Chapter 654

He swept over a hilltop and landed on the summit. Gazing at the lush scenery all around, his heart felt tranquil: 'I will train here. The mountaintop brings one closer to nature and also closer to the truth of the Dao.'

After casually building a rain‑shelter thatch hut, he sat cross‑legged on the ground, his mind solely on breaking through.

Old Huang gave him one year; in fact, that one‑year limit was also set by himself. One year, both long and short.

Closing his eyes, the Nine Grade Dao Technique flowed as if engraved in his mind, operating effortlessly.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth slowly gathered, like white mist being slowly absorbed by him. All his acupoints opened wide, as if countless streams of spiritual qi poured in.

His white brocade robe fluttered in the wind, making him seem to merge with the clouds and mist, and to be tightly bound to nature.

The air was filled with a fresh scent, as if a light drizzle hovered. Yet the speed of his Dao technique's circulation kept increasing: 'My true qi is steady; I still have a chance to break through.'

The opportunity, he had long possessed. Cultivation is a tedious affair; he finally understood why some disciples in the martial world cannot endure loneliness—because cultivation itself is tedious and boring.

Strands of spiritual qi were refined and transformed into true qi, flowing through the meridians once before returning to the dantian. He felt his muscles and bones brimming with power, as if every cell contained explosive divine strength.

'Now my true qi circulates perfectly, the Eight Extraordinary Meridians are opened. Only the Ren and Du meridians remain closed. But the Heaven‑Earth Bridge is hard to penetrate; if it cannot be penetrated, even with an opportunity I cannot break through!' Ye Qin understood this in his heart.

But he also knew that once the Heaven‑Earth Bridge was penetrated, without even a thread of luck as an opportunity, breaking through would be just as difficult. Fortunately, he possessed this opportunity.

The Ren and Du meridians are hard to open, so innate martial artists are few and far between in the world. Perhaps only a few reclusive elders in hidden sects, having closed‑door training, can barely be counted as Innate Realm martial artists.

Time flies; in the cultivation world, a dream can last a thousand years. In Ye Qin's clear‑minded cultivation, half a year passed in the blink of an eye……

June slipped by quietly; on the mountaintop, where wind and rain battered and he could only subsist on dried rations and game, Ye Qin finally embarked on a new journey, for he had successfully broken through to the Innate Realm, joining the ranks of this world's top combatants.

'Innate is the pinnacle of martial arts, yet the pursuit of martial arts goes far beyond this!' Ye Qin realized clearly; his path had become clear.

It took a full six months for him to complete the breakthrough. Adding the time previously spent searching for secret manuals, a total of seven months have passed—time truly is merciless.

Standing on the hilltop, Ye Qin could clearly feel a powerful force surging within his body.

Even if an Innate Realm martial artist stood before him, he had confidence he could easily defeat, even slay, them.

'The Innate Realm is indeed a powerful realm. The world's five absolutes, the Shaolin Temple's Dharma‑image Zen master, and the Daoist Ling Lin‑su are all at this level, but compared to me, they are nothing to fear.'

This confidence stems from his mastery of two great sword techniques, which he can wield with ease in both attack and defense.

Moreover, his Sunset Palm's power increased greatly after breaking through to the Innate Realm.

'Next, I will collect the secret manuals of the other Daoist sects into the Vajra Bracelet. This is not only to optimize techniques and boost strength, but also to let the Vajra Bracelet absorb more primordial power, for that too is a form of energy.'

The Daoist sect—he never intended to let it go. A few months earlier, officials such as Jia Shidao and Shi Mi yuan were repeatedly assassinated by an assassin organization; they all died, and the plot against him had not even been launched. He had learned of this long ago through the Imperial City Office's intelligence system.

Besides that, the Jin people have been destroyed. With the steppe armies as the main force and the Southern Song troops as support, they finally annihilated the Jin state a month ago, slaying countless Jin people.

'Now that the great turmoil has just settled, it is the perfect time for me to visit each Daoist sect. Anyway, I don't need to take their secret manuals; I only need to obtain the primordial power from them. That way, I can both acquire the manuals and gain the primordial power, although most of it is absorbed by the Vajra Bracelet.'

The Daoist sect's foundation is deeper than that of the Buddhist sect, merely they keep a lower profile than the Buddhists.

But correspondingly, their collection of secret manuals is even richer.

Even Shaolin Temple possesses so many secret manuals, let alone a Daoist sect that has been passed down for a thousand years.

The various Daoist schools check and balance each other; the Orthodox Unity Dao's Zhang clan, Dragon Tiger Mountain, Mount Geshan, and other Daoist factions openly and covertly struggle, each fearing the other would grow too strong.

Ye Qin naturally would first pick the soft targets—whichever sect is weakest, he would visit first.

Over the next few months, some Daoist sects noticed his movements, while others remained completely unaware. Even those who knew someone had visited their treasured scripture depot, upon finding the manuals untouched, felt relieved.

From the Divine Heaven Sect to Mount Geshan, then to Dragon Tiger Mountain and the Orthodox Unity Dao, every Daoist sect was visited by him.

Even the Pure Yang Observatory beyond the frontier could not escape his 'visit'.

Elder Morning Yang and Elder Positive Yang were both slain by a single sword of his; now only the aged Elder Evening Yang remains.

By this point, the secret manuals of all Daoist sects had been scavenged clean by him; although not completely emptied, hardly any remained.

'Now only the Western Regions Esoteric Buddhist Sect remains.' Ye Qin's eyes were sharp, a cold light flashing. The Vajra Dharma King, who originally came from the Esoteric Buddhism, was a mighty being of Perfected Acquired Realm.

Thinking of this, he murmured softly: 'The Western Regions Esoteric Buddhism is most closely tied to the Vajra Sect. Let's go to the Vajra Sect first.'

Half a month later, the Vajra Sect's secret manuals were swept clean and all burned.

Two months later, all the Esoteric Buddhism's secret manuals suffered the same fate. Several senior monks also died; it can be said the losses were severe.

Thus, the secret manuals of the world were nearly all scavenged by him. However, the Vajra Bracelet's method of collecting manuals is peculiar: once he touches a manual, its primordial power is drawn away.

Although he still does not understand the principle behind it, he believes the Vajra Bracelet will not harm him.

Standing on Xiangyang's city wall, Ye Qin glanced faintly at the distant road leading to the grasslands and murmured: 'After the trip to Peach Blossom Island ends, the affairs on the grasslands should also be settled.'

The strength of the Innate Realm exceeds what he imagined. Although venturing alone deep into the grasslands carries some danger, he does not mind: 'I have many trump cards; ensuring safety should be enough.' If worse comes to worst, he would simply leave this world.

Of course, the Peach Blossom Island trip must be perfectly resolved; otherwise he could not go to the grasslands to seek the Great Khan.

'Now I have ransacked the world's secret manuals; whether Buddhist or Daoist, I have turned them upside down. I have also destroyed many manuals, but I still lack the techniques of Peach Blossom Island.'

He smiled faintly; the one‑year deadline was approaching. Peach Blossom Island was already in his plan.

These days, he had the Imperial City Office's personnel send the martial‑arts manuals they had collected to Xiangyang, then absorb them one by one into the Vajra Bracelet, and finally reward the Imperial City Guards. It was nearly at the point of one manual per person.

Such days lasted half a month. After Ye Qin came to his senses and finished all mundane affairs, only one month remained. From now on, he only needs to rush to Peach Blossom Island; reaching it within this month will fulfill the agreement.

One person, one sword, one horse, he slowly traveled within the Song realm. This period's life was true wandering the jianghu; he encountered many bandits and those who wished to challenge him, but he settled each one, leaving them a deep impression.

He also learned that Guo Jing and Yang Kang's duel in Jiaxing ended inconclusively. One returned to the grasslands and became the Golden Blade Prince Consort, then lived in seclusion in Niujia Village; the other died miserably at the hands of Ouyang Ke. Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo also passed away, while Wanyan Honglie died beneath Mongol cavalry.

At the same time, the Quanzhen Sect announced Mountain Closure, the Iron Palm Gang began to decline, and the martial world's landscape underwent a huge change!

When passing Shaolin Temple, Ye Qin also went to see Monk Duzhen.

This chief genius of the Dharma Courtyard, upon seeing Ye Qin had already broken through to the Innate Realm, was completely stunned.

'You, you've actually reached the Innate Realm?'

A few months without seeing each other, when we met again Ye Qin had already entered the innate realm. But the acquired and innate realms are not on the same level; Ye Qin had already become innate, yet he was still at the peak of the acquired realm. He fell silent for a moment: "I originally thought we were the same, both peerless martial arts geniuses, but now I realize we are not the same."

Ye Qin nodded, gave a light smile, and said, "You're not bad either; Shaolin will surely flourish in your hands."

No matter what prejudices he had toward Buddhism, he still admired Duzhen. This person, who shouldn't have appeared, appeared because of his appearance, and is indeed strong.

Of course, the Vajra Dharma King of the Esoteric Sect is the same.

!

The three of them are all outstanding talents with a deep understanding of martial arts.

After that, I will go to the grasslands...

Before Ye Qin could finish speaking, Monk Duzhen interrupted, saying, "I happen to be waiting for you at Shaolin; let's go together. Earlier, Granduncle Dharma Aspect also said the grasslands would see changes."

"Do you know what I'm going to do?" Ye Qin frowned, curiously asking.

Monk Duzhen nodded, "Precisely because I know, that's why I want to go. That is also my idea and my granduncle's ideal; I don't want to let him down. You should understand!"

Along the eastern coastline, waves gently lapped against the reefs on the shore, occasionally a few seagulls swooped by, and the fishermen on the shore were busy fishing for a living.

"Such days are indeed pleasant." He thought to himself, if it weren't for his dream of pursuing the Dao, he would also be willing to live such a peaceful life.

He bought a small boat from the fishermen, leapt lightly, his brocade robe fluttering in the wind, and landed steadily on the boat.

He tapped his toes, true qi surged, and the boat slowly drifted away from the shore without wind or oars.

He had already asked clearly about the direction to Peach Blossom Island; now he only needed to wait for the boat to proceed.

He stood on the boat with his hands behind his back, gazing at the boundless sea, unable to help but feel dazed, "Old Huang, just how does he get in and out of Peach Blossom Island? If we encounter waves, wouldn't this small boat capsize?"

But now the sea surface was calm as a mirror; he urged his true qi, and the boat shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, its speed astonishing.

Even on the waves, the boat moved as if on level ground, and in the blink of an eye it had traveled far.

Suddenly, a layer of thick fog rose on the sea surface.

A vast white fog instantly enveloped the entire sea surface, at least as far as Ye Qin could see.

"Fog's coming up." Ye Qin secretly frowned; in this situation he dared not continue forward, who knows if he'd get lost or encounter a storm.

If he were to lose his way, not reaching Peach Blossom Island but drifting to the other end of the sea, or encountering a wave storm and being cast onto a deserted island, that would be terrible.

Moreover, Ye Qin knew the small boat beneath his feet was merely a fisherman's fishing boat, small in size, and in the fog it was easy to capsize: "One careless move, and I might have to swim to Peach Blossom Island."

He secretly frowned, but fortunately there was no strong wind or big waves, and he also had a homemade simple compass in his pocket, so he didn't need to worry about getting lost.

The vast white fog lingered without dispersing; with his innate realm eyesight, he could actually see only a few meters around.

This fog came about strangely; I don't know how long it lasted before clearing. When the white fog finally dissipated, Ye Qin looked around and discovered he was far from the shore: "A push of the waves, and I drifted here—where am I?"

He was somewhat dazed.

Looking ahead, he saw only the sea sparkling with light, boundless; "Good thing I have a compass, even if it's simple, it still works."

At least he wouldn't get lost on this vast sea.

He pondered a moment, recalling that the white fog had blanketed the area for about half an hour, guessing he shouldn't have drifted too far: "Fog at sea is a natural phenomenon, but I have a chance to get out."

Now the sea is calm; as long as he discerns the direction, he'll be fine.

"Huh?"

He suddenly caught sight of a large ship over ten meters long not far away on the sea, and couldn't help but startle: "Whose big ship is this? It's heading the same way as me—could it be a coincidence?"

But soon he shook his head, thinking to himself: "There's no flag on the ship, indicating it's not a vessel of the court or any political power. Buddhist and Daoist sects are impossible; they're busy with their own affairs. Among the martial world sects, few have such strength."

Right, how did I forget them? The Old Poison and Little Poison of the White Camel Villa in the Western Regions have such strength, and Little Poison has even met Rong'er; perhaps Old Poison intends to bring him to Peach Blossom Island to propose a marriage.

When they first met on the official road, Little Poison behaved unusually; he has reason to suspect that Ouyang Ke went back and summoned Ouyang Feng, intending to go to Peach Blossom Island to propose.

Thinking of this, Ye Qin's face darkened: "Old Poison is one of the Five Absolutes, a veteran innate realm expert, and he has some acquaintance with Old Huang. If they beat us to the proposal, Old Huang might actually agree inexplicably."

He couldn't fathom Old Huang's thoughts.

"I can't control his thoughts, but I can keep you from reaching Peach Blossom Island!" If the people on the ship really are Old Poison and Little Poison, he will by no means be polite, after all he is now an innate realm cultivator.

Moreover, Little Poison is trying to steal his wife.

"Let's get closer to see!" Having made up his mind, Ye Qin urged the boat to approach; whether it's the White Camel Villa's ship, we'll know soon. (End of chapter)