Heartstrings Taut, Central Pivot Unmoved
The moonlight was bright.
In the dense forest, two figures moved slowly, one tall and one short.
The two men were dressed in dark blue clothes, their faces were covered, and their heads were wrapped in turbans, revealing only their eyes.
"Qiu Yan has been staying in the city these past few days, making it difficult to act. Tonight, we'll scout ahead. If an opportunity arises, we'll strike directly! Kill if we can!"
"Do not act rashly. Do not forget the King's orders: capture him alive if possible!"
"Brother! Because of this man's treacherous scheme, how much has the tribe suffered? How many of our people have perished? In the words of the Central Plains people, we are irreconcilable enemies! To capture such a person alive? Killing him would be too lenient!"
"Do you think I don't want to kill him? But the king has given the order, how can I disobey? However, the king only said to capture him alive, he didn't forbid hurting him. After you capture him, cut off his limbs. There's no need to worry about that scholar playing tricks or trying to escape!"
"Great idea! Big brother's thinking is the best!"
The two men spoke in hushed tones, not in the Central Plains dialect of the Central Plains.
As soon as the words were spoken, a strong wind suddenly arose in the distance, followed by a voice that drifted over from afar—
"Who do we have here? It's the Marshfolk coming for revenge!"
The speaker was far away, but it was Qiu Yan, long sword in hand, who swiftly approached, leaving footprints on the ground as he stomped forward!
The two men were speaking the language of the Marshfolk. Although Qiu Yan had never learned it, he could still discern the clues by extending his senses and capturing the emotional fluctuations of the two men!
Who is it?
The two masked Marshfolk were startled at first, but when they looked in the direction of the voice, they were delighted rather than surprised when they recognized the person.
One of Human Path, "It's that scholar named Qiu Yan! We didn't expect him to come to us like this before we even went to find him. He's asking for death!"
Another person said, "We must not underestimate him. This man moves swiftly, his muscles tremble, clearly he possesses martial arts skills. He dared to come to us on his own initiative, he must have something to rely on!"
As they spoke, the two of them didn't hesitate. They stomped their feet, kicking up huge clumps of mud. But the force of their stomping didn't dissipate at all; it was all concentrated under their feet and exploded outwards, propelling them straight forward.
Bang! Bang!
With two consecutive screechs, two Marshfolk flew out like cannonballs, heading straight for Qiu Yan. Faint ripples of energy could be seen emanating from their bodies, spreading and reaching every part of their being.
Just then, a thought emanated from the Greensteel Longsword in Qiu Yan's hand—
"These two are no ordinary people! They can control their entire body's energy at will; they must have at least refined their Fifth Soul!"
Qiu Yan continued walking, heading straight towards the person in front of him. "The Fifth Soul? The Central Pivot Soul? That Biaoxin really thinks highly of me. In his eyes, I should just be a scholar with some talent, but the person he sent actually has the cultivation to refine the Fifth Soul. He is likely the peak martial force in the clan. He is really willing to invest."
He had overheard their conversation from a distance and deduced their origins from their fragmented words. He knew they were sent by the Marshfolk, and the "Great King" they mentioned must be Biaoxin.
Biaoxin harbored great ambitions, contacting various tribes and even colluding with Barbarians to stage a major disturbance and profit from it. However, his plan was thwarted by Qiu Yan's military strategy. Not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but his own forces also suffered significant losses and he has been expelled from the country, leaving him in a sorry state.
Having suffered such a great loss, it was naturally unbearable for a powerful figure in the Marshlands, so sending people to retaliate was to be expected.
"This man is quite ambitious. Since he wants revenge, he's probably not only targeting me; others involved in this military operation will likely find it difficult to escape as well."
At this moment, the longsword spoke again—
"These Marshfolk have come here intending to capture you alive; their ambitions are far from small."
"That Biaoxin's ambition is indeed considerable! But with a fierce battle imminent, let's put aside distractions!" Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, flicked his hand, and threw his longsword, which stuck into the ground. Then, with a surge of power and the vibration of his joints, he charged towards the two!
"Qiu Yan, are you sure you want to do this?" The longsword transmitted another thought.
"That's natural. Since you want to take care of your life, you should catch up with your Life Cultivation level as soon as possible. Brother Jian, please watch from the side and give me some pointers if there are any shortcomings!" Qiu Yan didn't say these words, but transmitted them directly through his mind.
Two masked Marshfolk had already charged towards them!
Qiu Yan also focused his mind, staring intently at the two of them. His muscles and bones trembled continuously, his strength flowed, True Qi circulated under his skin. The aura formed by the convergence of his Three Souls surrounded him, faintly forming an aura field. It seemed that as long as there was any contact, it would bring a fierce counterattack!
"That's interesting!"
The two Marshfolk noticed the aura around Qiu Yan, a look of apprehension flashed in their eyes, and then their killing intent surged. They each raised their hands, their palms vibrating, and True Qi surged out!
The True Qi emitted by the two of them was extremely concentrated, like two thin whips, slashing straight at Qiu Yan. Their killing intent surged, and in the blink of an eye, they crossed a distance of five zhang and broke into the Three Souls auras around Qiu Yan!
That fierce determination clearly indicated an intention to snap Qiu Yan in two at the waist! Leaving no room for retreat!
Once the soul's power stirs, perception becomes clear.
Using the sensitive aura, Qiu Yan focused his mind, spreading his thoughts throughout his body with meticulous detail. Then, as he moved, he swayed his body and brushed past the two long whips of True Qi!
Snap!
Two thin, deep marks suddenly appeared on the ground!
"You've got some skill, dodging and weaving agilely, no wonder you dared to come! But you've killed so many of your people, unleashing the blood of your entire clan, making you the number one sinner in the world. There's no use in hiding!"
The short, masked Marshfolk spoke in a deep voice, then his body trembled in mid-air, and his energy surged like a tide as he pounced on Qiu Yan!
This surge of energy was thick and engulfing, like a swamp falling from the sky!
"Hmm?" Sensing the swampy atmosphere, Qiu Yan had a thought. His pores surged with energy, transforming into Black Wind that swirled his body and floated in the air, retreating from the area covered by the energy tide. Then, he plummeted downwards, unleashing the immense power from the Rhinoceros Beetle and the Rhinoceros, crashing into the ground with a bang!
Boom!
The ground was instantly thrown up, rippling like water, and the masked Marshfolk who was emitting a steaming aura was thrown away!
But before Qiu Yan could catch his breath, a strong gust of wind blew through the air behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The change in airflow was immediately detected by the Three Souls Aura. Qiu Yan's tense mind tightened abruptly, and a dense, aching sensation appeared on the skin behind his neck.
This is a sign of impending danger – a crisis is imminent!
Immediately, Qiu Yan opened his mouth wide and inhaled sharply, swallowing the surrounding air. His chest and abdomen bulged high, then he leaned back and exhaled sharply!
Call!
The airflow surged, its tip condensing into a sharp point, like a ram's horn, spinning and whistling, scattering the dense clusters of air needles attacking from behind!
These needles, in various colors and emitting a foul odor, all contained potent poison. They were fired by the tall, masked Marshfolk.
"You've got some skills!"
The tall Marshfolk was slightly surprised, then with a flick of his arm, the air needles that had been blown away returned and flew everywhere, exuding a concentrated and highly poisonous aura.
On the other side, the short Marshfolk who had been thrown away charged back in, swinging his arms and creating swirling, rolling waves of air, as continuous as a swamp.
The two people, one in front and one behind, attacked with qi needles and qi tides, one above and one below.
A pincer attack!
Faced with this situation, Qiu Yan remained calm, turned his body, and was enveloped in Black Wind. He spun rapidly, his energy flowing through his entire body, reaching all the way to his feet.
Sink!
He sank completely into the mud, thus escaping the pincer attack!
"What bizarre tricks they've come up with!"
The two Marshfolk were slightly surprised, and a strange sense of pleasure, like a cat playing with a mouse, welled up inside them.
In the following few breaths, Qiu Yan leaped and shifted, weaving through the attack of the qi tide and qi needles, fraught with peril.
However, the two Marshfolk were unaware that a fog of Heart Demon was spreading in Qiu Yan's heart, amplifying his sense of crisis, making his mind more focused and tense, his nerves taut like a bowstring stretched to its limit, and his external Three Souls aura was trying its best to capture every change!
My heartstrings are taut, but I maintain a clear mind to capture and understand.
Within the flesh and blood, a Soul Shadow grew ever clearer...
Power flows through the air, and the Four Souls circulate.
Finally!
Qiu Yan was startled and hesitated in mid-air for a moment!
"A great opportunity!"
The two Marshfolk, of course, wouldn't let this opportunity pass. They lunged forward, their True Qi and strength surging and roaring, determined to take down Qiu Yan in one fell swoop!
At this moment, a light and shadow flashed above Qiu Yan's head, and his soul came out of his body. The three semi-fused souls spread out a mist of light and condensed into a bookshelf, marked with the word "".
Then, the books on the bookshelf transformed into talismans, shooting out like more than a hundred Divine Ability Talisman roaring together, converging into a torrent, bursting forth with the aura of scriptures and teachings, instantly engulfing the two Marshfolk!
"What happened?"
The Marshfolk were forced to retreat by the torrent of talismans. The waves and needles formed from True Qi were also eroded by the thoughts and emotions within the talismans and lost control!
The talisman vibrated, resonating with the surrounding Spiritual Qi, causing the meaning of the scriptures to manifest. In an instant, the sound of reading filled an area of more than thirty feet, deafeningly loud!
"Not good! This person also cultivates the Soul Dao! His sudden attack has caught us both off guard!"
"Why didn't he unleash his full power, instead only using his fists and feet against his opponent?"
The Marshfolk was surprised and confused. At the same time, he unleashed his strength and True Qi to break free from the torrent of talismans. But just as his energy burst out, the soil beneath his feet suddenly cracked open, and a figure burst out of the ground!
Then, a surge of powerful Qi and Blood rose into the sky, instantly imprisoning the two Marshfolk!
Thump! Thump!
With a dull thud, the two lay motionless on the ground, unable to move.
"Who launched the sneak attack? What a terrifying aura!" They turned to look and saw a lone figure, but the face was blurry, as if shrouded in mist, and they couldn't see it clearly.
This person was none other than Tang Lai, who had been turned into a puppet.
"This person attacked before we even had a chance to react. Could he be Qiu Yan's accomplice? If he had such an accomplice, why didn't he attack earlier and instead continue fighting us?"
Puzzled, the two Marshfolk looked up ahead, and then their expressions changed drastically.
Qiu Yan stood there, his body trembling with energy, his flesh and tendons throbbing, and it seemed as if hundreds of tiny ants were crawling under his clothes. His aura continued to rise.
This scene was familiar to the two of them; they had experienced it before.
"He's adjusting and sensing the major tendons throughout his body, channeling his thoughts into his entire being, trying to refine his Central Pivot Soul!"
Snap!
As if to confirm it, a soft sound came from Qiu Yan's body, and his eyes shone brightly!
Central Pivot Soul, Gathered and Refined! (To be continued)
ps: Thanks to "Qinhan Miao Miao Chu Xiaoyao" and "Tianwaizhilang" for their monthly votes!