Chapter 14: Daoist Longshan Emerges from Seclusion |
Time passed slowly.
Mingwu Pavilion.
Daoist Longshan slowly opened his eyes and let out a faint sigh:
“Heaven-Man Realm truly is as hard as ascending to the heavens. I’ve been in the Qi Origin Realm for over ten years, yet I still fall short of achieving resonance with the heavens and earth through Divine Intent.”
He gave a faint bitter smile.
Just over a month ago, after instructing Ning Qi, he had been somewhat shaken. A vague sense of crisis pushed him to try and break through the bottleneck in one go. But to his disappointment, he still failed—what he lacked in foundation couldn’t be made up for overnight.
Still, he wasn't discouraged.
Those in the Heaven-Man Realm could live up to eight hundred years; at a hundred, one was still considered young. Most Heaven-Man Realm experts succeeded around the age of two hundred, and some even broke through only when their four-hundred-year lifespan was nearing its end.
Daoist Longshan was just over eighty—still quite young.
He shook his head, realizing this mindset was wrong.
Although he hadn’t broken through during this seclusion, he had still gained something—at the very least, his mindset had been corrected.
“It's been over a month. I wonder how Little Nine is doing now? He’s just started down the Martial Path, and I’ve been a rather unqualified Master.”
Daoist Longshan felt a bit regretful.
Thinking back to that day of martial instruction, he couldn't help but smile wryly. It had indeed shaken him, making him think he had found a breakthrough opportunity—hence the hasty seclusion.
“Little Nine is a rare unpolished gem. His talent far surpasses mine. If properly cultivated, there’s a strong chance he’ll become a Martial Saint!”
Daoist Longshan stood up, his figure seeming to shrink the distance to appear at the pavilion’s entrance—an advanced movement technique. He planned to visit Ning Qi first and fulfill his duties as a Master. No matter how gifted a disciple, there were always things they didn’t understand. With his years of experience in stance techniques, there would certainly be things Ning Qi could learn from him.
He felt the need to plan a proper path for Ning Qi to avoid wasting his remarkable talent.
Although the Zhenwu Sect occupied Zhenwu Mountain, they had only built pavilions on the most vital part midway up the mountain.
Daoist Longshan and the nine True Disciples resided in the core area, while the Inner and Outer Sect disciples lived in gradually more distant areas.
With Daoist Longshan’s speed, it wouldn’t take long to reach the small courtyard where Ning Qi lived.
He wore a gentle smile, hands clasped behind his back, robes fluttering like an immortal—refined and otherworldly.
He had already sensed the life force up ahead.
But suddenly, his expression changed.
“Roar!”
A faint dragon's roar echoed from the courtyard ahead, carrying a hint of majesty.
“This is...”
Daoist Longshan’s pupils shrank sharply. His heart skipped a beat, and his figure silently appeared outside the courtyard. What he saw froze him in place.
Inside the courtyard—
White mist billowed and rolled, with the occasional dragon’s roar echoing within. It looked as if a young True Dragon were soaring and leaping.
With Daoist Longshan’s vision, it was easy to tell that this was no young True Dragon, but rather his terrifyingly gifted young disciple.
At this moment, Ning Qi’s skin was crystal-like, almost jade-like, while the flesh beneath faintly glowed red, pulsing constantly.
Compared to a month ago—
Ning Qi was taller and far sturdier. Most striking of all was the surge of his life force—it had grown immensely.
“Flesh Refinement Realm?!”
Daoist Longshan’s breathing quickened slightly.
Even with his calm state of mind, he couldn’t help but be shaken. This speed was just too absurd. Although he’d expected Ning Qi to progress faster than normal, this still startled him. He almost thought he had misjudged the time and been in seclusion for longer than a month.
But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.
“This stance technique… it’s not the Bi’an Stance!”
With his cultivation level, Daoist Longshan could immediately recognize the essence of the Nine Sons of Zhenwu in this unfamiliar stance. He could see traces of nearly every stance technique.
But watching it left him uneasy—it was too overwhelmingly powerful for even the Nine Sons of Zhenwu to compare.
As he kept watching—
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Daoist Longshan like a bolt of lightning, making his whole body tremble with excitement.
“This is… the Zhenwu Stance?!”
His breath grew rapid, emotions surging wildly. The breath-concealing technique that previously merged him with the world suddenly fluctuated.
Ning Qi immediately sensed the presence outside the courtyard. He stopped his stance and barked sharply:
“Who’s there?!”
As his sharp gaze swept across, Ning Qi froze, then a look of joy quickly rose in his eyes.
“Master, you’re out of seclusion? How did you sneak over here without a sound?”
He had just asked Senior Brother about this yesterday. Who would’ve thought his Master would emerge today?
Daoist Longshan looked slightly embarrassed. He had meant to observe his little disciple in secret to gauge his progress and prepare to teach him. But he hadn’t expected to witness such a shocking scene.
He couldn’t hold back any longer.
In a flash, he appeared in front of Ning Qi.
He stared intently at Ning Qi, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and asked:
“Little Nine, tell your Master—who taught you the Zhenwu Stance? Is that expert still on Zhenwu Mountain? Did they say anything else?”
Daoist Longshan pressed with question after question.
Ning Qi stood frozen.
He hesitated and said:
“Master, are you referring to the Zhenwu Stance?”
“The stance you were just practicing!”
Ning Qi suddenly understood. He immediately realized that some of his earlier guesses were probably close to the truth—above the Nine Sons of Zhenwu, there really was a stronger stance technique, apparently called the Zhenwu Stance?
But judging by his Master’s reaction, it seemed this Zhenwu Stance didn’t exist within the Zhenwu Sect.
He spoke truthfully:
“Master, that’s a stance I created myself. It’s called the True Dragon Stance, not what you referred to as the Zhenwu Stance.”
As his words fell—
Daoist Longshan’s twitching goatee stiffened. He stared at Ning Qi like a statue, wondering if he had misheard.
“You said… you created this yourself??”
That was even more unbelievable than a lost legacy from the Zhenwu Sect being handed down to him. But Daoist Longshan knew his disciple well—young, yes, but never one to spout nonsense.
Ning Qi had long planned to come clean with Daoist Longshan. This was simply a case of his Master showing up first.
“Master, after you entered seclusion, I learned several other stances from my Senior Brothers and Sisters. Once I mastered all nine of the Nine Sons of Zhenwu, I sensed there was something in common among them. One day, I entered a state of enlightenment and reverse-engineered a stance…”
As Ning Qi explained the thought process and journey of how he developed the True Dragon Stance—
He handed over a manual he had prepared in advance. It contained detailed records of the True Dragon Stance.
Daoist Longshan finally emerged from his shaken state. He forcibly calmed himself and flipped through the manual while listening to his disciple’s explanation. His eyes were still full of turmoil.
Of course he knew there was a common thread among the Nine Sons of Zhenwu.
But knowing was one thing. Using that to reverse-engineer a stance on par with the Zhenwu Stance was as difficult as creating a peerless stance technique from scratch!
It was utterly unimaginable!