CH 18

Chapter 18 – The Passing of Time

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (1/1)

The heavy rain gradually subsided, leaving only the occasional raindrops to pitter and patter against the stone bricks. A rainbow began to shine from the edge of the horizon, quietly drawing an end to the storm.

The rain stopped, as if it were as short and fleeting as a human life. One’s existence was akin to the brevity of a raindrop’s descent, where it converged into a puddle among countless other raindrops, seeping into the ground to disappear without a trace.

The moments after the rain were the time for life to blossom and take root. A tender green sprout of grass fought and squeezed its way through the cracks between two stone bricks as it budded upwards. Even though the wind and rain swept strongly, the flexible but resilient stem of the grass sprout bent and arced in the wind. And when the gale finally finished blowing past, it still stood as strong as ever.

The sound of a pair of black satin shoes stepping upon the stone bricks could be heard, and a long, fair finger reached out to pluck that piece of baby grass that just grew out after the rain. With a chuckle, the voice said, “It’s been a long time since the last rainfall. It came just in time, too.”

The young Daoist let the blade of grass flutter away into the breeze, then he turned around and walked towards the Dao Palace in the very center.

He wore a dark black Daoist robe from head to toe, which somewhat obscured his shoeline. It was fitted well to his body, accentuating his lanky figure. Whenever the youth turned, the hem of the robe would flutter slightly in the wind. It was still lightly drizzling, and the raindrops landed on the black Daoist robe, but they left no trace. It was clear from this that the silk fabric it was made from was of first-rate quality.

His long, ink black hair was coiled into a bun and fastened with a dark green jade hairpin. The young Daoist lightly brushed his bangs and muttered to himself, “Before I realized it, my hair got this long.”

When he arrived in front of the gate of the Dao Palace, he saw a young man in a dragon robe walking out. He saluted him in greeting. “Senior Martial Brother Zhang.”

This young man was none other than Prince Xing, Zhang Keyu.

Zhang Keyu looked surprised. “Junior Martial Brother Sheng, I heard from Martial Uncle Qingxin that you were comprehending the Amassing Water form. For this last closed door cultivation of yours, it’s already been 3 years since you last came out of your pagoda.”

This youth was Xu Disheng. With a smile, he replied, “Ten years of time to us cultivators is just the blink of an eye. It’s been three years since we last met, but I see that your handsome figure is just as undiminished as ever.”

Zhang Keyu gave a wry smile. “If one doesn’t enter the Xiantian realm, one’s lifespan won’t increase. Although I’ve managed to reach the Cleansed Meridians stage, halting the aging of my complexion for a while, I’m still as far away as ever from the Xiantian stage. Junior Martial Brother Sheng, did you manage to succeed with the Amassing Water form?”

Xu Disheng’s eyes flashed. “I’ve managed to get a hang of the details of it,” he said with a smile.

The Amassing Water form that he was speaking of was the first form of the Azure Ocean cultivation method that Daoist Lord Qingxin gave him 10 years ago.

“How would you like to demonstrate your Shangqing incantation for this Senior Martial Brother of yours?” Zhang Keyu was somewhat curious about this technique that was given to him by Daoist Lord Qingxin, and he wanted to see it for himself.

“Then please give me pointers,” Xu Disheng answered respectfully, his hand already forming a hand seal. The sleeves of his black robe began to flutter in the wind. “Amassing Water, bind.”

Zhang Keyu had already cultivated profound qi for 20 years, and he had finally completely filled the meridians throughout his whole body with Shangqing Profound Qi, reaching the Cleansed Meridians stage.

In front of the palace hall where he stood, the air around him suddenly became thick. Out of nowhere, a circular screen of water formed around him, pressing against his skin and enveloping his entire body. It began to constrict him, and he was unable to move a single step.

Zhang Keyu wiggled his fingers and found that the water screen was flexible and tough, making it difficult for him to break free. The sides of his mouth hinted at a smile. “Alright, this Senior Martial Brother of yours won’t bully you with Cleansed Meridian Profound Qi. I’ll only use incantations. Shangqing, break!”

A stream of Shangqing Profound Qi rushed out from his Jianggong meridian point, encircling his entire body. With a bang, the water screen that was binding his body was broken.

“Amassing Water, slaughter.” Xu Disheng made another hand seal.

The water in the atmosphere condensed, slowly forming into the shape of a slender arrow. The water arrow was transparent, trembling slightly as it floated in the air. It didn’t look like it had all that much destructive power.

But Zhang Keyu’s expression became a tad more serious after seeing this. He flicked his sleeves and summoned forth a stream of Shangqing Profound Qi to surround his body, amassing it into the shape of a shield. “Protect.”

The water arrow burst forward and struck the shield made from profound qi, splitting it open and causing it to slowly dissipate.

That water arrow ricocheted off and changed directions, colliding with the stone brick flooring of the Dao Palace.

Bam!

Stone bricks were sent flying, leaving a large crater that was about 7 meters wide and 3 meters deep.

It was clear that the power behind the water arrow was incredible. If it landed, even if it were 10 people, it would probably pierce through all of them like a meat skewer.

“This Amassing Water form is really marvelous. If you used it with profound qi, I’m afraid it might be even better than a Shangqing incantation,” Zhang Keyu said, praise evident in his voice.

“I don’t deserve your praise, Senior Martial Brother.” Xu Disheng walked up to inspect the stone bricks. “I didn’t leave my pagoda for 3 years during this time’s closed door seclusion. I managed to successfully cultivate the Amassing Water form, but there are still some parts where it’s rough around the edges, so I was about to go to the Dao Palace to see Master and ask for his guidance.”

Zhang Keyu looked at the great hall behind him and said, “Martial Uncle Qingxin and Master went to the Dao Palace Eastern Qin Province about one year ago, so it’s only you and me present in the Dao Palace at the moment. Just now, I was on the 3rd floor of the Dao Palace retrieving medicine. Among the refined Meridian Pills in the palace, there aren’t enough qi nourishing type Medicinal Pills.”

Xu Disheng was puzzled. “Senior Martial Brother, you’re already at the Cleansed Meridians stage. Why would you need these body strengthening Medicinal Pills that martial artists normally use?”

Zhang Keyu walked down the steps and said with a smile, “To give to my subordinates.” As a Prince ruling over an entire Province, he had countless subordinates, so it was only right for him to need them.

He continued, “But now that I think about it, Junior Martial Brother Sheng, after you joined the Dao Palace, you really put your whole heart into cultivating. At the beginning it was fine since you would frequently walk about the Dao Palace, so we would still see each other often. But these past few years, you’ve started to become even more intense about cultivation. At the drop of a hat, you’d go into one or two years of closed door cultivation, and this time it was actually a whole three years that you didn’t leave your pagoda. When you first came, you were just a 5 year old child. Even after 10 years have passed, your temperament is still the same as ever. This Senior Martial Brother of yours really admires that.”

“What about Master and Martial Uncle Qingyu, don’t they also go into closed door cultivation for more than 10 years all the time?” Xu Disheng stretched out his palm, and a tiny raindrop landed in the center of it.

“But those elders of ours have 500 years of longevity. I, on the other hand, haven’t reached the Xiantian realm, so I only have about 100 years of longevity,” Zhang Keyu said with a sigh, a hint of envy in his eyes.

“Then that’s all the more reason we should cultivate this way, so we can forge ahead and become powerful.” Xu Disheng lowered his gaze, where it rested upon the tender green sprouts of grass growing from the cracks between the stone bricks. His tone also contained a hint of yearning.

“In the last few years, the Ruyang Region’s Xu Clan sent quite a few letters. Even though some people from the Xu Clan came multiple times, I didn’t let them in because you were in closed door cultivation and the Dao Palace is in the restricted area of the Youyang Palace.”

“The Xu Clan, huh? Ten years have gone by, perhaps it’s about time for me to go back for a visit,” Xu Disheng said quietly.

“Junior Martial Brother Sheng, if you need horses, chariots, or anything like that, you can directly let the guards in the palace know.” Zhang Keyu boarded the ornate palanquin by his side. “Return to Taihe Palace Hall.”

“As you command, Your Excellency.” The palanquin porters waited for Zhang Keyu to get situated on the palanquin before heading off in the direction of Taihe Palace Hall.

In the last 10 years, Xu Disheng had been cultivating nonstop, and now he was already a 15 year old strikingly handsome young man.

That strand of Shangqing Profound Qi that he had at the start had now progressed to the point of filling 20 of his meridian points. There were only a little over 10 meridian points left to fill before he could reach the Cleansed Meridians stage.

Xu Disheng could sense that the rate at which he was absorbing and converting Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy was increasing, and this made him gradually form a bold conjecture.

The cyan jade flute in his sea of consciousness, which was constantly revolving and spilling forth cyan light, had always been like that since he was born. And yet, he never felt that his body had transformed in any way.

He also thought back to the fact that he was measured to have an aptitude of Grade 2 Profound Meridians. No matter whether it was passed onto him by his parents, or if it was due to the blood of his ancestors, none of those conclusions seemed reasonable. That left only one explanation!

And that was, this jade flute Xiantian Companion Artifact that was slowly spilling forth cyan light… was raising none other than his own aptitude!

Especially in recent years, the rate at which Xu Disheng was transforming Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy to Shangqing Profound Qi experienced an explosive increase, completely defying common sense!

No matter how he thought about it, this was the only possible explanation.