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

As far as Yuan Wu knew, unlike Zheng Xiu's "Starfire Comet Tail Sword" which could mobilize the power of the Big Dipper, the star area occupied by the Seven Stars of the Eastern Azure Dragon was obviously much larger. Including the main stars and the additional stars, a total of 335 stars were recorded in the observatory, which was far more than the former.

Regardless of the difference in numbers, in terms of visible brightness, or the intensity of the star energy emitted, the Big Dipper ranks among the top stars in the sky. Except for Tianquan, all of them can be in the top 100. Therefore, the rigid requirements for their perception and communication and the realm of cultivation are not too high.

Theoretically, when one first enters the sixth realm of the natal consciousness, or even the fifth realm of the peak of the divine consciousness, if one has the help of special elixirs and meteorite iron, and is gifted and has cultivated special perception skills, then there is a possibility that one can sense the highest Jade Balance in the Big Dipper, just like Zheng Xiu when she was eighteen or nineteen years old.

Of course, being able to sense the star energy scattered by the Big Dipper and establishing formal communication with it to use it to kill the enemy are two different things. The latter requires not only a deeper level of sensing and comprehension, but also a more sophisticated control over the star energy.

This usually means at least the seventh realm of cultivation, as well as a deep understanding and mastery of the star energy. And because the Big Dipper brings the meaning of death and desolation, which is extremely special in the entire starry sky, among all the known exercises in the world, it can only be achieved by practicing the "Starfire Sword Sutra" to perfection.

The Seven Stars of the Eastern Azure Dragon are different. They have many stars and are widely distributed. Their brightness and vitality are generally not as strong as those of the Big Dipper. This requires practitioners to have a wider and keener perception range, able to capture the power of stars in different directions and distances at the same time.

Compared with the three palaces of Ziwei, Taiwei and Tianshi, the other twenty-one constellations in the northwest and south, and the seven constellations in the east are nothing special. Therefore, being able to communicate with all of these more than 300 stars, if you want to go a step further and establish connections with more than 3,000 stars in the sky, it is basically just a matter of time.

According to the ancient records of the Gushan Sword Sect, the ancient practice factions that specialized in the way of sensing the stars in the sky usually referred to these stars outside the sky as the heavens or small worlds, and regarded sensing, communicating, and attracting the three thousand small worlds as an extremely important threshold. Once crossed, it would cause a real qualitative change.

Simply put, this level of divine consciousness perception and the ability to draw on the energy of the stars has definitely reached the standard of the Eighth Realm of Enlightenment, which is definitely beyond the reach of the Seventh Realm peak. If the three thousand heavens contained in the sea of ​​consciousness or in the acupoints can resonate with each other and exert power synchronously, their output will undoubtedly also belong to the Eighth Realm level.

Practitioners who have reached the eighth realm may not be able to connect and mobilize the power of the three thousand heavens in this way because the directions of the "key" to awaken the heaven are different, but practitioners who can do this must be equivalent to those in the eighth realm.

In the annotations of the Gushan Sword Sect, three thousand small worlds can be compared to the lower level of the Eight Realms, six thousand small worlds can be compared to the middle level of the Eight Realms, nine thousand small worlds can be compared to the upper level of the Eight Realms, and thirteen thousand five hundred small worlds represent that the Eight Realms have reached their peak.

Perception is easy but communication is difficult. For a practitioner walking on this path, the number of stars that can be sensed is basically four or five times the number that can be communicated and connected. The stars whose existence can be barely sensed cannot be easily attracted.

Moreover, every time one communicates with the heavens, one needs to distinguish and extract the corresponding thin starlight from the complex star energy environment, slowly absorb and gather it, and integrate it with one's own life energy. The difficulty is getting higher and higher, and it also takes more time to run in and forge a resonant starlight array hub.

Therefore, numbers like three thousand, six thousand, and nine thousand are not proportional to the power gap between the various small ranks of the Eight Realms. They can only be used to measure a certain correspondence between the perception of the divine mind and the apparent magnitude of the stars. When the divine mind is enhanced to ten times the original, one can perceive starlight that is nine percent dimmer.

"Looking at the direction where the starlight is falling, it should be in the area of ​​Yangshan, Wushan, and Dongting County..." Yuan Wu used all his eyesight to look into the distance, thinking secretly in his heart, and basically ruled out the possibility that the Qin people were active there. In other words, this newly emerged Qi Tian-level strongman is either from Chu or Qi, both of whom are enemies of the foreign dynasty.

Feeling the fickleness of fate and destiny, he laughed self-deprecatingly, and then his face gradually became serious, as if he had made a decision. He turned his head slightly, glanced at the palace attendant standing beside him, and said softly: "Bring paper and pen, the best talisman paper and ink."

"promise!"

The worshipper, who had been keeping his head down as if he didn't exist, responded immediately after hearing the words. Then he flashed and disappeared in an instant. When he reappeared, he was holding an ebony tray in his hand, on which were talisman paper, a dragon-whisker brush and a small jade dish filled with ink.

Yuan Wu took the paper and pen, nodded slightly to show his approval, and then waved the priest away, ordering him to step back ten steps and not to approach without being summoned.

He spread out the talisman paper with light golden cloud patterns on it, which was obviously of great value. After a moment's hesitation, he began to write. His pen moved like a dragon and snake, and mysterious and obscure ancient secret characters flowed out from the tip of his pen and were arranged in order on the talisman paper.

As Emperor Yuanwu continued writing, the vital energy of the surrounding heaven and earth seemed to be inexplicably attracted and began to slowly gather and continuously rotate around the tip of the pen.

The phoenix pattern made up of many different seal characters seemed to come alive, shining brightly on the talisman paper, and auras were looming.

When the last stroke was made, the entire piece of talisman paper lit up with layer upon layer of brilliant golden light, which seemed to contain the heaven and earth in a small space. Then all the ink marks disappeared, leaving only the empty white vastness. Emperor Yuanwu let out a long sigh, and his expression actually revealed a bit of fatigue.

Obviously, for a great practitioner like him who also practices talismans, it is not an easy task to draw what he wants to express in this talisman and integrate it into the mysteries of the Eight Realms to awaken the gods.

Putting the Jiaoxu pen back into the jade disc, Emperor Yuanwu picked up the piece of silk paper that was both a talisman and a painting, and blew on it gently, adding a few strands of his own vitality. Then he turned around again and looked at the palace attendant who had been waiting behind him, and said in a calm voice:
"Who will be the next person scheduled to attend the sword meeting?"

"It's He Shanjian, one of the elders of the Minshan Sword Sect. His main skills are the Seven Apertures and Seven Souls Floating Light Sword and the Mysterious Heavenly Breath. Over the years, he has been working for the court through Prime Minister Yan and Her Majesty the Queen, secretly monitoring the Minshan Sword Sect. His true cultivation should be at the lower level of the seventh realm."

The blue-shirted court priest answered truthfully. They knew something about these spies in the court. After all, they needed to cooperate with them sometimes. At the same time, they were secretly awe-inspiring, knowing that the emperor must be using this person to achieve some ulterior purpose.

"The lower level of the seventh realm... has he not yet mastered the Nine Styles of Heavenly Light and Ice?"

Emperor Yuanwu frowned slightly, thinking that only a master with limited talent like this would be willing to completely surrender to the court and become a chess piece that could be discarded at any time. A true sword genius, like that embroidered curtain, is always arrogant and proud, relying on his talent and being unwilling to be inferior to others easily.

However, this is exactly what he wants. Only chess pieces that are easy to control can be used to carry out some shady tasks.

Emperor Yuanwu had already made up his mind. When he spoke again, his tone was filled with unquestionable majesty:

"Pass on my decree, and have He Shanjian perform well in the sword meeting. If he can knock Ye Celeng off the high platform, so that his sword heart is tarnished and his foundation of Taoism is damaged, I will definitely reward him handsomely."

"Give this talisman to him and tell him not to be stingy in using it at the critical moment."

The blue-shirted worshiper took the seemingly ordinary "blank" talisman paper with both hands, which cost Emperor Yuanwu a lot of effort, and carefully put it into the secret pocket in his sleeve, and replied in a deep voice: "Yes!"

Then, this person's figure flashed and turned into a residual shadow, disappearing on the spot.

Watching the priest go away, the smile on Emperor Yuanwu's face gradually faded and became serious again. He turned his gaze back to the sword-fighting arena. At this time, "Ye Celeng" had defeated three challengers in a row and was standing there with a sword in his hand, looking heroic and extraordinary.

Although he revealed at the court meeting a few days ago that he might personally take part in the sword fight, the purpose of his move was not simply to gain power and fame, nor to suppress Ye Celeng who did not pose much of a threat, but he had a deeper plan and design.

Therefore, Yuanwu's sudden change of the original plan was undoubtedly closely related to the appearance of the seven strange stars in the east.

To be more precise, he intended to sacrifice an insignificant person like Ye Celeng to show Queen Zheng Xiu his sincerity in cooperation so that they could jointly deal with the unpredictable crisis that would follow.

Although the last attack on the Zheng family fleet in the Wei River slightly damaged the relationship between the two, it also allowed Yuanwu to understand the huge resources and power hidden in Jiaodong County.

Even for him, the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, it was a force that could not be ignored and was enough to affect the success or failure of many things. It was worth re-weighing the pros and cons.

They may even put aside some of their pride and take the initiative to repair the "alliance" relationship between the two sides, which seems close but is actually barely maintained.

All along, probably because she doubted Ye Celeng's loyalty, in order to cut the grass and prevent future troubles, Zheng Xiu was looking for an excuse to deal with her from all aspects.

However, Yuan Wu always kept him at critical moments for the purpose of checks and balances and reducing dependence on Jiaodong County's power, thus to some extent showing that the imperial power always suppressed the queen's power, allowing him to establish prestige without personally handling government affairs.

But now, the situation has changed a lot, forcing Yuanwu to try to change his past strategy.

"It's time to discard Ye Celeng as a chess piece..."

Emperor Yuanwu said in his heart, with no expression of sadness or joy on his face, as if he was just talking about a trivial matter. Then he looked far away towards the entrance of Nie Garden, as if waiting for the arrival of some important person.

At the same time, on the sword-fighting field, Zhao Qing, who had just defeated Zhou Dazhuo, Murong Xiu of Suxin Swordshai, and a certain general of the Hengshan army who was eager to show off his skills, and defeated the latter two easily, and was receiving many envious and awe-inspiring glances from all around, suddenly felt something.

Disguised as "Ye Celeng", she looked up at the sword-viewing platform on the high ground, her dark brows slightly furrowed, as if she was deep in thought about something. However, the next moment, she withdrew her gaze, and her expression became indifferent again, as if the momentary absent-mindedness just now was just an illusion.

"Who's coming to the next show?"

Zhao Qing looked around and spoke slowly. His cold voice echoed on the sword-fighting field, making the originally noisy surroundings suddenly quiet. Then, a new round of ripples arose.

Ye Celeng should be regarded as one of the youngest Seventh Realm Grandmasters in the entire Changling. In other words, the fate of almost every cultivator who is also a Seventh Realm Mountain Mover can be described as "the big bullying the small."

Naturally, apart from Zhou Dazhuo, who had been secretly instructed by Yuanwu, few people were willing to bear this "bad reputation".

Moreover, everyone had seen how "Ye Celeng" had defeated Murong Xiu and the general of the Hengshan Army just now. They knew that with the strength of this Tianjian Division Chief, under the condition of suppressing him to the peak of the sixth realm, there were only a few who could match him. "If I don't go on stage to challenge him now, won't I have no chance when I recover the energy I just consumed?"

"Everyone, it is not a wise move to miss the opportunity and be afraid to fight. It can also be said that it buries the blood in the hearts of Qin people. Similarly, it also gives up the opportunity to show your talents in front of His Majesty."

"If not now, when?"

Seeing everyone's hesitation, Zhao Qing added a few more words lightly, and there was a hint of provocation in her words. The reason why she did this was naturally because she wanted to see more of the brilliant sword techniques in the Changling area and find out the intelligence information of many potential "clients".

Yes, "clients" is the label she gave to these practitioners who might come on stage to challenge her.

For example, Zhou Dazhuo from the Qishan Sword School, during the sword-testing match with Zhao Qing, not only did she secretly intercept a small amount of his life force that could be used for future sensing, positioning, and tracking, and contributed the secret of the "Leixiao Moyan Sword Art", but he also revealed a lot of problems with his practice.

During the not-so-long battle, Zhao Qing carefully observed every tiny detail of the opponent's swordplay. Through a variety of real-time feedback, he quickly established a model of the opponent's physical condition and gained a clear understanding of the defects and hidden dangers that arose during his practice.

This includes but is not limited to: There are 12 imperceptible cracks hidden deep in the bones at the end of Zhou Dazhuo's left forearm. There is a very faint residual sword intent in them, which has caused a lot of pressure on the meridians and muscles in this area. It is obviously a hidden injury left by him when he encountered a powerful enemy in the past;

At the same time, there was a slight deformity in the bones of his right little finger. Whenever the yin and yang properties of his true energy alternated, he would feel a dull pain, which interfered with the nearby Houxi acupoint and further affected the range of motion and flexibility of the shoulder. This should be an old injury caused by sword practice.

In addition, Zhou Dazhuo's corneas were burned for a long time by the dazzling lightning produced when practicing the secret sword. It has not healed for a long time and has left a stubborn disease. This not only affects his eyesight, but may also cause long-term negative effects on his sword sense and reaction speed.
In addition, Zhou Dazhuo's outward Zhen Yuan moved faster in the direction of the Fu Gua, with uneven density. This might be because he was often trained in this direction by his teachers when he was young, which formed a kind of subconscious inertia and left a flaw in his defense.
In addition, from the discordant noises in his breathing, it can be seen that this person should have tried to practice the "Thunder Sound Shocking Prison Art" in Wei, but the result was not ideal. Not only did he fail to succeed, but he also caused a slight tear between his lungs...

These secrets hidden deep in Zhou Dazhuo's body, not to mention the Qishan Sword Sect he belonged to, even he himself might not know all of them. However, with Zhao Qing's insight and deduction, nothing could escape their exposure and they were analyzed out one by one.

As for these difficult and complicated problems, she had already listed a complete set of solutions in her mind, including fine-tuning several key points of Zhou Dazhuo's original skills and sword scriptures, cultivating several new secret methods that would help make up for the deficiencies and heal hidden injuries, and taking several special elixirs on a regular basis.

Zhao Qing could even provide some design drawings of the "Lightning Rod Array" so that the other party would have a safer and more efficient auxiliary environment when practicing thunder sword techniques and feeling the power of thunder. The frequency of attracting lightning could also be significantly increased, thereby accelerating the progress of practice.

To cultivate the sword is also to cultivate the mind.

In order to enable the "clients" to truly transform and leap forward and benefit greatly, one must not only manage their external resource allocation for the skills, but also pay attention to their internal psychological state, properly channel their accumulated negative emotions, and either deepen or weaken the connection between the swordsman and the things he cares about.

The reason why a person like Zhou Dazhuo was easily moved by the hints of the officials of the Ministry of Rites was that in recent years, the Qin capital Changling had been siphoning away the cultivation resources and talents from the surrounding areas, causing poor sword sects like Qishan to gradually decline. As the leader of a sect, he had a heavy burden on his shoulders and had to find a way out.

Therefore, such "customers" with good cultivation and long-term needs are exactly the high-quality development targets in Zhao Qing's mind. She can secretly deliver the "Lingxi Jade Talisman" to them, pull them into the system she operates, let them participate in exchanges in the mutual aid forum, gradually turn them into her fans, and contribute more strength.

Give the most and give the best, then all the swords in the world can be used by me.

Just as she was thinking about how to build a new social network, a clear voice suddenly sounded from the outside of the crowd and reached everyone's ears clearly:

"I am He Shanjian from the Minshan Sword Sect. I just saw Ye Sishou's amazing sword skills and I was eager to learn a few moves from him!"

As strange footsteps as if stepping on air were heard, a transparent energy bridge with slightly distorted light naturally formed above the path from the audience area to the center of the sword-fighting field. It extended rapidly and eventually spanned hundreds of feet.

A middle-aged man wearing a jade-green robe and with a face as pure and delicate as white jade, floated in the air like a fleeting shadow. In a blink of an eye, he landed on the Dui Gua pillar of the 100-foot square platform. After standing still, he bowed to Zhao Qing at the Sword Viewing Platform and the Qian Gua pillar.

"So you are Senior from Minshan. I am so sorry for the disrespect."

Seeing that someone finally came up to challenge him, and the momentum he displayed was extraordinary, Zhao Qing also returned the greeting and said calmly: "The most powerful sword-cultivating sect recognized by the world must have its unique features. It is also a blessing to be able to see the swordsmanship of the master of Minshan today."

He Shanjian smiled slightly, with a hint of arrogance in his expression: "Master Ye, you are overpraising me. Although Minshan is famous for its swordsmanship, it is not the strongest. This world is so big, and there are so many extraordinary people. Who dares to claim to be the best?"

"It is Ye Sishou who has reached such a state despite being a young woman. I admire her deeply. I know that I am not as talented as her. Although He is a few years older than me, I have only accumulated a few more years of cultivation. If I cannot show my true ability in this battle, I am afraid I will be laughed at."

"Senior is so complimentary."

The two of them exchanged a few words of business, and after all the polite words were exhausted, He Shanjian finally got to the point. He straightened his face and said solemnly, "Chief Ye, please!"

Before he finished speaking, he put his fingers together like a sword and lightly slashed at the empty space in front of him.

In an instant, a loud sword chant was heard, as if a hidden dragon had emerged from the abyss. A column of extremely bright white light, almost as bright as the scorching sun in the sky, immediately shot up into the sky, illuminating the clouds, and rose straight to a height of more than a thousand feet before gradually dissipating.

Along with the appearance of this sword light, an extremely cold yet sharp murderous aura instantly filled the entire sword-fighting field, and even spread to the vast world outside Nie Garden, and dyed the stone floor near the pillar of the Dui hexagram with a light frosty white color.

Many of the audience members with weaker cultivation base shuddered unconsciously under the influence of this sword intent, and hurriedly used their skills to resist it. They felt reverence for the Minshan Sword Sect and secretly thought that it was worthy of being one of the two strongest sects in Daqin.

As for the warriors who came from various major cultivation sects or held military posts, their eyes lit up and their faces showed a bit of solemnity and expectation. They knew that this elder of the Minshan Sword Sect was by no means an ordinary person who came on stage to go through the motions and add to the show effect.

"It's actually one of Minshan's secret manuals, the opening move of the Seven Lights Nourishing Nature Sword. The cold light shines on the water, what a powerful sword intent!"

"He has such a magnificent presence just from the beginning. Elder He's sword skills and cultivation level are probably even higher than expected. He might really be able to force out the full strength of Ye Si Shou and open our eyes."

"The Minshan swordsmanship is well-deserved of its reputation..."

“I heard that those who can directly enter the Minshan Sword Sect and the Lingxu Sword Sect can be described as monsters. Compared with them, most geniuses can be described as waste... But this Elder He can stand out among so many true disciples. This..."

"Zhao Zhan, the seventh disciple of Zhao Jianlu, was killed by Ye Sishou a month ago. As the elder of Minshan Sword Sect, he should not be weaker than the remnants of Zhao State. It looks like this is probably a real fight between dragons and tigers."

"Why isn't this person's name on the list of Hongyang Academy? Could it be that he just decided to join the sword meeting at the last minute?"

"It's going to be interesting now. I wonder if this Night Chief can continue his previous winning streak and take another victory?"

Amid the whispers all around, Zhao Qing, who was standing on the Qian Gua Pillar, raised his eyebrows slightly, sensing the powerful true energy and sharpness contained in the opponent's sword. A serious look appeared on his face, and he looked carefully at the natal sword held by the opponent.

It was a three-foot-long sword that seemed to be made of ice and snow. It had quickly condensed into shape in He Shanjian's hand. The crystal clear sword body exuded a faint chill, and it was obvious at a glance that it was definitely not an ordinary item.

"This sword is named 'Snow Soul in the Mountains', taken from the eternal snow and ice on the top of Minshan Mountain. It was forged using the unique sword-making method of our Minshan Sword Sect. It took thirty-three months to forge. On the day the sword was completed, the sky was struck by wind and snow, and the cold air was everywhere, so it was given this name."

He Shanjian stroked the sword, his eyes showing deep attachment and pride, as if he was introducing his most cherished child. Then, he looked up at Zhao Qing and spoke in a clear voice:
"Master Ye, you have just fought swords repeatedly, so your true energy must have been depleted. Although I am not talented, I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Well, let me start with the first sword of the Minshan Sword Sect, the Seven Lights Nourishing Nature Sword, and learn a few moves from you. This sword technique is as gentle as water, and it can nourish your spirit and calm your mind, and restore your vitality. It can also give you the opportunity to regulate your breathing and adjust your condition to the best. How do you think?"

The first sword to enter the door? The disciples of Minshan can only start to practice after entering the fifth realm of divine consciousness, and there are many changes and advanced techniques in the future. He actually called the "Seven Lights Nourishing Nature Sword" the entry-level sword method, which really gave "Ye Celeng" enough face.

Of course, anyone with common sense knows that this is just superficial courtesy and false humility.

The real purpose of this elder of the Minshan Sword Sect is to demonstrate the strength of the sect in this way, and at the same time, to show his broad mind and respect for the other party.

After all, if "Ye Celeng" really lost in the sword fight, people would only remember that the master surnamed He from the Minshan Sword Sect gave the head of the Jiantian Division time and opportunity to recuperate, and it was "Ye Celeng" himself who failed to seize the opportunity, which led to this defeat.

"In that case, thank you very much for your understanding, Senior He."

Zhao Qing knew what the other party was thinking, but he didn't care. After bowing and thanking him, he summoned the water sword, placed it across his chest, and took a defensive stance, waiting for He Shanjian to make his official move.

...(End of chapter)