The birthday banquet was not until evening, leaving several hours free. After the incident with Su Furong, Xu Ziqing had lost all interest in admiring the scenery. Instead, he thought it would be far more pleasant to find somewhere quiet and cultivate with his senior brother.
Yun Lie had known this junior brother for many years. Though they were not of one mind and body, their mutual understanding was exceptionally deep. He did not refuse, merely nodded and extended his spiritual sense in search of a peaceful place.
Before long they found a secluded bamboo grove on a mountainside beyond the sea of flowers. The bamboo swayed gently, but there was plenty of open space among the stalks.
When the wind rose, green bamboo leaves rustled down, lending the place a particularly refined tranquility.
Finding it agreeable, Xu Ziqing was just considering which move to practice first when he heard something whistle toward him from behind. It came very quickly, but carried no killing aura.
He reached up beside his neck and caught the object. It was a little jade bottle.
Turning around, Xu Ziqing opened the bottle. A concentrated medicinal fragrance emerged, revealing that it contained pills. When he poured one out to examine it, he saw that they were each the size of a longan fruit, milky white and shimmering with light.
Judging by their quality, they were upper-grade One-Origin Pills, particularly effective at replenishing true essence.
Yun Lie spoke. “You expended an enormous amount of true essence earlier. You should replenish it.”
Xu Ziqing did not stand on ceremony. He swallowed a pill and sat down cross-legged, swiftly circulating his cultivation method.
A surging current of heat immediately rushed down his throat and into his dantian. The medicine was more intense than many pills he had taken, but he knew that upper-grade pills were already comparatively gentle. Had he swallowed a lower-quality one, the true essence might have surged painfully through his body and been difficult to control.
The medicinal energy entered his dantian, and within three to five breaths it felt full again, a clear sign that his true essence had recovered. The remaining medicinal energy flowed through his limbs and meridians before transforming into a faint warm vapor, filling the dryness left in his channels.
Xu Ziqing marveled inwardly at the One-Origin Pill’s effectiveness. He opened his eyes and offered the bottle back. “Thank you, Senior Brother. My strength has been completely restored.”
Yun Lie did not take it. “It is of no use to me. Keep it.”
Xu Ziqing smiled and put it away. He already possessed a bottle of his own, but had left it in his cave abode. He naturally treasured this further gesture of care from his senior brother.
Then he asked, “Will Senior Brother exchange moves with me now?”
Yun Lie nodded faintly and raised a finger. A beam of sword qi shot out, brushing past Xu Ziqing’s ear and stirring a strand of his hair.
Xu Ziqing sensed the attack immediately and tilted his head aside. Otherwise it would have struck his cheek rather than passed his ear.
“Senior Brother, you…” Xu Ziqing sighed. “…You certainly waste no time.”
As he spoke, his brow stirred and a thread of green light emerged. The Qingyun Needle flew directly toward Yun Lie’s face.
It was only fair to return the attack.
Yun Lie remained standing still, moving only one finger.
Sword qi sprang from his fingertip like arrows released from a bow, hissing through the air. Each beam collided precisely with the Qingyun Needle. Even when the needle shattered one, Yun Lie sent out another without hesitation.
Surrounded by sword qi, Xu Ziqing naturally understood his senior brother’s intention.
They were exchanging practice moves so that he could become more proficient in using his own techniques.
Ever since Xu Ziqing had comprehended the embryonic divine ability of the Qingyun Needle during the tournament, he had gradually acquired a combat technique that was truly his own. The Four Seasons Sword Art and the way of talismans had become auxiliary methods; many of their essential principles were already incorporated into the Qingyun Needle.
The needle itself was his strongest trump card and his first embryonic divine ability. He ought to set the lesser paths aside and devote himself to perfecting this divine ability. That was his proper road.
Yun Lie’s “exchange of moves” therefore consisted of releasing sword qi at varying levels of force for the Qingyun Needle to resist. The strength of the sword qi gradually increased, tempering the needle still further.
Thus this was hardly a genuine duel, merely Yun Lie practicing with his junior brother. It benefited Yun Lie little, but Xu Ziqing gained a great deal.
They trained for a full two shichen, or four hours. Yun Lie’s sword qi grew progressively more concentrated, approaching the level of sword astral qi, while the killing aura surrounding Xu Ziqing’s Qingyun Needle became increasingly chilling.
At last Yun Lie suddenly stopped. Startled, Xu Ziqing let the needle hover motionless. “Senior Brother, what is it?”
“Your strength is failing. You must not continue.”
Only then did Xu Ziqing realize that his limbs felt weak and his dantian was even more depleted. He smiled ruefully and drew the Qingyun Needle back. Looking at Yun Lie, whose vitality remained full and who seemed not to have expended anything at all, he sighed inwardly. When would he accumulate a foundation as profound as his senior brother’s? The farther he advanced, the more shallow his own abilities seemed and the harder the Heavenly Dao appeared to attain.
He needed no further reminder. Xu Ziqing swallowed another One-Origin Pill, meditated and restored his true essence. When he opened his eyes, he could sense that his bond with the Qingyun Needle had deepened and that its power seemed somewhat more harmonious. This reassured him.
After a moment’s consideration, he asked curiously, “I believe divine abilities and sword intent have certain similarities. What does Senior Brother think?”
Yun Lie sat opposite him and answered, “Both arise from comprehension and give form to the formless. Naturally they are related.”
Xu Ziqing brightened. “Then please guide me, Senior Brother.”
Yun Lie considered briefly. At a thought, the surrounding bamboo grove trembled.
A single bamboo leaf drifted downward, passing between them.
In the next moment, golden light flashed through Yun Lie’s eyes.
Swish!
With a faint sound, the bamboo leaf was severed through its middle, falling in two pieces.
Yun Lie said, “Sword intent is sharp. It may be minute or vast. When minute, it is precise; when vast, it is fierce.”
When sword intent was expansive, its might was unstoppable. In the earlier tournament, Yun Lie had swept more than ten perfected ones from the stage with a single strike. Now he was using sword intent with the finest precision, dividing a falling bamboo leaf through will alone.
Another several dozen bamboo leaves fell.
Yun Lie remained still. Golden light flickered in his eyes, and every leaf was split cleanly in two. On close inspection, every cut was identical, severing each leaf in precisely the same place.
Then Yun Lie opened his eyes more widely. Sword intent pierced another bamboo leaf, causing it to burst into fine powder.
Xu Ziqing watched, and green light flashed in his own eyes.
The Qingyun Needle shot through the air and pierced the remaining leaves.
But they were not neatly cut apart. Instead they burst into countless fragments.
Xu Ziqing discovered that the effect of his Qingyun Needle resembled what Yun Lie had just achieved with sword intent. Yet using it was far less effortless, and his control was nowhere near as precise.
He finally understood what Yun Lie was trying to teach him: control over the divine ability he himself had comprehended.
Yun Lie could adjust his sword intent from vast to minute without wasting the slightest trace of power. He wielded it with such ease that whatever effect he wished to produce, he could produce exactly. His control was truly astonishing.
Xu Ziqing was not capable of that. Although the Qingyun Needle had taken its rudimentary shape, whenever he released it, power spilled in every direction. He could not control its force precisely at all.
Yun Lie was showing him that even a divine ability born from his own flesh and blood was not necessarily mastered. He still had a long way to go in controlling its power.
He also understood that if he could attain Yun Lie’s level of control over the Qingyun Needle, he would not only save enormous quantities of true essence in future battles, but gradually discover any flaws in the technique as he practiced it.
Enlightened, Xu Ziqing smiled and recalled the needle.
He swayed slightly, then stood atop the highest point of a bamboo stalk.
Releasing his spiritual sense, he searched every corner of the bamboo grove. Soon his body became a green shadow, darting through the stalks.
After about two breaths, he floated down and landed opposite Yun Lie.
Xu Ziqing opened his palm, revealing numerous pale green bamboo seeds, translucent and lovely.
He smiled. “I’ll make this bamboo one of my subordinate woods and plant it on the mountain. Then Senior Brother and I can practice using its leaves together whenever we wish.”
Yun Lie replied, “This is Kongqing Bamboo, rich in wood qi. It will suit your needs.”
Xu Ziqing’s smile deepened. “Then Ziqing thanks Senior Brother for making this possible.”
Mastering the Qingyun Needle with bamboo leaves would take far more than a few hours in this grove. Having made his decision, Xu Ziqing happily put away the seeds and set the matter aside for now.
Yun Lie, however, looked toward his hair. “How is your study of artifact refinement progressing?”
Xu Ziqing paused. He followed Yun Lie’s gaze with his right hand and touched something hard and cool: the bamboo tube holding his hair in place. He removed it.
The tube was pale green and softly luminous, resembling a piece of green jade. It had accompanied him for years, having been Yun Lie’s first gift to him when they met.
Xu Ziqing gently rubbed it between his fingers and smiled. “Senior Brother is right to remind me. I’ve learned some basic artifact-refining methods, so I should take the opportunity to refine it.”
The bamboo tube could clear the heart and calm the mind. When Xu Ziqing’s state of mind had once been unstable, it helped him through several crises. But because it had never been refined for his own use, it could assist only in moments of extreme danger and could not be activated at will.
Seeing that he understood, Yun Lie said, “We will remain here several days, surrounded by people of every sort. If you keep this object with you, it can help stabilize your Dao heart.”
Xu Ziqing grew solemn. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
He had intended to improve his artifact-refining skills before working on the tube, but circumstances no longer allowed him to wait. Better to perform an initial refinement now and nurture it more thoroughly later.
Once the bamboo tube was refined, and provided he remained vigilant, he would have better protection when facing the Pure Maiden Envoys and others like them.
Having decided, Xu Ziqing wasted no more words and sat cross-legged.
He drew out a talisman and ignited it with a shake of his hand. He then breathed a mouthful of green qi onto it, making the flames blaze brightly and become a mass of green fire suspended in midair.
Next he lifted the bamboo tube with his spiritual power and pointed a finger. It flew straight into the green flames.