causing collateral damage to the innocent.

Hence, the Great Xia Imperial Clan had strictly forbidden Cultivators from engaging in battle within the cities of the Human Race, and they were not allowed to kill at will within the city limits.

After killing Cry Soul Real Person, Lu Qingshan did not deal with the corpse but left it at the scene. Wasn’t it so that Yuanshan Tower could find their way here through this clue?

Lu Qingshan did not agree or disagree with what Dantai Qingrun said. He took out an item from his storage ring and placed it on the table and then turned to the middle-aged Cultivator and said, "Qi Yuan, you came all this way for this item, didn’t you?"

Because each use of the "Observing Heaven" required a certain reduction in lifespan as a price, the Mirror Masters of Heavenly Secret Pavillion all had to contend with premature graying.

With such a striking feature, combined with the fact that he was accompanying Dantai Qingrun, guessing the identity of the middle-aged Cultivator was not difficult.

Of course, it was not by these features that Lu Qingshan had discerned Qi Yuan’s identity.

Qi Yuan was an important NPC in the Corps Puppet Chaos version, and as an experienced player, how could Lu Qingshan not recognize him?

Qi Yuan looked at the object Lu Qingshan had casually placed on the table, and a barely perceptible glimmer of joy flickered in his eyes.

The item Lu Qingshan had taken out was indeed a fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror.

Among the two storage rings taken from Cry Soul Real Person, one of them startlingly contained a fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror.

"What do you want?" Qi Yuan asked in a deep voice, "Spirit Stones, a Cultivation Technique, or a Magic Artifact?"

Lu Qingshan replied calmly, "I need no reward. It’s just a matter of returning something to its rightful owner."

Accepting the fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror, Qi Yuan looked at the extremely young face in front of him and fell silent for a moment before speaking again, "Consider it a favor I owe you this time. If you ever need something in the future, I’ll do my best to help you once."

The implication was that he owed Lu Qingshan a favor.

Exchanging a fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror, which was useless to a Sword Cultivator, for a favor from the Mirror Master of the Heavenly Secret Pavillion, the guardian of a mansion.

It was naturally a profitable deal.

Lu Qingshan did not stand on ceremony with Qi Yuan and nodded his acceptance.

The reason he didn’t accept any compensation from Qi Yuan was partly because he intended to gain more by seeming to decline.

Of course, aside from this, there was another very important reason.

He was not short of Spirit Stones.

The Storage Ring containing the fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror had far more treasures than he had expected.

Such a hoard in a Storage Ring could not possibly belong to a Foundation Establishment Sword Cultivator.

If he hadn’t guessed wrong, the Storage Ring should have originally belonged to a Golden Core Cultivator.

...

Qi Yuan stowed away the Heavenly Secret Mirror and turned to leave.

His sole purpose in coming here was simply to retrieve the fragment of the Heavenly Secret Mirror.

Once Qi Yuan had left, only Lu Qingshan, Dantai Qingrun, and a trembling black rat, whose teeth wouldn’t stop chattering, remained in the room.

—My heavens, who are these people?

The incredible instincts of the demon beast allowed the Rat King from the west to sense a deep and terrifying aura emanating from both Dantai Qingrun and Qi Yuan.

I dare not move, I dare not move.

Dantai Qingrun didn’t speak either, silently watching the Rat King from the west.

The Rat King from the west shuddered all over.

"I just remembered that I have a date with Afang in the kitchen, so I’ll head there first," said the Rat King from the west with a laugh before hastily making its escape, even thoughtfully closing the door behind it.

Lu Qingshan looked at Dantai Qingrun with a slight smile, "Tower Master Dantai, could it be that you have some pressing matter?"

"Who are you?" Dantai Qingrun asked coldly.

"Have I not already said? I am Lu Qingshan of the Lu Family. With the capabilities of Yuanshan Tower, it shouldn’t be hard to verify my identity, right? Why does Tower Master Dantai ask such a question?" Lu Qingshan’s smile faded as he replied seriously.

"Qi Refinement Eighth Layer, just two days ago, you were but a Qi Refinement Second Layer Cultivator. How would you explain this?" Dantai Qingrun shook her head then pressed further, "Moreover, setting aside your explosive increase in cultivation in just two days, Real Man Crying Soul was a Foundation Establishment late-stage Cultivator.

How did you, a mere Qi Refinement Eighth Layer Cultivator, manage to kill him unscathed?"

Lu Qingshan waved his hand and raised his eyebrows slightly, "It was just luck, not worth mentioning."

Dantai Qingrun, seeing Lu Qingshan’s indifferent demeanor, scrutinized him with a probing gaze.

The atmosphere momentarily turned somewhat eerie.

"Before the Spirit Possession, were you at the Nascent Soul Realm or even higher?" Dantai Qingrun changed the subject and suddenly asked such a question.

Lu Qingshan was taken aback before finally understanding that Dantai Qingrun regarded him as a Nascent Soul old monster who had performed Spirit Possession.

Lu Qingshan chuckled, "What Spirit Possession? I am merely Lu Qingshan."

"If you’re not willing to speak, I won’t force you. This cooperation was rather pleasant, though. Should you have any more information, feel free to seek out Yuanshan Tower," Dantai Qingrun left these words behind before turning to leave.

No matter what Lu Qingshan’s origins were, at least for now, Lu Qingshan was on the side of Yuanshan Tower. The benefits that could be obtained from him were tangible and visible.

She had no reason to refuse cooperation with Lu Qingshan, nor any reason to offend him rashly.

...

"Yuanshan Tower organization goodwill increased by 150."

"Zhishou Tower organization goodwill increased by 15."

"Heavenly Secret Pavillion faction unlocked."

"Heavenly Secret Pavillion goodwill increased by 10."

"Yuanshan Tower: Enthusiastic (200)."

"Zhishou Tower: Friendly (20)."

"Heavenly Secret Pavillion: Friendly (10)."