Chapter 44

Soon Zhang Jian brought Tianxu Daoren away from the Iron Immortal Temple, and when Qi Yi arrived afterwards, the Iron Immortal Temple was left in utter disarray.

Here blood flowed like rivers, all disciples of the Iron Immortal Temple died in battle, while the temple's abbot, Tianxu Daoren, was missing.

Such a change left Qi Yi speechless for a long time.

He merely looked pained and regretful.

……

Zhang Jian brought Tianxu Daoren to the temporary cottage in front of Lock Dragon Dam.

Soon after, the two left the cottage in large strides; Tianxu Daoren concealed his traces and went straight out of the prefecture city. This time the Iron Immortal Temple was attacked, and many of its disciples perished at the hands of three demons. Tianxu Daoren could not calm his anger, especially after hearing the news from the Black Tiger Demon's mouth—that those three demons approaching the temple might be linked to certain entities within the city.

Tianxu Daoren could not swallow this anger and prepared to investigate secretly.

Zhang Jian also obtained some of the information he wanted from Tianxu Daoren's mouth, but he actually wanted more to communicate with the practitioners affiliated with Tai Xu Daoren.

He harbored doubts about many cultivation matters; this was not good for him, but instead the doubts piled up in his heart, leaving him unable to vent.

For example, what is the Life Palace, and how can one chart it?

The next step after the Nourishing Spirit Stage is to chart the Life Palace, to confirm that one's Life Pillar fundamentally achieves the supreme Dao Foundation through it; he has not yet given it any thought.

It's just a pity that the Iron Immortal Temple's inheritance is also not complete, and Zhang Jian hasn't gained much from it.

Tianxu Lao Dao also spent decades polishing himself in the Nourishing Spirit Stage; now he can only rely on painstaking effort, continually honing his spiritual power, hoping to seize an opportunity to glimpse his own Life Palace and forge his Dao Foundation within the line of heavenly mystery.

Besides this, Zhang Jian also gained extra harvest; after expressing his great interest in the Iron Immortal Temple's Flying Sword Technique, Tianxu Daoren gladly bestowed this Dao art upon him as thanks for saving his life.

At this moment Zhang Jian held a short sword in his hand; this Flying Sword Technique was what Tianxu Daoren comprehended from that short sword.

This object is also a treasured heirloom of the Iron Immortal Temple.

At this time the short sword was covered densely with script—ancient gold script—which Zhang Jian happened to recognize.

"Not fake!"

After careful study, Zhang Jian knew this thing was absolutely not a counterfeit.

But after studying it a bit, Zhang Jian furrowed his brow—the Flying Sword Technique demands a high foundation: one must first have some swordsmanship basis before being able to execute it.

Currently he lacks any swordsmanship foundation, meaning he must start from scratch.

But looking further down, Zhang Jian's eyes lit up—he still saw a glimmer of hope.

This Flying Sword Technique, like the Minor Wind and Thunder Technique, can be split into two directions: one is the Lung Metal Sword Talisman, the other is the Sun and Moon Sword Manual.

One is internal: by condensing lung-metal qi to nurture the talisman, once this talisman cultivation succeeds, it can burst forth sword qi, cutting gold and slicing iron, extremely sharp.

The other is external: gathering sun-and-moon spirit to cultivate the Sun and Moon Sword Technique; combined, this technique makes close combat unmatched.

When internal and external are united, only then can one nurture a sword embryo to achieve the Flying Sword Technique.

Setting aside the Sun and Moon Sword Technique for now, the Lung Metal Sword Talisman can be tried.

If this method is cultivated successfully, thousands of talismans will fly out, transforming into thousands of sword qi that shower down—equally extremely sharp.

Zhang Jian felt very interested, even believing this could effectively compensate for his deficiency in close combat.

Zhang Jian had long wanted to complete the Myriad Trees Technique from the Nine Chapters of the Pure Clarity of Paulownia Mountain, but progress had been mediocre; now that he has the Flying Sword Technique, it is a great supplement to his lacking defensive techniques.

After all, if one's attack power is strong enough, it can to some extent make up for the gaps caused by deficient defensive techniques.

Moreover, the Walking Thunder Technique must not be neglected; the Flying Sword Technique can complement Thunder Method, to some extent avoiding the flaw of a single attack style being easily countered!

Zhang Jian secretly rejoiced.

However, in Zhang Jian's cultivation plan, the Minor Wind and Thunder Technique remains first, followed by the Lung Metal Sword Talisman, the Sun and Moon Sword Technique, and the Purifying Soul Dharma Chant.

Of course, one's own spiritual power is the foundation; Zhang Jian cannot neglect it.

Time was arranged very tightly.

Zhang Jian felt some regret.

Actually, cultivators are the true masters of time management; to complete so many items one by one, especially as a long-term process, indeed requires a lot of time.

This is still because his talent differs from the ordinary; if it were otherwise, an ordinary mortal stepping onto the path of the Great Dao would likely find himself struggling to make ends meet, and thus fade into obscurity.

……

Three days later, the front gate of the Qi Manor was bustling like a market.

The long-awaited sixtieth birthday of Third-rank General Wei Yuan Qi Yi finally arrived, and the eyes of all of Fengyang Prefecture turned toward this area east of the city.

Yet inside the manor, while the cutthroat competition was underway, many sons and daughters, nephews, sons-in-law, and numerous relatives of the Qi family gathered together, and the birthday rites had already begun.

The Great Qian dynasty placed great importance on the ceremony of a grand longevity; since ancient times there have been the Five Blessings: first, longevity; second, fortune; third, health and tranquility; fourth, love of virtue; fifth, a good end to life. Longevity ranks first among the Five Blessings and has always been highly valued.

And the most important part is the birthday rites, in which descendants must present generous gifts, while relatives and friends also need to give offerings.

At this moment, in the central hall of the Qi Manor, Qi Yi and the old lady were both dressed in red and colorful attire, their faces smiling happily with joy.

And a graceful noble lady had already taken the stage; at this moment she beamed, while beside her several handsome young boys each presented a gift box.

Moreover, a tall young gentleman with a smiling face, dressed in silk‑tanned brocade, appeared graceful and elegant.

This maternal uncle-by-marriage, however, came from the household of noble aristocrats in Haojing.

Father's grand birthday; the daughter rushed over, only just managing to prepare a modest gift. This is the birthday present Zhiyun prepared for his father—a white jade ruyi, which symbolizes auspiciousness. The child and spouse wish the father, mother auspicious fortune and longevity, and that the Qi clan flourish generation after generation, prosperous.

She paused slightly, and the eldest daughter of the Qi family revealed a faint smile on her face. She looked toward the elderly lady and said:

Besides that, Zhiyun knows Mother loves certain snacks, so he specially had people prepare the fresh dates of Yangzhou Commandery, the fresh tea of Dongling Commandery, the golden carp of Jixian Commandery, the roasted beef of Jiuqu Commandery, and also the bean paste of Shu Commandery…

Inside the hall, upon hearing this, the many relatives and friends all turned their gazes toward this couple.

Although each gift he mentioned is not priceless, they are still rare treasures, and what is even rarer is this thoughtfulness.

Zhang Jian was among the crowd; he could sense that as this great aunt walked over slowly, everyone's gaze toward her obviously changed markedly, and he noticed that many uncles' faces had fallen.

Qi Yi and the elderly lady, Lady Qian of the Qi family, gazed at this great aunt, their eyes full of endless satisfaction.

Next came a tall, slender lady who stepped forward—this was the second aunt of the Qi household, and this aunt was clearly hot-tempered.

She also came alone, merely accompanied by a young lady.

That was the Wu family's cousin, Wu Qing'an.

「Father, Mother, I know that after Father retired from the army, he liked some flowers and plants, so I specially had my husband personally invite friends to also collect some rare flowers and grasses, hoping Father would like them. Here we have the imperial peony of Constant Prefecture, also the thousand-year imperial chrysanthemum of the Northern Wasteland, and moreover various rare flowers and grasses from the depths of the barbarian wilds, the most special being two stalks of ageless pine。」

These two were personally sought out by my husband and me from famous historic sites.

These two ageless pines are one zhang eight tall, and we two only wish that the elders' longevity be like the green mountains and the ageless pine, and their blessings like the endless flow of the Eastern Sea!

At that moment outside, sturdy servants carried forward two huge pine trees, and those rare flowers and grasses filled the outer courtyard, merely wilted somewhat in the sunshine.

Zhang Jian watched this scene, especially on the two zhang-tall pine trees, he actually sensed threads of spiritual energy fluctuations.

His eyes flickered, he then glanced over others' expressions, secretly shook his head—this is really too involuted.

This leaves the other aunts with no way to step down, and he can see that many aunts and uncles' faces have already turned ugly.

The third one is that it's now the turn of the third-ranked Zhang Qi clan to come calling.

That is his mother.