Consort, the First Qi
The man did not answer.
Then the mist outside the cave suddenly began to fluctuate.
The thick fog was as if it were being violently stirred by an invisible giant hand, churning, swirling, and collapsing inward, instantly condensing into an ice spear about ten feet long outside the cave.
That ice spear was many times larger than the ice blade from before.
The spear was as thick as a child's arm, and at its tip was a ball of extremely cold ice flame. The ice flame was pale blue and burned silently, freezing the surrounding mist into tiny ice crystals that fluttered down.
Then...
The ice spear hurtled through the air!
Its speed was astonishing, and it pierced straight at Chen Lingxi's body!
Chen Lingxi's pupils suddenly contracted.
He moved almost at the same instant the ice spear pierced the air.
He reached for his waist with his right hand.
The Gold-Slaughtering Saber was already in his hand, its blade adorned with faint gold patterns.
The moment the sword was drawn, his body erupted with a surge of Golden-Soup Blood Qi.
The Sixth Form of the Evil-Slaying Saber Method - Fatal Strike!
As the blade was slashed, the pale gold patterns on it suddenly blazed brightly.
Thin bolts of lightning, as fine as hair, shot out from the patterns on the blade, hissing and winding along its edge.
At the same time, the azure light of the Azure Edge Method adhered to the blade. This azure light was extremely sharp and fine. It did not cover the blade but was integrated into the blade, making the already incomparably sharp blade of the Gold-Slaughtering Saber even sharper.
Where the blade passed, the air was silently cleaved, leaving an extremely thin and faint vacuum crack. The edges of the crack gleamed with a faint blue light that lingered for a long time.
Swords and spears clashed.
The sound exploded up the mountain!
The ice spear shattered instantly!
Chen Lingxi shattered the ice spear with a single slash, but his hand was numb.
The young man stood with his hands behind his back at the edge of the mist outside the cave, still looking calm and composed, as if his attack just now was nothing more than a casual gesture.
But Chen Lingxi noticed that the young man's Adam's apple moved slightly, as if he were swallowing something.
What did you swallow? Blood.
"This person is indeed severely injured." Chen Lingxi judged to himself. "That attack just now probably used up all the spiritual energy he had left, and the backlash from that spiritual energy has affected his internal organs."
He was feigning composure.
The young man suddenly flicked his fingers slightly behind his back.
A thin, extremely fine ice blade silently fell from the mist above Chen Lingxi's head.
The ice blade condensed from the mist about ten feet above his head, falling vertically straight for his crown.
Chen Lingxi reacted extremely quickly.
His body suddenly leaned backward, the back of his head almost touching the ground, but his legs remained rooted to the spot.
The ice blade grazed the tip of his nose.
Before he could even straighten up, the third Law Technique had already arrived.
The young man made a very strange hand seal with his left hand and uttered a single word.
"Condense."
The sound was extremely soft, but the instant the word was uttered, the rock beneath Chen Lingxi cracked inch by inch, and countless fine cracks spread outwards from his feet like a spider web.
Extremely cold white mist surged from the cracks, quickly condensing into countless ice needles as thin as hair.
Those ice needles covered every inch of the ground where Chen Lingxi stood, densely packed, with no way to avoid them.
At the same time, he concealed an ice blade within the mist above, intending to ambush and distract the enemy.
Then ice needles condensed from the ground, making it impossible for him to find a foothold.
At the same time, the young man took a step forward.
He formed a sword incantation in his hand, and the sword intent soared into the sky.
He raised his right hand, his sword gesture pointing towards Chen Lingxi.
There was no Sword Qi, no sword light, not even any fluctuation of spiritual energy; it was just a distant finger pointing.
But in that instant, Chen Lingxi felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows, as if an invisible sword was about to pierce his brow!
Chen Lingxi his mouth!
"Oh!"
Dragon Roar Technique!
This soft shout mobilized all the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea, transforming it into a highly condensed ripple of spiritual energy that roared forward.
Where the sound wave passed, countless tiny ice crystals frozen in the air shattered into dust.
The explosions combined into one sound, as if someone had struck a heavy bronze bell in front of him, and even the ground trembled Subtle Insight at the sound.
The sound waves of the Dragon Roar Technique collided with the young man's sword intent, like two invisible hammers colliding underwater. The force was weakened by the water flow, but it still stirred up ripples on the surface of the water.
The young man let out a muffled groan, his sword gesture trembling slightly.
But the young man's fourth Law Technique arrived at that very moment.
The hand seal he was making with his left hand had subtly changed at some point, producing a flash of silver light before he flipped his palm over.
The ball of silver light fell to the ground, and a silent, extremely cold aura spread outwards from beneath his feet, forming a thick layer of ice wherever it passed.
Chen Lingxi couldn't stop himself and had no choice but to draw his sword.
The lightning and azure light on the Gold-Slaughtering Saber surged forth, and the saber struck the aura ring, causing it to pause slightly.
Chen Lingxi's mouth emitted a burst of purple qi, but it did not collide with the evil spirit; instead, it went straight for the man's brow!
The purple qi moved as fast as lightning, but the young man merely made a grasping motion towards Chen Lingxi.
"Condense."
The surrounding mist instantly condensed, transforming into a giant hand that grasped the Purple True Treasure Aura!
The Purple True Treasure Aura was instantly grasped in that large hand!
Even so, Chen Ling poured all her Qi and Blood into Chen Lingxi her feet and leaped high into the air.
He leaped three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in one bound, his gaze cold and indifferent as he lightly stroked the Void.
A longbow appeared in his hand.
The bow was dark blue, and the bowstring was silvery white; it was the precious bow that had been obtained from Yang Zhuri.
He held the bow in his left hand, and with a flick of his right palm, an arrow appeared.
The arrow appeared unremarkable and grayish, with only a faint, almost imperceptible, blue light emanating from its fletching.
Chen Lingxi nocked the arrow to the bowstring, and spiritual energy flowed through the meridians of his arms into the bow, the shaft, the fletching, and the arrow tip!
The azure light on the Spiritual Arrow suddenly shone, spreading from the fletching to the tip, making the entire arrow resemble a small azure sun.
The blue light at the tip of the arrow flickered erratically, emitting a very faint hissing sound, like a hungry wolf that had been suppressed for a long time finally waiting for its prey.
The young man's pupils contracted slightly.
His spiritual energy surged, and a small golden shield flew from his body, transforming into two beams of Mystic Light that blocked his path!
Chen Lingxi released the bowstring, and the Azure Edge Method and Purple True Treasure Aura adhered to it!
The Spiritual Arrow pierced the sky and soared away!
The arrow was so fast that even Chen Lingxi could only see a blurry blue afterimage streaking through the air.
Where the arrow passed, a visible white streak was torn through the air, the edges of which shimmered with a faint bluish light that lingered for a long time.
The tremor of the bowstring was still echoing in the air when the arrow struck the first Mystic Light.
Click.
The sound of golden light shattering was extremely crisp, transforming into a sky full of golden rays, followed immediately by a second one!
Where the Spiritual Arrow passed, the two golden lights vanished one after another!
The Spiritual Arrow was deflected by the second golden light.
"In this land devoid of spiritual energy, there is still a treasure containing a trace of spiritual energy."
The young man slowly raised his head and looked at Chen Lingxi. The composure and peace on his handsome face finally vanished.
All that remained was a sinister expression, one that couldn't suppress its rage.
Chen Lingxi also stared at him.
This was his first time fighting against a true Qi Circulation Realm, or rather, a battle of magic!
It's almost a completely different matter from fighting a Qi and Blood Warrior.
"This man's skills are so exceptional that I can hardly get close to him."
After several exchanges, Chen Lingxi felt that his spiritual energy had been greatly depleted.
Although the young man was severely injured, he seemed to have more than one or two backup plans.
The two faced each other, separated by a distance of several dozen feet.
The cold wind howled on the cliff face, causing the robes of the two people to flutter loudly.
After a long while, the young man suddenly took a step back.
That step back was extremely decisive.
Just a moment ago, he stood there with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind. Although there was no spiritual light shining around him, he still exuded an aura of inviolability, as if his previous disheveled state and rage were merely deliberate flaws.
The next moment he had already retreated, not even sparing Chen Lingxi a second glance.
He simply took a step back, and his figure disappeared into the clouds. The clouds rippled, and Chen Lingxi could sense that this person had already ridden the mist away.
The mountain fog surged, obscuring all traces of anyone.
But Chen Lingxi did not pursue.
"Although this person is seriously injured, he is still a cultivator at the Qi Circulation Sixth Floor. Even if I chase after him, I will not be able to capture him."
Chen Lingxi put the Gold-Slaughtering Saber back into his Universe Bag, and then took out an ordinary healing pill from the bag and swallowed it.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, and there were still two bright mirrors hanging high in the sky.
He suddenly raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a smile.
"I am a local cultivator, and my understanding of the Great World is only superficial, based on the words of Lin Suri, Wu Mohe, and Ying Chi."
"But that cultivator Qi Circulation Sixth Floor; he must be a figure from Great World." He muttered to himself.
"A Qi Circulation Sixth Floor cultivator who is severely injured... and I already know some of his methods... so I can prepare accordingly!"
"If we can capture him alive, we can uncover the secrets of the Great World."
--
Another day Total Perception, and it came to the fourteenth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The leaden clouds pressed down even lower, like a piece of frozen ink that was about to melt, hanging heavily above Yuan River Prefecture.
The north wind swept in from the river, passing through the streets and alleys, making the newly hung silk palace lanterns under the eaves sway and tremble. The lantern tassels tangled together and then scattered, making a rustling sound.
The long street in front of the government office has been cleaned up.
Every three steps along both sides of the street stood a soldier in silver armor and helmet, holding a long spear with the red tassel on the tip remaining motionless in the wind.
The armored soldiers kept their eyes straight ahead, and from a distance they looked like two rows of silver-cast dolls.
The streets were deserted, not a soul in sight.
The people were blocked at the entrance of an alley several streets away, huddled together in a dark mass.
Several yamen runners stood blocking the alley entrance, brandishing fire and water sticks.
The city gate was crowded with people.
Chu Jizhe, the prefect of Yuan River Prefecture, stood at the forefront, dressed in a royal blue official robe with a silver belt around his waist and a black crane cloak over it. The fur trim at the collar fluttered slightly in the wind.
Behind him stood two rows of officials arranged by rank, some in scarlet robes, some in blue robes, some in black gauze hats, and some in top-tier hats, all with their hands at their sides and heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound.
No one spoke.
There wasn't even a cough.
Only occasionally could one hear the sound of horses snorting from below the steps, which was quickly swallowed up by the wind.
Chen Lingxi stood there in the complete silence of the street.
He stood on the top floor of an inn.
This inn, named "Riverwatch Tower," is the tallest building in Yuan River Prefecture, with six stories, situated in the heart of the city.
Flying eaves and upturned corners, vermilion railings and green tiles.
Chen Lingxi arrived here at dawn. Using the Concealed Edge Method, he silently climbed onto the eaves of the pavilion and then slipped inside through the half-closed vent under the eaves.
The highest attic was filled with old tables, chairs, and chests, covered in a thick layer of dust, and the air was filled with a musty smell of rotten wood and old cloth.
He found a dark corner, sat cross-legged, and suppressed his aura to the extreme, becoming like a speck of dust that melted into the dimness of the room.
At that moment, he pushed open the south-facing window.
The Concealed Edge Method was activated to its maximum extent within the body, concealing the spiritual energy.
Deep within his more than one hundred bones, his Golden-Soup Blood Qi were almost stagnant due to the pressure.
From the outside, the window remained closed, and the attic was empty.
But he could see very far away.
At the end of the official road, a train was slowly approaching.
The carriage was extremely long, stretching for a good half-mile.
At the very front were the cavalry, about a hundred riders, all riding tall horses.
Following the cavalry was the ceremonial guard: banners, canopies, feather fans, golden maces, silver hammers—all sorts of ceremonial objects gleaming coldly in the gloomy light.
Next up is the main character.
A magnificent jade palanquin, drawn by eight pure white horses, its body painted with gold lacquer and adorned with a design of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, its phoenix tails embroidered with silver thread, swayed gently in the wind.
A gilded canopy hung from the top of the carriage, with tassels and flawless pearls hanging from its four corners, shimmering in the dim light.
The carriage curtain was made of silver-red cicada-wing gauze, and through the curtain, one could only vaguely see a figure sitting inside.
Following the jade carriage were infantrymen in silver armor and helmets, followed by a large entourage of eunuchs, palace maids, and eunuchs, carrying Incense Burner, whisks, spittoons, hand warmers, and all sorts of other items.
"The pomp and circumstance of Consort Chun is truly astounding."
Chen Lingxi's gaze fell behind the curtain of the jade carriage.
He couldn't see the person's face clearly, only a blurry outline, sitting there upright and motionless, like a jade statue enshrined in a shrine.
Just then, a train started moving from the side of the track.
"Yunhe Commandery Princess?"
The princess came to the West Courtyard every day, so Chen Lingxi had naturally seen her carriage before.
The carriage was not particularly luxurious; it was only slightly larger than the carriages of ordinary wealthy families, with blue curtains and painted walls, and pulled by only two chestnut horses.
The car stopped briefly by the roadside.
The curtain was lifted, Yunhe Commandery Princess out of the carriage. Then, the imperial palanquin approached.
The imperial carriage did not stop.
But a corner of the silver-red gauze curtain was lifted from the inside by an extremely white hand.
That hand was extremely white, as white as mutton fat jade soaked in clear water. The knuckles were slender and even, and the nails were painted with light pink nail polish. When the curtain was lifted and the sunlight shone on it, it shone with a very faint and soft pearly luster.
That hand rested casually on the corner of the curtain, its knuckles slightly bent, like a half-open magnolia blossom, languid yet noble.
The curtain was slightly ajar, barely enough to reveal a face.
Consort Chun Chun's face was extremely beautiful, so beautiful that she seemed almost otherworldly.
The eyebrows are like distant mountains, with the peaks so faint they resemble a stroke of ink about to fade, slanting diagonally into the temples.
Her eyes were phoenix eyes, with slightly upturned corners, and the pupils were extremely deep and bright, like two obsidian stones soaked in the clearest mountain spring. There was an indescribable charm in her gaze.
With a high, straight nose, well-defined lips, and a pointed chin that doesn't appear harsh but rather exudes an innate air of refined elegance.
She looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, with a face so young it was almost like that of a teenage girl, but the look in her eyes was something that a young woman should never have.
It was a profound, almost indifferent calm, like someone who had been standing at a high place for too long, already accustomed to looking down, already accustomed to all living beings crawling like ants at her feet.
Chen Lingxi's pupils suddenly contracted.
"It really is him!"
He had seen her before.
That day, he watched from a great distance, high above the clouds Inlaid Gold Mountain, as she sailed away in a small boat through the sea of clouds.
At that moment, she flicked her finger and her long sword flew out, annihilating a wisp of spiritual energy with a single strike. With a casual wisp of Azure Qi, she forced back several attacking auras.
At that moment, she stood at the bow of the boat, her robes shimmering with the light of the sunset, her whole body radiating intense spiritual light, like a small sun confined within a small space, dazzling and unbearable to behold.
But at this moment, that face showed no trace of fierceness, no trace of spiritual light, and no trace of the chilling majesty that had killed someone with a flick of the finger above the sea of clouds that day.
She simply lifted the curtain, revealing half her face, and tilted her head slightly toward the Chao Dao, appearing as a young woman.
She spoke to Yunhe Commandery Princess with a smile.
Yunhe Commandery Princess stood by the roadside with her head bowed, her posture respectful yet somewhat intimate. She nodded occasionally, and her lips moved, presumably in response.
After a moment, the imperial concubine suddenly beckoned gently, as casually as if calling a kitten or puppy.
Yunhe Commandery Princess raised her head, a faint smile appearing on her face. She lifted the hem of her skirt, stepped onto the brocade cushions laid out by the eunuchs, and bent down to board the jade carriage.
The curtain fell down, obscuring both faces.
Chen Lingxi dared not look any longer until the jade carriage passed by.
He then slightly moved his eyes, tightening his Concealed Edge Method even further, and then activated the Qi-Observation Technique from the Six-Qi True Method.
The spiritual energy emerges from the Qi Sea, travels upwards along the meridians, and flows into the eyes.
In an instant, the world before my eyes changed.
The armored soldiers all over the street were steaming with surging Qi and Blood, crimson mixed with silver and white, and silver and white with specks of gold.
The Qi and Blood intertwined, collided, and repelled each other, converging into an invisible torrent above the street, surging and rushing.
"There are so many powerful individuals hidden in this entourage."
He shifted his gaze to the back of the jade carriage.
Those people were dressed in robes of various colors; some wore official robes, some wore armor, and some wore casual scholar's robes.
They were scattered among the ranks, inconspicuous and unassuming. If one did not use the Qi-Observation Technique, they would simply be ordinary officials, generals, and staff accompanying the group.
But in Chen Lingxi's eyes, these people were completely different.
Their blood Qi and Blood surged like smoke from a wolf's gallop.
There were more than ten scorching auras hidden in the crowd, each one incredibly deep and powerful.
Some people have a dark golden color in their Qi and Blood, which surges through their meridians like mercury; these are people Golden Body Great Accomplishment.
Two of them even had their Qi and Blood transformed into jade-like substance, their bodies translucent and white, and when they circulated, they could faintly hear the sound of jade chiming; these were beings who had already entered the Jade-Qi Realm.
There was another person whose body showed absolutely no fluctuations of Qi and Blood.
He was like a walking corpse, his heartbeat almost stopped.
These powerful individuals, scattered throughout the ranks, are like sharp blades with their edge concealed by coarse cloth; seemingly ordinary, yet capable of unleashing terrifying power to destroy cities and fortresses at any moment.
Chen Lingxi withdrew his gaze and slowly pressed the spiritual energy from the Qi-Observation Technique back into the depths of his Qi Sea.
But at that very moment, his gaze involuntarily fell upon a certain spot at the very end.
There was a person.
Riding on horseback, she was slender, her black hair tied back with a silver hairpin, revealing half of her fair neck.
Lin Longyue.
Her face was pale, and her breathing was unsteady.
But Chen Lingxi only glanced at it, and her expression suddenly froze.
Through the perception of the Qi-Observation Technique, Lin Longyue was found to possess two completely different types of Qi!
A foul, pitch-black substance slowly writhed within her meridians, silently devouring and dissolving her vital energy wherever it passed.
The foul energy did not erode her randomly, but rather traveled through her meridians in a very regular pattern. With each circle it traveled, it etched a new pattern into her body.
It was as if someone was using her body as paper and this filthy energy as ink to draw an extremely complex and bizarre magic array, stroke by stroke.
The magic array was not yet complete, but it was already beginning to take shape.
Chen Lingxi watched silently for a moment.
Yunhe Commandery Princess was absorbing Lin Longyue's vital energy to strengthen herself.
He already knew about this.
Later, he was ambushed and killed in the Total Perception Divine Chamber. Lin Longyue's forehead hit a rock, and the blood was fragrant, so fragrant that it aroused an indescribable desire in people.
He knew then that Lin Longyue was somewhat unusual.
What truly astonished Chen Lingxi was not this foul energy.
It is a different kind of Qi.
That Qi was hidden deep within Lin Longyue's body, beneath her Dantian, within her bone marrow, and in the most concealed and profound crevices.
It neither bursts forth nor recedes inward; it simply lies dormant there, like a pearl buried beneath the deepest sea, its brilliance concealed, leaving only a faint, soft glow that slowly circulates.
That energy was so mysterious.
It contains an indescribable profound wisdom, like a treasure trove sealed for eternity, only revealing wisps of its essence through certain cracks.
"This Qi..."
He abruptly withdrew his Qi-Observation Technique, closed his eyes, and circulated the Concealed Edge Method several times, suppressing his aura back into a deathly stillness.
But he couldn't suppress his thoughts.
"Such extraordinary abilities are hidden within Lin Longyue's body!"
"It seems that Crown Ying Chi had already discovered the secret within Lin Longyue's body."
He silently recited it in his heart.
"That's why the Secret Method was passed down to Yunhe Commandery Princess, in order to plant a magic array in Lin Longyue 'Lin Longyue body and wait for this great medicine to mature."
The moment this thought crossed my mind, another thought immediately followed.
"Lin Suri also practices the Six-Qi True Method, so he should have discovered it long ago as well."
Chen Lingxi's eyes flickered slightly.
Lin Suri was the eldest son of the Marquis's mansion, and he spent every day with Lin Longyue. With his cultivation at the Qi Circulation Sixth Floor Realm and his eyes that could see through him, how could he not discover such an astonishing secret hidden within his sister's body?
But he did nothing.
Not only did he do nothing, he even tacitly approved of everything Yunhe Commandery Princess did to Lin Longyue, tacitly approved of that filthy energy carving a magic array on his own sister, and tacitly approved of that great herb being watered and forced to ripen day by day right under his nose.
What is Lin Suri plotting?
Chen Lingxi a deep breath and suppressed the surging emotions in her heart.
The Six-Qi True Method flowed slowly within his body. The stream of spiritual liquid in his Qi Sea surged silently beneath the barrier of the Concealed Edge Method, replenishing the spiritual qi he had just consumed, bit by bit.
Outside the window, the north wind howled like a knife.
The ornate carriage had reached the street corner and turned onto the official road leading to the East Courtyard of the Baosu Marquis Residence.
Following the imperial carriage, armored soldiers, officials, servants, and eunuchs followed in a grand procession, filling the entire long street with a dense, overwhelming crowd.
Lin Longyue's horse also mingled in the crowd, gradually disappearing into the distance.
His gaze returned through the crack in the windowpane to Lin Longyue's retreating figure.
"Such Treasure Qi, if I could gather it and cultivate it," he murmured to himself, the light deep within his eyes growing ever calmer. "This first Qi of mine will surely be extremely powerful, and could very well become my strongest foundation."
P. S.: I added a bonus chapter yesterday because I got 100 monthly votes, but I don't have many votes today. Let's all cheer each other on! I'd like to add another chapter tomorrow.