"Still, he truly treats Sect Master Yan as a friend."
Watching Xu Ying's retreating figure, Qiao Zizhong felt genuinely happy for Yan Kongcheng. He murmured silently, "He risked his life to lay his cards on the table with me. Such friendship is worth cherishing. After all, I cannot show my face in the open. If Emei is to secure a foothold, Sect Master Yan needs more friends like Xu Ying."
He hesitated for a moment, and as he recalled the precious treasures he had collected, a flare of anger inevitably sparked in his chest. "It's just that this Xu Ying is far too unprincipled in how he conducts himself!"
Even after parting from Qiao Zizhong, Xu Ying felt a lingering chill of dread.
Qiao Zizhong was undoubtedly an angler on par with Li Xiaoke—and he was the true owner of the twenty-four bright moon beads. The tomb Xu Ying had emptied clean back in Mount Emei was Qiao Zizhong's own tomb!
Facing such a terrifying entity, he had been forced to feign composure and even utter harsh threats. To say he had not been worried would be a lie.
Right now, his heart was drumming like mad, his mouth and lips were parched, and he did not dare look back. His legs were still trembling slightly.
"If Qiao Zizhong had made a move against me, even with the Heavenly Dao domain, I doubt I could have lasted more than a few exchanges. My only recourse would have been to summon Lu Wu. But an angler's strength isn't necessarily inferior to Lu Wu's," he thought to himself.
Seeing that Xu Ying and Qiao Zizhong had spoken so amiably, Yan Kongcheng was also overjoyed. "Patriarch Qingshuang must have taken a fancy to Brother Xu's talent and aptitude, wanting to accept him as a disciple. That's why he painstakingly taught him how to refine and operate the bright moon beads. I won't expose this just yet. Once their bond deepens, I'll go with the flow and reveal Patriarch Qingshuang's true identity, and Brother Xu can naturally enter under our Emei sect."
He felt rather smug. "With our ancestral patriarchs watching from above, they will surely be thrilled to gain such a disciple."
After Xu Ying had mastered the Eight Methods of the God of War, he had never encountered an even more brilliant martial art. Yet that peerless powerhouse who had opened up the Other Shore of the Martial Dao had left behind things in this valley beyond those eight methods.
When Xu Ying had executed the Eight Methods of the God of War in the valley earlier, he had discovered that the warrior had created new techniques founded upon the original eight.
Moreover, the valley retained an even fiercer fighting spirit and will to battle. It was like an untamable mortal who dared to shatter everything, fighting against heaven, earth, and nature amid adversity, smashing every single god and shackle symbolizing the Heavenly Dao into dust!
Martial Dao began with mortals.
It was mortals using their own bodies, wielding their fragile flesh as weapons to contend against a hostile environment.
That peerless master had brought this principle to its absolute pinnacle during the battle in this Heavenly Dao valley.
Xu Ying studied and comprehended the moves of this Martial Dao Great Emperor, attempting to deduce the techniques that followed the Eight Methods of the God of War from the faintest clues.
Yan Kongcheng was also trying to deduce the Martial Dao Great Emperor's techniques, but lacking any foundation in the Martial Dao, attempting to comprehend them out of thin air was extraordinarily difficult.
"Sect Master, you could use the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Technique and the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array to seek his instruction on the Eight Methods of the God of War," Qiao Zizhong reminded him.
Yan Kongcheng shot him a surprised glance and whispered, "Patriarch, that is your supreme art!"
Qiao Zizhong replied, "Our Emei possesses one supreme art. But if we trade this supreme art for another, we will possess two."
Yan Kongcheng acknowledged the wisdom in this and said, "Only, if I teach it to him, Patriarch will have one fewer opportunity to take him in as your personal disciple."
Qiao Zizhong did his utmost to maintain his deadpan expression, yet he was still stunned speechless by those words. He thought, *Taking him as my disciple? Do I think my life is too long, or does Emei think its own life is too long?*
Yan Kongcheng walked up beside Xu Ying and proposed the exchange. Naturally pleased to accept, Xu Ying smiled and said, "The Eight Methods of the God of War is both a martial cultivation method and a martial divine ability. Although getting started is difficult, with your intellect and comprehension, it shouldn't be too hard."
The two instructed each other. Xu Ying possessed profound mastery over the Martial Dao, but Yan Kongcheng had no foundation whatsoever, so diving headlong into such deep martial principles inevitably left him bewildered. Xu Ying, on the other hand, had practiced the Grand Supreme Immortal Scripture of the Golden Casket, so he picked up the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Technique with remarkable speed.
However, having no prior exposure to tactical formations, his progress with the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array was rather slow.
"Brother Yan, you can compare the wounds on the corpses of the heavenly god avatars in this valley with the Martial Dao Great Emperor's strikes to comprehend and practice the Eight Methods of the God of War," Xu Ying suggested.
Realization dawned on Yan Kongcheng. Looking back and forth between the strikes and the wounds left on the heavenly gods in the valley, he gradually grasped the execution techniques of the Eight Methods of the God of War. He smiled and said, "Ziqiao, help Brother Xu understand the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array."
With a stiff, deadpan expression, Qiao Zizhong stepped forward. While explaining the secrets of the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array, his heart bled.
"Although the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads are not unique to Emei and others could possess them, the distinct patterns of mountains and rivers within the bright moons still show clear differences," Qiao Zizhong said coolly, his gaze resting on the twenty-four glowing pearls. "Yet the mountains and rivers in your bright moons are identical to the ones in my Emei's. Isn't that a bit too coincidental?"
Xu Ying acted surprised. "Patriarch Qingshuang, these are the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Beads from your Emei! Don't you recognize them? I dug them out of your tomb."
Qiao Zizhong clenched his fists tightly, barely suppressing the urge to smash him to death with a single punch.
Xu Ying continued, "The main reason I'm asking for the method to refine the bright moon beads is that I wasn't refining them properly. After using them a few times to manifest the Heavenly Dao domain, they began to crack. Right now, quite a few of them have developed fractures. Since you crafted them, you naturally know how to repair them."
Qiao Zizhong's hands were shaking.
Behind Xu Ying, Yuan Qi, the bronze bell, and the purple immortal plant were also trembling.
"Ah Ying, why don't we... not bring that up?" the bronze bell urged tremulously.
The purple immortal plant poked Xu Ying, likewise signaling shakily that this matter was best left unsaid.
Struggling to steady his emotions, Qiao Zizhong said, "Once you master the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Technique, you can repair them yourself."
Xu Ying smiled. "It would be much faster if you helped me repair them."
Qiao Zizhong took a long, deep breath and exhaled a mouthful of foul air. He stepped forward to repair the bright moon beads for Xu Ying while instructing him on how to deploy the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array.
Xu Ying was humble and eager to learn. By the time Qiao Zizhong finished repairing the beads, Xu Ying had also grasped the general workings of the Twenty-Four Heavens Immortal Array.
However, this array involved numerous numerical calculations, requiring various formulas and algorithms to solve, which proved extremely taxing for him.
Seeing him frustrated by arithmetic, Qiao Zizhong felt a surge of secret satisfaction.
With the bright moon beads no longer in danger of shattering, Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief. Over this period, Yan Kongcheng had practiced the Eight Methods of the God of War until his forms were decent, gradually stepping through the gateway of the Martial Dao.
*The successor sect master chosen by the Emei patriarchs truly is a dragon among men,* Xu Ying praised internally at the sight. *Ah Cheng's aptitude and comprehension are only a tiny sliver behind mine back then. Remarkable indeed.*
He ceased practicing the Bright Moon Mountains and Rivers Technique and returned to wholeheartedly contemplating the Martial Dao Great Emperor's moves.
Suddenly, a strange thrum resonated through the air. It felt as though the divine consciousness of an Immortal King seated high above the nine heavens had spread out, carrying supreme, wondrous truths directly into the minds of everyone across the sacred mountains and lands of the Kunlun Ruins, causing wondrous Dao images to rise before their eyes.
"The Divine Consciousness Immortal Medicine!"
Xu Ying and Yuan Qi looked up in unison, gazing toward Jade Void Peak in shock and uncertainty. Looking into the distance, immortal light surged and burst forth from the mountain, blossoming outward like ten thousand beams of radiance.
The radiance was divided into nine layers. From afar, each layer seemed only a few inches thick, but up close they spanned an unknown distance, appearing almost solid.
Within the ninth layer of radiance, an immortal palace hovered amid whorls of immortal fire. The thrum brought by the divine consciousness immortal medicine was emanating from that very place!
"The immortal medicine controlled by Nuo Lu!"
Yan Kongcheng grew excited and hastily said to Xu Ying and Qiao Zizhong, "I received a message from the Supreme Patriarch. Nuo Lu is one of the six great Nuo ancestors, and he controls the immortal medicine! We must head there at once; perhaps we can seize this opportunity!"
Xu Ying hesitated, shaking his head. "Brother Yan, I feel that harvesting the immortal medicine of the six secret depositories on ordinary days is already enough. Why bother seeking the medicine held by the Nuo ancestors?"
He had always harbored doubts about the origins of those six Nuo ancestors.
Yan Kongcheng laughed. "According to the patriarch's message, the six Nuo ancestors truly possess immortal medicine in their hands, and it is entirely different from the medicine reaped by Nuo masters. Rumor has it they hold the keys to the six immortal palaces. When we open our secret depositories, the immortal medicine we catch is merely the medicinal fragrance wafting out from the immortal palaces. But the medicine held by the six Nuo ancestors is actual medicine refined within the palaces—medicine that allows a person to directly ascend!"
The moment he said this, everyone except the bronze bell was tempted.
Even Xu Ying, even Qiao Zizhong, and even the purple immortal plant felt a stir of greed.
Xu Ying thought, *If I could obtain the immortal medicine of the six ancestors, wouldn't I be able to ascend directly to the Immortal Realm? Even if I couldn't ascend to the Immortal Realm, becoming an undying, imperishable immortal in the mortal realm would be wonderful, too!*
The purple immortal plant also fantasized about taking root within the medicine of the six ancestors, riding the rosy clouds of ascension to become a petty grass immortal.
As for Yuan Qi, he was already enraptured, thoroughly intoxicated by the thought.
Although Qiao Zizhong deeply doubted the origins of the six Nuo ancestors, hearing that this was genuine medicine produced within the six immortal palaces and halls stirred his greed as well. He hesitated internally: *In that case, I might as well go take a look.*
He had planted chives with pseudo-Nuo techniques and refined the great medicine of the human body precisely to compensate for his inability to unlock the six secret depositories and fish out their immortal medicines.
Yet the immortal medicine of the six secrets was merely the scent released by the medicine in those six immortal palaces. In other words, no one had ever consumed the true immortal medicine of the six secrets.
Even the scent alone was enough to grant longevity, sustaining countless Nuo masters, Nuo immortals, anglers, and chives.
If one ingested the true medicine of the six secrets, ascension would likely be trivial!
If the six Nuo ancestors genuinely possessed the real immortal medicine of the six secrets, it was an irresistible temptation to him.
Xu Ying hesitated for a moment, looked toward the traces of battle left by the Martial Dao Great Emperor in the valley, and said, "Brother Yan, you two go ahead. I must comprehend the profundities here. I feel my Martial Dao is on the verge of a major breakthrough."
Yan Kongcheng immediately summoned Qiao Zizhong, saying, "The palace medicine held by the Nuo ancestors is likely limited in quantity. If we arrive late, there won't even be pot-scrubbing water left! Ziqiao, let's go!"
Qiao Zizhong strode after him. Xu Ying hurriedly called out, "If the bright moon beads get damaged again in the future, I'll have to trouble Ziqiao to repair them for me!"
Qiao Zizhong's face darkened, but he gave no reply.
Exiting the valley and heading straight for Jade Void Peak, Yan Kongcheng said with a smile, "Patriarch, I can see Brother Xu is quite fond of you; he's always looking to get closer to you."
Qiao Zizhong remained expressionless, but his heart was weeping blood.
Casting aside all distracting thoughts, Xu Ying continued his contemplation. Suddenly, he leapt into the air and began executing the Eight Methods of the God of War over and over. Following the trajectory of the Martial Dao Great Emperor's fists, he struck out toward the positions of those heavenly gods, attempting to recreate the scene of the Martial Dao Great Emperor slaying the deities back then.
Yuan Qi and the purple immortal plant grew increasingly anxious. Yuan Qi kept peering toward Jade Void Peak, thinking, *Even if we can't obtain the palace medicine, catching a whiff of the fragrance would still be great.*
The purple immortal plant took control of half of Yuan Qi's brain, coaxing him to go together. Yuan Qi rolled his eyes and said, "Aba, aba aba! (If Ah Ying isn't going, I'm not going either. If something happens, Ah Ying won't be there to shield us.)"
The purple immortal plant pointed at the bronze bell. Yuan Qi retorted, "Aba aba! (Immortal medicine is useless to that dumb bell, it won't go.)"
Nevertheless, Yuan Qi's curiosity was itching unbearably. He personally went to persuade the bronze bell, saying, "My belly stores numerous exotic treasures. When Lord Bell goes to Ancestor Chanyan's place, they can be used on you. Ah Ying has no idea how many treasures are in my belly. When the time comes, won't it be up to me how many are spent on Lord Bell?"
The bronze bell humored him, "What does Lord Seventh have in mind?"
Yuan Qi looked toward Jade Void Peak. The bronze bell pondered for a moment before saying, "I can escort you there, but I won't personally vie for the immortal medicine."
Yuan Qi grinned. "Your word is enough, Lord Bell. Lord Grass, hop on!"
One snake, one bell, and one stalk of grass slipped out of the Heavenly Dao domain and dashed enthusiastically toward Jade Void Peak.
In the valley, Xu Ying lost himself in cultivation, practicing the Eight Methods of the God of War time and again, attempting to enter the state of mind the Martial Dao Great Emperor had inhabited while slaughtering his way through the siege of heavenly gods.
His Martial Dao cultivation advanced with increasing speed. His martial spirit grew more vigorous, and the might of the Eight Methods of the God of War expanded accordingly.
His boundless Golden Core mirrored his spirit. Within it, a towering figure seemed to continuously execute wondrous techniques, battling heavenly gods.
Suddenly, the moves of that towering figure in Xu Ying's Golden Core were no longer confined to the Eight Methods of the God of War. His strikes and kicks carried a profound Dao charm, harmonizing with the Great Dao of heaven and earth to unleash an even more dazzling supreme art!
Three seal methods gradually crystallized in Xu Ying's mind.
The subsequent three seal methods following the Eight Methods of the God of War unfolded through his hands.
The ninth method was the Sky-Breaking Seal Method, a seal that broke the Heavenly Dao. Mobilizing the power of heaven and earth, it contended against the Heavenly Dao and shattered it.
The tenth method was the Other Shore Seal Method, which expounded the Dao of the Martial Dao Great Emperor and interpreted the other shore in his heart. When unleashed, this strike transformed martial arts into the Dao, recreating the other shore within the fist technique!
The eleventh method was the Ascension Seal Method, which aimed to ascend from the other shore and step straight into the Immortal Realm!
Xu Ying executed the Sky-Breaking Method, the Other Shore Method, and the Ascension Method in sequence. Upon unleashing the Ascension Seal, his vital qi, blood, cultivation, physical body, and soul were suddenly gripped by the sensation of ascending amid rosy clouds, as if he were about to fly out of this world and step into another space-time!
*Did the Martial Dao Great Emperor truly ascend?* Xu Ying was startled, waking from his state of enlightenment.
Calming his surging blood and vital qi, he suppressed the sensation of ascension. He discovered that in just a few short days, his Martial Dao cultivation had progressed from one hundred thousand layers of Xiantian to two hundred thousand layers of Xiantian, filling him with immense joy.
"Lord Seventh! Lord Bell! Lord Grass!"
He called out several times, but no one responded. Looking up, he saw the radiant immortal light of Jade Void Palace still shining with dazzling brilliance atop Jade Void Peak.
Xu Ying frowned slightly, immediately realizing that Yuan Qi and the others had likely gone to Jade Void Peak to join in the excitement.
"With Lord Bell's strength, they have more than enough power to protect themselves."
After a moment's hesitation, Xu Ying chose not to head to Jade Void Peak. Instead, he left the valley and walked toward Jade Bead Peak.
*I wonder if that maiden of the Undying People is still waiting for me beside the paddy fields on the mountain...*
Chapter 237