An Le looked at the piece of white jade before him. Nine gray patterns ran across its surface, varying in thickness and arranged neatly. Perhaps it should not be called white jade, but flower jade.
"Quenching Demon Jade..."
An Le murmured. To be honest, he was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the Time Dao Fruit to actually manifest as a physical object.
This Quenching Demon Jade was somewhat like a cultivation treasure, and a rather precious one at that—an auxiliary treasure that could aid cultivation.
After learning about cultivation from Madam Hua, An Le was no longer utterly ignorant of it. Cultivation was like contending to cross a river; the higher one climbed, the fiercer the struggle became.
Competition naturally could not do without slaughter, and slaughter required weapons. Dharma treasures were the weapons of cultivators, though they could also be divided into offensive and auxiliary types.
Caressing the Quenching Demon Jade, An Le sensed that the nine gray patterns within the jade seemed to contain vast demonic qi. Tempering the body with demonic qi could strengthen one's physique until it was like a demon's body!
For demons to take human form, they had to undergo a hundred years of cultivation. Tempered by the years, demon bodies were naturally tough. Although powerful Body Forging Martial Artists were no weaker than Great Demons in terms of fleshly bodies, tempering the body with demonic qi was indeed an efficient method of cultivation.
An Le's interest was stirred. The courtyard was spacious as well, so after tidying away the potted flowers and plants, he stood firmly in the yard, intending to practice a round of the Tiger Form.
His mind poured into the Demonic Jade. One gray pattern on the jade nearly boiled and writhed as boundless demonic qi overflowed from within!
His qi and blood churned beneath his skin as An Le began the Tiger Form.
As his qi and blood circulated, the demonic qi that arose seemed to be drawn in through every pore, pouring beneath his skin and into his meridians. A stabbing pain spread through him.
An Le furrowed his brows, but he still endured the pain and continued practicing the Tiger Form.
After one round, hot sweat streamed from An Le's body, flecked with a trace of blood!
An Le could clearly feel that both his skin and physique had become much tougher.
So this was demonic qi tempering the body?!
An Le was somewhat delighted. The Five-Animal Body Tempering Technique was originally meant to be paired with medicinal broth for body tempering, which would accelerate the forging of the flesh.
Yet under the tempering of demonic qi, the effect seemed even better than medicinal broth!
Overjoyed, An Le tirelessly continued cultivating the body tempering technique, practicing the Bird Form.
Of the Bird Form and Tiger Form, these were what An Le Now excelled at most. Watching Fourth Master Lin temper his body beneath the waterfall had brought An Le great gains.
Although yesterday's spring rain had stopped, puddles gathered from rainwater still had not dried in the hollows of the Bluestone Slab Road between the alleyways. Fallen leaves beaten down by yesterday's rain floated upon the puddles, slowly spinning.
With a splat, the world reflected in the water alongside the fallen leaves was shattered beneath a descending cloth shoe.
Droplets splashed up, then fell again. Muddy water swirled in the hollow, and a fallen leaf was dragged up by the cloth shoe and stuck to its sole, rustling softly with every step.
The simply dressed elder who emerged from the Imperial Ancestral Temple walked slowly, his two long brows fluttering in the wind.
Sensing the demonic qi drifting through the air, the elder's expression remained indifferent. Before long, he followed Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley to the source from which the demonic qi was spilling out.
The little courtyard's gate had not been closed. From outside, he could hear the boiling churn of qi and blood within, as well as the force of a cultivator's fists stirring the air with tiger-like gusts.
The elder peered into the courtyard and paused in slight surprise. "Eh? Not a demon, but a human."
"Using the Five Animals Body Forging as a foundation to draw in demonic qi and temper the body... quite an idea. But demonic qi is difficult to draw upon. This demonic qi comes from the jade pendant worn by that youth—rather interesting."
"Compared to using medicinal broth to forge the flesh, demonic qi tempering is more efficient."
The elder stroked his beard, then began to admire An Le's Five Animals Body Forging. The longer he watched, the brighter his eyes became. By the end, there was even a hint of nostalgia in them.
"The Five-Animal Body Tempering Technique is a body-forging method collected by Tianbo Lin Manor. It uses the postures of the five animals to forge the flesh. Though it is not a top-tier body-forging method, it is still fairly good. This youth's Tiger Form and Bird Form actually carry a few traces of Lin Family's Fourth Master."
The elder smiled, interest surfacing in his eyes.
He had come to punish a demon, yet the source of the demonic qi turned out to be a young man. There was no need to discipline him, then.
Using demonic qi to temper the body was unusual, but not unprecedented. In the Yuan Meng Empire, some martial fanatics even hunted thousand-year Great Demons, killed them and bled them dry, then bathed in the blood of Great Demons steeped in resentment and savagery to temper their bodies. Compared to that, tempering the body with demonic qi was nothing much.
"He cultivates the Five Animals, and his mind also carries the intent of the Sword Waterfall Diagram... this youth must be the young man at the Quiet Street Entrance yesterday who prompted the little lady of Lin Manor to act?"
The elder pondered for a moment and guessed An Le's identity.
Though yesterday's clash had been but a fleeting glimpse, Jade Guanyin had flicked out spiritual power and brought three thousand drops of spring rain down as swords. Such might was naturally extraordinary and had drawn the attention of many powerful figures.
Inside the courtyard, An Le, who was practicing the Bird Form, suddenly felt his heart palpitate. His mind tensed, as though a pair of deep eyes were spying on him.
After finishing the Bird Form, bloodied sweat rolled down An Le's body. It was the transformation of his physique.
But he had no time to pay attention to it. Looking toward the courtyard gate, he saw a long-browed elder in plain robes gazing at him with great interest.
The sensation of being watched by those deep eyes vanished. The elder became utterly ordinary, with no leakage or display of qi and blood, spiritual power, or any other force, like a common aged old man.
Yet in An Le's eyes, strand after strand of Time Qi covered the elder's body as densely as seaweed, swaying in the wind.
Even Madam Hua's Time Qi could not compare before this elder!
For a moment, An Le could not even estimate how many strands of Time Qi the elder possessed!
A true cultivation expert!
He was the strongest being An Le had encountered so far. Even Madam Hua fell far short.
An Le's heart stirred. This elder might be the powerful figure stationed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple that he had passed earlier?
Facing such an expert and seeing the strands of Time Qi swaying around him like seaweed, An Le did not hesitate in the slightest and began to draw them in.
Yet after a strenuous tug-of-war, An Le failed to draw any in.
He could not strip even a single strand of Time Qi from the elder.
Drawing Time Qi from Madam Hua had already been immensely difficult. Now that he was trying to draw it from someone even stronger than her, failure was not unexpected.
This further confirmed An Le's guess. If he wanted to draw Time Qi from powerful people, his own cultivation had to keep pace. Otherwise, he would end up in the awkward situation of being unable to pull their Time Qi at all.
"Little friend, you only moved here today, did you not? Your face is quite unfamiliar. This old man also lives in Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley, so we may be considered close neighbors," the elder said with a smile.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at An Le with profound interest. Just now, An Le had been staring at him with a rather strange look. What had this youth seen?
"This junior is An Le, from Chong Prefecture. I came to Lin'an for the Spring Imperial Examination and purchased this little courtyard so that I might cultivate and study. I hope I have not disturbed you, Senior."
An Le cupped his fists and bowed respectfully.
The Long-browed Elder paused in the middle of stroking his beard, understanding that An Le had likely sensed his strength.
"A cultivator whose spiritual power has only just been born and whose qi and blood have only just awakened can actually discern this old man's cultivation? Even that little Luo Qingchen, whose Dao Heart has been toyed with time and again, leaving him unlucky and miserable, might not notice this old man's concealment."
The elder pondered inwardly, finding An Le increasingly interesting.
No wonder the Jade Guanyin of Lin Manor had acted for this youth.
"No need for such courtesy. This old man speaks the truth—now that you have moved into Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley, we are neighbors. Meeting is fate. Little fellow, from now on, when you draw the demonic qi from your jade to temper your body, simply remain within this courtyard. This old man will erase the leaking demonic qi for you, lest you attract some unreasonable Demon Slayers from Lin'an Prefecture and disrupt the order."
The elder smiled.
Hearing this, An Le was somewhat startled...
He truly had not considered the matter of Demon Slayers.
"Thank you, Senior." An Le respectfully cupped his fists and bowed in gratitude.
The elder waved a hand. "No need for such courtesy. I simply do not want those Demon Slayers disturbing the peace of Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley."
"You practice the Five Animals and possess Fourth Master Lin's bearing. You have also cultivated Hua Jiebing's Sword Waterfall Diagram. You must be that painter who entered Lin Manor... This old man has some experience in painting as well. Perhaps I could seek a little guidance from you, little friend."
The elder smiled.
An Le was not surprised that the other had recognized his identity. Someone like this was likely on the same level as Old Madam of Lin Manor.
"I would not dare speak of guidance. We can exchange ideas..."
An Le said modestly with a bow.
"Hahaha, exchanging ideas is good! Wait here. This old man finished a painting this morning—I shall go fetch it now."
The elder was swift and decisive, truly intending to return and retrieve his painting.
However, after giving it some thought, An Le said, "Senior, this student must go to Lin Manor to paint portraits for the young masters who are about to depart for war. It is something I promised Lin Manor. Without first asking leave, I cannot fail to go."
The elder raised his long brows. "You refuse this old man now—are you not afraid this old man will become angry?"
As his words fell, a vast surge of spiritual power suddenly spread from the elder's body. In an instant, it was as though dusk clouds filled the heavens and streaming lightning roared, its pressure toppling down like a mountain!
Faced with that terrifying pressure, bolstered by the Fearless Heart Dao Fruit, An Le stood straight as a pine or cypress, neither humble nor overbearing. He cupped his fists and said solemnly, "Words without constancy in trust, actions without constancy in integrity—wherever profit lies, such a person bends without restraint. Such a person may be called a petty man."
"Perhaps exchanging painting skills with Senior could please you and benefit me, but since I have already promised Lin Manor, I must do what I ought to do."
Hearing this, an unusual light flashed through the elder's eyes. The pressure around him and that powerful mind vanished in an instant, like clear skies after rain.
The elder smiled with satisfaction and appreciation. "You possess the spirit to remain unshaken even with mountains collapsing before you. Little fellow, your courage is commendable. A gentleman values his word; a promise weighs a thousand pieces of gold. Reason is on your side."
"Go. This old man will come find you again tonight."
With those words, the elder had already turned and left the courtyard.
Hearing this, An Le immediately smiled and cupped his fists.
"Then after this student finishes work, I shall buy a jug of Old Yellow Wine and discuss painting with Senior over drinks."
The elder's plain robes fluttered as his cloth shoes kicked through pooled water and fallen leaves between the bluestone slabs. Only his faint voice drifted back from the alleyway.
"Ah, there will be wine... using paintings as a drinking accompaniment, little fellow, you know how to handle things. Very good."
Before you continue