Cultivation: Beginning with the Heart Reflecting Heaven and Earth

Lu Qian didn't have much ambition. His current goal was simply to get through this training mission smoothly, and leave everything else to fate.

Not long after, a Foundation Establishment instructor leading a team to the Qingshui Sect appeared. Lu Qian and Mu Xue quickly ran over without wasting any time.

"You can come with me towards the Qingshui Sect, or you can stay on those small islands on the outskirts and clear out the sentries..."

The speaker was a Foundation Establishment cultivator with a long beard. He said calmly, "If you choose to act alone, come here and get a recording talisman to record your actions. Your fate will be in the hands of fate. The Holy Land will retrieve your recording talismans to determine what happened, and perhaps even help you take revenge!"

Lu Qian listened from the side, showing no intention of going to the outer islands, but some people were starting to get interested.

Because once the great battle begins, some members of the three sects of Biyue will definitely choose to escape. If they stay on the outer islands, they can intercept and kill those cultivators who escape and seize the valuables they carry. They will gain both battle merits and extra rewards. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Moreover, although the Three Azure Water Sects are only Golden Core sects and the Holy Land doesn't take them seriously, the foundation of a Golden Core sect is still very valuable to them, the Qi Refining disciples.

So soon some people chose to collect the image-capturing tokens and decided to go to the outer islands.

Lu Qian saw it all, but just watched quietly. These people seemed to only see the immediate benefits, but didn't understand the significance of the image-recording talisman.

Since they need to use image-recording talismans to record their battle achievements, there is no doubt that the Holy Land is no longer monitoring their location. If they encounter danger, their lives will truly be in the hands of fate.

Staying within the territory of the Three Sects of the Azure Waters might not be as comfortable, but the Holy Land is watching everything that happens. If danger arises, as long as you hold on, you can easily get rescued, and the danger will be greatly reduced.

As for the smaller islands on the outskirts, there are probably too few hostile targets for the Holy Land to pay attention to.

But no matter what, given Lu Qian's cultivation level, it's better for him to go with the flow; he doesn't yet have the ability to stand out.

"Alright, now that you've made your choice, come with me!"

The man with the long beard, who had just reached the Foundation Establishment stage, gave a call, and only a dozen or so people followed him onto the flying boat. This number was far fewer than Lu Qian had imagined.

The Azure Water Sect has only three sects. The Holy Land sent out more than a hundred Qi Refining disciples. Even if we deduct the people who wanted to go to the outer islands, there shouldn't be only a dozen people going to the Azure Water Sect, right?

Mu Dong sat down next to Lu Qian and suddenly leaned close to his ear, saying, "It seems like everyone here is at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, and they haven't been in the Holy Land for very long..."

Lu Qian had also realized that these people not only had cultivation levels of only mid-stage Qi Refining, but their combat strength was probably not very good either. Otherwise, they would have all gone to Biyue Sect, or at least to Lingxi Pavilion. Only those who did not have much confidence in themselves would go to Qingshui Sect.

Go to Biyuemen to earn battle merits.

Going to Lingxi Pavilion will yield additional rewards.

The only advantage of going to Qingshui Sect is that it is relatively safe, which naturally makes it a gathering place for underachieving students.

None of the dozen or so people on the airship greeted each other, probably realizing that they were just there to complete a training mission, and none of them had any interest in chatting.

In less than fifteen minutes, the flying boat stopped. The long-bearded Foundation Establishment cultivator said, "We've arrived. You can disembark now! If you encounter enemies you can't handle, find a place to hide. Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately took control of the flying boat again and flew away quickly, leaving the remaining Qi Refining disciples stunned.

"You're leaving already?"

There seemed to be others like Lu Qian, also participating in a training mission for the first time, who appeared somewhat disoriented and confused, wondering, "Shouldn't they have given us some instructions on what to do next?"

"What's the point of setting up anything? Just attack the enemy cultivators as soon as you see them!"

Someone sneered coldly, "If all else fails, just hide! Your fellow disciples from other directions will eventually advance this way. Then you can come out and safely complete the training mission!"

Seeing that the mission hadn't even started yet, and the group seemed about to start fighting amongst themselves, Lu Qian quickly gave Mu Xue a look, "Let's go!"

Mu Xue seemed more mature at this point, and without saying a word, she quickly left with Lu Qian.

It was pitch black all around, with only a few scattered lights visible in the distance. It was incredibly quiet, and a moist sea breeze blew in from all directions, bringing with it a touch of moisture.

After walking some distance, Lu Qian suddenly stopped and asked, "Do you think the people from the Three Sects of the Azure Water have discovered us?"

Mu Xue thought for a moment before saying uncertainly, "They might not have noticed at first, but the earliest group should have set off long ago, and they should have already sensed the intrusion!"

Lu Qian nodded. "The people from the Holy Land should already be deep in the territory and have begun their operations. What we need to eliminate are actually just some outer strongholds, not too difficult, but our cultivation levels are low!"

If they had enough strength, they could simply attack directly and eliminate the strongholds one by one. However, their cultivation level is not high, so they should keep a low profile.

Mu Xue seemed a little nervous, but also excited. After swallowing, she asked, "So what should we do? Should we hide?"

"Hide? Not at all!"

Lu Qian shook his head. "Stay close to me, I have a plan!"

After speaking, he activated the Star-Stepping Technique and quickly ran ahead. Mu Xue immediately followed. Soon, an inn appeared ahead, shrouded in an array. Inside, it was completely silent, but there were likely cultivators inside.

"It's probably a place where the outer disciples of the Qingshui Sect indulge in pleasure; there are probably no experts inside."

He stopped, sighed, and said, "It's a pity there's an array in place, otherwise we could have made our move!"

Although the formation doesn't seem very strong, they are only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, so it's hard to say how much true Qi they will have left after breaking the formation.

Most importantly, although Lu Qian had fought countless times against the monsters of the Myriad Laws Battle Tower in his inner world, he still felt somewhat resistant to fighting against people now.

If he were facing enemies like Wu Ling'er and Zhang Baoshan, Lu Qian would not hesitate to take action. But now, under the orders of the Holy Land, he is forced to fight against the people of the Three Sects of Biyue, and he is somewhat at a loss.

Moreover, he is acting alone now... If a group of his fellow disciples were fighting with others, he could join in, but now he has to take the initiative to find someone to fight, so his resistance naturally arises.

Seeing Lu Qian's troubled expression, Mu Xue suddenly patted his shoulder earnestly, saying as if coaxing a child, "Brother Lu, don't be afraid, leave it to me!"

The next moment, several talismans appeared in her hand. She instantly activated their power, and flames, lightning, and ice arrows surged forward all at once. The formation covering the inn was instantly broken, and a large section of the gate and the building below was shattered.

"kill!"

Before Lu Qian could react, the people inside rushed out all at once, each with a ferocious expression. One of them wielded a magical longsword and swiftly stabbed at Mu Xue. The other two, one of them tore open a talisman and released a sword aura, while the other controlled several black flying needles and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Their cultivation levels were only around the third or fourth level of Qi Refining, but their combat experience was much richer. They unleashed their killing moves right away, and Mu Xue seemed not to have reacted yet, still in a daze!

Lu Qian reached out and the Xuan Iron Umbrella enveloped Mu Xue, casting strands of light. Under the heavy attacks, it seemed somewhat overwhelmed, rippling outwards, but it finally managed to block the attack!

Mu Xue even had time to look at Lu Qian. She smiled slightly, and a small jade bell appeared on her head, casting a light screen that looked much thicker than the Xuan Tie Umbrella. She also pointed to the Canglan Dharma Robe on her body, meaning that with the protection of the Dharma Robe, she would be fine.

Lu Qian naturally saw it, and without delay, he picked up the Thunder Whip, rapidly activated the Star Step, and instantly arrived in front of the group. With a wave of his hand, he directly struck the head of the person controlling the magic sword with the whip. The person tried to control the magic sword to defend, but it was too late, and red and white splattered everywhere.

He didn't stop. He took a step forward, his muscles undulating like ocean waves. He had already used the Ninefold Waves of the Vast Ocean technique, adding an extra layer of strength. He swept the whip across again, aiming at the chest of the person controlling the flying needles.

A series of flashes of light appeared. Under Lu Qian's whip, the light shield formed by the jade talisman shattered first, and then the protective talisman flickered rapidly and turned into ashes!

The opponent swiftly used a Vajra Talisman to enhance their physical strength, and pleaded, "Don't kill me..."

Lu Qian's thunder whip still fell immediately, making a heavy bang, breaking the opponent in half. Then he stomped down on it, giving the opponent a quick death.

The last person tried to escape, but Mu Xue chuckled and stretched out her fair hand. A drop of dew on her palm quickly disappeared, replaced by a fierce chill that enveloped the fleeing person, turning him into an ice sculpture. He was then smashed to pieces on the ground.

Mu Xue's cultivation level is higher than Lu Qian's, and she cultivates water and fire Dao techniques, possessing unique water and fire spiritual power. She also has earth and water spiritual roots. Under the influence of these factors, even with the same Turbid Wave Corrosion Curse, the power she uses far exceeds that of Lu Qian.

Lu Qian's Turbid Wave Corrosion Curse was merely a control technique, while Mu Xue's Turbid Wave Corrosion Curse was a true killing move, freezing and corroding him in an instant, leaving only a pile of fragments after he fell to the ground.

After finishing all that, Mu Xue laughed out loud, then casually said, "There are still some people in the inn, should we take care of them too?"

As for the storage bags on these people, she didn't even glance at them, clearly thinking that these people wouldn't have anything good on them, or perhaps she didn't even want them.

Lu Qian felt a chill in his heart. He felt that Mu Xue was much calmer than him and did not take the previous fighting or the corpses in front of her seriously at all.

Or rather, these people are ultimately different from him. Like Mu Xue, who looks innocent and cute, but is definitely not weak, and doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people at all.

Perhaps Mu Xue had already gained some practical experience from her previous training missions, which is why she was so calm, but the demeanor she exuded was consistent with the Holy Land's style.

Lu Qian felt that if it weren't for Tao Pili's influence, in Mu Xue's eyes, he would be no different from the few low-level cultivators who died here, completely insignificant and not worth a second glance.

He quickly took the storage bags and magical artifacts from the three people. There was no time to check them now, so he put them away and said, "Those are just ordinary people without cultivation. There's no need to waste our true energy on them. Let's leave now, lest someone comes to our aid!"

Those mortals are probably doing odd jobs here, such as serving tea and water. Someone has to do all the work. The inn here is obviously low-end, so it's not necessary for cultivators to serve tea and water.

Upon hearing Lu Qian's words, Mu Xue didn't think much of it and immediately said, "Then let's go!"