Chapter 31: The Immortal Venerable's Powerful Summoning
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the frost still clung to the stone steps of Qingming Peak. The bluestone slabs in front of Fangli Courtyard had been worn smooth by countless footsteps.
"Good morning, Junior Sister Fang."
Xie Chen, a scholar in a green robe, leaned against the porch, followed by two outer disciples carrying a sandalwood box about half a person's height. The lid was half open, revealing high-grade spirit stones filled with spiritual energy inside. A quick glance revealed no less than a thousand of them.
Next to it were several jade slips bound with gold thread, faintly revealing mysterious array patterns.
"Yesterday, I watched my junior sister practice the 'Minor Five Elements Escape Technique' in the training ground. Her footwork was exquisite, but the flow of spiritual energy was slightly stagnant at the 'Kan' position. I suppose the 'Water Guiding' array pivot was not yet fully integrated." Xie Chen lightly raised his wrist, and a jade pendant, entirely ice-blue with what appeared to be flowing water inside, slid out from his sleeve and hovered in his palm: "This is the 'Frosty Marrow Condensing Spirit Pendant.' Wearing it can help regulate water-element spiritual energy, which is perfectly suited to my junior sister's current level."
Fang Li's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
Yesterday, she was merely trying to incorporate a wisp of water elemental power into earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique for earth ...
A polite smile spread across her face as she reached out and took the jade pendant, which felt cold to the touch. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for your insightful guidance. This item... is very useful." The moment her fingertips touched the jade pendant, a pure and gentle aura of water flowed quietly into her arm, soothing her perfectly.
Good stuff! Resell it to Duobao Pavilion at the foot of the mountain, it'll be worth at least five hundred spirit stones!
"If it works well, that's fine." Xie Chen's smile deepened, his gaze sweeping over the tightly closed courtyard gate behind her: "I've heard that Junior Sister has been cultivating diligently recently. If you have any questions about formations, you can always come to Tianyan Pavilion to discuss them with me."
"Definitely, definitely." Fang Li nodded vigorously, eager to get rid of this smiling Buddha as soon as possible.
No sooner had Xie Chen left than the protective light barrier on the courtyard gate began to fluctuate violently.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the courtyard gate and half of the courtyard wall collapsed, sending up a cloud of rubble and dust.
Ji Qianqiu's tall figure strode through the ruins, his black outfit highlighting his bulging muscles, his bright eyes beneath his sword-like eyebrows radiating a fierce fighting spirit that had not yet dissipated.
"Fang Li!" His voice boomed like a bell, causing the old trees in the courtyard to rustle. "You dodged quickly yesterday! Today, let's practice some more! Your 'Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Steps' are still far from perfect!"
Before he finished speaking, he pounced like a tiger descending a mountain, his large, fan-like hand tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, grabbing Fang Li's shoulder.
Before the palm strike even arrived, the violent pressure made Fang Li gasp for breath.
Fang Li cursed under her breath, her spiritual energy surging beneath her feet, and her figure drifted backward like a willow catkin in the wind, narrowly avoiding the grab.
Ji Qianqiu's "guidance" always came down to real fists, euphemistically called practical training. After each fight, Fang Li felt like she had been trampled by ten armored rhinoceroses.
"Senior Brother Ji! I still have to go to the alchemy room today..." she tried to struggle.
"Enough talk! Take this!" Ji Qianqiu's fighting spirit intensified. He crossed his fists, and the shadow of his fists descended like a storm. Each punch carried the power to split mountains and shatter rocks, forcing Fang Li to push her "Flowing Wind Returning Snow Step" to its limit. She struggled to dodge and evade in the narrow courtyard.
Dust flew everywhere, and gravel flew in all directions.
Fang Li felt her blood and qi churning, and her internal organs were groaning.
Just when she was about to give up, a sword aura as thick as ten thousand years of ice suddenly cut into the battle!
"laugh--!"
The sword energy struck precisely at the point where Ji Qianqiu's fist was at its strongest, forcing him to halt his attack and retreat half a step.
Shen Yunzhou, dressed in white, stood on the remaining half of the low wall in the courtyard, his figure as solitary and aloof as a pine tree on a cliff.
His expression remained unchanged as his gaze swept over the chaotic courtyard before finally settling on Fang Li. He parted his thin lips slightly and uttered a few words: "'Returning Wind Sways the Willows,' turn the waist three inches, and the spiritual energy stagnates."
The voice was cold and emotionless, yet it was like a needle, precisely piercing the barely perceptible flaw in Fang Li's footwork transition.
Fang Li was still breathing heavily when she heard this, and subconsciously tried to adjust the coordination between her waist strength and the circulation of spiritual energy as he suggested.
A more harmonious and fluid spiritual energy instantly flowed through the meridians of his waist and legs, making his movements suddenly three times lighter!
She felt a slight tremor in her heart.
Shen Yunzhou, this iceberg, was actually giving her pointers? Although his tone was chilling, it was indeed spot on.
Ji Qianqiu was annoyed at being interrupted and glared at Shen Yunzhou: "Shen Yunzhou! What do you mean?"
Shen Yunzhou didn't even look at him, but coldly said to Fang Li, "Tomorrow at this time, in this place, practice your sword." After saying that, his figure blurred, and he transformed into a fierce sword light that shot into the sky, leaving behind a mess and two people looking at each other in bewilderment.
Ji Qianqiu snorted heavily in the direction where the sword light had disappeared, then turned to look at Fang Li, his fighting spirit still burning: "Consider yourself lucky! I'll find you again tomorrow!" With that, he strode away through the ruins.
Looking at the collapsed courtyard wall, the rubble scattered on the ground, and the flowers and plants ravaged by the wind and sword energy, Fang Li felt her temples throbbing.
She bent down and rummaged through the pile of rubble to find the sandalwood box that Xie Chen had given her; thankfully, the box was sturdy enough.
He picked up the "Cold Marrow Concentrating Spirit Jade" that had fallen to the ground and wiped off the dust.
She stuffed the sandalwood box and jade pendant into her storage bag, glanced at the collapsed courtyard wall, and decisively turned and left.
Repair? Repair what! You'd be better off selling your stuff at the market down the mountain and getting spirit stones instead!
In the days that followed, guidance poured in like a tidal wave, penetrating every nook and cranny.
Xie Chen changed the location of his discussion from Tianyan Pavilion to the clear stream behind the mountain, and then to the top of Guanxing Cliff.
Each time, he would always be given an ancient battle formation diagram or a useless jade slip containing insights into battle formations.
Fang Li accepted everything without hesitation and then went into the Treasure Pavilion.
Ji Qianqiu's practical training locations were even more unpredictable, ranging from her courtyard to the dense forest behind the mountain, and then to the Hundred Beast Valley where the sect tamed low-level demon beasts.
After being chased to the point of almost jumping off a cliff, Fang Li finally broke through to the minor mastery level of "Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Steps" during a perilous sparring session, greatly increasing her escape speed.
Shen Yunzhou was like a precise iceberg clock, arriving every day without fail, sometimes standing on a treetop, sometimes on a ruined wall, observing coldly for a moment, and then precisely pointing out a flaw in her sword moves or movements.
Concise and to the point, each word sharp as an icicle, yet each one hits the nail on the head.
Under his almost cruel guidance, Fang Li's sword techniques became increasingly sharp and refined.
And each time, no matter where she was or who was guiding her, she could always vaguely sense a wisp of divine thought, so indifferent as to seem to transcend all things, sweeping over her as if it were nothing.
The feeling was like being watched by an invisible eye, sending chills down her spine.
Rumors and gossip buzzed around the sect like winged bees.
"Have you heard? Senior Sister Fang Li is really something now, with Senior Brother Xie, Senior Brother Ji, and Senior Brother Shen taking turns giving her pointers!"
"It's more than just guidance! Senior Brother Xie gave us a whole box of high-grade spirit stones! Senior Brother Ji is chasing after Senior Sister Fang every day to spar, he's incredibly attentive!"
"Senior Brother Shen is such a cold person, yet he goes to watch Senior Sister Fang practice her sword every day! The sun must have risen in the west!"
"Tsk, Senior Sister Su's face has looked terrible these past few days..."
Fang Li ignored him and exchanged all the gifts for spirit stones and pills.
When Ji Qianqiu chased her from the Valley of Beasts to the main peak square once again, attracting the attention of countless disciples, she finally lost her temper.
That night, the moonlight was as clear as water.
In the quiet room of her newly rented courtyard, Fang Li lit the array plate that isolated the inside from the outside.
A pale blue light curtain rose, isolating the outside world from all prying eyes and noise.
She sat cross-legged on a futon, with the "Nine Revolutions Elixir Condensation Secret Manual" and a bottle of Mind-Clearing Enlightenment Pills laid out in front of her, which she had obtained in exchange for the spirit stones given to her by Xie Chen.
She needs time, she needs quiet time, and she needs to fully understand and digest all the guidance she has been forced to receive these past few days.
The pill melted instantly upon entering the mouth, and a refreshing sensation rushed straight to the sea of consciousness.
Fang Li closed her eyes and focused her mind on her dantian.
The spiritual energy flowed like a gentle stream, circulating slowly according to the new understanding, cleansing the meridians and nourishing the nascent golden core.
In the quiet room, only her long, steady breathing could be heard.
Just as Fang Li's mind entered a profound state of forgetting herself and the world.
"Buzz!"
An indescribable pressure, powerful enough to freeze one's soul, pierced through layers of restrictions without warning!
Like a chilling tide from the depths of hell, it instantly swept through the entire quiet room!
The candle on the table suddenly flickered and went out.
Fang Li trembled violently, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She was forcibly jolted awake from her deep meditation. Her blood rushed back, and she felt a sweet taste in her throat, followed by a slightly metallic taste.
She opened her eyes in horror, feeling as if an invisible ice needle had pierced her sea of consciousness!
A detached, heavenly pronouncement resounded, exploding deep within her soul, each word carrying an irresistible will:
"Come to the Forgotten Dust Palace at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow."
As the voice faded, the terrifying pressure receded like a tide, as if it had never existed.
The room was deathly silent, filled only with darkness and a lingering chill.
Fang Li sat stiffly on the futon, her face as pale as paper, cold sweat instantly soaking through her clothes.
She raised her slightly trembling hand to wipe away the bit of bright red that had spilled from her lips; her fingertips were icy cold.
The Hall of Forgetfulness.
Ye Wuyang!
She looked at the glaring red on her fingertips, then at the silent room in the darkness that seemed to devour everything, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
Seclusion? Isolation? In front of this immortal venerable one, it's all meaningless.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
