Chapter 58

That night, it was around the Hour of the Ox.

The door curtain of the Qian Shen Studio was hung, but Bai Gou did not guard the door.

Inside the studio, Bai Gou sat on the ground with his hind legs, his front legs standing, his head held high, and a talisman arrow blank held horizontally in his mouth.

Sparks occasionally emerged from the arrow blank. Looking at the source of the sparks, it was actually the tip of a treasure sword over three feet long, engraving restrictions onto the tiny, thin-shelled arrow casing!

The long sword was like a brush, the arrow casing like paper, moving with the speed of a dragon and snake.

As the long sword swayed, cold light shot in all directions, and sparks flew where the sword tip landed on the arrow casing.

It was unclear whether the owner of this sword was practicing restriction techniques or sword techniques.

Bai Gou did not know; he thought his master was playing a game with him. His simple, large head remained motionless, his soft, pink nose puffed in and out, and his tail wagged happily, slapping against the ground with a *pop-pop* sound, drowning out the noise of the engraving.

Four feet away, Cheng Yunqi stood tall and upright, like a pine or bamboo. His body remained still, his right arm straightened, and he relied on the rotation of his wrist to dance the sword tip into a cluster of white flowers.

He was engraving restrictions while simultaneously practicing his swordsmanship.

And just at this moment, on this winter night, a flash of inspiration naturally burst into his mind.

In the future, if one were to find a magic sword, use the sword as a brush, magic power as ink, and the void as paper, drawing a talisman in mid-air—or even, when magic power was abundant, having sword Qi span a thousand miles, forming a talisman in the sky from a thousand miles away—would that not be beautiful?

His thoughts surged, but his hands remained steady until he had finished carving the talisman arrows to be sold tomorrow.

Afterward, he lifted the door curtain and walked outside the window.

At this time, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the ground was covered in white snow. The white snow reflected the moonlight, seeming to glow itself. The fusion of moonlight and snow light made the night not so pitch black.

The snow in the sky still fell lightly, dyeing the green leaves white as it landed on tree branches, and dyeing the yellow earth white as it landed on the ground. Only when it landed in the river did it disappear, instead making the small river appear deep and black in the night.

The snow was too light and thin, landing without a sound. Even if it fell ceaselessly like this, painting the green mountains and clear waters into white mountains and black waters, the process was so silent, without making a single sound. Often, it was only after a night had passed that people would open their eyes and suddenly discover:

Oh! The snow layer has thickened again.

But often, after a few more days like this, on a certain night, just like tonight,

"Crack!"

One did not know which tree branch, unable to bear the weight, was snapped by the snow and fell to the ground, making a loud noise that startled those resting. People might then suddenly discover:

The snow falls so continuously, and the snow after such continuity can be so heavy!

Cheng Yunqi watched quietly for a long while, watching the lightness of the snow, the heaviness of the snow, the translucence of the snow, the cold light of the snow, the snow melting into water, the snow snapping tree branches, the snow making the mountains white-headed, and the snow making the forests bow their heads.

Within it, there was naturally intent, and naturally momentum.

He came to a deserted spot on the riverbank and drew "Autumn Water."

He began to dance just like that, dancing amidst the moonlight and white snow.

His sword danced, reflecting pieces of silver light; the silver light merged with the snow and moon, appearing like snowflakes, and also like moonlight.

His sword danced, flying into a flurry, just like this snow, filling the space between heaven and earth. But if you wanted to see one piece clearly, it was so difficult, just like the sword—you only saw the sword blade form a cluster, yet you did not see specifically where it landed.

His sword danced, the sword tip turning into cold light, the cold light like stars, like snow falling from the sky. If a person stood in the wilderness, where could they hide?

This was sword momentum.

This snow caused trouble for the various sects in the Miao border, but for Cheng Yunqi, it was just right.

A few days ago, Cheng Yunqi had exchanged talisman arrows for a copy of the "Water Intent Four Symbols Sword-Unraveling Manual." This sword manual was not of high value, but it could serve as an introduction for Cheng Yunqi to practice sword momentum. Moreover, while the sword moves in this manual were loose, the concept of the sword momentum was acceptable.

In practicing swordsmanship, as long as one could understand momentum, the sword moves would naturally follow one's heart. This sword manual divided water intent into four momentums: Heavy Snow, Urgent Rain, Surging River, and Giant Wave.

Heavy Snow took the momentum of lifting weight as if it were light, covering the sky and earth;

Urgent Rain took the momentum of being continuous and infiltrating every nook and cranny;

Surging River took the momentum of pouring down a thousand miles, unstoppable in its power;

Giant Wave took the momentum of water waves churning, forming clouds that obscured the sky.

And the footwork Cheng Yunqi used to match the momentum of Heavy Snow came from the "Heavenly Authority Mechanism-Changing Folding-Body Footwork" of Qinglong Cave.

The Heavenly Authority star is located at the boundary between the ladle and the handle of the Big Dipper, governing the momentum of balance and excelling in the changes of advance and retreat.

The "Jin Dynasty Astronomical Records" states that the seven stars of the Big Dipper are north of Taiwei; the Pivot is Heaven, the Swivel is Earth, the Pearl is Man, the Authority is Time, the Balance is Sound, the Opener is Law, and the Shaker is Star.

Authority is Time, and Time is mechanism and change.

The young Daoist's footsteps responded to the changes of the Big Dipper's curves, and the long sword in his hand formed the momentum of heavy snow flying; "Autumn Water" happily rang out like a dragon's chant!

However, heavy snow is ultimately artificial; how could it defy the timing of Heaven?

The turning of the Dipper and the shifting of stars do not change for man. When the handle of the Big Dipper, the Shaker star, points to the Yin position, spring arrives, the heavy snow melts, and it turns into trickling streams flowing into the river.

The first period is the east wind thawing the ice, the second period is the hibernating insects beginning to stir, and the third period is the fish ascending and carrying ice.

And when the handle of the Big Dipper points to the Ren position again, the rain arrives.

The east wind thaws the ice, Heaven creates water, and all turns into rain.

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The spring rain was continuous, drizzling and elegant. Still on the bank of the Qili River, amidst this heavy rain momentum, the young Daoist was still dancing his long sword.

This time, his sword was not as light as the winter snow; it was so urgent. The long sword did not know how many times it stabbed and changed in an instant. This sharpness and change were so continuous; if one had not seen it with their own eyes, who would believe that just the act of thrusting and retracting a sword could be so aesthetically pleasing?

"Actually, I didn't really believe in things like geniuses before."

In a thatched hut not far from the riverbank, several injured people were lying on chairs, chatting idly, but their eyes were all looking in unison at the Daoist practicing swordsmanship in the rain.

Among them was a red-haired, one-armed man. He was the very person who had exchanged a sword manual for talisman arrows with Cheng Yunqi on the day the Qian Shen Studio opened. At that time, his hand was still fine; it was unknown which day he had returned from the front line and lost an arm. He said in a low voice,

"Just like the Daoist child of Master Hong's family, the only Daoist child in our Hongmu Ridge! He's only ten-something years old and is about to reach the Second Realm. But I saw him at the Thirty-Six Strongholds Autumn Festival the year before last. When he was demonstrating magic against others, he was incredibly stiff. With that way he controlled treasures, the person opposite him could have killed him ten times over, and it would still be too few. It's a pity that person still had to struggle to act under Master Hong's nose; it really wasn't easy."

"Ever since then, I felt there were no natural geniuses. Magic power realms can all be piled up, but this thing called fighting requires going through water and fire. After a long time, if you are lucky enough to survive, only then can you practice real stuff. Just by looking at books and exchanging moves, can you really learn it?"

"And now?"

Opposite this man, a person who had lost an eye asked with a smile.

"Now I truly believe it."

The one-armed man sighed and said, "Studio Master Cheng only started practicing swordsmanship when he came here last winter. I remember it too clearly; that sword manual was the one I exchanged for talisman arrows. Studio Master Cheng even joked with me, saying that after practicing the sword manual I exchanged, the sword in his hand finally started to not look like a fake."

"It's only been a few months. At the beginning, we were still politely invited by Studio Master Cheng to accompany him in practicing swordsmanship, but now, no one can go up! Old Blind Man, don't tell me you held back when you practiced with Studio Master Cheng? I didn't believe in evil at the time; except for life-risking methods, I really used all my strength, but the time became shorter and shorter. In the end, I couldn't even hold on for half a quarter of an hour! That was half a month ago; now, I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it!"

The one-eyed man also nodded, "Drawing talismans is powerful, using fire is powerful, and now he says he's practicing swordsmanship, and practicing swordsmanship is powerful. What kind of person is this? I held back? I held back my ass. I just saw him sway, and while I was still thinking of a move, the sword was already at my neck."

The crowd suddenly laughed, and the room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Today we are on the Three Rivers, thank you all for your support!