CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: INTANGIBLE INTRIGUE

At night, the Qi Family estate.

The main gate was tightly locked.

Several oil lamps lit up both the inside and outside of the house, rendering it bright and clear.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed in the inner room, Qi Xiu carefully flipped through the pages of a green-bound book.

The characters in the book were tiny, with hundreds packed onto a single page. A common person, at first glance, would probably feel their eyes sting and their head throb. However, Qi Xiu was engrossed, his gaze constantly moving up and down as he softly murmured the key points to himself.

"Hah, these three thousand taels of silver were truly well spent," Qi Xiu said, closing the book and letting out a long breath.

The book in his hand, ’Shadow Shift’, was a new Qinggong technique he had purchased the previous day from the Ghost Market Treasure Ship for three thousand taels of pure silver.

Compared to Swallow Soar, the content of this Qinggong was many times more extensive. Apart from the basics of channeling force, body movement, and footwork, it also involved the intricate Five Elements and the circulation of Inner Qi.

Even though he had several martial arts techniques under his belt, with the Crimson Sand Palm being a top-tier technique, he initially felt somewhat lost upon first encountering ’Shadow Shift’. Only after meticulous study did he finally begin to grasp it.

Swallow Soar is just 10% away from full proficiency. Then I can step into the Third Realm, and that’s when I’ll fuse the two Qinggong techniques. Speaking of which, I wonder if there’s a limit to fusing martial arts.

Folding his arms into his sleeves, Qi Xiu’s eyes flickered as he contemplated in silence.

Based on his experience of fusing the Black Sand Palm with the Red Heart Palm, the fusion of martial arts was not just a simple transfer of proficiency from one to another. It was about taking the strengths of two techniques and recombining them to create a new martial art. Thus, after integrating the Black Sand Palm, the Red Heart Palm had progressed from a first-rate to a top-tier martial art.

Following this logic, by continuously fusing martial arts and continuously advancing... Could it be possible to break the limits? To transform martial arts into True Cultivation Powers!

If I hadn’t already obtained True Cultivation Powers, this path might be worth trying.

Retrieving five scrolls from a secret compartment in the headboard, Qi Xiu laid them all out in front of him. These five scrolls were the Five True Powers he had copied previously.

Old Yuan had once said that True Cultivation Powers could not be cultivated simultaneously, especially True Cultivation Powers with conflicting attributes. Cultivating two kinds of True Cultivation Powers at the same time would cause the wellsprings of qi to collide, leading to self-implosion and death. Only after cultivating a True Cultivation Power to its pinnacle, merging true intent with the qi wellspring to form a Dao Seed, could one contemplate cultivating another True Cultivation Power. Even so, those who augmented their practice with a secondary True Cultivation Power were few and far between. After all, no matter how many True Cultivation Powers one cultivated, it was impossible to break through the True Gang of an Initiate Realm cultivator. There was a fundamental difference in the essence of power; mere quantity could not force a breakthrough.

Turning a scroll of True Cultivation Power in his hands, Qi Xiu looked somewhat regretful. This volume, "Immortal Ape Plum Blossom True Skill Chart", was also a Qinggong-related True Cultivation Power. But it did not complement Swallow Soar and could not be integrated. Without martial arts proficiency as kindling, starting from scratch to cultivate a True Cultivation Power would take a lot of time and wasn’t cost-effective.

Forget it. One must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Overthinking and indecisiveness, such a mentality will inevitably lead to cultivation deviation.

Gathering up the True Cultivation Power scrolls and tossing them all back into the secret compartment, Qi Xiu stood up, went to his desk, rolled up his sleeves, and practiced his calligraphy.

Calligraphy was the core of his entire Power System. Even though proficiency increased minimally now, he could not become complacent. Otherwise, to slack off for a day was to fall behind every day; when would he ever reach the Fourth Realm?

Moreover, Qi Xiu had a faint premonition. The Fourth Realm will be a watershed for the Divine Marvel of calligraphy; once I cross it, there will be a qualitative change. As for what that change might be, I’ll have to wait until my calligraphy enters the Fourth Realm to find out.

「Midnight approached.」

The pale moon hung high, and the stars shone brightly.

In the verdant forest beyond Baoho County, a figure shuttled through like a swift wind. The figure was tall and straight, clad in a dark long robe whose wide sleeves fluttered and rustled in the night breeze as he ran. He leaped across layers of mountain ravines, each movement as smooth and precise as flowing water.

Suddenly, the figure vanished. The next instant, he had eerily shifted sideways over ten meters, appearing atop a tree branch.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—

Like a phantom, he constantly flashed through the woods, even stopping abruptly in mid-air at times. The figure seemed to be from another world; his movements and actions surpassed ordinary human comprehension.

THUD—

Stopping on a thick branch, Qi Xiu lifted his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his jaw, his eyes gleaming with a trace of delight. This first-rate Qinggong was indeed extraordinary.

After several days of effort, once he had elevated Swallow Soar to the Third Realm, Qi Xiu couldn’t wait to integrate it with the ’Shadow Shift’ Qinggong technique. With the Third Realm Swallow Soar as kindling, ’Shadow Shift’, like the Crimson Sand Palm before it, broke through directly to the Second Realm. It then merged with Swallow Soar, reforming into a new Qinggong technique: ’Phantom Formless’.

This Qinggong was primarily characterized by its uncanniness. Not only was it fast, but the user’s steps and silhouette were also ever-changing and unpredictable—darting left and right, retreating and advancing—with movements that were difficult to fathom. Paired with Inner Qi, one could move with phantom-like lateral shifts and flashes, becoming incredibly elusive. Furthermore, due to its integration with Swallow Soar, ’Phantom Formless’ also possessed the ability to hover briefly in mid-air, making it several times stronger than the original ’Shadow Shift’.

If I’d had this Qinggong back then, I could have leaped up, given that Fox Demon a couple of slaps, and still had time to escape.

Breathing out a puff of warm air, Qi Xiu emptied his mind. While Qinggong didn’t grant him the overwhelming power of the Crimson Sand Palm, capable of shattering mountains and splitting stones, it did provide him with ample options. Fight if he could win, flee if he couldn’t. What can you do to me then?

Having tested the effectiveness of his new Qinggong, Qi Xiu looked up at the Sky Dome. The bright moon hung high, the sea of stars brilliant, and a gentle breeze rustled by, cool and refreshing.

He murmured with a sigh, "Looks like tomorrow will be another fine day."

As he spoke, Qi Xiu turned, ready to head home.

A few clusters of tree branches, swaying in the wind, momentarily exposed a barely perceptible glint of light.

Hm?

His gaze flickered towards the fleeting glint. Qi Xiu scratched his head, his figure blurred, and he vanished in an instant. After several lateral shifts, he arrived at the source of the glint.

Qi Xiu’s pupils suddenly contracted.

A severed hand! Here in these desolate, uninhabited mountain wilds, with no sign of human life for many miles around, a severed hand had appeared out of nowhere.

And the glint from before had originated from a black jade thumb ring on the severed hand’s thumb.

This thumb ring...

The Hundred Faces Mask he wore suddenly stirred. Qi Xiu’s gaze sharpened, and he quickly retrieved a Suppression Talisman from his bosom.

HISS—

The talisman reacted immediately upon nearing the black jade thumb ring. Golden light pulsed, instantly tearing through the dense surrounding darkness.

A look of surprise in his eyes, Qi Xiu crushed the smoldering talisman and muttered to himself, A Magic Artifact?

What kind of heaven-defying luck is this? To stumble upon a Magic Artifact while out for a night run?

He looked around. The deathly still forest was empty and silent, save for the occasional, unplaceable bird call and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

"I am a man of moral principle; not pocketing what one finds is a basic virtue."

Bending down, Qi Xiu slipped the black jade thumb ring off the severed hand and tucked it into his bosom. He heaved a short sigh. "In these wild and desolate mountains, it’s so hard to find anything that’s lost. I suppose I’d better keep it safe for now. Hopefully, the owner will come looking for me soon."

After warily scanning the surroundings, Qi Xiu quickly swept his palm over the ground to erase all traces of his footprints, then channeled his Qinggong to its fullest.

Within moments, he vanished into the dense night.