Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 76: Flying Immortal on a Sword, Returning to the Xuan Kingdom (Bonus Chapter 2 for First Subscription)

Upon receiving Hua Qingshuang's invitation, Dai Zhiyun's eyes gleamed with envy, but she felt no jealousy whatsoever.

Zhao Wuji's amazing swordsmanship had impressed her, and she felt much less pressure with her junior brother Zhao fighting alongside her.

"Ten years have passed since I honed this sword; its frosty edge has yet to be tested."

Zhao Wuji gently stroked the spine of the Cold Soul Flying Sword, its cold light reflecting his composed smile. "Although I haven't honed my sword for ten years, a month of sword practice should be enough to relieve the Peak Master's worries."

“Alright!” Hua Qingshuang’s cold eyes brightened slightly, and she nodded, “In that case, I will accept the challenge from Crimson Flame Peak and we will have a contest in three days.”

Her gaze swept over the two of them, her words sharp, "I hope you and Zhiyun will achieve a resounding victory."

"Thank you, Peak Master!"

Zhao Wuji bowed and took the opportunity to request permission: "Peak Master, I have been in the cave for nearly three months now. Today I wish to descend the mountain and return to the Xuan Kingdom's imperial city. I will definitely return to the mountain gate tomorrow."

"Back to the capital?"

Hua Qingshuang's cold gaze lingered on Zhao Wuji for a moment. After a brief moment of thought, she raised her jade-like neck slightly and uttered a single word: "Agreed."

Finally, as she was about to leave with her snow-white sleeves fluttering, she suddenly stopped and said calmly, "You haven't been learning the art of flying for long, so be careful."

Zhao Wuji paused slightly halfway through his bow, then smiled and deepened his bow: "Thank you for your concern, Peak Master."

After watching Hua Qingshuang and the other person leave, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the past two months, he has treated Master Huafeng seven times in a row. While gaining a lot of Yin energy, his cultivation level has also quietly broken through to the fourth level of Qi Induction, entering the mid-stage.

However, given that he has only been a disciple for a short time, he only reveals the second level of Qi Induction on the surface to avoid arousing suspicion.

Even so, he broke through to the second level of Qi Refining in just one and a half months after entering the cave heaven, which still made him famous far and wide, making him the top immortal seed in recent generations, second only to some elders and peak masters.

If his aptitude hadn't been above average, he might have alarmed the cave master and been included in the candidates for the next generation of peak masters.

However, thanks to Hua Qingshuang's heartfelt words that day, Zhao Wuji also understood the principle of "the tallest tree in the forest stands out."

The Golden Radiance Spiritual Talent, a superior immortal seed, was already enough for him.

He is now quite interested in the feud between Peak Master Hua and Peak Master Chiyan.

With the three-month deadline mentioned by the Lord of Linglang Cave approaching, Yan Lan, the Lord of Chiyan Peak, could no longer contain himself and issued a challenge to Hanyue Peak two days ago.

However, Peak Master Yan was wary of Peak Master Hua's strength and did not confront him directly.

Instead, they challenged the disciples to a duel, taking advantage of the small number of people at Hanyue Peak, intending to bully the weak with their numbers.

Zhao Wuji knew that Hua Fengzhu's cold aura had been mostly dispelled by him recently, and the opportunity to break through to the tenth level of Qi Induction had arrived. He had a very high chance of breaking through this time.

If he and Dai Zhiyun can buy them more time, it will be a good thing for everyone.

He turned and went into the room, took the bamboo hat, hung the jade token of true teachings at his waist, and prepared to leave the peak and return to the Xuan Kingdom.

Now, more than two months later, his spiritual intensity has faded from golden light to blue.

Without such a rare treasure as the Golden Goblet Spirit Wine, even if he drank hundreds of jars of ordinary wine, the sobering stone would be like a skilled cook without rice, unable to make the spirit shine with golden brilliance again.

Therefore, he planned to return to the official residence in the Xuan Kingdom's capital and bring back the two catties of golden wine buried in the cellar to the cave for any eventuality.

He also wanted to see if Xiaoyue had managed to acquire the main ingredients for refining the Dragon Tiger Pill.

He had previously visited Uncle Zhong at the Spirit Herb Garden, hoping to take advantage of his proximity to obtain some medicinal herbs for refining the Dragon Tiger Pill.

Unexpectedly, they learned that the medicinal herbs in the Lingyao Garden were strictly controlled.

Even this Uncle Zhong only had the right to cultivate, not the right to harvest, so he had no choice but to give up.

"Like the Xuan Kingdom, the cave dwellings within it also have a strong control over resources."

However, it's not easy for me to gather resources within the grotto-heaven now, but it's much easier outside in the Xuan Kingdom. With my status as a true disciple of the Blue Robe, wouldn't it be easy for me to ask that old emperor for imperial wine?"

Zhao Wuji mimicked Sun Wukong's tone and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Let's go find that old emperor and ask him for a drink!"

After putting on the bamboo hat, he told Dai Zhiyun that he would return in a day, then descended from Hanyue Peak and disappeared into the Cloud Path.

As a true disciple of the Blue Robe Sect, he is now allowed to freely enter and exit the cave four times a month. If he wants to enter and exit more frequently, he needs to report to the steward of the Affairs Hall.

This treatment is already much better than that of the other gray-robed and blue-robed disciples.

Within the Linglang Cave Heaven, only those who have reached the mid-stage of Qi Refining can freely enter and exit the cave heaven without any restrictions.

Meanwhile, in the southeast of Xuan Kingdom, there is Aihai County, which is located in the foothills of the Yunling Mountains and borders the Wuyin Sea to the east.

The county seat was located thirty li west of Feihua City, which was the ancestral home of Tao Hongjing's family, Guiyun Villa.

"I never imagined that Brother Zhao, after years of seeking immortality, would finally find the path to immortality, and even go to the immortal grotto-heaven behind the Xuan Kingdom with the status of a superior immortal seed."

"He has been cultivating in that immortal grotto for almost three months now, and should already be an immortal master."

Inside the ancestral hall of the mountain villa, Tao Fei's fingers trembled slightly as he traced the line of gilded characters on the Imperial Observatory's gazette:

"Zhao Wuji, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, is twenty years old. He possesses the Golden Radiance Spiritual Talent and is ranked first among the superior immortal species."

This line of text, gleaming with gold, was quite dazzling.

"Well done, Brother Zhao! You searched for immortality for three years without anyone knowing, but now your superior immortal seed is known throughout the world!"

He was also encouraged and his heart was filled with excitement. He put down the tabloid from two months ago, clutched the handwritten copy of "Zhen Gao" (真诰) "Wo Zhen Fu" (握真辅) obtained from the Imperial Observatory, and his eyes fell on the yellowed family genealogy.

He only learned about the small spiritual vein and the secret of alchemy hidden in the tomb of his ancestor Tao Hongjing several years ago.

Only those with spiritual qualities who comprehend the contents of the True Teachings can activate the ancestral tomb.

Tao Fei took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in front of the stele, as recorded in the family genealogy.

If the spiritual veins do not respond, one will be destined to be barred from the path of immortality in this life, and will become a carefree and leisurely person, riding through the world and wandering the mortal realm.

If you find resonance, why seek the imperial destiny? The Tao family's millennia-old secrets of alchemy, the legacy of our ancestors, have their own miraculous formulas paving the way.

Perhaps in the future I can seek out Brother Zhao, who is a celestial master, again and give him a big surprise.

In the Hengyun Mountains, amidst the forests, Zhao Wuji's thoughts stirred slightly, and the spiritual power hidden within the Yin-Yang Pearl poured out, causing his spiritual might to surge several times over.

Looking into the Yin Pearl, he saw that his immortal cultivation had reached the fourth level of Qi Induction (50/300). Since entering the mid-stage of Qi Induction, the difficulty of cultivation has increased threefold, but correspondingly, the strength and upper limit of his spiritual power have also increased significantly.

This is the difference between a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator and a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

A cultivator who has just entered the mid-stage of Qi Refining only has purer spiritual power than one who has just entered the early stage.

However, after cultivating for a long time, one's cultivation becomes profound and one's magical power becomes several times stronger than before. This is the fundamental reason why mid-stage cultivators can crush early-stage cultivators.

At this moment, three hundred and fifty streams of spiritual energy swirled within Zhao Wuji's body like swimming dragons, and his nascent core circulated endlessly.

Compared to when he went to Chishui Town, his magical power has increased more than threefold.

As he walked along the mountain path, he reached a precipice, and suddenly changed his hand gestures, instantly performing a flight technique.

"Spiritual energy envelops the body, as if riding on a wisp of wind."

As spiritual energy flowed, his body seemed to be lifted up by a gentle force, flying straight down at an angle. His robes fluttered, and his black hair danced with the veil of his bamboo hat. In the blink of an eye, the cliffs seven or eight miles away were already behind him.

At this moment, he soared through the air, his blue robe billowing in the wind, appearing like a flying immortal. With a lifespan of a hundred years, he had indeed transcended the shackles of the mortal world, possessing a remarkable air of immortality.

Although this flight technique can only be used to go straight up or down or diagonally up or down, each time it is used, it can also make the tadpole-shaped characters in the second Yang Pearl bright.

Clearly, the Flying Technique may have triggered the Wind Control Technique among the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Techniques.

Unfortunately, the first Yang Pearl is still far from being completely unsealed, and Yang Marrow is nowhere to be found. Breaking the seal on the second Yang Pearl will likely be a long and arduous journey.
Just then, a flock of birds flew across the forest. Zhao Wuji landed gracefully, a thought flashing through his mind: "Since I have some leisure time, why not try my hand at the art of bird taming?"

He manipulated the Yin Beads, and the Yin Qi circulated between his fingers, unleashing the long-dormant art of taming birds.

Over the past two months, he has also occasionally used his magic to control sparrows and crows as a small test of his skills.

Nowadays, they can only understand bird language and control small birds, and briefly share their vision with the birds they are driving.

However, if one cultivates to a high level, one can command even fierce birds and demonic beasts, and the number that can be controlled will also increase significantly. In the future, one may even become the master of all birds.

A short while later, the treetops opposite rustled, and a red-eyed myna bird fluttered its wings and landed, tilting its head to stare at him. It then spoke in human language:

"dad……"

Zhao Wuji's eye twitched: "...Where did this idiot come from?"

I initially intended to drive away this silly myna bird, but then I thought, since the yin energy has already been depleted, and the myna bird is already here, I might as well use it to share my gaze and play with it for a while.

"go with!"

With a flick of his sleeve, the myna bird flapped its wings and soared into the sky.

Zhao Wuji shared the same field of vision with him and was familiar with this second-person perspective. His figure flew for a moment and then landed, traveling purely using martial arts techniques.

The flight technique consumes too much spiritual energy; it consumes almost one unit of spiritual energy every five breaths.

Let alone ordinary early-stage Qi Refining cultivators, even mid-stage cultivators would find it difficult to fly for extended periods in the spiritless environment outside the cave.

While his needle-flying movement technique cannot compare with the aerial flight technique in terms of flight altitude, its speed is just as good.

Traveling in this manner, the person and the bird seemed to be enjoying the scenery, stopping and starting as they went.

By dusk, they had traveled hundreds of miles and were approaching the imperial city.

The myna bird, however, was tired from flying and landed wearily in the forest.

Zhao Wuji thought to himself that this ordinary bird was still not good enough. Just as he was about to let it go, he suddenly felt a chilling aura.

After the Yin Pearl extended his lifespan, his spiritual senses suddenly opened up, and he could perceive everything within a radius of 500 feet.

"This is..." Zhao Wuji's eyes flashed with a sharp light, "...the aura of the Left True Venerable of the White Bone Sect?"

After the Yin Pearl extended his lifespan, Zhao Wuji's spiritual perception reached a new level. Although it was not as profound as the divine sense of the Condensing Spirit True Person, the will of a martial arts grandmaster could now cover a radius of five hundred feet, a world apart from before.

At this moment, he was astonished. Nearly three months had passed, and this True Venerable had dared to return after escaping Elder Yu's pursuit.

It just so happens that he has run into someone who has achieved immortality and is now emerging from seclusion; it's truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.

"He managed to escape last time, but he dares to stay here, so stubborn! We'll eliminate him completely and prevent any future trouble!"

Zhao Wuji urged his myna bird to fly closer to that aura, the Cold Soul Flying Sword silently slipping from his sleeve, his eyes as cold as frost.

Through the myna's vision, they soon saw in the misty valley not far away, where piles of animal bones formed mounds. A familiar, burly figure sat amidst the bones, his blood-red eyes flashing like lightning beneath his cloak, exuding a murderous aura.

"Caw—" the myna cried out in alarm, flapping its wings and fleeing in a panic.

"Ok?"

Zuo Zhenzun turned his head, his astonishing eyes, covered with blood vessels, swept over the myna bird, and a sudden, ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Almost instantly, an unparalleled speed sword light pierced through the sky.

"drink!"

Zuo Zhenzun's black robe billowed angrily as he retreated rapidly.

However, the sword light spun in mid-air, agile and unpredictable, like a silver snake coiling around the body—

"Sizzle—" The black robe shattered in mid-air like a butterfly's wing, splitting the surrounding pile of bones in two.

Zuo Zhenzun's retreating figure twisted and deformed in the sword light, like a cicada shedding its shell. The sword that should have severed his neck only left a deep, bone-revealing bloodstain on his arm!
"Stay!"

In that instant, the mist in the valley surged, and Zhao Wuji, dressed in a blue robe, arrived in the air, his hair flying and his fingers moving in sword gestures.

With a clang, the Flying Sword of Cold Souls rang out, its sword light rising from the ground, both real and illusory, like a torrential downpour, stirring up a snowy gleam, and an astonishingly cold sword light enveloped Zuo Zhenzun.

"Crack, crack crack!" The grass and trees within a radius of ten feet instantly froze into frost!

Zuo Zhenzun suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his joints felt as if they were filled with black ice, his muscles and bones felt as if they were about to crack, and his legs had been invaded by sword energy as thin as cow hair.

He quickly summoned his magical artifact, hastily raised his head, and saw the powerful, distinctive blue robe, which horrified him.

"Linglang Cave Heaven, a true disciple in blue robes?!"

Today I updated 8,500 words. In the past three days, I have updated a total of 43,000 words.

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(End of this chapter)