Chapter 50: Preparations for the Trial and a Secret Revealed

Three days later, at Deng Wenqing’s residence on Blazing Flame Peak.

Deng Wenqing, who had been holed up for so long, finally adjusted his mindset and emerged from his room. Yet, upon stepping out, he cautiously scanned his surroundings.

His eyes betrayed a profound fear of death. This was only natural; having been struck four times by an almost invisible, deadly attack, he had barely escaped with his life.

Crucially, he still had no idea who wanted him dead. He knew nothing, as if his assailant were a phantom assassin.

Deng Wenqing had been pondering one question incessantly: who could it be? He was certain it had to be someone within Spirit Sword Mountain, a fact beyond doubt, given that all his adversaries resided there.

He systematically eliminated suspects. First, he ruled out Lin Shuang and Lin Xue. Though their conflict was significant, one was within the sect at the time, and the other had fallen into his trap, making it impossible for them to target him.

Moreover, the assailant’s strength had to surpass the Qi Refining stage, requiring at least a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This realization broadened the scope considerably.

‘This is the sect. Even if those who want to kill me are audacious, they surely wouldn’t dare to do it within the sect, would they? The Beast Hunt Trial presents a perfect opportunity. If those two girls could perish during the trial, it would undoubtedly be far more suitable than an assassination,’ Deng Wenqing mused, suppressing his fear as he lowered his head in thought.

Why did both Lin Xue’s faction and Deng Wenqing believe the Beast Hunt Trial was the ideal venue to eliminate their opponents?

The reason was simple: in a risky sect activity, anyone’s death would be considered reasonable. Even if the sect elders had reservations, as long as no foul play could be proven, it would be the most convincing accidental death.

Lin Xue and her allies wished to avoid any connection between Deng Wenqing’s death and themselves or Spirit Sword Mountain. Deng Wenqing felt the same. Thus, a plausible cause of death was what both parties desired.

Deng Wenqing took a deep breath and once again made his way to Deng Taiyan’s residence, conveying his intentions.

Deng Taiyan, that old fox, maintained his usual stance: there was no issue with Deng Wenqing acting, but if he failed, he must be prepared for the consequences. Deng Taiyan would not shield him from the aftermath of failure.

The rationale was straightforward: Deng Wenqing’s value was far inferior to Deng Taiyan’s standing within Blazing Flame Peak. Should Deng Wenqing encounter trouble, Deng Taiyan would not only be unable to assist but would also have to help the sect purge its own.

Of course, Deng Taiyan would still endeavor to create opportunities for Deng Wenqing, provided it was within his capabilities.

****

Turning to Su Yun, after spending an intimate night with Lin Xue two days prior, Su Yun now possessed a clearer understanding of herself.

In fact, Lin Xue had offered Su Yun a piece of advice, bringing up a point she had likely never considered before.

What was it? That Su Yun was now a bona fide beauty, and she should never underestimate the power of beauty in the cultivation world. It was simply that Su Yun hadn’t yet encountered trouble stemming from it.

In essence, Lin Xue was telling Su Yun to learn to protect herself in the future, rather than solely focusing on safeguarding their sisters.

Their sisters were not inanimate objects; problems needed to be tackled by them first. Only if they couldn’t resolve them themselves should Su Yun step in. Lin Xue wanted Su Yun to concentrate all her efforts on future endeavors and handle the present.

Su Yun was no fool; she understood Lin Xue’s words.

Currently, she had returned to Artifact Forging Peak. She intended to use her latest artifact forging techniques to create new types of firearms. Since the principles of firearms were broadly similar, if she could produce new pistols, then new rifles, machine guns, and sniper rifles would pose no problem.

She was certainly going to participate in the Beast Hunt Trial, and this time, she absolutely had to resolve the issue with Deng Wenqing. If she couldn’t even handle this problem, there was no point in talking about helping the two girls with future troubles.

Therefore, she needed to prepare more firearms. These weapons, crafted with Su Yun’s own artifact forging techniques, required far less control power than traditional sword attacks.

For instance, theoretically, a regular Spirit Sword Mountain disciple would need at least Qi Refining seventh stage to wield a combat-type flying sword. The flying sword’s attack method was akin to transforming internal power into an invisible, extendable hand, gripping the flying sword to strike enemies.

This combat style undoubtedly consumed a great deal of power. Su Yun, however, was different. She only needed to use power to control the firearm, aim, and shoot, requiring very little power consumption.

This was because the firearms did not need to fly long distances to attack enemies.

In the afternoon, five firearms—a pistol, a shotgun, a rifle, a machine gun, and a sniper rifle—all newly designed, floated around Su Yun.

For the sniper rifle, Su Yun chose the most powerful spiritual energy variant. Sniper rifles were meant for lethal attacks, so a higher cost was acceptable as long as it could eliminate the enemy. Her shotgun also utilized a spiritual energy attack method.

This shotgun was a close-range, high-damage, single-shot weapon.

For the pistol, she opted for the newest yet most basic conventional bullet firearm. As it was an everyday weapon, it was best not to expend her own power.

The rifle and machine gun were new, non-spiritual energy firearms, meaning they could be controlled with power, but fired conventional physical bullets.

Su Yun found the machine gun most suitable for close-range suppression fire and for fending off enemies attempting to approach her.

She had crafted several extra machine guns. If needed, Su Yun could simultaneously control five, sweeping fire in all directions, delivering a surprise attack in dire situations.

“That should be enough. For the next few days, I’ll make some grenades. With my current cultivation, I can’t use a Tier 1 conventional magic treasure more than a few times before my power is drained. It’s not cost-effective,” Su Yun stated.

Grenades, in particular, were far simpler to produce than firearms, and their destructive power was likely greater. However, their detonation required time—meaning their attack speed was insufficient. A Qi Refining cultivator, if alerted and quick enough, could completely evade them.

Su Yun currently lacked the time to research controlled bombs and grenades, so she could only produce conventional ones for now. These, if used unexpectedly, could inflict immense damage on enemies.

Su Yun began forging the outer shells of the grenades. As for gunpowder, she had plenty; she had already resolved the issue of gunpowder back at Moonfall Sect.

However, the current black powder had limited power. Su Yun felt that when she had time, she needed to find a way to enhance its potency, or perhaps explore using artifact forging materials to replace conventional gunpowder.

Soon, another three days passed.

In a desolate mountain next to Spirit Sword Mountain, a thunderous explosion echoed, scattering the birds and beasts in all directions.

At a clearing on the barren mountain, a scorched pit now marked the ground. Su Yun emerged from behind a cover.

“Heh, this power is definitely far greater than conventional firearms. It’ll certainly produce unexpected results for a sneak attack,” Su Yun said, pleased.

Beyond grenades, Su Yun had also created smoke and tear gas grenades. These were even simpler; they produced large amounts of smoke, and materials that caused discomfort when inhaled were common, with even more readily available substitutes.

With these items, Su Yun dared to say that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, if caught in her assault, would be doomed.

After all, Ray Yan had tested these creations. Unfortunately, even her most powerful spiritual energy sniper rifle still lacked the power to harm Golden Core cultivators.

However, according to Ray Yan, her spiritual energy sniper rifle was already very close to inflicting damage upon Golden Core cultivators.

Ray Yan also believed that the enchanted firearms Su Yun had created still had room for improvement.

****

Meanwhile, Jiang Shengming was not at Spirit Sword Mountain but at an uninhabited location outside it, conversing with someone who might greatly surprise Su Yun.

“Uncle-Master, is my daughter doing well these days?” a beautiful woman in a moon-white dress stood before Jiang Shengming.

“Haha, I suspected that little girl had ties to you back then. After receiving a message from your master, I understood everything completely. But you, girl, are truly skilled at keeping secrets! However, you sent your daughter to our Spirit Sword Mountain, and I must tell you, if she truly achieves success, I won’t let her return to your Moonfall Sect,” Jiang Shengming said with a chuckle.

Indeed, not long after Su Yun joined Spirit Sword Mountain, Jiang Shengming had already learned her true identity.

The person currently speaking with Jiang Shengming was none other than Su Muxue.

It was Sun Biyue who had informed him directly. Their two families’ relationship was not as antagonistic as it appeared; in fact, it was quite amicable.

Their so-called conflicts were merely superficial.

“Ah! I hid this child for so long. If she hadn’t insisted on learning artifact forging, why would I have sent her to your Spirit Sword Mountain? You already have two excellent female disciples,” Su Muxue said with a helpless expression.

Jiang Shengming chuckled.

“Our Spirit Sword Mountain has internal issues, and those two girls have plenty of trouble. However, they seem to have a very unusual relationship with your daughter. I believe they might be able to help each other,” Jiang Shengming added.

Su Muxue’s expression immediately turned peculiar. After all, she knew her daughter was a late bloomer in this path, having been a boy before.

She suspected something was going on between Su Yun, Lin Shuang, and Lin Xue.