Pure Yang One Qi Art

The old Daoist pondered for a moment, then nodded and pulled out a roll of Brocade Silk from his robes.

With a light flick of his wrist, the Brocade Silk drifted like a weightless feather across ten meters of open air before landing steadily in front of Xu Yunfan.

Xu Yunfan reflexively caught it and opened it. Written boldly upon it were the words "Pure Yang One Qi Art."

His brows rose as he waved the Brocade Silk in his hand, about to say something when Li Haomiao hurriedly strained his voice to shout, "This one's even better!"

Xu Yunfan could not help closing his mouth, a smile appearing on his face. Even the ugly old Daoist seemed a little more pleasing to the eye.

The old Daoist glanced at Fang Mushan beside Xu Yunfan, and his expression shifted slightly. "I am Dao Sect Bi Sheng. Young man, are you willing to follow me?"

Fang Mushan froze, instinctively pointing at himself with a puzzled expression. "Daoist Priest, are you talking about me?"

Bi Sheng nodded slightly, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Your aptitude is excellent. You possess Divine Power from birth, and your blood and qi are like a flood dragon's. You are truly gifted. Are you willing to enter my Dao Sect?"

Fang Mushan had naturally heard of the Dao Sect's illustrious reputation. Overjoyed, he agreed without hesitation.

As he took a step forward, he paused, turned around, and clasped his hands toward Xu Yunfan with a hint of apology. "Brother Xu, thank you for looking after me along the way. If fate allows, we'll meet again."

Xu Yunfan smiled in reply. "The light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains. Go on, Brother Fang."

When Fang Mushan reached Li Haomiao's side, Bi Sheng did not even spare Xu Yunfan a glance. He stretched out his two broad, fan-like palms, grabbed one person in each hand, and vanished without a trace in an instant.

They were gone!

Xu Yunfan watched into the distance for a long while before slowly withdrawing his gaze. He gathered his thoughts, glanced at the Pure Yang One Qi Art in his hand, and pondered silently.

Doesn't know quality when he sees it. I've got cheats... Is my aptitude really that bad?

Just as Xu Yunfan was about to turn and descend Accumulating Cloud Mountain, his footsteps suddenly halted. His gaze shifted to Li Miaoyun, who had nearly blended into the ice and snow.

After Li Haomiao sealed the qi in her body with True Force, she was no different from an ordinary weak woman. In the mountaintop temperatures of more than ten or twenty degrees below zero, without outside intervention, she would soon freeze to death.

This person is of great use...

Xu Yunfan could not help looking up at the sky.

If she's so useful, then take her away!

This left Xu Yunfan in something of a dilemma. After pondering briefly, he pretended not to see her and quickly turned to leave. Once he descended Accumulating Cloud Mountain, the world was vast and he could go anywhere. Why waste his time on Li Miaoyun?

Li Miaoyun struggled to raise her head and watched Xu Yunfan swiftly vanish from sight, her expression somewhat blank.

Ever since becoming the Celestial Pivot Sect Holy Maiden, she had been treated like the moon surrounded by stars wherever she went. Everyone gave way to her, and even the Empress treated her with great gentleness.

Yet now, she was being treated like trash, as though even one more glance at her was too much.

Before long, she steadied herself and forced her body upright, slowly making her way down the mountain.

The soles of her feet, which had never felt anything before, now stung with needle-like cold, making her steps unsteady. The bone-piercing cold around her left her shivering.

She adjusted her breathing slightly and continued onward, leaving one footprint after another.

After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly felt her body grow warm, even becoming feverishly hot.

She stopped, sat down to rest, and looked up at the goose-feather snow beginning to drift through the sky once more.

She stretched out her hand, caught a snowflake, and quietly held it before her eyes.

"Master, I have disappointed you. I failed to bring Li Haomiao back."

Li Miaoyun murmured under her breath, muttering something indistinctly. As time passed, snow gradually covered her body until she was completely buried, no trace of her original appearance remaining.

"What a pity!"

Behind a huge boulder not far away, Xu Yunfan casually tossed the stone in his hand aside, his face full of emotion. If she had not died, he would have needed to throw two more stones at her. This worked out nicely.

It was his first time seeing someone die in such a manner. Li Miaoyun in particular was extraordinarily beautiful. With her qi sealed, she truly inspired pity in anyone who saw her.

What a wonderful death! What a perfect death!

Xu Yunfan forcefully suppressed his excitement. Li Miaoyun's earlier words about killing Fang Mushan and him still echoed clearly in his mind.

Just hearing them had made him deeply uncomfortable. If he had simply fled, he might truly have been unable to eat or sleep in peace afterward, perhaps even needing to sleep with one eye open.

That was why he had resolved to drag Fang Mushan back. The facts proved that he had made the right choice.

Li Haomiao was a decent man. So long as it was within his capabilities, Xu Yunfan would naturally lend a hand.

As for approaching Li Miaoyun to finish her off, Xu Yunfan naturally would not take such a risk lightly. This woman was too strange. Who knew what means she might have to take them both down with her?

It was enough to patiently wait for her to die.

Xu Yunfan silently waited in place for two hours. Everything around him was deathly quiet, with only the occasional sound of Cold Wind murmuring in his ears.

Only when the eastern sky began to pale and the sun slowly poked its head out did the silence break.

In an instant, a golden ray like a sharp sword tore through the sky and poured downward, shrouding all of Accumulating Cloud Mountain.

The once dim Accumulating Cloud Mountain now seemed edged in gold, gleaming brilliantly. Every inch of earth and every rock was bathed in warm sunlight, shining a dazzling gold.

Xu Yunfan slowly stood up and stretched. He glanced once more at the place where Li Miaoyun lay buried in the distance. After confirming that nothing was amiss, he turned and swiftly departed.

Before long, the heavy snow covered his tracks, swiftly concealing all signs of his departure.

After he left, the snowdrift covering Li Miaoyun seemed to become eternal. The snow atop Accumulating Cloud Mountain never melted year-round. Unless something unforeseen happened, Li Miaoyun would sleep here forever.

On the other side of Accumulating Cloud Mountain, peaks rose and fell in endless succession, like a sleeping giant dragon winding across the earth, or surging waves interwoven with white and green, rolling until they merged with the horizon.

Lush trees blanketed in snow filled the area. Snow white, emerald green, and withered yellow intertwined, slowly forming a picturesque landscape.

It was as though this and the Eight Hundred Li Barren River Ice Field behind Xu Yunfan belonged to two entirely different worlds.

"Not a bad place."

Such a sight had been rare even in his previous life.

As the saying went, climbing a mountain was easy, but descending one was difficult.

But with Fleet Foot, a lightness technique, Xu Yunfan descended at astonishing speed. It took him only a little more than half a day to reach the foot of the mountain.

Along the way, Xu Yunfan constantly practiced Fleet Foot, and its proficiency rose rapidly.

'You exert force through your legs and seem to have grasped the essence of Fleet Foot. Proficiency has increased.'

'As you sprinted at full speed, the crucial principles of Fleet Foot flashed through your mind. In an instant, you broke through the bottleneck of speed, and your proficiency increased substantially.'

'...'

By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, Xu Yunfan checked the Fleet Foot proficiency displayed in his field of vision.

779 points.

He looked back at Accumulating Cloud Mountain, a flicker of interest in his eyes.

Perhaps if he ran back and forth a few more times, Fleet Foot might reach the major mastery stage.

Fleet Foot was a tendon-training martial art. Once it reached major mastery, his tendon training would naturally reach major mastery as well.

(I'd like to ask something. Li Miaoyun still has another part to her storyline, but I'm worried everyone may find it too wordy. What do you readers think?)