Chapter 167: Creating Vital Energy
On the Martial Arena halfway up Clear Sky Mountain, Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning stood opposite each other, the two separated by a distance of five zhang.
Below the arena was a sea of people, and the numbers were still growing.
Some rushed up from the foot of the mountain, some came down from above, and there were even disciples who flew over on their swords from Ziyang Peak.
When they landed, they gasped for breath and hurried forward, afraid of missing the spectacle.
As for who was stronger between Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning, it had always been a long-standing topic within the sect.
Many believed it was Jiang Zhaoxia, after all, he was older.
Yet Xu Ning’s talent was simply too high, even more mysterious than Jiang Zhaoxia’s, and many felt that she was the stronger one.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked at Xu Ning and said, “I have waited a long time for this battle.”
Xu Ning’s gaze was calm as she said, “You have just entered the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm. Fighting you now, I feel it is unfair to you.”
“You really are quite arrogant.” Jiang Zhaoxia smiled as he spoke.
When he stood on the arena with Xu Ning, the unwillingness and defiance in his heart unexpectedly lessened, replaced by a sense of relief.
Xu Ning replied, “It’s not arrogance, it’s an objective fact. And it’s only unfair in terms of cultivation. I do not have absolute confidence in defeating you.”
These words made Jiang Zhaoxia feel quite comfortable, for he too had his own pride.
“Uncle-Master Jiang, it was you who saved me back then. I have always remembered that life-saving grace. However, the two of us should try not to carry out missions together in the future,” Xu Ning said seriously.
Jiang Zhaoxia’s face twitched slightly, but he did not refute her.
He merely nodded faintly, indicating his agreement.
The disciples below the arena, upon hearing this, grew curious.
What was going on?
Had these two fallen out while carrying out missions together?
Just at this moment, Jiang Zhaoxia drew his sword.
Under the sunlight, the blade refracted a silvery glow.
Sword energy erupted of its own accord, winding along the hilt and wrapping around his arm, rapidly condensing into a phantom that attached itself to his shoulder.
This scene caused many disciples to erupt in an uproar, because that phantom looked strikingly similar to Jiang Zhaoxia himself, only sharper and more formidable.
Xu Ning narrowed her eyes and said, “A sword soul. You have also become a sword cultivator.”
Jiang Zhaoxia raised his sword and pointed it at her from afar, saying, “Let’s see whether I, who specialize in a single path, or you, who have no shortcomings, am stronger.”
Xu Ning also drew her sword, but she had yet to condense a sword soul, and the aura she emitted while holding her sword was far inferior to Jiang Zhaoxia’s.
The two exchanged a glance and almost simultaneously vanished from their original spots.
Sword blades collided, their figures interweaving as they launched into a fierce and violent battle.
Sword energy surged in all directions, and the raging wind it stirred forced the disciples and pilgrims around the Martial Arena to raise their arms to shield their faces.
In less than a few breaths’ time, fine streaks of lightning appeared on the Martial Arena.
These were the traces left behind by Xu Ning as she stepped with Heavenly Thunder Step.
The speed of their movements was such that not a single person present could clearly see them.
Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and the three brothers of the Xiao Family also came to watch the excitement, and all of them were shocked by the battle before them.
Those disciples who had watched the Grand Dao Tournament only then realized that Xu Ning had not been serious at all before.
Compared to the battle between these two, all other duels were nothing more than child’s play.
The two leapt into the air, arriving high above.
Jiang Zhaoxia twisted his body and slashed with his sword.
The sword soul on him followed the motion, swinging in tandem.
Sword energy crisscrossed the sky, like a white silk ribbon lashing across the heavens.
Xu Ning offered up the sword in her hand.
The blade burst forth with countless bolts of lightning, forming a heaven-spanning net that enveloped Jiang Zhaoxia’s sword energy, then wrapped toward him.
Jiang Zhaoxia raised his brows, his gaze sharpening.
In that instant, from within the sea of people below, swords shot upward one after another, all killing toward Xu Ning with overwhelming momentum.
“Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Sect!”
Someone cried out in shock.
This was the supreme technique the Sect Master had used when dealing with the Sword God, yet Jiang Zhaoxia actually knew it as well.
Hundreds of swords soared upward, surging toward Xu Ning with tremendous force.
However, Xu Ning did not even glance downward.
Lightning overflowed from her eyes as she transformed into a streak of swift thunder and charged straight at Jiang Zhaoxia.
With this movement, thunder exploded in midair, shattering sword after sword.
Jiang Zhaoxia’s pupils shrank as he violently twisted his body, narrowly dodging the sword Xu Ning shot straight at him.
“So fast a sword!”
Looking at Xu Ning before him, Jiang Zhaoxia was astonished.
He could not understand why Xu Ning’s sword was so fast.
Such domineering lightning—what kind of technique was it?
Senior Brother had actually not taught him!
A trace of resentment flashed through Jiang Zhaoxia’s heart.
His combat awareness was extremely sharp.
As he evaded, he raised his sword, but Xu Ning erupted with terrifying lightning, blasting him away.
Lightning flared brilliantly, illuminating the faces of everyone around the Martial Arena, leaving many people dumbfounded.
“What kind of technique is this?”
“It doesn’t seem like a spell. It feels like any spell Senior Sister Xu casts carries lightning with it.”
“Could it be due to her cultivation method?”
“How is that possible? She must also be cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture.”
“So terrifying. Elder Jiang is completely unable to deal with her!”
The disciples burst into heated discussion, all of them dazzled by Xu Ning’s lightning-attributed vital energy.
Jiang Nian stood at the back of the crowd, gazing up at the duel between Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning.
His hands clenched tightly within his sleeves.
Although he currently disliked Jiang Zhaoxia greatly, he did not wish for Jiang Zhaoxia to lose.
“Senior Sister’s physique is indeed special. This isn’t a spell—it’s her vital energy that naturally carries lightning.”
A voice came from beside him.
Jiang Nian turned to look and discovered that Yuan Li, who had previously guided him, had arrived at his side at some point.
Toward Yuan Li, Jiang Nian felt deep gratitude.
He had worked hard in the direction Yuan Li had suggested, and his whole being seemed to have been reborn.
There were simply too many new things drawing his attention, weakening his fixation on hatred.
“Physique? Could it be that everyone’s vital energy can be different?” Jiang Nian asked in surprise.
He had already begun cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture and had some understanding of vital energy.
He had thought that everyone’s vital energy was roughly the same, with only differences in realm determining strength.
“For most people, it is the same. But there are a few who are different, just like Senior Sister,” Yuan Li said.
Yuan Li looked at Xu Ning in the sky, his eyes flickering.
Suddenly, he wondered whether he could create a special kind of vital energy for himself.
Recently, his cultivation of the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art had given rise to many thoughts regarding the path of body cultivation.
Just at this moment, another wave of uproar erupted.
Jiang Zhaoxia suppressed Xu Ning with a sword strike, forcing her down onto the Martial Arena.
The ground shattered beneath them, and the entire Martial Arena shook.
The battle situation was still evenly matched!
……
In the scorching summer heat, dappled patches of light shone across the grass in the forest.
A group of children carried bamboo baskets as they climbed the mountain—fourteen in total.
The oldest looked only fifteen or sixteen, while the youngest was merely three or four.
They wiped away sweat, not crying out in fatigue or hardship.
Even the youngest child did not call for a stop.
Crossing a slope, they finally saw the courtyard wall hidden behind the trees ahead, and smiles appeared on their faces.
“Master, we’re back!”
The leading boy shouted loudly, startling the monkeys in the trees into making chattering sounds as they scattered about.
After shouting, he quickened his pace up the mountain, arrived at the courtyard gate, set down his bamboo basket, then went back down to help carry the baskets of his junior brothers and sisters.
After some time, the fourteen boys and girls sat in front of the courtyard gate, each panting for breath.
Behind them, the courtyard wall was not very tall.
It was piled together from rocks, with gaps not yet tightly filled.
Inside the courtyard was an open yard where two yellow dogs were chasing and playing.
Five rooms stood within—two on the sides, and three lined up together.
A man dressed in white walked out from within the courtyard.
He had handsome features and a gentle smile on his face.
Compared to these children, he seemed like an immortal living in seclusion in the mountains.
His name was Zhou Ya.
He was the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect and also a true transmission disciple of the Clear Sky Sect.
His cultivation was at the third layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
“Master, look at our harvest—there are vegetables and meat!”
A boy of around ten years old spoke up.
Although he was exhausted, his tone was filled with excitement.
The others followed suit, making the area before the courtyard gate lively and noisy.
Zhou Ya looked at them, his face full of gratified smiles.
He grew ever more fond of this group of disciples and hoped to protect them amid the chaotic times.
Yet when he thought of how long he had already been away from the sect, knowing that at most he could stay another two months before returning to report in, lest the sect think him missing, his heart grew heavy.
“Tonight, I will cook. You all should rest well,” Zhou Ya said as he stepped forward, picked up the bamboo baskets from the ground, and turned to enter the courtyard.
The leading boy hurriedly scrambled up and quickly came to his side, asking, “Master, can the techniques you taught us really make us powerful martial artists? Today, down the mountain, we saw two martial artists fighting in the village. They were incredibly strong.”
“Fighting? What happened?” Zhou Ya asked with a frown.
The boy replied, “They passed through the village and stayed there temporarily. It seemed their sects were already enemies. After fighting for a while, they left one after the other. Master, don’t worry—we didn’t expose the location of our Azure Cloud Sect.”
Zhou Ya’s brows did not relax.
He said sternly, “Qiu Dahu, I have warned you several times not to bring your junior brothers and sisters to dangerous places. Why won’t you listen? Blades have no eyes. If those two had injured your junior brothers and sisters, you would regret it for the rest of your life and live in guilt forever.”
The boy called Qiu Dahu said aggrievedly, “Master, it wasn’t that I wanted to watch the excitement. They suddenly started fighting in the street.”
“Even so, you should have taken your junior brothers and sisters away immediately,” Zhou Ya said in a heavier tone.
Hearing this, Qiu Dahu felt even more wronged, his eyes turning red.
Zhou Ya took a deep breath and said, “Dahu, I cannot accompany you all forever. Sooner or later, the position of Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect will be yours. You must bear the responsibility of a sect master.”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Dahu immediately grew nervous and asked, “Master, where are you going? Can’t you stay with us for our whole lives? We will definitely be filial to you.”
Zhou Ya sighed and said, “I originally came out to carry out a mission. Had I not encountered you, I would not have stayed here.”
“Then after you finish the mission, when will you come back?” Qiu Dahu asked.
Zhou Ya said quietly, “I have already broken the rules. If I stay here, it will instead bring you trouble—enormous trouble.”
“What enormous trouble? Master, you are the most powerful person in the world. No one can cause you problems.”
“This world is far broader than you imagine. In your eyes, I am very powerful, but there are many people far stronger than I am,” Zhou Ya said, shaking his head.
He placed the bamboo baskets inside the courtyard, then walked toward the courtyard gate.
Qiu Dahu followed closely behind and asked, “Master, do you have enemies? When we finish training our martial arts, we’ll help you take revenge!”