Four-Season Mortal Heart, Demonless Heart

"Senior Brother Shen, please!"

Zhang Xuange was the first to cup his hands and call out to Shen Jingyuan.

Shen Jingyuan wore a dark azure Dharma robe. His face still carried some youthful immaturity, yet his brows held a calm, restrained air that showed he was a man of firm convictions.

Hearing this, he smiled faintly and cupped his hands. "Please enlighten me, Junior Brother."

Lu Xuan and the others watched from the side, their curiosity stirred as they stared without blinking.

Zhou Xuanpu had no interest in the spell duels of youngsters like them, nor was he willing to arrange examinations or sword fights.

Yet they themselves were intensely curious. What wondrous arts had these fellow True Qi cultivators learned, and how strong were they?

Qi Refining First Layer might be insignificant compared to Foundation Establishment, but they were still cultivators capable of soaring through the skies and plunging into the seas.

Boom!

No sooner said than done.

Zhang Xuange made a Daoist salute, then stamped his foot. Four-colored halos lit beneath his toes, and his figure crossed dozens of zhang in an instant, appearing directly behind Shen Jingyuan.

Lu Xuan and the others immediately narrowed their eyes.

—Sequence-Light Escape Technique.

This was an escape art recorded in the Sea-Calming Spell Compendium, one exceptionally suited to Temporal-Sequence True Qi. It drew upon the turning of the four seasons and the swiftness of passing time; once activated, its user could cross a hundred zhang in an instant.

Whether used to seize the initiative for a fierce assault or to flee at once when things turned sour, it was exceptionally useful.

Screech!

Not only that, a four-colored golden wheel had appeared in Zhang Xuange's palm at some unknown moment.

The wheel spun at high speed, carrying an intense aura of "severing," and slashed viciously toward the back of Shen Jingyuan's neck.

A low-grade Dharma artifact—the Four-Symbol Golden Wheel.

The Dharma artifacts wielded by inner disciples of the Heaven-Gazing Sect were not standardized. They were tailored according to the Qi each disciple had gathered.

Zhang Xuange's Four-Symbol Golden Wheel happened to match Temporal-Sequence True Qi. Its four rings revolved, embodying the intent to cleave through all things.

It was a weapon of slaughter.

It was now the turn from spring's end into summer's birth, when Zhang Xuange's Temporal-Sequence True Qi was at its most fierce and tyrannical. Even the strength throughout his body seemed to have surged dramatically.

When that golden wheel came crashing down, it truly carried blazing might.

"Still!"

Yet Shen Jingyuan seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. His reaction was incredibly swift, and in an instant, he produced a black jade ruler to block the golden wheel.

The moment the ruler appeared, the spiritual energy within several zhang was forcibly fixed in its "Qi nature." Fire could not arise, water could not condense, wood could not grow.

Everything returned to balance. Spiritual energy seemed to lose its power to kill, like drifting clouds gathering and dispersing.

—A low-grade Dharma artifact, the Balance-Setting Ruler.

It could fix the Qi nature within an area and halt a hundred forms of slaughter.

Yet although the "Qi nature" had been fixed and spiritual energy could no longer give rise to killing power, the spinning golden wheel remained sharp enough to cut gold and sever jade.

If this strike landed, Shen Jingyuan would face grave danger.

Moreover, Zhang Xuange reacted with extreme speed. The instant the Balance-Setting Ruler appeared, brilliant halos shone in his eyes, like a bright moon and like the setting sun, shifting beyond measure.

Dao art—Four-Season Mortal Heart.

No two Dao arts in the world were alike.

Once Zhang Xuange activated his Dao art, it could make an enemy cultivator's Spiritual Sense and thoughts change with the shifting seasons.

It was now the moment when spring had not yet faded and summer had just begun to rise. Anyone struck by this art would find their thoughts running wild and their whole body burning with heat. Their Spiritual Sense would be the same, as though scorched by fire and assailed by illusory miasma, impossible to gather.

Whoosh!

But Shen Jingyuan's response was always one step faster.

Before the golden wheel could fall, just as Zhang Xuange activated Four-Season Mortal Heart, Cloud Qi was already flowing from Shen Jingyuan's mouth and nose.

The Cloud Qi was faint and ethereal. In an instant, it swept around Shen Jingyuan's body like a protective Dharma robe, enveloping him within.

—Balance-Origin Protective Qi.

This was a minor art from the Sea-Calming Spell Compendium. Once activated, Central-Balance Origin Qi would immediately shroud the cultivator's body. All manner of spells and Spiritual Sense that entered it would be "neutralized," reverting into the primordial spiritual energy of heaven and earth, ordinary energy without any killing power.

Even Dharma artifacts would be like falling into empty space, stripped of their power to kill.

This art was quite profound. It was a prerequisite minor art for the Central-Balance Dharma Robe, and the Central-Balance Dharma Robe was an exceptionally superior spell of the Heaven-Gazing Sect.

If cultivated to great mastery, while it might not render one invulnerable to all arts, it could still avert a thousand calamities.

The golden wheel, deprived of spiritual energy's support, stopped spinning the instant it touched that Qi and lost its Sharpness.

Only Zhang Xuange's Dao art, Four-Season Mortal Heart, barely broke through the defense of the Balance-Origin Protective Qi and invaded Shen Jingyuan's Spiritual Sense, filling his thoughts with disorder and wild fancies.

Yet those chaotic thoughts returned to calm in but an instant, vanishing without a trace.

Those who gathered Central Balance True Qi possessed hearts like a clear breeze and bright moon—they gave rise to no demons.

This was not merely a "trait" brought by that Qi. It was also Shen Jingyuan's Dao art.

—Demonless Heart.

His heart was pure and clear, able to sever all distracting thoughts. His mind remained bright at every moment.

His Dao art did not seek slaughter. It sought cultivation.

But that did not mean he lacked the power to kill.

Boom!

Shen Jingyuan did not turn around, but from the cloudlike Balance-Origin Protective Qi surrounding him, a golden palm print suddenly shot out and struck Zhang Xuange with sudden, unexpected force.

Alarmed, Zhang Xuange wanted to activate his Dharma artifact to defend himself, but Shen Jingyuan chose that moment to turn and look at him.

Their eyes met. Zhang Xuange felt as though he had seen a bright, radiant moon. The anxiety, unease, and urgency in his heart were soothed in an instant, returning to stillness.

But peace in the heart could not replace the suffering of the flesh.

The golden palm print struck Zhang Xuange's body. His Qi Sea shook violently, and the Qi force throughout his body seemed to be fixed in place, impossible to wield.

He could not even remain suspended in the air and was sent plunging straight into the river by that single palm.

Splash!

Water crashed over his face, soaking him from head to toe. Only then did Zhang Xuange come to his senses.

But it was already too late.

"Junior Brother, I concede."

With a beckoning gesture from Shen Jingyuan, Zhang Xuange was hauled out of the great river. The moisture around his body vanished, restoring him to dryness as though he had never fallen into the water.

Yet the lingering chill on his cheeks told Zhang Xuange—he had already lost.

"Senior Brother, your methods are remarkable. I am convinced!"

Zhang Xuange clenched his fists tightly, then let out a long sigh and smiled bitterly again and again.

This sword duel had been privately arranged by Senior Brother Lu Xuan, not an official contest within the sect. Zhang Xuange had only intended to see the methods of his senior brothers, but he had been rather proud of himself within.

After all, he had gathered Temporal-Sequence True Qi, whose Qi nature changed with the four seasons and was extraordinarily uncommon.

Yet he had not expected that after merely a few exchanges, Shen Jingyuan would send him into the great river and soak him through.

Meanwhile, Shen Jingyuan remained calm as drifting clouds and gentle breeze, as though he had merely waved a hand.

Such a disparity left Zhang Xuange deeply distressed.

"Junior Brother Zhang, it was merely a single defeat. Temporal-Sequence True Qi is at its best for spell duels in autumn. The days ahead are still long!"

Seeing this, Zhan Qingyang immediately offered loud consolation.

Zhang Xuange took several deep breaths before barely settling his emotions. He saluted the others, then turned and returned to the crowd.

Seeing this, Lu Xuan also released the item he had borrowed as a precaution.

But through this duel, he had seen the strength of Central Balance True Qi.

Shen Jingyuan had gathered Central Balance True Qi. Though his Spiritual Sense Dao art did not excel in slaughter, it perceived the Heavenly Cycle and kept his heart tranquil, making him exceptionally sensitive to changes in spiritual energy. Thus, he always anticipated his enemy's moves.

Zhang Xuange's attacks had seemed swift, but in truth, everything had remained within Shen Jingyuan's control.

His defeat was not unjust.