Chapter 8

An ordinary carriage stopped at one of the entrances to the fish market. Song Shenshu, wearing a bamboo hat and dressed in the coarsest linen of Changling, got off the carriage and walked into the fish market, heading unhurriedly to its deepest part.

Although the Imperial Library of the Great Qin Dynasty housed many cultivation scriptures, everyone knew that the most important scriptures of the Great Qin were stored deep within the palace caves. Therefore, the officials of the Imperial Library held no prominent status in Changling and had little chance of accumulating military merit for rewards and promotions.

Especially someone like Song Shenshu, who was over forty with gray temples, would not attract much attention.

But Song Shenshu remained extremely cautious.

He was very satisfied with his life over the past decade. Even if he didn't have his current position, just being a cultivator was enough to make him content.

Especially in recent years, he had gained new insights into his cultivation techniques and found methods to help him break through his current realm more quickly, making him even more cautious in his actions.

Countless facts had proven that the timing of becoming a cultivator was not as important as the time of breaking through realms.

As long as he could smoothly break through to the Fourth Realm this year, the world before him would suddenly become vast, filled with infinite possibilities.

After walking silently to the bottom of the fish market, he still did not remove the bamboo hat on his head. Bending his body, he followed a wooden path, passing under several stilt houses, and arrived at a dock.

A small black-painted boat was moored at the dock.

Without a word, Song Shenshu lifted the curtain of the boat and stepped into the cabin. Only after the curtain fell behind him did he let out a sigh of relief, remove his bamboo hat, and close his eyes to rest.

Apart from his slightly graying temples, he was in excellent condition, with a ruddy complexion and no wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

The small black-painted boat began to move, the hull swaying gently and rhythmically, making Song Shenshu, who was leaning against the side, feel very comfortable.

However, not long after, a chill crept into his heart.

The route the boat was taking seemed slightly different from usual, and the surrounding noise was gradually decreasing, with only the sound of water remaining. This indicated that the boat was heading towards the most secluded part of the market.

He suddenly opened his eyes and peered out through the gap in the curtain. Looking at the back of the young boatman in a straw raincoat, he could not be sure and asked in a cold voice, "Is it because of the water level? The route today seems different from usual?"

"Indeed, it is different from usual, but not because of the rising water level due to heavy rain," the young boatman in the straw raincoat stopped and turned to look at Song Shenshu in the cabin.

His voice was calm, with a hint of mockery and satisfaction.

Song Shenshu's head throbbed slightly.

He was certain he had never seen this young man with a clear and refined face, but the young man's appearance and tone made him feel very strange, as if he had finally met an old friend after a long time.

This strange feeling made him not immediately think about what the young man intended to do, but rather urgently want to know his background.

"Who are you? Do you know me?" he tried to remain calm and asked softly.

Ding Ning nodded seriously, "Song Shenshu, the carriage driver of the Military Affairs Office fourteen years ago."

Song Shenshu's face gradually turned pale. This was the past he least wanted to recall or mention. What made him even more shaken was that only the people closest to him could possibly know these old stories.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he forced down the growing fear in his heart and asked.

Ding Ning looked at him with a sigh and said softly, "I am one of your creditors, here to collect some old debts."

Hearing these words and considering recent rumors, Song Shenshu's hands and feet grew even colder. He opened his mouth to ask more, as the young man opposite him could not possibly have any old grudges with him and must be acting on someone else's orders.

However, before he could utter a word, the young man in front of him moved.

A surge of powerful energy suddenly erupted from Ding Ning's seemingly frail body. The bow of the boat plunged downward, and the stern rose, momentarily suspended in the air.

His body slipped out of the straw raincoat and darted into the narrow cabin. The raincoat, like a cicada's molt, remained suspended in the air without falling.

Song Shenshu's breath caught in his throat. His right index and middle fingers were pressed together, the other three fingers slightly curved. A red true essence flowed from the tips of his fingers. Before Ding Ning's hand touched his body, this true essence gently entered Ding Ning's side.

At the moment Ding Ning moved, he had other options.

He could have abandoned the boat and fled, making a lot of noise. After all, the underground black market had its own order, and all the major forces in Changling would not allow anyone to disrupt it recklessly.

However, in that instant, he determined that Ding Ning was only a Second Realm cultivator.

There was a natural, insurmountable gap between each major realm of cultivation.

The true essence of the Third Realm was a product of condensed true qi and the essence of heaven and earth. In terms of power, there was a fundamental difference of several times, and he was not a newly ascended Third Realm cultivator. His true essence had reached the stage of flowing like nectar and could leave his body, a high-level Third Realm state that endowed his true essence with many wondrous properties in combat.

So he subconsciously believed that Ding Ning was just a decoy to distract him, and there must be a more powerful cultivator hiding, waiting to deliver the fatal blow.

Therefore, even as he gently and forcefully sent a surge of true essence into Ding Ning's body, most of his attention was not on Ding Ning but on the surrounding darkness, even the muddy and murky water below.

However, what he could not have imagined was that after his true essence entered Ding Ning's body, Ding Ning only let out a soft grunt, and his movements did not pause at all.

His left hand moved almost identically to Song Shenshu's, with his index and middle fingers pressed together like a sword, striking the Zhangmen point on Song Shenshu's chest and abdomen.

Song Shenshu could not understand how Ding Ning could withstand his true essence, nor could he understand the significance of Ding Ning's strike.

However, in the next instant, his entire body suddenly stiffened.

With a soft snap, the straw raincoat on the bow of the boat fell, and the raised stern also dropped, splashing water.

Inside his body, there was also a soft snap. The true essence that had been flowing orderly suddenly scattered into countless fine streams, like countless small venomous snakes, dispersing into countless acupoints in his body and seeping out from his flesh and skin.

Countless fine, worm-like red true essences twisted on the surface of his body, turning the dark cabin red as if several red lanterns had been lit inside.

Song Shenshu's mind went blank, and a great fear surged within him.

He knew that some cultivation techniques had inherent flaws, but he, the cultivator of the "Crimson Sun Divine Technique," did not know what flaws it had.

However, the other party had used such a simple hand strike to directly cause his true essence to go out of control, making him unable to control his body. How was this possible!

"How did you know the flaw in my cultivation technique? Who are you?"

After a few moments of silence, he finally managed to speak, his breathing like that of a dying snake.

"The 'Crimson Sun Divine Technique' is, strictly speaking, an excellent cultivation technique. With the aid of some fire-toxic substances, the cultivation speed can be greatly accelerated. Therefore, while it usually takes a cultivator at least twenty years to reach the high-level Third Realm, you achieved it in half the time," Ding Ning panted slightly, sitting opposite Song Shenshu. He looked at Song Shenshu seriously, his hands continuously touching the true essence on Song Shenshu's body.

"However, this cultivation technique from the Crimson Sun Cave of the Great Wei Dynasty has a significant flaw. If the kidney water qi in the body is excessively stimulated, it will cause the true essence to completely scatter. In the past, when our cultivators fought against the cultivators of the Crimson Sun Cave, they found that several key points on their bodies were covered with unique protective devices. After the fall of the Crimson Sun Cave, this technique was discovered to have flaws and was sealed away. I didn't expect you to choose this technique for cultivation."

Ding Ning continued to speak softly, and his fingertips, which were touching the true essence on Song Shenshu's body, made strange sounds, like countless silkworms eating mulberry leaves.

"Nine Lives Silkworm Divine Technique!"

Song Shenshu finally seemed to have discovered something even more terrifying than his current situation. His throat felt as if it were being torn apart, and he let out a hoarse, desperate cry, "You are his disciple!"