The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 328 Xu Xingchen: Jing'er, when will you undergo your third transformation?

Under the moonlight
The sound of the ocean tides, carried by the moist sea breeze, drifted into the peach blossom grove.

The peach orchard was in ruins, with large areas of peach trees broken and shattered; countless peach blossoms were scattered all over the ground, forming a shapeless pink carpet.

Many peach blossoms danced in the air, swirling and circling around Huang Yaoshi.

Even though Huang Yaoshi was only wearing tattered trousers, he was still tall and slender, with streamlined muscles that undulated and flowed. His tattoo, composed of forked peach branches and graceful peach blossoms, was brightly colored and lifelike.
The two pink peach blossoms that spread from his neck to his left cheek added to his refined and scholarly air.

Not far away.
Above a crater about ten feet in size, Xu Xingchen, whose body was half as black as ink and half as white as jade, floated in mid-air, her long hair, also half black and half white, dancing lightly in the air.
The two faced off against each other!

Huang Yaoshi's aura was faint and elusive, like a dream, seemingly disappearing into the vast emptiness at any moment.

Xu Xingchen's aura was sometimes as heavy as a mountain, and sometimes as light as smoke. The invisible power of lightness and descent enveloped an area of ​​several feet, affecting the peach blossoms floating in the air.

After this sparring match, Huang Yaoshi knew that he was no match for the young man in front of him.

Unless he unleashes the power of breaking through to the fourth realm!

Xu Xingchen seemed to see the hesitation in Huang Yaoshi's eyes and said with a smile, "Island Master Huang, you don't really want to use the power of breaking through to the fourth realm, do you?!"

"I heard from Senior Hong Qigong that using the power of breaking through to the fourth realm consumes a lot of internal energy and mental strength."

"Now, not only Senior Hong has arrived on Peach Blossom Island, but also Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison; oh, right, there's also the Old Urchin you've imprisoned on the island for over a decade, plus me, a guest here."

"With so many experts gathered together, the situation, while not yet at the point of irreconcilable conflict, is still extremely serious."

"If Master Huang suffers too much damage, I'm afraid he won't be able to handle the following matters well."

Huang Yaoshi's face revealed a hint of arrogance: "So what if you have many experts? When you come to my Peach Blossom Island, if you're a dragon, you have to coil up before me; if you're a tiger, you have to crouch down before me. As long as my Peach Blossom Formation is in place, none of you can cause much trouble."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xingchen's eyes flashed with a black and white light, and he tentatively asked, "Is Island Master Huang bluffing?! Your Peach Blossom Formation can trap others, but how can it trap Senior Hong and Ouyang Feng, two top experts of your level?"

Huang Yaoshi smiled calmly: "Although they are both clear-headed and have keen senses, if they can easily break my Peach Blossom Formation, how can it still be called the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation passed down by Zhuge Liang?!"

At this point, Huang Yaoshi's figure once again transformed into a swirling, fluttering ribbon of peach blossoms, swiftly disappearing into the distance through the forest.

At the same time, a voice drifted from the depths of the peach grove: "I can't be bothered with you now. You can stay here and keep the old rascal company!"

As the pink ribbons that had been watching Huang Yaoshi disappear into the shadows in the distance quickly vanished, Xu Xingchen floated down from the air to the grassy area beside the pit.

Crackling!

Amidst the cracking sounds of bones and muscles, his body shrank rapidly back to its original state, and the black and white hues on his skin faded quickly, returning to normal, clean white skin.

A thoughtful expression crossed his face as he murmured softly, "It seems the old rascal's idea of ​​breaking through the formation was just wishful thinking."

"Or perhaps, the old rascal has stayed here for too long and has already figured out many of the tricks of the Peach Blossom Maze; therefore, he is confident in escaping."

He shook his head, cleared his mind, and looked around at the messy peach grove.

The moonlight is soft, and the peach blossoms are swaying gently.
His solitary figure stood on the pink carpet, casting a faint shadow behind him.

Currently, the old rascal is agitated because of Ying Gu's matter, and he probably won't be meeting with her for the time being.
Huang Yaoshi realized he couldn't defeat him for the time being, so he left on his own.
"So, what should I do now?" Xu Xingchen looked up at the moon, thinking to himself, "Should I stay in this peach grove and try to comprehend the thing that is about to grow within my body? Or should I break out of the formation and go find Senior Hong and Guo Jing?"

He was confident that if he stayed in the peach blossom forest, he could nurture the thing that was about to take shape inside him in just ten days to half a month.

At that time, he should be able to undergo another transformation and break through to the highest realm of breaking through four levels.

However, such a long delay
Who knows how far the situation on Peach Blossom Island will develop?!

Will things develop "smoothly" as described in the book?

Or what other unforeseen events might occur?

"Forget it, let's get out of this peach blossom formation first, find Jing'er and Senior Hong, and then we can talk about other things."

"Although my martial arts are a level below those of Senior Hong, Island Master Huang, and Ouyang Feng, I can still draw inspiration from the power that the Old Urchin displayed when he broke through to the next level."

"With the Cloud Escape Technique, we should still be able to escape safely."

Thinking of this, Xu Xingchen returned to the campfire, picked up the Dragon Slayer Sword that was lying to the side, and took out the first part of the Nine Yin Manual from the pile of firewood.

Looking at the blue book in his hand, then at the nearly extinguished campfire, he hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided not to burn it.

He had only read the Sanskrit outline of the Nine Yin Manual, and then learned a few chapters from the Old Urchin. There should still be some content he hadn't read.
He stuffed the Nine Yin Manual into his pants.

Xu Xingchen, carrying the Dragon-Slaying Sword, rose from the ground.

He used the Cloud Escape Technique repeatedly, stepping on wisps of white clouds, and leaped and bounded up to a height of thirty feet.

In a moment of distraction, he had escaped the Peach Blossom Formation's range and taken in the entire terrain of Peach Blossom Island. Feeling the remaining internal energy within his body, he began to move horizontally, each step a cloud-like step, covering three to five zhang with each stride, his progress incredibly fast.

After running for a mile, the internal energy circulating in his meridians stagnated, and he knew that his internal energy was insufficient and he needed to rest.

So, with a series of leaps and bounds, he landed once again in the peach blossom grove below.

After resting for a while and waiting for his internal energy to recover, he once again used the Cloud Escape Technique to leap into the sky and continue walking on the "white" clouds in the direction he had previously traveled.
After repeatedly walking on clouds, resting, walking on clouds, and resting several times, he finally broke out of the peach blossom formation and arrived at a nearby bamboo forest.

The bamboo grove swayed and cast shadows under the moonlight, and the rustling sound of bamboo leaves and branches rubbing against each other further accentuated the tranquility and serenity of the place.

A stone path winds its way through the bamboo forest, disappearing at the edge of the bamboo grove.

Xu Xingchen stepped barefoot onto the stone path and, based on the terrain he had seen from the air, walked toward a brightly lit building not far away.

Fifteen minutes later, he arrived in front of several wooden houses.

The wooden houses were furnished in a simple and rustic style, with simple doors and windows. A few candles were lit inside, and occasionally two or three figures were reflected on the window paper, gesturing with their fingers and "talking" to each other.

"...It's the dwelling place of those servants!"

Xu Xingchen glanced at it, then turned and left.

Continuing along the stone path, after searching several places, I discovered that there were quite a few mute servants on Peach Blossom Island.

When Xu Xingchen arrived at an open area in the center of the island, with a large number of buildings spread out in front of her, she knew that she had finally found the place.

The buildings here are described as a large area, but in reality, they are just a dozen or so scattered courtyards.

Each has its own style and its own unique characteristics; overall, they are exquisite, delicate, and quite artistic.

These buildings must have been the work of Huang Yaoshi!

Flickering candlelight shone through the paper windows of a few courtyards, and voices could be heard coming from some houses, while others remained silent.

Although Xu Xingchen, without transforming, couldn't levitate in mid-air, she could easily minimize the sound of her footsteps.

He used the power of Yin and Yang magnetic fields to gather his aura and walked with the power of levitation.

Walking quietly along the paths of this architectural complex, I listened intently to the sounds emanating from each courtyard.

When he arrived at a small courtyard near the north side, he vaguely heard a slightly familiar voice inside, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips: "Found it!"

With incredible agility, he scaled the wall and arrived at the door of the house where candlelight shone.

Before he could even raise his hand to knock, Hong Qigong's questioning voice came from inside: "Who goes there? Why are you walking so quietly? Are you perhaps up to something sneaky?"

When martial arts are cultivated to their level, no matter how well someone conceals their aura or how silently they move, they cannot hide from them.

This is a kind of spiritual connection, one of the exclusive powers of top masters.

Therefore, when facing these powerful individuals, neither sneak attacks, ambushes, nor sieges are effective.

Xu Xingchen pushed open the door and walked in, chuckling as he said, "Senior, Jing'er, I'm here!"

In the spacious room, two beds were placed on the left and right, and an eight-immortal table was placed in the middle, with a candle lit on the table, emitting a bright light.

Hong Qigong and Guo Jing, who were sitting on either side of the table discussing tomorrow's plans, both brightened up when they saw the person who pushed open the door and entered.

Hong Qigong laughed heartily, "So it's you, kid! You've finally arrived!"

Guo Jing stood up abruptly from his seat with great excitement, strode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Disciple greets Master!"

Xu Xingchen first clasped his hands in greeting to Hong Qigong and said, "Senior, it's been a long time! How have you been?"

Then, he turned to look at Guo Jing beside him, patted him on the shoulder, feeling the faint rebound force emanating from the vast Nine Yang Internal Force within him, and said with a smile, "Jing'er, your martial arts have improved a lot; truly remarkable! I wonder when you'll be able to undergo your third transformation and become a master who has broken through three realms."

Guo Jing chuckled憨厚ly, habitually reaching up to scratch the back of his head, and said in a simple voice, "Master, I only broke through to the second realm not long ago, how could I possibly be reborn again so quickly?"

Xu Xingchen encouraged him, "You're already eighteen this year, and in another six months you'll be nineteen; it's perfectly reasonable for you to become a master who has broken through three realms at nineteen!"

Guo Jing knew his master was joking, so he smiled and didn't say anything more.

Sitting at the table, Hong Qigong munched on a chicken leg and said, "Kid, no matter how solid the basic skills you laid for Jing'er, you can't make him undergo a complete transformation twice a year."

Even if Jing'er's skill level is sufficient, his body might not be able to withstand it; even if his body can withstand it, his spirit might not be able to hold on.

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "What you say is very true, senior!"

(End of this chapter)