Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Chapter 509: Chapter 35: Thunderbane Subdues the Sea, Malevolent Qi Invades the Clouds Chapter 509: Chapter 35: Thunderbane Subdues the Sea, Malevolent Qi Invades the Clouds Within the Scriptural Repository, Qiu Changtian found the Mirror Flower Water Moon Record.

Returning to his seat, he laid the book flat alongside Junior Sister Xu before carefully flipping it open.

The pages were slightly yellowed with age, and the ink had grown dull and faded, evidently time-worn.

Xu Yinglian skimmed through the book from beginning to end at breakneck speed, then shook her head in confusion:

“There’s nothing wrong, are you sure the one borrowed by Junior Brother Qiu was this one?”

“In the Scriptural Repository, none of the miscellaneous books have spare copies, there’s only this sole edition of the Mirror Flower Water Moon Record,” Qiu Changtian replied.

He pulled the book toward himself and called out:

“Ah Jing, scan!”

After a long wait, Kunlun Mirror hesitantly said:

“Strange…”

“What’s strange?”

“There’s a thread of space inside,” Kunlun Mirror responded.

“A space thread?” Qiu Changtian mused for a moment, then scolded, “Ah Jing, speak human language.

Don’t talk in riddles.”

“To put it simply, if there are two separate spaces that aren’t interconnected,” Kunlun Mirror didn’t take offense and just explained, “then the creatures in this space certainly wouldn’t be able to enter the other one.”

“However, in most cases, two adjacent spaces often have many adhesions.

For example, secret realms typically have entrances and exits-these passageways that grow from the edge of a space and stick to other spaces are what you’d call ‘threads,’ like the thread used to sew different pieces of cloth together in clothing.”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“I suppose your Junior Brother Qiu must have inadvertently touched a space thread using some method,” Kunlun Mirror conjectured.

“And then he traveled through?” Qiu Changtian asked in astonishment.

“Roughly, that’s the idea,” Kunlun Mirror answered, “Pulled by the thread, he crossed over to the opposite space.”

“The space on the opposite side is?”

“Unclear, it’s a vast Dwelling Cave Heaven.”

After contemplating for a moment, Qiu Changtian turned to Xu Yinglian and said:

“There’s a Dwelling Cave Heaven inside this book.”

“How do you know that?” Xu Yinglian’s eyes widened in disbelief as she asked.

“Let’s not dwell on that for now,” Qiu Changtian smiled and asked, “Junior Sister, shall we go in?”

“Don’t forget, Junior Brother Qiu is a Refining Mansion tier disciple.

The likelihood is high that a Dwelling Cave Heaven he’d explore alone, hiding from everyone, could contain Purple Mansion Secret Medicine.”

“Indeed,” Xu Yinglian immediately felt tempted, “But how do we get in?”

“Allow me to check again,” Qiu Changtian said with self-assured ease, then turned to ask Kunlun Mirror:

“Ah Jing, how do we get to that Dwelling Cave Heaven?”

“Oh, it’s simple,” Kunlun Mirror said nonchalantly, “I’ll handle it.”

No sooner had the words fallen then the two felt the world spinning, and they found themselves in a strange new world.

Below appeared to be an island, surrounded by an endless ocean.

Above them were layers of dark clouds, which looked like tribulation clouds but lacked the ominous atmosphere that filled heaven and earth; they seemed to be just ordinary cumulonimbus clouds.

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian exchanged glances, then quickly descended towards the island below.

In the middle of the island was a sizeable town, with houses closely packed together, roughly estimated to house a thousand or so families.

At that moment, the residents were gathered in the town center, indignantly yelling at the town head.

Scores of armed guards wielding long spears were driving the residents apart with menacing intent, forcefully sending them back to their homes.

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian descended from their sword light in the middle of the town.

The surrounding guards immediately showed expressions as if facing a formidable enemy and rushed over with their long spears.

“Wait, stop everyone!” The mayor hurriedly called the guards to a halt and then cautiously approached, cupping his hands together and saying, “We have the honor of meeting two immortals.”

“You are excused from formalities,” Qiu Changtian said kindly.

“Let me ask you, have you seen a cultivator like this?”

He described Junior Brother Qiu’s appearance and attire briefly, and the mayor immediately nodded and said:

“Seen, I’ve seen!

That immortal said he was going to help us with the Thunderbane issue.

After obtaining a Lightning Avoidance Pill, he charged straight into the thunderclouds.”

“Thunderbane?” Xu Yinglian asked in surprise.

“This place isn’t very safe,” the mayor said, eyeing the accumulating rain clouds above with a look of dread.

“Please, immortals, follow me.

Allow me to explain shortly.”

He ordered the soldiers to return to their posts and then led the two back to his house.

After closing the door, he called for his wife to pour tea for the guests.

“It’s best that you immortals become informed,” the mayor said with a worried face.

“You’ve seen the thunderclouds above us, haven’t you?”

“Indeed,” Qiu Changtian nodded slightly.

“Our town is called ‘Thunderbane Town’.

According to records left in the town, that thundercloud above is called the ‘Malevolent Tribulation Cloud’, formed from the malevolent qi gathered after people die,” the mayor sighed faintly.

“About every hundred years or so, it descends over the island.”

“When the Malevolent Tribulation Cloud looms above, everyone must stay indoors and not be out in the open, otherwise, there’s a certain chance of getting struck dead by Thunderbane.”

“That’s odd,” Qiu Changtian mused.

As a practitioner of the Five Thunder True Law, he knew that such tribulation lightning clouds typically target something in particular.

They were meant to strike that specific target.

The kind of indiscriminate, wide-ranging, random killing thundercloud the mayor spoke of was something he had never heard of before…

However, considering it was condensed from malevolent qi, it might very well be a demon with its own spiritual wisdom.

“In that case, why were those residents gathered outside just now?” Xu Yinglian wondered aloud.

“Alas,” the mayor said dejectedly.

“Once the Malevolent Tribulation Cloud arrives, it stays above the island for an unknown period.

If short, a few days; at its longest, it could persist for months.”

“Initially, the cloud wouldn’t be active, but if the lightning killed anyone, the cloud would grow a bit stronger, and its duration would correspondingly extend.”

“If around thirty to forty people perished, the tribulation cloud would envelop the entire island, turning day into night, and it would remain for at least half a year.

By then, every family would face destruction!”

“Therefore, following the ancestors’ instructions, I strictly ordered the townspeople to stay inside their homes and not to go out until the tribulation cloud had dispersed, yet…”

“Oh,” Xu Yinglian, being clever, immediately understood.

“Among the residents, there’s a disparity between the rich and the poor.

If they can’t go out to farm or fish, the rich may endure for months, but the poor would run out of food in just a few days.”

“Exactly,” the mayor replied with a heavy sigh.

“I’ve already spoken with the wealthier families, hoping they could share some food to aid the poor.”

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian exchanged glances, both sighing inwardly.

The joys and sorrows of people are hard to transmit to one another.

In times of natural disaster, it’s already fortunate if the rich don’t hike up prices for grains, let alone give it out for free.

“Luckily, at that time, the immortal you two are searching for suddenly appeared, saying he wanted to rid the town of the Malevolent Tribulation Cloud in the sky,” the mayor carefully stated.

???G?.??

“Following the ancestors’ instructions, I gave him one of the Lightning Avoidance Pills left by our ancestors.

Then that immortal turned into a streak of sword light and flew into the tribulation cloud to cast his spells.”

“And then?” Xu Yinglian continued to inquire.

“And then, after that…

the immortal disappeared without a trace,” the mayor said with a troubled look.

While his demeanor seemed quite natural, Xu Yinglian possessed the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart and immediately sensed a trace of deceit.

She angrily demanded:

“You’re hiding something!

Confess at once!!!”

Startled, the mayor shivered and immediately knelt down, pleading:

“It has nothing to do with me!

Your excellency, please discern the truth, I had issued strict commands, but still, six or seven troublemakers in town disregarded the ban and sneaked out to sea after the immortal charged into the Malevolent Tribulation Cloud!”

“Later, when the cloud struck one of them dead, the remaining five or six frantically fled back to town.

I immediately knew something was wrong, only to find that the tribulation cloud in the sky had grown significantly larger, and the sword light within was gradually running out of strength, eventually dimming down…

It seems the immortal was harmed by the cloud, but it was not my doing; I was simply powerless!”

The mayor was crying and hiccoughing as he spoke, his voice choked with sobs.

Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian exchanged another glance, their expressions growing more complex.

As for Junior Brother Qiu…

what to say?

He really was unfortunate.

At the critical moment of his magical battle with the tribulation cloud, he happened to encounter villagers secretly going out to sea.

The lightning killed one, causing the tribulation cloud to grow stronger.

It was this bit of strength that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, leading to his tragic demise, a victim of misfortune.