Chapter 35

Su Peng and Dugu Sheng rode the giant eagle, flying westward.

The speed of the giant eagle was astonishing; along the way, Su Peng only felt the scenery on the ground rapidly recede. After several hours, the giant eagle had changed direction several times in the air, but generally headed west.

"This giant eagle is so magnificent, its speed might not be inferior to a small airplane. From noon until now, it must have covered several thousand miles, right?" Su Peng estimated in his heart. However, this air travel was quite pleasant. Dugu Sheng continuously released a protective aura, which enveloped and protected Su Peng, making it feel like sitting in a cabin, a rare and wonderful journey.

However, no matter how wonderful it was, after sitting for a long time, Su Peng felt a bit bored. But at this moment, the sun was setting, and in this world, both the sun and the moon appeared larger than in reality. He saw a slanted sunset on the horizon, accompanied by a few wisps of clouds and a flock of wild cranes flying, creating a rather spectacular scene, which invigorated Su Peng.

And Dugu Sheng, who was in front of Su Peng, said in his deep voice, "We're here."

Without much effort, the giant eagle let out a cry, circled in the air once, and then flew downward!

Su Peng immediately regained some energy and looked down. He saw that the giant eagle had landed at the foot of a mountain. Nearby, strange peaks rose abruptly, as if they had suddenly emerged from the ground, rising thousands of meters with sheer cliffs on all sides, making it impossible to climb.

However, the direction where the giant eagle had landed was higher, but had a slope, with dense and lush forests. The area on the mountaintop was also quite large, and from the air, he could vaguely see some pavilions and buildings hidden in the dense forest, creating a rather poetic atmosphere.

"Is this the entrance to the Purple Mist Sect?" Su Peng thought to himself. The giant eagle circled three times in the air, then let out another cry and flew downward.

The giant eagle spread its wings and landed like a glider on the mountain peak, which was about three to four thousand meters high. Because the landing was relatively smooth, Su Peng did not feel particularly uncomfortable. He looked around and found that the place where the giant eagle had landed was a bamboo grove, with tall bamboo trees, but with spots on the branches, as if they had shed tears.

"This is the tear bamboo grove at the entrance. Most of these bamboo trees were transplanted by the eldest senior brother," Dugu Sheng said to Su Peng. Su Peng replied, "Senior Brother is quite refined."

"Ha..." Dugu Sheng couldn't help but smile bitterly, which surprised Su Peng. Could there be some story behind the eldest senior brother and the tear bamboo grove?

"Let's go down. I'll take you to meet the Master soon," Dugu Sheng said to Su Peng, who nodded. Although Dugu Sheng had brought him up on the eagle, it didn't mean he had to be carried down as well. Su Peng's land flying technique, though not good for jumping, still had some effect. He made a graceful leap and jumped off the giant eagle, and Dugu Sheng also leaped down.

Patting the giant eagle's wings, Dugu Sheng said, "Go find your own food."

The giant eagle, seemingly understanding human nature, nodded, then took a few steps, flapped its wings, and created a whirlwind, flying into the sky.

"Senior Brother Dugu, are we going to see the Master now?" Su Peng asked. Although he hadn't officially joined the Purple Mist Sect, he didn't consider himself an outsider and called Dugu Sheng and the Master frequently.

"Not yet, let's see the eldest senior brother first," Dugu Sheng said. Su Peng nodded and said, "I have great admiration for the eldest senior brother's demeanor and would like to meet him."

He was also quite interested in the senior brother who, ten years ago, had intimidated nearly a hundred martial artists and made them serve him, and whose influence had lasted for ten years. From his conversation with Dugu Sheng, he learned that Dugu Sheng was the second disciple in the sect, so the senior brother must be the eldest.

Hearing Su Peng's words, Dugu Sheng subconsciously shook his head and sighed, which made Su Peng feel a bit strange, but Dugu Sheng still led him deeper into the bamboo grove.

"Walk closely behind me in the bamboo grove, don't go more than three meters away, or you might get lost. It would be difficult to find you then," Dugu Sheng said to Su Peng, who was a bit puzzled. Even if the bamboo grove was dense, it wouldn't be so easy to get lost within three meters.

As if sensing Su Peng's confusion, Dugu Sheng explained, "When the eldest senior brother transplanted the bamboo, the youngest senior brother helped set up some arrangements. The youngest senior brother is very skilled in the art of the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, and the bamboo grove now forms an array. If you're not careful, even I might get lost and have trouble leaving." Dugu Sheng said to Su Peng.

Su Peng understood and thought that the Purple Mist Sect had many extraordinary people, and someone who was proficient in the art of the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams. This bamboo grove was like a peach blossom array on Peach Blossom Island.

Soon, Su Peng realized that his yet-to-meet youngest senior brother's skills in the art of the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams might be even more impressive than the fictional character Huang Yaoshi.

When they entered the bamboo grove, it was fine at first, but as Su Peng went deeper, he suddenly felt that the surrounding bamboo seemed to move. Whether he looked forward, backward, left, right, or up, the bamboo grove seemed to be constantly spinning, giving him a rare sense of motion sickness. If he hadn't followed Dugu Sheng, using his body as a reference point, Su Peng felt he might have vomited and fainted, and then been carried out of the bamboo grove.

However, at this moment, it was still manageable. Su Peng could still feel Dugu Sheng, and as long as he followed him step by step, the dizziness would lessen. Su Peng followed him all the way forward.

After walking for a short while, Su Peng suddenly felt the pressure lighten and noticed that the tear bamboo was less dense. In the bamboo grove, there was a pavilion with a stone table and four stone stools. On the stone table, there were many ancient books. A young man, who looked to be in his early twenties and was dressed in dark clothes, was nodding and reading, holding a wine flask in his left hand and a book in his right.

"Little senior brother," Dugu Sheng said with a smile when he saw this person. However, the young man was so engrossed in his book that Dugu Sheng had to call him three times to pull him out of his reading.

"Ah! It's Second Senior Brother!" The young man exclaimed, walked over, and said, "Second Senior Brother, the matter with the eldest senior brother has been resolved."

"Um." Dugu Sheng nodded and introduced Su Peng, "This is Su Peng. If everything goes well, he will likely become our new junior brother."

"Ha ha ha... I've been the youngest for so long, finally someone is younger than me!" The young man laughed heartily, even doing two somersaults, acting quite carefree.

Dugu Sheng smiled. His youngest senior brother was diligent in the study of the art of the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams but was quite carefree and unrestrained in his personality.

Su Peng also looked curiously at this potential future youngest senior brother. The young man had a very handsome face but seemed a bit absent-minded, as if he often lost focus.

"Ha ha, I forgot to introduce myself. Hello, hello, my name is Chen Qizhen. Just call me Senior Brother Qizhen," the young man said, waving his right hand, and the book disappeared. He then extended his right hand to Su Peng.

"This person is different from others. I've been in this game world for so long, and this is the first time someone has greeted me with a handshake..." Su Peng thought, but didn't think much of it and extended his hand.

However, as soon as their hands touched, Su Peng suddenly heard a crack from the young man's arm. Looking down, he was shocked to see that Chen Qizhen's arm had fallen off!

"Ah! Ah! Little senior brother! Your grip is too strong! You've broken my arm!" Chen Qizhen cried out, as if seriously injured. Su Peng saw that his broken arm revealed white bone, as if it had been severed!

And in Su Peng's hand was a severed arm, which was still moving, as if still shaking hands with him, quite disgusting!

"Uh..." Su Peng was somewhat surprised but felt that the weight of the arm in his hand was off.

"Little senior brother, it's Su Peng's first time at the sect. Don't play tricks on him," Dugu Sheng said to Chen Qizhen.

"Ha ha... Sorry, sorry," the young man chuckled, waved his hand, and a new right arm grew from his broken arm, showing no sign of injury.

Su Peng was speechless, looking at the scene with wide eyes. Looking at his hand, he saw that it wasn't a severed arm but a bamboo branch.

"Ha ha, ha ha, Su Peng, don't be upset. It was just a joke, a magic trick. Second Senior Brother, you're looking for the eldest senior brother, right? I'll show you the way."

Chen Qizhen said, pointing in a direction, and clapped his hands. To Su Peng's amazement, the tear bamboo seemed to grow legs and opened a path.

"Um, little senior brother, continue reading," Dugu Sheng said, leading Su Peng away. Although Su Peng was curious, he suppressed it for the moment, said goodbye to Chen Qizhen, and followed Dugu Sheng into the path.

"Ha ha... Little senior brother is not only proficient in the art of the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams but also in illusions. It was just a joke... He is naturally lively. Usually, there are only me, the eldest senior brother, and a junior sister here. For me and the eldest senior brother, our inner strength is at a level where we can break through any illusion, so he can't trick us. As for the junior sister... he dares not trick her. Usually, he is quite bored, so he played a joke on you when he saw you."

Dugu Sheng, who usually didn't smile much, explained to Su Peng with a smile.

Su Peng nodded, gaining a basic understanding of Chen Qizhen. He also learned indirectly that the Purple Mist Sect had few members but seemed quite harmonious, saving him the worry of the intrigue in a large sect.

The stone pavilion they had passed might be the focal point of the tear bamboo grove array. With Chen Qizhen's manipulation, Su Peng and Dugu Sheng quickly left the bamboo grove.

Su Peng looked around and saw that they were at a cliff outside the bamboo grove. The sunset was almost gone, and Su Peng noticed that Dugu Sheng's expression became more respectful, not as if it was feigned. Dugu Sheng led Su Peng to the cliff and said to the empty space, "Eldest Senior Brother, the matter has been resolved. I have brought the person holding the Four-Element Black Iron Token here."

After his voice echoed, there was silence for a while. After a moment, a voice came from below the cliff, saying...