Chapter 67

(I am very satisfied with this chapter, welcome to comment, guess, and ponder the protagonist's thoughts. If you like it, please give a recommendation and, yes, add to your favorites.)

The prison was cold and dark, with no sunlight. Su Qignian thought of his mother, Su Shi, who, although had practiced the first two levels of the "Running Horse Strength" in her early years, had abandoned it due to her poor family background. In her middle age, the cold had seeped into her knee joints, causing her unbearable pain whenever the weather turned cold.

Although Su Qignian was now living a hard life, with the broken walls and overgrown weeds in the Qingyang Palace, he was much more comfortable compared to his elder brother, Su Qiming, who was in the North Sea Cannon Fodder Camp, and his parents, who were in the prison without seeing the sun or moon.

Su Qignian felt uneasy, and the aroma of the roasting deer by the campfire only made his appetite disappear completely.

He stood up, found a broken altar, took out the inkstone with a missing corner and a rabbit-hair brush he had brought from the Free and Easy Valley, and boiled a pot of snow water in a clay pot. The tangled rabbit hair, now only a small clump, was soaked in the water.

He poured water, ground the ink.

There was no ink fragrance; the low-quality ink stick was only as big as a little finger, with many impurities. Su Qignian picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and spread a scorched yellow hemp paper in front of him.

On an old eight-person table, a few pairs of chopsticks, a wine pot, a few plates of dumplings, and four figures.

With a few strokes, Su Qignian suddenly sighed and put down the brush, giving up.

He sat down again, watching the snowflakes dance outside the hall, the cold wind howling through the broken window frames, like the wailing of ghosts.

The campfire flickered, the golden deer gradually turning black and burning to ashes.

Finally, Su Qignian closed his eyes, placed the sword on his knees, calmed his mind, and entered a state of meditation, calming his agitated heart.

After an unknown period, Su Qignian suddenly felt something and opened his eyes to see a snow-white back, colder than the harsh winter.

"Liu Qingchan." Su Qignian spoke.

In front of the broken altar, the Princess of Hanyang glanced at the half-finished scroll and slowly turned around. Her long black hair swayed, and the simple qingluan hairpin gave her an unusual elegance.

Her eyes, like ink-black jade, fell on Su Qignian. Liu Qingchan nodded and said, "I didn't expect you to reach the seventh level of perfection in the Wudang 'Turtle and Snake Power' so quickly. Your calmness suggests that your mental state has improved greatly, and you are likely in a meditative state. However, why didn't you finish the painting? Your brushwork has become more refined, and your spirit and energy have transformed. It seems you've experienced a lot in the past month."

Her tone was calm and composed, as if she knew everything. Su Qignian looked into her eyes, which were no longer as sharp as they were a month ago, but had become more restrained and harmonious, like jade that had been polished for a thousand years, losing all its edges.

Raising an eyebrow, Su Qignian said, "You have reached the eighth level of the 'Chi Dragon Power."

"Not bad," Liu Qingchan snapped her fingers, tapping the altar several times with her slender, jade-like fingers, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "The one-third Time Heart has not awakened yet."

Her words were firm, not a question but a statement of fact.

Su Qignian did not doubt it because he knew that the one-third Time Heart of the Princess of Hanyang had already awakened, with various divine and unpredictable abilities, including the terrifying ability to instantly move, a life-saving skill. Perhaps due to insufficient cultivation, if the endpoint was not another person with the one-third Time Heart, she could only teleport a few dozen feet. In a life-or-death situation, as long as the two were not in the same place, unless the opponent's instantaneous attack exceeded the speed of thought, it would be impossible to completely eliminate them.

Regarding whether he had awakened the Time Heart, not only Liu Qingchan but also the other person, even if far away, would likely sense it.

"It seems you need to try to advance to the eighth level of the 'Turtle and Snake Power' to gain some benefits."

Liu Qingchan said, her eyes bright, suddenly showing a hint of playfulness. "The inheritance of Qingyang Peak, I wonder which martial art you obtained. The 'Qingyang Sword'? Or the 'Qianli Yuanheng Step'? Or the 'Zelei Palm'...?"

"The 'Xiuming Dao'."

"The 'Xiuming Dao'?"

The Princess of Hanyang rarely showed such seriousness and contemplation. Her nose was like jade, and even in the cold winter, her arms, smooth like congealed fat, were exposed. She pondered, "Father once commented on the martial arts of Qingyang Peak. The 'Qingyang Sword' is top-notch, but its path is predetermined, making it hard to transcend. The 'Qianli Yuanheng Step' is too restrictive. The 'Zelei Palm' is too rigid and prone to breaking. The 'Yin-Yang Gate' is hard to understand. The 'Qingguang Exorcism Sword' is dangerous, and few can achieve the supreme sword intent. Only the 'Xiuming Dao,' though only a first-class superior martial art, has no limits. It can reach the top or touch the heavens, all depending on a single thought."

Hmm?

Su Qignian was somewhat surprised. The renowned Exorcism King had such a high evaluation. It seemed that this sword technique, despite his recent experiences, was far more significant than he had initially thought.

Huh!

Just as he was thinking, Liu Qingchan suddenly attacked.

She took a step, moving like a dragon, and punched with overwhelming power. The wind howled like a dragon's roar, producing a violent explosion.

The Chi Dragon Fist!

This was a foundational fist technique practiced by royal women, usually weaker than the fish-dragon fist practiced by princes and young lords, which emphasized the yin-yang control of force. However, in the hands of the Exorcism King's daughter, it became even more domineering and fierce, with the wind from her punch almost suffocating.

The air distorted, and instead of the sound of hooves, a phantom red dragon appeared behind her, covered in scales, without horns, and with three-toed claws. An intangible aura of authority spread out.

The Chi Dragon Shadow!

Su Qignian's mind was shaken. In the world, if the foundational techniques were different, only the royal foundational technique would manifest a dragon shadow at the seventh level of perfection, not a fierce horse or a blood-sweating horse, due to the imperial aura it contained.

Su Qignian had also heard Qingyu mention that the Wudang 'Turtle and Snake Power' at the tenth level, although few of the Three Mad Daoists had reached it, had some historical records. At the ninth level, the heavenly horse grew scales and horns, transforming into a dragon horse. At the tenth level, the dragon horse underwent a complete transformation, becoming a dragon that roamed the nine heavens.

This punch made Su Qignian feel a life-threatening crisis.

His body hair stood on end, and a heavy wind pressure hit him. The Chi Dragon's authority and the imperial aura made this fist technique extremely domineering. Even as a royal foundational technique, it was not inferior to ordinary martial arts in terms of subtlety and divinity, and was even superior.

This was a punch force far exceeding that of a blood-sweating horse.

However, in the next moment, Su Qignian, instead of drawing his sword, raised his right arm and pointed a finger at the air. The tip of his finger turned a deep red, like blood jade, with a red aura extending about half an inch.

As he pointed, Liu Qingchan let out a light exclamation, as if she saw the sun rise above the horizon, casting light on the earth, and a solitary figure walking under the sunrise, drenched in rain and frost, seeking light from the eternal darkness.

Ding!

The fist and finger met, like pearls falling on a jade plate, producing a crisp sound. A strong wind swept through, and not far away, the broken altar was flipped over, the campfire was scattered, and the entire Qingyang Hall trembled, with wood chips and dust falling.

The two exchanged a blow and separated several feet, stopping their hands.

"What a subtle true intent." The Princess of Hanyang looked deeply at Su Qignian, then turned and walked away. "I hope to see your 'Xiuming Dao' next time."

In front of the Qingyang Hall.

Liu Qingchan stopped, looking up at the sky. The snow stopped, and a gap in the clouds revealed a cold moon, casting a sliver of light.

A few moments later.

"May Su the Compiler and his wife be well."

The voice was light, and Su Qignian's body trembled. He saw the graceful, yet somewhat lonely, figure gradually become transparent and, after ten moments, completely vanish into nothingness.

He couldn't see the back of the figure, which had a faint smile on its lips.

Standing there for a while, Su Qignian finally smiled bitterly, shook his head, and calmed his mind. He took a deep breath, not knowing what to say, and quietly picked up the overturned altar, collected the scattered painting, and, with the remaining embers, burned it to ashes. (I am very satisfied with this chapter, welcome to comment, guess, and ponder the protagonist's thoughts. If you like it, please give a recommendation and, yes, add to your favorites.)