Traveling Together, An Aberrant Breed?

Two days later.

Lu Xuan sat cross-legged in a quiet chamber, his breathing hurried.

His eyes were tightly shut, yet thunder seemed to flash within them. His five viscera rumbled with a sinister, domineering force.

Not only that, bloody light flowed before his knees, gathering into the shadow of a sword and carrying the scent of bloodlust.

Qi coursed through his body, thunder roaring, while blood energy spread around him. His entire person had fallen into a strange state.

Yet upon closer inspection, one could see that his body was withered. A bloody smell seemed to linger around his nose and mouth, and his face was exceptionally pale.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Just then, a rooster crowed amid the distant, rolling mountains.

At the rooster's cry, the world turned white!

Dawn broke. The rising sun climbed into the sky, scattering all darkness.

"Huff!"

Beyond ordinary sight, radiant yang qi flowed within the newborn sun, turning into streaks of light that Lu Xuan inhaled through his nose.

"Boom!"

In an instant, brilliant halos flowed from within his body. He shone from head to toe, as though he had transformed into a wheel of light, carrying a sacred air.

Lu Xuan said nothing and merely continued to breathe and cultivate in silence.

Ten breaths later, he slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi. It carried the smell of blood and took several breaths to disperse within the quiet chamber.

But once that turbid qi left his body, all the bloody light around Lu Xuan vanished. Color returned to his face, his eyes brightened, and he was once again brimming with vigor.

"The mysteries of True Qi truly are wondrous beyond words..."

Lu Xuan slightly clenched his fists, feeling the scorching blood vitality within him and his incomparably healthy five viscera. He could not help but sigh.

By gathering True Qi, one obtained the resonance of the Dao and grasped the essence of qi. Naturally, it held profound mysteries.

Over the past two days, he had rapidly cultivated three arts. Injuries had been unavoidable; his blood vitality had dried up, and his five viscera had been scorched. Yet once the morning sun rose, mysterious radiant qi naturally coursed through his entire body like a soak in a hot spring, restoring everything.

A thousand injuries were, to him, matters of yesterday.

"Looking at it this way... heterodox methods seem better suited to me than orthodox cultivation."

As he reflected on the three newly acquired arts, Lu Xuan pondered inwardly.

Heterodox methods pursued rapid progress and came with drawbacks. But for him, so long as the injury did not severely damage his foundation, he could recover at dawn. In that case, heterodox methods practically had no drawbacks at all.

"Still, side paths are not the righteous way. I should learn them cautiously..."

Yet Lu Xuan also understood that if he relied entirely on Dawn Radiance True Qi to cultivate heterodox methods, he would be settling for the inferior path.

But using it as a foundation to learn more side-path techniques for self-defense would do no harm.

All True Qi possessed its mysteries. Those who gathered True Qi surely each had their own methods. He could not waste the qi he possessed.

After breathing and cultivating once more until the qi in his sea of qi was full, Lu Xuan glanced at the sky outside and slowly rose.

"Judging by the time, it should be about right..."

The time agreed upon by the Xie Clan and the Bright Ape Clan was noon. He could not miss it.

Although Red Pine Fief was the nearest demon fief to Hibernation Academy, getting there would still take several hours.

This time, he did not intend to turn his own cloud qi into light and travel on it. Instead, he would ride [Little Azure Rainbow Cloud].

After all, a battle awaited him. It was best not to use any of his own qi.

Riding [Little Azure Rainbow Cloud] would also nourish his spirit and be more stable.

But just as Lu Xuan stepped out of the quiet chamber and into the courtyard, he suddenly paused in surprise.

"Hmm?"

Before the residence, two tall female cultivators had somehow appeared and were quietly waiting for him.

One wore a long green dress. Her skin was fair and tender, while her black hair was pinned into a single spiral bun with a jade hairpin. With her hands behind her back, she looked at Lu Xuan with a beaming smile.

"Junior Brother, time to go!"

Her tone was familiar, lively, and charming.

The other wore a pale-blue Daoist robe, her hair tied into twin blade-shaped buns. Her almond eyes and features were beautiful and generous.

She said nothing, merely watching Lu Xuan quietly, warmth and a trace of apology in her eyes.

Jiang Muying and Lin Shuyun.

They were the two inner sect senior sisters Lu Xuan had visited before.

They were also two close classmates who had studied alongside his former self for nine years.

The two women had said that day they would travel with him and see him into Sunfire Cave. He had already refused, yet they had come directly to block his door.

Perhaps they felt guilty and wanted to restore their former friendship?

"Greetings, Senior Sisters."

"But... this is merely a minor dispute. Why trouble yourselves to see me off? I can go on my own."

Lu Xuan walked out of the residence, performed a Daoist salute, and politely declined.

"Come on, come on. Don't waste time."

Jiang Muying waved a hand, signaling Lu Xuan to stop talking nonsense. Then she beckoned, and a huge pink treasure cloud appeared in the courtyard.

"This is the [Flowing Mist Treasure Cloud] I borrowed from Senior Sister Zhang. It is quite spacious, two zhang wide at least. It can easily carry all three of us."

"Well? Isn't it big?"

Jiang Muying arched her delicate brows and asked Lu Xuan with a grin.

Lu Xuan merely shook his head. "We can use [Little Azure Rainbow Cloud]. Why borrow a cloud and owe someone a favor for nothing..."

"Among classmates, occasionally borrowing a low-grade artifact is perfectly ordinary. Senior Sister Zhang borrows my treasured bow when she goes hunting, too."

Jiang Muying did not think much of it.

Lin Shuyun also spoke, her tone gentle. "Junior Brother, are you prepared? Have you found a metal weapon? If not, I have selected a sword for you."

Hearing this, Lu Xuan knew he would likely be unable to stop the two senior sisters from accompanying him today. He no longer wasted words, instead beckoning with his hand. Qi moved with his will, drawing the Red Crow Sword from where it rested in the courtyard.

This sword needed sunlight to be nurtured, so it had no sheath. It flew directly into Lu Xuan's palm.

Lin Shuyun's spiritual sense surged like thunder across the sword. She immediately praised it, "Its blade is like fire, its rainbow light like the sun. What an excellent spiritual weapon. Where did Junior Brother find it?"

"It was a gift from the Xie Family."

Lu Xuan did not conceal it and recounted how the Xie Family had given him the sword the day before yesterday.

The moment he said that, the two women's expressions changed.

Jiang Muying's expression softened, and she nodded repeatedly. Lin Shuyun, however, knitted her brows tightly, her eyes turning wary.

"The Xie Family is at least reasonable. That is not bad."

"One must always guard against others. Why would people like the Xie Family not seek their own opportunities? Why insist on Junior Brother's [Fire Origin Sword Sand]?"

The two women spoke at the same time, yet their thoughts were completely different.

Lu Xuan knew this had much to do with their backgrounds.

Jiang Muying had been born in the core territory of the Heaven-Gazing Sect. From childhood, she had encountered only great orthodox households, whose conduct was highly regulated. Thus, she remained innocent and carefree.

Lin Shuyun, however, had been born into a small clan outside the Heaven-Gazing Sect. She had seen many cases of "opportunities destined by fate" and "inevitable tribulations," so she remained vigilant toward all matters.

Still, after considering it briefly, Lin Shuyun's furrowed brows relaxed. "But Junior Brother has already been registered in the inner sect jade record. Opportunity is opportunity, disaster is disaster. The Xie Family cannot scheme against him."

"Moreover, I examined this sword with my spiritual sense. There are no hidden dangers. It should be fine."

Her view was the same as Lu Xuan's.

It was good to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree. It was only a spiritual weapon; there was no need to worry needlessly.

Lin Shuyun asked several more questions about Lu Xuan's preparations. Once she confirmed that nothing was amiss, the three of them boarded the [Flowing Mist Treasure Cloud] and flew toward Red Pine Fief.

Lu Xuan did not stand on ceremony. Having two fellow disciples watch over him was indeed better than going alone.

Moreover, the two women were not merely seeing him off today. They had sought information about the Bright Ape Clan and Sunfire Cave and had come specifically to tell him.

It seemed that the Bright Ape Clan had produced an aberrant breed this generation, one that could not only control fire, but also wield illusions.