Chapter 229: Scattering Qi

A vast spiritual sense descended from the sky, paused briefly over He Pingsheng, then lightly swept past.

Cold sweat beaded densely along He Pingsheng's back; only after the overwhelming pressure passed did he dare lift his head—but above him, there was only empty void.

No one was there.

What did that mean?

It meant the one who unleashed that powerful spiritual sense to sweep across the entire Jixi City wasn't necessarily watching He Pingsheng—they simply scanned casually.

Nascent Soul!

In an instant, He Pingsheng made his judgment: only a Great Nascent Soul could do this.

That meant a Great Nascent Soul had taken up residence in Jixi City.

What was he here for?

He Pingsheng didn't know, but he could deduce.

"Huh…" He Pingsheng took a deep breath and walked along the main street of Jixi City.

There weren't many people on the road; he entered several other spirit-tea houses to gather information.

But the news he received was nearly identical: the Qi Kingdom's imperial family had begun surrounding and blocking escape routes, and the encirclement was growing tighter.

…

In the cave, red candles flickered!

A warm glow from the candlelight illuminated Qiao Huizhu's face.

He Pingsheng looked at her, feeling as if he were gazing upon a beauty beneath lamplight.

Qiao Huizhu spread the meditation cushion flat and said: "So it seems, in a few more days, this place won't be safe anymore!"

He Pingsheng nodded: "Yes, we need to find another place!"

"Sister Qiao, I'm sorry!"

Qiao Huizhu shook her head: "It's nothing, little brother. Let's not talk about that now!"

"You've been running around nonstop these days—rest well tonight. We'll decide everything tomorrow!"

"After all… there are still a few days left, aren't there?"

He Pingsheng said: "Alright!"

These days of constant travel had indeed worn him out.

After washing briefly in the mountain stream, He Pingsheng lay down on the meditation cushion inside the cave—but he couldn't sleep, no matter how he turned.

Qiao Huizhu sat beside the cushion, her face flushed: "Aren't you the one who wanted to do something reckless last time?"

"Today, I'll let you be reckless!"

He Pingsheng sprang upright like a leaping carp: "Sister… you…"

"Don't talk!" Qiao Huizhu took a deep breath, lowering her face: "We don't even know if we'll live to see tomorrow—let's make this marriage real first!"

…

Half-asleep, he didn't know how long he'd slept when He Pingsheng suddenly opened his eyes.

He turned his head to his left.

That was where Qiao Huizhu had slept—but now it was empty.

He quickly turned to his right—also empty.

"Sister…" He leapt up, scanning the surroundings.

The dark cave held no trace of a person.

Boom…

He Pingsheng summoned his spiritual power, forming a fire crow on his palm.

The entire cave was illuminated.

Still no one!

"Sister!"

He Pingsheng extended his spiritual sense—but found no trace of her in the cave.

He hastily dressed and pushed through the four layers of second-rank formation barrier outside.

Outside the cave, dawn's first light glowed faintly, the sky turning pale.

Mist rose from the ground, blurring the rocks and trees around him.

But He Pingsheng wasn't afraid—he extended his spiritual sense again, and this time he saw Qiao Huizhu.

She sat atop a massive boulder nearby, her body curled and bent, resembling at first glance a writhing, pained shrimp.

"Sister!"

He Pingsheng rushed over in panic!

He leapt up and landed on the boulder.

But the sight before him froze his body rigid.

Her hair was white.

Wrinkles lined her face.

Worse, her cheeks bore streaks of blood.

As if slashed open by a dagger.

Had it not been for the lingering scent of her perfume from last night, He Pingsheng wouldn't have believed this was the woman he loved.

"Little brother!" Qiao Huizhu smiled: "Can you still recognize me?"

He Pingsheng's heart ached. He crouched down: "What happened to you?"

"How did you become like this?"

"And where did your cultivation base go?"

"Where did your spiritual power vanish?"

"What on earth happened?"

He Pingsheng held her body, pressing her with relentless questions.

Tears welled in his eyes.

Qiao Huizhu reached out and traced a hand across He Pingsheng's face.

Her hand was still as soft, fair, and slender as ever: "The Qi Kingdom's encirclement is closing in—I understand your intent. You want to break through, even at the cost of your life!"

"You might escape alone, but the two of us together? There's no chance."

"So last night, I thought hard—how to break this deadlock?"

"Finally, I found a way."

Qiao Huizhu took two deep breaths, forcing calm: "It's called scattering Qi."

He Pingsheng's heart felt like it was being cut: "Scattering Qi… restarting cultivation?"

"Mm…" Qiao Huizhu nodded: "You have the Brocade Robe—it can change shape. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator won't see through it!"

"But I can't."

"Not even a Golden Core cultivator—let alone a Nascent Soul—would miss me."

"But scattering Qi is different."

"I drain all spiritual power, lose all cultivation base—then I become a mortal with no foundation at all."

"Second, as my cultivation vanishes, my true age will show."

"You're thirty-seven now, right?" Qiao Huizhu looked up at He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng said: "Yes, nearly thirty-eight."

Qiao Huizhu said: "I'm a few years older—I'm already over forty. I thought after scattering Qi, I'd age dramatically by forty."

"But after I scattered my Qi, I realized—it didn't happen."

"My appearance barely changed at all!"

"So… since I'd already paid such a price and still couldn't hide, I decided to go all in."

He Pingsheng understood.

He nodded.

Qiao Huizhu's plan was indeed clever.

Scattering Qi would erase her cultivation base and cause aging, altering her appearance drastically.

But after scattering Qi, she found her face hadn't aged at all.

So she gritted her teeth—and destroyed her own face.

Now, passing inspection won't be a problem.

"Sister!" He Pingsheng's heart swelled with mixed emotion—gratitude, sorrow. He lifted her into his arms: "Don't worry—I'll restore your spiritual root!"

"If I can't, I'll quit cultivation entirely!"

Scattering Qi and restarting cultivation sounded simple.

In truth, it was extremely difficult.

Once Qi is scattered, cultivation becomes impossible.

You become exactly like an ordinary mortal.

Even if you try to resume your former scripture, it won't work.

Because your meridians, spiritual root, and dantian have all closed.

To resume cultivation, you must reopen your meridians, spiritual root, and dantian.