Chapter 32

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The Qingyang Palace was magnificent, with a green-golden sun shining overhead, and the entire world seemed to flow with the aura of the passage of time.

Su Qinnian and the other two walked towards the Qingyang Pavilion. Just as they were about to step onto the stairs, a somewhat playful voice sounded in their ears.

"You cannot enter the Qingyang Pavilion without having laid the foundation."

What!

This made Su Qinnian and the other two tense up, their movements freezing. They had no doubt that this voice was directed at them.

"Are you not dead?"

Struggling to turn around, the fat man looked at Jiyuan Zhenren in front of the Qingyang Hall with a troubled expression.

Su Qinnian and Qingyu exchanged glances, both showing a mix of surprise and doubt. Jiyuan Zhenren, who was supposed to have perished five hundred years ago, was actually still alive?

It was too unbelievable, but then the gazes of the three young Taoist priests also fell on them, which made Su Qinnian's heart stir. It was probably not that simple; if these disciples were still alive, it was too absurd.

"Meeting Jiyuan Zhenren, Qingyu and Qingye of the Outer Court, and Su Qinnian of the Xiaoyao Valley, pay our respects." Qingyu bowed and saluted with a fist.

Jiyuan Zhenren remained silent, his gaze sweeping over Su Qinnian and the other two. His warm eyes were like the purest jade, and Su Qinnian and the other two felt as if they were in a deep mountain spring, their bodies warm and comfortable. Even the fatigue from their journey was quickly restored, their blood and energy returning to their peak in an instant.

It seemed like an illusion, but as Jiyuan Zhenren's gaze swept over, Su Qinnian faintly felt the vague shadow of a sword in his ancestral acupoint tremble lightly, but it quickly returned to calm.

His eyes flickered, and a hint of surprise flashed in Jiyuan Zhenren's eyes. The fat man, unable to bear the silence, couldn't help but ask, "Zhenren, are you really not dead?"

With a light laugh, Jiyuan Zhenren said, "Life and death are merely the yin and yang of the Taiji, the balance of hardness and softness. Why must they be distinguished?"

The fat man scratched his head, not quite understanding, while Qingyu seemed to be deep in thought, and Su Qinnian also showed a contemplative expression.

"Not bad, not bad, you came so quickly..."

Suddenly, Jiyuan Zhenren spoke, loosening his grip on the sword. The Qingyang Sword, plain and unadorned, suddenly split into three, transforming into three sword shadows that were as substantial as real swords. Even under Su Qinnian's mental energy, it was impossible to distinguish the real from the fake, as if they were three genuine Qingyang Swords, with no difference in their sharpness.

In the next moment, Su Qinnian and the other two found themselves unable to move, locked by the sharpness of the sword. The air around them seemed to solidify, trapping them in place.

The Qingyang Sword floated, and then the three sword shadows flashed in the air, appearing right before them.

As the sharpness of the sword approached, the fat man's face turned pale, Qingyu's eyes flickered, and he closed his eyes slightly. Su Qinnian's mental energy enveloped his body, but the Qingyang Sword's sharpness easily tore through it, and he watched as the tip of the sword slowly pierced his forehead.

A cool sensation spread, seeping into his limbs and bones. In that instant, Su Qinnian did not feel the approach of death; instead, his blood and energy were invigorated by the cool flow, surging with a faint tingling sensation that instantly penetrated all 206 bones in his body.

The fat man suddenly widened his eyes, clearly sensing something unusual, and became excited.

At this moment, Su Qinnian looked at Qingyu and the other two and saw a faint green-golden sword mark on their foreheads, identical to the Qingyang Sword.

From Qingyu and the other two's gazes, Su Qinnian could tell that he also had the same mark on his forehead, though his mental energy found nothing unusual in his ancestral acupoint.

A moment later, the restraining force disappeared, and Su Qinnian's body emitted a series of popping sounds, even the tendons and bones resonating.

Thud!

A dull sound, like a drumbeat, echoed. Su Qinnian took a deep breath, and his body seemed to grow an inch taller.

"Bone Strengthening Great Perfection! Tendons and bones resonating, the drumbeat sounds!"

The fat man and Qingye's eyes nearly popped out. This was clearly the sign of the sixth level of the "Turtle Snake Technique" being perfected. Most importantly, how long had Su Qinnian been on Wudang Mountain?

Even Qingyu, known for his composure, showed a look of shock. They had originally thought Su Qinnian was at most at the fifth level of the "Turtle Snake Technique," but now it seemed he had already reached the sixth level before entering this spirit world.

Such talent and insight, in Qingyu's view, were unmatched by few in the entire Wudang Outer Court.

Rumble!

Suddenly, Su Qinnian and the other two stumbled, and the entire spirit world began to fluctuate violently. The Qingyang Palace shook as if a mountain were collapsing.

Immediately, the three saw Jiyuan Zhenren wave his sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, the four of them vanished from sight.

The rain was continuous, the sky dark and gloomy. The Qingyang Palace was in ruins, and in front of the dilapidated Qingyang Hall, Su Qinnian and the other two were somewhat dazed. But soon, they regained their senses, as an indescribable aura of authority descended from the sky, enveloping them like a sudden storm.

Terrifying!

Their gazes were unusually solemn, and Su Qinnian and the other two found it difficult to move. Under this authority, they were not completely restrained as before, but it was still a struggle to take a step.

However, this aura of authority came and went quickly. In the blink of an eye, they saw a majestic figure standing ten zhang above them. This was a middle-aged man in a light golden Taoist robe, standing with his hands behind his back, his eyebrows long, his hair hanging down, and a golden duster in his hand, shining brightly.

Standing in mid-air, the middle-aged man in the light golden robe cast his gaze down. Unlike Jiyuan Zhenren, his eyes were extremely sharp, like two swords, piercing through Su Qinnian and the other two, making their bodies feel cold and their skin ache. His gaze was indifferent, as if trying to penetrate their souls and uncover all their secrets.

"Crossing the void, this is the skill of a top-tier spirit person." Qingyu, after a moment of thought, realized something and his eyes showed shock and reverence. He quickly bowed and said, "Qingyu and Qingye of the Outer Court, and Su Qinnian of the Xiaoyao Valley, pay our respects to Jin Guang Zhenren."

Wudang belonged to the Taoist sect, and after reaching the pinnacle of the Taoist path, these martial arts experts were respectfully called "Zhenren." In Buddhism, they were called Arhats, in Confucianism, they were called University Scholars, in the demonic path, they were called Heavenly Demons, and in the demon race, they were called Demon Kings, who struck fear into the hearts of ordinary people.

"Entering the legacy of a predecessor without permission, in the spirit world, you have great audacity." Jin Guang Zhenren said calmly.

Su Qinnian's heart tightened, realizing that the visitor was not friendly. Jin Guang Zhenren, who had been in the Xiaoyao Valley for nearly a month, had a vague memory of some of the major figures in Wudang. This was the peak master of the Jin Suo Peak, ten miles away from Qingyang Peak.

When the Qingyang Peak lineage was broken, the remaining martial arts secrets in the Qingyang Pavilion were divided, and the Jin Suo Peak, being the closest, benefited the most, acquiring nearly half of the remaining secrets.

At this moment, Qingyu also had a sense of foreboding. He had anticipated some trouble with the opening of the spirit world, but he did not expect Jin Guang Zhenren of the Jin Suo Peak to be so domineering.

Being in the Wudang Outer Court, Qingyu and the other two could see things more clearly than Su Qinnian. Taoism emphasized tranquility and non-action, but in the martial world, with demons and other races surrounding them, there was no place for tranquility. Even within Wudang Mountain, the twenty-seven peaks often competed with each other, and at the lowest level, there was the selection of successful foundation-laying disciples from the Outer Court every three years.

The disciples with the highest talent and insight were sought after by all the peaks to promote their martial arts and surpass their predecessors, advancing to the next level.

From this point on, the competition between the peaks began. Though not to the point of life and death, it often led to tense confrontations.

Now, Qingyu could see that Jin Guang Zhenren probably had some ulterior motives. With his cultivation, he had long reached the pinnacle, and a few top-tier martial arts were no longer enough to help him advance further. Clearly, he intended to seize the legacy of Qingyang Peak for his own use, to strengthen the Jin Suo Peak lineage.

Qingyu gritted his teeth, but at this point, he could not back down. He took a deep breath and bowed again, saying, "Jin Guang Zhenren, please calm down. We three found the legacy of Qingyang Peak by chance and were fortunate to be chosen by the spirit world. We entered it to carry on the will of our predecessors and to restore the glory of Qingyang Palace, making it the twenty-eighth peak of Wudang." (Please give recommendations, I'm rolling on the ground begging for votes, new readers, please click to add to your bookshelf and collect it.)