The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

"Uncle Sun, who do you think this Zhao Qing is? Is her only goal the Twelve Witch Gods?"

The red-shirted woman looked deep in the direction where the raven disappeared outside the door, and an inexplicable emotion surged in her heart. This sudden cooperation not only concerns the future of the merchant, but may also affect the situation of the entire Changling and even the Qin Dynasty.

The hunchbacked old man shook his head and sighed, "Miss, this person is cunning and clever, and seems to know the situation in Changling very well. There must be a bigger plot behind him, and he may drag us into an unpredictable vortex that is difficult to escape."

"Miss, do we really want to take on this 'big business'? Not to mention that this move may not be successful, even if everything goes well and the Twelve Witch Gods are deceived, the furious Zheng Xiu will not listen to reason or evidence, and the fish market involved in this matter will not be able to hold out for long."

He asked with some concern. With his "weak" strength of the lower seventh realm and the young lady's peak sixth realm, they were secretly enemies with Zheng Xiu, a ruthless person who destroyed the Bashan Sword Field and even murdered Wang Jingmeng. If they were not careful, they might be doomed.

"Uncle Sun, our business has long been a small boat in the midst of wind and rain, so why should we fear more storms?" The red-shirted woman smiled slightly, with both helplessness and determination in her smile:

"Whether it's the clues to the Lonely Mountain Sword Collection, the traces left by the Nine-Death Silkworm's descendants, or the Lushan Alliance that's getting closer and closer, it all means that Changling and the entire Qin Dynasty are about to break the peaceful situation of recent years."

“As long as Emperor Yuanwu, who has already entered the eighth realm, wins a great victory in Lushan and overwhelms the other three dynasties, or if Zheng Xiu’s cultivation level advances further and her prestige and influence are higher than those of the princes, the survival of the fish market and even the merchants may very well depend on the thoughts of these two people…”

"If we miss such a rare opportunity, we will be nothing but fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others..." She continued in a gentle voice: "During this period, I tried to form an alliance with Zhao Jianlu's people for this reason. After all, one more friend means one more way out..."

"As for the success or failure of this matter, there is no need to be too pessimistic... In recent years, everything has gone smoothly for Queen Zheng Xiu, and her power has grown day by day. She has become proud and complacent. Even though she has clever means, she may not be able to plan everything out as well as she did in the past when facing an enemy she is not familiar with or understands..."

She stood up and slowly walked to the window, staring at the sky outside where the darkness gradually dissipated and the light of dawn faintly appeared. Her mind was like a mirror, clearly reflecting the current situation and the direction of the future:
"No matter what, we have to proceed with caution. Since Zhao Qing dares to propose such a bold plan, he must have a certain degree of confidence and a backing. We might as well go with the flow and see how big a wave this storm can stir up."

The hunchbacked old man sighed when he heard this, but finally nodded in agreement.

He knew that his young lady had tenacity and wisdom that was unimaginable to ordinary people. Since she had made her decision, he only needed to fully support her. Moreover, this matter was indeed worth a try.

"Speaking of which, Zhao Qing clearly displayed methods of Yin Qi and ghosts, but it is said that what she used in Baiyang Cave was the pure method of her own life sword cultivation. This is really hard to understand."

After thinking for a while, the hunchbacked old man added: "Could it be that they just have the same name? Or maybe they left a fake name?"

As we all know, it is impossible for a practitioner who practices the way of Yin Qi and ghosts to practice mainstream techniques at the same time.

What flows in their body's meridians are yin energy, ghost energy, yin essence and yin evil, which are completely different from the true essence of other practitioners that carries vigorous vitality and is transformed from the five qi of the internal organs and the essence of heaven and earth. The two are in conflict with each other and there is no way they can be compatible at all.

Otherwise, if it was just a slight difference in the direction of cultivation, how could the practitioners who practiced the Yin Qi Ghost Method be excluded and hunted down to the point of near extinction by the orthodox practitioners? They should have merged with each other and learned from each other's strengths to make up for their weaknesses.

"Perhaps they are actually two people. Perhaps this Zhao Qing has a clever way to resolve the conflict between Yin and Yang..."

The red-shirted woman frowned upon hearing this, and after thinking for a moment, she replied, "Considering the high level of inheritance of the skills this person has mastered, it may not be impossible to achieve a true transformation of yin and yang."

"It is said that the last emperor of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Chen, managed to escape when the Qin army destroyed Han. Perhaps there were similar royal survivors in the Zhao and Wei dynasties."

The hunchbacked old man leaned on his cane and pondered: "This Zhao Qing's skills are so profound, and he can mobilize a lot of resources. He also plans to get in touch with Zhao Jianlu..."

"It is possible that he is a descendant of the Zhao royal family."

The red-shirted woman nodded slightly. "However, the great master of Jianlu was murdered by King Zhao Liu in the name of treason. If what you and I think is true, if Raven comes to our house like this, it is very likely to have a conflict with Mr. Zhao Yi and Mr. Zhao Si."

"The sword furnace controls the most intense true fire in the world, and practitioners of the way of restraining yin energy and ghosts naturally have no choice but to enter the seventh realm of the upper grade at least if Grandmaster Raven wants to fight two alone."

The hunchbacked old man analyzed and judged: "However, there are countless Qin masters in the Changling area. Mo Shoucheng and Zheng Xiu are likely to take action personally. In order to avoid attracting the attention of the commander of the corner tower, the two sides should only have a small exchange of ideas at most..."

It was at this time that the expressions of the two suddenly changed again, because in their perception, outside the fish market, in addition to the fire that originally represented Mr. Zhao Yi and Mr. Zhao Si, there was actually another breath of blazing furnace rising, and the three quickly merged together.

……

The Guijianchou Wharf on the edge of the fish market is located below several stilt houses where firewood is piled.

These stilt houses are slightly higher from the water than other stilt houses. Because they serve as storehouses and the things piled inside are relatively heavy, they use more supporting wooden pillars than ordinary stilt houses. Some of the wooden pillars are placed very randomly and some are crooked.

In addition, the wooden plank road serves as the main passage of the dock, with various floating barrels and small sail boats docked on both sides. The cables are tied casually to the crooked wooden pillars, swaying gently with the waves, connected and swaying, like countless hanged ghosts floating in the air, which makes people feel creepy.

At such a strange pier, the appearance of two young men broke the tranquility. They walked down from a black-sailed boat that had just docked at the pier, one after the other, with brisk steps, but revealing an indescribable calmness.

The auras of these two young men were extremely restrained. Even an expert at the fifth level of spiritual awareness would probably not be able to tell that they were cultivators if they passed by them.

Only a true master of the seventh realm can clearly sense the majestic fire that seems to melt the heaven and earth into one furnace.

"This... could it be Junior Brother Zhao Ce? Has he also come to Changling?" The young man with thick eyebrows dressed as a foreigner who was walking behind also sensed the emergence and approach of another aura of a furnace, and couldn't help but wonder.

He was carrying a yellow paper umbrella with a broken edge, and was wearing a short black gauze robe that was rarely worn by people in Changling. He was barefoot and was Zhao Jianlu's first disciple, Zhao Zhi, who was also called "Zhao Yi" by practitioners of various dynasties. The man walking in front of him was a young man, much shorter than the average man, dressed like a scholar, with an oval face and extremely delicate features, especially his skin, which was as white as jade and had no flaws.

He had a calm expression as he looked at the countless stacked sheds in the fish market in front of him. His eyebrows gradually raised, and his eyes revealed an unimaginable sharpness. Then a hot breath like red charcoal spread in the air. It was naturally the fourth disciple of the Sword Furnace, known as "Zhao Si".

All practitioners in the world know that although Mr. Zhao Si is the fourth disciple accepted by the great master Jianlu, his realm is the highest among all the true disciples, and all Jianlu disciples obey his orders.

Mr. Zhao Yi also respected him immensely. He followed him like a servant and obeyed his orders.

"No, it's not Junior Brother Zhao Ce..."

Zhao Si said softly. His perception was more acute than Zhao Yi's, and he quickly caught the subtle difference. However, as the distance between the two sides gradually shortened, this difference seemed to be erased at a very fast speed, to the point where even he could hardly tell the difference between them.

The Great Furnace of Heaven and Earth, which can melt thousands of true fires into one, has always been the unique mark of Zhao Jianlu's true teachings. The other sects' skills that are good at fire methods, whether it is the Chihuo True Art of Yan Di Zhenhuo Palace or the Leiye True Fire Induction of Zhao Di Huoshen Palace, are significantly different from it and are of much lower grade.

The person who came was able to display such a fiery sword intent in the leaked aura to the point where it was so real that Zhao Yi even suspected that he was a disciple of our sect. Who could he be?

……

Not far away, a small boat emitting black mist floated up from the water near the Guijianchou Pier. A woman in a black robe sat on the bow. She lowered her head slightly, but her face was strangely covered with a layer of black mist, and even her facial features could not be seen clearly.

And inside the layer of cold black fog, there seemed to be a volcano filled with magma and about to erupt, emitting clusters of deep red flames. If it were not blocked by the equally deep and vast water, it seemed that the entire Dongqing River could be evaporated at any time.

"You two came just in time, saving me from having to look for it again."

When the two disciples of Zhao Jianlu looked over here, the woman in black robe slowly raised her head, and a pitch-black raven landed on her shoulder. The pair of eyes hidden behind the black mist seemed to be able to penetrate all illusions and look directly into the souls of the two people.

She chuckled, her voice like the night wind blowing over dead branches, or like the weak water in the depths of the Styx, with a barely perceptible chill: "I've heard that Zhao Jianlu's Desperate Sword is unrivaled in the world, and the sword embryo forged with true fire is the best in the world. We meet tonight, please feel free to teach me."

Zhao Yi and Zhao Si looked at each other, and both saw solemnity in each other's eyes. They knew that today's matter would not be simple. As a traitor to Qin, once he fought with the Grandmaster in Changling and revealed his aura, he would soon be surrounded and killed by the army.

"Who are you? Why are you imitating the aura of my sword furnace? And it's so similar?" Zhao Yi asked in a deep voice. He took off the shabby umbrella behind him, stretched out his hand to grasp the umbrella handle, ready to draw the "Breaking Mountain" sword to fight the enemy at any time: "Could it be that you have comprehended the swords left behind by my junior brothers?"

"Imitate? No, I just borrowed your breath as a guiding light." Zhao Qing replied calmly. She waved her sleeves lightly, and ripples appeared on the water around the black ship, as if countless hands of the underworld were stirring under the water, but it returned to calm in an instant.

"Come with me and stroll through the streets and alleys of Changling... To make friends through martial arts, there is no need to use violent means, let alone bloodshed. A confrontation of energy and artistic conception is enough to reveal the truth."

After saying that, Zhao Qing's black boat swayed gently, and then sailed into the narrow waterway like a ghost, sliding silently into the depths of the east of Changling City, and shuttling through the criss-crossing water network in the city.

Zhao Yi and Zhao Si exchanged glances. Although they were full of doubts, since the other party proposed to make friends through martial arts and his attitude was calm, they naturally would not show weakness. So they moved, walked on the water, and followed closely.

Along the way, the two tried to capture more clues from Zhao Qing's aura, but were surprised to find that her aura was sometimes as hot as a furnace, and sometimes as cold as yin water, changing unpredictably and elusive. So after the initial test, Zhao Si launched the sword attack first:
Blazing meteors fell like rain, drowning one by one in the vast North Sea, splashing thousands of waves of fire. As soon as the scorching steam and white mist appeared, before it could surge and spread, it was suppressed underground by the crystal pillars. The burning sky instantly turned into a cold and lonely starry sky, filled with brilliant arcs of light.

Countless sword intentions and rune lines intertwined and annihilated each other in the collision and confrontation. The agitated heaven and earth energy split into vortices scattered in the air, but before it set off a strong wind, it was silently controlled by powerful mental power to eliminate one by one and sent into the clouds in the sky...

Although the rounds of energy clashes were fierce, they did not cause any substantial damage. It was breathtaking and shocking at the unimaginable control and tacit understanding between the two sides.

The night gradually faded away as the three of them wandered around. The sky was pale, and the outline of the city gradually became clear in the morning light. Autumn in Changling usually passed quickly. In the early morning, the roofs and door panels were covered with white frost. The cold was getting stronger and stronger. It was time to count the first snow on one's fingers.

On both sides of the street, early-rising vendors began to set up stalls, smoke from cooking rose up, and every household was busy preparing for the new day. The sounds of laundry, children playing, and the occasional sound of horse hooves in the distance intertwined together, adding a bit of breath of life to this ancient city.

Zhao Qing's black boat finally stopped at a pond with yellow sycamore leaves floating on it. This was a remote area at the junction of the south and east of Changling City. There was a shabby alley on the side where many run-down families lived. The morning light shone through the gaps in the eaves and sprinkled on the water, making it sparkle.

She stood up, her black robe swaying gently in the wind, and the pair of eyes hidden behind the black mist began to glow rapidly, emitting pure white light, as if a bright flame was ignited. It did not absorb any vitality from the surroundings at all, like petals quietly blooming.

When Zhao Yi and Zhao Si looked carefully, they saw that a seven-colored flower shaped like a lotus petal was floating in front of Zhao Qing's eyes. Each petal was condensed from the blazing true fire, and it was differentiated from the original white into seven rainbow colors. The whole flower was as pure as transparent crystal.

Then, the colorful fire lotus rose into the air, and the black robe she was wearing, the black mist surrounding her body, and the entire black ship also rose into the air. In the autumn wind, they naturally decomposed into pure energy of heaven and earth. The yang fire turned into the golden morning light, and the yin water attached to form pieces of autumn frost.

As Zhao Qing's mind moved slightly, the majestic yin and yang energies she released spread throughout the streets and alleys of Changling, reaching every corner and blending into nature, but no one felt anything unusual, thinking it was the most normal weather.

But when Zhao Si was deeply sensing and resonating with the sword intent, he was surprised to find that the traces of the aura left by the three people in various places in Changling were quietly wiped out by some unknown force. It was obviously what Zhao Qing had just done.

"finally reached."

After removing the disguise of the "Black Water True Armor" and returning to his light green clothes, Zhao Qing smiled slightly, floated up from the pond, and landed in the alley of Wutongluo with the two of them. He asked leisurely: "The winner of this competition must have been decided!"

...(End of chapter)