Chapter 40: Sunflower True Qi Floating Life Sword

The three men's expressions flickered between shock and suspicion. Zhao Ti said coolly, "You three better not run. I've only practiced half of this sword technique. Once I go back and learn the remaining half, I'll come back for your three dog heads!"

The three exchanged glances at his words. South Sea Crocodile God snarled, "Whoever runs is a turtle's son. I'm only afraid you'll sneak off yourself!"

Zhao Ti's lips curled slightly. "Yue Laosan, once my sword technique is complete, one strike will take your life."

South Sea Crocodile God said angrily, "Brat, stop your bragging. I still have a set of Crocodile Tail Whip techniques. Once I've practiced them, I'll surely defeat you!"

Zhao Ti gave a light, cold laugh. "Such empty boasts!" With that, he turned and left.

Mu Wanqing hesitated slightly at the sight, then followed, yet her heart pounded chaotically; since childhood, apart from her master, she had feared nothing, but now, for some unknown reason, she felt a touch of guilt.

Watching Zhao Ti head toward the inner courtyard without looking back, Ye Sanniang said darkly, "I think this brat's internal energy is exhausted. He wants to go back and rest to recover his power!"

Yun Zhonghe said, "Second Sister, even if his internal energy is lacking, if he fights desperately, I'm afraid one of us three will be killed or wounded."

Ye Sanniang fell silent at his words. South Sea Crocodile God said, "Has the boss not arrived yet? Once the boss makes a move, this brat is bound to lose. I'm just afraid he'll find a chance to run."

Ye Sanniang said, "No rush. The boss will be here soon. I previously dispatched people from Wanchou Valley; they should arrive soon too. There are layers of ambush outside. If he wants to leave, he'll surely make a sound. When that happens, we'll hold him off and wait for the boss."

Yun Zhonghe, while bandaging his wound, asked worriedly, "Can we hold him off?"

Ye Sanniang said, "Don't forget he's not alone!"

South Sea Crocodile God slapped his head. "Right, there's still that little girl. I came here to avenge my murdered disciple, but I ran into this brat instead. His swordsmanship is absurdly high..."

Zhao Ti entered the inner courtyard and headed straight for the east kitchen; Mu Wanqing followed. He didn't even glance at the corpses of Grandmother Ping and the others on the ground, lifted the pot lid, and began searching for food.

Inside the pot were steamed buns. He grabbed a basinful and stuffed them into Mu Wanqing's arms. "Back to the main hall."

Mu Wanqing snorted coldly at his imperious manner, but she didn't drop them. She followed him back to the main hall, where they divided the buns and the maidservants and ate them together. Only then did Zhao Ti speak: "Miss, I still don't know what to call you?"

Mu Wanqing said, "You tell me your own name first."

Zhao Ti smiled. "My surname is Zhao, single given name Ti."

Mu Wanqing's eyes showed confusion. "Which Ti?"

Zhao Ti said, "Naturally, the 'Ti' in 'elegant and dashing' (fengliu tittang)."

Mu Wanqing sneered at his words. "Truly a fine name. No wonder not a single word out of your mouth is true. I am called Mu Wanqing."

Zhao Ti's lips curved. "Water and wood, clear and splendid; graceful and pure, rising aloft. Miss Mu's name is also very fine. Miss Mu, please guard me while I recover my internal energy."

Mu Wanqing said, "You saved my life. I will naturally devote all my effort to guarding you. Please rest assured on that point, Young Master Zhao."

Zhao Ti nodded. On the west side of the main hall there was a side room—small, but perfect for practicing martial arts.

He walked in, closed the door, sat cross-legged, and silently activated his Illusory Yin True Qi. He felt only a dense, continuous flow within the Taiyin meridian, internal energy constantly generating, as if one gives birth to two, two to three, three to all things. Before long, one minor cycle was complete, and his internal energy had recovered eighty percent.

He continued practicing, this time aiming to complete a major cycle. The Taiyin meridian felt like a vast ocean, while the other meridians in his body were like small rivers.

The true qi within the Taiyin meridian assimilated everything along its path; even the yang meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians were permeated by the Taiyin meridian.

Then its true qi surged along the Ren meridian directly toward the Du meridian. The Ren meridian is the sea of yin meridians; the Du meridian is the sea of yang meridians. Once the connection between the Ren and Du meridians is broken through, the Bridge of Heaven and Earth is opened, allowing internal energy to be projected outward and true qi to harm others. The Illusory Yi Yin Zhi would also surely advance to its fourth layer.

Zhao Ti felt internal energy flowing throughout his entire body without the slightest obstruction, but when it reached the entrance of the Du meridian, it couldn't pass through. His internal energy simply wasn't thick and powerful enough; by the time it arrived here, very little remained.

He could only continue practicing, restoring all his previous internal energy and adding much more, yet it was still insufficient to connect the Bridge of Heaven and Earth. He exhaled a long breath and stood up.

He had still practiced for too short a time. Although the Illusory Yin True Qi was refined, the cultivation period was brief and could not meet the conditions to immediately break through the Ren and Du meridians.

However, he also discovered one thing: after fighting South Sea Crocodile God and the other two, practicing his Cultivation Technique to increase internal energy yielded several times more than before. It seemed combat helped the Illusory Yin True Qi generate repeatedly.

He pushed open the door and saw Mu Wanqing sitting not far to one side, resting her chin on one hand, gazing toward him in a daze.

"Miss Mu," Zhao Ti said, "has anything happened outside?"

Mu Wanqing sat up straight. "No one came over, but I just thought of something. Since three of the Four Great Evils have come, the leader, Duan Yanqing—Evil Filled to the Brim—must be nearby too. This man's Wu Gong is extremely high, beyond what the other three can match. You should leave here quickly, lest he arrive and cost you your life."

"Duan Yanqing." Zhao Ti nodded, but his mind was turning. His own Wu Gong was still too one-dimensional. Apart from the Illusory Yi Yin Zhi, he actually had no other ultimate techniques to use.

His Quick Sword was a hodgepodge, usable only through years of accumulated integration. Lingbo Weibu was a foot technique, and Beiming Shengong was not purely an offensive martial art.

He had no other Palm Technique, leg technique, or Fist Technique to use. The only one he had in hand was the Sunflower Manual.

Originally, after learning the Illusory Yi Yin Zhi, he had felt this Wu Gong was dispensable, but now it seemed that might not be the case.

Although his Quick Sword was formidable, it was not systematic and lacked supporting internal energy; driven purely by forcibly channeling Illusory Yin True Qi, its power was actually limited and could only go so far.

Against the likes of Zuo Zimu and Grandmother Ping, he might still be able to kill them in an instant, but against opponents of the caliber of the South Sea Crocodile God and Ye Erniang, one or two strikes would no longer suffice; against even more formidable experts, he would lose any advantage. The ceiling of the Quick Sword was just this—there was no more room for improvement.

But the Sunflower Manual was different. It was a top-tier martial art... it was just a bit easier to talk about than to listen to.

Li Xian relied on it to fight fiercely with Li Qiushui. Although he ultimately lost, that was with the enhancement of the Maha-Xiang-Gong and Li Hongzhang, plus Lingbo Weibu. Moreover, Li Qiushui was considerably older than Li Xian, with far higher internal cultivation. Even in defeat, the strength of the Sunflower Manual could not be denied.

In the era of Smiling Proud Wanderer, both the Sunflower Manual and the Absorbing Star Technique were ultimate arts, but both were damaged. And the damaged Beiming Shengong, namely the Absorbing Star Technique, actually could do nothing against the damaged Sunflower Manual.

As for being easier to talk about than to listen to, he didn't need to castrate himself anyway, and the jianghu didn't know this martial art, so it really didn't matter. Most importantly, this martial art could be quickly mastered—practice came extremely fast.

If he still wanted to go to Tianlong Temple next to investigate the One Yang Finger, the means he currently had were not enough. Tianlong Temple was full of experts; several old monks could use half-step Six Meridian Divine Sword, which was an extremely lethal martial art.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ti looked at Mu Wanqing and said, "Miss Mu, I still need to practice. Please guard me again."

Mu Wanqing said, puzzled, "Didn't you just finish practicing?"

Zhao Ti said, "I... just thought of another profound Cultivation Technique. I plan to cultivate it for a bit."

Mu Wanqing nodded. Zhao Ti walked back into the side room.

After a long while, Zhao Ti pushed open the door and walked out of the side room. Looking at Mu Wanqing, he said, "Miss Mu, do you see any difference between me and before?"

Mu Wanqing looked him up and down and shook her head. "Any difference? I can't tell."

Zhao Ti smiled. "Then that's good!" Saying so, he drew his long sword and began demonstrating a set of sword techniques.

He had just relied on Illusory Yin True Qi—concealing hardness, hiding ferocity, assimilating meridians. Heaven gives birth to water; one yin refines the body—and had already cultivated the Sunflower True Qi. Now he practiced the Turning Sun Needle and Phantom Shadow Step recorded in the manual.

When this set of martial arts was deployed, within the main hall phantom shadows were formless; only sword light could be seen flashing and weaving like silver threads, and Zhao Ti's figure was almost invisible.

Mu Wanqing said in astonishment, "What Wu Gong is this? So astonishing."

Zhao Ti sheathed his sword. Using the sword to perform the Sunflower Manual reduced its power by thirty percent, but to ask him to use flying needles as weapons was absolutely impossible.

He gave this combination of sword and foot technique a side name: Floating Life Sword, to distinguish it from the manual.

"This is the Floating Life Sword Art," Zhao Ti said, naming it as he walked to the door and reached out to push it open. "I'll go meet those three Great Evils again."

(Dear readers, please earnestly follow this book. Please read to the last chapter. Follows are really too important—without follows there are no recommendations, no exposure. Please follow daily to the last chapter. Please, everyone.)