Ye Qiu was stunned. The moment he took out the stone sword, cracks appeared on its surface.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal chuckled, “Little rascal, what did I say? Dugu Wudi’s a stingy miser. A Saint giving you a broken stone sword? Toss it!”
Ye Qiu glanced at him, noticing his eyes kept darting to the sword despite his words. *Something’s off. Does he know its origin?* Raising the sword, Ye Qiu heard a *crack* as its outer layer flaked off, revealing a mysterious yellow wooden whip, less than three feet long, with twenty-one segments, each engraved with four intricate runes. It felt weightless in his hand.
“What is this?” Ye Qiu muttered, puzzled.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal fumed, “Damn, a lousy whip? Worse than the sword. Trash! Throw it away!”
Ye Qiu ignored him. Dugu Wudi, a Saint and Shu Mountain’s first sect leader, wouldn’t gift something useless. The whip had to have significance, but what? As he examined it, the Long Eyebrow Immortal persisted, “Little rascal, what’s so special about a broken whip? Dugu Wudi’s mocking you. Ditch it, and let’s hunt for real treasures.”
His insistence raised Ye Qiu’s suspicions. “Old thing, do you know this whip’s origin?” he asked.
“A lousy wooden whip? What origin?” the Long Eyebrow Immortal scoffed. “If it were me, I’d burn it.”
Ye Qiu’s eyes lit up. “Good idea. Trash like this should be burned.” He pulled out a flame talisman.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal panicked. “Little rascal, I was joking! Burning pollutes the environment. Just toss it!”
“I don’t toss things,” Ye Qiu said, igniting the talisman.
“Don’t burn it!” The Long Eyebrow Immortal realized he’d been tricked. “You little bastard, you set me up?”
“If I didn’t, would you spill its secrets?” Ye Qiu grinned. “Tell me, what’s this whip?”
“I don’t know,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said.
“Don’t know?” Ye Qiu’s eyes turned cold. He summoned his four Qiankun Cauldrons, their massive presence radiating battle intent.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal shouted, “What are you doing?”
“What else? Suppressing you!” Ye Qiu roared, “Grow!” The cauldrons enlarged, looming like mountains, ready to crush him.
“You little punk, don’t you respect your elders?” the Long Eyebrow Immortal snapped.
“Spill what you know, or don’t blame me for cutting ties,” Ye Qiu said coldly.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal laughed in frustration. “Cut ties? Fine, you take your path, I’ll take mine!” He turned to leave.
“Did I say you could go?” Ye Qiu bellowed, “Suppress!” A cauldron descended with thunderous force.
“Stop! I’ll tell you!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal yelped. Ye Qiu recalled the cauldron but kept them hovering as a precaution.
“You little bastard, it was a joke, and you actually attacked? Is our brotherhood plastic?” the Long Eyebrow Immortal grumbled.
“Quit stalling. What’s the whip?” Ye Qiu demanded.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal turned serious. “Have you read *Investiture of the Gods*?”
Ye Qiu frowned. “Why bring that up?”
“Have you read it or not?”
“I have.”
“Then you know Jiang Ziya’s treasure, right?”
Ye Qiu glanced at the whip, shocked. “You’re saying this is Jiang Ziya’s God-Beating Whip?”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal rolled his eyes. “Dream on. If it was Jiang Ziya’s, how would Dugu Wudi have it?”
“Then what’s its connection to Jiang Ziya?” Ye Qiu asked.
“No connection,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said. “But it’s a genuine God-Beating Whip. It looks wooden but is harder than black iron. It’s not Jiang Ziya’s, but it has unique powers.”
“What powers?” Ye Qiu pressed.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal grinned slyly, silent. Ye Qiu caught on—he wanted a deal. “What do you want?”
“Back in Jiangzhou, find me two…” the Long Eyebrow Immortal started.
Ye Qiu’s eyes flashed with killing intent. “You’re a sect leader, and you want two concubines? Courting death?”
“You misunderstood! I meant two disciples,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal laughed. “I’m a proper man, not into that.”
“Tell me the whip’s power,” Ye Qiu said coldly.
“You can use it to strike anyone a realm above you,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said. “It’s a divine artifact, recorded in Dragon Tiger Mountain’s texts. Don’t believe me? Try it.”
Ye Qiu’s eyes gleamed, locking onto the Long Eyebrow Immortal.
