Chapter 71

The moonlight filtered through the window, bathing his entire body in a serene and ethereal glow.

Qin Xianyu stood by the window, looking outside, silent and speechless.

The slight drowsiness he felt earlier had vanished completely after the incident.

"A woman who can project true qi?"

Qin Xianyu carefully recalled the brief confrontation, making mental speculations.

At the time, when he slashed with his sword, a golden ring appeared on the girl's hand. The two objects touched, and both took a step back. At that moment, what he sensed from the girl was not the overpowering aura of internal strength, but a gentle and peaceful true qi.

Although it was not the innate primordial true qi, Qin Xianyu could clearly sense that it was the aura of true qi.

Moreover, the girl's true qi cultivation was superior to his own. He only managed to hold his ground thanks to a secret sword technique. What shocked Qin Xianyu even more was the girl's agility, which allowed her to appear before him in an instant, with a speed that could almost match his Cicada Wing Step, making it difficult to distinguish who was faster.

From the wind in the room, it was evident that the girl had reached the stage of projecting true qi, nine inches of true qi!

Although the true qi was somewhat gentle, nine inches of true qi was the peak of the Qi Projection realm, at least more powerful than eight inches of internal strength. Thus, Qin Xianyu, who was comparable to eight inches of internal strength, had to take a few steps back.

"She said she was invincible below the level of Gangsha, which is probably an exaggeration, but with a casual wave of her hand, she could lift a wooden table weighing dozens of pounds. Master Guanxu, who has practiced for a hundred years, can achieve thirteen inches of true qi at the peak of the Qi Projection realm, but even he is slightly inferior."

"Looking at her appearance, she is younger than me, yet she has achieved the stage of projecting true qi?"

Qin Xianyu thought of Master Guanxu, who practiced the innate primordial true qi, a fundamental true qi, and only achieved the stage of projecting true qi in his thirties. How could this girl have such astonishing cultivation?

"Could she be a disciple of a major sect?" Qin Xianyu thought, "Disciples of major sects must have excellent cultivation techniques, and their sects have abundant resources, including heavenly treasures and guidance from elders. Only such a background could produce such a genius."

"According to the gentleman from the Mountain and River Immortal Map, only the Purple Mansion Divine Court Primordial True Qi Technique can achieve thirteen inches of true qi. All other cultivation techniques in the world peak at nine inches of true qi."

"This girl, with nine inches of true qi, can blow a wooden table weighing dozens of pounds with a wave of her hand."

"Such a feat is something even Master Guanxu, with thirteen inches of true qi, cannot achieve."

Qin Xianyu tilted his head slightly, looking at the bright moon in the sky. He had already concluded that the girl must be a disciple of a major sect, possessing a high-level cultivation technique and secret methods of the Qi Projection realm. Otherwise, how could she use nine inches of true qi to blow a wooden table weighing dozens of pounds?

Thinking of many martial artists in the Great Virtue Holy Dynasty who might not even be able to move their blood and qi in their entire lives, and those who achieve internal strength are few and far between, while those who can project internal strength are even rarer, he recalled that Master Guanxu had only reached the peak of the Qi Projection realm after a hundred years of practice.

Many people seek immortality and the Dao but achieve nothing.

But this girl, at such a young age, already has the ability to project true qi, with nine inches of true qi, comparable to a grandmaster of martial arts. Given her understanding of the different realms, she would likely condense the Earthly Fiend and achieve the Gangsha realm in the near future.

"Truly astonishing..."

Qin Xianyu sighed in amazement, suddenly remembering something.

He already had a true qi cultivation of more than seven and a half inches, and he was confident that in a short time, he would achieve nine inches of true qi and be able to project it.

Calculating the time, it seemed that he had only been practicing for less than a year since he first started.

In a short time, he would achieve the stage of projecting true qi, which should not take long.

Qin Xianyu silently calculated the time.

If this were the case, achieving the stage of projecting true qi within a year would be even more astonishing than the girl.

Qin Xianyu thought to himself, "It seems shocking, but in fact, I have great fortune, receiving the transmission of cultivation techniques from Master Guanxu and obtaining the jade pill, a divine object."

Master Guanxu's transmission saved him decades of hard practice.

To achieve the sense of qi, one must sense true qi, which is the most tedious part of cultivation and the first hurdle for cultivators. Many people give up when they fail to sense true qi. After Master Guanxu's transmission, it was not just the sense of qi but six inches of true qi.

To progress from the sense of qi to true qi, one must transform the intangible sensation into real internal breath, from nothing to something, from intangible to tangible. This step is the most critical and requires decades of practice. After this step, increasing true qi becomes relatively easier.

Master Guanxu saved him decades of hard work, and the jade pill further accelerated his cultivation, greatly increasing his true qi and even improving his physical constitution.

"Master Guanxu's transmission laid the foundation and saved the hard work. The rapid progress in cultivation afterward is mostly due to the miraculous effects of the jade pill, but my own talent for cultivation is also not bad."

"The miraculous effects of the jade pill and my own talent, these two factors, have made my true qi increase so rapidly."

Qin Xianyu stood by the window, quietly pondering, "I wonder if the effects of the jade pill are more significant or if my own talent is even more extraordinary."

The cold moonlight bathed his entire body, and the night wind added a chill.

He stood by the window, in the moonlight.

The cold wind blew, causing his Daoist robe to flutter and his hair to sway.

Under the moonlight, the seemingly transcendent young Daoist was seriously thinking, "It's probably the latter that is more significant."

...

The next morning.

Qin Xianyu did not sleep all night, but his true qi cultivation kept him in high spirits.

In the early hours of the night, he had planned to go out to search for the girl's trail, but after careful consideration, he realized that if he encountered her, he might not be able to defeat the girl who could project true qi. After all, in terms of cultivation, he was still inferior, and although he had a secret sword technique, the girl was clearly from a major sect and had her own means.

Her agility alone was not inferior to his Cicada Wing Step.

Moreover, the girl was summoned by a sound of a zither, which was likely a call from her elder.

After much thought, Qin Xianyu decided to stay in the room.

When the convoy was reorganized, Qin Xianyu noticed that the faces of the people were not good, and two of the injured seemed to be missing. He did not need to ask to know that the one who was severely injured and the one who lost an arm did not survive the night.

The Blood-Clotting Grass could stop bleeding and prevent it from being washed away by blood, which was better than medicinal powder, but it was not a miraculous drug and did not significantly help the recovery of injuries. The main reliance was on the healing medicines of the convoy, which could only treat ordinary injuries.

Qin Xianyu was somewhat silent. He had already treated these people by pressing acupoints and using true qi to change the force, which temporarily helped, but it was not enough. He silently thought that if he had a set of needles last night, could he have saved the two lives?

A set of needles might be more effective than pressing acupoints, but it could only delay, not cure injuries.

Even if a famous doctor from the state capital had complete instruments and sufficient medicinal herbs, they would likely be at a loss when faced with such injuries. Although Qin Xianyu had profound medical knowledge, even with a set of needles and sufficient medicinal herbs, he could only delay the injuries and might have a chance to save the two lives, but he could not guarantee it.

The Golden Elixir in the water bag was a life-saving substance. If used, it could have saved the two lives. However, Qin Xianyu, who had a rare calm night, forgot to patrol and did not know that someone's injuries had worsened.

The guards of the Xiang family respected him but were more afraid of him, and did not dare to disturb him.

Thus, it was only at this moment that Qin Xianyu learned that the injuries had worsened last night, and two more lives were lost.

"If I had been more careful, I should have patrolled and might have saved the two lives." Qin Xianyu sighed, but he had been questioning the three people in the first half of the night and encountered the girl in the second half, which kept him from sleeping.

If his mind was not calm, how could he be meticulous?

Seeing Qin Xianyu sigh, Ye Qing stepped forward and bowed, saying, "If it were not for Daoist Qin's rescue, none of us would have survived. Later, if it were not for Daoist Qin's guidance to use the Blood-Clotting Grass, these brothers would not have survived. The two who worsened last night were just their fate, but the rest who survived owe their lives to Daoist Qin's second great act of kindness."

Qin Xianyu shook his head, "You flatter me."

Ye Qing, who was busy, apologized and then left.

Qin Xianyu weighed the silver in his hand and turned to find the innkeeper.

"The expenses for food and lodging in this inn have already been settled by Ye Qing, but I damaged a wooden table in the room last night, so I should compensate for it. I don't want Ye Qing to pay for me, so I will compensate myself."

Qin Xianyu met the innkeeper and told him about the damaged wooden table, offering compensation.

The innkeeper initially wanted to charge a high price, but thinking that the convoy was about to leave and no trouble had been caused last night, he was quite happy. Therefore, he charged Qin Xianyu the usual price, which was a few dozen silver coins.

Su Wenxiu happened to come down from upstairs and, seeing the situation, said, "Daoist, the expenses for food and lodging have already been settled by Commander Ye. You don't need to pay."

Qin Xianyu shook his head and smiled, "I damaged the items in the room last night, so I should make a slight compensation."

Su Wenxiu bowed and said softly, "Why should Daoist spend your own money? It would be enough for Commander Ye to settle the bill."

"Are you saying I'm trying to cheat him?" The innkeeper was angry, "Don't think that just because you look good and have many servants, you can accuse me. I won't admit it even if I die!"

Su Wenxiu was not angry, bowed, and apologized, "I spoke out of turn, Innkeeper Gao, please don't be angry."

Qin Xianyu was slightly surprised.

This Miss Su was gentle and polite, and it was not surprising that she would apologize to the innkeeper.

But how could the innkeeper be so lacking in discernment? Didn't he see the many guards with swords and knives? Was he not afraid of offending them and getting beaten up or having his inn destroyed?

Qin Xianyu thought carefully. The Gao Yun Inn was located on a major road, far from any village or town, which was very inconvenient and risky. However, the innkeeper had managed to run the inn smoothly, and all the risks seemed to be under control, indicating that he was a capable person.

Qin Xianyu narrowed his eyes and looked at him.

The innkeeper was in his forties or fifties, with an ordinary appearance and a slightly sturdy build, dressed in rough clothes. He looked like an ordinary person. His aura was calm, and his constitution had not been trained, indicating that he was neither a cultivator nor a martial artist.

"What are you looking at?" The innkeeper was impatient, "Go away, go away... don't bother me."

PS: My computer is having issues, so I will update two chapters in the evening tomorrow... If it's not fixed by noon, I will bring it back with an external monitor. Also, please support the story with more favorites, I'm almost crying...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends