Chapter 381 - 219: Li Xingtuo’s Shock

Chapter 381: Chapter 219: Li Xingtuo’s Shock

Xie Yuan paid no mind to these matters, continuing to act as a diligent disciple on Cloud Mountain. He trained tirelessly on Ruyun Peak. Aside from secretly descending the mountain twice to listen to the Commandery Princess play music, he hadn’t even left the peak. Meanwhile, Li Xingtuo hadn’t sought him out again either.

Three months passed just like that. The climate on the mountain was always pleasant, so Xie Yuan hadn’t noticed the change. But when he descended, he felt a hint of autumn in the air and realized that the height of summer was over. In cultivation, one loses all track of the seasons.

[Chopping Wood: (10010/100000)]

[Golden Bell Shield - 5th Layer: (1316/10000)]

[Body Nourishing Art - 2nd Layer: (819/2000)]

[Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist - Minor Success: (1320/3000)]

[Moon-Cutting Axe - Minor Success: (1188/3000)]

[Celestial Concealment Skill - Minor Success: (3895/5000)]

[Black Celestial Book: (459/1000)]

[Cloud Dragon Step - Minor Success: (338/3000)]

[Rushing Wolf Saber Skill - Perfected]

[Cloud Mountain Sword Form - Perfected]

[Nine Forms of the Cloud Dragon - Minor Success: (1356/5000)]

[Cloud Mountain Sword Intent Scripture - 4th Layer: (2201/4000)]

[Cloud-Entering Sword Skill - Minor Success: (19/3000)]

[Sword Heart - Initial Tier]

After a summer of arduous training, Xie Yuan had naturally reaped great rewards, most of which were reflected in the across-the-board increase in his stats.

Chopping Wood, his oldest and most wondrous ability, was now unconsciously one-tenth of the way complete. If he had to rely on chopping one log at a time, it would likely take him the better part of another decade.

But as long as he kept moving forward, the path would continue to unfold beneath his feet. The goal remained fixed ahead, waiting for him to claim it.

The progress of his Golden Bell Shield was about what he expected. For someone in the Second Transformation Realm to break through again, the amount of Blood Qi required was immense. The Treasure Medicines from the ancient ruins were long gone, leaving him to cultivate bit by bit on his own. Fortunately, thanks to his innate talent, his progress wasn’t slow even when relying solely on himself.

Experiencing the long road to the Third Transformation Realm firsthand—long, at least, compared to his past breakthroughs—made him realize just how vast the gap was between each realm. It drove home that the Qi Blood Third Transformation Realm was not easily achieved. ’Although I’m eager to settle my score with Autumn Wind Building,’ he thought, ’before I break through to the Third Transformation Realm, it’s best to run as far and as fast as I can if I ever encounter a Celestial Tier Assassin alone.’

He was cultivating the Body Nourishing Art again, and it was much easier the second time around. Coupled with his expanded insight and experience, his progress was incredibly fast. If only he hadn’t exhausted his supply of Treasure Medicine and still had some Celestial Cyan Fruits to cause a massive surge in his power, Xie Yuan was confident he could have broken through another layer directly.

His other techniques had also seen great progress. With focused training, his Cloud Dragon Step broke through another layer, reaching the Minor Success realm. After all, with more real combat experience, Xie Yuan was gradually discovering that a good Body Technique was just as important as being durable—sometimes even more so.

The remaining Nine Forms of the Cloud Dragon and Cloud Mountain Sword Intent Scripture progressed steadily. The combination of the two made him preeminent among Swordsmen of the same realm. Although his cultivation level wasn’t high for the Second Transformation Realm, his combat prowess could not be underestimated.

If he were to face a sword-wielding opponent like that Celestial Tier Assassin, he could even hold his own for a few exchanges just by relying on his techniques. Other Swordsmen of the same rank would likely not last long at all. When fighting Xie Yuan, they would be better off not using swordsmanship.

Xie Yuan found the steady, solid growth of his strength deeply satisfying.

Although he hadn’t had any explosive breakthroughs like those brought on by consuming heavenly treasures, cultivation was like water dripping through stone. ’You can’t expect a waterfall every day.’

’If you get used to those sudden deluges, you’ll probably lose the patience for the solitude of normal training.’

After reviewing his progress, Xie Yuan planned out the next phase of his training. After making a few minor adjustments, he began the next step of his cultivation.

「Jiangzhou.」

「Jinling Prefecture.」

By the banks of the Qinhuai River, inside a modestly sized brothel.

A woman wearing a headscarf and veil ascended the stairs.

Although her face was covered and her visible eyes looked quite ordinary, her slender, graceful figure was still apparent. It prompted a drunken patron, who already had a girl on one arm, to reach out for her with his free hand.

CRACK.

Before the drunken man’s hand could even touch her, it was suddenly dislocated. He froze for a second, then let out a pained scream and collapsed, causing a commotion throughout much of the brothel.

The woman, unmoved, continued to a hidden room in the corner of the upstairs corridor and knocked rhythmically on the door.

"Please, come in."

A voice, seductive to the bone, came from within.

The woman pushed the door open and entered, closing it softly behind her.

A madam was seated in the room. She looked to be a woman past her prime, yet her allure surpassed that of all the other women in the building, enough to make any man’s mouth go dry at the sight of her.

The madam watched the woman close the door, a faint smile gracing her lips as she asked:

"Why so heavy-handed, my dear guest? You’re affecting my business."

The woman said softly:

"This isn’t your real business anyway."

The madam covered her mouth with a hand, laughing coquettishly.

"If I weren’t in this business, why would I have opened a brothel?"

The woman just watched her silently, saying nothing.

The madam laughed for a moment before finding it no longer amusing. She sighed.

"Fine. Who sent you here? What do you wish to buy?"

The woman’s eyes were calm as she said softly:

"No one sent me. I found my own way here."

The madam’s eyes narrowed. Her hand subtly lowered to her side, but she maintained a nonchalant smile.

"Oh? Then what sort of business do you have in mind?"

"I want all of your intelligence..."

The woman stated coolly.

"...and your life."

Upon hearing this, the madam let out a flirtatious giggle. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her palm flipped, revealing a dark, lusterless short sword that she silently slashed forward. Simultaneously, she kicked over the table and threw herself backward, shooting toward the window in an attempt to escape.

The woman dodged the blade with a single, slight sidestep. Then she quietly watched as the madam crashed headfirst into the window lattice and was thrown back into the room.

An eerie black glow flashed across the window lattice, and then the entire room was sealed by the same dim light.

The madam’s expression changed drastically as she looked at the Array that had formed at some unknown point.

She looked at the woman, a vicious glint in her eyes, and transformed into a dim shadow, lunging forward.

The woman watched her approach, seemingly unmoving. Then, her figure suddenly blurred and vanished from the spot.

The madam froze mid-lunge, a look of utter terror appearing on her face.

The door began to tremble violently. From the outside, terrifying blasts of energy could be faintly seen crisscrossing within.

However, amid the brothel’s noisy chaos, no one noticed anything unusual about the room in the corner until all movement within it ceased.

Everything returned to normal.