"Reporting to Master, in addition to the ten magic treasures you gave me, my mistress and several senior sisters also gave me some magic treasures. So now I have twenty-one magic treasures."
"What are you all looking at? Aren't you embarrassed enough? Go back and rest."
That was the voice of Daoist Cangsong driving away the Qingyun disciples. If they stayed any longer, he feared that all the disciples would betray Qingyun.
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Chapter 416 Master's Teachings...
Cangsong felt very annoyed, but there was nothing he could do. He wanted to take this opportunity to spar with Lu Xuan and test his strength. However, since they were on his own turf, pushing him too hard might damage Qingyun's reputation. So, Cangsong suppressed his anger for the time being.
Cangsong had very complex feelings towards the Qingyun Sect. He deeply loved the sect, but on the other hand, he also hated it. He hated that it killed his beloved senior brother Wan Jianyi, and he hated that Daoxuan, that hypocritical and sanctimonious man, had taken the position of sect leader.
He secretly allied himself with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, but deep down he couldn't abandon Qingyun. It was precisely because of this complex mix of emotions that Cangsong concealed himself with a blank expression every day. He was afraid that the surging emotions would reveal something to him.
Lu Xuan also took Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu back to their residence on Dazhu Peak.
"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Lu Xuan asked with a smile.
Zhang Xiaofan's face turned red, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Lu Xuan knew what had happened, but he just smiled as he watched Zhang Xiaofan suffer.
"What's wrong? You dared to directly provoke your love rival just now and even knocked her down in public. But when you come to your master, you don't even dare to say a word?"
"No, Master. I...I'm sorry. I've caused you trouble."
"Hahaha, this little trouble is nothing. However, I'm still not entirely satisfied with what you did today."
"I'm sorry, Master, I acted impulsively."
"You've just had too much to drink. Men can drink a little, it's nothing. But remember, if you've been drinking, don't do what you want to do. Especially since your cultivation isn't high enough, you'll still get drunk. And when you're drunk, it's not appropriate to make any decisions, understand?"
"Yes, Master."
"Just remember that. Also, your public provocation today was incredibly pathetic. What did you gain from that? Think about it carefully, you gained nothing! Qi Hao didn't die, and he'll still be with Tian Ling'er. After Tian Ling'er finds out about this, she won't like you anymore; she'll hate you. So, think about what you'll end up with? The hatred of both Qi Hao and Tian Ling'er!!"
"..." Zhang Xiaofan was speechless. Just as Lu Xuan said, now that he thought about it, he had indeed done something stupid.
"Master, what should I do?"
"What to do? That's simple. The best way to handle this is to cut your losses decisively. But I know you're a young man just beginning to experience love, so you can't accept that approach. Let's get practical. What should you do when faced with a rival in love?"
First, you need to understand him. Know his habits, know his hobbies. Then find his flaws and weaknesses. And expose them to the person you like. Note that you must do this casually. Let it ferment naturally, so that the girl feels she has discovered the truth about her lover. This way, you can perfectly destroy a relationship and extricate yourself. After they break up, you'll have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Do you understand?
Not only Zhang Xiaofan, but Lin Jingyu, who was standing to the side, was also dumbfounded. He had originally thought that his master would advise him against doing such a thing. Unexpectedly, his master did not play by the rules and instead carefully gave Zhang Xiaofan advice on how to steal someone else's love.
"What do you mean by stealing someone else's love? You like her too, so she's your lover. Therefore, this isn't stealing someone else's love; it's called lovers finally getting together!"
"It's not Master..." Zhang Xiaofan was about to say something when Lu Xuan interrupted him.
"Furthermore, the above are just some basic techniques. They might not be very effective, especially against someone like Qi Hao. He appears to be extremely self-disciplined, and being a disciple of Cang Song, you probably won't find any particularly bad points about him. Although this kid is deep and calculating, you can't find any flaws in his appearance. So, at this point, we need to use some more drastic methods."
“Even more drastic measures…” Zhang Xiaofan was too exhausted to respond and could only listen to Lu Xuan’s nonsense.
Do you know the best way to defeat your love rival?
Zhang Xiaofan shook his head blankly, his mind a jumble of confusion, yet inexplicably wanting to hear more.
"It's simple, kill him. A dead man won't compete with you. But openly provoking someone like you is absolutely unacceptable. Not only are you in the wrong, but you're also playing into his hands. Even if you succeed, you won't be able to leave. The key to doing this kind of thing is to succeed while also getting away unscathed. Otherwise, your lover will end up in someone else's arms."
Some simple methods, for example, you can become friends with him first. Be good friends. This makes it easier to act, and if something happens to him, you can easily clear yourself of suspicion. Alternatively, you can use someone else to do this. For example, the top four from the Qingyun Sect this year just received a mission to track down the Demonic Sect at the Ten Thousand Bats Cave, thousands of miles away. This is an excellent opportunity…”
Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu felt their worldviews had been turned upside down. The meaning of the word "master" was something neither of them could bear to look at directly. But for some reason, having such a master gave them a strange, slightly exhilarating feeling.
The Hidden Immortal Sect's principles never require its members to become saints. They only demand that their thoughts be clear and direct, directly grasping the Great Dao. As long as they don't indiscriminately kill the innocent, almost nothing else is forbidden. As for the issue of rivals in love, Lu Xuan was half teasing the two young people. The other half was actually serious.
Because love is the greatest enemy of spiritual practitioners. A slight misstep can sow the seeds of inner demons. The key is that these inner demons of love are almost always irrecoverable. A woman, once lost, is lost forever. Even if you manage to find her again later, it can't make up for a lost love.
Many cultivation sects emphasize severing emotions and desires, not because they genuinely want to do so, but essentially to prevent the emergence of inner demons.
The higher Lu Xuan's cultivation level, the deeper his understanding of these things became. A clear and unobstructed mind sounds simple, but in this world, eight or nine out of ten things are never as one wishes. The higher one's cultivation level, the more things one can handle. However, at the same time, once one encounters something that cultivation cannot resolve, that becomes a fatal inner demon.
Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu are still young and their minds are not yet settled. Therefore, some things cannot be considered inner demons. However, Lu Xuan still wanted to remind them that the path of cultivation cannot be improved through kindness and concession.
Seeing that the two were still trying to understand, Lu Xuan didn't explain further. Instead, he got up and told them to go back and rest.
"Go back to sleep. You two will be going with Qingyun Sect tomorrow for their operation."
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Chapter 417 Joint Trial
Mount Kongsang, the Ancient Cave of Ten Thousand Bats. It is a natural giant cave that plunges straight into the earth, its depths unfathomable. It is cold and damp, inhabited only by countless bats, said to number in the millions. Eight hundred years ago, however, it was an important stronghold of the Demonic Cult. The cold and dampness of that ancient cave was perfect for those evil demons and heretics to cultivate their demonic arts.
The headquarters of the Blood Refining Hall, one of the five major branches of the Demonic Sect at the time, was located here. The Blood Refining Hall was once incredibly powerful and its influence was renowned throughout the world. Later, righteous cultivators of this realm organized a campaign to annihilate it.
The Demonic Sect suffered a crushing defeat, and the Blood Refining Hall fell into complete ruin, gradually becoming a den of iniquity for vampires. However, according to clues from the Qingyun Sect, members of the Demonic Sect have recently been spotted near Mount Kongsang again. This has made the righteous cultivators uneasy.
These legends are accompanied by a piece of news that cannot be ignored. It is said that the former leader of the Blood Refining Hall, the Black-Hearted Old Man, once built a secret chamber there. Inside, he kept hundreds of years' worth of rare treasures from the Blood Refining Hall, as well as various cultivation methods. There are even rumors that the Bloodthirsty Pearl was among them.
The latter part of the message was obviously false, because Lu Xuan knew very well that the Bloodthirsty Bead was with his good disciple Zhang Xiaofan. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the entire message was problematic.