Chapter 68

(A midday update, requesting daily free votes, and asking for favorites, with deep gratitude.)

After the Winter Solstice, Wudang Mountain became even colder.

The Qiyang Palace was covered in snow, even the ruins were buried. Outside the Qiyang Hall, Su Qignian practiced his boxing stance in the snow.

His breathing was long and deep, his arms naturally extended. At this point, his boxing stance was no longer simply hard or soft, but a combination of both. He formed a fist, and his aura constantly changed, sometimes like a thousand-foot cliff, sometimes like a vast sea, sometimes like a raging fire, and later like a starry sea, with a forest of trees.

His heart was like fire, his lungs like metal, his liver like wood, his spleen like earth, and his kidneys like water. Practicing the five elements, his internal organs resonated.

This was already the eighth level of the Turtle Snake Technique, without a fixed boxing stance. All insights depended on the practitioner.

Even though the cold wind was like ice knives and snow swords, Su Qignian felt warm as a furnace. A thick white mist rose around him. As he moved, he floated in the mist, melting the snow and ice wherever he went, truly like a celestial being, exuding a transcendent aura.

After a round of boxing, Su Qignian stopped, feeling a tingling sensation in his internal organs, which seemed to have become stronger. Even his blood and qi seemed to surpass the limits of the seventh level of the Turtle Snake Technique.

However, the consumption was enormous, far beyond Su Qignian's imagination. Just one round of boxing drained the blood qi from the bear meat soup he had for breakfast.

"Poverty in literature, wealth in martial arts. If it were the wealthy disciples in the outer courtyard, noble families, they would have a steady supply of demon beast blood and various health-preserving pills to replenish their vital energy at this level of cultivation. But for ordinary small families or poor disciples, even if they grasp the essence of this level of cultivation, they can only rely on time and hard work."

Su Qignian took a deep breath and decided to visit the Baiyun Peak outer courtyard again.

This year's grand competition in the outer courtyard was likely to be turbulent, leaving little time for the three of them.

After several days without leaving Qiyang Peak, as soon as Su Qignian walked through Wudang Mountain, he noticed many strange gazes.

"The Qingyun Ladder's lightness technique is ranked as a second-class superior technique, even with the seed of true intent. As long as one's insight is not too poor, they can smoothly inherit it."

"Martial arts above the third class are included in Wudang's inheritance. According to common sense, although we are disciples in the outer courtyard, we are not yet considered formal disciples. Only after successfully building a foundation, opening the dantian, and cultivating internal true qi, will we be inscribed on the life plaque and listed in the ancestral hall. Only then will we have the opportunity to inherit second-class or even stronger martial arts manuals."

"However, someone reviewed Wudang's history and found that the Qingyun Ladder seems to be one of the lightness techniques of the Qiyang Peak lineage, known as 'ascending to the sky in a single step.'"

Some outer courtyard disciples whispered, their gazes subtly sweeping over Su Qignian from a distance.

"That Qingluo from the Baiyun Peak outer courtyard is a waste, just built a foundation and was defeated by this Su Qignian."

"But it's just relying on a first-class saber technique. Any of us who inherit it could do the same."

...

However, no one truly approached Su Qignian. He seemed to be isolated, treated like a monster by everyone.

Initially, Su Qignian frowned, but he soon let it go, smiling and walking away.

Baiyun Peak outer courtyard.

After the Winter Solstice, Su Qignian felt a heavy atmosphere in the air, a sense of tension. As he stepped into the outer courtyard, his gaze became sharp. He sensed the faint qi from some pavilions and courtyards, and some gazes fell on him, not escaping his mental perception.

None of them were weak. Even Su Qignian, who grasped the qi, found that the owners of these gazes were much stronger than Qingluo, not even on the same level.

Foundation-building cultivators, formal disciples!

Su Qignian's heart stirred, understanding that it was the end of the lunar year, and the outer courtyard disciples who usually trained outside the mountain were gradually returning, beginning to cultivate and consolidate their gains from the year.

Even with his mental power extended, he could see some quiet courtyards in the corners, where it seemed like furnaces were burning, emitting a vigorous and intense blood qi, far beyond the seventh level of the Turtle Snake Technique.

On the training ground, as Su Qignian walked by, some disciples stopped, watching him leave. Such a stark contrast made Su Qignian's gaze calm. His mental power captured their expressions, and his mind became even more peaceful. The warmth and cold of human relationships were now just the best nourishment for his mental power.

As the lunar year approached, the herbal scent in Jingwu Daoist's courtyard had faded, replaced by a fragrant medicinal aroma. A single breath made his blood qi surge and his mind clear, the scent of a pill.

"You're here now, so you must have received some news."

Jingwu Daoist looked deeply at Su Qignian and said, "Endure what others cannot. If you cannot endure, you will ruin your grand plans."

"A sword is straight and unbending, and so is a saber," Su Qignian said calmly.

Jingwu Daoist chuckled, "You are too extreme. Our Wudang has a first-class sword technique, the Thirteen Divine Gate Swords, created by the first generation's Three Mad Daoists. It is flexible and unpredictable, targeting the divine gate and the heart's gate."

Su Qignian shook his head, "Only in the straight can you take, not in the curved. The Three Mad Daoists were wrong. That is not a sword, nor a saber."

Hmm?

Jingwu Daoist raised an eyebrow, surprised, and said sternly, "What is your cultivation and realm, and how much do you understand about the Way of the Sword, to dare question the Thirteen Divine Gate Swords of the first generation's Three Mad Daoists?"

The air in the courtyard became heavy, and Su Qignian felt a pressure from the mental level. He was amazed by Jingwu Daoist's profound cultivation, which could suppress the mind with a single breath. When he mentioned reaching the first-class realm in half a year, it seemed he was being modest.

However, Su Qignian was not moved and said seriously, "Even sages reflect on themselves three times a day and are not ashamed to ask questions. If they were content with the status quo, where would the five thousand years of peace and prosperity of our Han dynasty be, with all kinds of extraordinary techniques emerging? This land would have long been lost to the demon race."

Jingwu Daoist's expression eased, and he said, "You have a silver tongue. Since you have made up your mind, I won't persuade you. Speak, what brings you here?"

Su Qignian took off the bag on his back, which jingled. When he opened it, it contained over four hundred taels of silver, two hundred of which were snow silver of excellent quality, and the other two hundred were ordinary silver, slightly darker but still complete silver ingots.

In addition, there was a ginseng root, which they had obtained from under the ancient osmanthus tree on Wudang Mountain.

"Hmm, a thirty-year-old ginseng root, it looks like it was picked no more than two months ago. It's rare to find one in the mountains. And over four hundred taels of silver, what do you want to exchange for?"

"Six Heavenly Opening Pills."

Jingwu Daoist looked at Su Qignian, half-smiling, half-serious, "You are straightforward, with a good appetite. The Heavenly Opening Pill is a unique foundation-building pill of our Wudang. Its medicinal power is gentle and continuous, perfectly suited for the cultivation of the Turtle Snake Technique, helping to build a foundation and open the heavens. The entire outer courtyard only has a few pills each month. You ask for six at once?"

"Conditions," Su Qignian remained calm.

Nodding, Jingwu Daoist said, "It seems your Xiuming Saber has truly entered the realm. A gentleman is open, even when discussing conditions. However, you should understand that the relationship between gentlemen is like water, with give and take. Unearned gains lead to deviation."

Turning and entering the house, he came out with a small white porcelain bottle, the size of a baby's fist, and threw it to Su Qignian.

"In half a year, if you are still alive, I will need your help to strike a blow."

Strike a blow?

Su Qignian frowned, strike what?

Waving his hand, Jingwu Daoist did not explain and did not wait for Su Qignian's response, turning and walking back into the house.

Descending the mountain, on the way back.

At the entrance of Qiyang Palace, as Su Qignian stepped through the gate, a blade of light slashed diagonally, swift and fierce, producing a whistling sound.

A hand raised in the nick of time, fingers curved, and a flick in the air produced a metallic clang. Accompanied by a cry, a somewhat immature figure was sent flying, landing several yards away in the snow. (A midday update, requesting daily free votes, and asking for favorites, with deep gratitude.)