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Winter has arrived.
The winter sun hung in the gray sky like a faded copper coin, lacking any glow.
On the streets of Yan City, the snow was several inches deep, crunching underfoot with a squeaky sound.
The wind blew, and the snowflakes danced like countless white butterflies, fluttering down onto people’s clothes and hair.
"Yan City is in Nan Province, in the south, so it shouldn’t be snowing this heavily."
Founding Emperor Yan sat at a street-side Eight Immortals table in a tea house by the city gate, sipping hot tea while casually gazing out at the city gate.
"This year’s winter is especially cold."
The tea house he was in was located on the long street by the city gate and was owned by Tide Listening Building.
Therefore, most of the visitors to this tea house were martial artists from the rivers and lakes.
However, Founding Emperor Yan did not expect… that the tea house would be so busy today, with martial artists crowding in to warm up.
In this world, martial artists, once they reach a certain level, gradually nurture their bodies, and their condition slowly improves, so they shouldn’t fear the cold like ordinary people do.
However, many martial artists gathered in the hall today looked tired, wearing clothes not suitable for winter, covered in mud and dirt, with a faint sll of sweat; it was clear they had traveled a long way from another place.
When one is tired and lacks energy, it is natural that they cannot resist the cold very well.
"Wow, this Yan City has truly beco a refuge; just look at how many outsiders are like this in any tea house…"
A local person from Yan City, who was about to enter the tea house, caught a whiff of the strong sll of sweat as he stepped inside, and he frowned, covering his mouth and nose as he walked away.
"Brother, I ca from Zhong Province; where are you all coming from?"
Founding Emperor Yan began chatting with a thin, dark man at the next table, pouring a cup of hot tea for him.
Founding Emperor Yan looked like a young man in his twenties, but he had a much more composed deanor and an air of authority.
The thin, dark man was not only covered in mud but also had a bandage tied around his waist, stained with dark blood, clearly not changed for many days, and his left sleeve was empty, indicating that his arm was broken.
"From Baichuan City in Southeast Province." The thin, dark man took the hot tea and thanked him. Then he said in surprise:
"Isn’t your Zhong Province under the rule of the founding emperor? How can it be in such chaos, with evil spirits causing trouble? You’ve all fled to Yan City in Nan Province?"
"It’s alright," the Founding Emperor Yan said quietly.
"The founding emperor still has so strength. Occasionally, when an old temple in Zhong Province tries to revive, he can deal with it one by one."
"But it is still Nan Province. For the past three years, no temple has dared to set up in this Nan Province, especially in Yan City," the thin man with a broken arm sighed.
His words clearly resonated with many people, and the crowd in the teahouse began to discuss:
"It’s true."
"Even though the Qiao family mber hasn’t been seen for a long ti, their influence remains. The inhumans do not dare to be reckless, and the evil spirits do not dare to invade."
"But… if only the Qiao family mber were still here, how could the inhumans act so wildly…"
Since the incense fire at the Daoist temple has been rekindled, starting with Southeast Province and Dong Province, the situation has quickly returned to the forr state of division in Jiu Province, and even surpassed it.
After experiencing the fear of regression in their cultivation and falling in rank, the Immortal Gate cultivators have beco even more ruthless, acting more directly than before.
Even though many martial artists have opened the eyes of the people after years of battles led by the Qiao family, realizing the hidden sches of the Immortal Gate, it is of no use—the Immortal Gate has always used both kindness and force.
As long as the common people remain trapped in the hardships they have created, there will always be a steady stream of devoted followers.
Moreover, as ti passes, when the generation that experienced the Qiao family defeating immortals dies, the new generation will be even worse off.
"If the Qiao family were here, it naturally wouldn’t be like this… But where is the Qiao family?"
"Heh." The voices among the crowd began to grow louder:
"In this world, who doesn’t know that the Qiao family has countless strong people? Just one of them could easily defeat the Immortal Gate, yet they just won’t co out."
The martial artists who rushed here from afar are injured and broken, and it would be false to say they have no resentnt in their hearts.
Once, the Qiao family mber was incredibly strong, almost like they were from a different world, almost like a legend on Earth.
But in recent years, no Qiao family mbers have appeared, only evil spirits roam, making the world feel like a prison.
"What are you saying? It can’t be that the Qiao family mbers just stand by and watch others suffer, right? The Qiao family values their rules like a strong law and never breaks them," soone argued back.
"Maybe sothing happened to the Qiao family mbers, and they are too busy to help."
"Perhaps they went into seclusion?"
"Seclusion? With so many powerful Qiao family martial artists, could they all really go into seclusion together?" soone scoffed.
"If you ask , maybe they are waiting in the shadows. Think about it, back then, Qiao Yao was unbeatable, sweeping through Jiu Province, and wherever he went, the Immortal Gates had to step back."
"But he was already so strong. Why didn’t he wipe out the Nine Immortal Gates completely and leave only four?"
"Couldn’t he enter a small world? Even if he couldn’t, couldn’t he at least leave a few strong Qiao family mbers to protect the human world and prevent future troubles?"
"In my opinion, it’s like that saying, ‘You raise a thief, you walk on thin ice…’"
The murmurs in the crowd suddenly fell silent at this mont.
The martial artists in the tea house showed a look of surprise.
The reputation of the Qiao family once echoed throughout Jiu Province and was famous all over the world.
Even though the martial artists have faced great difficulties in recent years, many of them hold resentnt, those words were indeed too much.
"Who’s making a fuss? Step forward!" A young female voice called out from a distance outside.
Before the voice arrived, it was like a sharp sword passing by, making people shiver and instinctively tremble.
"Step forward? Your grandfather can’t even stand up, so I can’t complain a little?" The voice from the crowd remained loud.
The crowd’s gaze focused in one direction, and many finally recognized who had been grumbling just now.
The Founding Emperor Yan looked up and saw that the speaker was a thin middle-aged man with both legs broken. His face was pale and gaunt, and his frail body was wrapped in a thick cotton coat, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
"Two years ago in Baichuan City, the Night of a Hundred Ghosts turned everything into a ghostly nightmare," the man with broken legs gritted his teeth and said.
"At that ti, I was one of the few 4th rank experts in the city, part of the Great Yan Flying Fish Guard escorting a serious criminal known as Soul Predicting Path."
"I thought that the Qiao family mbers would not stand by and that help would surely co if I held on, so I fought back with all my strength…"
"But for three days, no one ca to help. I barely survived by using my family’s secret skill, pretending to be dead, and have been hanging on ever since."
"Little girl, I have fought more battles than you have eaten grains of rice. Can’t I say a few harsh words?"
The people in the teahouse looked at the injured middle-aged man, and their earlier anger softened a little.
However, a loud voice from a distance outside the door still rang out:
"Old man, I’m talking about you, you useless fool! So what if you have broken legs? Do the Qiao family mbers owe you sothing?!"
A graceful figure flew in from a distance, passing through the city gate and heading straight into the teahouse.
She was a young woman around twenty years old, with a beautiful and enchanting figure, but when people’s eyes moved to her face, they couldn’t help but be startled, instinctively taking a few steps back.
It wasn’t that the woman was horrifically ugly; on the contrary, her features were lovely, as if she had stepped out of a painting.
Only her left eye was a grueso ss, with a faint blue fla constantly burning, making the eyeball and surrounding flesh look blurred.
Strangely, every ti the flesh around her eye was burned, it slowly regenerated, endlessly repeating in a cycle, as if caught in a balance between rebirth and burning.
Such a bizarre scene naturally terrified everyone, causing them to step back repeatedly.
A middle-aged man with a broken leg wanted to curse back, but seeing the young woman’s far more terrifying injury and imnse presence, he found himself at a loss for words.
"Old fool, I’m talking about you! How many inhumans have you killed while pretending in front of your great-aunt? Hmm?" The young woman was beautiful, but her words were full of aggression.
"Ming Kong, just forget it, no need to waste your breath, let’s go back to the manor."
At that mont, a male voice ca from a distance outside the door, followed by a figure in gray robes, stepping through the air like a cloud and slowly descending.
"Oh? Is that one of the legendary heroes of Peach Blossom Villa, ‘Stone Sword Immortal’ Lu Yanbei?"
"Hmm? What happened to his Stone Sword…"
The newcor was a middle-aged man with one arm, wearing a wooden sword at his waist, along with a stone sword.
It is well known that the na "Stone Sword Immortal" actually does not belong to one person but is a title earned by the Lu Yanbei brothers together.
However, at this mont, when everyone looked again, they saw that Lu Yanbei not only had a broken arm but even the stone sword, which was crucial to his fa, was now just a broken half, quietly resting at his waist without any movent.
Lu Yanbei’s expression slightly darkened, but he remained calm and did not say much. As he turned his head, he noticed Wu Mingkong’s eye injury.
"Mingkong, what happened to your eyes?" Lu Yanbei was clearly taken aback.
His missing arm was an old injury, which he had sustained two years ago when he went to Southeast Province.
But Wu Mingkong’s eye injury is a new one.
"It’s nothing, just temporary," Wu Mingkong scoffed softly.
"In a few years, I can master the Shape Changing Skill to the level where I can heal my own wounds."
"In a few more years, I will surpass Master Qiao Xin and beco the new leader of martial arts. A little injury ans nothing."
"Besides…" Wu Mingkong turned her face, the faint flas in her eyes burning in the wind.
"Don’t you think I look impressive like this?"
"You can say whatever you want," Lu Yanbei was about to turn and leave when he suddenly felt sothing and t the gaze of Founding Emperor Yan in the crowd.
Wu Mingkong did not know Founding Emperor Yan, but Lu Yanbei, being an old hand, was not the sa.
"So, have we really reached such a dead end?" Lu Yanbei hesitated.
The Founding Emperor Yan, as the emperor who established the Great Yan Imperial Court, was naturally a very proud person.
In the past, he had borrowed the Qiao Mu Sword for three thousand miles to defeat the Yunxiao Taoist Lord, but usually, a king would give a sword to his subjects, just like an emperor giving a special sword to help a trusted official defeat a treacherous minister.
When the four Immortal Gates returned to the human world, many people had already started to rely on the Qiao family mbers, hoping they would save the world.
But the Founding Emperor Yan would not do that; whether as the emperor of Great Yan or as the once greatest in the world, he would not depend on others.
So he took the Human Emperor Sword to the important place of Tongtian Mountain and defeated the Taoist Lord before returning.
However, what the Founding Emperor Yan did not expect was that… by defeating one Taoist Lord, he not only did not improve the situation in the Jiu Province Inhuman War but actually led the Soul Predicting Path Lord to realize that the Qiao family mbers were completely out of options.
Thus, the two great Immortal Gates and the two Soul Changing Taoist Lords completely returned to the human world.
This also ant that the battle between immortals and mortals in the Jiu Province had reached a dead end, and the survival of the Great Yan Imperial Court was hanging by a thread.
If it were not for this, the Founding Emperor Yan would never have co to the Peach Blossom Villa in person!
"Just as Senior Qiao Xin said at the beginning, now that the ti has co…"
Lu Yanbei sighed, he stopped walking and spoke to the resting martial artists in the teahouse:
"I am Lu Yanbei, and in these past years, the people in the martial world have kindly given
the title of ‘Stone Sword Immortal.’"
By this ti, the entire teahouse was silent, and even the snowflakes outside seed to have stopped.
The so-called Stone Sword Immortal refers to Lu Yanbei and his brother, who are among the most outstanding experts in Peach Blossom Villa and even in the entire Jiu Province martial arts world.
To calm everyone and make the noise disappear, Lu Yanbei continued:
"In these past few years of great changes in Jiu Province, Peach Blossom Villa has naturally been watching closely."
"I am sure everyone has had doubts about Senior Qiao Xin and the Qiao family mbers for a long ti…"
"In this matter, I, Lu Yanbei, can tell you: Master Qiao is still alive, but his condition is different…"
"There is no better day than today. I, Lu Yanbei, invite all of you to Peach Blossom Villa to hear the truth from Master Qiao Xin about his matters and the situation of the Qiao family mbers."
As this voice echoed in the tea house, everyone imdiately started to chat excitedly.
Is Qiao Xin really still alive?
Will Peach Blossom Villa reveal today whether the Qiao family mber is still alive, solving this mystery?
The martial artists were naturally buzzing with excitent, and so even had tears in their eyes.
In these past years, the remaining four Immortal Gates have beco even more reckless; they feel a strange sense of urgency to quickly regain their powers.
The existence of the Qiao family mber is a hope in the hearts of countless martial artists…
Will this mystery finally be solved today?
Ti passed in the blink of an eye.
The once weary and tired martial artists from afar regained their spirits and walked out of the city gate tower.
The snow, several inches thick, was trampled down by the passing martial artists, revealing the blue stone bricks at the city gate.
As the news spread, more and more martial artists were inspired; they wanted to follow Stone Sword Immortal Lu Yanbei and head to Peach Blossom Villa…
The heavy snow fell, and the deeper they walked into the mountains, the thicker the snow beca. Yet, the hundreds and thousands of martial artists were filled with excitent; the warm breath coming from their mouths seed to warm this cold winter.
………………
Peach Blossom Villa had once been simply refined by Yunxiao Taoist Lord, rging it with Earth Sword Immortal’s Stone City.
Although it was not a powerful treasure, the villa was quite vast, including what used to be Stone City, so the many martial artists did not feel crowded.
Stone City was almost the sa as that lonely city in the great desert, where the training ground had once been the camp of the lone army in the desert.
In the years since the Qiao family mbers appeared, it had mostly been the place where the Qiao family, including Qiao Xin, practiced martial arts.
On that day, the training ground was very crowded, and the crowd made the martial artists of the villa feel a bit dazed, as if they had returned to the glorious days of Peach Blossom Villa years ago, when many people were listening to Qiao Xin’s teachings.
"Master Qiao! Master Qiao has appeared!"
"It is Senior Qiao Xin! The Breaking Waves and Dividing Floods Sword is still here! Jiu Province is saved!"
At first, only shouts could be heard from the crowd, and those in the back could not see Qiao Xin’s appearance at all, so they all stood on tiptoe and looked up in the direction of the sound.
But when they saw Qiao Xin, they all paused for a mont, and the crowd quickly fell silent from the previous noise.
Qiao Xin was pushed forward by soone; he sat in a simple wooden wheelchair, pushed onto the Martial Arts Performance Platform by a blind girl with her eyes tightly closed.
When he appeared, every Spirit Refining martial artist present felt a strange tremor in their hearts.
They instinctively sensed that there was still a terrifying power within Qiao Xin’s body, leading them all to look up in awe, like gazing at a towering mountain.
But at the sa ti, Qiao Xin also seed very weak; the Spirit Refining martial artists could vaguely sense that his life was like a flickering candle in the wind.
The body is incredibly strong, inspiring deep respect, but at the sa ti, its life force has weakened and is reaching the end.
This is an extrely contradictory feeling.
"It reminds
of Kuafu Mountain in the Western Province," pondered Founding Emperor Yan.
Kuafu Mountain in the Western Province is the ancient body of the Giant Kuafu, but that Giant Kuafu has long since passed away, leaving only the enormous body behind.
Qiao Xin’s situation is also similar to that of the giant Kuafu Mountain; he is about to die, and no matter how strong his remaining body is, it is rely a robust corpse.
Just as Founding Emperor Yan was thinking this, suddenly he felt a spark of realization.
He squinted his eyes, and with a powerful step, he instantly appeared before a skinny man in the crowd, his true strength surging in his fist as he struck.
As he punched, the man’s robe emitted a faint light, and no matter how fierce the punch was or how strong the force was, he stood firm and unyielding.
"Is it Soul Predicting Path or Changsheng Taoist Lord?" Founding Emperor Yan shouted, his voice booming like rolling thunder.
At that mont, Qiao Xin in the wheelchair also moved.
He awkwardly stood up from the wheelchair and directly grabbed a sharp sword beside him and threw it.
Whoosh!
The sword hit the golden light, and in an instant, the ground began to shake.
With a clear sound of shattering, a rainbow light rushed into the sky at great speed and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Before the martial artists could react, a lightning-fast battle had already ended.
The ground was left with small cracked holes and a completely shattered sword.
"Thanks to Great Yan for being here," Lu Yanbei coughed lightly, took a step forward, and introduced the disguised Founding Emperor Yan to everyone.
"If he weren’t here, we might never have known… that the Soul Changing Taoist Lord ca personally to test us!"
The Founding Emperor Yan pondered for a mont and clasped his fists:
"It is the great reputation of the Qiao family mber. When Master Qiao appeared, the Changsheng Taoist Lord of Long Life Gate was so shocked that he revealed his true self, which I was able to uncover."
"If Master Qiao were not present, even if I recognized this person, it would still be useless."
The two asked and answered each other, and the martial artists present barely understood what great event had just occurred in a flash of lightning.
"Is it true that the Peach Blossom Villa has high-level experts from the Immortal Gate watching?" the martial artists exclaid.
"Isn’t it said that Nan Province’s Peach Blossom Villa is the only safe haven? With the Qiao family mber’s influence still strong, aren’t all four Immortal Gates afraid to invade?"
"Moreover, it is surprising that the Soul Changing Taoist Lord even ca personally to test!"
"It seems that the Peach Blossom Villa is not an untouched paradise after all. The tides from Jiu Province cannot be avoided, and even the sect leaders of the Immortal Gate are looking closely."
"The martial artists of Peach Blossom Villa have not been out of the picture all these years."
The martial artists were first surprised, and then they nodded secretly.
That’s right.
No matter how strong a person is, they cannot scare the Immortal Gate for too long just by their past power.
The reason why Nan Province and Peach Blossom Villa can be a paradise in Jiu Province is because of Qiao Xin.
Thinking of this, many eager eyes turned to Qiao Xin, and so were even filled with tears of joy.
"With one strike, he drove back the Immortal Sect Leader; Master Qiao Xin is unbeatable in the world!"
"Master Qiao’s skills are unmatched; Master Qiao is invincible!"
"The Qiao family mber is here, bringing clear skies! With the Qiao family mber’s help, peace will return to the world!"
So martial artists who traveled thousands of miles were already in tears; their hearts were filled with hope at that mont.
Only the Founding Emperor Yan slightly frowned.
He could see that Qiao Xin’s condition was actually very problematic.
Just now, the throw of the sword was incredibly powerful, very fast, and forceful.
But the movent was quite stiff, just an ordinary throw, without any clever techniques.
This was not how a mber of the Qiao family should be; Qiao family mbers have always achieved great mastery in martial arts, and they possess Shape Changing Skill, allowing them to control their muscles with ease.
It is said that during his peak, Master Qiao Xin briefly withstood attacks from several Soul Changing Taoist Lords while defending Peach Blossom Villa and did not perish…
If it had been his peak period, the recent Soul Changing Taoist Lord would definitely not have been able to escape so easily.
And now Qiao Xin…
"Everyone," Qiao Xin lightly coughed and finally intended to speak.
Qiao Xin is a flesh clone of Qiao Mu, with a body that has existed for over ten thousand years, controlled by flesh buds.
Ultimately, he is an emotional manuscript machine, performing the last preparations that Qiao Mu made before leaving Jiu Province.
Qiao Xin looked at the passionate martial artists around him and slowly spoke:
"Qiao Xin’s life is like a candle flickering in the wind, with little ti left."
"In these past years, I have been unable to fight and could not display any exquisite martial arts. I have only relied on the Xuanming Contain Breath Technique and other cultivation techniques, which put
into a deep sleep…"
The Xuanming Contain Breath Technique is a secret thod created by Martial Saint, and the cultivation technique he ntioned is a copy created with the help of Nascent Soul cultivator Lingling Taoist Priest, after seeing the Bitter Sea Light Boat of Sun Xuan Envoy Zhang Yinguo.
The true Bitter Sea Light Boat is a relic from a ti of abundant spiritual energy, and the one that Qiao Feixian resides in is the very last one.
Even with Lingling Taoist Priest’s help, Qiao Xin’s condition continues to slowly worsen with the passing ti, nearing its limit after several years.
The arrival of Founding Emperor Yan is a turning point, but without him, Qiao Xin, as Qiao Mu’s flesh clone, would not exist for much longer.
Since Qiao Mu stepped onto the Sky Piercing River that flows against the current, he has made a decision to never turn back. He neither has a way to keep the flesh clone alive nor the desire to do so.
His words poured cold water on the martial artists who had just been full of enthusiasm.
"How… how could this be?"
"With just one strike, Master Qiao can repel the Soul Changing Taoist Lord, and he is already like a dying candle?"
"I see…" Founding Emperor Yan sighed and said:
"Master Qiao, suffering from an incurable illness, remains in this world only to intimidate the Immortal Gate."
"As long as Master Qiao is still here, the Qiao family, famous in Jiu Province, will still exist. The Immortal Gate, unsure of the truth, will not dare to act recklessly."
"Even if the four great Immortal Gates are rampant, they will ultimately hold back."
Founding Emperor Yan did not just ponder this in his heart; he said it aloud on purpose.
He was older and observant. In the crowd, he spoke up, carefully guiding the thoughts of the martial artists to prevent anyone from saying foolish things.
Among the martial artists’ sighs, a middle-aged man in the crowd, with both legs broken, leaned on a cane and asked weakly:
"Master Qiao, what about the other mbers of the Qiao family? The master is unable to fight because of his health, so what about the other mbers?"
"Yes… what about the other Qiao family mbers?"
"If Master Qiao cannot fight, is there any other Qiao family mber who can…"
The Founding Emperor Yan’s gaze sharpened; this man with broken legs still couldn’t learn to be quiet.
Like the other martial artists from Yan City, he hurried to Peach Blossom Villa in the mountains and finally managed to ask this question.
Qiao Xin paused for a mont and then spoke:
"All the martial artists of the Qiao family who can still fight have already set off with the elder Qiao Yao to the Sky Piercing River, traveling against the current, and they haven’t returned. Even after all these years, I do not know if they are alive or dead."
"And we, the Qiao family…" He looked around at the eager eyes and spoke up:
"And now, I, Qiao Xin, am the last mber of the Qiao family in the entire Jiu Province."
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