Chapter 32

As night fell.

The candlelight flickered faintly, swaying gently.

Qin Xianyu sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, calming his mind.

This was a guest courtyard in the Liu residence, not ostentatiously luxurious, but simple and grand, befitting the status of a state governor.

The wooden bed beneath Qin Xianyu was made of fine wood, and the silk quilt was as smooth as satin.

This young Taoist had intended to fall asleep as soon as he lay down, to try out the comfort of the fine bed, but remembering that cultivation is like rowing against the current—stagnation means regression—he could not afford to be lax and thus sat in meditation.

In the afternoon, he had injured Yue Lei, and upon careful reflection, he felt quite apologetic.

Martial arts are not easy to learn and require many medicinal herbs to maintain the body, so martial artists need a lot of money.

Yue Lei had a set of martial arts skills but came to perform, though his words were somewhat rude, he had not strayed onto the wrong path.

At the time, several disciples had come forward to support Yue Lei, and someone had tried to stop Qin Xianyu, but was ultimately scared back by him.

"Those disciples of Yue Lei, seeing that my staff had scattered his qi and blood, and collapsed his shoulder, were frightened by the power. But if it really came to a fight, I only have this one sword technique. They are more skilled in martial arts techniques, and I would likely take a few punches and kicks."

"But with my true qi, I am not afraid of punches and kicks. My strength is comparable to that of an internal qi expert, and I can easily lift water jars and stones. If I hit someone, they would either die or be seriously injured."

Qin Xianyu rubbed his head and thought to himself, "Having only one sword technique and relying on brute strength is not enough. I should learn some sword techniques, but Master Guanxu doesn't support it much. Perhaps the initial understanding of sword techniques really aligns with some special methods. Well, I should find an opportunity to learn a set of body techniques."

"With body techniques, I can dodge others' moves and engage in combat. With my true qi, the power of a single sword strike can cut through metal and jade, and even internal qi experts might not be able to withstand it."

"Pressing the sword techniques for now, but I still need to be familiar with the sword paths."

After pondering these matters, the young Taoist calmed his mind and began to practice.

Suddenly, a wave of heat came, initially just a warm sensation at his wrist, gradually turning into a large wave of heat, like a tidal surge.

The heat rushed toward him.

Qin Xianyu suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a look of surprise.

He looked toward the source of the heat.

The source of the heat was the mysterious small tripod.

The patterns on the tripod had changed, now resembling a forest with a white fox.

The tripod was gray and the patterns on it had no color, but for some reason, Qin Xianyu immediately recognized it as a white fox.

The white fox ran and leaped through the forest, agile and swift, causing the wind to rustle the grass.

"True qi externalization?" Qin Xianyu drew a deep breath, surprised. "A fox, how can it have the ability to externalize true qi? Could it be a demon fox?"

The white fox ran into a cave.

The cave was filled with gray-black qi.

The white fox practiced in the cave, and soon a large amount of gray-black qi gathered around it.

Suddenly, a long, piercing cry echoed, and the gray-black qi around the white fox trembled, then condensed.

In the end, only the corpse of the white fox remained.

"This... Could it be that the white fox was trying to break through to the realm of true qi externalization using the gray-black qi, to reach a higher level? But it failed and died?"

As Qin Xianyu's doubts arose, the scene changed again.

The white fox's true qi dissipated, but a faint trace of its original true qi began to rotate, gathering a large amount of gray-black qi and integrating it into its fur.

"The white fox's innate primordial true qi is only slightly higher than that of ordinary people, but with its cultivation, how can its innate primordial true qi be so weak? Its true qi is not innate primordial true qi?" Qin Xianyu drew a deep breath, thinking, "The true qi I cultivate is all innate primordial true qi, but the white fox's true qi is different?"

The white fox's true qi could externalize, reaching at least nine inches high, but its original qi was only slightly higher than that of ordinary people.

Qin Xianyu was quite puzzled, but the next events were very clear.

Someone discovered the white fox's corpse, skinned it, and made it into a coat or scarf, which was given to Miss Liu.

But the white fox's fur contained a trace of its original true qi.

This original true qi, having lost its foundation, should not exist in the world, but the gray-black qi seemed to have transformed it, allowing it to hide in the fur and wait for an opportunity to harm people.

In layman's terms, it had become a ghost, and Miss Liu's strange illness was actually due to encountering a ghost and being possessed.

In reality, after the white fox died, the residual true qi formed a ghost, which was unconscious and left only a shallow trace in the world, like an instinct.

"Ghost foxes are rare."

Qin Xianyu had never seen such a mysterious phenomenon before, which almost overturned his understanding of the world.

Taking a deep breath, he thought, "So this small tripod is called the Ghost Suppressing Seal."

The Ghost Suppressing Seal, with its grand name, was clearly not an ordinary object, at least a magical artifact. According to Qin Xianyu's thinking, with this Ghost Suppressing Seal, he would not fear the ghosts of the Zhao family's young heroes coming to seek revenge.

The night passed quickly.

Qin Xianyu meditated for half the night, completing thirty-six cycles of the Purple Mansion Divine Hall Primordial True Qi Technique, feeling satisfied, and then fell asleep.

The soft pillow and smooth silk quilt.

This young Taoist experienced the comfort of a rich person's bed and slept very well.

The next morning, as the sun rose, Qin Xianyu got up to meditate and practice Daoist cultivation.

He had intended to take a walk, but hearing from the servants that Sister Ning'er was coming to cause trouble, he quickly boarded the carriage.

Madam Liu of the Liu residence personally came to see him off, expressing deep gratitude and offering a hundred taels of silver.

But this time, Qin Xianyu did not accept it. After all, he had entrusted the Liu residence to find medicinal herbs and seek the jade and gold swords, which was already a great reward. He could not accept the hundred taels of silver.

As for Governor Liu, being busy with official duties, he only sent a message through Lu Qing, promising to do his best for Qin Xianyu's request.

Before boarding the carriage, Qin Xianyu paused and leaned close to Lu Qing's ear to tell him about the fox fur.

But the matter was too bizarre, and since Lu Qing was a martial artist, Qin Xianyu changed his explanation.

He only said that the strange illness came from the fox fur, whether it was poisoning or a strange illness inherent in the fox fur, he could not be sure.

Lu Qing's expression turned serious, and he nodded.

The matter had already been thoroughly investigated, but with no leads. Qin Xianyu had undoubtedly pointed him in a new direction.

In fact, this young Taoist did not know what was in the fox fur. Perhaps it was a kind gesture, or perhaps Miss Liu had bought it herself, or perhaps someone had malicious intentions, knowing the fox fur was strange and used it to harm others. But that was for Lu Qing to worry about.

Madam Liu thanked him repeatedly.

Qin Xianyu hurriedly said it was nothing.

He boarded the carriage, which slowly drove away.

In the residence, on a small upper floor, Liu Ruoyin stood by the window, her face still pale, watching the carriage gradually disappear, her emotions complex, ultimately turning into a silent sigh.

Sister Ning'er stood beside Miss Liu, gritting her teeth, cursing, "Little brat Taoist!"

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