Volume One: The Millennium Stream Chapter 59: The Sacred Ground of Cultivation

"Stop right there, fiend!"

"Give me back my junior sister!"

Hu Xincheng and Gao Yang pursued relentlessly. After going a hundred paces, Sun Zikai stopped, put Jiang Yujin down, turned around, and drew his long saber. Hu Xincheng channeled his energy into sword qi and lunged forward with full force. Sun Zikai took a deep breath as countless streams of air appeared within his vision. Before his body moved, the air shifted, allowing him to anticipate Hu Xincheng's every maneuver.

With both arms exerting thousands of catties of force, he met the attack head-on. Hu Xincheng's finger struck the blade, and a violent gale burst forth between the two, subsiding only after seven or eight breaths.

Sun Zikai wanted to take off his mask, but thought better of it. Hu Xincheng stepped back three paces, while Gao Yang shielded Jiang Yujin behind him. Although Sun Zikai retracted his saber with lightning speed, Gao Yang still caught a glimpse of it. He found the silhouette of the saber vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite remember where he had seen it.

Sun Zikai spread his hands and said coldly, "Forget it. Time is limited, get lost." With that, he led Cheng Xu and the other three deeper into the domain.

Jiang Yujin opened her mouth as if to speak, her expression enigmatic. Gao Yang observed this interaction, and suddenly, realization dawned on him. No wonder Sun Zikai couldn't keep it hidden—who could ever forget such a distinctive saber?

Gao Yang cried out in shock, "You're Sun Zikai! Hey!"

Sun Zikai instantly turned back, rushed over, and clamped a hand over Gao Yang's mouth. "Don't yell!" he hissed anxiously, then changed his tone, "That person you mentioned..."

"It's you, stop pretending." Gao Yang pulled Sun Zikai's hand away and said, "I saw your hand too. I couldn't possibly be mistaken. Junior sister isn't one to cower, and she didn't resist just now because she clearly knew who you were. Why are you here? How are you connected to the Ghost Nether Sect?"

A flurry of chaotic thoughts flashed through Sun Zikai's mind. Just as he was preparing to spin a web of lies to cover his tracks, Qu Yuezhi behind him absentmindedly ripped off his mask and said, "Oh well, can't hide it anymore."

Sun Zikai cast a reproachful glance back at him and then removed his mask as well. Seeing this, the rest of them took off theirs too.

"Runan? Qu Yuezhi? Who are you?"

"This is Cheng Xu, a disciple of the Dust-Moving Sect."

"It's actually you people?"

At that moment, Sun Zikai understood Qu Yuezhi's reasoning. The guy wasn't stupid; he had actually believed that Sun Zikai was affiliated with the Ghost Nether Sect. He might be foolish enough to risk things for power, but he wasn't reckless enough to throw his life away or drag his father down to ruin.

Hu Xincheng wore a grave expression, demanding to know what was going on with the fiends outside. Sun Zikai had no choice but to explain that an ultra-powerful expert had been tailing him all along, and the terrifying aura of the fiends earlier was merely an illusion conjured by that person.

Hu Xincheng had been completely unaware of this. Noting this, Sun Zikai filed it away in his mind—if even Hu Xincheng didn't know, how did Runan find out?

Clearly, Hu Xincheng was not so easily deceived. Jiang Yujin spoke up then, saying, "Master, he isn't lying. I've spent many days with him, and there is indeed an expert beyond the Golden Core realm following him."

"Why is he following you?"

Sun Zikai replied, "Disciple has been fighting for survival among the barbarians since the age of seven. When I was eleven, that person was traveling and happened to lay eyes on me. He said he fancied my aptitude and wanted to take me as his disciple, constantly imparting the ways of cultivation to me. But disciple never agreed, so he simply followed me, and thus two years have passed."

"With such a fortuitous opportunity, why didn't you take him as your master?"

"Disciple's heart is set on the orthodox path of cultivation. He is brimming with a baleful aura, and his actions are neither entirely righteous nor completely evil. Disciple dared not accept him. Yet he kept following me, doing no harm and never interfering, simply waiting for me to change my mind."

"He is a fiend of the Ghost Nether Sect!"

"Not at all. He hails from another land, not just a thousand li away, but tens of thousands of li, I should think."

"Why are the auras of you three so bloody and ferocious?"

Sun Zikai answered, "This is the method he taught me. I can alter the manifestation of spiritual qi, but it's merely a bluff. If the Wu family members from earlier had actually attacked, our true forms would have been exposed instantly."

Sun Zikai demonstrated it once in front of Hu Xincheng. Half-convinced yet deeply troubled, Hu Xincheng severely reprimanded the four of them. If this trick were discovered by the Zhaoge Wu family, the Yanming Sect would face total annihilation.

"We wouldn't have been discovered normally, but I wanted Senior Brother Gao Yang and Jiang Yujin to enter this Qiling General Domain as well, which is why I took the risk and made an extra move. I hope Sect Master Hu and Senior Brother Gao will keep this a secret for me."

The two remained silent for a long time. Gao Yang spoke first, bowing to Sun Zikai. "Junior Brother Sun, this great kindness is engraved in my heart, and I will surely repay it."

Sun Zikai nodded. After a moment, Hu Xincheng finally broke his silence. "Not a word of this is to be breathed to anyone. Within the sect, there are spies from other sects and the Wu family. The four of you are still considered fiends, understand?"

The four acknowledged the order and put their masks back on. Hu Xincheng continued, "We cannot stay too long. Go and absorb the spiritual qi respectively. Gather back here in two hours. Remember, do not dawdle."

The group agreed, and Sun Zikai immediately grabbed Jiang Yujin's hand, sprinting toward the depths of the domain.

Once they had run far enough, Jiang Yujin found the opportunity to lower her voice and ask, "Since when has anyone been following behind you?"

"That was just me."

"How can you be in two places at once?"

"I have my own mysterious techniques. This is a secret, but I've already explained it in detail to you."

Jiang Yujin remained somewhat skeptical, but Sun Zikai scooped her into his embrace, leaping and flying close to the ground until they were ten miles away.

Standing atop a mountain peak, they finally beheld half the glorious landscape of the Qiling General Domain. It was practically a reservoir of spiritual qi; the earth was carved into thousands of patches, each with a unique terrain nurturing special spiritual qi. This gave rise to countless colors within the Qiling General Domain—a vibrant, multi-hued realm where even the sky was divided into over twenty distinct sections.

In past years, the people of the Zhaoge Wu family always entered first, and only then would it be the turn of the five major sects. Now, they were finally getting a first taste of it.

The two sat down, quietly taking in the scenery. After a long while, Jiang Yujin said, "With so many kinds of special spiritual qi, where should I begin?"

"Your bodily attribute is water; stay right here."

"This is clearly just a barren mountain, and the spiritual qi is ordinary and colorless."

"There is spiritual water hidden within the mountain, and its qi is colorless. Just practice your breathing here, and you will reap rewards."

Hearing this, Jiang Yujin stood up and began the Water-Breathing Technique, drawing upon the three springs to cleanse her heart. Sure enough, water spiritual qi existed within the mountain. Stirred by her technique, it surged out from the rock fissures and coiled around Jiang Yujin.

A single breath drawn here was equivalent to three days of cultivation outside. The mellow water spiritual qi seemed to possess a life of its own, and Jiang Yujin could perceive the heartbeat of some living entity within it—no, the collective heartbeat of an entire realm of living things.

Sun Zikai understood now. This was a paradise for spiritual entities, a man-made sanctuary for cultivation. Every plot of land contained spiritual entities; their breathing and movements nourished the spiritual qi of this domain. The water spiritual qi in the mountain was nurtured by more than a dozen bizarre spiritual entities. Accumulating so much qi required time, which was why the Qiling General Domain only opened once every fifty years. Furthermore, Sun Zikai sensed that all the spiritual entities here were currently slumbering. Outsiders could not linger too long; if they sucked the spiritual qi dry, they might awaken the entities. Those entities knew neither good nor evil and operated purely on instinct—they were extremely dangerous.

Jiang Yujin practiced with intense dedication, trying to condense the water spiritual qi into Heavenly Mysterious Astral Qi. She had the greatest fortune, for Sun Zikai, who had mastered the technique to perfection, was tirelessly guiding her from the side.

"Don't just copy mechanically; think about how to adapt. Try to make that astral qi your own; it should carry your unique signature."

"What should I do?"

"All you need is a surge of qi. Do you remember the three moves I taught you? That's all you need. As for how to use them—follow your heart."

Deeply encouraged, Jiang Yujin immediately took Sun Zikai's long saber. Using the saber as a sword, she practiced those three moves first. Through repeated execution, she incorporated footwork into her routine, maneuvering with the Wind-Walking Steps with effortless ease. Suddenly, she found a focal point: three steps and a thrust, spinning around after a hundred paces. The world seemed to tilt as three thousand threads of spiritual silk coalesced into astral force, turning into soft qi, then into blazing astral qi.

She did not need to draw the qi into her body; instead, she channeled the astral qi along the blade. The energy ran uniformly along the exterior of the sword body, converging and forming a shape at the tip, only to be released immediately. The transformation of the astral qi was like a torrential waterfall bursting through a dam, violently exploding into three thousand threads that bloomed like sword flowers.

Having successfully executed the technique, joy lit up her face. She began to dance gracefully, executing a complete set of sword forms. With every thrust, Heavenly Mysterious Astral Qi burst forth before the blade, dyeing the water spiritual qi a brilliant blue. Sun Zikai joined in, helping her perfect her swordsmanship. Blue blossoms resembling a cluster of stars bloomed around Jiang Yujin, the Heavenly Mysterious Astral Qi waxing and waning in size alongside the flowers. What should have been flowers blooming in the wake of her sword instead appeared as though her sword was touching them into bloom—a breathtaking and mesmerizing sight.

Finally, Jiang Yujin lowered her sword, stood straight, and exclaimed with delight, "I did it!"

"This is your own swordplay and swordsmanship. Give it a name," Sun Zikai smiled.

"Let's call it—Songxi Myriad Flower Sword! A swordsmanship belonging to my homeland."

Overjoyed, Jiang Yujin was reminded by Sun Zikai to promptly absorb the spiritual qi, as time was running short. She then concentrated entirely on her breathing and cultivation. Sun Zikai, however, had no heart for it and simply sat to the side, lost in thought.

When Jiang Yujin asked him why, he only replied that he had no interest in it and urged her to focus on her own cultivation.

Thus, two hours later, the group reconvened. True to its reputation as a sacred cultivation ground, Jiang Yujin had broken through to the eighth stage of Qi Refining in a mere two hours. Gao Yang had reached the peak of the Qi Refining realm, Runan had attained the seventh stage, and even Qu Yuezhi had miraculously leaped from the third stage of Qi Refining to the fifth, though he looked deeply reluctant to leave, as though he was right on the verge of the sixth stage. As for Cheng Xu, he had effortlessly reached the full ninth stage of Qi Refining.

Gao Yang once again expressed his gratitude to Sun Zikai, while Runan, Qu Yuezhi, and Cheng Xu were equally appreciative. Qu Yuezhi patted his chest and declared, "Brother, I'm done being a dog for the Ma family. From now on, I'll follow your lead and stick with you. When I head back this time, I'm going to bring some real glory to my old man's face."

"Don't talk outside family," Sun Zikai admonished. "Right, remember to keep your mouths shut tight. If anyone asks, just say I took you elsewhere for training—say we trained in the barbarian territory beyond the pass."

The others nodded in agreement. Sun Zikai stepped forward and pressed his hands onto the bodies of the three, once again shrouding their spiritual qi in a bloody, ferocious aura. Hu Xincheng also seemed to have gained immense insights; after savoring the lingering effects for a long time, he finally led Gao Yang and Jiang Yujin back into character.

A moment later, Hu Xincheng, Gao Yang, and Jiang Yujin burst out of the Qiling General Domain cave entrance in disarray, closely pursued by four fierce fiends...