Xu Taiping tore off a page from the yellow calendar on the wall, revealing a new one — the ninth day of the seventh month, suitable for entertaining guests, unsuitable for travel.
“It’s been almost a month since Lingyue Sister fell into a deep sleep.”
He stretched and muttered to himself.
“Is the wound of that demon tiger probably healed by now?”
Thinking of the demon tiger that had been eyeing him with a predatory gaze, Xu Taiping's eyes suddenly became sharp.
After breaking through to the Opening Gate realm, the innocence on his face had completely disappeared, replaced by the sharpness of a cultivator. If he didn't deliberately restrain it, even his slightest movements could give ordinary people an indescribable sense of oppression.
“I’m not afraid of it even if it comes.”
Xu Taiping clenched his fist and looked out the window with a determined gaze.
Although only a month had passed, during this month, Xu Taiping had almost been working tirelessly to cultivate.
Because he had broken through to the Opening Gate realm, he could now abstain from food for half a month without any harm to his body and could use meditation to replace sleep.
This way, his cultivation time had doubled.
Those cultivators who could only practice for three to four hours a day naturally couldn’t compare to him.
During this period of intense cultivation, Xu Taiping had almost mastered the Ice Breath Technique taught by Fairy Lingyue. The martial technique he had previously practiced, the Green Ox Fist, had also made significant progress. For example, the Bull Rush Formation, which he could only perform with ten to fifteen punches before, he could now perform a complete one hundred and eight punches, with considerable power.
Additionally, during this time, he had purchased the "Seven Kill Blade" to make up for his lack of mid-range attack power, and he had almost mastered it.
Combined with the magical flying sword he had obtained from the ghost and the remaining Qi Gathering Pill, Xu Taiping now had at least the strength to protect himself against the demon tiger.
Just as Xu Taiping was about to fetch some water to wash up, the gate of Qingzhu Residence was suddenly knocked on.
“Is the fellow cultivator of Qingzhu Residence inside? We are disciples of the Fifth Peak of Qingxuan Sect, and we have something to ask today.”
A pleasant female voice sounded from outside the door.
“Disciples of the Fifth Peak?”
Xu Taiping's heart skipped a beat.
He remembered that the younger sister of Liu Qingmei and the one who had killed her, Lu Chen, were also disciples of the Fifth Peak.
“Is the fellow cultivator of Qingzhu Residence inside?”
At this moment, the girl asked again.
Xu Taiping was already almost at the front yard, just about to respond, when the gate was kicked open.
The barrier of Qingzhu Residence only prevented demons, not humans.
“A mere outer sect wandering cultivator, why should we be so polite to him?”
After the door was kicked open, a tall, handsome young man walked in, muttering to himself.
“Oh, you’re in the yard?”
Seeing Xu Taiping standing in the center of the yard, the young man
lifted his chin slightly and glared at Xu Taiping with a haughty look.
Xu Taiping didn’t speak, just quietly looked at the young man.
He wasn’t scared by the powerful aura emanating from the young man, but recognized his face.
Yes, this was the Fifth Peak disciple who had killed Liu Qingmei, Lu Chen.
“Speak up, why are you silent? Are you doing something you shouldn’t?”
Seeing Xu Taiping not speaking, Lu Chen immediately sneered and accused him.
“According to the rules of Qingxuan Sect,擅自闯入他人居所，外门弟子直接逐出山门，内门弟子记过一次，禁足三个月。”
Xu Taiping's disgust for Lu Chen flashed in his eyes, then he calmly met his gaze.
“Do you dare threaten me? You, a mere unregistered outer sect disciple, dare to threaten me, Lu Chen?”
Lu Chen sneered, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
“If you don’t leave my yard now, I will report this immediately.”
Xu Taiping took out a communication talisman.
This was sent by the Liufeng Hall after that meal to show goodwill to Uncle Jiu.
Although Lu Chen was still very defiant, his flickering eyes showed that he was still wary of the rules of Qingxuan Sect.
One reason Xu Taiping wasn't afraid of Lu Chen was that he knew the rules of Qingxuan Sect were strict, especially for inner sect disciples. If they made too many mistakes, they would definitely be expelled from the Five Peaks.
At this moment, the girl pulled Lu Chen back and said to Xu Taiping with a full face of apology:
“This young fellow cultivator, please calm down. Lu Senior Brother is just a bit impatient, with no ill intentions.”
Xu Taiping looked at the cold-faced Lu Chen, then at the beautiful girl, and silently put away the communication talisman.
Seeing Xu Taiping's expression soften, the girl's face immediately brightened, and she continued:
“I will compensate for the damage to the gate, but before that, I have a question to ask the young fellow cultivator.”
“What do you want to ask?”
Xu Taiping looked at the girl calmly.
“I want to ask if you have seen a woman who looks somewhat like me in the past half year. She is a bit taller than me, and her hair is a bit longer...”
As she spoke, the girl tried hard to describe the woman she was looking for.
“She looks something like this. Young fellow cultivator, have you seen her?”
After describing her, the girl looked at Xu Taiping with anxious eyes.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen, standing beside her, remained silent, but his eyes were fixed on Xu Taiping, seemingly even more concerned about Xu Taiping's answer than the girl.
“In the past half year, I have indeed met a woman.”
As Xu Taiping spoke, he glanced at Lu Chen beside the girl.
Seeing this, Lu Chen's eyes immediately filled with murderous intent, and his hand went directly to the hilt of his sword.