Mortal Bones

In these past years, Dugu Qingxiao and the others had tried to inquire about Xu Taiping's whereabouts, but the answers they received were always vague.

Once, they even heard some bad news: there were rumors that evil spirits and demon wolves had been appearing near Qingzhu Residence, and even the spring used as the formation's eye had been destroyed.

If it hadn't been for Qingxiao stopping her, Zhao Linglong would have gone down the mountain and violated the sect's orders.

It was also from that time on that they both began to believe that Xu Taiping might be in grave danger, because for an outer disciple, it was quite normal not to survive more than three years in the mountains where demons and monsters roamed.

"Yes, yes, it's him! Senior brother, look!"

Zhao Linglong nodded vigorously, then threw the scroll in front of Qingxiao and continued, "Little Taiping is not only still alive, but he's also signed up for the Seven Peaks selection!"

Qingxiao opened the scroll and indeed found Xu Taiping's name listed in the roster.

"This little guy is quite impressive." Qingxiao smiled, his face full of pride.

"It's been three years. Little Taiping is probably taller than I am now." Zhao Linglong smiled and gestured with her hands.

"Yes, time really flies. Three years already." Qingxiao nodded, rolling up the scroll with a smile.

"Senior brother, even if Taiping doesn't pass the selection, I still want to ask father to bring him to the mountain. Even if he can't become an official disciple, helping with the herb garden and spirit beasts would be fine." Zhao Linglong suddenly turned serious as she looked at Qingxiao.

This was the young man she personally brought to the mountain and severed his ties with the mortal world. She had to do something for him!

Qingxiao thought carefully for a moment before nodding, "Taiping is someone we brought to the mountain together, we can't just leave him to fend for himself. I'll go with you to ask Master."

In his opinion, anyone who could survive in the outer sect for three years already had the qualifications to stay in Qingxuan Sect. Even if he couldn't become an official disciple, being a handyman wouldn't be an issue.

"That's great, with you here, senior brother, father will definitely agree!" Zhao Linglong said with joy.

They didn't think less of Xu Taiping; they just knew very well that with White Spirit Bone's aptitude, he would likely only break through to the Opening Gate realm at best within three years. Among the outer disciples, there were quite a few who had managed to break through to the Opening Gate realm, and many of them had already spent more than ten, twenty, or even thirty years on the mountain!

One of the disciples from the Seventh Peak had passed the Seven Peaks selection at the age of fifty and eventually became their junior brother.

To stand out among the thousands of outer disciples and become one of the final seven was not an easy task.

More importantly, some of the final candidates had even been formal disciples who had been expelled from the sect for violating the rules.

This was why they were already considering a backup plan for Xu Taiping.

"By the way, senior brother, the Seven Peaks selection competition is still being held at the first peak's Sword Town Platform, right? Should we sneak down the mountain and take a look?" Zhao Linglong asked, her eyes full of anticipation.

"It's still too early." Qingxiao shook his head, then explained to Zhao Linglong, "Because there are so many participants in the Seven Peaks selection, it will be divided into four regions: South Mountain, West Mountain, East Mountain, and North Mountain. From each region, twenty-eight people will be selected. This is the Four Mountain Conference."

"After the Four Mountain Conference, the one hundred and twelve chosen will be sent to the Dragon Gate Hall for the second round of competition, from which another twenty-eight will be selected. This is the Dragon Gate Conference."

"After the Dragon Gate Conference, the final twenty-eight will be arranged to fight on the Sword Town Platform on the main peak, in front of the sect leader and the Seven Peaks' peak masters, for the final round of selection. From this, the strongest seven disciples will be chosen for the Seven Peaks. This is called the Seven Peaks Conference."

Since Qingxiao had previously been involved in the Seven Peaks selection, he knew the process very well.

"This will take at least a month."

Zhao Linglong, who usually didn't pay much attention to these details, had never realized how complicated the Seven Peaks selection was. She had always gone only for the last round to watch the excitement.

"Such a long time?" She couldn't help but feel a little melancholic.

"Wait, does that mean we'll only be able to ask father for Taiping's case after the Seven Peaks Conference?" Zhao Linglong suddenly became anxious.

"No need," Qingxiao shook his head and continued, "As long as he can make it to the Dragon Gate Conference, even if he loses there, I'll find a way to have Master keep him."

Hearing this, Zhao Linglong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said excitedly in a low voice, "Little Taiping, you must hold on! If you can win in the Four Mountain Conference, we'll be able to meet again!"

"You mustn't cause any trouble during this time. If Master locks you up, we won't be able to watch Taiping's match."

Seeing Zhao Linglong so excited, Qingxiao couldn't help but worry that she might sneak down the mountain again.

"But senior brother, I really want to see Taiping's match! Can't you think of something?" Zhao Linglong pleaded, holding onto Qingxiao's sleeve.

Qingxiao sighed and thought for a moment, then said, "Let me see if I can borrow the Mountain Patrolling Mirror from Master. It should be able to display the match scenes during the Dragon Gate Conference. As for the Four Mountain Conference, we'll have to wait for the match reports from the supervising senior brothers."

"You're really the best!" Zhao Linglong hugged Qingxiao tightly.

"Don't disturb me while I'm nurturing my sword!" Qingxiao pushed her away with a look of disdain.

January 9th.

Western Wind Pavilion.

Today was the first day of the Four Mountain Conference.

"These people seem much older than me," Xu Taiping thought, feeling somewhat out of place as he arrived at the Western Wind Pavilion's martial arts arena. The cultivators around him were either towering young men or middle-aged men, or even elderly figures with a celestial air, and he was the only young boy among them.

"Qingzhu Residence, Xu Taiping."

At this point, he arrived at the registration desk where a steward was checking in participants.

"Qingzhu Residence, Xu Taiping, sign up and pick up your token, Bing-27."

The steward glanced at Xu Taiping's bronze mirror, then handed him a bamboo token labeled "Bing-27."

"Go to the announcement board ahead to find your token number, and you'll find your designated arena and opponent's token number there." The steward pointed to a large notice board near the entrance of the arena.

"Thank you."

Xu Taiping nodded, then walked toward the notice board, holding the bamboo token.

"Hey, little kid, are you here for the Seven Peaks selection too?"

Before Xu Taiping could reach the notice board, a burly man with a shiny bald head and a big beard suddenly grabbed him.