Chapter 254 The Mind's Threat
Inside the dilapidated Sutra Copying Hall.
A large Buddha statue still stands, its head bearing a kind and benevolent expression.
The atmosphere in front of the Buddha was frozen, lacking any semblance of the serene atmosphere of a Buddhist temple.
Danger lurks everywhere.
Xie Lingjiang had sweat dripping from his forehead, one hand behind his back and the other clenched into a fist and placed horizontally in front of his abdomen.
She stood in front of the trembling, white-haired old monk, her eyes fixed ahead.
Without hesitation.
Within a radius of one zhang around the two, there was a faint mist of water vapor, like the steam after boiling water, spreading within that radius.
Qiu Shenji stood coldly outside this strange fog, even slowly circling around this circular "one-zhang fog," sizing up Xie Lingjiang and Master Shandao.
Occasionally, he would take a small half-step, his toes probing into the "ten-foot mist" range.
"Crackling—!"
Suddenly, an electric arc about the thickness of a little finger appeared in the "ten-foot-long mist." The arc was vermilion in color, with a faint hint of purple light mixed in.
It has a certain air of power and might.
The man in hemp clothing squinted, quickly withdrew his scorched right foot from his cloth shoe, and let out a cold "Heh."
Xie Lingjiang let out a muffled "humph," a faint line of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her delicate body swayed precariously, yet she remained focused, her right foot still extended.
Beside his right foot, there was a vermilion talisman on the ground, with eight elegant and unrestrained vermilion characters faintly written on it: Great Manifestation, Primordial Prosperity and Benevolence.
Xie Lingjiang's crimson spiritual energy flowed freely along the Shaoyang meridian of her right foot, pouring into the weakened version of the Fangcun Thunder Pool beneath her feet.
The Thunder Pool blocked the ferocious enemy.
She also trapped herself.
Qiu Shenji stood guard outside the "Thunder Pool," turned his head to gaze at the large Buddha statue in the center of the hall for a while, then spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva to the side and suddenly spoke:
"Little girl, what benefits did you give to Taiqing Longhu Mountain? Those stingy old Taoists actually gave you a Crimson Purple Talisman for protection?"
Xie Lingjiang did not answer.
Qiu Shenji smiled:
"However, you didn't use this 'Square Inch Thunder Pool' properly. This is not how the Taiqing Ultimate Technique is used. You should have used it to kill me directly, taking advantage of my injury and loss of rank. Being a coward is not in line with the essence of the Heavenly Master's Mansion's thunder magic."
Xie Lingjiang remained unmoved, and her face grew even paler.
The man in hemp clothing in front of her appeared to be talking to her, but in reality, he was concealing his imposing aura and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
He relentlessly searched for loopholes in her "minefield," ready to tear it apart with his bare hands using his martial prowess.
Xie Lingjiang had to maintain this with complete concentration.
Seeing her stubbornness, Qiu Shenji gave a light "humph".
He suddenly sat cross-legged in front of the "Thunder Pool," seemingly closing his eyes to heal his wounds and waiting quietly.
Xie Lingjiang's temples were damp with sweat, and her eyelids kept drooping as if fighting, but she forced them open wide, not daring to relax for a moment.
At this moment, her situation was somewhat precarious.
Even though the man in hemp clothing in front of her was seriously injured, and even seemed to have been beaten down to the sixth rank by the Yunmeng Grand Lady, a sixth-rank military Qi cultivator was still not someone Xie Lingjiang could defeat.
Especially since they are military strategists with incredibly rich experience in one-on-one combat.
If Xie Lingjiang remembers correctly, he is a sixth-rank military strategist, known as a "weapon expert." He is not only skilled in all weapons under heaven, but his powerful physique has also sculpted his body into a terrifying humanoid weapon.
She follows the path of the scholar, so one should keep a distance when dealing with her.
However, the two had just met unexpectedly in the Sutra Copying Hall, and Xie Lingjiang had no choice but to "draw a circle on the ground and imprison herself."
"Amitabha, Amitabha..." Master Shandao chanted the sutra, his forehead covered in sweat and his hands trembling.
"Shut up," Xie Lingjiang managed to squeeze out.
Master Shandao immediately fell silent and obeyed.
"Interesting." Qiu Shenji closed his eyes and sneered: "A monk and a Confucian scholar actually need the protection of a Taoist priest. It's truly shameful."
Xie Lingjiang pursed her lips and remained silent.
She shouldn't have come back here.
Just now, she was with that mute girl in the Wu skirt.
But then suddenly a loud noise occurred, and the upstream Digong Sluice Gate collapsed. Before she could react, she saw the girl beside her, who had been as quiet as a virgin, rush down the mountain like a madwoman, her face covered in tears, seemingly heading towards the upstream Digong Sluice Gate...
Could it be that this mute girl has someone important near Digongzha upstream? Judging from her appearance, that person seems to be more important than her life.
Xie Lingjiang was puzzled and somewhat sentimental. Although she was close to the other person, it was not appropriate to ask questions during their conversations.
After the mute girl in the Wu skirt left, Xie Lingjiang didn't stop for a moment and immediately rushed to find Li Xian's family. When she passed by the Sutra Copying Hall, she found Master Shandao being held hostage by two black-clad swordsmen. Adhering to the principle of helping those in need, she rescued him.
However, Xie Lingjiang did not expect that during her brief stay in the Sutra Copying Hall, she would run into the man in hemp clothing who had suddenly appeared, and the two were about to clash.
Xie Lingjiang was at a disadvantage from the very first move, and had no choice but to take out an extremely precious purple-gold talisman and release the Fangcun Thunder Pool to repel the enemy and save his life.
This purple-gold talisman was given to her privately by an old Celestial Master from the Celestial Master's Mansion during her trip to Longhu Mountain a few days ago. It was to be used together with the Transcendent Golden Pill, which has "one-third the medicinal effect" of the Six-Winged Summer Cicada, to protect the family of the deposed Emperor Li Xian.
The reason why Taiqing Longhu Mountain, Shangqing Maoshan, and Yuqingge Zaoshan are called the Three Mountains of Talismans is that they share the same talisman system. The sect's unique skills of the three mountains all require a precious talisman.
This purple-gold talisman is a necessary consumable for using the Taiqing ultimate technique, "Fangcun Thunder Pool".
However, after the Celestial Master bestowed it upon her, Xie Lingjiang, being an outsider and not a direct descendant of the Zhang family of the Celestial Master's Mansion, was unable to learn the Taiqing Secret Technique "Divine Firmament Purple Thunder Technique," and naturally could not unleash its full power.
It can only be used as a self-imposed prison, barely enough to protect oneself, which is a weakened version of "a small but dangerous place".
Even in Taiqing Longhu Mountain, only a handful of highly senior Celestial Masters can unleash the full power of the "Square Inch Thunder Pool".
Even so, it is still extremely rare for Xie Lingjiang to obtain this precious purple-gold talisman.
Even the Old Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain wasn't acting out of respect for the deposed Emperor Li Xian's personally stamped letter, but rather because of her "unparalleled wisdom and resourcefulness"...
Well, Xie Lingjiang revised her senior brother's analysis of the situation in the study that day and revealed it to the Celestial Master's Mansion. Naturally, it attracted everyone's attention and they praised the Xie family of Chenjun as truly outstanding talents before leaving.
This purple-gold talisman can be considered a way to establish good karma.
Xie Lingjiang sighed softly.
With a formidable enemy at hand, the cinnabar characters on the talisman at her feet, written by an old Celestial Master from Longhu Mountain, had dimmed considerably.
I don't know how much longer it can hold on.
Outside the confined space, the man in hemp clothing sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, seemingly in no hurry whatsoever.
However, her occasional cold stares at Xie Lingjiang revealed some of her inner irritation.
Qiu Shenji reached into his robes, took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a jade-green pill, and swallowed it.
A moment later, he still frowned.
These common healing remedies are far from sufficient.
The man in hemp clothing suddenly tore open his tattered shirt, revealing a bleeding wound on his bronze chest, just inches from his heart.
The wound was about three fingers wide, with pink flesh turned outwards, and the bleeding intensified as the heart pounded violently.
It was still shrouded in a faint white mist, and began to smell foul and rot, making it difficult to heal in a short time.
The special sword wound left by Yunmeng Yue Nu is not so easy to heal.
Qiu Shenji even felt that this bloody wound had become a loophole in his perfect martial arts body.
Not only did his physical body develop flaws, but even his inner world had gaps, with spiritual energy leaking out like a trickle... His spiritual energy cultivation level had subtly dropped from the original fifth-grade "Soldier Yin Yang Master" to the sixth-grade "Weapon Master".
This is not just a difference of one rank, but a fall from a high-rank Qi cultivator to a mid-rank Qi cultivator. The most direct manifestation of this is the inability to fly.
This made Qiu Shenji feel uneasy. The feeling was like a roc spreading its wings, only to have them broken and fall to the ground, walking clumsily. The subtle differences were not so easy to explain.
The culprit behind all of this.
"A candle in the snow..." Qiu Shenji gritted his teeth.
The man in hemp clothing, who had honed his military skills step by step amidst thousands of troops in the northern desert, had never suffered such humiliation.
Most importantly... he lost!
Her pure physique was used as a whetstone, and was forcibly "split" open by a proud young Hu woman who had just entered the fifth rank.
The fourth rank in military strategy is special, emphasizing a military "momentum," much like climbing a mountain, where one needs to climb step by step based on "momentum."
Qiu Shenji had been lingering at the fourth rank for many years and was about to pass the golden age of a martial artist when his blood and energy were at their peak. Now, taking advantage of this trip to Jiangnan, he was honing his military skills by carrying the "Dingjian" sword case, which was meant to suppress his fear, and finally had the opportunity to touch the fourth rank.
As a result, he was now being suppressed by an arrogant little girl who was much younger than him, and was even beaten to a pulp!
How could someone with such a martial prowess not be exposed?
It's like two armies facing off, with the generals dueling one-on-one, only to be beheaded in front of everyone, flag and all.
But the most serious damage is actually to the spirit of the Great Dao.
Previously, in the Jiazi Sword Forge Room, the young county magistrate, who was powerless, questioned him. Qiu Shenji dismissed the question with disdain, because the doubts of an ant were useless and could be ignored.
But what about the "questions" that the young Hu girl, who was ruthless and taciturn, uttered with each sword strike?
It cannot be ignored.
The momentum he had painstakingly built up vanished in an instant, causing him to fall to the sixth rank.
At this moment, Qiu Shenji, who was meditating, had a gloomy and uncertain expression. He was filled with anger, and the sense of humiliation was like termites that were constantly gnawing at his soul.
What he found most unacceptable was that after the fight at Xiaogushan, he was seriously injured and tried to escape, but Xue Zhongzhu actually sheathed her sword and did not chase after him. Judging from her expression at the time, it seemed that something had distracted her, and she let Qiu Shenji go like a fart... Now, looking back, it was an utter disgrace.
The sword wound in the snow, though not completely to the heart, was nonetheless completely to the "heart".
At that moment, the blonde woman in the Wu-style dress and fox-fur-lined Yue-style dress floated in mid-air, with a strangely patterned ancient sword hovering in front of her. She tilted her head and frowned, her cold gaze sweeping over Longcheng County, as if she had noticed something important... The scene she saw before she escaped still lingered in the man in hemp clothing's mind.
Something's strange...
Qiu Shenji frowned, guessing that Xue Zhongzhu's abnormality was likely related to the Dingjian. After all, she had come for the Dingjian, and the Yue women of Yunmeng Sword Marsh were particularly sensitive to sword energy, including the Dingjian. But why didn't Xue Zhongzhu chase after Liu Lang and the sword box before?
While locking his aura onto the Xie woman in the Thunder Pool in front of him, Qiu Shenji silently pondered the doubts in his heart.
However, it's not entirely without good news.
Qiu Shenji, who arrived at the Sutra Copying Hall in perfect harmony, discovered that Liu Lang must have obtained the Sanskrit translation of the Poor Scholar's Sword Manual and escaped from Xie's clutches with Liu Fu to chase after the runaway young lady. Liu Lang is now likely somewhere in Donglin Temple, having already manifested the Ding Sword and become its wielder.
Perhaps it was the movement of Liu Lang turning the illusory sword into reality that caused Xue Zhongzhu's strange behavior?
This Great Lonely Mountain, shrouded in the thick scent of incense, was like a dark room. Xue Zhongzhu, "outside," couldn't pinpoint the new swordsman's location using aura observation for the time being, and neither could he...
In the main hall, Qiu Shenji, who had his eyes closed, suddenly spoke: "It seems someone is looking for you. Aren't you going to respond? It might be an outside helper."
Behind them, Master Shandao glanced at the deer-shaped jade ring at Xie Lingjiang's waist. The jade ring was emitting bursts of vermilion light, as if it had sensed something.
Xie Lingjiang lowered her eyes, staring at a light purple-gold talisman on the floor tile: "Uncle Chen will not have died in vain, and White Deer Cave will not let any true culprit go."
Before the Buddha statue, Qiu Shenji opened his eyes, looked at the woman in front of him, and smirked: "Why are you so sure we did it?"
"Heh." Xie Lingjiang chuckled.
"You should know that Liu Lang has Yu Huan? No wonder you didn't answer. Ha, you're quite clever."
“Demons and monsters, ghostly tricks,” she said.
Qiu Shenji suddenly asked, "Do you know that county magistrate named Ouyang something?"
Xie Lingjiang's pretty face changed for a moment, then she quickly regained her composure, lowered her eyes, and remained silent.
Qiu Shenji gave a forced smile: "He seems to be from Bailudong as well. Don't recognize him? Well, he's already been casually executed by Liu Lang. Just like you, when he died, his mouth was the only thing that was toughest on him."
Xie Lingjiang's qi suddenly became disordered. She took a deep breath and quickly steadied herself.
Qiu Shenji stepped into the Thunder Pool, his large hand reaching for the crimson lightning arc, beginning to tear apart this small area of Thunder Pool.
Xie Lingjiang's forehead was covered in sweat, as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
The fog in front of him was chaotic, and the Thunder Pool trembled as if about to dissipate.
But in a short while.
"who?"
Qiu Shenji and Xie Lingjiang turned their heads at the same time.
Outside the palace, at an empty corner of the plaza, two overlapping figures suddenly appeared after a few breaths and slowly walked over.
"Release Sister Xie if you still want Young Master Wei to live."
A familiar, clear female voice rang out.
Wei Shaoxuan walked at the front with a stiff expression, a gleaming sword blade against his neck; Li Guoeryang gripped the hilt, standing where Wei Shaoxuan reached out, hiding himself.
Qiu Shenji's expression changed, and Xie Lingjiang's pretty face suddenly lit up with joy, then she frowned with worry. She quickly turned her head and stared at the man in hemp clothing in front of her.
If he moves, she moves too.
Qiu Shenji stood still, not making a move rashly, and gradually narrowed his eyes.
Becoming the center of attention, Wei Shaoxuan looked indignant and helpless:
"I admit I was careless, Godfather. You were right, lust is a dangerous thing... This little bitch gave me some muscle relaxant!"
He was weak in all four limbs, unable to exert his spiritual power, and gritted his teeth.
Li Guo'er kicked him: "Stop talking nonsense."
Wei Shaoxuan turned his head and glared: "You!"
"What do you mean 'you'? I've disliked you for a long time, you deserve a beating."
"..." someone.
Li Guo'er haughtily turned her face away, looked at Qiu Shenji, and coldly commanded: "Say it again, release them immediately."
Qiu Shenji nodded: "If you kill Liu Lang, do you think you can escape?"
"It is not a loss for the King of Wei's son to be buried with him."
“Godfather, perhaps we should leave Xie’s daughter alone for now…” Wei Shaoxuan hesitated, as if afraid of upsetting his godfather.
Qiu Shenji squinted and didn't answer, but at this moment, he suddenly noticed that Wei Shaoxuan, who was facing him, was winking at him and secretly raising an index finger from under his sleeve, pointing to the top of his head.
Qiu Shenji raised his eyes without showing any emotion. Three zhang above Wei Shaoxuan and Li Guo'er's heads, he witnessed a mythical scene:
Under the bright sunlight, a clear blue arc slowly emerges.
The arc remained motionless, as if silently brewing something.
A clear blue light fell upon the two people who had stopped below.
The man in hemp clothing stared intently at the "arc," his eyes wide with surprise, but then, as if remembering something, a look of sudden realization flashed in his eyes.
Could this be the legendary "poor scholar's"...cloth sword?
Qiu Shenji quickly composed himself, acting as if nothing had happened. He took two steps back to show his sincerity, then spread his hands and said:
"Let's talk this out. I'll let her go. Don't touch Liu Lang... To be honest, we don't really have any deep-seated hatred for each other."
“That’s right, that’s right.” Wei Shaoxuan forced a smile and nodded: “Cousin Guo’er, calm down.”
"Shut up, hmph."
A sword hovered overhead, but Li Guo'er was completely unaware. The moonlit sword was pressed against Wei Shaoxuan's throat, and she stared intently at Qiu Shenji, opening her mouth to negotiate.
At this moment.
"Guo'er, look up!" Xie Lingjiang suddenly shouted.
The entire room fell silent.
Ahem, let me recommend a favorite old book of mine, "I Have a Sword Immortal Wife," to new readers!
(End of this chapter)
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