The Daoist Priestess of the White Lotus was curious about which martial arts experts the Daoist Leader of the Golden Lotus had chosen as holders of the Earth Book fragments. As a colored lotus herself, she held a rather high position and knew some inside information. The fragment holders selected by the Golden Lotus Leader were said to be up-and-coming talents with great fortune. They would become important assets for the Golden Lotus Leader to eliminate demonic thoughts in the future.
However, the problem was that these young people, no matter how strong they were as rising stars, how powerful could they truly be? Unless each of them was at the Fourth Realm, the White Lotus didn’t believe these youngsters could withstand the demonized Daoist priests of the Earth Sect, the Black Lotus Leader, or the forces of the Martial Arts Alliance.
Yet, the Golden Lotus Leader seemed to have great confidence in the “Earth Book Heaven and Earth Society” he had formed. There were countless talented youths across the Nine Provinces, as numerous as fish crossing a river. It was impossible to guess who the young people the Golden Lotus Leader had chosen were… The White Lotus felt both anxious and expectant.
…
At Dog Rong Mountain.
In the dead of night, Cao Qingyang, wearing a purple robe embroidered with layers of cloud patterns in gold thread, left the compound alone and walked towards the back mountain.
There was someone on the back mountain, as old as the country itself.
The moonlight was dim, and tree shadows swayed. He rustled along the mountain path, the hem of his purple robe brushing against the weeds by the roadside.
Cao Qingyang, over forty years old, had regular features and sharp eyes. His facial features perfectly embodied the character of “righteousness.”
Regarding this Alliance Leader, there had always been a widely circulated rumor in the martial arts world of Sword Province. It was said that the previous Alliance Leader was obsessed with physiognomy. Once, he happened to meet Cao Qingyang, who was just a nobody in the Martial Arts Alliance at the time.
Overjoyed, he declared that this young man had extraordinary features, a one-in-a-million Earth Lord physiognomy. Round heaven and square earth, the great earth’s virtue carries all things. Those with Earth Lord physiognomy have flawless morals and can lead the masses.
Thus, he took him as a disciple, passed on all his martial arts, and bestowed upon him the position of the Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
Whether or not physiognomy was credible, the previous Alliance Leader’s judgment was indeed accurate. In terms of martial arts attainment, Cao Qingyang was the top martial artist in Sword Province, ranking first on the martial arts list.
In terms of professional ethics, Cao Qingyang had led the Sword Province Martial Arts Alliance for over a decade without making any major mistakes. The order in the martial arts world of Sword Province remained stable, and they even cooperated with the government to arrest some fugitives from the martial arts world.
After trekking through the mountains and forests for a quarter of an hour, the scene suddenly opened up before him, revealing a huge cliff face. At the bottom of the towering cliff was a stone door.
The stone door was tightly shut, with rotting leaves covering its entrance and weeds growing all around, as if it had been sealed for countless years, never opened.
As soon as he stepped out of the forest and saw the cliff, Cao Qingyang keenly noticed two red lanterns lighting up at the top of the cliff, “shining” on him for a moment before extinguishing.
Those were the Dog Rong.
Cao Qingyang approached the stone door, bent his back, and spoke in a steady, respectful voice, “Great Ancestor, I will obtain the Nine-Colored Lotus Root for you to help you break through.”
There was no response from behind the door.
Cao Qingyang continued, “Since the Shanhai Pass battle twenty years ago, the national power of Great Feng has been gradually weakening, and the central government’s control over various provinces has drastically declined. Disasters are frequent in all provinces, and your humble descendant has a premonition that great chaos is approaching.”
Finally, an old and ethereal voice sounded from behind the door: “Is the Emperor of Great Feng still cultivating?”
Cao Qingyang nodded: “Yes.”
“Hmph!”
A cold snort came from the door crack.
Cao Qingyang continued, “Recently, news came from the capital that the Guarding North King, who was defending the border, slaughtered 380,000 civilians in Chu Province to break through to the peak of the Second Realm. He was then killed by a mysterious powerful figure in Chu Province.”
He briefly recounted the news.
“Well done!” the voice responded.
“Afterward, to cover up the crime, Emperor Yuanjing killed the Chu Province Administrator who went to the capital to seek justice and shielded the Duke of Protecting the Nation, one of the main culprits.”
“Did the court officials not intervene? Did the Supervisor not intervene?” The voice lowered a few notches.
“No, they did not.”
As Cao Qingyang’s voice fell, he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble slightly. The stone door also shook, and dust fell in the shower.
On the cliff face, those two lanterns lit up again, coldly staring at him.
“Great Ancestor, please calm your anger. There’s more to this matter…” Cao Qingyang hurriedly said.
The trembling of the mountain stopped, and the two red lanterns on the cliff immediately went out.
Cao Qingyang let out a breath, his dignified and upright face showing obvious relief. He continued:
“Later, a Silver Badge barged into the palace, captured the Duke of Protecting the Nation, denounced the Emperor’s crimes, denounced the Guarding North King’s crimes, and beheaded the two involved Dukes at the vegetable market.”
For a long time, no sound came from behind the stone door. After half a quarter of an hour of silence, a faint sigh was heard: “Since ancient times, commoners have been most hateful, yet since ancient times, commoners have been most innocent.”
Cao Qingyang thought for a moment and explained, “Great Ancestor, that Silver Badge didn’t die.”
“Oh?”
This time, the deep and ethereal voice carried a hint of curiosity.
“This man is named Xu Qi An, a night watchman who rose to prominence during last year’s imperial examination. If Great Ancestor wishes to hear, your humble descendant can tell you about him, if you don’t find me bothersome.”
The old voice carried a hint of amusement: “I have been in seclusion for hundreds of years, unaware of the world outside of the martial arts world of the Nine Provinces. Except for listening to your chatter now and then, it’s quite dull at other times.”
Cao Qingyang then sat cross-legged in front of the stone door and said methodically: “In recent years, the most interesting figure in the martial arts world has been the Flying Swallow Heroine, while in the court, the most applause-worthy has been this Silver Badge named Xu Qi An…”
He then recounted one by one, the events of Xu Qi An’s rise during the year of the imperial examination.
The Martial Arts Alliance’s ability to dominate the martial arts world of Sword Province, to be feared by officials and tacitly approved by the court, naturally had its unique strengths. What Cao Qingyang prided himself on most was not the high-level experts in the alliance, nor the eight thousand heavy cavalry.
Rather, it was the intelligence system he had built from scratch.
The intelligence system composed of peddlers, street vendors, and wandering knights of the martial arts world, in Cao Qingyang’s view, might not be as good as Wei Qingying’s night watchmen agents. But in terms of grassroots information and intelligence, it was even better.
From solving the tax silver case while in prison to beheading his superior, from the Sangbo case to the Cloud Province case, all the way to the recent Chu Province case, Cao Qingyang could speak about them in detail.
Sword Province had put a lot of effort into investigating this Silver Badge Xu.
Of course, it was also because the man’s actions were too world-shaking, too high-profile, making it difficult not to know about him.
The Great Ancestor behind the stone door listened patiently, finding the rise of this small figure quite intriguing.
“Interesting, interesting. If this lad doesn’t die young, Great Feng will have another top-tier martial artist,” the old voice said with a smile.
“Rumors in the martial arts world say that this man’s talent is no less than the Guarding North King’s,” Cao Qingyang nodded, not finding anything wrong with the Great Ancestor’s assessment.
“Compared to the Guarding North King, I’d rather see martial artists like young Xu appear,” the old voice sighed:
“When martial artists violate prohibitions with their strength, the more lawless they are, the purer their thoughts become because martial artists cultivate themselves… The Guarding North King is a pure martial artist, so he could reach that height, but precisely because of this, he would commit the atrocity of massacring a city. Therefore, since ancient times, commoners have been most hateful.
“That Xu lad is equally lawless, doing things only to be at peace with his conscience. Thus, he beheaded his superior for an unrelated girl, and in a moment of hot-bloodedness, he single-handedly blocked… how many rebels was it?”
“He killed over two hundred rebels,” Cao Qingyang recalled for a moment and answered.
“You just said he single-handedly blocked ten thousand rebels,” the old voice said.
…Cao Qingyang’s face twitched slightly, and he said in a deep voice, “Some say it was eight thousand, some say it was five thousand, and others say it was ten thousand or twenty thousand… There are too many rumors, I got it mixed up.”
The old voice “hmmed” and continued, “Including this recent Chu Province massacre case, everyone fears imperial power and dares not speak out, except for him who dared to stand up, his anger bursting forth. Therefore, since ancient times, commoners have been most innocent.”
Cao Qingyang bowed his head: “I will heed Great Ancestor’s teachings.”
After a pause, he brought up the main purpose of this visit again: “The Nine-Colored Lotus of the Earth Sect is in Sword Province and will mature in a few days. I want to seize the lotus root to help Great Ancestor breakthrough.
“However, the Earth Sect Leader has fallen into demonic ways and cannot be trusted. Your humble descendant has one foot in the Third Realm, but the other foot still cannot cross over no matter what. I fear I don’t have the power to confront the Earth Sect Leader, so I request Great Ancestor’s assistance.”
“The Heavenly, Earthly, and Human Three Sects of the Dao School, their leaders have always been in the Second Realm. How can I assist you?”
“Great Ancestor, only an avatar is coming, at most in the Third Realm,” Cao Qingyang added.
From the crack of the stone door, a transparent blood drop squeezed out and shot into Cao Qingyang’s brow.
…
In the morning, sunlight bathed the earth, bringing strong heat.
Xu Qi An woke up at the right time, his head feeling as big as a bucket and somewhat uncomfortable. He yawned and muttered to himself, “It’s been a long time since I visited Floating Fragrance, I miss her so much.”
After dressing neatly, he called out to Zhong Li, who was on a nearby couch, inviting her to wash up and brush their teeth together.
The two squatted under the eaves, holding pig bristle toothbrushes, brushing until their mouths were full of foam.
“The truly top-tier magical artifacts are not the arrays imprinted in them, but that divine tools have spirits,” Zhong Li suddenly said out of nowhere, then tilted her head and silently looked at him.
Xu Qi An frowned and scolded, “If you have something to say, just say it. You give me a look, and I’m supposed to understand?”
“Oh, oh…”
She mumbled vaguely, took a mouthful of water, spat out the foam, and said softly, “The sword your teacher gave you has the appearance of a world-class divine weapon, but it lacks the corresponding artifact spirit.”
Xu Qi An’s heart stirred: “And then?”
Zhong Li seriously suggested, her voice like wind chimes under the eaves, clear with a hint of softness: “You must get the lotus seed. It can enlighten weapons, allowing your sword to give birth to an artifact spirit.
“A weapon with an artifact spirit will become a true killing machine. The top-tier magical treasures in the Nine Provinces, like the Nation-Guarding Sword and the Earth Book, all have artifact spirits.
“In other words, giving birth to an artifact spirit is the foundation for entering the ranks of the top-tier magical treasures in the Nine Provinces. If the sword gifted by Teacher Supervisor could possess an artifact spirit, the physical bodies of high-level martial artists would no longer be so invincible.”
Right, why didn’t I think of this before? The lotus seed can enlighten all things, of course, it can enlighten my sword… Xu Qi An’s heart raced with excitement.
He estimated in his heart that if the black gold long sword were to give birth to an artifact spirit, coupled with his “Heaven and Earth One Sword Slash,” it would be more than just invincible at the same level.
It was highly possible, highly possible to kill enemies across one realm.
When he truly advanced to the Fifth Realm, he might be able to fight and kill Fourth Realm martial artists. Well, even if he couldn’t handle peak Fourth Realm, ordinary Fourth Realm shouldn’t be difficult.
By extension, if he advanced to the Fourth Realm, would his killing techniques be among the top one or two at the same level?
What Xu Qi An lacked most now was real combat power, and weapons were also a type of combat power.
Zhong Li rinsed her mouth and said in her soft voice, “After the artifact spirit is born, the sword will no longer be a dead object. If you nurture it daily, it will recognize you as its master, and others won’t be able to use it. You have the Earth Book fragment, you should understand.”
Zhong Li is so great… Xu Qi An couldn’t wait to go to Sword Province. He deliberately put on a stern face and said in a deep voice, “How do you know I have the Earth Book fragment? How do you know I’m going to guard the lotus seed? Are you peeking at my messages?”
“?” Zhong Li looked at him foolishly.
Xu Qi An wiped the corner of his mouth and smeared the foam in his palm on her head, making her already messy hair even more like a bird’s nest.
He looked at his masterpiece smugly, grinning.
“I, I need to wash my hair…”
Zhong Li gave him an innocent look, not knowing why she was treated this way, and walked away feeling wronged.
Haha, if it were the Princess Consort, she would pounce on me and scratch my face by now… Xu Qi An let out a smug “hmph.”
The familiar feeling of heart palpitations hit him at this crucial moment.
Xu Qi An frowned, threw down the pig bristle toothbrush, returned to the room, grabbed the Earth Book fragment from under the pillow, and checked the information.
[Nine: Everyone, set off for Sword Province immediately. The situation is a bit tricky.]
Chu Yuanli immediately replied: [Four: What do you mean by tricky, Daoist? What has happened in Sword Province?]
[Nine: It’s hard to explain in a short time. This time, there are quite a few enemies, and the situation is very unfavorable. You’d better come over immediately for a face-to-face discussion.]
Quite a few enemies this time? Xu Qi An’s eyebrows immediately raised.
With Zhong Li’s words, he was determined to get the lotus seed, because it could give him a world-class divine weapon, rather than just gaining a concubine he could sleep with.
“I have to leave immediately. Hmm, I’ll take you back to the Astrology Bureau first,” Xu Qi An grabbed Zhong Li’s arm and ran out of the room.
Just then, he saw Li Miaohen carrying her flying sword, coming out of her room. Su Su wasn’t by her side, probably stored in her yin pouch.
“I’ll take her back to the Astrology Bureau,” Xu Qi An said.
“Mm,” Li Miaohen nodded.
Zhong Li, who was plagued by misfortune, had to be careful even in normal times. If she were on the battlefield…
Riding the little mare and taking Zhong Li back to the Astrology Bureau, Xu Qi An was about to meet up with Li Miaohen when a bold idea suddenly surged in his heart.
Yang Qianhuan was a Fourth Realm Sorcerer, while his offensive techniques weren’t as fierce as a martial artist’s, he was a master of formations and wielded magical artifacts with finesse…
As he saw Zhong Li descending the stone steps and about to disappear from view, Xu Qi’an quickly called out:
“Senior Sister Zhong! Senior Brother Yang is down there, right?”
Zhong Li turned her head. “Hmm.”
“Yang Senior Brother? Yang Senior Brother?” Xu Qi’an shouted towards the underground chamber, his voice echoing loudly.
“Stop shouting! What do you want?” A dissatisfied voice responded—it was Yang Qianhuan.
“I was hoping Senior Brother could help me with something…”
Before Xu Qi’an could finish, Yang Qianhuan interrupted him with a blunt refusal. “No, not helping. Get lost!”
Xu Qi’an looked helplessly towards Zhong Li, who shook her head, indicating that she had no way to help.
After a moment of thought, Xu Qi’an sighed deeply and raised his voice:
“I’m heading out, and where I go, one man shall hold the pass against ten thousand enemies. I go to slay the wicked and strike fear into the Jianghu. I go to the sacred land of martial arts, Jianzhou, with a single message for the heroes of Jianghu: All of you are nothing but trash!”
The words had barely left his lips when a flash of white light appeared before Xu Qi’an. Standing there with his hands behind his back was Yang Qianhuan, his expression serious.
“Let’s go,” Yang Qianhuan said in a deep voice.