I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 220: Watching the snow and dancing with swords, farewell!
That night.

A green-maned horse stepped on the snow and headed straight towards the Blood Ridge Market.

Xie An, sitting on horseback, kept waving the whip.

Arrived outside the Xueling Market at the beginning of the Yin hour.

Xie An did not ride in on horseback, but tied his horse under a pine tree outside the market and walked instead.

To be on the safe side, Xie An did not enter the market directly, but took advantage of the cover of the surrounding mountains and dense trees to slowly approach and check the situation.

After approaching the Xueling Market, Xie An discovered that the Xueling Market, which was usually bustling late at night, was quiet tonight.

Ok?
Xie An instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Xie An still did not enter the Blood Ridge Market immediately, but instead walked around outside for a long time to confirm that there were no big monsters. Then he pushed Mingyu Gong to its limit and turned into a shadow to enter the Blood Ridge Market.

Not a single person was in sight.

All that was left were messy stalls, damaged shop doors, windows, and doors, etc.

When passing by a shop, Xie An went in and saw that the whole shop had been smashed.

Later, Xie An checked dozens of shops and found the same thing in all of them.

It was obvious that the entire Blood Ridge Market had been looted.

Someone was arrested?

You know, there are thousands of guys in the entire Blood Ridge black market.

Only a few hours had passed since Liu Chunlai reported the news, and the situation had worsened again?
Xie An was greatly shocked.

"Brother, there is no one in the shops around here. They must have all been arrested." At this time, the white fox ran over from not far away and jumped onto Xie An's shoulder.

Xie An murmured, "Let's go to Shuideng Town and take a look."

He rushed to Water Lantern Town as fast as he could, but... Water Lantern Town was also empty.

The whole town was arrested! ?
Shuideng Town was a big town under the jurisdiction of Qingwu County, with prosperous commerce and a population of tens of thousands... and it was gone?
An inexplicable panic spread in Xie An's heart.

"Go to Wuqiao Town."

Xie An said no more and headed straight for Wuqiao Town.

As a result, all the people in Wuqiao Town disappeared.

hiss!
Xie An sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling a chill down his spine.

He still vividly remembered the scene where Chen He and Chen Lei came to Xie's house to report the news.

Is this person gone?
Immediately afterwards, Xie An went to several nearby towns to check, and the situation was no exception.

The four towns within a radius were empty.

This situation is really too scary.

Xie An had thought about following the villagers' footprints to find their whereabouts, but the snow was too heavy at night. It had covered the footprints early, making tracking extremely difficult.

After a moment of hesitation, Xie An made a decision: to continue to the next nearby town.

At least we need to find out how many towns have been affected.

If all the towns outside the city fell, it would mean that Qingwu County would fall soon.

Fortunately, when Xie An arrived at Bailu Town, he finally saw someone.

He lurked in the alleys and saw hundreds of powerful monsters capturing people in the town.

Cries and screams... filled the entire town.

Those who were captured were thrown into crowded prison vans or tied to carts and taken away one by one.

There are too many monsters, and each one is very powerful.

The weakest ones are all at the fifth level of martial arts.

Even if Xie An wanted to save people, he didn't know where to start. Once surrounded by hundreds of martial artist-level monsters, it would be a question whether Xie An could escape.

After a long time, all the people in Bailu Town were captured.

The ones responsible for finishing off the fight were a dog demon with a dog's head and a human body, and a snake demon with a snake's head and a human body.

Both of these monsters are powerful monsters at the ninth-grade master level.

"Brother Huang Quan, today's arrest operation went smoothly. We have gathered almost 50,000 people. The four kings will probably be satisfied when they know about it." The snake demon leaned against a stone by the roadside, watched the escort team leave, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The dog demon also walked over, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Brother Huanshe is absolutely right. The arrest went so smoothly thanks to Li Hao's green light. It seems Li Hao's feelings for the four kings are beyond words. The four-party talks will begin in a few days. Let's go back."

The krait laughed and said, "Hey, go back and claim your reward."

At this moment, a person appeared in front of the two of them and blocked their way.

The krait was startled, then said indifferently, "We missed one person. The convoy has left, so we can eat the two of us."

The yellow dog agreed, revealing a sinister smile. "It just so happens that I'm hungry too. Little brother, I'm hungry, and I can use your flesh and blood to fill my stomach..."

Before the yellow dog could finish his words, he suddenly saw Xie An appear in front of him. The yellow dog immediately sensed something was wrong and was about to raise his sharp claws to resist, but suddenly he felt a chill between his eyebrows, and then he vomited blood.

With his last bit of consciousness, the yellow dog saw that his forehead was pierced by a needle.

The yellow dog died.

The krait beside him was greatly shocked, "Martial Arts Grandmaster!?"

The krait ran away, but found Xie An appeared in front of it for some reason and slammed it to the ground with a punch, making it unable to move. Its head was also stepped on by Xie An's right foot, and no matter how it struggled, it could not get away.

Xie An's Mingyu Gong has now reached the twenty-first stage. When he unleashes his full strength, he can easily crush a ninth-grade master without using any hidden power.

“Why are so many people being arrested?”

The krait showed a very innocent expression, "Master, please calm down! These are all orders from the four kings... I'm just an errand boy, I was forced to do this."

Xie Anke didn't want to play tricks on the krait, so he just crushed its ribs with one foot and asked, "What does your king need so many people for?"

The krait grimaced in pain, panicking, and dared not hide it, "The four kings need to use the blood and essence of 50,000 lives to help them break through the second-grade master."

In order to break through to the second-grade grandmaster level, he actually had to absorb 50,000 people!
Even though Xie An had experienced the events in the Corpse Refining Hall, he was still deeply shocked when he heard about it.

"Tell me the truth about your four great kings."

"Yes……"

After hearing the story told by the ring snake, Xie An finally understood the situation of the four old monsters.

The four old demons, Silver Snake, Blood Tiger, Golden Lion and Akainu, are all at the peak of the third-grade grandmaster level.

The four old demons, along with three thousand martial artist-level demons, had arrived at Dayin Mountain and settled at the site of the former Corpse Refining Hall. In order to reach the Second Rank Grandmaster level, they struck a deal with Li Hao, requiring the blood and essence of fifty thousand people.

This time, these monsters came down the mountain to catch people.

In addition to the four old monsters, there were also twenty master monsters who followed.

Among them are the Krait and the Yellow Dog, who are responsible for capturing the villagers of Bailu Town.

After receiving this information, Xie An ignored the krait's pleas for mercy and crushed its head with one foot, ending its sinful life.

After the two great master demons died, the white Taoist talisman in Xie An's mind also vibrated.

[Two thousand strands of demonic energy detected. Do you want to absorb it?]

absorb!

hum!
As Xie An felt a sudden pain in his head, two thousand strands of demonic energy were absorbed into his body.

[Currently available Immortal Qi: 9600 strands.]

There are still four hundred strands away from the ten thousand strands of immortal energy required to advance the fetal breathing technique.

Although all the people in Wuqiao Town were captured and the annual festival at the end of the year could not be held, the two big monsters also used their lives to make up for some of the losses.

The former site of the Corpse Refining Hall?
Xie An adjusted his mood and planned to sneak in to take a look.

At this moment, Xie An suddenly felt a powerful aura approaching. He immediately drew his sword and turned around, only to see two strange men walking towards him.

A white-haired elegant man and a bearded man, both of them had a strong aura that made Xie An feel suffocated.

They are actually stronger than Master Huang.

Sent by King Huainan?

"Your Excellency is a master of skill. You killed two ninth-grade master monsters with the snap of your fingers." The bearded man said with a smile, "May I ask your name?"

Xie An did not reveal his name, but instead asked cautiously, "Who are you?"

The bearded man, though unassuming, bowed and smiled, "My name is Hua Yunfeng, a disciple of Ye Nantian. I've come to Qingwu County at the request of the eldest princess to take charge. I've just been running around several towns without seeing a soul. Upon arriving at Bailu Town, I encountered monsters kidnapping thousands of people. I've already slain them, rescued the villagers, and will be returning soon. After asking the little monsters, I learned that two great master monsters were following. I wanted to rush over to kill them to vent my anger, but you stole the spotlight."

Just then, Xie An heard a loud noise coming from the distant town entrance, followed by a large number of villagers returning.

Xie An knew that what the bearded man said was probably true, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I am Xie An."

Hua Yunfeng was shocked, "Are you General Xie An?"

"Yes." Xie An was a little puzzled.

Hua Yunfeng laughed and said, "The Princess has been talking about you all the way. She said that you are the only one shouldering the responsibility in Qingwu County and she is very worried that something might happen to you."

"Come, come, come... let me introduce you." Hua Yunfeng walked up and patted Xie An on the shoulder, pointing at Li Chungang and said, "This is my second senior brother, Li Chungang, a second-grade peak master."

Xie An bowed to Li Chungang.

Li Chungang waved his hand and smiled, "No need to be so formal. You have made an unparalleled contribution to Daqian. I should be the one thanking you."

After some greetings, Xie An finally understood the reason.

It turned out that Su Yuqing and his companions had just arrived in Qingwu County. On the way, Su Yuqing heard about the demon plague in Shuideng Town, so he asked Li Chungang and Hua Yunfeng to go to Shuideng Town first to deal with the demon plague, while Su Yuqing sneaked into Qingwu County to find Xie An.

At this time, countless villagers had rushed back and expressed their gratitude to Li Chungang and Hua Yunfeng. Some even wanted to invite Li Chungang to their homes for dinner.

Li Chungang declined politely and told everyone not to worry. Then he and Xie An and Hua Yunfeng came to the town entrance to wait for Su Yuqing.

While waiting, Xie An saw countless monsters dead at the town entrance.

Corpses were scattered all over the ground, and the snow was stained with blood.

Hundreds of martial artist-level monsters were chopped down by Li Chungang and Hua Yunfeng alone!
What a terrible method this is.

Xie An didn't even dare to think about it.

Is this the helper the eldest princess invited?

After a round of pleasantries, the three of them became more familiar with each other. Xie An also realized how high his status in the eldest princess' heart was. Even in front of a second-rank master... Su Yuqing was not stingy with her praise. Li Chungang said, "Don't worry, brother Xie, the eldest princess has made all arrangements for her visit to the capital. His Majesty also fully supports the eldest princess. However, we are new here and don't know much about the situation in Qingwu County. We need to wait for the eldest princess to come and consult with you before we can make the next arrangements."

Xie An nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

In this way, Qingwu County will be saved.

Xie An also went to check the monster's body under the pretext of investigating the monster, and absorbed a full six thousand strands of monster spirit energy.

[Currently available Immortal Qi: 15600 strands.]

He could have absorbed more, but Hua Yunfeng became very talkative and kept chattering around Xie An, asking him questions non-stop, so Xie An had to give up.

There are fifteen thousand six hundred strands of immortal energy, which is more than enough.

It far exceeds the harvest from the annual sacrifice at the Wu Temple.

Soon, it was noon time.

There was a rapid sound of horse hooves in the distance.

Xie An saw the familiar beautiful figure on horseback.

Ouch!
Lu Lu!

Su Yuqing dismounted and, upon seeing Xie An, she no longer had any of her previous airs. She even walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a relieved smile, "I'm glad you're okay."

Xie An bowed and said, "Princess."

Su Yuqing smiled in relief and said, "No need to be so formal. I just went to Tangjiabao. Tang Qingfeng and Old Master Tang stayed behind. I gave him a vital energy pill, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to come out of seclusion. After he comes out of seclusion, he should leave according to your established plan."

Vitality Pill...

This is an extremely rare thing.

Xie An was deeply moved and bowed, "Thank you, Princess."

Su Yuqing held Xie An's hand and said, "It's a small matter. It's hard work for you to support yourself here for several months."

Xie An did feel that he had suffered.

However, Su Yuqing was so generous in giving Brother Tang a vital energy pill, which made Brother Tang's retreat successful. This solved Xie An's biggest worry, making Xie An feel that all the hard work was worth it.

"Okay, without further ado, let's get on the boat. Xie An, tell me about what happened in the past few months."

The three of them boarded a pleasure boat and drifted on the Huai River.

The four of them sat together, and Xie An talked about what had happened in the past few months.

Finally, Xie An said, "I don't know when the princess will return, so I'll let Master Huang take everyone away first..."

Su Yuqing said, "That's as it should be. Your arrangement is very appropriate."

Su Yuqing then made arrangements. "Second Brother, Third Brother, please go to Dayin Mountain and find out the specific deployment of the Four Old Demons. Determine the time and place for the four-party talks. Remember not to alert the enemy. Once you know the situation, come back and let us know. Then we can make unified arrangements."

Li Chungang and Hua Yunfeng stood up and left without saying a word. Before leaving, they bowed to Xie An to express their gratitude.

Only Xie An and Su Yuqing were left on the pleasure boat.

The atmosphere became much quieter for a while.

Su Yuqing took the initiative to pour Xie An a cup of tea. "This trip to the capital has delayed us for quite some time. Fortunately, you have negotiated with the other party many times here, which prevented the situation from completely collapsing. After this incident, I will definitely fulfill my promise and ask for the title of Duke for you."

Xie An naturally would not refuse such a benefit and bowed to express his gratitude.

"I should thank you." Su Yuqing took out a brocade box and handed it to Xie An, "This is the Yuanqi Pill I brought from the capital. It can help you achieve the goal of becoming a martial arts master."

Xie An did not accept it, but said: "I have already broken through to the level of martial arts master, but I don't have the method to circulate the secret energy."

Su Yuqing was shocked, and looked at Xie An with disbelief in her eyes.

After a long while, Su Yuqing finally recovered from her shock. Without asking any more questions, she was overjoyed. "I underestimated your progress after all. Did you use the Mingyu Gong to seal the vital energy stored in the Yongquan secret reservoir?"

"Yes."

"No wonder you're unscathed. You've been so thoughtful. Good! I'll teach you my master's secret method. This way, you'll be able to mobilize your hidden energy."

Xie An was overjoyed and immediately stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Princess."

The grandmaster's secret technique is so rare.

Su Yuqing smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite? Sit down cross-legged, open the secret, and I will tell you orally."

Xie An sat cross-legged as he was told and opened the secret treasure.

Only Su Yuqing's voice slowly sounded.

"This secret method of circulating acquired vital energy is called the Nine Yuan Return to One. It is the most advanced secret method of the Daqian Dynasty. It can open the spring and sense the vital energy..."

Xie An listened to Su Yuqing's story and slowly circulated his vital energy according to the formula.

After the initial discomfort, I gradually found the feeling.

No longer needing to suppress the vital energy with the cold and hot energy of Mingyu Gong, I could let the vital energy flow freely within my body. For the first time, I felt the miraculous effects of vital energy.

Compared to the current cold and hot energies, acquired vital energy is even more refined and powerful. Completely integrated with the body, it can mobilize the strength of muscles and bones, even twisting and twisting the joints, allowing for a myriad of incredible movements and techniques. Furthermore, this vital energy can be released from the body, affecting things outside of it.

For example, if you cover the desk with your vital energy, you can feel a fly resting on the desk.

For example, if this vital energy is injected into a frog outside the body, it can make the frog grow faster.

It's almost as if the body is extending outward.

Extremely mysterious.

It took a full hour or so before Xie An finally became proficient in using the Yongquan Qi.

Su Yuqing asked, "Have you memorized all the formulas for the Nine Elements Returning to One?"

Xie An said: "I remember it."

Su Yuqing nodded, "That's good."

Xie An circulated his vital energy a little, and his body felt particularly comfortable. "This mental method is indeed mysterious. Are there any limitations?"

Su Yuqing was puzzled. "Restrictions?"

Xie An smiled bitterly and said, "After all, it is the method of the old martial saint. Shouldn't it be passed on to others?"

Su Yuqing smiled. "Master is very generous. After writing the Nine Elements Return to One, he was determined to benefit all martial artists in the world. He has no restrictions. If you meet others, you can also teach them. However, you should be cautious with evil people. After all, the original intention of martial arts is to uphold justice."

Hearing this, Xie An was filled with respect for Ye Tiannan, the Martial Saint, and said, "I know what's going on."

"Nine Elements Returning to One, the highest level can help one unlock the nine secret treasures. I've told you all the formulas, but you're still a bit unfamiliar with how to use them. Come, run them for me to see. If there's anything wrong, I can point it out so you can get used to it as quickly as possible."

Xie An naturally would not refuse Su Yuqing's kindness.

In this way, Xie An and Su Yuqing stayed on the pleasure boat for two full days.

In the past two days, Su Yuqing has been carefully teaching Xie An martial arts and providing guidance on his shortcomings in the circulation of vital energy.

Practice martial arts, sail a boat, and enjoy the snow.

Very peaceful, comfortable and quiet.

Su Yuqing even took out his sword and danced with it on the bow of the ship.

It seems that he wants to teach all martial arts to Xie An.

Xie An quietly watched the woman dancing with a sword under the flying snow, and felt that it was the most beautiful scenery in his life.

So much so that Xie An forgot the crisis and the troubles.

However, good times always pass quickly.

On the morning of the third day, it was still snowing heavily.

Su Yuqing was still dancing with the sword under the flying snow at the bow, while Xie An was watching beside her.

Just in time.

A sampan slowly approached. Hua Yunfeng and Li Chungang stood at the bow of the sampan, but did not come over, just watching.

The two men had returned from Dayin Mountain after investigating the situation, but did not disturb them.

Xie An bowed to Li Chungang and Hua Yunfeng, but before he could say anything, Li Chungang made a hushed gesture and gestured for Xie An to watch Su Yuqing's sword dance. Xie An had no choice but to give up and turned to look at Su Yuqing.

Su Yuqing, wearing a light blue silk dress, was seen dancing slowly with a silver sword in her hand. The flying snow around her was affected by the sword's momentum and began to spin and bend.

"At the martial arts master level, large weapons have more advantages. Broadswords and spears are more practical than swords. But when you reach the martial arts master level, the sword's advantages are brought into play." Su Yuqing murmured, "I have been a master for more than 30 years and created a sword technique, the Great River Sword Technique.

Only by reaching the Grandmaster level can one cultivate the essence of Dahe Swordsmanship. Finally, there are three styles.

The first move is the Great River Sword Qi."

After saying this, the long sword in Su Yuqing's right hand suddenly transformed into thousands of sword threads, dashing into the water, stirring up thousands of waves. It even stirred up countless water droplets, which turned into magical weapons that could wear away stone with dripping water, like scattered fireworks, invincible.

Xie An was stunned.

This was the first time I had seen swordsmanship reach such a level.

Is this the ability of a fourth-grade grandmaster?

"The second move, the rising tide of the blue sea."

As Su Yuqing finished speaking, the Huai River surged wildly, finally creating a wave ten meters wide and two meters high. These waves were formed by the convergence of sword energy.

More than tens of thousands of sword energies?
Xie An instinctively took a few steps back in shock, stunned.

Li Chungang's voice rang out at this moment, "Brother Xie, you may not know this, but the eldest princess has already reached the level of a third-grade Grandmaster. She is also a natural swordsman, and her swordsmanship is unrivaled in Daqian. Even Master is impressed. I have never even seen the eldest princess's Dahe swordsmanship."

Xie An was deeply moved.

That's it.

"The third move: A bright moon rises over the sea."

The sword ball in Su Yuqing's hand suddenly expanded, transforming into a huge sphere of sword silk. It rose slowly from under the tide and finally appeared in the void above the tide. It was quite a strange sight like a bright moon rising from the sea.

Xie An felt numb in his heart and was completely shocked.

After a moment, Su Yuqing put away the sword, the sword thread dissipated, and the tide receded.

She put on the sword ball, turned to look at Xie An, and said with a bright smile: "Xie An, your mission ends here. What comes next is too dangerous, you should leave Qingwu County. See you next time in Yunzhou. Then, I will call you Duke Xie."

After saying that, Su Yuqing jumped onto the sampan and drifted away with the waves.

(End of this chapter)