Jiang Changsheng carefully made a little nest for the snake egg on his bed, surrounding it with bedding. Since he began cultivating immortality, he had scarcely slept at all. He spent the depths of night sitting in meditation and drawing in Qi instead, and by dawn, he was always brimming with energy.
He began looking forward to the egg hatching. Every day, he infused spiritual power into it to nourish the snake fetus.
The peaceful days were shattered half a month later.
"I am Liu Luoyin. I heard that Changsheng Taoist Priest slew the evil Ghost Eye Evil King, so I have come to pay a visit."
A cool voice came from outside the room. Jiang Changsheng opened his eyes. He had long sensed her making her way toward his residence, but since she posed no threat to him, he had not called out to question her.
Jiang Changsheng's voice drifted outside. "May I ask what Miss Liu seeks from me?"
The courtyard lay blanketed in snow. A woman stood amid the white expanse, dressed in elegant purple robes like a wandering martial artist, a precious sword in her hand. Her face was beautiful, yet a cold killing intent showed between her brows, keeping others a thousand miles away.
Liu Luoyin said, "When I was young, the Evil King slaughtered my entire family. I drifted from place to place since childhood and learned martial arts. I had intended to seek revenge against the Evil King, but I heard that Changsheng Taoist Priest had killed him. I wish to ask for your guidance. Whether I win or lose, this grievance shall end here. Should you ever need my assistance in the future, Taoist Priest, I will certainly lend you my strength."
Jiang Changsheng froze, wondering if he had heard incorrectly.
What the hell?
I avenged you, and you came to spar with me to settle karma?
Jiang Changsheng replied, "My apologies, but I do not enjoy sparring with others. I am a cultivator of the Dao; martial arts are merely a small hobby of mine. Miss, please return. As for owing me a favor, there is no need to keep it in mind."
Fortunately, he had killed Ghost Eye Evil King. Otherwise, this foolish girl would have been doomed if she had sought out Ghost Eye Evil King.
There was still a gap between their True Qi, though it was not a large one. Yet there was also an age gap between them, which meant a gap in experience.
Thud!
Liu Luoyin suddenly knelt in the snow. Expressionless, she said, "If Taoist Priest refuses, then I shall kneel here until I starve to death, dying within your honored temple."
As soon as she spoke, the courtyard fell silent. Even the sound of wind and snow seemed to vanish.
Not far behind her, Qing Ku frowned at the sight. Just as he was about to step forward and stop her, the door opened, and Jiang Changsheng emerged in blue-green Daoist robes.
Nearly seventeen, Jiang Changsheng had fully grown into his frame. He stood tall and straight, his features handsome and refined. The Taihang Sword hung at his waist, while the Kirin Whisk rested in his hand. Liu Luoyin subconsciously looked up, her gaze falling upon Jiang Changsheng, and she could not help but stare blankly.
As their eyes met, even the wind and snow on the mountain seemed to stop.
Jiang Changsheng frowned and asked, "Miss, why must you be so unreasonable? I helped you, at the very least."
Liu Luoyin withdrew her gaze, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. She rose to her feet and said, "I know. It is not that I am ungrateful, and I certainly know I am no match for you. I only wish to settle one matter in my heart. Even if Taoist Priest injures me, I will bear no resentment. In the future, I will surely repay you."
Jiang Changsheng's brows furrowed even tighter.
Liu Luoyin directly drew her sword and waited for Jiang Changsheng to make his move.
Jiang Changsheng sighed. "Then attack. Use all your strength, so you will not be left unwilling to accept it in the future."
Upon hearing this, Liu Luoyin's lips curved upward. She immediately leaped into the air, her right hand rapidly swinging her sword. Streak after streak of Sword Qi, visible to the naked eye, tore through the wind and snow as they shot toward Jiang Changsheng.
At that moment, Liu Luoyin suddenly felt everything slow down. She watched Jiang Changsheng raise his leg. The movement was not fast, yet it carried an unstoppable momentum.
Jiang Changsheng kicked out with his left leg. Dozens of leg shadows shattered the Sword Qi in midair before striking Liu Luoyin.
"Puh—"
Liu Luoyin spat blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into a snowbank.
She clutched her chest in pain and tried to stand, but she spat another mouthful of blood and immediately fainted.
Qing Ku ran over in fright and asked in a trembling voice, "Senior Brother, she..."
Jiang Changsheng slowly lowered his leg, shook his head, and laughed. "She isn't dead. Take her away."
Killing people in the capital was against the law, unless they were condemned criminals like Ghost Eye Evil King, or it was self-defense.
Qing Ku breathed a sigh of relief. He had just crouched down when he stood up again and said, "No, I'll go get Eldest Sister."
With that, he ran off.
Jiang Changsheng turned and returned to his room, leaving Liu Luoyin in the snowbank.
Before long, Eldest Sister Meng Qiushuang and Qing Ku arrived with several disciples and took Liu Luoyin away. The matter quickly spread throughout the temple, and the disciples gained a deeper understanding of Jiang Changsheng.
This senior brother had become fiercer after living alone!
Jiang Changsheng had not seriously injured Liu Luoyin. He had merely shaken her True Qi without harming her internal organs. She would recover within several days. He had done this because he feared she would keep pestering him, so he had directly plunged her into despair and cut off her hopes.
Three days later, Liu Luoyin descended the mountain and did not come looking for Jiang Changsheng again.
In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, Jianghu woman Liu Luoyin sought to spar with you over a grudge. You crushed her hopes and passed through a karmic trial. You have obtained a survival reward—martial art: 'Mystic Inner Overlord Body'.
Hmm?
This counted as a trial?
It seemed that if he had not struck so ruthlessly, he would have become entangled with her even more.
Jiang Changsheng imagined many possibilities, but he did not regret it in the slightest. There were countless women in the world. On the path of cultivating the Dao, he could not allow himself to lose focus. A hundred years from now, she would be nothing more than a patch of yellow earth, not worth dwelling on.
"This life is destined to be lonely."
Jiang Changsheng sighed with feeling, then happily inherited the Mystic Inner Overlord Body.
The Mystic Inner Overlord Body was considered an internal martial art. It tempered the body with True Qi, making it as tough as steel and iron, difficult for blades and swords to pierce, and immune to a hundred poisons. It sounded quite impressive, and Jiang Changsheng planned to practice it for two hours every day.
After Dao Follows Nature Skill broke through to the fourth level, it entered a period of steady growth. The fifth level remained far beyond reach, but he was still young. He could take it slowly.
His spiritual power could now be described as vast and surging. Compared with him, Taoist Priest Qingxu's little bit of True Qi was like a stream beside an ocean, like the light of a grain of rice competing with the bright moon.
He simply did not know who was stronger between himself and that Heaven-Penetrating Realm expert in the imperial palace.
The winter snow melted away, and the spring of the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan arrived. Jiang Changsheng quietly passed his seventeenth birthday as well.
At seventeen, one was already an adult in the Jing Dynasty. Twenty years ago, battlefields had been full of youths aged sixteen or seventeen.
In the courtyard, Jiang Changsheng meditated atop a water vat. Looking closely, there was a gap of three or four centimeters between his legs and buttocks and the water's surface. He was floating in the air; from afar, it merely looked as though he were seated upon the water.
His Daoist robe billowed without stop. Visible heat seeped from his pores, and the exposed skin on his body jumped like stir-fried beans, a rather terrifying sight.
He suddenly rose and landed beside the water vat. His skin swiftly returned to normal, and his Daoist robe was dried by the steam.
After more than a dozen breaths, the wooden courtyard gate was pushed open, and Qing Ku entered with an excited expression.
After all these years, he had put aside his experiences wandering the Jianghu. He was no longer so taciturn and had returned to the liveliness of his youth. Ever since learning the Nine Seeking Heavenly Dragon Steps, his martial arts had advanced by leaps and bounds. He might not have been outstanding among the disciples, but placing in the top ten was no problem.
Of course, the martial arts of Dragon Arising Temple as a whole were quite poor. Most only knew fist and foot techniques. Taoist Priest Qingxu's True Qi was equivalent to the True Origin Realm, though he might be able to display the strength of the Spirit Sense Realm. Eldest Sister Meng Qiushuang was at the level of a First-Rate Expert.
They were quite weak, but fortunately, they were located in the capital, where there was not much competition among martial artists.
"Senior Brother, wonderful news! Senior Brother Qiu He passed the Martial Arts Imperial Examination and became the Martial Arts Champion. He has even become in-laws with a third-rank court official—he is in the limelight beyond measure! Eldest Sister is planning to take several disciples to visit him. Are you going?"
Qing Ku spoke excitedly. He still greatly respected Meng Qiuhe. Although Meng Qiuhe had left Dragon Arising Temple, he had remained in the capital. Whenever disciples encountered him after descending the mountain, he would treat them to a meal, as though they were still fellow disciples.
Jiang Changsheng smiled and shook his head. "I won't go. You all go ahead."
Qing Ku said, "There'll be delicious food if you go. Meat dishes, too."
Although Dragon Arising Temple had no custom of abstaining from meat, the mountain usually only had vegetables and fruit. The disciples had no money, and it was difficult for them to eat meat even when descending the mountain. Thus, upon hearing that they would visit Meng Qiuhe, they were all excited and competed for the chance to go.
Jiang Changsheng still refused. Qing Ku could only give up. He was also afraid of wasting time and missing the feast.
How did he become the Martial Arts Champion?
Jiang Changsheng watched Qing Ku's retreating figure and silently pondered.
He knew Meng Qiuhe's martial arts. In his eyes, they were quite ordinary. How long had Meng Qiuhe been down the mountain?
Chen Li had said that the Martial Arts Champion title was almost always contested by Jianghu experts. In the past, there had even been Peerless Experts who won the title, directly joined the army as generals, made achievements, and inspired even more martial arts experts to participate in the Martial Arts Imperial Examination.
Something was fishy.
Jiang Changsheng shook his head and continued practicing, striving to cultivate the Mystic Inner Overlord Body to great mastery as soon as possible.
Night fell.
Jiang Changsheng returned to his room and examined the snake egg. When would this little thing finally come out?
In the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, your former senior brother Meng Qiuhe set a trap to scheme against you. However, you did not go and avoided the disaster. You have obtained a survival reward—spell: 'Spring Return Spell'.
Hmm?
Jiang Changsheng frowned upon seeing this line. Had Meng Qiuhe defected to the enemy?
No wonder he had become the Martial Arts Champion.
Though somewhat indignant, Jiang Changsheng was even more excited.
Another spell!
Now that was more like it. How could an immortal cultivator keep practicing martial arts forever?
Actually, having more small trials like this was not bad. They could make him stronger.
Jiang Changsheng immediately inherited the Spring Return Spell, and memories flooded into his mind.
The Spring Return Spell was an emergency healing spell. If someone had only just died, it could help them retain a final breath and live a while longer. Under normal circumstances, the Spring Return Spell could only heal wounds and speed up blood clotting.
Retain a final breath?
This was a divine spell!
Jiang Changsheng felt that he could start solving criminal cases.
That night, Jiang Changsheng spent all his time cultivating the Spring Return Spell. Qing Ku did not come looking for him again. Meng Qiuhe had only wanted to scheme against him, so naturally, he had not troubled his own younger sister or the other disciples.
A month later, Jiang Changsheng had completely mastered the Spring Return Spell, but the Mystic Inner Overlord Body had yet to reach great mastery and still required time.
The snake egg still had not hatched. If not for the life force he could sense within it, Jiang Changsheng would have wanted to throw it away—or scramble it for a meal.
On this day, Jiang Changsheng was practicing when Qing Ku came to visit, his face filled with anger.
"Senior Brother Changsheng, someone is provoking Dragon Arising Temple! None of the disciples are his match. He claims that Dragon Arising Temple is unworthy of being the capital's only martial arts sect and wants to replace us!"
Qing Ku was furious beyond measure. His only fist clenched tight, veins bulging.
Jiang Changsheng frowned and asked, "There is someone in the capital who dares provoke Dragon Arising Temple?"
Qing Ku gritted his teeth. "He is a Demonic Taoist favored by His Majesty. He wants to establish a Daoist temple in the capital, but there is only one mountain within the city—Dragon Arising Mountain."
Thanks to May First Decade i for the reward of 100,000 Qidian coins~~~
The reason Jiang Changsheng was switched at birth will soon be revealed. You can try guessing it.
Before you continue