Chapter Thirty-One: You Qing’s Scheme

Qinglan was somewhat helpless in the face of Yuedong’s fiery enthusiasm, and hurriedly backed away several steps for fear of being caught in the blast.

A tongue of flame suddenly burst forth and spread wildly, swiftly devouring the surrounding rocks and transforming them into a sea of fire.

Yuedong’s figure flickered in and out of view amid the flames. The fire raged without pause, leaping recklessly—gathering into clusters one moment, scattering the next—so that the surroundings brightened and dimmed by turns.

Tiny black particles drifted through the blaze. Qinglan focused her eyes and realized that they were grains of sand scorched black by the intense heat.

Yuedong’s Quicksand Art was fighting against the Flame-Tongue Formation.

Within the formation, Yuedong manipulated the streams of sand and dust with an expression of excitement. At times they scattered like stardust; at others they gathered into barriers, endlessly weaving themselves into ropes, swords, shields, and more.

The searing grains of sand left scar after scar across his body, yet he was completely absorbed in the battle and paid them no heed.

Outside the formation, Qinglan idly toyed with a blade of grass. Its emerald green color danced between her fingers, but she could not help growing impatient.

Why had Yuedong still not come out?

Another half-day passed before the fiery aura gradually faded. Yuedong finally emerged, looking rather disheveled. His hair had been singed into uneven clumps, and his clothes were torn to shreds. He himself seemed a little bewildered.

“Eh? How did it end?”

Qinglan stepped forward and took a closer look, rendered speechless. “The fire within this Golden Sun Fungus has nearly all been beaten out by you.”

The spirit herb had withered completely. Its leaves drooped limply, their edges curling inward as though it had retreated into itself.

Yuedong froze, then said sheepishly, “I forgot… That should still count, right?”

Qinglan narrowed her eyes, uncertain. “The elder only said to bring it back for exchange. He never specified anything else. It should be acceptable.”

She stepped forward and pulled out the Golden Sun Fungus. Seeing the turbulent spiritual energy surging around Yuedong, she asked curiously, “Did you gain a great deal from that?”

Yuedong nodded vigorously. “Yes! My Sandstorm Formation originally had only the abilities to imprison and devour, but neither was especially powerful. After fighting this Flame-Tongue Formation, I gained much finer control over the quicksand.”

Qinglan raised her brows slightly. “Good. Let’s move on to the next one.”

…

Several days passed in succession. The two of them took turns breaking the formations, growing more proficient with every attempt. Their movements became as smooth as flowing clouds and running water, and they could almost break four formations in a single day.

Just as Qinglan discovered another Azure Sky Flower, Yuedong was about to step forward when she stopped him.

A group led by You Qing silently appeared behind them.

Qinglan calmly swept her gaze across them and found that there were more than a hundred people in all. Nearly half had suffered injuries, and even You Qing’s face was somewhat pale. Clearly, his injuries were far from minor.

Yet in Qinglan’s eyes, his wounds looked somewhat ridiculous.

Yuedong said casually, “Looks like this group has broken through quite a few formations…”

He studied them carefully and, after a closer look, even spotted a familiar face: the boy who had ambushed them earlier. The boy gave an awkward grin, then hurriedly slipped behind the others.

“Ahem, ahem.”

You Qing coughed lightly, a hint of pain showing between his brows. He stepped forward and asked the two of them with apparent concern, “How is your collection of spirit herbs coming along?”

Qinglan cut in before Yuedong could answer. Her reply was firm. “Not well. Fellow Daoist, that question of yours is somewhat out of line.”

Her words sounded sharp and guarded, and they struck the group as especially unpleasant. A female cultivator dressed in water-blue robes immediately spoke up in displeasure.

“Brother You Qing was only showing concern out of kindness. You two are truly impolite.”

“That’s right. How can you speak to people like that?”

“We may all become disciples of the Formation Sect in the future. Why be so suspicious of one another?”

…

You Qing forced a smile. Once everyone had finished speaking, he raised a hand to silence them. An apologetic expression appeared on his face.

“I’m sorry. I was too forward. I only thought that, if you were unable to complete the trial, you could join us…”

“There’s no need,” Qinglan replied coldly.

The female cultivator skilled in water techniques could no longer restrain herself and spoke again, her voice carrying clear displeasure.

“You really don’t know how to appreciate kindness! Look at how quickly so many of us can break formations by working together. If this continues, every one of us can become an inner sect disciple!”

Yuedong frowned upon hearing this. He knew perfectly well that the Formation Sect’s trial could not be so simple. If people could reach the end merely by forming a large group, that would be underestimating the sect’s wisdom far too much.

Qinglan gave a half-smile. “Oh? All of you can pass?”

She took a small step forward, her words sharp as needles as she struck directly at the group’s central problem.

“Who will break the formations? How will the spirit herbs be divided afterward? And if someone is injured, who will care for them?”

The female cultivator was rendered speechless for a moment. Forcing herself to remain composed, she said, “Naturally, every harvest will be divided equally! Besides, with Brother You Qing here, how could we be injured so easily?”

The corners of Qinglan’s lips lifted slightly. “Then why does he look so gravely wounded and weak? Can a leader like that really guide you all to the end?”

The female cultivator flew into a rage. “You! Brother You Qing is merely injured for the moment. He’ll recover completely very soon!”

Qinglan let out a derisive laugh. “I hope things go as you wish.”

The female cultivator failed to notice that, as her exchange with Qinglan continued, You Qing’s expression grew darker and darker. He appeared to maintain a gentle, composed smile, but it was already on the verge of breaking.

In truth, he had cursed her countless times in his heart.

Idiot!

He had carefully arranged everything. He had deliberately injured himself so that he could avoid breaking the formations.

Now, after being needled so thoroughly by the wood-element cultivator before him, he could no longer keep up the act for much longer.

He was utterly exasperated.

…

Seeing that her objective had been achieved, Qinglan felt no need to show mercy. Since the other party had insisted on making things unpleasant for her, she would not hold back. There was no point in pretending to be apologetic after doing something one ought not to have done.

She did not particularly need this Azure Sky Flower anyway, so she pulled Yuedong away and left with satisfaction.

Only then did You Qing truly grow angry as he watched her retreating figure.

The female cultivator came to his side, brimming with confidence and tender concern. In a soft voice, she said, “Brother You Qing, you’ll recover soon. I’ll be waiting for you to obtain the Purple Spirit Mark and become the finest inner sect disciple!”

You Qing managed a faint smile. His eyes shifted, and he sighed helplessly.

“Alas, perhaps our temple is simply too small to accommodate those two great figures…”

Seeing displeasure appear on several faces, he continued, “Perhaps they possess some special method for obtaining large quantities of spirit herbs. That must be why they look down on joining us.”

The woman in blue saw that Qinglan had ignored him, yet he was still speaking in her defense. Resentment rose in her heart.

“Brother You Qing, you’re simply too kind. They are only two people. Even if they possess extraordinary abilities, how many spirit herbs could they possibly obtain? How could they compare with all of us?”

You Qing ignored her completely and continued sighing to himself.

“Among wood-element cultivators, some are naturally sensitive to the aura of spiritual objects. Perhaps that female cultivator is one of them. If only I possessed such a talent, I could discover more spirit herbs and help everyone advance to the Purple Spirit Mark…”

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the surrounding crowd. When he noticed several people’s expressions flickering uncertainly, he knew that his objective had been achieved, and he smiled with satisfaction.

That night, while recovering from his injuries, he sensed more than a dozen figures quietly slipping away.

He slowly opened his eyes, cold, sinister triumph filling his gaze.

Go on. It would be best if you seized their spirit herbs and then gravely wounded them, leaving them no chance at all of becoming disciples of the Formation Sect.