"If I wanted to cultivate a human great medicine, I could make my move right now—teach Shi Yuqing a trapped version of the six secret depositories' Nuo methods, have her instruct disciples at the Mount Shu Sword Sect, and reap the harvest three hundred years later."
Xu Ying looked at Shi Yuqing, who was diligently studying beneath the Fusang tree, musing to himself, "Relying on the Mount Shu Sword Sect's reputation, I could possess thousands of chives. Once I reap them clean in one fell swoop, the immortal medicines of the six secret depositories within them could keep me immortal and imperishable for ten thousand years! After ten thousand years pass, I could emerge from the mountains once more and repeat the trick to reap another harvest."
Xu Ying's face gradually darkened. He thought, "Right now, Shi Yuqing is just a silly girl who only recently joined the Sword Sect. She knows nothing of the malice in people's hearts. Fortunately, I am an ageless immortal..."
The gloom cleared completely from his face, replaced by a radiant yet sinister smile. "Otherwise, the Sword Sect tragedy would play out all over again, and this girl, along with future Sword Sect disciples, would turn into empty human skins drifting above the sect."
Shi Yuqing was, after all, a prodigy chosen by Mount Shu's past patriarchs. Nuo methods were inherently not difficult: locating dragons and fixing positions was very simple, and the circulation of the arts was merely angling for and refining immortal medicines, not nearly as complex as Qi Refinement. She picked it up with great ease.
The only difficulty was opening the cave-heavens of the six secret depositories.
Her cultivation stage was the same as Xu Ying's—both were in the second Pass-Breaching stage. Although she had lost her memory, her cultivation realm remained. Her six secret depositories had also become incomparably dense and heavy, making opening them exceptionally difficult.
Fortunately, there was still the bronze bell.
The bronze bell today possessed extraordinary might. Having comprehended the Grand Supreme Immortal Scripture of the Golden Casket on its own, it grasped the essence of the six characters—Truth, Spirit, Emptiness, Stillness, Void, and Brightness—and when suspended in midair, it seemed boundless.
Its power had skyrocketed as well. Highly skilled in wielding various branded Dao images, it could unleash its might to the greatest extent, reaching a state like Xu Ying's where it refined itself within while connecting to heaven and earth without.
When activating Dao methods and divine abilities, it could even achieve a state of zero internal expenditure, able to battle indefinitely. Such was the wonder of applying the Golden Core Dao to magical treasures!
This spectacle made Yuan Qi green with envy.
The bronze bell helped Shi Yuqing open five great secret depositories: Mud Pill, Jade Capital, Jade Pool, Yellow Court, and Crimson Palace. It managed each, though with every secret depository unlocked, the effort grew harder, and Shi Yuqing's cultivation grew stronger.
After opening the Crimson Palace secret depository, the bell could no longer sustain the effort, unable to rely on its own power to open the Bubbling Spring secret depository.
"Your cultivation is far deeper than before; this secret depository cannot be opened without an immortal artifact. A mortal treasure cultivated to my level has already reached the pinnacle. If I cannot open it, no other magical treasure can either,"
the bronze bell told Shi Yuqing. "Emei Sect Leader Yan Kongcheng also relied on his Emei's immortal artifact to open the sixth secret depository. Does your Mount Shu Sword Sect possess an immortal artifact?"
Shi Yuqing was muddled and somewhat timid. "An immortal artifact of the Sword Sect... is that something even I can use?"
The bronze bell hesitated for a moment. "Probably."
Shi Yuqing said, "I heard the Mount Shu Sword Sect's immortal artifact is an immortal sword left behind by the founding patriarch, called Siwuxie. When the founding patriarch ascended, he threw it down from the Immortal Realm to anchor our Sword Sect's fortune. Only the sect leader can use this sword. I... I've only just joined the sect..."
She was fraught with worry.
Xu Ying's voice drifted over, leisurely saying, "I am the Mount Shu Sword Sect's Grand Supreme Elder, with seniority even higher than the Sword Sect leader. Wielding the Immortal Sword Siwuxie shouldn't be much of a problem, should it?"
Shi Yuqing was surprised and delighted, yet still somewhat skeptical. "Husband, do you have a token of the Grand Supreme Elder?"
Xu Ying produced the Grand Supreme Elder medallion. Shi Yuqing cheered, but felt uneasy inside. "Could my being accepted under the sect leader's tutelage also have been arranged secretly by Husband behind the scenes? Did he use the Grand Supreme Elder medallion to coerce the supreme Sect Leader, forcing him to take me as a disciple?"
She blinked, letting her imagination run wild. "Wait. How does Husband have a Grand Supreme Elder medallion? Could it be that although he looks like a youth, he is actually an old monster who has lived for thousands of years? I'm only in my teens, yet he took a fancy to me, forcefully seized me, and married me! He even used his authority to send me under the sect leader..."
Xu Ying waved a hand in front of her eyes. Only then did Shi Yuqing snap back to reality, thinking, "Aiya, what nonsense am I imagining? Husband could never be that kind of person!"
Suddenly, memories came flooding into her mind in quick succession: entering the Sword Sect, becoming a disciple, the conflict between Nuo and Qi, the Sword Sect tragedy, the world of great upheaval, the twisted skies and tilted earth, the seals of heaven and earth... Like duckweed submerged beneath muddy water, they quickly bobbed back to the surface.
Shi Yuqing stood there dumbfounded, completely motionless. Her memories rapidly rekindled and surfaced: waking up at the Sword Sect three thousand years later after heaven and earth unsealed, looking out in solitary sorrow, heading to the Wangxiang Platform to search for the Sword Sect venerables, crossing paths with Xu Ying... Everything became clear.
"So... in my muddle-headed state, I strayed onto the wrong path of dual cultivation of Nuo and Qi?"
Two lines of clear tears rolled down her cheeks as she murmured, "How could I, the sect leader, have become a traitor to the Sword Sect?"
Xu Ying was surprised and asked, "Wife, what's the matter?"
"Wife?"
Shi Yuqing's expression darkened slightly as she remembered more. "Right! These past few days, I even called him Husband! Fortunately, he only took advantage of me in words and didn't do anything indecent."
Shi Yuqing was mortified with shame and fury, but kept her composure, thinking, "Yet the human heart is treacherous. Who knows if verbal liberties will lead him to try and take liberties with my body? Let's see what he plans to do. If he tries to violate me, I'll pretend to yield first, and strike when he lets his guard down to slay the Grand Supreme Elder and clean house!"
At that thought, she said softly, "I just spaced out for a moment. Thinking how good Husband has been to me while I have no way to repay you makes me feel rather ashamed."
Right at that moment, a voice came chanting from afar:
"Five days of silver threads to weave a cage,
The Golden Crow captured and sent within.
Who knows who hung it upon the Fusang tree?
Blame only the creek full of red misty waves!
What a fine Golden Crow!"
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow and asked, "Seventh Master, what does this poem mean?"
Yuan Qi replied, "The poem says he spent five days weaving a birdcage out of silver silk, caught a Golden Crow and placed it inside, and someone hung it on the Fusang tree, where the Golden Crow's fire and smoke dyed the creek water red. He's venting his lofty ambition, boasting that he has the will to seize the sun and moon with his bare hands. Ah Ying, you need to read more books."
Xu Ying nodded gently. "I'm reading, whenever I'm free."
Yuan Qi sneered, "You clearly use it as a sleep aid! I saw you holding a book for a moment, then your head tilted and you were out cold!"
Xu Ying muttered defensively, "It's just not as entertaining as legendary romances."
The voice approached swiftly. At first it was a hundred li away, but by now it had reached the Fusang tree. As the speaker walked, he said, "I have heard that among contemporary Nuo arts, Shendu stands foremost. I visited Shendu and paid calls on its young talents; in twenty battles, not one could defeat me. The Cui clan of Shendu stated that among experts of Nuo methods, none surpasses Xu Ying. Today, I have come specially to pay a visit."
Xu Ying asked Yuan Qi, "The Shendu Cui clan... Is that Cui Dongli, the one who constantly wanted to challenge me but never dared to make a move?"
Yuan Qi replied, "Most likely him."
The youth and snake looked toward the voice and saw a young man walking toward the Fusang tree. His features were harmonious and dignified, his bearing extraordinary. With every step, an immortal aura drifted around him. His gaze held divine grace, encompassing the cosmos in heart and swallowing mountains in breath—an aura truly transcendent.
Dressed in purple robes, he was followed by a green ox. That green ox was muscular and vigorous, flesh bulging against its hide. Its round eyes bulged like flashing lightning, radiating astonishing demonic qi. As it walked, rolling dark clouds billowed, blanketing tens of li around!
The purple-robed young man bowed in greeting to Xu Ying with a smile. "I am Xiao Guike of Shangjing Palace. Leaving the palace on this journey, I heard that contemporary cultivators have strayed onto the wrong path, with Nuo methods running rampant. Thus, I sought guidance far and wide, suffering no defeats. I sought to rectify this unwholesome wind and perverse aura. Though I defeated the scions of Shendu's prominent clans, they claimed that only by defeating Brother Xu could it be proven that Qi Refinement is superior."
He bowed slightly. "I ask Brother Xu to grant me your guidance."
Xu Ying nodded gently and said to Shi Yuqing behind him, "Wife, you said just now that you had no way to repay me. Well, your chance has arrived. Go and see him off."
Shi Yuqing's heart trembled. She whispered, "Husband, you might not know this, but he is the successor of Shangjing Palace. Shangjing Palace is an ancient sect; rumor has it they have extraordinarily few disciples, but those selected are all peerless talents. Their Shangjing Palace is meant to produce an immortal in every generation; every palace master of theirs was capable of ascension!"
Xu Ying asked doubtfully, "Can they survive the super heavenly tribulation?"
"No,"
Shi Yuqing said in a low voice. "After the super heavenly tribulation appeared, even Shangjing Palace's masters had no way to ascend. Even so, the successors of Shangjing Palace in every generation are exceptionally outstanding figures, terribly formidable."
Xu Ying laughed. "You have opened five secret depositories. With your cultivation and strength vastly increased, stepping into the realm of the five immortals, you can fight him."
Shi Yuqing braced herself and stepped forward, thinking, "Though Xiao Guike is Shangjing Palace's successor, my Mount Shu Sword Sect's heritage is not inferior in the slightest."
Yet a lingering worry troubled her heart. Shangjing Palace's heritage was exceedingly mysterious, while much of the Sword Sect's heritage had been lost over time; the Sword Sect's profound sword arts were recorded in Immortal Dao runes, difficult to decipher.
Clever and sharp as she was, it was still difficult for her to fully fathom the legacies left by past sword immortals.
Seeing her walk forward, Xiao Guike smiled. "Does Brother Xu lack the courage to fight, daring only to send a young lady to test my depth?"
"Cut the chatter!"
Shi Yuqing shouted, unleashing all five secret depositories. Behind her, twenty revolving cave-heavens manifested in brilliant splendor!
Her cultivation stage had reached the point where she could open four cave-heavens for any given secret depository. Her speed, strength, yuan qi, and divine sense had all made tremendous strides!
Swoosh!
She raised her sleeve. Instantly, the great marsh boiled, its waters whistling upward to form countless water swords converging from all directions into a sword array spanning a hundred li!
Shi Yuqing shocked even herself; she had never imagined her cultivation could leap to such heights!
After opening the Jade Pool secret depository, had her cultivation merely doubled? It was far more!
"Is this the immortal realm of yuan qi among the realm of the five immortals that Husband... er, Elder Xu spoke of?"
Her confidence swelled. Her figure drifted upward, commanding the hundred-li sword array as she floated in the air. Heaven and earth shuddered violently under the circulation of her peerless yuan qi and divine sense!
Xiao Guike looked up at Shi Yuqing at the center of the hundred-li sword array, his expression turning grave. He said to the green ox, "Martial Uncle, hold the line for me!"
He soared into the air like a streak of purple qi, carving straight into the sword array!
The green ox was exceedingly tense, fixing its eyes on the two figures in the sky.
Beneath the Fusang tree, Xu Ying also tilted his head up to watch, suddenly asking, "Seventh Master, Lord Bell, her memories have awakened, haven't they?"
Before Yuan Qi could snap back to reality, the bronze bell had already said, "That's right. The effects of the Meng Po soup on her should be over."
"...heritage indeed has its merits. Why don't you stay?"
Xiao Guike turned a deaf ear. The green ox, however, slowly stood up, its body growing taller and taller like an iron tower, looming over this Shang tribe.
The oppressive aura of the green ox grew heavier, like a god or devil straddling heaven and earth. It said coldly, "You cultivate Nuo methods, straying onto the wrong path, yet you still want to drag my young master into the mud? Malicious intentions!"
Just then, an even mightier pressure swept over them. Fire surged to the heavens upon the Fusang tree, and Jin Buyi's body grew larger and larger, like a blazing sun suddenly appearing above the great marsh, bearing down upon the green ox.
Jin Buyi's gaze was haughty. "Little calf, apologize!"
The green ox trembled. After a moment, it bowed its head and said, "Everyone, it was my fault..."
Xu Ying did not make things difficult for it, only having it kowtow three times before letting it leave.
"Ah Ying is benevolent, and Lord Jin has such a kindly countenance," Yuan Qi praised.
Xu Ying watched the green ox depart into the distance, deep in thought. "Shangjing Palace's heritage is indeed formidable. Xiao Guike wields various immortal arts with ease, even more adeptly than Yan Kongcheng. If he cultivated Nuo methods, he would surely take another step forward and become a formidable rival of mine."
He had a feeling that this era of great upheaval would give rise to some truly transcendent monsters!
"If I don't work hard, I'll be overtaken by these monsters!" he thought to himself.
That night, when it was time to rest, Shi Yuqing lay in bed, feeling both anticipation and worry. "The moment he comes to take liberties with my body, I'll strike to clean house!"
She waited for a long time, but Xu Ying never came in to take liberties with her, leaving her feeling gradually disappointed.
Most of the night slipped by. Suddenly, Xu Ying knocked on the door. Shi Yuqing's heart thudded wildly. "Finally!"
Xu Ying did not enter. His voice came from outside: "Yuqing, wake up early today. We need to hit the road to the Mount Shu Sword Sect."
Shi Yuqing was utterly disappointed. She answered, scrambled out of bed, and opened the door, only to see Xu Ying and the others already packed and ready to set out.
Shi Yuqing hesitated for a good while before finally summoning her courage, asking softly, "Husband, why haven't you taken my body these past few days?"
Xu Ying asked in surprise, "Yuqing, haven't your memories awakened? Why would you say such a thing?"
Shi Yuqing froze. Clenching her fists tight, countless fine wisps of sword qi hissed and darted all around her, but she forcefully held herself back.
"Lord Bell, I can see it now—she wants to take advantage of me," Xu Ying whispered to the bronze bell.
The bronze bell slowly rotated. "I could tell early on that this woman was not quite right."
Xu Ying nodded in deep agreement.
Faintly overhearing their exchange, veins popped on Shi Yuqing's forehead. She abruptly sprang up with a sharp cry, her five fingers splayed wide. Countless sword qi rushed forth like a mighty torrent, whistling away and shearing off a distant mountain peak!
Chapter 213