Lu Qingyun was deep in his thoughts in the practice chamber.
Just exactly who this Three-Destinies Old Man was and why was he so insistent on separating Qin Keqin and him?
He looked a little lost and his confidence was shattered. He was planning to use his new sword techniques during the upcoming competition and he was sure of the strength of his new sword techniques.
But against the Three-Destinies Old Man, his new sword techniques were completely useless. This caused his confidence to plummet immediately.
"Yan'Er, where are you? I need you…" he was muttering.
A brilliant flaming aura had suddenly burst out and Yan'Er was yawning sleepily, "Yes master, you are looking for me?"
For the very first time, he was actually excited to see Yan'Er. So he said, "You don't have to cultivate for so long. So many things have happened while you are away."
Then he turned to look at Yan'Er suspiciously, "You can hear me?"
Yan'Er rolled her eyes with a soft giggle, "Yan'Er just wakes up. Mm, I mean I was cultivating when I had suddenly heard master calling for me."
"I thought you say you won't be able to hear anything while you were cultivating?"
"Although Yan'Er is able to close all my senses but there are two situations when Master will still be able to disturb me." Yan'Er chuckled.
Lu Qingyun nearly fainted from the spot before he asked, "What are the two situations?"
Yan'Er laughed, "The first one is naturally when master is in danger."
Lu Qingyun nodded, "And what is the other?"
"The second one is when master is in distress and urgently needs me."
Lu Qingyun frowned lightly, "I've been in distress for some time already but why didn't you wake up?"
Yan'Er rolled her eyes with a cutely smile, "Master isn't in real distress previously. Half the time, you are hoping that Yan'Er isn't here to disturb you with Big Sister Keqin. But today, you are particularly distress so I am able to hear you."
"Erm…" Lu Qingyun had a sheepish look before he said, "That isn't entirely true but never mind that. I'm glad that you are back now."
All of a sudden Lu Qingyun began to grow solemn as he asked, "Yan'Er, recently I have fought with an old man. He is a little too formidable for me to handle. I don't understand why my sword techniques are not working against him."
Yan'Er nodded as she began to read his mental images. "This old man does look a little formidable. Huhuhu, he even tried to hurt Big Sister Xingyuan. Luckily, Big Sister Keqin was there to stop him."
Lu Qingyun heaved a soft sigh, "Indeed."
"I had also created two new sword techniques while you are away. This one is the Alpha Soaring Heavens as One and the other is the Beta Soaring Heavens as One."
Yan'Er clapped her hands, "Master is so strong now!"
Lu Qingyun smiled bitterly, "But did you see the fight that I had with that old man?"
He replayed the fight in his mind again for Yan'Er to view.
Yan'Er nodded, "He is even more formidable than master!"
Lu Qingyun: …
"That is not the point. The point is I had lost terribly." He was sighing heavily. "In a few short days' time, it will be the celestial clans' competition. I am a little worried now that this old man may be among the competitors. I had checked with the grand elders and none of them had ever seen this old man before. Therefore I think he is an intruder. Alas. I should be more wary of him. He had almost killed Xingyuan. This is something that I can never forgive myself."
"Yan'Er…" he added. "I got something to ask you for days."
Yan'Er: ???
"Do you remember when we are storming the Solitary Manor and we are up against two golden celestials?"
Yan'Er nodded as her eyes rolled up as she tried to recall it. Actually she did not have to because Lu Qingyun was now replaying the image in his mind for her to see.
"I was displaying the Supreme Burning Sword. It is a far inferior sword art than my newly created Flaming Phoenix Sword. But do you remember that when I had formed the sword energies into a firebird with the Supreme Burning Sword, the firebird seemed to have a life on its own and it could even penetrate through the defenses of the two golden celestials?"
Lu Qingyun immediately displayed the Supreme Burning Sword as he formed the firebird aura again. "But no matter how many times I've tried, I am unable to replicate that day result. But I remember asking you to lend me your strength. Yan'Er, can you tell me what did you do that day?"
Yan'Er chuckled softly, "Oh that? That is Yan'Er Golden Roc Flame and the Annihilating Fire from the annihilating force."
"Golden Roc Flame?" Lu Qingyun's eyes had suddenly lit up.
"Yan'Er can not only empower master's profound strength but I can also become a golden roc flame in place of master's sword energies. That night I was a little scare when I saw the two golden celestials so Yan'Er had unleashed my golden roc flame. Master, you are angry with Yan'Er?"
Lu Qingyun had mostly thought that the golden roc flame had to wait until he was a sixth realm expert before he could actually use it and accordingly to the cultivation books, spirit entities were able to empower the cultivators' profound aura with their own special manifestations. But he had never read that a spirit entity could actually take over his sword energies and greatly enhanced it into its own manifestations.
His firebird sword energies had suddenly become a golden roc sword energies.
Now this made sense to him!
Yan'Er was a ninth rank golden roc spirit entity. Therefore when her aura manifested into a golden roc, the Supreme Burning Sword was no longer the original.
"And what is this Annihilating Fire and the Annihilating Force?" he asked further.
Yan'Er chuckled, "So master you are finally willing to believe Yan'Er has your Annihilating Force?"
Lu Qingyun quietly nodded, at least for the time being. He was curious about this Annihilating Fire.
"This Annihilating Fire is what made Yan'Er strong!" Yan'Er chuckled.
"Erm and what else?"
Yan'Er pondered for a while before she said, "It makes Yan'Er…super strong?"
Lu Qingyun sighed. Yan'Er was just a spirit entity. There were a lot of things that was normal to cultivators but was difficult for her to describe into a proper sense of retelling.
So he said weakly, "I've thought that our spirits are linked together? How come I cannot use Yan'Er strength?"
Yan'Er chuckled, "Because Big Sister Keqin had transferred all your annihilating force into your Yan'Er!"
All of a sudden Lu Qingyun was frowning lightly.
He had suddenly remembered now;
Chapter 99:
***
Qin Keqin chuckled softly as she said meaningfully, "Please turn around. I'm going to make you stronger."
Lu Qingyun muttered as he turned around, "Huh? Make me stronger? Meaning?"
Qin Keqin replied with a delightful nod, "That's right. I am going to make Yan'Er even stronger than before. If Yan'Er is stronger, it will mean that you are also stronger at the same time."
Yan'Er hovered excitingly, "Whoa? Yan'Er will get even stronger?"
Qin Keqin chuckled, "That's right."
***
Lu Qingyun was suddenly in deep thoughts. That day, Qin Keqin had spent two hours to 'make' Yan'Er stronger and she had even exhausted a great deal of her profound strength in doing so but she had never told him why she was doing so.
Come to think of that, it was actually quite fishy…
Why should Qin Keqin bothered to waste half of her profound strength to make Yan'Er stronger?
There was a sudden heartache within him as he stumbled backward, "Is it because I really got the evil desolate force that is within me and she is trying to conceal it from the others…"
Lu Qingyun slowly looked at Yan'Er with a heavy sigh, "Yan'Er, I am not a desolate cultivator. Do you think I am one?"
Yan'Er chuckled, "Of course master is. Master is the strongest desolate cultivator in the world!"
Lu Qingyun: …
He began to shake his head and was sighing deeply.
Accordingly to the celestial records, there may be some cultivators that would be born with the evil desolate force. These cultivators would eventually become evil and uncontrollable, losing their minds to the evil desolate force eventually. Therefore all the orthodox and unorthodox celestial clans had the justification to kill any practitioners of the evil desolate forces.
Moreover there was a myth about a war between the Desolate Immortals and the Pangu Immortals. Therefore all the celestials were taught to hate the Desolate Immortals as an enemy of the Three Known Realms.
The Desolate Immortals represented desolate, destruction and death in the Three Known Realms. Therefore any cultivators that sought the desolate force were totally evil and were a threat to the common good of all the celestials.
Lu Qingyun was trembling, "I didn't seek the desolate force. Why must this accursed desolate force be in me?"
"Am I destined to be an evil cultivator in the future? That old man is right. I will surely bring upon a calamity to the maiden of my heart…"
"It is no wonder why that Maiden Yue Lingxi calls me her kind…"
"I don't know if Keqin really knows about it. But she may despise me if I tell her. I guess that I should stay away from her lest I will hurt her one day. Yes, it is better that we should break up. That old man is right after all…"
All of a sudden there was a sudden shout from Qin Keqin from outside the practice chamber, "Yun'Er, where are you? Quick, this is the last day we can go out before the competition…I'll be busy for several days after this…"
Lu Qingyun had rose up, completely forgotten what he had just reminded himself as he shouted back. "Keqin, I am coming…"
Yan'Er: …
She muttered, "Men are so complex…"