The bushes rustled. Tu Shan Ge looked over warily and saw a tall, alluring woman emerge from the trees.
She wore daringly scant clothing, her red dress vivid as blood, like a beautiful ghost haunting the deep mountain forests, sucking the marrow from men's bones.
"You're that..."
Tu Shan Ge studied her carefully for a moment, then his expression abruptly darkened. "You're Xiao Yu? Zhou Chuyu? Fuck! Is there something wrong with your head?!"
He unleashed a torrent of abuse:
"I don't know where you got that cultivation, but did a dog eat your heart?! You want to kill Master? Without him, you'd still be pleasuring that old dog Blazing Mountain beneath his crotch! You bastard! You damned bitch!"
"Noisy."
Zhou Chuyu cast him a sidelong glance and took out a brilliantly colored Flowing Firmament Ruler. It instantly flew from her hand, hurtling straight toward the crown of Tu Shan Ge's head.
Tu Shan Ge thrust out both hands, and his divine power manifested as layer upon layer of rippling light. But it held for only a few instants before the Flowing Firmament Ruler drove straight through, poised to smash his skull.
Seeing this, Chen Heng pointed a finger. With a clang, his embryonic breathing struck the Flowing Firmament Ruler. The talisman artifact's spiritual radiance scattered at once, and it was knocked away.
What grade is this embryonic breathing?
Startled, Zhou Chuyu hurriedly formed a hand seal and recalled the Flowing Firmament Ruler to protect her vital points.
Ever since Yin Gonghao had taught her a Qi Cultivation Art, Zhou Chuyu had prided herself on her dense, steady embryonic breathing, supremely primal and pure. Ordinary qi refiners could scarcely withstand a single exchange with her, and even those whose cultivation exceeded hers struggled.
Yet Chen Heng had merely flicked out a strand of embryonic breathing and effortlessly knocked the Flowing Firmament Ruler away. Such ability was truly astonishing.
The Qi Cultivation Art she studied could produce the ninth-rank lower grade "calamity mother essence." What could surpass it-ninth-rank middle grade, or... ninth-rank upper grade?
"You've wielded talisman artifacts so many times already, yet you still have embryonic breathing left?"
Zhou Chuyu retreated a few more steps. "How did you detect me?"
The nature of "calamity mother essence" allowed it to penetrate the netherworld; dividing forms, scattering shadows, and passing between existence and nonexistence were trifling matters. Though she had yet to cultivate true qi, her embryonic breathing had acquired some of those properties. Concealing herself and masking her qi presence was hardly difficult.
But the "primordial beginning true origin" Chen Heng studied stood a level above it. It could draw upon 129,600 kinds of spiritual qi and served as the overarching principle of all origins and truths.
However extraordinary "calamity mother essence" might be, how could it escape the bounds of the spiritual qi of the Origin Spirit?
Chen Heng had sensed Zhou Chuyu's qi presence the moment she began spying on him. He had only continued feigning ignorance because he detected a mid-grade flight talisman artifact on her and feared that failing to kill the snake would invite its bite.
Today, he deliberately spat blood to show weakness. Sure enough, Zhou Chuyu swallowed the bait, abandoned her distance, and came to kill him.
Though countless thoughts turned through his mind, Chen Heng merely smiled faintly and ignored her.
"You still look as though you drape yourself in moonlight and cloak yourself in the wind, aloof from all things, untouched by the mortal world..."
Zhou Chuyu gazed at Chen Heng in a daze, as though she meant to caress every inch of his face with her eyes.
In the first light filtering through the woods, the man beside the stream wore white as pure as snow, without ornament.
Light and shadow swayed across his elegantly defined profile through the gaps between the trees, casting bands of luminous haze. He resembled a moving ink-wash landscape of extraordinary splendor, the figure within wondrously beautiful and graceful, radiant as clear clouds and glowing sunset skies.
Zhou Chuyu remained silent for a long time before suddenly giving a soft laugh, her gaze complicated. "You saved me, yet I want to kill you... Won't you ask? Won't you ask why?"
"You seek my life, so I'll kill you. That's all. Why waste more words?"
Chen Heng said no more.
He formed a seal and summoned a great wind. Dead leaves whirled into the sky, the stream surged backward toward the heavens, and broken debris filled the air. Zhou Chuyu hastily produced a golden lamp and suspended it above her head. It shed dazzling light, protecting everything within thirty feet of her.
The gale lasted dozens of breaths. When it finally subsided, thick fog had somehow risen all around them, dim and murky. Without the golden lamp's illumination, she would scarcely have been able to see even a few steps away.
"A Dao Art?"
Zhou Chuyu swept her hand, making the golden lamp shine more brightly. She sneered and said:
"You just fought a battle. How much embryonic breathing can you possibly have left? I advise you to surrender now. Perhaps I'll spare your life."
A moment later, a faint voice came from within the mist:
"Not much, but enough to kill you."
"There!" Zhou Chuyu's eyes lit up, and she sent the Flowing Firmament Ruler flying from her hand.
Radiance swept outward, blasting dozens of large trees apart. Yet it met no resistance, nor did any blood or flesh scatter.
Buzz!
A streak of emerald light shot over and struck the golden lamp above Zhou Chuyu's head, making it wobble. Just as she tried to recall the Flowing Firmament Ruler, the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead became a rainbow streak and intercepted it in midair.
With no other choice, Zhou Chuyu took out a White-Haired Brush to block the Green Bamboo Thorn's attacks.
By now, the golden lamp above her head had dimmed considerably. Its flame flickered weakly, on the verge of being broken.
They fought like this for another half a tea's time, and Zhou Chuyu grew more alarmed with every exchange. After mastering the Qi Cultivation Art Yin Gonghao had imparted, she had resolved to overwhelm opponents with her vast embryonic breathing, sweeping aside everything in her path.
But Chen Heng's embryonic breathing was not only denser than hers; his skill in magical combat was also greater.
The Green Bamboo Thorn darted through the air like an immense, tightly woven net. Several times, it broke through the White-Haired Brush's defense and stabbed toward the vital point between her brows.
Without the golden lamp still shining above her head, she would have been killed long ago.
And as Zhou Chuyu gradually began to falter.
Deep within the white mist, Chen Heng was also frowning to himself...
He cultivated "primordial beginning true origin." Though this Qi Cultivation Art was of an exceptionally high grade and gave him deep, vast embryonic breathing, his reserves were not limitless or inexhaustible.
In the end, he was still only at the third layer of qi refining.
He had fought Tong Gaolu, detonated a talisman artifact consecrated with his blood essence, and then faced Zhou Chuyu, an opponent whose embryonic breathing was clearly far from ordinary.
By now, he too could faintly feel himself approaching exhaustion.
I can't drag this out any longer. I must take a risk and kill her quickly!
As Chen Heng's thoughts shifted, the bead and Green Bamboo Thorn, whose relentless attacks had surged like a tide, suddenly slowed. Zhou Chuyu, sweat beading at her temples, immediately rejoiced at the change.
She sharply raised her embryonic breathing and poured it into the Flowing Rosy Cloud Ruler. The flawless, clear jade ruler gave an explosive crack in midair. With a single collision, it sent the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead flying sideways, tumbling dozens of yards away.
Then the Flowing Rosy Cloud Ruler released a ring of fierce rosy light. One sweep dispersed much of the thick white mist; another gradually brought the surroundings back into clear view.
Forcibly breaking Chen Heng's "Lesser Wind and Mist-Summoning Technique" with a talisman artifact had also cost Zhou Chuyu considerably.
She caught her breath briefly, then forced herself to focus. Beneath a large tree, she saw Chen Heng turn to leave.
"Young master, you've lost."
Zhou Chuyu used the White-Haired Brush to seal off Chen Heng's escape, then pursued him closely. Once the distance between them had narrowed, Chen Heng abruptly stopped, transformed into white light, and lunged at her. Driving his flight light to its fullest, he arrived before her in an instant.
Zhou Chuyu was startled, but her hands never stopped moving.
Bearing a vast, wave-like force, the Flowing Firmament Ruler slammed down!
Chen Heng activated the One Qi Essence Jade, forming a ring of faint luminescence that forcibly held the ruler up, briefly arresting it in midair. But an instant later, that luminous ring was crushed, and the Flowing Firmament Ruler continued descending without losing momentum.
Buzz!
Though the One Qi Essence Jade had held for only a few instants, it had bought Chen Heng the few breaths he needed to cast a technique.
He formed a seal with one hand. Currents of qi surged over him like waterfalls and waves, condensing into translucent armor. The moment the Flowing Firmament Ruler struck his perfected Qi Armor Technique, a roar like thunder splitting a mountain erupted, leaving one dizzy and dazed.
Seeing Chen Heng insist on closing in regardless of the danger.
Zhou Chuyu did not know his intention, but she hurriedly drove her flight light backward. At the same time, she poured more embryonic breathing into the Flowing Firmament Ruler, increasing the talisman artifact's might once again.
Bang!
After three to five breaths of stalemate, Zhou Chuyu's desperate effort made the Qi Armor Technique crackle and fracture like shattered porcelain. In the blink of an eye, only a thin layer remained, barely holding together.
Even then, Chen Heng did not turn into light and retreat. His expression remained calm.
Crack-
The last thin layer of qi armor was finally worn away. The Flowing Firmament Ruler fell without resistance, blasting Chen Heng's head apart as dust billowed up!
But the flying blood and flesh Zhou Chuyu expected never appeared. In his place, only a shattered little golden man lay quietly in a deep crater.
"How could this be?"
Zhou Chuyu hurriedly looked to the side. Not far away, Chen Heng stood at ease, smiling.
"This..."
The instant their eyes met, an immense terror engulfed Zhou Chuyu.
She seemed to have been dragged into a boundless expanse of dark water and sky. All around her lay only a pitch-black abyss, so dark she could not see her own hand.
From beneath the sea, an enormous fish-dragon leaped up, opening its jaws to swallow her!
While "Fish-Dragon Manifestation" held Zhou Chuyu's mind in terrified thrall, Chen Heng seized this perfect opportunity and came to her side.
When Zhou Chuyu finally struggled free of the illusion and opened her eyes, drenched in fragrant sweat, Chen Heng had already spread his arms as though to embrace her.
"Do you know? Only at this distance can I be certain of driving true qi into your body."
Chen Heng's arms clamped down on her shoulders, his voice calm:
"Actually, I still have a little under half a strand of 'cold dipper true qi' left..."
Before the horror on Zhou Chuyu's face could fully emerge.
Chen Heng spat out a strand of chilling blue-green true qi. With a puff, it extinguished the golden lamp above her head and temporarily froze the flow of embryonic breathing throughout her body.
Five feet behind Chen Heng's head, the approaching Flowing Firmament Ruler dropped to the ground with a thud. Without its mistress's control, its spiritual radiance went out.
"Master..."
Far away, Tu Shan Ge called out blankly.
Chen Heng ignored him for now.
He simply took out the Thunderfire Thunderclap Bead and drove it through, smashing Zhou Chuyu's head apart! Red and white matter splattered across the ground!
Though her embryonic breathing was formidable, her flesh was nowhere near Tong Gaolu's, capable of enduring thunderfire thunderclaps with limbs undamaged and qi presence intact.
Under the might of this mid-grade talisman artifact, a single impact scattered her soul and mangled her body.
"Master... did you kill her?"
Tu Shan Ge rubbed his face hard.
In the preceding exchanges, Chen Heng's One Qi Essence Jade had first been overpowered, then his Qi Armor Technique shattered. Without the calamity-transferring technique "Golden Man Substitution," the Flowing Firmament Ruler would have killed him outright.
Despite his immense confidence in Chen Heng, Tu Shan Ge had thought the battle hopelessly one-sided.
Yet in the time it took a hare to spring and a duck to take flight, Chen Heng had frozen the flow of Zhou Chuyu's embryonic breathing with "cold dipper true qi," then struck ruthlessly without hesitation, killing her on the spot.
"If I didn't kill her, should I have kept her around to talk of love?" Chen Heng did not turn his head.
"That's not what I meant. It's just..."
Tu Shan Ge looked at the headless female corpse on the ground, hesitating:
"I just think you should have captured her, Master, and asked what hardship she was hiding, and why she did this." Scratching his head, Tu Shan Ge said uncertainly:
"You clearly saved her, yet she turned around and harbored evil intentions. Surely there's some story behind it?"
"Why so much nonsense? The moment she attacked, it meant only one of us could leave this place alive. Besides..."
Chen Heng swayed and spat out a mouthful of blood. His qi presence immediately weakened.
"I might not have been able to capture her alive."
He gave a bitter smile.
Meanwhile, farther away.
Seeing this, Tu Shan Ge did not approach to support him. Instead, he circulated his divine power and scanned the surroundings warily, his expression solemn.
"I'm not acting this time. I really am exhausted, and I have no more true qi..." Chen Heng said helplessly:
"Give me a hand. Stop looking around."
Only then did Tu Shan Ge hesitantly approach and help Chen Heng beneath a large tree, though his vigilance did not diminish.
Chen Heng knew the fox's suspicions had flared up, so he stopped trying to persuade him. He simply took out talisman coins and began drawing out their spiritual qi.
Only after two teas' time did his qi presence gradually recover and color return to his pallid face.
"Master, shall we go?"
Seeing Chen Heng rise, Tu Shan Ge handed him Zhou Chuyu's Heaven and Earth Bag and talisman artifacts, then said urgently, "The treasures in the Tong residence are still waiting. Though the Rong Clan wouldn't dare pocket them, it's better to get them sooner."
Chen Heng nodded.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned and pointed.
The bead released a streak of thunderfire that engulfed Zhou Chuyu's corpse.
The fire blazed fiercely, scorching hot. Before long, it burned the headless female corpse into black ash, which the wind scattered into the mountain stream and empty air.
"Master, why burn her bones and scatter her ashes?" Tu Shan Ge was stunned by the sight. "Are you worried she might return from the dead?"
Rather than deny it, Chen Heng grew even more serious.
"I do indeed have that concern. But after thunderfire of the fiercest yang has burned away her body, even if she became a ghost, she should have nothing left from which to take form..."
Still uneasy, Chen Heng swept the area with his spiritual perception. Only after confirming that no residual qi presence remained in the streamside woods did he wrap himself in embryonic breathing, turn into white radiance, and soar away.
Not long after he departed.
Yin Gonghao slowly stepped out of the void. Watching that streak of white flight light, his eyes showed a trace of temptation. But then, as though recalling some concern, he sighed and shook his head.
"Jade Pivot's son. Hmph. I dare not provoke your father, so I'll let you off this once. But your bitter days are still ahead!"
Yin Gonghao sneered. "You actually hope to seek the Great Dao? Of the Eight Sects and Six Schools and the Twelve Aristocratic Clans, which would teach you their Dao methods?! How could you escape Jade Pivot's palm? Obediently accept your fate! Pitiful, foolish worm!"
He pointed, and Zhou Chuyu's soul form gathered above the ground, dazed and muddled. Only after a long while did awareness gradually return to her eyes.
"Teacher..."
Zhou Chuyu discovered that she seemed transparent, her body so light it had no weight. A gust of wind could carry her away at any moment. "I..."
"You lost. If Jade Pivot's son had reached the Purple Mansion realm and could perceive origin spirits, you would never be standing here speaking to me."
Yin Gonghao looked sorrowful:
"Do you know? If you were a disciple of the Huzhao Sect, I would have the underworld gods and spirits escort you into reincarnation. If fate allowed, you could enter the sect again in your next life and study the Great Dao. If you were a True Disciple of the Huzhao Sect, I would reconstitute your flesh and body, race against Heaven, and grant you another lease on life! If you were a Dao Scion-never mind... there's no point mentioning that!"
"But I'm only a mortal who obtained a fortunate opportunity."
Zhou Chuyu lowered her head. Though she was now free of the shackles of flesh, she still felt cold all over:
"Teacher, what do you intend to do with me?"
"I told you before." Yin Gonghao raised his head and sighed.
"..."
As though she had remembered something.
For the first time since Mount Yang Daoist's death, horror appeared on Zhou Chuyu's face.
"Teacher! Are you really going to condemn me to a beast body?!"
Yin Gonghao merely swept his hand, and Zhou Chuyu immediately sank into unconsciousness. In her final moment, she heard only a sentence filled with endless regret.
"Actually, you should originally have called me Grandmaster. Had your mother not refused to study the Dao back then, she would have been my eldest disciple..."
An unknown amount of time passed.
The daylight had faded into dusk.
Zhou Chuyu was suddenly jolted awake by fierce hunger and thirst. She staggered to her feet and looked around blankly.
It was still the same woodland beside the stream, but for some reason, the trees and undergrowth had suddenly grown much taller, as though they had increased more than tenfold in size.
But the sudden hunger gnawing at her belly left her no room to think. Trembling, she made her way to the little mountain stream.
Yet when she lowered her head to drink, Zhou Chuyu abruptly froze.
The clear, mirrorlike surface reflected only a small, pale-brown dog. She was all skin and bones, with a chunk missing from one ear, and looked utterly filthy.
Is this... me?
Zhou Chuyu screamed in terror, but all that emerged from her throat was a hoarse animal cry.
"Woof, woof!"
Within the One True Dharma Realm.
Chen Heng detonated all six or seven Talisman Artifacts. Flames surged upward, smoke and dust billowed into a mushroom cloud, and Tong Gaolu's body gradually began to crumble.
"Hmm, this is..."
Clutching the Origin Spirit, Chen Heng's face lit up with delight, and he could not help bursting into laughter. It was as though a boulder had been lifted from his chest, leaving him with a sense of exhilaration unlike anything he had ever felt.
"What a fine Dao Art! What a fine Dao Art!"
Chen Heng's heart surged:
"For this art to fall into the hands of Tong Gaolu and the Mount Yang Daoist was truly to cast a bright pearl into darkness! If I can cultivate it to full mastery, then I, Chen Heng, shall have a place in the Nine Provinces and Four Seas!"
Two in one.
Before you continue