Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 1054: Chapter 41: Meeting of the 4 Emperors

Following Ah Jing down into the earth’s crevice, Chen Guanshui momentarily felt as if he’d wandered into Shushan’s Fire Element Cave.

Everywhere was red-hot magma and Fire True Essence, flowing through the confined space with the circulation of air, sometimes rushing in and other times surging out, as if it were the overwhelming breath of the earth’s lungs.

“This is a natural lung of the earth,” the Kunlun Mirror explained, “Well, maybe not entirely natural, but its scale is comparable to a natural phenomenon.”

“The ancient texts say the collapse of the Southeast Heaven Pillar was due to the conflict between the water god Gonggong and the fire god Zhu Rong, where the former, in his defeat, crashed into the pillar and toppled it.”

“But from the presence of this Earth’s lung and Fire Vein, it’s more likely some vast sorcery of Zhu Rong’s, which impacted the Heaven Pillar while striking Gonggong, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Chen Guanshui nodded in agreement, “The Great Shamans of that era did possess magic far superior to modern immortals.”

“Yet, the limit of that era’s lifespan was one of the reasons,” the Kunlun Mirror sighed, “The connection between the Heaven Pillar and the Heavenly Dome should not have been so fragile.”

“In short, with the collapse of the Heaven Pillar and the breach in the Heavenly Dome, Nuwa had to forge the Heaven-Mending Stone. And what we must do now is to replicate those past deeds.”

“Exactly.” Chen Guanshui absentmindedly concurred, pondering what excuse he could use to have Ah Jing set up an art calculation shielding for him.

“By the way,” the Kunlun Mirror suddenly mentioned, “I’ve already set up an illusion technique for you, so you needn’t worry about being tracked through art calculations.”

“That’s excellent,” Chen Guanshui said earnestly, “Since no one will disturb us, I can’t wait to begin reforging the Heaven-Mending Stone… Where are those fragments?”

“Just ahead,” the Kunlun Mirror guided Chen Guanshui through the scorching wind, finally arriving at a chamber.

Below in the chamber lay thick, molten Earth Fire lava, its heat so intense that even the light was thoroughly distorted by the thermal flows.

Six Heaven-Mending Stone fragments, wrapped in profound and cryptic runic scripts, hovered several inches above the Earth Fire lava, spinning at varying speeds.

“This is it?” Chen Guanshui asked in surprise, “Not directly immersed in the Earth Fire, but using the heat flow above to increase the temperature? How long will this take to heat!”

“The Earth Fire’s temperature is too high,” the Kunlun Mirror sighed, “If you keep it above, at least you can take it back at any time.”

“If it were immersed in the Earth Fire, what if it sank? How would you recover it then?”

“Can’t you just tie it with a rope and dip it in?” Chen Guanshui suggested fancifully.

“What kind of rope could withstand the extreme heat of the Earth Fire?” the Kunlun Mirror asked with a smile.

As the saying goes, “Heavenly Thunder and Earth Fire”, since the Earth Fire could be ranked with Thunder Tribulation, its power need not be questioned.

Chen Guanshui couldn’t answer and retorted:

“I’m sure you, Ah Jing, will find a way.”

“I honestly have no method,” the Kunlun Mirror shook her head, “My expertise lies in art calculations, illusion techniques, and space; dealing with this Earth Fire leaves me clueless.”

“Guanshui, do you have any good ideas?”

“Is it acceptable to use some risky methods?” Chen Guanshui asked seriously, “For instance, methods that might involve risks…”

“No,” the Kunlun Mirror chuckled, “Even if something happens to both of us, we can’t afford any loss to the Heaven-Mending Stone fragments.”

Chen Guanshui: ……

He carefully pondered.

Currently, the problem faced by the Kunlun Mirror was similar to nuclear fusion—the Heaven-Mending Stone fragments needed to be smelted and fused, requiring a sufficiently high temperature.

The Earth Fire met this criterion, but precisely because the environmental temperature was too high, many techniques couldn’t be used.

Ah Jing had now employed a certain spell to suspend the Heaven-Mending Stone fragments above the Earth Fire lava. Although the temperature wasn’t high enough here, the interference from the heat flow was minimal, allowing easy retrieval at any time.

If immersed in the Earth Fire and stirred by the continuously rolling lava, eventually sinking uncontrolled, there would be no means to retrieve it.

Chen Guanshui attempted using the Five Elements Divine Light and found that although it could repel the Earth Fire, keeping the Heaven-Mending Stone from being swept away, the Earth Fire’s immense heat consumed the Divine Light greatly, a typical case of quantity overwhelming quality.

To sustain the entire smelting process, the required True Yuan would be immeasurably vast. Chen Guanshui didn’t want to become this “valve regulator,” thus resolutely decided to seek another method.

Looking again at the various magical treasures and flying swords, although there were some magic artifacts capable of withstanding the Earth Fire, they weren’t suitable for fixing the Heaven-Mending Stone like tongs.

After further consideration, he concluded that only a formation could be used.

“How about using a formation?” Chen Guanshui proposed.

A formation… the Kunlun Mirror pondered, since even the Heart of the Earth Chaos could be sealed, introducing Earth Fire for smelting wouldn’t be beyond capability.

“I’ll leave it to you, Guanshui,” she nodded in agreement.

Rewinding the time a few days before, the three emerging from the Feather Courtyard Gate’s secret realm quickly found themselves embroiled in an expected internal conflict.

“Where has he gone off to now?” An Zhisu wanted to continue the pursuit, but also realized that the current trail was lost, and aimlessly sailing the seas in hopes of encountering him was like finding a needle in a haystack.

They still needed to rely on Shi Liuli’s art calculation capabilities.

Shi Liuli pondered silently, suddenly hearing Xu Yinglian say:

“Let’s not talk about anything else for now. I feel that Dong You seems to know that person.”

An Zhisu: ?!

She immediately set aside other matters, staring at Shi Liuli in surprise and suspicion, wondering how her junior brother could know Dong You… Oh, they met during the White Jade Capital competition before, so that’s not surprising.

Shi Liuli, however, was not as straightforward as An Zhisu and knew that Xu Yinglian had decided to stop being evasive and get straight to the point, so she smiled slightly and said:

“I think the relationship between that person and Qiong Ying seems even more complicated.”

Xu Yinglian fell silent upon hearing this.

Of course, she had already noticed that the person was deeply entangled with both Shi Liuli and An Zhisu.

If that person is truly Qiu Changtian, then when did he provoke Jiao Xiao to the point of aggression, yet Dong You would come to his aid?

She felt vaguely uneasy, but the truth was too outlandish to guess, so she coldly asked:

“Friend Dong You, why do you ask about my relationship with that person?”

“I wish to ask the same question to Friend Qiong Ying.” Shi Liuli smiled brightly.

Xu Yinglian silently looked at her, thinking that if they continued with vague responses, the conversation would not progress.

Therefore, she weighed the pros and cons briefly and spoke directly:

“I suspect that person is Elder Changgeng who left Kunlun Taiqing Sect.”

“Absolutely impossible!” Before Shi Liuli could speak, An Zhisu interjected firmly and said, “That person is Elder Qing Heng of my Shushan, the Tai Yin Sword Master! As his elder sister, how could I possibly mistake him?”

“Do you have evidence?” Xu Yinglian frowned and asked, “I haven’t seen the Tai Yin Suming Sword.”

An Zhisu was momentarily surprised but quickly adapted and counter-questioned Xu Yinglian:

“Nor have I seen him use the Thunder Method. What evidence do you have that he is Kunlun’s Chang Geng?”

As for evidence, although the person is full of suspicious traits, Xu Yinglian indeed has no clear evidence to prove that he must be Qiu Changtian.

But she, after all, possesses a Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, and would not be stumped by such questions, so she merely chuckled and said:

“How is there no evidence? Earlier in the River Huang area, I saw him use a secret technique, derived from Kunlun’s ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra.’ If he’s not Chang Geng, who else could he be?”

“This…” An Zhisu was momentarily stuck, then argued after a pause, “The ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra’ isn’t unique to Chang Geng!”

“But who else besides my brother Chang Geng would both know the Clear Entrance True Mantra and possess the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword?” Xu Yinglian immediately countered.

An Zhisu finally found herself unable to answer and thought despondently:

If he indeed used the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword, could it truly be Chang Geng… No, it could be that the sword fell into the hands of my junior brother, but then how does one explain mastering the ‘Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra’?

Shi Liuli observed coldly from the sidelines, having already guessed that Xu Yinglian was lying.

If she truly had definitive evidence, how could she still maintain such composure? Having seen me intervene and block an attack for her husband, she would have long shown dissatisfaction!

Now she could still probe cautiously, simply because she’s uncertain whether the bastard is truly Kunlun’s Chang Geng… Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to sit still.

After pondering for a moment, Shi Liuli suddenly said:

“Isn’t this simply Qiong Ying friend’s opinion?”

“If someone possessed both the Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra and the Tianyuan Yiqi Sword, it must unmistakably be Kunlun’s Chang Geng.”

“In such situations, friend should quickly return to your sect and report, rather than wasting time here with us.”

“Exactly!” An Zhisu awoke from his reverie and immediately sneered, “If you already have conclusive evidence, just go back and seek Kunlun’s help directly. Why bother asking divination here?”

“My brother did not abandon Kunlun; he simply left the mountain to establish himself. Kunlun Taiqing Sect does not need to cause a great commotion over him.” Xu Yinglian explained seriously with her lie, “I’m personally planning to find him and ask some questions, that’s all.”

But An Zhisu, being stubborn in nature, refused to believe her regardless of how much she said, and coldly replied:

“If Kunlun Taiqing Sect desires the Tai Yin Suming Sword, then I advise you to give up that thought, or else sooner or later, we’ll have to clash with Shushan.”

Xu Yinglian was left speechless, thinking that she only came to find her brother’s whereabouts, how did it get connected to the Tai Yin Suming Sword? Besides, why are you so certain that he’s Shushan’s Qing Heng, Tai Yin Sword Master?

Shi Liuli watched the verbal conflict between the two and sighed incessantly in her heart.

If it weren’t for the divination showing it to be true, who could have imagined that bastard having three identities simultaneously?

She didn’t intend to resolve the misunderstanding, only wishing to see the quarrel continue, hoping their relationships worsen, avoiding any future possibilities of alliance.

But not long after, a black wind suddenly attacked from the horizon, sweetly laughing and asked:

“Dare I ask the three friends, have you seen my husband?”

As soon as her words fell, whether it was Xu Yinglian, An Zhisu, or Shi Liuli, they all immediately stopped their conversation, adopting a stance as if facing a formidable enemy.

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com

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