Concealed Edge Method, Azure Edge Method

Two bright mirrors hung high in the sky.

Beneath the bridge, Chen Lingxi heard the Cauldron Venerable's question, and his eyes lit up as though he had long since made plans.

He sat cross-legged on the damp stone slabs beneath the bridge and said respectfully, "Cauldron Venerable above, this junior dares to ask!

Does Your Excellency... possess any arts that a cultivator at the Second Level of Qi Circulation can practice?"

As his words fell, the space beneath the bridge sank into a brief dead silence.

The vertical pupil narrowed slightly. On that stitched-together face, the infant's lips curled upward, the old man's brows knitted tightly, while a trace of amusement flickered through the youth's eyes.

The emotions of several faces overlapped and shifted, finally settling into a bizarre expression.

"Arts?"

The Cauldron Venerable spoke, its voice low as the tremors of earth veins. Every syllable struck Chen Lingxi's chest, making his blood and qi quiver faintly.

"I command three thousand wondrous methods and eight hundred side paths. Naturally, I possess arts that can be practiced at the Second Level of Qi Circulation. Only..."

It paused. A ghostly light flowed through its vertical pupil, as though it were scrutinizing him, tempting him.

"The way of the Cauldron Vessel takes from abundance to fill deficiency. I can grant you countless wondrous methods. How much lifespan are you willing to pay?"

Chen Lingxi raised his head and met that gaze.

Beyond the bridge, river waves rippled. Sunlight, shattered into flecks of gold by the water's surface, reflected inward and flickered over his pale face.

He drew a deep breath, his voice steady in a way no newly capped youth should have possessed.

"This junior is willing to trade fifty years of life for arts."

The instant he said it, the vertical pupil on the Candle of Time flew wide open!

"You have fifty-one years of life, yet you are willing to trade fifty for arts?"

For once, the Cauldron Venerable's voice held a trace of genuine surprise.

The ghostly light in that vertical pupil flickered uncertainly.

"Do you know what price fifty years of life is?"

It paused, then its voice abruptly rose, carrying a sinister note of laughter. "At the Second Level of Qi Circulation, you would have only one year left to live. Are you not afraid—"

"This junior has already thought it through."

Chen Lingxi spoke calmly, cutting off the Cauldron Venerable.

His gaze was clear and bright, and not the slightest fear showed on his pale face.

This was naturally the result of careful consideration.

If this had been the true world, he would never have dared to leave himself with only one year of life—doing so would have been no different from cutting off his own future, leaving even a wretched struggle for survival beyond hope.

But now he was within the Divine Chamber. Two bright mirrors hung high in the sky, and in ten days, everything would return to nothingness.

The lifespan within this Divine Chamber was like chess pieces on a board, stakes on a sand table. There was no reason not to spend it.

Besides, he wanted to see what fifty years of life could buy.

The Cauldron Venerable fell silent for a moment, its vertical pupil reflecting Chen Lingxi's composed face.

Then, a faint trace of approval crossed that stitched-together face.

"You have some courage, at least."

The Cauldron Venerable said no more.

Its vertical pupil suddenly expanded. Crimson light surged forth like a breached tide of blood, instantly swallowing the entire space beneath the bridge.

The river water was dyed red. Countless warped shadows danced madly across the stone walls, as though ten thousand ghosts were running and wailing in the red radiance.

Chen Lingxi felt a stab of pain between his brows, as if an invisible sword had plunged into his skull. Then—two vast, intricate torrents of information burst into his sea of consciousness like mountain floods!

Concealed Edge Method!

Azure Edge Method!

"Those who conceal their edge gather their breath and condense qi, holding divine brilliance within. Outwardly like dull iron and withered wood, inwardly concealing an edge of ten thousand jun.

"By wielding this method, the spiritual qi throughout the body falls silent and the blood and qi settle deep. Ordinary cultivators shall be unable to discern your true depths."

"Azure Edge: qi emerges like a sword, its edge peerless.

"Use spiritual qi to command Azure Edge, and one's own body becomes incomparably sharp. Cultivate it to the depths, and nothing shall remain unbreakable."

The cultivation methods of the two arts spun endlessly through Chen Lingxi's mind like a revolving lantern.

The qi pathways of the Concealed Edge Method, its secrets of concealing breath, its barriers at the qi apertures;

The spiritual qi guidance of the Azure Edge Method, the condensation of Sword Qi, the movement of spiritual qi.

A vast amount of information flooded into his mind and branded itself there.

Chen Lingxi's entire body shook violently. His head felt as if it were splitting apart.

These two arts were far too intricate and profound. The immense flood of information pouring into his mind nearly burst his skull open.

He clenched his teeth and endured the swelling agony with all his strength, allowing cold sweat to soak through his clothes.

At the same time.

The red glow in the Candle of Time's vertical pupil intensified, and an indescribable suction rose from deep within the candle's body.

Chen Lingxi clearly felt as though an invisible hand had reached into his limbs and bones, slowly drawing away something deeper, something more fundamental.

Then...

His skin visibly lost its luster, changing from a youth's warm smoothness into an elder's dry withering flesh.

Fine lines at the corners of his eyes deepened as if carved by knives. His black hair at the temples faded into frost-white. His back bent, the skin on his hands loosened and wrinkled, and blue veins and age spots emerged together.

In the span of mere moments, the twenty-year-old youth had become an old man in his seventies!

Chen Lingxi lowered his head toward a remaining puddle of river water at his feet.

The surface was like a mirror, reflecting a face at the end of its candle.

Clouded old eyes, sunken cheeks, and a few sparse strands of dry white beard hanging from his chin.

He tugged at the corner of his mouth. The reflection in the water did the same, pulling at wrinkles that spread over his face like ravines.

This was what he would look like in his seventies.

He fell silent for a moment, feeling his entire body grow heavy. His joints ached faintly, and even breathing took more effort than before.

"The transaction is complete."

The Cauldron Venerable's voice gradually became ethereal as the red light in its vertical pupil receded like a tide. "Fifty years of life have been collected, and two arts have been bestowed. Fair to young and old alike; neither owes the other."

The red light on the Candle of Time completely vanished. That stitched-together face slowly sank into the depths of the vertical pupil, which then closed and went dark.

The Candle of Time fell, landing in Chen Lingxi's palm.

It was still that ordinary, unremarkable piece of blackened rotten wood.

Chen Lingxi let out a long breath.

"It worked."

Delight filled his heart as his gaze returned to the Candle of Time.

At that very moment, upon seeing this segment of black rotten wood, an incomparably fierce desire for greed suddenly surged within him!

"What is this?"

His five fingers involuntarily tightened, while a voice roared madly from the depths of his heart...

"Take it with you. Keep it close against your body. Never leave it day or night. As long as you keep it, you can exchange it for endless wondrous methods and supreme fortune!"

The desire was so intense it nearly devoured his reason.

He abruptly rose to his feet and stuffed the Candle of Time inside his robe, pressing it against the place nearest his heart. Only then did the desire and greed in his heart lessen somewhat.

"Can't throw it away."

"Absolutely can't sink it into the river like Lin Suri did."

"Keep it close, nourish it with spiritual qi every night, and find another chance to trade for more..."

Chen Lingxi suddenly froze at that thought.

What was he thinking?

Shuddering, he lowered his head and looked at the Candle of Time he was pressing tightly against his chest.

"Why am I like this?"

Doubt suddenly rose in him, yet the greed in his heart still seemed almost impossible to restrain.

At that moment!

A beam of light descended from the sky.

It came from a blazing golden bright mirror hanging above the nine heavens, shaped like a great sun.

At that moment, the treasure mirror turned, and a resplendent beam of golden light pierced the air, falling straight upon Chen Lingxi.

The golden light blazed, yet it was not hot. Instead, it felt crisp and lucid, like enlightenment pouring into his head, instantly cleansing his entire body.

Chen Lingxi heard a boom in his mind. The greedy desire coiled around his heart seemed like ice and snow beneath a blazing sun, swept away in an instant!

He came back to his senses, cold sweat pouring down his body.

"That was close..."

Chen Lingxi panted heavily. He removed the Candle of Time from inside his robe and looked down at the black remnant of a candle, his eyes filled with lingering fear.

At last, he understood why Lin Suri had sunk the Candle of Time into the Yuan River.

It was not that he did not wish to carry it with him every day, but that he had not dared to.

"This so-called Cauldron Vessel truly is strange."

"Is this the Cauldron Calamity Lin Suri spoke of?"

He shook his head, rose, and casually tossed away the Candle of Time—

Plop.

The black candle remnant traced an arc through the air and fell into the deep river beneath the bridge, splashing up a small bloom of water before quickly sinking into the mud and sand, never to be seen again.

Chen Lingxi did not even look back. He turned and climbed the stone steps, returning to the bridge deck.

There were few pedestrians on the stone arch bridge.

Sunlight fell upon Chen Lingxi's bent back, stretching his withered shadow long behind him.

He raised his head and looked at the sky. The day was still early.

"Within this Divine Chamber, I can have a brief moment of freedom."

That was what he thought.

On his way here, he had walked along the riverbank.

Back then, his steps had been light, his eyes sharp and ears keen, with the spring breeze brushing his face like a youth on an outing.

Now, his back was bent, his steps unsteady, his beard and hair all white. He was like a decrepit old man with one foot in the grave.

He did not know how long this ruined body could endure.

But before the ten days were up in this Divine Chamber, while the two bright mirrors still hung in the sky, he wanted to take a walk.

To walk through Yuan River Prefecture.

To see what kind of world lay beyond the Duguan Office's prison cages and beyond the walls of the marquis's estate.

He slowly headed west along the riverbank.

Several old willows by the river draped down countless tender yellow strands, like maidens brushing their hair when the wind passed through them. The peach blossoms had all fallen, leaving small unripe fruits on the branches, hidden amid green leaves like fallen jade pearls.

Several ducks were diving and foraging in the shallows, their rumps pointed skyward as they kicked merrily.

Across the river stretched rows of gray tiles and white walls. Cooking smoke curled upward, and the faint calls of women calling their children could be heard.

A black-canopied boat poled past. At its bow squatted a child with hanging locks, barefoot and playing in the river water. Grinning, he waved at Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi raised his hand as well—that thin, shriveled hand like a chicken claw.

The child froze, likely taking him for some old beggar, then drew back his head and ignored him.

Chen Lingxi did not mind and continued onward.

After turning past a roadside teahouse, he stepped onto the bluestone road leading toward the prefectural yamen.

At that moment—

"Faster!"

A shrill voice came around the street corner.

Chen Lingxi paused and shifted slightly aside to make way.

Wang Kong strode toward him, wearing a small black velvet cap and a dark slate-blue satin robe. Two broad-shouldered, thick-waisted men followed close behind, both dressed in short, fitted martial clothes with hostile expressions.

Wang Kong's face was dark as he walked, turning back to bark, "That Chen-surnamed official slave did not go to Willow Street Alley. Where else could he have gone?"

Without slowing, he sprayed spittle as he spoke, cold sparks jumping endlessly in his narrow eyes.

"Find him quickly! Steward Zhao has given orders—if you fail to seize him today, you alone will answer for it!"

Before his words had faded, he had already brushed past Chen Lingxi.

The two burly men hurried past as well. One nearly rammed his shoulder into Chen Lingxi's bent body, but took him for an ordinary old street beggar and did not even raise his eyelids.

Chen Lingxi leaned on a dead branch he had picked up along the way, standing in the street as his clouded eyes watched Wang Kong and the other two vanish around the corner.

Not the slightest ripple showed on his aged face.

"Steward Zhao has given orders?"

He stood silently for a moment, then slowly turned around and continued onward, leaning on the dead branch.