Food Immortal Master

Pei Ye saw white true qi for the first time.

It was nothing like the eye-searing pallor of flour. It was luminous, lustrous, restrained, with something of the texture of white clouds and porcelain.

Only this porcelain was no smooth, mellow trinket meant to be admired and handled. It was sharp, shattered porcelain.

A breathtaking gleam of swordlight, unrivaled beneath heaven, swept past. The true qi it carried was like the keen feathers of a White Luan, like shards of ice from the Jade Pool. In a single instant, it scoured every trace of murky blue filth from the surrounding space.

In the Zhuangzi, it was said that on Mount Miaogushe dwelt a divine being, with skin like ice and snow and the delicate grace of a maiden, who breathed wind and drank dew, rode the clouds, and commanded flying dragons.

In the Yellow Emperor Chapter, it was said: eating none of the five grains, with a heart like a deep spring and the form of a maiden. Neither clinging nor loving, with immortals and sages as servants.

Perhaps that had been the supreme beauty Zhuangzi finally beheld after climbing through frost and snow to the summit of the sacred mountain.

Now, as this sword stroke entered Pei Ye's eyes, it was like the divine being of Gushe standing atop the mountain, casting a single glance over her shoulder.

And perhaps the swordswoman was Gushe herself.

White robes, black hair, a single sword.

After seeing enough people in the martial world, one would make an amusing little discovery-those dressed all in white were usually not ugly.

But the face that lifted its eyes behind the sword was almost too beautiful.

When the blade stopped, it had already pierced Pei Ye's lower abdomen and pinned him to the tree behind him.

Yet Pei Ye scarcely had the attention to spare for it.

Because that same sword stroke had appeared within his Mindscape Realm.

A white rainbow traversed the heavens. The immense shadow that covered the entire sky was pierced from end to end by that swordlight, which appeared at one horizon and vanished at the other, leaving a vast scar across the sky in its wake.

Beyond that scar lay the clear blue sky that had been there before. An opening had been cleared through the dust shrouding Pei Ye's soul. The sudden relief within his Mindscape Realm felt like finally exhaling a stale breath held for far too long, letting a cool breeze flow in.

And the edges of that scar were still advancing, like a searing blade pressed against cold grease. Every shadow it touched melted at astonishing speed. Pei Ye almost seemed to hear the shadow roar and shriek in pain.

Pierced through body and mind alike by that sword stroke, Pei Ye stood dazed inside the little house.

Ever since he had become caught up in these events, he had been awestruck by one marvel after another, all things he had never seen before: the water dragon at the County Office on that rain-lashed night, the Divine Chi's majestic, magnificent visage, the Divine Art in Zhu Gaoyang's hands that carried him a hundred li with a turn...

But most of that was due to the boy's scant experience and low cultivation. As his strength grew and his horizons broadened, many things would cease to seem extraordinary.

He would discover that magical artifacts were not so rare, that swordsmanship once too wondrous for words no longer stirred him, and that the Divine Arts people spoke of in awed wonder might come to him with a mere turn of his palm.

Only this sword stroke was different.

There would never be a second Ming Qitian in this world, nor a second Heart-Slaying Glaze.

It was utterly unrivaled beneath heaven, standing alone upon the highest peak. Even Zhu Gaoyang would be dazzled and entranced; even Xi Wuchou would be left stunned.

This scene would forever shine in the boy's memory, becoming the underlying hue of his life and his obsession. Even when he polished that memory many years later, it would remain as clear as new.

Chapter 62: Rescue

The uncanny ability Jing Ziwang had faced before manifested again. Pei Ye's body became flowing flesh and blood, slipping free of the blade.

And the moment the sword left his body, Pei Ye noticed that the shadow in the sky had stopped receding.

This sword can destroy the mind?

In the world outside, a full, ferocious counterattack erupted.

Frost stained the hem of Ming Qitian's robes, while eerie flames rose directly from her hair. Pei Ye's hand transformed into a hard, sharp claw and drove toward her heart.

At the same time, majestic golden pupils bore into her eyes. Through the authority of [Quail Head], the supreme consciousness that shrouded Pei Ye and controlled Zhu Gaoyang descended upon the lake of her mind.

But this time, that unfailingly effective mental control achieved nothing. Ming Qitian remained wholly unaffected.

She gave those golden pupils a calm glance in return. Rather than retreating, she advanced, appearing directly within Pei Ye's Mindscape Realm. She stood gracefully upon the lake, looking up at the shadow slowly knitting itself together overhead.

The frost and flying flames did have some effect, leaving slight damage on her hem and the tips of her hair. But before they could do greater harm, Ming Qitian took one light, drifting step and was already behind Pei Ye.

She raised her hand, and the second sword stroke came.

It was just as exquisite, but clearly did not come from the same Sword Manual as the first.

Seemingly intended to counter that ability to make flesh and bone flow like water, this stroke became thousands upon thousands of swords, coming from every direction.

Yet Pei Ye's body did not turn, nor did the sharp claw extended before him. Instead, it simply dissolved, then grew swiftly backward from his shoulder.

This form of surprise attack clearly went somewhat beyond Ming Qitian's expectations. She slipped sideways to evade it, and Pei Ye immediately hurled himself at her.

His body crashed into the Sword Qi surrounding him. Dozens of wounds split open, only to close again in an instant. His bloodstained golden pupils remained indifferent as he sought to fight Ming Qitian at close quarters.

The thousand-odd remaining strands of Sword Qi behind him watched like tigers waiting to pounce, but Ming Qitian gently released the Sword Art gesture held in her left hand, never truly sending them in to tear him apart.

At the same time, she tilted her body to evade his assault. A wondrous, graceful stream of swordlight flowed from her right arm, piercing Pei Ye's abdomen again.

Watching Ming Qitian wield a sword must have been an experience of supreme beauty, but Pei Ye had no attention to spare for the outside world. Within his Mindscape Realm, waves were towering to the heavens.

Pei Ye had no idea where Ming Qitian's ability to enter his mind came from. There was no contract, no parasitism, not even [Quail Head] to bridge the gap. She had simply stepped straight inside.

But this was good news, after all, because the shadow in the sky finally had an opponent.

Sword Qi crossed the heavens, wiping away streak after streak of shadow. The once-impenetrable shroud began to look ragged.

The shadow's counterattacks were equally terrifying. A black, frost-like substance streaked across the sky, sometimes enveloping Ming Qitian. But whenever Pei Ye's heart clenched with anxiety, she would break out of the cocoon and fight her way free.

There must have been countless dangers and intricate exchanges within that battle, but Pei Ye understood none of them. He saw only Sword Qi like white snow and shadows like dark clouds, crossing back and forth through the sky.

And that tiny figure in white was like a little crane in graceful flight. As she darted to and fro, streaks of shadow, large and small, were wiped from the sky.

Pei Ye clung to the window, watching the battle with his heart in his throat. His fixed stare was like that of a prisoner waiting to be let out for air.

He had never imagined that Ming Qitian could gain the upper hand. Though her advantage was slight, this was still the first time he had seen a power capable of opposing this fragment of a god's will.

Hope rose within him. No wonder Zhu Gaoyang had been so excited back then-Ming Qitian truly was a divine immortal.

Compared with the struggle within his Mindscape Realm, the dangers of the battle outside were easier to discern.

When Pei Ye looked up, a streak of blood already marked Ming Qitian's white robes.

Her lips were lightly pressed together, her bright eyes darting. Clearly, this fight allowed her not the slightest room for error.

Pei Ye's gaze lingered on that face for a moment, then swept around him-and his heart jolted.

How had the dense forest become an open clearing?

Only on a second look did he notice the wood sliced into thin pieces on the ground, the charcoal left by fire, and the shattered stones covered in frost.

After confirming that their many strange arts were useless against each other, the two had now entered close combat.

Ming Qitian's swordsmanship was truly "skill approaching the Dao," and the breadth and depth of her learning left Pei Ye in awe. Again and again, a situation would make his heart clench and bring the thought, This is bad, only for her to resolve it calmly with a casual stroke.

She freely grafted together utterly different styles of swordsmanship, drawing on them at will. A conclusion arose in Pei Ye's mind that even he could scarcely believe-wouldn't she have to bring at least a thousand sword styles to the realm of consummate mastery to wield them so freely, making the weighty seem light?

How was that possible?

While Pei Ye struggled to comprehend it, Ming Qitian's gaze locked firmly onto his body. An attack she had long held ready burst forth like lightning, passing straight through him. Though flesh and bone immediately flowed aside, another streak of shadow was still wiped from the sky within his Mindscape Realm.

The fighting style of this revered god of the Torchworld Cult, meanwhile, approached primal instinct as closely as possible.

Perfect instinct.

He possessed none of what humans called exquisite techniques. Instinct alone allowed him to employ every power under his control to its fullest extent, with the greatest efficiency.

Nor did he need to decipher swordplay or unravel attacks, or see through the countless transformations of the sword styles in Ming Qitian's hands. To his eyes, those styles held no mysteries to begin with.

They were merely ways of exerting force, trajectories of movement, flows of true qi, pulses of Profound Qi... Heaven and earth had long since laid bare all their secrets to him.

He was at a disadvantage now because the power he had seized over the past two hours still fell far short of Ming Qitian's. Had she arrived a few breaths later, after Qiongqi and the other Purple-Robed Man had also been devoured, the scene might have been very different.

Pei Ye watched for a while. Though he still could not understand combat on this level, he gradually noticed something strange: Ming Qitian seemed far too fixated on "piercing the abdomen with her sword."

Or rather, she had abandoned all other forms of attack.

She passed up many opportunities without a second thought, even ones Pei Ye could recognize.

Couldn't she pierce his throat here? Why didn't that Sword Qi shred his left arm? Wait, one more stroke here could go straight into his heart!

Suddenly, he noticed something else was wrong.

Where had Qiongqi and the Purple-Robed Man gone?

Unfortunately, he could not decide where his body looked. He searched through the fleeting glimpses... No, there was no need. That tiger's head, with its imposing horns, had already appeared behind Ming Qitian.

This was the Immortal Lord's counterattack.

Suppressed in both mind and body, he naturally would not allow himself to be worn away like a frog slowly boiled in warming water.

With no opportunity to devour them himself for the moment, he had ordered Qiongqi to devour the Purple-Robed Man.

And Qiongqi, which he had already parasitized for a long time, had always been his second body.

The "relocation" met no resistance.

Countless points of eerie blue light burst from Pei Ye's body and poured into Qiongqi behind him.

His will, along with all the power he had absorbed during this time, returned to the tiger's body.

Now, his strength was sufficient.

And he left a patch of shadow within Pei Ye as well. Once Ming Qitian turned to face Qiongqi, it could hamper her from behind.

The instant Pei Ye felt the power draining from his body, he understood the Immortal Lord's intentions.

He was as quick-witted as ever, and as decisive as ever in his assessment of the situation.

-The obvious choice now was to turn around at once and inflict as much damage on Qiongqi as possible before the "relocation" was complete.

But... Ming Qitian?

Pei Ye watched in astonishment as she thrust her sword toward him again, her expression still serene.

Again, at his abdomen.

What kind of muddleheaded decision was this? The enemy was behind her! If she missed this chance, how would she kill him?!

The sword pierced his abdomen.

For the first time, Pei Ye regained his five senses: the cool, smooth blade, the gentle breeze stirred by her sleeves, and the calm face just inches from his own.

And behind her, Qiongqi had already raised his claw.

She would rather take that claw strike than leave him unstabbed?

For a moment, Pei Ye began to suspect that his limited perspective had once again led him to misjudge the situation-could he be the Immortal Lord's true killing move?