Chapter 6: The Eve of the Duel (Part 2)

  It was unclear how long the silence had lasted when Chai Shao whispered a sentence in Li Xiuning's ear, then nodded to Li Jing and walked into Xiao Si's room.

  Li Jing lowered his head and smiled, saying: "Is this... the victor's favor?" He took a step forward, and silently passed by Li Xiu Ning, just like the last time they met years ago.

  Li Xiuning turned around, saying slowly: "Why can't you face me? Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Is it because of your strong self-esteem or do you despise talking to me?"

  Li Jing stopped abruptly and stood tall like a cold statue, his back merging into the vast night, and replied: "What else is there to say between you and me?"

  Li Xiuning's heart skipped a beat, and she gritted her teeth: "You're not wondering what you can't compare to Chai Shao? In fact, appearance, talent, cultivation... he is inferior to you in every way. I like him because he is as steady as a mountain; while you are surging like the sea, able to toss people up to the clouds in an instant, but also making them fall heavily to the bottom of the abyss in the next moment."

  Li Jing fell silent for a moment, and a hint of desolate smile slowly emerged from the corner of her lips. "The mountain and the sea...", she said, then turned and walked straight out of the courtyard without another word.

  It was at night, he sat alone in the small building, silently listening to the spring rain outside the window. Under the lamp, he picked up his wine cup and rummaged through a large box, pulling out hundreds of jade stone carvings, looking at each one as he drank the fiery liquor, then forgetting them. He hugged the box and walked down alone, burying it under the pomegranate tree in the backyard.

  At this moment, a rooster in the east crowed loudly and they finished off the last jug of wine for tonight.

  At the same time, Xiang Xiao Si, with sleepy eyes, was escorted by Geng Nan Yi and Xia Pei Heng, riding a horse to the entrance of Huan Guang Gate, limping as he walked into the imperial city to see Princess Jin Cheng.

  Although there is still one day before the deadline for submitting the formation diagram, Xīao Sì has decided to deliver it a day in advance, so that he can go find Princess Jīn Chéng to flirt with her.

  Twelve Blooming Lotus Steps, two Jade Sun Cultivation Source Pills, and a sixth-grade Immortal Armor "Hundred Battles Frost Robe" gifted by the Chai Shao couple without compensation. Xiao Si's confidence was boosted again.

  After a night of treatment by the old thief, his injuries had healed, but he deliberately pretended to be limping and gritting his teeth in pain, slowly making his way into the Nan Shu Fang behind the Gan Lu Hall.

  Jincheng Princess changed into a pale blue Luo skirt, and in the cold elegance and luxury, she added a few more simple and elegant touches. Xiao Si couldn't help but sneak a few more glances at her.

  Jin Cheng Gong Zhu took out a scroll and placed it on the table, asking: "What do you want to exchange this time?"

  Xiao Si said discontentedly: "Why don't you ask me who hurt me and how badly I'm injured?"

  "Aren't you still able to move?"

  "Nonsense! If one can't move, wouldn't they become a dead person?"

  "Isn't that enough?"

  "But I'm about to duel with Duan Zhentian, and if things don't go well, I might be done for."

  "Oh, it's okay, you won't die from it, but being crippled or maimed is a possibility."

  "You... didn't give Lao Gou some medicine, did you?"

  Jincheng Gongzhu didn't bother with Xiao Si, took the list of materials from his hand and stamped an "approved" without even looking at it, then handed it back to him saying: "Anything else?"

  Xiao Si's face turned gloomy, and he said: "If I'm really crippled, that's one thing. But if I'm unlucky enough to be beaten into a fool, then today will be the last delivery. You'd better give me the antidote, or else I'll be paralyzed in bed with only one thought - finding someone to fight to the death."

  Jincheng Princess suddenly raised her head, and two cold gazes seemed to pierce through Xiao Si in an instant.

  Xiao Si's eyes narrowed as he sneered, "A barefooted person isn't afraid of one wearing shoes. Are you going to give me the antidote or not?"

  The Princess of Golden Castle slowly drew out a pale blue jade tube from her sleeve and said, "This is a seventh-grade 'Five Mountains Calming the Sea Talisman', what will you use to exchange for it?"

  Xiao Siyi snatched it over with a smile, feeling satisfied: "First, let's put it on account. We'll talk about it after I win this round." He picked up the scroll and material list from the desk and walked out of the study.

  As he stepped out of the doorway with one foot, he thought of something and turned back to say: "Those two subordinates of yours are not bad, although they're a bit old, but they all look quite pretty."

  The Golden City Princess nodded and said, "They will continue to protect you."

  Xiao Si smiled easily and said: "Of course, then I can rest assured." He walked out of the Nan Shu Fang, took the refining materials, left the palace and returned to the Liu Yuan.

  He had intended to look for Bo Suanzi, but found that the other's door was tightly closed, and a ban was added around it, presumably still busy, so he didn't disturb him and went straight back to his own room.

  Sitting at the desk, counting the new family heirlooms he had obtained over the past two days, Xiao Si's confidence slowly returned as he repeatedly rehearsed tomorrow's duel in his mind.

  "Laozi doesn't have to die fighting with Duan Laogou, after a long and hard struggle, there should be a way out, right?"

  He gazed at the brocade box filled with starstones and the materials piled on the desk, a vague shadow gradually emerging in his mind, seemingly extremely important but elusive.

  "Whatever, a last-minute sharpening of the sword is better than nothing." Xiaosan put everything into his belt and sat cross-legged on the bed, starting his cultivation from early morning.

  After an unknown period of time, he suddenly felt a heat in his lower abdomen, and a whirlwind of energy burst out from the depths of his dan tian, rapidly expanding and transforming into a powerful gust of wind that broke through the air and shot straight up, like a dragon awakened from hibernation, instantly rushing to the top of his head, as if an iron hammer had heavily struck his own heavenly gate.

  "Rumble, rumble——" Xiaosan's mind was in a state of utter chaos, as if he had been pressed into the dark, ink-like waters. The tempest inside him churned and bubbled like molten lava, causing him to involuntarily let out a long, low growl!

  "Boom——" The second tornado was immediately generated, flying along the original path, but deviated from the route at the last moment and heavily struck the Jade Pillow Cave.

  "Damn it!" Xīao Sì let out another miserable cry, and exclaimed in shock: "Could it be that I've gone crazy again? No, this time every step was extremely stable, without a single mistake. Could it be that the 64 Hexagrams River Map Star Array itself has a problem?"

  No time for him to think, the third, fourth, fifth... a wave of hurricanes poured out from his dantian one after another, striking different acupoints non-stop.

  Xiao Si suddenly felt as if his entire body was ignited by a raging fire, with all his internal organs, meridians, and bones burning and melting. The pain he felt was beyond description, surpassing even the most severe punishments that Lao Tou had ever inflicted upon him.

  All he could think of was to concentrate his mind and protect his spiritual vein with all his might, preserving the last bit of divine consciousness in his Lingtai. But the more he did so, the more intense the burning pain inside him became.

  Since he could remember, there had never been a moment that made Xiao Si feel as long as now, even a kind of desperate eternity.

  But he couldn't stop now, or more accurately, had completely lost control of the true energy within his body.

  The dantian is like a volcano erupting violently, constantly spewing out intense hurricane-like magma. This magma spreads from the top of the head to the chest, from both arms to both legs, blooming in all directions and reaching every corner of the body.

  "Damn it, why don't you just strike me dead with a thunderbolt and get it over with?"

  Xiao Si wanted to shout and struggle, but was shocked to find that his whole body was not listening to him, and he couldn't make a sound even in his throat.

  "The old man doesn't even have the energy to scold people anymore." Xiang Xiao Si had an urge to bang her head against the emerald jade star plate.

  He seemed to have fallen into a terrible nightmare of endless darkness, completely unaware of the outside world, as if he would never be able to open his eyes again.

  The door creaked open again after a while, and Wan'er called out softly, "Are you there?" She gazed inside the room.

  "Whoosh——" A scorching gust of wind suddenly blew in, swirling around Xiao Si's small body as its center, stirring up a silvery white glow that faintly emanated from within the house.

  It wasn't clear when, but his body floated and hovered in mid-air above the bed, his skin turning a strange semi-transparent state from the inside out. This made it easy for others to see the meridians under his skin, where strands of silver-white wind churned and flowed all over his body, as if covered by dense lightning bolts.

  Wan'er covered her cherry-like mouth in shock, fearing that she would disturb Xiao Si, but not knowing that at this moment, even if the sky fell and the earth cracked, it wouldn't affect him in the slightest.

  The current Xiao Si has thoroughly immersed himself in a vast starry sky. What's in front of him is no longer the darkness that can't be reached by stretching out his hand, but rather a multitude of dazzling shooting stars flying and intersecting.

  Two more hours passed, and the luster in Xiao Si's body gradually dimmed, his body slowly sinking to the ground.

  The whirlwind swirling indoors was like a thousand strands of silver thread, which was inexplicably absorbed into his body.

  Wan'er let out a soft breath and quietly closed the door behind her as she stepped outside.

  The house was quiet again, except for Xiao Si's soft and gentle breathing, no other sounds could be heard.

  It wasn't until midnight that he slowly regained consciousness, and he felt that the sixty-four key points in his body, including Baihui, Yuzhen, and Tiangong, were all surging with a majestic aura, each with a swirling cloud of vital energy rotating within, and all sorts of mysteries were condensed onto his spiritual platform.

  What's even more surprising is that after this baptism by fire, his meridians and bones have become much stronger, just like a small stream has grown into a mighty river.

  Even so, his cultivation was far from comparable to Duan Shentian's. To win the bet, he had to resort to other means.

  At this point, Xīao Sì's spirit lifted and he stood up, walking to the table, taking out from his belt a brocade box containing the Haixing stone and a Bai Gui Ye Xing symbol.

  He stared at the two things for a long time, his eyes narrowing unconsciously again, and a wry smile that seemed to indicate someone was going to be unlucky slipped out of the corner of his mouth. He muttered to himself: "200,000 taels... can't it be a bit more?"

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