On the cold, silent summit, a streak of golden sword-light suddenly pierced the air with a sharp whoosh, flying toward the west.
At the same instant, a yellow talisman shot out, quickly caught up with the sword-light, and collided with it, bursting into scarlet flame.
Boom!
After the violent explosion, the sword-light shattered and the flames dispersed.
Another streak of sword-light flew toward the southeast. This time, a yellow talisman struck it and erupted into violet lightning, reducing the sword-light to smoke in an instant.
Then two streaks of sword-light flew east, met by two columns of water; five streaks flew north, colliding with five strands of sharp metal qi!
Back and forth, innumerable talismans exploded, filling the entire summit with clouds of smoke. The sword-lights crossed and overlapped in bewildering patterns. Their directions, trajectories, and speeds changed constantly, enough to send chills down the spine of anyone watching.
This continued for half a shichen, roughly one hour, before the sword-lights ceased appearing in the air and the talismans finally stopped flying.
The summit fell silent again, except for the sound of someone breathing lightly.
A green-robed youth stood with a yellow talisman still pinched between his fingers. He leaned weakly against his knees, sweat pouring down his face.
“Using talismans in battle really does consume a great deal of energy…” After a while, he wiped away his sweat and looked to his right. “Senior Brother Yun, was there anything wrong with what I just did?”
Some ten feet away on the right, a white-robed man sat upon a large boulder. Sword qi revolved around his body, and a faint golden radiance flickered at his fingertips. Evidently, he had been the one launching the sword-lights.
Hearing the question, he nodded slightly. “You’ve practiced for only two days. Being able to keep up with sword-light containing twenty percent of my strength is not bad.”
These two were naturally the fellow disciples Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie, training together.
Xu Ziqing was a little disappointed. “Only twenty percent…?”
He did not expect to match his senior brother already, but he could not help feeling disheartened that he could only handle sword-light even after Yun Lie had restrained so much of his strength.
Then he rallied. His senior brother was always strict. Since Yun Lie said he had done reasonably well, it could hardly have been too poor. After all, he had only just begun practicing these techniques. With further training, he ought to improve.
Having thought this through, Xu Ziqing felt reassured.
He immediately sat cross-legged, circulated his cultivation method, and replenished his true essence. Then he swept a hand over his storage ring, and an ancient book appeared before him.
The book was entirely black, seemingly made from a kind of extremely ancient wood. It had a simple, archaic appearance. At the same time, it resembled a metallic object, heavy in the hand and giving off a clear ringing sound when touched.
It was the Comprehensive Principles of Talisman Patterns that he had recently acquired.
Skipping over the earlier section on ordinary talismans, Xu Ziqing turned directly to the later section on spirit talismans. This section undoubtedly described the widest variety.
His eyes fell upon Five Elements Talismans, one of the types he had just used against his senior brother Yun Lie. They were lower-grade spirit talismans, each bearing five spiritual patterns. The five patterns represented the arts of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. None was an especially remarkable technique in its own right, but if several talismans were released in succession, the user could switch freely among those different powers, making them exceptionally versatile.
Next, he examined a Heavenly Thunder Talisman. This was a middle-grade spirit talisman that could release a bolt of lightning. Wherever that lightning struck, the ground would be scorched as though blasted by heavenly thunder. Its power was tremendous. Another was the Explosive Fire Talisman, also middle-grade, which could produce an enormous pillar of flame. Its fire qi was extremely fierce, and anything it ignited was difficult to extinguish.
These were the three types of spirit talismans Xu Ziqing was presently learning to control. He had selected them carefully as his first choices because they were fairly powerful and could compensate for the excessively gentle nature of his cultivation method.
The greatest convenience of the talisman arts lay in the fact that most talismans did not demand any particular spiritual attribute from their user. Regardless of the cultivation method one practiced, as long as one formed the appropriate hand seals and activated the talisman, expending some true essence, one could release the power compressed into it according to its underlying rules.
Over the last few days, Xu Ziqing had been practicing the hand seals and learning to distinguish the principles of these various talismans.
He had already made some progress. But if he wanted to demonstrate real ability in the upcoming sect tournament, three types of spirit talismans would probably not be enough.
Thus, he continued scanning through the book for suitable spirit talismans, constantly imagining within his sea of consciousness the power that might be generated by combining the talismans he saw with his Four Seasons Sword Art.
Yun Lie closed his eyes nearby and continued tempering his sword. He offered Xu Ziqing no advice.
By now, Yun Lie had reached the point where he could enter meditation and refine his sword intent anywhere and at any time. As soon as he focused his mind, his sword intent and his very being seemed inseparable, each illuminating and strengthening the other.
Before long, an unfamiliar aura suddenly appeared on the summit, where only the two of them had been.
Xu Ziqing immediately looked up, and Yun Lie opened his eyes. Both turned toward the approaching presence.
A youth dressed in gray stood there respectfully, plainly unwilling to act presumptuously.
Xu Ziqing knew that the youth was ordinarily very cautious. After watching Yun Lie practice swordsmanship earlier, he had withdrawn of his own accord rather than disturb the two fellow disciples. Unless something truly important had happened, he would never have come up uninvited.
Xu Ziqing therefore spoke first. “Yan Shuang, is something the matter?”
Yan Shuang had served at Little Slaughter Peak for some time and already understood that its master was sparing with words. He knew that, in ordinary circumstances, the master’s junior brother could also speak on the master’s behalf.
He immediately reported, “Immortal Master Xu, someone at the foot of the mountain is requesting an audience with the Peak Master.”
Xu Ziqing was surprised. “Someone wants to see Senior Brother?” He turned toward Yun Lie. Since the visitor had asked for his senior brother, Xu Ziqing naturally could not make the decision himself.
Yun Lie glanced at Yan Shuang. “Who?”
Yan Shuang answered respectfully, “That senior gave his name as Luo Yao. He said that he came to visit Immortal Master Xu.”
This surprised Xu Ziqing even more. “He asked to see Senior Brother, but the person he wants to visit is me?”
Yan Shuang bowed his head. “That is correct.”
Xu Ziqing looked at Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, I don’t know this person.”
Yun Lie replied, “Bring him to the summit.”
Yan Shuang answered, “Yes,” then turned and left.
Xu Ziqing continued searching his memory, but could not recall anyone by that name. After a while, he suddenly exclaimed softly, “Could it be him?” Then he raised his head and told Yun Lie, “Senior Brother Yun, when I exchanged merit points for Comprehensive Principles of Talisman Patterns at the Heavenly Works Pavilion, the servant assisting me argued with another servant. They seemed to mention a Fellow Daoist surnamed Luo who also wanted that book very badly. Could it be the same person?”
Yun Lie said, “You will know when you meet him.”
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing stopped speculating and smiled. “I understand.”
After waiting about half the time it took an incense stick to burn, they faintly sensed an unfamiliar aura approaching.
Before long, a figure appeared near the entrance to the summit and gradually drew closer.
Xu Ziqing was curious about this cultivator surnamed Luo. He looked in that direction and waited for the man to emerge.
After delivering the visitor, Yan Shuang promptly withdrew.
Luo Yao stood where he was, facing Xu Ziqing from a distance, and called out clearly, “Luo Yao of the Disciples’ Residence requests an audience with the Peak Master of Little Slaughter Peak and Fellow Daoist Xu Ziqing!”
His voice was exceptionally bright and clear, like the pure call of a young phoenix, melodious and pleasant to the ear.
People often said that one’s appearance reflected one’s heart. In truth, something of a person’s temperament could also be discerned from the voice.
Before Xu Ziqing had even seen Luo Yao’s face clearly, he had heard his voice and already formed a somewhat favorable impression.
Yun Lie remained silent, apparently leaving the matter for Xu Ziqing to handle.
Xu Ziqing raised his voice in return. “Fellow Daoist Luo, please come over and speak with us.”
His voice remained gentle even when he spoke loudly, and it did not irritate the listener. In ordinary conversation, his manner felt like a warm spring breeze, putting people naturally at ease.
Hearing Xu Ziqing’s voice, Luo Yao paused in surprise, then started forward and walked closer.
As he approached, he was finally able to see the summit clearly.
Sword qi filled the entire place. The moment he set foot upon it, an icy chill enveloped his body, and he felt an extreme cold rising from the depths of his heart. It was as though every inch of his skin were being sliced apart by sword qi, as though his body were about to disintegrate. The bitter cold made his heart and pupils contract in alarm.
Luo Yao knew that this was because the aura at the summit was far too terrifying. The killing intent everywhere seemed bent on breaking through his skin, invading his blood, shattering his Dao Heart, and entering his limbs and bones until he became a demonic creature that knew nothing but slaughter!
He had barely set foot on Little Slaughter Peak’s summit, yet the conception suffusing the place was already influencing him!
Luo Yao took several deep breaths in succession, barely managing to suppress the sensation.
Then he looked toward the person responsible for it.
The man radiated icy cold from head to foot. Luo Yao could perceive not a trace of human emotion in him, as though every feeling had been frozen. The mere sight of him inspired fear.
He seemed like a sharp sword wrapped in limitless killing intent. Though the blade appeared to be sheathed, the slaughter it carried was so heavy that no one could ignore the trembling dread it inspired.
But Luo Yao knew the voice he had heard earlier could not possibly have come from that man.
He therefore shifted his gaze to the left.
There was, in fact, another person on the summit besides the man who was cold as a sword.
This was a youth dressed in green, handsome and refined, with gentle brows and eyes. He sat cross-legged on the ground, looking toward the visitor with a questioning gaze and a smile at his lips. He seemed approachable.
His aura was peaceful and filled with the warmth of life, the very opposite of the other man’s. Yet precisely because he was here, the summit, otherwise like a frozen cavern of death, possessed a trace of vitality.
Before coming, Luo Yao had made inquiries. He knew that the Peak Master of Little Slaughter Peak was an extraordinary genius ranked fifth on the Heavenly Dragon List, outstanding even among Golden Core Perfected Ones, and a sword cultivator who practiced the Merciless Slaughter Sword Dao.
Then could this youth be Xu Ziqing, the sole personal junior brother said to have helped that man achieve Golden Core?