Chapter Fifteen: Human World

  Chapter Fifteen Human World

  "Could Xue Xian actually lose?" Ji Ruochen raised his head from the book and asked in surprise.

  Shang Qiushui was sitting upright at his desk, and upon hearing this, he was shocked. He quickly made a silencing gesture and said, "I didn't mean it that way! Speak softly, or else if Ice Immortal were to find out, it wouldn't be good!"

  Ji Ruocheng exclaimed, "This is the Tai Chang Palace, dozens of miles away from the Chang Yang Palace. My residence is quiet and deserted, with no one around. Even if she has a high level of cultivation, she shouldn't be able to hear anything, right? Autumn Water Shixiong, you... seem to be very afraid of Ji Bingxian!"

  Shang Qiushui's face turned slightly red, and she murmured a few times before biting her lower lip and saying, "This... Ah! Admitting it isn't a big deal. You know that every now and then, I always have to charge into the Ice Heart Residence, and after getting beaten up so many times, I'd naturally become a bit afraid. It's normal for men to be afraid, and admitting one's fear is truly rare."

  Shang Qiushui claims to be a man of iron and blood, but Ji Ruochen can't help but laugh and cry. Although Shang Qiushui's bold move of breaking into Bingxin's residence at night did surprise Ji Ruochen greatly, that was a tragic and desperate act like rose petals stained with blood, having nothing to do with the iron and blood spirit of men who wield golden spears and ride iron horses to victory on the battlefield.

  But he knew it was impossible to convince Shang Qiushui, so he smiled and said: "You just said that Ji Bingxian lost..."

  "I didn't say that!"

  "Alright! You didn't say, you just said that yesterday Ji Bing Xian had already met the disciple of Yun Zhong Ju, and after returning, she closed her door and didn't come out. Actually, it's very normal for her to lose once, after all, she hasn't been cultivating for long, in terms of true yuan dao xing, naturally can't compare with those who have cultivated for decades."

  Shang Qiushui's eyes widened, and he said: "If Dusty Shixiong, how long has it been since you came out to exercise? You don't even know about such a big thing! Among the three disciples who came this time from Yunzhongju, the oldest, Chu Han, is only 15 years into his cultivation. In fact, he's not much older than us. Moreover, our Daode Sect has always been known for its moral character, we just sit and discuss the Dao, naturally knowing high and low. Of course, we wouldn't learn those inferior techniques that rely on fighting methods, comparing skills, or competing in years of cultivation to determine superiority."

  Even in anger, there is still a gentle and elegant quality.

  Ji Ruochen knew that what he said was not wrong. The Golden Immortal's Great Dao had many methods, but all the different paths led to the same destination, and they all emphasized enlightenment first, with no great connection to the number of years spent cultivating. Since everyone had been cultivating for over ten years, a few more or less years didn't make much difference. However, Ji Ruochen was sharp-witted and immediately grasped the subtle clue that Shang Qiushui's words revealed, and asked: "You?"

  Shang Qiu Shui didn't hide it either and said: "Not to deceive you, Master Ruo Chen, actually we few people have already competed with the disciples of Yun Zhong Ju."

  Ji Ruochen was shocked, and upon further inquiry, he learned that after Tianhai Lao Ren ascended to the Western Mystic Mountain, Ziyang Zhenren gave him great face by assigning over a dozen knowledgeable Daoist priests to attend to his daily needs, including food and drink. Moreover, except for a few restricted areas within the Taishang Daode Palace, he was allowed to visit all other places, including the Nine Peaks, freely with his three disciples, and they were not prohibited from contacting the lower-ranking members of the Daoist sect.

  Everyone in the Dao De Sect knew that Tian Hai Lao Ren had come with ill intentions. Many of his disciples were young and vigorous, and since they were used to being the number one sect, they all wanted to test their skills against those of Yun Zhong Ju's disciples. Yun Zhong Ju was famous for a long time, so those who dared to challenge him were naturally the talented young generation within the Dao De Sect. Although Yun Zhong Ju had come from afar as a guest, and the various True Persons had strict orders not to engage in a battle of magical powers, discussing the Dao was still permissible.

  The old man Tianhai let go of his three apprentices and spent his days drinking wine and playing chess with the Daoist master, occasionally discussing the great principles of the Tao. This gave many opportunities to the younger disciples of the Daoist sect. As a result, several young disciples came to visit, pretending to accompany him on a tour of the Taishang Daoist Palace, but actually seeking to discuss the Tao. Among the guests who came to pay their respects, there were also many outstanding young disciples from other sects. The young people were not willing to be left out, and some had the idea of making a name for themselves by taking advantage of the opportunity. Some people saw that the Daoist sect had many beautiful young female disciples, and they couldn't help but have romantic thoughts. These people used various excuses to join in the open and secret struggle between the Daoist sect and Yunzhongju.

  What a surprise, only one rock came out of the clouds, with an overwhelming advantage, and without even needing to demonstrate it in person, he was able to dismiss him with just a few words. As they watched the young disciples who accompanied her all had embarrassed expressions on their faces and hastily left.

  Only one afternoon had passed and among the young disciples of Dao Zong, only four with talent remained, including Ji Bingxian.

  Except for Ji Bingxian, Li Xuanzhen and others were all dissatisfied in their hearts, one by one went to find him. As a result, neither Li Xuanzhen nor Mingyun could pass the test of Shi Jia, and Shang Qiushui barely caught Shi Jia's negligence and passed the test, and was able to enter the Water Pavilion where Shi Jia and others lived. Entering the Flower Pavilion, Chu Han was admiring a painting, seeing Shang Qiushui and others entering, his face showed surprise.

  After discussing back and forth, it was decided by Shang Qiushui that they would use a game of Weiqi to determine the winner.

  Shang Autumn Water picked up a white piece, pondered for a long time, and then snapped his fingers. The white piece flew diagonally to the star position, floating about an inch above the grid, and didn't move again. Chu Han Sword's eyebrows rose slightly, and he softly exclaimed, staring at the grid for a long time before throwing out the black piece from his hand.

  Still, Autumn Water's move was actually quite learned. Not only did it maintain the floating emptiness with true yuan, but also took into account the heavenly stems and earthly branches of the time, making good use of the positional advantage. If Chu Han had responded slightly carelessly and made a mistake in timing, losing the positional advantage, then trying to maintain the black piece's floating emptiness would inevitably require consuming a lot more true yuan. But if one only considers the true yuan of position, and the chess move is wrong, it will naturally be a loss as well. Thus, this game of chess was a test of three skills: chess art, true yuan, and divination symbol manipulation.

  Li Xuanzhen and Ming Yun exchanged a smile, secretly thinking they had the upper hand. Shang Qiushui was exceptionally intelligent and talented, her chess skills were not inferior to those of the current national champion, so in this competition, she would naturally have the advantage.

  At this point, the game had reached the middle stage, and Li Xuanzhen and Mingyun's faces were already looking a bit unsightly. Chu Han's chess skills were indeed better than Shang Qiuyu's, but he was as firm as a rock, and no matter whether the situation on the board was good or bad, he didn't have the slightest intention of wavering. His true yuan was like a tidal wave, every move had the intention of wind and thunder, his strength and position were flawless, without any weaknesses, and the pressure he put on Shang Qiuyu was getting bigger and bigger. In an instant, Shang Qiuyu's face was already flushed, with fine sweat on her forehead, and it seemed like she was struggling more and more as she played. A moment later, Shang Qiuyu finally couldn't hold on anymore, and with a "pa" sound, a white piece fell into the wrong position, losing the entire game.

  Chu Han smiled and bowed, repeatedly yielding. He was also drenched in sweat and didn't look much better than Shang Qiushui, but what made him terrifying was his unyielding determination, and no one knew how long he could hold on. That's why this time, despite his efforts, Shang Qiushui still couldn't fully grasp Chu Han's true abilities.

  After Shang Qiushui adjusted his breath slightly, he said: "Since the three disciples of Yunzhongju have come, why not invite Gu Qing to come out and meet them? It's not in vain for the three of you to come here this time." Chu Han smiled slightly and said that Gu Qing had always been unwilling to see outsiders. If they really wanted to see him, there were two options: either go to the inner courtyard now and see him by themselves, or visit the Taishang Daode Palace together tomorrow, and naturally, they would also meet then.

  Shang Qiushui and others knew that Chu Han's words were hinting at wanting to see Gu Qing, and they had to get past this hurdle first. As for meeting again tomorrow to admire the Taoist temple, it would be a completely different story.

  Then Chu Han hinted at sending off the guests.

  After the three left, they were really unwilling to give up. They discussed it and felt that Chu Han's move was perfect and flawless, with no weaknesses or loopholes, and had a majestic and powerful aura, making it highly likely that he was one of the strongest among the three people in Yun Zhong Ju. And Ji Bing Xian was arrogant and lawless, precisely the nemesis of Chu Han. So the three of them made up their minds to go find Ji Bing Xian together. Although there were originally some grudges between the three of them, now that they had a common enemy, they had to put aside their past grievances.

  Ji Bingxian listened to the whole story and only said indifferently that she would go to see Gu Qing in the evening, then she drove out of the three people with ulterior motives who intentionally stirred up trouble from the Ice Heart Residence.

  As night fell, the wooden door of Bing Xin's residence opened, and Ji Bing Xian floated out with a faint chill, arriving at the place where Yun Zhong Ju's people lived in an instant. She rushed straight inside. Shang Qiu Shui and others knew that Ji Bing Xian liked to come and go alone, so they only followed from afar, not daring to get too close. Who would have thought that in less than a cup of tea's time, the door of the Water Pavilion Hall where Yun Zhong Ju's disciples lived opened, and Ji Bing Xian floated out!

  Li Xuanzhen and others sensed something was amiss, so they hastily went to greet her and ask about the outcome of the battle. Ji Bingxian's face was as cold as frost, not mentioning a word about the fight over the Taoist methods, only throwing out one sentence "I want to go into seclusion for three months, don't bother me!" With that, she threw off the three people and returned to her Ice Heart Residence with an icy aura.

  As for the outcome of this trip, whether she had seen Gu Qing or not, no one knew.

  "So in my opinion, Ji Bingxian probably lost." Ji Ruochen said.

  Shang Qiushui slightly frowned and said, "The outcome is not yet certain! Moreover, Bing Xian is my good sister, how could I possibly wish for her to lose? However... hmm... Dusty Shixiong, what you said actually makes sense."

  Ji Ruocheng thought for a moment, then smiled and said: "Autumn Water Shixiong, this win or loss is just a matter of pride, why take it to heart? I've heard that Yun Zhongju's selection of disciples is extremely strict, unless one is as talented as Autumn Water Shixiong, otherwise it's impossible to enter Yun Zhongju. That's why Yun Zhongju has always had very few people. My Dao De Zong has three thousand disciples, the momentum is completely different! Just give it some time, and overwhelming Yun Zhongju will be a natural trend. Autumn Water Shixiong doesn't need to worry too much."

  Shang Qiushui pondered for a moment, his eyes lit up, staring at Ji Ruochen, and smiled: "Brother Ruo Chen is indeed far-sighted!"

  Ji Ruochen's heart skipped a beat as he was stared at by him, and immediately thought it was bad.

  Shang Qiushui said, "But although it's said that way, in my heart I still don't feel quite at ease. Hmm, now the time has arrived, those three guys from Yunzhongju should be by Taicheng Pool, let's go take a look."

  He didn't allow Ji Ruocheng to say another word, his slender hand moved as fast as lightning and grabbed onto Ji Ruocheng's hand. With a burst of strength, he was about to drag him out of the room by force.

  Ji Ruochen's body swayed, and in an instant, his figure seemed to weigh a million tons, his feet rooted to the ground, and he was not pulled by Shang Qiushui!

  Shang Qiushui was taken aback, her beautiful eyes staring at Ji Ruochen for a long time before she spoke slowly and clearly: "Ruochen Shixiong, have you made another breakthrough?"

  This sentence was spoken with great difficulty by Shang Qiushui, each word seeming to be squeezed out of her cherry lips and pearly teeth.

  Ji Ruocheng smiled and said, "You can't hide it from me. Two days ago, I suddenly had an epiphany and gained a lot, just in time to make progress. I guess it's good luck!"

  Shang Qiushui remained silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh and said: "Five years to break through the five realms... Brother Chén has indeed made rapid progress! Truly, he is hiding his true abilities and pretending to be foolish. I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed!"

  Ji Ruochen was about to say something humble, but didn't expect Shang Qiushui to suddenly perk up and say: "In that case, we should go take a look at those people in Yunzhongju. Let's go!"

  As they spoke, Shang Qiuyu's slender hand, as white as ice and snow, suddenly increased its strength several times over, and Ji Ruochen could no longer resist, being pulled away by him like a bird in flight.