Chapter Five Downfall

  Today was supposed to be the day Ji Ruochen received teachings from Yu Xujian, but he had an injury and Yun Fengdaozhang took a day off for him. After Ji Ruochen calmed down, he pinned all his hopes of speeding up his cultivation on the Xianju, locking himself in his room for a whole day to study the Jie Li Ju. However, after trying many times, Ji Ruochen finally realized that this Jie Li Xianju was not omnipotent.

  This separation technique can only be used on objects with spiritual energy to separate the usable spiritual energy. For example, that agarwood paperweight has a history of at least several hundred years and has been played with by generations of true masters, so it has been imbued with a hint of spiritual energy. However, when Ji Ruochen slapped his palm on a half-new intricately carved wooden chair, the chair dissipated into smoke, but not even a hint of true spiritual energy emerged. Moreover, perhaps Ji Ruochen's Taoist cultivation was insufficient, and the separation technique did not work against slightly more refined magical artifacts or immortal instruments.

  Moreover, just like ordinary people taking supplements, it's not that after eating something you can immediately get the full effect. The heavenly spiritual energy extracted from the universe is also the same, and it's not that after swallowing the five elements, four images, and primordial chaos, they will naturally merge together. Often, one sees a certain attribute of spiritual energy overflowing, but what can be used by Ji Ruodust is less than one in ten. Thinking of using this method to thicken the primordial yuan is really a waste of heavenly resources.

  Although the Separation Technique was a divine technique, Ji Ruochen's actual skill level was too poor. Even when dealing with small objects that had some spiritual energy, it was sometimes effective and sometimes not. After trying for a day, the decorations in his room had decreased significantly, leaving it empty and bare. He didn't dare try again, fearing he would reveal his true abilities. However, since mastering the Separation Technique, Ji Ruochen's eyesight had become much sharper. At this moment, with just one glance, he could see that all the magical tools given to him by the other cultivators were emitting a faint aura of treasure light, not a single one was an ordinary object.

  Ji Ruocheng was initially unfamiliar with the grand way, and naturally didn't know how rare these magical instruments were or where their wonders lay. At that time, he saw these magical instruments one by one, dark and dirty, without gold inlays or silver ornaments, nor precious gems or jade, so he didn't take them seriously and casually discarded them.

  Ji Ruochen can now see the spiritual light and treasure aura, but the more precious these Taoist instruments and treasures are, the less he can smile. The various true people have spent so much money, of course, they will not be willing to return empty-handed. In the future, when things are exposed, they will definitely make him pay a good price.

  He fell into a chair, burying his face in his hands, and for a moment he felt that the road ahead was uncertain, with not a single glimmer of hope. He suddenly cried out, remembering that Gu Shouzhen had given him a pair of purple crystal divination blocks and had initially taught him the method of casting divinations. Ji Ruochen hastily found the purple crystal divination blocks, followed the method to cast a divination, and inquired about the auspiciousness or ominousness of the banished immortal's affair.

  Ominous.

  Ji Ruocheng's hands and feet were icy cold. He calmed himself down, trying to comfort himself with his imperfect knowledge, before casting another divination.

  Great Calamity.

  He suddenly became enraged, and with a loud slap, he swept all the divination slips off the table. However, while dozens of divination slips were still in mid-air, they suddenly lit up with a bright purple-red glow, dispersing into clusters of pale purple mist. Ji Ruochen was shocked, only then realizing that in his haste and anger, he had unintentionally activated the dispersal technique, causing the divination slips to disperse! Before he could regain his composure, a strand of purple crystal energy pierced through his meridians like a needle, extremely sharp and fierce. At this point, Ji Ruochen could no longer withstand it, and with a sudden burst of blood from his mouth, he fell to the ground.

  Ji Ruocheng's eyes suddenly swept to a corner of the ground, where there was still an unbroken purple crystal divination slip, and from that position and angle, he calculated the heavenly timing and earthly energy, which coincidentally formed another divination symbol.

  Great calamity, and there will be a disaster with bloodshed.

  When the moon was first rising, Ji Ruochen finally calmed down and carefully thought back to what he had learned recently. He took out the Longhua Dan given by Gu Shouzhen and swallowed it, starting to refine the medicinal power according to the formula. Before this, he had been desperately cultivating because he felt that everything in the Taishang Daode Palace was like a dream, afraid that one day he would wake up with nothing in his hands.

  At this moment, his direction is clear. He will learn more Taoist skills and cultivate more true yuan. In the future, there will be a greater hope of escaping or saving his life. So he worked even harder, and even if he slept for a moment longer, he would be frightened by cold sweat and blamed himself desperately.

  The next day at dusk, Ji Ruochen finished learning from Yu Xuzhen and was about to leave when Yu Xuzhen suddenly stopped him with a smile: "Ruochen, I heard that Jing Xiao's precious daughter had a sword fight with you?"

  Ji Ruochen's heart was slightly startled, and he didn't know why Yu Xujian suddenly asked about the small dispute among his disciples. Although there were thousands of thoughts flashing through his mind, his face remained sincere as he recounted the events of that day, including the embarrassing fact that he had been beaten up. He also didn't exaggerate the evil behavior of those little Taoists who bullied people in groups. Of course, there were also some small omissions and inaccuracies in this account, such as not mentioning the Jie Li Xian jue.

  Yu Xū Zhen Rén nodded his head, seemingly pleased with Ji Ruò Chén's frank admission. He looked him up and down before saying: "Hm, your true yuan is strong at the moment, but it has a slightly disjointed feel to it. Clearly, you've taken the Spiritual Elixir that supplements true yuan, but your injuries haven't fully healed yet. Ji Ruò Chén, in our Dao De Zong, we prioritize integrity and sincerity. It's rare for someone like you to have no ulterior motives, but being too frank isn't good either. Your studies are heavy, and if these children keep pestering you, it'll ultimately hinder your progress. They're not from my Yu Xū Gate, so I, as a master uncle, can't directly discipline them. But don't worry, come here, Master Uncle will teach you some of the Liè Quē Sword Techniques. As long as you work hard and diligently practice, even without a robust true yuan, you'll still have immense power."

  Ji Ruochen was overjoyed and hastily thanked him. His true yuan was almost all obtained through the separation of spiritual energy from various elixirs and immortal techniques, like taking supplements, not his own thing, and using it always couldn't get the desired effect, while slowly refining it needed time. This Lie Que Sword Technique didn't require a thick true yuan, for him now it was a timely rain after a long drought.

  Yu Xujian was delighted to see him so humble and courteous, and smiled: "You go back and practice hard. Next time Zhang Yin comes to pester you again, you won't need to use much true yuan, I guarantee that her Big Five Elements Sword will be broken cleanly!"

  The swordsmanship of Lie Que was profound and subtle, containing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. Yu Xuan Zhen Ren taught him three forms, but Ji Ruochen spent more than half a day and could only barely remember two of them, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall the third one. Although Yu Xuan Zhen Ren was slightly disappointed, he didn't mind, just instructing him to practice well after returning.

  "What a coincidence!"

  A sudden shout from behind startled Ji Ruochen, who had just left the Huanwu Palace and was deep in thought about the Li Que Swordsmanship. The voice, although intentionally lowered, still sounded very familiar to his ears. Ji Ruochen turned around to look, and it was indeed that Ming Xin little Daoist.

  "What instructions do you have?" Ji Ruochen said indifferently.

  Ming Xin put his hands behind his back, walked around Ji Ruoxuan in a circle, and sneered: "Look at you, strong and healthy, after resting for two days, the injuries on your body should have healed, right?"

  Ji Ruochen suddenly smiled and beckoned to Mingxin, saying: "Is the wound healed or not? You come and take a look, then you'll know."

  Ming Xin's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously took a step back. He had suffered greatly from Ji Ruochen's sudden change of face before. He had never experienced any hardship, so the full-force punch from Ji Ruochen that day had already given him two consecutive days of nightmares. Ming Xin immediately realized that Ji Ruochen was not saying anything profound, and his own cowardice was already a great shame. His small face turned bright red with anger, and he shouted: "Ji Ruochen! Don't think you can be arrogant just because you have the favor of these true immortals! Stop wasting words, come with me!"

  Ji Ruoxuan's face was filled with confusion, as if he had seen a fierce and powerful aura that shook the heavens. He seemed to be intimidated, and kept asking: "Where are we going?"

  Ming Xin looked at him with such an expression, and coldly sneered: "Ming Yun Shixiong wants to see you, to see what kind of ability you have, to dare hurt my Taixuan Peak's Zhang Yinyin."

  "If I don't go, a group of people will definitely be waiting for me again." With that, Ji Ruochen pulled up his legs and left.

  Ming Xin's face turned red with rage, and he shouted: "With your insignificant magical powers, I can handle you myself. Do I need to rely on numerical superiority? Ming Yun Shixiong is already waiting for you, today you will go even if you don't want to, and you will go even if you don't go!"

  As they spoke, Ming Xin reached out his hand and was about to pull Ji Ruochen.

  Ji Ruochen simply let him grab her sleeve and said, "I'm just not going! Are you planning to use force?"

  Ming Xin raised his fist and shouted: "If you want to fight, then let's fight! You're offering wine but not drinking it, that's a penalty!"

  Ji Ruochen hastily said: "The rules within the sect are strict, and there are many true people coming and going here. If you really want to hit me, as long as I shout loudly, at the very least, you will be locked up for seven days to reflect on your actions!"

  With a sudden clarity, the fist that had been raised hesitated for half a day and finally didn't dare to fall on Ji Ruochen. He was unwilling to give up, and viciously said: "You coward, really call out to me and see? I'll break your leg!"

  Ji Ruochen heard this and immediately took a deep breath, opened her mouth wide, and was about to let out a loud shriek that would pierce the night sky.

  Ming Xin was shocked and quickly withdrew his fist. Ji Ruochen took the opportunity to pull back her sleeve, and she ran out three or five steps diagonally, getting far away from Ming Xin.

  Ming Xin stood on the spot, his heart filled with hatred, yet he didn't dare to take another step forward. He gritted his teeth and said: "Ji Ruochen, you may have escaped on the first day of the month, but you won't be able to escape on the fifteenth! If you follow me this time, nothing big will happen. But if you let Ming Yun Shixiong wait in vain, humph! You'll suffer the consequences of offending our Taichuan Peak!"

  Ji Ruocheng seemed to be moved by his words, hesitated for a moment, and said: "But now Yunfeng Daozhang is already waiting for me to cross the bridge, if we delay any further, Daozhang may come looking for us. How about this, three days later at this time, I'll go with you to see Mingyun Shixiong?"

  With a clear mind, he saw the dust being blown away by the cloud wind. He knew that today was not the day to settle the score with him. Since he finally yielded and agreed on a later date, he could only reluctantly conclude: "Fine! Three days from now at this time, I'll be waiting for you at the Sword Casting Platform in the back mountain!"

  Three days later, the bright moon is high in the sky, with thin clouds like sand.

  Looking from the Sword Casting Platform, one can see the starry lights of the Taishang Dao Palace twinkling in the distance, a prosperous and dreamy scene. Occasionally, a streak of light flashes across the sky, leaving behind a faint trail, it is unknown whether it was a true person riding a sword or a rare bird or beast raised in the palace flying out at night to return home.

  The terrain of the Sword Casting Platform was high and steep, stretching out at an angle. Its shape resembled a large iron anvil for casting swords, hence its name. At this moment, more than ten people were standing on the platform, most of them standing at the edge, stretching their necks to look down at the mountain road, with anxious expressions evident on their faces. In the center of the Sword Casting Platform stood a young Daoist priest who looked about sixteen or seventeen years old, with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, handsome and extraordinary. He stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes cast downward, without any sign of anxiety, looking as if he had already cultivated some inner energy.

  But Zhang Yin-yin, on the other hand, was not in such a good mood. She was like an ant on a hot pot, turning around the high platform, occasionally muttering curses under her breath.

  At this time, it was the season of fierce winds, and the Taishang Daode Palace had an array to protect it, making it feel like spring all year round. However, the range of the array was limited, so only a little residual aura could be felt on this sword platform. Every time the cold wind howled by, the children in thin clothes on the platform would shiver with cold. Zhang Yinyin desperately blew air onto her already numb fingers, and finally couldn't bear it anymore, shouting loudly: "Mingxin! Didn't you say that Ji Ruochen would come? It's been an hour now, where is he?"

  Ming Xin hurried over, smiling apologetically: "He might have been delayed by something, and we'll definitely scold him properly later! Yin Yin Shifu, Ming Yun Shixiong, let's wait a bit longer, I'm sure he won't dare to play tricks on us!"

  Another half hour has passed...

  The bright cloud that had been standing still in the middle of the platform suddenly opened its eyes and said faintly, "He's not afraid, he's already tricked us, let's go back."

  At this time, all the little Taoists had already frozen to hug their arms tightly and jumped back and forth to prevent their feet from becoming numb. Zhang Yin's face was pale, her lips were purple, but she still followed Mingyun down to the casting sword platform. When passing by Mingxin, she glared at him fiercely and hummed heavily, scaring Mingxin to tremble and almost falling off the platform.

  "Time flies like dust!"

  Ji Ruocheng turned around, looking at Mingxin with a somewhat dazed expression, whose face was pale and clenched his teeth.

  "Ah, you're quite bold, aren't you, Ji Ruochen! You actually dare to play tricks on us. I'm asking you, why didn't you show up last night?"

  Ji Ruocheng slapped his forehead and suddenly said, "That's what happened. Last night, Zi Yang Zhenren summoned me to point out the problems in my cultivation. I didn't dare not go."

  Ming Xin's anger was at its peak, and he was just about to shout a few words when suddenly the sound of footsteps came, and several Taoist priests walked along the road with smiles on their faces. Ji Ruochen and Ming Xin stepped aside and greeted them with courtesy. Ming Xin didn't relax until he had seen off the Taoist priests from afar, then he quietly let out a sigh of relief. Ji Ruochen watched coldly, knowing that Ming Xin was guilty, and secretly sneered at him.

  When the Daozhangs walked far away, Mingxin turned his face back and put on a fierce expression again, growling: "Ji Ruocheng, no matter what reason you have, you've fooled us once and let us freeze for an hour and a half on the Zhū Jiàn Tái! What do you say we should do now?"

  Ji Ruocheng hastily went to the Scripture Storage Pavilion to look up the legends of immortals and ascension stories, wanting to figure out what was true or false about the banished immortal's words. At this time, seeing Ming Xin being unreasonable as ever, a surge of nameless fire rose in his heart.

  Ji Ruocheng's heart skipped a beat, and he forced a smile on his face: "Ming Xin Shixiong, two days later at the same time, I will go to Zhu Xiangtai to pay respects to Ming Yun Shixiong and apologize to Zhang Yin Shijie. What do you think?"

  The moral master was the first to enter, and Ming Xin was still young. He was called "Shi Xiong" by Ji Ruochen, which was very pleasant for him to accept. However, Ji Ruochen was a disciple of Zi Yang Zhen Ren, and the leaders of various sects had always been on an equal footing. From this point of view, Ji Ruochen would be Ming Xin's Shu Zu (uncle-master).

  This layer of relationship is naturally ignored by Ming Xin.

  Ming Xin smiled and patted Ji Ruocheng's shoulder, saying with a serious tone: "This is more like it. Two days later, you come to the Sword Casting Platform honestly, I'll make sure you suffer less!"

  Ji Ruochen thanked Mingxin and left, going back to the Scripture Storage Building to study scriptures.

  In the blink of an eye, two days had passed. As night fell, Ming Xin saw Ji Rufeng walking towards the Sword Casting Platform from afar, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

  Dai Ji Ruocheng stood firmly on the sword casting platform, and Ming Yun first bowed to him with a deep salute, then said: "Ruocheng Master... senior brother, I am Ming Yun. I have heard that senior brother has exceptional talent, favored by all the true people, and defeated Yin Yin junior sister with his mysterious skills. So I specially made an appointment with you, just wanting to ask for your advice. Let's stop when we reach the point, so as not to hurt our fellow disciples' feelings. I hope Ruocheng senior brother will not decline."

  This clearly reminded him of Ji Ruochen's generation, but it was really hard to call out "Shifu Zu", after several hesitations, he still only called out "Shixiong".

  Ji Ru's eyes widened slightly as he thought that Ming Yun would be just as arrogant and rude as Ming Xin, but unexpectedly, this young Taoist looked quite young and was surprisingly polite and courteous in his responses, even in the face of such a situation, it was hard to dislike him. It seemed that Ming Yun's cultivation had reached a considerable level.

  Ji Ruocheng bowed deeply and said with a smile: "Good, good, but my Tao is shallow and I haven't even touched the gate of the Great Way, how can I show my ugliness? Ming Yun Shidi, please spare me!"

  He hadn't finished speaking when Zhang Yin couldn't bear it anymore and shouted: "Ji Ruochen! You'd better know your place, if you don't want to compare swords with Mingyun Shixiong, then let's have another match, but if I accidentally hurt you, that's your own fault!"

  Unexpectedly, Ji Ruocheng was not moved by her threat at all, and only smiled and shook his head: "The rules of my sect are strict, so I dare not fight with Miss Yin."

  At this time, Ming Xin could no longer bear it, stepped forward and shouted: "If you don't dare to fight with Yin Yin, then I'll be your opponent!"

  Ji Ruochen shook his head and said, "The rules of our sect are strict, I won't fight with you either."

  Zhang Yin said angrily: "You really won't fight?"

  "My sect's rules are strict, I really don't dare to fight."

  Zhang Yin was furious: "Tonight you must fight, whether you want to or not!"

  Ji Ruochen smiled and said to Zhang Yin: "No matter what, I won't fight."

  Zhang Yin was furious.

  She drew her sword with a clink, and this time it was no longer a wooden sword in her hand, but a real sword forged from blue steel! Clearly she had come prepared.

  The young Taoists looked at each other in dismay, their original intention was only to teach a lesson to Ji Ruochen who had monopolized the true people's honor and favor, they never dared to have any idea of killing or committing violence. Seeing that this situation is going to lead to big trouble, they were all stunned. However, their cultivation was not enough, no one dared to intercept Zhang Yinyin recklessly, being swept away by her Big Five Elements Sword Technique once, fearing for their own lives.

  Ming Yun let out a soft sigh, his left hand's five fingers fluttered like a pipa being played, and with the ease of floating clouds and flowing water, he swept across Zhang Yin's sword edge. Zhang Yin's sword momentum immediately plummeted, the green steel sword let out a long, clear hum, and with one stroke, it stabbed into the ground, sinking two inches deep!

  Ming Xin suddenly took a step forward, and in his hand was an unknown wooden sword. He pointed at Ji Ruochen and said: "Stop spouting door rules all the time! You can't just talk about door rules tonight. If you want to leave, first take a good beating from us! Hmph, what's the point of door rules anyway?"

  At this time, a thick and peaceful voice suddenly sounded on the sword-casting platform: "Who said that my Moral Sect is nothing?"

  Ming Xin and a group of little Taoists changed color, turned their heads in shock, only to find that the Sword Casting Platform had unknowingly added a true person who was floating like an immortal.

  Ming Yun's face changed, and he immediately knelt down on the ground, saying: "Greetings, Ziqing True Man!"