Wind Stirs in All Directions

"Senior, spare his life!" The four sect masters rose at once, shielding Liu Yunshen!

Qi Hong extended both palms, like pillars propping up heaven, like mending the collapse of the sky!

The four sect masters and Liu Yunshen poured forth their full power. Six streams of palm force slammed together, erupting in five-colored radiance!

Ouyang Zhenyue said in surprise, "Mr. Qi, this is..."

Forced back a step by the combined strength of the others, Qi Hong exhaled a breath of turbid air, and his old smile reappeared.

"First Abyss of the Overcoming Realm—Heaven-Supporting Apex!"

Cai Tingyue, Gong Haoyue, Lei Zhouyue, and Ouyang Zhenyue were bitterly disappointed, exchanging looks.

Cai Yuelin and Lei Zhaoye stepped forward. "Senior, between the Overcoming Realm and the Life Realm, which is more powerful? Why do we feel that your palm strike just now was far inferior to the first level of the Life Realm that the old seniors displayed?"

"Martial arts differ from person to person. This old man has a mild temperament, with a touch of laziness besides, so I am suited to the virtues of the Life Realm. Yet I cannot control the 'Overcoming Realm.' Every time I use it, the savage, valiant aura of slaughter affects my mind. Later, I no longer dared to contemplate it." Qi Hong dusted off his sleeves and explained carefully to them.

Lei Zhouyue slapped his thigh. "So that's how it is! I was wondering why this old man's first level of the Overcoming Realm seemed a few points stronger than yours, sir."

"Father, stop showing off!" Lei Zhaoye said with a low, bitter smile.

Cai Tingyue and Gong Haoyue burst out laughing. "Your father has always been like this—he says whatever he has to say! Mr. Qi won't take it to heart."

"I truly am ashamed that I could not help Sect Master Lei!" With a thought from Qi Hong, his domain vanished. "Among those present, aside from the four sect masters, little brother Liu, Brother Hu, and Brother Zhao have each comprehended one level of Life and Overcoming respectively! Qi had feared that everyone might bite off more than they could chew, so I did not wish to demonstrate everything at once. But lives are at stake! In the end, I could not bear to withhold it!"

Hu Lieshan stepped forward joyfully. "Old senior, what is the second level of the Overcoming Realm called? And what power does it possess?"

Qi Hong smiled bitterly. "Brother Hu, this old man already said it just now. What I have comprehended lies in Life, not Overcoming!"

Hu Lieshan was deeply disappointed.

Lei Zhouyue laughed. "Brother Hu, do you know that many cultivators throughout the Nine Provinces cannot comprehend even a single abyss of the martial path in their entire lives? You have been here less than a month and already learned this old man's secret art that I kept at the bottom of my chest. Still not satisfied?"

Hu Lieshan grinned. "Big Brother Zhao learned it too!"

"I'm not as greedy as you." Zhao Dingjiang covered his mouth and laughed.

That evening, Ouyang Zhenyue cultivated with his energy. The One Sword Same Dust formation activated, and the spiritual energy within the Four Swords Sect grew somewhat richer. The surplus spiritual energy was stored within spirit stones for future use.

Liu Yunshen still resided in the guest quarters.

"A few days ago, I was lucky enough to fight that demonic path cultivator Chang Yi to a draw, yet in terms of pill power, cultivation method, swordsmanship, secret arts, and every other aspect, I am far weaker than a Qi Refining fourth-realm cultivator! For myself, for these common folk, and for junior sister, I cannot pause for even a moment!"

Liu Yunshen stroked Benevolent Heart Ripples, warmth rising in his heart. "The time has come. Let me break through to the fifth tier!"

A sharp glint hid in Liu Yunshen's eyes as he gathered the Sleep Skill. After circulating a single river chariot, his mouth swiftly filled with jade liquid. It descended once more through the twelve-story tower; a torrential downpour fell upon his dantian. The Yellow Sprout had long since become a sapling, and now it gradually rose up, becoming ever more majestic, its roots plunging more than ten zhang deep into the earth!

"This Yellow Sprout has grown so stout!!" Liu Yunshen restrained his delight. The five qi in his dantian gathered until they were full, and after twenty breaths, the Yellow Sprout sapling had become a great tree!

A thunderous boom rang out within his dantian! The Tribulation of False Rain dissolved with ease!

"Fifth Tier—Wind-Swayed Tempering!" Liu Yunshen rapidly inhaled and exhaled astral qi, facing southeast. "At this tier, I must use Xun Wind to sway the Yellow Sprout Giant Tree, making it supple and tough, then let it grow anew!"

Liu Yunshen circulated his cultivation for a while, but the Yellow Sprout Giant Tree did not move, nor was there any wind in the world of his dantian!

"How strange! Isn't the Xun Wind of the Later-Heaven Trigrams in the southeast?" After cultivating for a moment, Liu Yunshen cried out, "Could it be that Master Guai Dao taught me the Ancient Immortal Scripture?!"

(Note: In the Later-Heaven Trigrams, the Xun position lies in the southeast; in the Earlier-Heaven Trigrams, it lies in the southwest!)

With that thought, Liu Yunshen adjusted his direction again and faced southwest!

In an instant, the wind of heaven surged mightily, blowing toward the Yellow Sprout Giant Tree!

Within the sect, the Four Swords Harmonized Light grand formation activated once more!

"Could another sect master have broken through!"

"Or maybe it's Senior Brother Liu!"

The disciples were thrilled and overjoyed!

They all sat down cross-legged. Lei Zhaoye, Cai Yuelin, Gong Liefeng, and Ouyang Qingcang had been pondering the martial path of the Life Realm. Sensing the vigorous pill intent within the formation, they immediately sat cross-legged and circulated the Four Swords Sect's pill method!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The four of them broke through almost simultaneously!

"This young master has finally reached the second realm of Qi Refinement!" Gong Liefeng was overjoyed. In his excitement, he became so pleased with himself that his face turned the color of soy paste! Ouyang Qingcang and the other three hurriedly sent their power into him.

Gong Liefeng gave a bitter smile and no longer dared to joke around. He quickly stabilized his realm! After twelve breaths, he finally steadied it!

"Haha, little thief, you have a day when you fall into my hands too!"

Huang Zongyue stood outside the latrine, laughing as he held a sheet of rough paper. Wei Gui squatted before the cesspit, smiling bitterly as he begged for mercy. "Big Brother Huang! Brother! Great sir! Ancestors! Ancestors!"

The light within the sect was brilliant. The common folk outside the sect were likewise drawn by the fantastical sight, throwing on their clothes and rising. Some even fell to their knees first!

"May the Supreme Heavenly Emperor bless our benefactors!"

"May the heavenly gods bless our benefactors and the youngsters of the Four Swords Sect!"

The people continued to pray. A sky full of starlight unexpectedly merged into the Four Swords Harmonized Light formation, and the pill qi within the formation grew ever stronger. More than twenty disciples within the sect successively reached the second realm of Qi Refinement, while over fifty reached completion of the first realm. All remaining disciples reached at least the sixth tier of the first realm!

Light shot out from the bodies of the disciples who had broken through, nourishing the formation in return. A small number of sect disciples continued to make further breakthroughs and leap tiers one after another!

Within the world of his dantian, Liu Yunshen stirred up the Xun Wind. The Yellow Sprout Giant Tree withstood wind, water, and rain without falling, and over that single night, its roots grew thirty percent stronger! Liu Yunshen was ecstatic when his knees suddenly felt piercingly cold!

"Wind evil has entered my body. This is bad!" He immediately shifted his body to face north, and the howling wind gradually stopped! His body became warm and cool, incomparably comfortable!

He sighed and secretly shook his head. How strange. Why haven't I met junior sister in my dreams these past few nights?

Up in a great tree outside the Four Swords Sect, Yang Qingchan gazed blankly inside. She sighed, then sulked alone. "You're in there cultivating and sleeping in comfort! This old lady has been following behind your ass, protecting you for more than a month, living on wind and sleeping in the dew! Next time, I'm never coming out again!"

Yu Wan felt wronged and could not help sobbing. A fragrant handkerchief was offered from beside her. Without thinking, she took it and wiped away her tears, only then jolting in surprise. "Who—ah! It's you!"

"It's me, Sister Yang!" Li Qinghui burst into laughter. "Sister Yang follows behind Young Master Liu; am I not doing the same by following behind Sister Yang?"

Yang Qingchan chuckled and pulled Li Qinghui into an embrace. "Why did you come out too, you little girl?"

Li Qinghui's face turned pale. Yang Qingchan sighed. "Little sister likes him too!" Blushing, Li Qinghui shook her head and mumbled, "My father sent assassins to kill Sister Yang!"

"I never provoked your honored father. Why does he want me dead?" Yang Qingchan was greatly puzzled. Li Qinghui took her hand. "Let's find a household to hide in first, then talk about the rest!"

"Silly little sister! These common folk followed him here. Where would they find places to live? The houses have not even been built yet!" Yang Qingchan sniffed Li Qinghui and could not help smiling.

"Sister!!" Li Qinghui sniffed herself as well, her face flushing crimson.

"Come, let's go to the river!"

Moonlight spilled over the river. Yang Qingchan leaped down from the tree! The cool river water surged around her, and she could not help feeling refreshed in body and spirit!

"Little sister, come down quickly!"

Li Qinghui blushed scarlet. Only after folding her close-fitting undergarments neatly did she leap down. The moment she surfaced, Yu Wan kissed her cheek.

"Sister is teasing me again!" Li Qinghui laughed and pushed a ripple of water toward her.

The two women dissolved into laughter. Just as they were playing happily, a voice sounded in the distance.

"Big Brother Huang really went too far! Though I rose four tiers in a row, he made me throw up all my dinner!" Wei Gui walked to the riverside with a bitter smile. "The pill scripture says I can absorb water qi and moonlight to cleanse my dantian. Anyway, I should first disperse that foul stench!"

Wei Gui was only four or five zhang away from the two women. Yang Qingchan was seized by fear, and Li Qinghui let out a cry. Yu Wan hurriedly covered her mouth and nose. The two sank beneath the water and swam swiftly into the distance!

Wei Gui was horrified, and his dantian went awry. "Why are there water demons too!"

The two women burst out laughing and surfaced in the distance. Their gazes shot over at once, and their hearts skipped a beat. "Has this little Daoist priest suffered qi deviation?"

"Let's quickly change into clean clothes! We may have to help him!"

Half of Wei Gui's body had gone limp, and he could barely move. Just as he struggled to sit cross-legged, a voice sounded behind him. "Close your eyes!"

"The two of us will help you circulate your cultivation!"

"You! You two are those water demons?"

Yang Qingchan burst into laughter. "That's right. Seeing that you, little Daoist priest, are fairly upright, we two will spare your life!"

"Two laywomen, I have neither grievance nor enmity with you. Please do not harm—" Wei Gui suddenly sensed two streams of aura that did not belong to pill power entering his body. In surprise, he said, "Why does it resemble the martial path Old Mr. Qi demonstrated tonight? Is it my imagination? I understand now—this is demon power! It must be demon power!"

"Gather your mind!" Apart from her father, Li Qinghui had never touched a man's body since childhood. Though she was only pressing two fingers against the young man's Governing Vessel, her cheeks had already turned red!

Wei Gui rapidly regulated his breathing and absorbed that vast, boundless qi. In merely twelve breaths, it strengthened his foundation and set his qi right, and his cultivation rose another tier!

"This boy's comprehension is incredibly high!"

The two women were astonished. They slowly withdrew their hands and crept away on tiptoe.

Wei Gui cultivated by the river for the entire night, and the 'yellow-white' qi in his dantian finally dissipated completely.

Grinning, he walked back to the sect. Some of the common folk had already risen. Cao Langao was practicing her swordsmanship. As she approached him with a smile, she suddenly froze, leaned closer to sniff Wei Gui, and laughed. "Junior Brother smells so fragrant! You did not return all night—could it be you went out to become a flower-plucking thief?"