Emerald Forest Mountain, Inner Court.
In a bamboo cottage on the north side.
Fang Jiming, his face deathly pale, stood with his hands behind his back and murmured, "He even turned down contribution points handed to him on a platter. He's certainly cautious."
The young disciple Song Yue beside him said, "It's possible this Yu Xiu is more talented than Liu Qingchuan and the other three. Even without anyone to guide him, he's continued to make progress."
Another equally young disciple, Yuan Shu, asked in puzzlement, "What makes you say that?"
Song Yue replied, "If cultivation were difficult and slow for him, he'd have lost patience long ago, just like Zhao Hong and the others. But as far as I know, Yu Xiu has been cultivating in seclusion this whole time. Clearly, he's made some headway."
Yuan Shu laughed. "It's only been a little over a month. What headway could he possibly have made? From what Zhao Hong and the others have told us, Yu Xiu is still at the first level of the Qi Sea. Reaching the second level is probably a distant dream.
"He can still cultivate in seclusion for now. But once Zhao Hong and the others, who entered the sect alongside him, keep completing missions with ease, earning contributions, and asking for guidance—and their cultivation speeds up—Yu Xiu will see and hear about it. Sooner or later, he won't be able to resist going out with them.
"He can't escape our grasp!"
As he finished speaking, Yuan Shu slowly closed his hand, as though he had seized someone's lifeline.
Two days later.
Zhao Hong, Xu Rou, Liu Qingchuan, and Shan Yu returned, brimming with excitement, and told Yu Xiu about their trip to subdue demons.
"Brother Yu, you really missed out by not coming with us this time."
"Following Senior Brother Du and the others, we barely had to lift a finger. Even when we did, we only faced a few demonic creatures tainted by Shadow Demons. Once those senior brothers dealt with the Shadow Demons, we could complete the mission and earn contribution points with ease. We also got to follow them and learn all sorts of ways to subdue Shadow Demons."
"The senior brothers at the Life Spring realm really are incredible. They turn their true qi into Sword Qi, and even Shadow Demons are struck down in an instant. We're all hoping to complete the Qi Sea realm within five years and break into the Life Spring realm."
"That's enough chatting. We've got our contribution points, so now we have to ask a senior brother for guidance."
The four arrived quickly and left just as quickly. As they departed, they urged him, "Brother Yu, if another mission like this comes up, don't turn it down!"
Watching the four leave, Yu Xiu murmured, "Life Spring?"
I've already reached the pinnacle of the Life Spring realm. I can enter the first of the Four Great Passes—the Five Viscera—at any time.
Why would I need anyone to guide me?
Another six or seven days passed before Zhao Hong came by again, her expression full of fighting spirit.
"Thanks to a senior brother's guidance, I've mastered the first sword art in my cultivation manual. I've made good progress in the first level of the Qi Sea."
As if worried she had discouraged Yu Xiu, Zhao Hong hastily changed the subject. "Look at me, forgetting why I came.
"This time, Senior Brother Du and the others secured another mission in our commandery. We have to kill a Shadow Demon at the Qi Sea realm, and a senior brother at the Life Spring realm is leading the team. Would you like to come along, Brother Yu?"
Yu Xiu considered it, then politely declined again. "I can't leave just now. Perhaps another time."
Zhao Hong looked rather disappointed. "Cultivating in seclusion like this will only slow your progress, Brother Yu. Never mind. I won't disturb you while you practice your sword."
After Zhao Hong left, Yu Xiu looked at the panel.
[Comprehension: 1429 (909+520)] [Lifespan: 16/1504 (984+520)] [Sword Heart: Hidden Edge (10/500)] [Wind Movement: Riding the Wind (4/500)]
He had completed ten Life Spring realm sword techniques, ten light-footwork techniques, and ten movement techniques.
He had also digested everything he'd read during that day in the Library Pavilion.
His comprehension had surged past a thousand, nearing fifteen hundred. With that, he could master a Life Spring realm sword technique or movement technique in half a day.
If he had to start over and practice twenty chapters of a Life Spring realm cultivation manual and sword art, he could master them all in under ten days. Just how terrifying would that speed seem to an ordinary disciple?
No one would believe it if he told them.
More importantly, after he had mastered all ten light-footwork techniques and all ten movement techniques, his light-footwork stat had exceeded one hundred and vanished from the panel, replaced by Wind Movement: Riding the Wind.
It was much like Sword Heart.
What did Riding the Wind mean?
A person could ride the wind, and so could a sword.
For now, his Riding the Wind progress was only at four, still far too low. Yu Xiu could barely ride the wind, and couldn't keep it up for long.
Riding the Wind wasn't a cultivation technique or an art. It came naturally, as if he had been born this way—as if this was how things were meant to be.
Wind was everywhere between heaven and earth.
His body was like a breeze. With a casual step, the wind lifted him, carrying him weightlessly wherever he wished at incredible speed.
More importantly, his sword could ride the wind too. The blade moved with the breeze, astonishingly fast.
With his body following his sword, both of them riding the wind, he became impossibly elusive and swift.
He had tested it: when facing himself at the same realm and with the same strength, the difference between fighting with and without Riding the Wind was astonishing.
With Riding the Wind, he could steadily suppress himself without it.
If the opportunity presented itself, he could even kill himself without it in an instant.
Riding the Wind didn't increase his actual cultivation, but it still boosted his strength tremendously.
"Now it's time to break through the Life Spring realm and enter the Four Great Passes."
At a thought, the true qi in his body surged, then broke through the limits of his meridians and spread throughout him. The most important organ, comparable to the Qi Sea, was his heart among the Five Viscera.
Vast streams of true qi poured into it, carrying the abundant life force of his Life Spring and gradually strengthening his heart. But without the next cultivation method, for now he could only nourish and strengthen it with true qi.
Still, the total amount of his true qi could continue to grow, giving him the equivalent of a second Qi Sea.
And now that he had broken through the limits of his meridians, his entire body could store true qi.
In turn, the true qi nourishing his body protected it too. Ordinary blades could no longer harm him, and neither fire nor water could touch him.
Especially with Yu Xiu's Life Spring, whose vast vitality gave him a lifespan of over fifteen hundred years, his true qi was far purer and more potent than that of other cultivators at the same realm. It nourished his body with unmatched effectiveness.
It could be said that cultivators who reached this pass were no longer human.
He sensed the changes carefully for a long time, waiting for a Shadow Demon to appear as well.
Unfortunately, no Shadow Demon formed.
His cultivation was progressing too quickly. He had broken through the Qi Circulation, Qi Sea, and Life Spring passes one after another without ever encountering a Shadow Demon taking shape.
Once everything was in order, he thought for a moment, then headed out.
Zhao Hong, Xu Rou, and Liu Qingchuan might have been bait Fang Jiming had used to lure him out of the Inner Court. But now Yu Xiu also wanted to draw Fang Jiming out.
He could have gone out on a mission with Zhao Hong, Liu Qingchuan, and the others, but they might have been implicated because of him. In the end, he had chosen to politely decline.
Now he wanted to find out whether Zhao Zheng of the Flying Smoke Society was working for Fang Jiming too.
Not knowing where Zhao Zheng lived, he went to the Internal Affairs Hall and asked everyone he met, "Where does Senior Brother Zhao Zheng live? Is he still in the Inner Court?"
After asking around, he returned to the bamboo cottage.
He now knew where Zhao Zheng lived and that he was still in the Inner Court, but he didn't go to find him.
Because, barring any surprises, Zhao Zheng would come looking for him soon.
In a bamboo cottage on North Mountain, in the Inner Court.
Fang Jiming's eyes lit up. "Yu Xiu is looking for Zhao Zheng."
"That's right. He's a cautious man. He doesn't even trust Zhao Hong, Liu Qingchuan, and the others who entered the Inner Court with him. In the end, he chose to trust Zhao Zheng. He probably wants Zhao Zheng to take him on a mission." Song Yue looked thrilled.
As long as Yu Xiu stepped outside the Inner Court, any one of them could come out and take his life.
Yu Xiu had been in the Inner Court for barely two months. No matter how talented he was, how much could he have accomplished? At most, he might have cultivated the first level of the Qi Sea to the middle stage.
Even if they gave him the benefit of the doubt and he had reached the late stage of the first Qi Sea level, what of it?
The first level of the Qi Sea was still just the first level!
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