Before the cliff passage between the mountains, a massive human-shaped crater was smashed into the ground.
Sun Lao and others from the caravan, who had taken cover behind the carts, were both startled and delighted.
Zhou Xuanwu stared at the pink gloves trailing red threads and the swift figure, his eyes wide.
At the third stage of Qi Transformation, the aura she exuded remained at the third level. Yet, the endless stream of spiritual energy from her body continuously flowed, converged, and condensed at the front of the pink gloves.
With one punch, it was as if the power of a hundred Qi Transformation practitioners at the third stage had gathered at a single point, erupting with thunderous might! It was the first time he had ever seen such a technique.
“Old Sun, you all proceed in the carts first!”
While the caravan members relaxed, Zhou Xuanwu’s expression remained tense.
Sun Lao on the cart was taken aback, thinking everything was over.
“She ultimately… isn’t at the Nascent Core stage.”
Zhou Xuanwu’s gaze was heavy.
Although Lin Shuang’s spiritual energy was strong, she was still at the Qi Transformation stage and couldn’t instantly kill the Nascent Core evil cultivator with one strike. Once her spiritual energy was exhausted, her recovery wouldn’t be as fast as the Nascent Core’s, making her vulnerable. For now, she had only gained a temporary advantage.
Zhou Xuanwu shouted, “Old Sun, if we continue for another two hours, we’ll reach Hongxing Town ahead!”
Sun Lao and the other martial artists from the caravan all wore solemn expressions.
Zhou Xuanwu then turned with difficulty, “Xiao Junior Brother, this is a task entrusted to our Qingshui Sect, and it has nothing to do with you.”
Xiao Qi was startled.
“Please leave as soon as possible!”
After speaking, Zhou Xuanwu gathered his last bit of strength, tightened his grip on his sword, and strode toward the crater where Lin Shuang was fiercely battling the evil cultivator.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Lin Shuang’s slender figure froze midair, her pink fist halting.
The abundant spiritual energy in her body seemed to recede like the tide, gradually weakening and disappearing.
Zhou Xuanwu smiled bitterly.
He had known all along.
The spiritual energy of a Qi Transformation practitioner was limited and could never match the endurance of a Nascent Core cultivator.
He quickened his pace, not noticing the complex expression Xiao Qi wore as if he wanted to say something.
“Damn it!”
The Nascent Core evil cultivator finally broke free from the continuous flurry of punches, gasping as he leapt out of the crater.
“Beep. Xiao Ai reminds you that your fat-burning exercise for today, lasting one incense stick’s time, has been completed.”
With a beep, the cute, soft voice clearly came from within Lin Shuang’s sleeve.
The evil cultivator’s body froze. “?!”
Zhou Xuanwu’s eyebrows twitched.
“Mm.”
Lin Shuang, showing no sign of danger despite facing the evil cultivator, nodded calmly and began to slowly take off her gloves.
The voice continued, “Rest for a teacup’s time. Your next activity will be listening to the music performance at the sound cultivation.”
Taking advantage of the moment, Liu Ba, the Iron Hammer, swiftly swung his hammer toward the distracted Lin Shuang.
Zhou Xuanwu roared, “Watch out!”
But in the blink of an eye, he saw the massive iron hammer, which Lin Shuang instantly leapt onto, her foot lightly tapping the hammer’s head.
Liu Ba’s expression changed, and he tried to pull the hammer back, but it wouldn’t budge.
Lin Shuang looked down, her expression obscured, her tone calm but displeased.
“Didn’t you hear? I’m resting.”
The evil cultivator: “!”
Zhou Xuanwu: “!”
Xiao Qi, with an expression that seemed to expect this, scratched his nose.
Liu Ba’s face changed drastically, and in an instant, he released his grip on the hammer with his remaining right arm, retreating swiftly.
He spat a mouthful of refined blood onto the flying sword he had just taken out from his spatial pouch.
Then he turned and fled.
Flee!
He simply couldn’t defeat this woman!
After losing one arm, his spiritual energy dropped to the initial Nascent Core stage. He should have easily defeated this Qi Transformation female cultivator with a single strike, just like that male Qi Transformation practitioner at the ninth level who couldn’t even last three rounds against him.
Yet, he couldn’t beat her!
Although he didn’t know why, he could only run away!
Fortunately, this female cultivator had an abnormal mind and stopped fighting mid-battle.
He was destined to survive!
Liu Ba’s back was soaked in sweat as he fled rapidly.
But in the next moment, he heard a gentle sigh softly echo behind him.
“Ai.”
“You owe me a 5A-level scenic spot, you owe me a quarter of an incense stick’s worth of time interrupted by my Pomodoro timer, you owe me the healing time and emotional distress for my fellow disciples…”
“Before you repay me, where do you think you’re going?”
Impossible.
She couldn’t have caught up.
He had escaped multiple times even when pursued by Nascent Core cultivators!
Liu Ba spat another mouthful of refined blood onto the sword tip, instantly increasing his speed by half a notch.
He was now equivalent to a Nascent Core at the third level, fleeing with all his might.
Zhou Xuanwu was about to say not to chase a desperate foe, as it would be difficult to catch up anyway.
But then he saw Lin Shuang’s right sleeve shoot out a brand-new, unprocessed talisman paper.
From her left sleeve flew out a spatial pouch, which she used to take out dye and ink for talismans.
“You’re making Binding Spirit Talismans?”
Zhou Xuanwu’s talisman-making skills ranked second among the outer sect disciples.
Instantly, he understood.
But soon shook his head. “No good. Binding Spirit Talismans are only first-tier. They can only restrain cultivators below the ninth level of Qi Transformation. To deal with a Nascent Core, unless twelve of them are arranged into a formation.”
Xiao Qi also looked up, muttering, “Then make second-tier or third-tier talismans.”
Zhou Xuanwu smiled bitterly.
“Junior Brother Xiao, let’s not even mention that we’ve only mastered first-tier talismans. The second-tier talismans demand an entirely different grade of cinnabar ink and yellow paper.”
He pointed at the talisman paper drifting out from Lin Shuang’s sleeve. “This is the first-tier talisman paper issued by the outer sect to disciples. Once infused with spiritual energy, the talisman head shows a full moon. How could I not recognize it—”
He hadn’t finished speaking when his words froze.
He looked closely and saw talisman paper after talisman paper flying out from Lin Shuang’s sleeve—one after another, one after another…
A total of twelve, arranged in formation.
“…Junior Sister, there’s no time!”
Making twelve talismans one by one would take too long—the evil cultivator would have already escaped!
But Lin Shuang stood on her wide sword, seemingly oblivious.
Following closely behind the evil cultivator, another twelve wolf-hair brushes flew out from her spatial pouch.
With the wind blowing and clouds moving, she grasped six brushes in one hand.
On the two rows of six talismans each, she worked both hands simultaneously, twelve brushes at once.
Spiritual light surged.
The talismans’ channels opened.
Twelve first-tier talismans radiated brilliant light!
Zhou Xuanwu: “!”
Xiao Qi: “…”
The caravan on the ground looked up in stunned silence.
The evil cultivator sensed something amiss, turned his head, and his face turned pale.
In an instant, the twelve talismans surrounded him from all directions, sticking to his major acupoints!
In one breath, he was bound.
A red rope flew from Lin Shuang’s sleeve, suspending him behind her sword.
“!”
The evil cultivator’s face turned deathly pale.
“How… how is this possible… one brush requires spiritual consciousness. How could anyone possibly draw twelve talismans at once…” Zhou Xuanwu’s eyes were wide, his words incoherent.
Dragging the evil cultivator covered in talismans, Lin Shuang landed on her wide sword.
She chuckled.
“A good student like you must have never heard of the trick of copying texts as punishment.”
“?”
“Didn’t you ever wonder, when copying texts twice as punishment, why not hold two brushes at once and write both copies simultaneously?”
“As long as you train properly, why can’t you hold six brushes in one hand and control both hands at the same time? Just twelve identical copies…”
“!”
“!!”
Zhou Xuanwu’s gaze seemed to be scorched. He felt as if a gate to a new realm of cultivation had slowly opened before him.
Xiao Qi couldn’t help but look at his own sword.
*
Beside the human-shaped crater, the caravan built a fire and roasted food.
A pot was placed over the fire, stewing millet porridge, while mantou buns and mountain chicken roasted on the side.
“Thank you, Fairy Lin and Immortal Zhou, for saving us.”
Old Sun stood up in gratitude.
“It’s fine if we arrive at Hongxing Town a bit later.”
The cliff passage had been destroyed by the iron hammer, forcing them to take a detour.
“According to my estimate, we’ll only be delayed by half a day at most.”
Lin Shuang accepted a chicken leg respectfully offered by a female martial artist, her face instantly contorting in pain.
Half a day delayed?
That would ruin her schedule for tomorrow!
After changing her plan from enjoying the moonlight at the cliff passage tonight to attending a bonfire barbecue party, she had barely managed to stabilize her mood. Now, she felt a sharp pain in her chest again.
She looked toward the bound evil cultivator beside the bonfire, her gaze so fierce that even Xiao Qi couldn’t bear to watch.
Xiao Qi quickly comforted her, “I searched his waist pouch and found a small spatial bag. Inside were 3,200 spirit stones, a second-tier flying sword, some Regenerating Spring Pills, Nascent Core Pills, and a bounty of 5,000 spirit stones.”
Lin Shuang sighed, “A moment is worth a moment’s worth of gold, but gold can’t buy back a lost moment.”
Xiao Qi: “…”
Zhou Xuanwu nearly dropped the two wolf-hair brushes he was holding with his right hand.
If outer sect disciples weren’t forbidden from learning time-related cultivation techniques, he would have thought she had mastered them!
“Tomorrow, when we reach our destination,” Lin Shuang finished her chicken leg and wiped her hands, “we’ll need two days to return.”
On the return trip, they wouldn’t need to accompany the ordinary people from the caravan, allowing them to fly at full speed.
“We’ll just have to make the most of these two days.”
“?”
Before nightfall, the two finally received Lin Shuang’s schedule.
[Evil Cultivator Utilization Plan (Two Days):
Morning (7:00 – 8:00) – Xiao Qi spars with the evil cultivator to improve his Diamond Sutra
…
Noon (11:00 – 12:00) – Zhou Xuanwu chases the evil cultivator to improve his talisman techniques
Afternoon (1:00 – 2:00) – Xiao Qi spars with the evil cultivator to improve his Mountain-Weight Sword
…
Lin Shuang spars with the evil cultivator to improve her sword techniques
…]
Zhou Xuanwu was silent, Xiao Qi was silent.
This was a plan to squeeze every last bit of use from the evil cultivator.
“Ah, much better.”
After finishing her plan, Lin Shuang exhaled in relief, her jade-like face finally showing a pleasant rosy glow.
She had wasted two hours but gained two days and nights back!
She was ready again.
Xiao Qi and Zhou Xuanwu: “…”
Satisfied, Lin Shuang put away her wolf-hair brush, her mood improved, and she fell asleep peacefully.
Headmistress Grandma, today she didn’t waste any time. She’s been living well and working hard.
*
“The Diamond Sutra, with each breakthrough in its level, makes the body harder.
At first, the battle qi circulates along the surface of the muscles and flesh…
At the foot of the mountain.
Xiao Qi, in the life-or-death crisis of being attacked by the enraged evil cultivator, muttered explanations into the evil cultivator’s ear, which had been stuffed shut.
Learning Pyramid:
— Talking and doing achieve 90% learning effectiveness.
— Teaching others in the way of a master deepens self-understanding.
Under the threat of life-or-death attacks, Xiao Qi occasionally paused in his movements, experiencing sudden enlightenment.
“Now I understand. Do you get it?”
“Not yet, let me explain again…”
“Oh, I see now… Let me explain again…”
The evil cultivator Liu Ba, who could read lips, “……”
After each explanation and demonstration, Xiao Qi’s understanding of the second layer of the Diamond Sutra deepened.
Then came sword techniques, heart methods, and cultivation techniques… each reviewed repeatedly according to the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.
Xiao Qi gradually turned the tide.
Two days later, Zhou Xuanwu was still painfully making only two ugly talismans with each hand.
But his sword techniques and heart methods, like Xiao Qi’s, rapidly broke through in life-or-death duels.
When Meng Zi, stepping on a wooden table infused with Gathering Spirit Talisman, finally found the three on their return journey, he saw Liu Ba, the one-armed Iron Hammer, his face swollen beyond recognition.
Upon seeing him, the evil cultivator wept as if seeing a long-lost relative.
“It’s you!?
Take me with you!”
“I’d rather be killed by you! Take me away!!”
Meng Zi: “!?!”
He turned his head and saw Lin Shuang beside him, her face rosy, lying on her wide sword sunbathing.
Lin Shuang turned her head and saw him too… stepping on a square wooden table that looked oddly familiar.
His brow twitched.
Hers did too.
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