Chapter 74 World 4 (1)

Yunning Peak.

A man in a gray and green robe, wielding a majestic longsword, brandished it tirelessly amidst the blizzard. His sword was simply decorated, its hilt sheathed in black sandalwood. Years of use had polished the hilt to a smooth, delicate finish.

On the open ground covered with heavy snow, the sword reflected the white light of the snow. Although the sword moves were not fierce, they had a calm and imposing aura.

There was a faint white mist floating around on the smooth sword, which was the spiritual energy of the sword holder.

The man had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and his thin lips were slightly pursed. His dark eyes were completely focused on the sword in his hand, which made the pretty woman in pink sitting alone next to him unhappy. She stomped her feet lightly, and her animal-skin boots squeaked in the thick snow, trying to attract the man's attention, but it was in vain.

The pink-shirted woman's cheeks flushed with anger, and she ran away in a hurry without even saying goodbye.

When Xie Wenying put away his sword and looked at the figure of the pink-shirted woman again, he found that the place was already empty. Even the originally smooth and clean stones were covered with a thin layer of snow.

Xie Wenying curled the corners of his lips slightly, and walked towards the disciples' residence with a helpless smile.

The biting wind blew in his face, making Xie Wenying's thin clothes whistle. He walked steadily and his face was calm, without any sign of coldness.

Xie Wenying wasn't very good at tying his hair, so two strands of hair drifted across his forehead, swaying in the wind, brushing against his tall, straight nose. Finally, they fell down his smooth, defined face, revealing a carefree and unrestrained air.

Before approaching the disciples' residence, I could hear the bustling chatter inside, which was like a world separated from the bitterly cold and lonely top of Yunning Peak.

Xie Wenying faintly heard the voice of her junior sister Qu Linglong. She complained to the other disciples, "Big Brother is such a jerk. He only practices martial arts every day. I've been waiting for him for ages, but he never even gave me a second glance..."

Qu Linglong is cute and lively. On the towering Yunning Peak, she is like the only bright color in the snow.

She is the youngest and the most junior sister in Yunning Peak. All the disciples usually pamper and respect her.

Under normal circumstances, if anyone dared to make this junior sister sad, they would definitely be collectively attacked by the disciples of Yunning Peak and forced to admit their mistakes.

But this time, the one who angered Qu Linglong was actually the eldest senior brother Xie Wenying. All the disciples fell silent and shifted the topic to other places, intending to say something new and interesting to make Qu Linglong smile again.

It wasn't that they feared Xie Wenying's martial prowess, but rather that Xie Wenying was kind and gentle, and always treated his younger sister with great affection. The only thing he couldn't change was his obsession with martial arts. It was precisely because of Xie Wenying's obsession that the gap in martial arts attainments between them and Xie Wenying was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.

Listening to the lively scene in the disciple's room, Xie Wenying did not push the door open and go in. Instead, he took out a square box from his arms, placed it outside the door, and left quietly.

When the disciple opened the door, he found a box left outside. When he opened it and took a closer look, he found a transparent jade hairpin inside.

Qu Linglong found the jade hairpin familiar and immediately held it in her palm. A blush appeared on her pretty face and she hurried to look outside.

The snow was so white that even the footsteps were covered by snowflakes. There was no sign of people.

Qu Linglong muttered, "You sent me away with just a little jade hairpin..."

A quick-witted disciple guessed that the jade hairpin was specially sent by Xie Wenying, and said in a gentle tone, "Big Brother is such a fool, and yet he still thought of giving a jade hairpin. If he really faced someone like Little Junior Sister, even ten thousand years of ice and snow would melt."

The man closest to Qu Linglong had a smile on his lips, but upon closer inspection, he looked a little cold. He held the jade hairpin in his palm and said in an unclear tone, "The jade quality is only average, how can it be worthy of my junior sister?

Junior Sister, if you like them, I'll buy you eight or ten."

Bai Jiqing was qualified to say such things. Before entering Yunning Peak, his identity in the secular world was that of a royal family member. He had seen many priceless treasures and could naturally comment on a jade hairpin.

Qu Linglong was drawn to his words and felt that Bai Jiqing was absolutely right. If the eldest brother wanted to give a gift, why didn't he come in person? Besides...

The gift was such a low-quality jade hairpin. Qu Linglong was furious and completely forgot that she was the one who valued this jade hairpin at the foot of the mountain. At that time, she only thought it was excellent in every way, but she was short of money, so she reluctantly left the hairpin behind.

Later, Qu Linglong told Xie Wenying everything and begged him to bring the jade hairpin back.

The joy that Qu Linglong had just felt in her heart was now gone.

She absentmindedly took the jade hairpin back from Bai Jiqing's hand, intending to put it back into the box and throw it together with the jewelry she didn't use on a daily basis.

But before she could catch the jade hairpin, it slipped from Bai Jiqing's hand and fell quietly into the snow.

Jade is fragile to begin with, and when it fell into the snow, it broke into several pieces in an instant.

Bai Jiqing comforted her, "It's just a worthless thing. It's not worth it for you, Junior Sister, to worry about it."

Qu Linglong suppressed the sudden sense of disappointment and panic in her heart and nodded slightly.

Xie Wenying was sitting at the top of a mountain, calm and focused in meditation. Suddenly, a white crane with a red beak flew through the clouds and landed in front of him.

A thin silk ribbon was tied to the crane's slender legs, containing a cylindrical scroll of paper. This crane was a messenger used to deliver letters. Yunning Peak had its own rules; unless it was a pre-determined day or the master ordered it, disciples were not allowed to leave the mountain during normal times.

And on those days when they could not go down the mountain, the connection between the disciples of Yunning Peak and the secular world was the snow-white crane.

Seeing the white crane, always so intelligent and able to clearly identify the disciples, stop before him, Xie Wenying felt a strange feeling in his heart. He had become lonely and helpless at a very early age, and no one in the secular world cared about him. Who would send him a message via the white crane?

Xie Wenying untied the silk laces and opened the paper scroll, and several lines of small words gradually appeared in front of him.

In the past, if someone tried hard to find a way to immortality, they would definitely be considered a waste of time and effort.

But in this world, he has gradually found the way to the immortal world. He can find the existence of spiritual energy from all things in the world, and then concentrate on practicing. Not to mention that he can live as long as the heaven and the earth, his physique and lifespan can be extended much longer than before.

On mountains like Yunning Peak, which connect the secular world below and the fairyland above, there are seniors who have practiced well and are willing to teach with their experience.

Therefore, in this world, everyone is obsessed with martial arts and yearns for the realm of immortals.

But not everyone can circulate spiritual energy. Only one person in millions can transfer spiritual energy by using the energy around his body.

The rest of the people, unable to enter the mountains to condense their energy and practice cultivation, could only stay in the secular world. Fortunately, after the discovery of spiritual energy, everyone's lifespan was much longer than before, enough for them to enjoy the joys of the world.

Xie Wenying is obsessed with martial arts, not for the sake of immortality, but because he yearns for the highest realm of martial arts.

For example, some people love money, even dreaming of hugging gold, silver, and jewelry when they go to bed. Some people love beauty, wanting to revel every night, surrounded by beautiful women. Xie Wenying, on the other hand, was deeply attracted to martial arts, and immersed herself in swordsmanship, concentrating her mind and energy, and finding great pleasure in it.

Xie Wenying did not enter Yunning Peak at the beginning. At that time, he was still young, a teenager, wandering around with nowhere to go, so he looked for a martial arts sect, intending to learn some skills to support himself.

It was a low-ranking sect with not many people in it, and all of them had cold expressions.

Xie Wenying was feeling uneasy at the time, but the sect leader was very friendly and spoke in a gentle voice. He asked him what he could do and asked him to practice it first.

Xie Wenying breathed a sigh of relief and demonstrated to the headmaster the boxing technique he had developed, but his appearance was not aesthetically pleasing at all.

The headmaster came down from the top, his voice vague, and said that he could not accept Xie Wenying as his disciple.

Looking at Xie Wenying's tense body, the headmaster explained that it was not because Xie Wenying was not good, on the contrary, it was because Xie Wenying was too good and he could not teach such a disciple.

The head of the sect knew that with his own qualifications, he would definitely stay in the secular world for the rest of his life, but Xie Wenying was different.

He was willing to provide Xie Wenying with a place to live, food, and teach him basic martial arts.

But this small sect is not the final destination for people like Xie Wenying, it is just a stepping stone.

Afterwards, Xie Wenying lived up to everyone's expectations, achieved success in his studies, and took steady steps to become the eldest senior brother of Yun Ningfeng, where martial arts prowess was the standard of rank.

The past years were like a small scroll in front of him. As the handwriting gradually emerged, they all appeared in front of Xie Wenying.

To this day, he still clearly remembers the headmaster walking up to him and giving him earnest instructions.

Xie Wenying's heart gradually softened. The letter explained that the sect leader had a daughter, Baoshan, who had been born prematurely due to a cold in the womb. She had been constantly taking medication and was weak. The sect leader had consulted many experts on Baoshan's behalf, and their conclusions were the same: the girl was ill, suffering from a deficiency of Qi and blood, and might not survive her twentieth birthday.

Twenty years old, even in the past world without spiritual energy, such an age is considered a sign of early death.

What's more, nowadays, people's life expectancy has increased, and it is very common for ordinary people to live to be a hundred years old.

In the letter, the headmaster spoke earnestly: My beloved daughter is weak, and as a blood relative, I am unable to do anything for her, and I feel ashamed of it.

Also, due to his limited status, he could not allow his beloved daughter to see the beautiful mountains and rivers and comprehend the fairyland filled with spiritual energy. This is called incompetence.

But my beloved daughter’s time is running out, and I dare not and cannot bear to delay her any longer. I learned that Wenying has lived in Yunning Peak for a long time. Could you please take my daughter to your side and take care of her to fulfill my wish?

I know my behavior is abrupt and may cause trouble for Wenying. If it causes any trouble, please forgive me. The cold has worsened recently, so please take care of yourself, Wenying.

Xie Wenying could no longer clearly remember the headmaster's voice, appearance, and smile. She only vaguely remembered that he was an elder who looked kind but could occasionally get angry.

Reading the letter again, every word was filled with the master's love for his daughter, which was deeply moving. Xie Wenying's palm stroked the last line of words - "Take care of yourself."

It has been a long time since anyone reminded him to take care of his health.

Although the cold was oppressive, with spiritual energy lingering in his body, Xie Wenying was naturally not afraid of ordinary wind, frost, rain and snow.

But he recalled scenes from the past, also on a snowy day, when the headmaster saw that he was thin and specially brought him a thick cotton coat for him to change into.

How could such warmth be compared to spiritual energy?

The white crane still stayed at Xie Wenying's feet, and Xie Wenying did not hesitate much.

He immediately wrote a letter and tied it to the white crane's slender legs.

As the eldest disciple of Yun Ning Peak, according to the sect rules, he can naturally invite close relatives to stay at Yun Ning Peak for a while. This is in accordance with the rules.

The white crane gently spread its wings and flew towards the layers of clouds.

Xie Wenying sat cross-legged in meditation, feeling a little curious about the headmaster's beloved daughter, whom he had never met.

When he left the headmaster's side, the headmaster's wife was already pregnant. She had a bulging belly and a gentle look in her eyes.

When Xie Wenying left, he could still hear the whispers of the headmaster and his wife.

"Our child must be able to draw spiritual energy into his body like Wenying."

"I just hope that the child is safe and healthy."