Li Muzhan carried her in a loop around the valley. Bai Mingqiu chuckled softly, “Junior Brother, this place is quite nice. How did you find it?”
Li Muzhan smiled, “I usually enjoy exploring hidden scenic spots; there are always rewards.”
He approached the pool, mirror-like, beside which lay a stone couch, smooth as glass, which Li Muzhan had polished with his palm force. He gently set Bai Mingqiu down on the couch and smiled, “It’s coolest right here.”
Bai Mingqiu nodded slightly, “It truly is a wonderful place!”
Every movement she made exuded a strange fragility, twisting Li Muzhan’s heart with sympathy, yet his expression remained relaxed and composed as he smiled, “Senior Sister, rest here for a moment. I’ll be right back!”
“Where are you going?” Bai Mingqiu asked hurriedly.
Li Muzhan grinned, “To look around outside, find something good to eat.”
“...Hurry back,” Bai Mingqiu said reluctantly.
She had a premonition that her remaining time was short, and ceased suppressing her feelings, becoming even more dependent on Li Muzhan, wishing she never had to leave his side for an instant.
Li Muzhan waved his hand and drifted into the woods, instantly teleporting to the Tianyuan Pavilion.
He entered the main hall of Tianyuan Pavilion, where Long Jingyue happened to be present.
Long Jingyue, clad in a moon-white silk robe, was sitting with her eyes closed, regulating her breath. Sensing his arrival, she opened her eyes, “Wuji?”
Li Muzhan replied, “Master!”
“Sit down and talk!” Long Jingyue beckoned, “The commotion these past days has been considerable. Why have you decided to return now? Did you run into something?”
Li Muzhan sighed deeply, “Master, I wish to look through the secret manuals in our Pavilion.”
“What manuals do you need?” Long Jingyue asked, “Those manuals are useless to you now.”
Li Muzhan smiled, “Stone from other mountains can polish one’s own jade. Perhaps something will be useful. Could Master allow me to look?”
“Here is the token for the Martial Hall. Go in and look for yourself,” Long Jingyue said. “Oh, right, Qiu’er came down the mountain looking for you. Did you run into her?”
Li Muzhan offered a bitter smile, “I ran into my Senior Sister.”
“She didn’t drag you into trouble, did she?” Long Jingyue questioned, “This girl is too anxious. Going to find you actually added to the mess. Persuade her to come back!”
Li Muzhan pondered for a moment, sighing helplessly, “It is my inadequacy that caused Senior Sister to be injured.”
“Hmm—?” Long Jingyue’s expression changed, “What happened?”
Li Muzhan said, “Leng Qian of the Qinghe Sword Sect. Has Master heard of him?”
“First among the second-generation disciples of Qinghe Sword Sect,” Long Jingyue nodded. “Extraordinary genius is insufficient to describe his power. But there has been no news of him since… What, did you encounter Leng Qian?”
Li Muzhan nodded and sighed, “He injured Senior Sister.”
“How is Qiu’er?” Long Jingyue asked urgently.
Li Muzhan shook his head, “Not well… Leng Qian’s inner power is too bizarre; I cannot neutralize it. I wanted to find some method.”
Long Jingyue frowned, “Leng Qian must be cultivating the Qinghe Sword Sect’s ultimate technique—the Qinghe Annotation. Its power is astonishing.”
Li Muzhan asked, “Is there a method to break this Qinghe Annotation?”
Long Jingyue shook her head, “It is rumored that when this technique reaches its highest state, it is pure and flawless, nothing can break it. It is derived from the Realm of Water—utmost softness yet ultimate rigidity.”
Li Muzhan frowned and sighed, shaking his head.
“Is Qiu’er badly hurt?” Long Jingyue inquired.
Li Muzhan nodded, “Not lightly.”
Long Jingyue snorted, “Then why didn’t you bring her back?”
Li Muzhan explained, “Senior Sister is recuperating in a quiet place, unable to endure the wind and cold. I wanted to find a way to neutralize it first.”
“Go search in the Martial Hall,” Long Jingyue sighed, waving her hand. “This girl just won’t listen to advice. In the end…”
“Master, rest assured, no matter what, I will save Senior Sister!” Li Muzhan stated solemnly.
Long Jingyue looked at him, sighed, “Forget it. Do your best. Life and death are fated; if this is her fate, struggling is useless.”
Li Muzhan stood up, took the palm-sized piece of dark green jade, bowed deeply, turned, and left, heading straight to the Martial Hall.
Upon entering the Martial Hall, he did not rush to flip through the scrolls. He slightly lowered his eyelids and sat motionless in the center of the Martial Hall. After about half an hour, he slowly opened his eyes and shook his head in disappointment.
This time, he focused entirely on his intuition, releasing his entire spiritual sense, seeking resonance with the hidden existence, searching for a sliver of hope.
After half an hour of effort, he was disappointed. There was no miraculous technique or secret art within the Martial Hall that could neutralize such incomparably pure inner energy.
He exited the main hall with a grim expression, not bothering to look through the texts. He trusted his intuition implicitly; if it wasn’t there, it truly wasn't there. Flipping through every secret manual in the Martial Hall would be futile.
He left the Martial Hall without returning the jade token, went directly back to his small courtyard, and vanished within it as the sun began to set.
He flashed back to the valley again. Bai Mingqiu sat cross-legged on the stone couch, draped in the glow of the sunset, her eyes lightly closed, motionless, her expression serene.
“Junior Brother?” Bai Mingqiu turned and looked at him.
Li Muzhan walked over with a smile, “Is Senior Sister hungry?”
“Where did you go?” Bai Mingqiu frowned.
Li Muzhan chuckled, “Went far away, erasing my tracks.”
“I am hungry. What can we eat?” Bai Mingqiu nodded, asking no further questions.
Li Muzhan said, “Let’s have some meat congee.”
“Alright,” Bai Mingqiu agreed. “I’ll help you cook!”
Saying this, she stood up, preparing to get off the stone couch. Li Muzhan quickly smiled, “Senior Sister hasn’t recovered yet; you shouldn’t engage in strenuous activity! Let’s wait a few more days!”
Bai Mingqiu smiled, “I feel fine now, except for not being able to circulate my internal energy.”
Li Muzhan looked at her, nodding helplessly, “Then we’ll do as Senior Sister wishes.”
Together they gathered firewood, Li Muzhan hunted a few muntjacs, set up a pot, and since there was rice in the wooden house, he put it in the pot and began to simmer.
The two sat by the fire, slowly adding fuel, chatting idly while watching the flames.
—
“Wuji, how much time do I have left?” Bai Mingqiu asked casually, tossing a piece of firewood in.
Li Muzhan frowned, “Senior Sister, don't worry, you won't die!”
“I fear being neither dead nor alive; a clean end would be better,” Bai Mingqiu mused.
Li Muzhan insisted, “Senior Sister, stop thinking about that. I will find a way!”
“Alright, I’ll trust you then,” Bai Mingqiu said, stopping the discussion. She smiled, “Junior Brother, you should read more things beyond martial arts.”
Li Muzhan’s brow twitched slightly. Bai Mingqiu continued, “You only focus on studying martial arts and know too little about the world of martial arts overall. You will suffer a great loss. Like this time—you didn’t know who Leng Qian was, did you?”
Li Muzhan asked, “Senior Sister knew him?”
Bai Mingqiu nodded, “I remember now. It’s our bad luck to have run into this fellow. We are definitely not his match.”
Li Muzhan smiled, “I will avenge this sooner or later!”
“It’s good that you have that in mind,” Bai Mingqiu smiled. “But to seek revenge, mere hard training is not enough. The martial arts of our Tianyuan Pavilion are lacking one level.”
Li Muzhan questioned, “What does Senior Sister mean by that?”
Bai Mingqiu slowly explained, “If you want revenge, you must cultivate martial arts of the level of the Lingjing Sect.”
Li Muzhan shook his head, “How easy is that!”
“Your identity as Li Canghai is already suspicious, Junior Brother. I fear you won’t be able to enter those sects,” Bai Mingqiu sighed, shaking her head. “Seeking revenge against Leng Qian… it’s difficult!”
Li Muzhan laughed, “When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road. I will find a way.”
They chatted about various anecdotes and odd happenings. Although Bai Mingqiu seemed to have stayed within Tianyuan Pavilion, rarely descending the mountain, her knowledge was vast, and she understood the affairs of the world as if pointing at her palm.
After eating, Li Muzhan stayed to talk with Bai Mingqiu. After she fell asleep, Li Muzhan vanished in a flash, appearing at the Shenquan Sect.
He entered the Martial Hall of the Shenquan Sect, remaining motionless at first, letting his intuition soar. After a while, his figure flickered to stand before a bookshelf, where he drew out a secret manual and instantly disappeared.
He reappeared inside the small hut. It was pitch black inside, but it did not impede his vision. It was a small, thin booklet, only about three or four pages, very inconspicuous, easily overlooked amidst the pile of manuals. People would instinctively skip such a thin volume.
The cover bore the four characters—Hua Xu Shen Gong (Void Transformation Divine Skill)—written in a bold and untamed style. The arrogant mindset of the writer seemed ready to leap out; it was clearly not a gentle mental technique at first glance.
He took a deep breath. Not every technique could boast the title of Divine Skill. Such bold claims required substance. He wondered about its true nature.
He slowly opened the thin booklet. It contained dense, small characters, yet every stroke exuded an air of arrogance. Two pages of text, two diagrams. The mental cultivation method looked simple.
Li Muzhan closed the booklet and remained silent in contemplation.
This Hua Xu Shen Gong was not a mainstream cultivation method; it was a path of extreme risk, a genuine technique designed for mutual destruction. It utilized one’s own internal energy to dissolve the opponent’s internal energy, returning both to nothingness.
Li Muzhan smiled bitterly. What kind of divine skill was this? It was a vicious technique, best used for siege warfare—using one person’s internal energy as a sacrifice to eliminate the opponent’s energy, especially if accompanied by allies; it was virtually foolproof.
The Hua Xu Shen Gong was brutal: energy, once turned to nothingness, could not be recovered, effectively crippling one’s cultivation and forcing a restart.
Li Muzhan took a deep breath. Why did the Shenquan Sect not cultivate this Hua Xu Shen Gong?
Then he understood. This technique truly shouldn't be cultivated. Who would be foolish enough to practice this? It was deliberately turning oneself into a pawn, meant for sacrifice at a critical moment.
He rubbed his hands together, and the small booklet instantly turned to dust. He then sat cross-legged on the couch and began to cultivate the Hua Xu Shen Gong. It looked simple, but practicing it was difficult.
For the next two days, he focused entirely on hard training and finally mastered the Hua Xu Shen Gong. Then, without hesitation, he activated it. Bai Mingqiu’s body felt stable; his inner energy still enveloped Leng Qian’s residual energy, but Leng Qian’s energy was continuously devouring his own, growing stronger. In just three to five days, it would completely consume his power. At that point, he would be helpless and would only be able to watch Bai Mingqiu die again.
He absolutely would not allow such an outcome. Thus, on the evening of the third day, he began to deploy the Hua Xu Shen Gong.
Bai Mingqiu felt a strange current circulating within her body. Gradually, the mass of inner energy enveloped by Li Muzhan slowly dissipated, like snow meeting sunlight.
Finally, both streams of internal energy vanished. Her internal organs, long suppressed, suddenly felt clear and empty. An inexplicable energy nourished her entire body, and her viscera recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Li Muzhan withdrew his palms and observed his body. Soon, his lips curled slightly, and he gave a helpless smile. The Hua Xu Shen Gong was indeed formidable; his entire cultivation base had been rendered void.
Bai Mingqiu, however, felt her own cultivation surge, power overflowing her Dantian. By the time she settled down, dawn had broken.
She turned to look at Li Muzhan. He was already lying on the couch, asleep.
Bai Mingqiu frowned. She found Li Muzhan’s condition strange; she couldn't be certain.
“Heh heh…” A burst of hearty laughter suddenly echoed throughout the small hut. Bai Mingqiu’s heart sank. She drifted out of the hut, her bright eyes narrowing. Two figures stood by the pool—Leng Qian and Zheng Haiya. (To be continued)