The northern wind howled atop Yi Shan City, making the stone doors of the cave mansions on the mountainside tremble slightly. Chi Jiuyun stood quietly outside the door, letting the wind whip his robes. His forefinger rested lightly on the sword at his waist as he waited in silence.
After a mont, Chi Jiuyun furrowed his brows and gazed at the hairline cracks on the dark gray stone door, speaking softly:
"Junior brother, there's no point delaying any longer. You've had three full years—as talented as you are, you must have long since broken through."
After a few breaths of silence, the stone door snapped open. Out walked a youth in white robes, his long hair tied back, a blue-white longsword at his waist, two jade slips in hand, smiling brightly as he looked at Chi Jiuyun.
"What orders does Senior Brother Chi have for ?"
Chi Jiuyun gave him a once-over, lowered his voice, and said,
"There's a sect task—our ancestor called your na and wants you to take part."
Li Chijin nodded slightly, answering courteously,
"If Senior Brother will wait here just a mont, I'll prepare and co with you."
Seeing Li Chijin so cooperative, Chi Jiuyun felt at ease and left with a wave of his sleeve.
Li Chijin watched him go, then rode the wind, descending toward another cave mansion among the mountains.
"Senior Brother Xiao!"
The stone door of the cave mansion swung open at once. Li Chijin saw Xiao Yuansi, a handful of dicinal herbs in one hand and a brush writing sothing in the other. At the sight of him, Xiao Yuansi's face first lit up, then quickly dimd. He said,
"Jing'er... you've broken through!"
Xiao Yuansi was now over sixty, though his appearance was still that of a man in his thirties. He had watched Li Chijin grow since coming to the mountain at age ten, and still called him Jing'er as before. Now he looked at Li Chijin with a pang in his heart.
"That's right."
Li Chijin smiled gently, sat beside him, and replied,
"The Six Wheels in my body have already transford into a Taoist Foundation. The Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Technique cultivated this Foundation, nad 'Lake Moon Autumn'. Its qi is blue and white, the true yuan clear and pure, skilled in transformation—quite wondrous indeed."
Xiao Yuansi's face showed envy; he was still at the Qi Cultivating Peak, yet to cross the threshold of Foundation Establishnt. He smiled and said,
"The wonders of Foundation Establishnt are no doubt beyond our imagination. I've heard my family's ancestor's Taoist Foundation was called 'The Old Man Above the Stream'—also full of mysteries beyond words. Yet I linger at this Qi Cultivating Peak, unsure how much longer before I can cross this life-and-death hurdle."
The most critical step in transforming qi into Foundation Establishnt is refining away the Six Wheels, forging them into various Taoist Foundations—a step fraught with peril. Failure ans all one's cultivation is lost, essence qi collapses, and one dies within days. Fewer than one in ten succeed; even among the Three Sects and Seven Doors, the death rate is as high as seventy percent.
"Senior brother, you have nothing to worry about."
Li Chijin offered comfort, placing the two jade slips into Xiao Yuansi's hands and explained,
"I reached Foundation Establishnt in the first year. The remaining years I used to jot down my experiences and talisman techniques. Later, I'll also bring this Green Ruler Sword ho with these. Sorry to trouble you, senior brother."
Xiao Yuansi accepted the jade slips, a thousand words filling his heart with nowhere to begin. He could only watch Li Chijin leave the cave mansion, step into the air, then fly high above Yi Shan City, overlooking the bustling crowds below.
At his sudden ascent, the crowd was startled. Several Foundation Establishnt cultivators and more than a dozen Qi Cultivators took flight, all staring at him. Chi Jiuyun shot up from the peak in haste and shouted angrily,
"Li Chijin! What are you doing?!"
Li Chijin faltered a mont, seeing so many regarding his small action as if facing a great enemy; he couldn't help but smile lightly and intone,
"You can relax, everyone. I have no intention of fleeing. There are rely a few matters I wish to ask Senior Brother Chi."
The assembled crowd looked at each other awkwardly, one by one retreating, leaving only Chi Jiuyun glaring at him with a dark expression, suppressing his temper as he barked,
"What else do you want?!"
Li Chijin cupped his hands, speaking gently,
"First, should I fall, please have the sect return my magic artifact."
Chi Jiuyun frowned at the sword at his waist, replying,
"I promise."
"Second, I wish to spar with Senior Brother Chi. Please grant
this request!"
At these words, the spectators below were shocked into silence. Chi Jiuyun blinked, then laughed out loud,
"You've just entered Foundation Establishnt, while I've remained at the Middle Stage for over twenty years! Don't have people accuse
of bullying the weak!"
But inwardly, suspicion welled up as he mused,
"Does this brat intend to use the duel as an excuse to die by my sword, so I take the bla? Such a crude trick can't fool the ancestor. Isn't he afraid his whole family would be exterminated?!"
Li Chijin cupped his hands stubbornly, repeating,
"I beg senior brother to grant my request!"
A thought flashed through Chi Jiuyun's mind, and he sneered inwardly,
"Yuansu Perfected Person is watching from within this city. No matter what tricks you play, it's useless before a Zifu Monk. Might as well teach this brat a hard lesson, so he learns there is always soone better—there are heavens beyond the heavens."
Thus, he sneered, nodded, and said,
"Very well."
With that, he drew his sword and soared into the air. Scarlet sword qi gushed forth, pointing straight at Li Chijin. The sword qi surged through Yi Shan City's winds overhead, forming dozens of sword-qi birds, their heat scorching, sharp and fierce as they flew in.
"Sword qi leaving the body, like a spell. Senior Brother Chi must have already forged Sword Origin!"
Those in midair watched, marveling at the sword qi shaped like birds and phoenixes, exclaiming in awe.
Deng Qiuzhi, however, raised his head and glared hatefully at Chi Jiuyun, sneering,
"It's only Sword Origin."
The scarlet sword qi dyed the sky crimson. Li Chijin rely watched Chi Jiuyun, his left hand resting on the longsword at his waist, yet making no move to draw or cast a spell. Only when the sword qi was nearly upon him did he suddenly draw, producing a blazing white arched sword qi—the Moon Que Sword Arc.
The Moon Que Sword Arc as wielded by Li Tongya paled like firefly to moonlight when compared to Li Chijin's. In his hands, it beca a vast, pure-white sail illuminating all around, dazzling the onlookers' eyes so they could not see. The incoming sword qi was all ground away, the arc plunging straight at Chi Jiuyun.
Chi Jiuyun frowned, swept his sword in defense, unleashing dozens of sword qi slashes, yet only managed to dim the sword arc slightly. Alard, he braced himself, focused his strength, and his red sword clashed head-on with the arc, barely holding it back.
"How can this be?!"
Chi Jiuyun was thunderstruck inside. He barely had ti to disperse the sword arc with a spell before Li Chijin closed in, sending dozens of plain yet deadly sword qi right at him.
Chi Jiuyun slashed with his Dharma Sword, but found that each of these sword qi were imnsely solid and keen. He instantly realized Li Chijin's sword path cultivation exceeded his own. Relying on his abundant true yuan, he freed a hand to call forth a dozen Foundation Establishnt Fire Techniques, hoping to break Li Chijin's chain of sword attacks.
Li Chijin used a single strike to shatter all the fire techniques, and explosions thundered in the sky, raining fire down toward Yi Shan City. Yet, just before hitting ground, the fire vanished.
Deng Qiuzhi watched intently; his heart suddenly hollow, he gritted his teeth and muttered,
"There's really a Zifu Monk overseeing this! Not a drop gets through—their ancestors are held hostage and they still send a Zifu Perfected Person to oversee in person. Truly afraid we'll defy them…"
Sword qi and magic spells clashed again and again in midair. Chi Jiuyun's grim face gave away his disadvantage in sword dao; anyone with eyes could see it. Smothering his rage, he ford spell gestures, unleashing various spells in a relentless barrage, struggling to suppress Li Chijin by virtue of his higher cultivation.
Li Chijin remained unperturbed. No matter how many spells Chi Jiuyun threw, with his blue-white Green Ruler Sword he broke them one by one; superiority was clear at a glance.
Seeing those below dazed and speechless, Chi Jiuyun's anger flared. No longer caring about Li Chijin's cultivation, he slapped his pouch, summoning a treasure bead engraved with chi patterns, forming hand seals and conjuring a crimson shield of light.
Li Chijin looked at him once, then suddenly sheathed his sword, smiled slightly, and called,
"Senior Brother Chi!"
Chi Jiuyun froze, unsure whether to respond, when he saw Li Chijin step forward and say, smiling,
"Take my sword!"
"Clang!"
As his voice fell, clanging of gold and iron rang throughout Yi Shan City. Deng Qiuzhi's sword at his waist trembled, and every Green Peak in the city began to stir, quivering uncontrollably.
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