Volume 1 Chapter 8

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Volume 1 Chapter 8: Watching the Fight

Outside the door, the night was as calm as water.

Only after Xu Qingfan stepped out of his room did he realize that night had fallen, with a crescent moon and stars shining brightly. Thinking back to the pitch-black sky of Southern Wasteland, it felt like two completely different worlds.

Xu Qingfan clearly remembered that he began his meditation early in the morning. Unknowingly, a whole day had passed.

This was also because Xu Qingfan’s skills were still quite shallow. If it were those masters who had reached the Condensed Core Stage, they could often stay in seclusion for months or even years at a time. Lu Huayan often sighed that in cultivation, there is no time, and in the mountains, there are no years.

Upon reflection, although cultivators live much longer than ordinary people, most of their lives are spent on cultivation. Thus, if we compare ordinary leisure time, cultivators do not necessarily have much more than common folks. Moreover, while ordinary people are busy struggling for survival, cultivators endure hardships in pursuit of longevity, which is no less challenging. People often say immortals are carefree, and cultivators can be seen as immortals in the eyes of the world, but who really understands their struggles and hardships?

Xu Qingfan liked quietness and disliked noise. Even though it was night, there were still many junior disciples active in Jiuhua Mountain. So after leaving Changchun Residence, he unconsciously chose side paths for his stroll. Without realizing it, Xu Qingfan wandered further away from the main paths. Eventually, he found himself unknowingly on the back mountain, where there were usually few signs of people.

Since most of the buildings and the dwellings of the cultivators at Jiuhua Gate were built on the hills of the front mountain where Spirit Qi was abundant, the environment of the back mountain had not changed much. It remained lush with dense trees. With the gentle night breeze swaying the shadows of the trees and moonlight shining through, it was a beautiful night scene of green mountains. Upon seeing this beautiful sight, Xu Qingfan, who had been feeling a bit anxious these past few days due to the lack of progress in his skills, suddenly felt calm and began to drift into peace.

Feeling the rich and pure Wood-type Qi and fresh air here, Xu Qingfan’s spirits lifted. Because there were so many trees and flowers, the Wood-type Qi here was even richer than that at Lu Huayan’s Changchun Residence.

Taking a deep breath of the earthy scent, Xu Qingfan made a quiet decision in his heart: when he was qualified to open his own dwelling, he would definitely build it here. This was not only because the rich Wood-type Spirit Qi would aid his cultivation but also because of the tranquility of the place.

He enjoys this peaceful feeling.

As Xu Qingfan was walking and taking in the beautiful scenery of the mountain, a sudden strong wave of Spirit Qi from a more remote part of the mountain disrupted the tranquility. The intensity of the wave made Xu Qingfan feel as if someone was casting spells right beside him!

Looking towards the direction of the Spirit Qi wave, he realized that the source was actually far away from him. Under the cover of night, Xu Qingfan could faintly see that there seemed to be golden and red lights flickering in the distance.

"Could it be that there are cultivators fighting over there?" Xu Qingfan frowned and muttered to himself while watching the distant golden and red lights. He had heard his senior brother Yue Qingru mention more than once that because the mountain was sparsely populated, it often served as a place for low-level disciples of Jiuhua Gate to settle personal grievances privately.

The golden and red lights clearly emitted the glow of gold-type and fire-type techniques, and judging by the strength of the waves, the two people fighting in the distance must be quite extraordinary, at least at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage, or possibly even experts at the Inedia Stage!

It’s important to know that although there are more than two thousand cultivators in Jiuhua Gate, there are only a few dozen great experts who have reached the Condensed Core Stage. Most of these experts isolate themselves for deep cultivation, aiming to advance their realm to increase their lifespan. Below the Condensed Core Stage is the Lingji Stage, and these geniuses are likely to break through to the Condensed Core Stage and receive special training from Jiuhua Gate, so they often don’t get involved in mundane affairs.

When the tiger is not on the mountain, the monkeys call themselves kings. So in Jiuhua Gate, it is usually the disciples of the Qi Refining Stage and Inedia Stage who take care of most ordinary matters. Disciples at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage generally manage their own affairs, while those at the Inedia Stage mostly oversee matters on behalf of their masters. For example, Li Yuhan and Sheng Yushan, whom Xu Qingfan encountered when he first entered Jiuhua Gate, were like this. Therefore, it is rare for these cultivators to fight among themselves.

Normally, being the kind of person who prefers to keep things simple, Xu Qingfan would have ignored other people’s private fights and pretended not to see them.

However, this time the situation was a bit different. Xu Qingfan had already spent a full ten years in the cultivation world. During these ten years, in order to seek revenge and to help Lu Huayan advance his skills, Xu Qingfan had focused solely on cultivation. Aside from the incomplete cultivation method "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," he hadn’t practiced any practical techniques. He had never witnessed a fight between cultivators. So, when he finally encountered cultivators fighting, after a moment of hesitation, his curiosity got the better of him, and he rushed towards the direction of the Spirit Qi waves.

From where Xu Qingfan had just stopped to the place where the golden-red light burst forth, it didn’t seem very far, but when he actually walked there, he realized the distance was ten miles or more, and in between was a thick forest. Thankfully, Xu Qingfan’s ten years of training were not in vain; even though he didn’t know any specific useful Taoist spells, his body was light and strong after reaching the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage. Plus, he knew some light skills from the mundane world, so he moved quickly through the forest, and soon he arrived at the place of the fierce battle.

When Xu Qingfan reached a spot not far from the battle, he first hid behind a big tree to stay safe; if he accidentally got discovered by the fighters, it would be hard to explain.

Steadying himself, Xu Qingfan looked closely. Although he was mentally prepared, he was still shocked because the battle before him was too intense, beyond his imagination.

He saw two young men in their twenties; one was surrounded by roaring flames, and waves of fire rushed quickly towards the other young man with every movement, as if a fire god had descended. The other young man glowed with golden light, dodging the fire waves while shooting sharp golden beams from his fingertips, which turned into shining swords that counterattacked, just like a God of War.

The powerful spells of these two were extremely destructive. All around their battlefield, stones and trees were completely destroyed, and even the solid ground cracked under their strong powers. The heat from the flames of the young man was so high that it could even melt the surrounding stones! The other young man was equally impressive, with his golden swords sharp enough to split mountains and shatter rocks!

The two fought at incredible speed, attacking each other while quickly moving to dodge the strikes. It seemed both had trained in techniques to enhance their speed, moving so fast that they left afterimages behind. The fire waves and golden beams that missed their targets further increased the destruction in the environment.

"This is the true power of a cultivator’s spells!" Xu Qingfan was deeply shocked by the sight before him and thought to himself, "This is only the power of a Qi Refining Stage cultivator. What if a more powerful cultivator were to unleash their spells?"

As Xu Qingfan watched the two young men, who were younger than him, he felt a deep sense of envy. They must be the so-called geniuses, achieving the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage at such a young age, relying solely on their talent! Thinking of this made Xu Qingfan feel somewhat discouraged.

Looking again at the power displayed by these two, and comparing it to his own abilities from practicing "The Formula of Wither and Flourish," which were only half as strong as an ordinary cultivator’s spells, Xu Qingfan’s feelings of disappointment grew even stronger.

However, Xu Qingfan was not the type of person to feel sorry for himself. He gave his head a slight shake and pushed aside those unbalanced thoughts, focusing again on the fierce battle before him. After all, this kind of fight was not something one could see anytime and anywhere.

Just as Xu Qingfan was deeply absorbed in watching, the two fighters suddenly stopped, standing at opposite ends of the battlefield, their sharp gazes locked onto each other.

It was only when both of them ceased their rapid movements that Xu Qingfan could see their faces clearly, and he couldn’t help but be startled again.

It turned out that their expressions were strikingly similar. Both had handsome but somewhat pale faces, with equally cold expressions, slightly raised, sharp eyebrows, tightly closed lips that held a hint of sarcastic smiles, and eyes that carried a chilling rejection.

If it weren’t for their different appearances, Xu Qingfan would almost think they were brothers. In comparison, the young man practicing the gold-type martial arts had a more ruggedly handsome face, as if carved by a knife, while the one practicing fire-type martial arts appeared more delicate and charming.

"Very well, I didn’t expect your strength to have reached this level," said the young man practicing gold-type martial arts softly, his voice as clear as the sound of metal striking metal. Although he spoke softly, there was a powerful Spirit Qi within his voice that even Xu Qingfan, several meters away, could hear clearly.

"You are the same; I can’t believe you could hold out against me for so long," replied the young man practicing fire-type martial arts in a gentle tone. However, the teasing smile at the corner of his mouth became increasingly evident, making one feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Unfortunately, if your strength only reaches this level, you won’t be able to defeat me," the young man practicing gold-type martial arts said without getting angry at his opponent’s words, merely snorting coldly. "Today, I will show you my true strength and make sure you lose with no complaints, so you understand what real talent looks like!"

As he spoke, a golden light shone brilliantly around him, appearing from a distance like a small sun radiating golden rays!

Seeing the sudden change in this person, both Xu Qingfan and the young man who trained in fire techniques turned pale. Although Xu Qingfan was far from the two, he still felt a sharp pain on his skin when the golden light shone on him.

"You have already reached the Inedia Stage! I can’t believe you were not using your full strength before," said the young man practicing fire techniques. Although his face changed slightly, he showed no signs of panic and remained calm.

"I was just playing with you earlier. Now you will see my true strength," said the young man training in gold techniques, showing no sign of pride, only speaking coldly. "Now, I will let you know that as long as I am here, one genius is enough in Jiuhua Gate!"

As he spoke, the young man lunged at the other who practiced fire techniques, his body transforming into a giant golden sword, fiercely aiming for the young man’s chest, exuding tremendous power.

The Spirit Qi manifesting is one of the signs of the Inedia Stage!

"Very interesting, truly interesting," said the young man practicing fire techniques as he faced the attacking giant sword, showing no signs of worry; instead, he smiled and praised it with a teasing tone. Then, his expression changed, and he calmly stated, "But do you think you are the only one who has reached the Inedia Stage?"

As he spoke, the protective flames around his body grew stronger, forming a phoenix that charged toward the giant sword. Spirit Qi manifested! Unexpectedly, the young man wielding fire techniques also reached the Inedia Stage!

For a moment, the red flaming phoenix and the golden giant sword fought fiercely in the air, neither backing down.

The force of their battle swept over Xu Qingfan, who watched from the side, making him suffer greatly. The heat from the fire phoenix was overwhelming, causing Xu Qingfan to feel extremely hot and sweat profusely. More importantly, the surrounding air felt as if it had been burned clean by the flames, making it hard for Xu Qingfan to breathe.

"Is this the power of an Inedia Stage cultivator?" Xu Qingfan was astonished by the scene before him, but at the same time, his determination to cultivate grew stronger.

While Xu Qingfan was still in shock, the battle on the other side began to change.

The golden giant sword started to lose its strength as the battle went on. Not only did its golden light slowly fade, but its size also shrank. Yet, it continued to resist bravely. The fire phoenix, however, did not lose its might and kept attacking the golden giant sword fiercely. As the fire phoenix struck, the golden sword grew darker, and its size became smaller. Finally, the golden giant sword seemed to turn into gas from the flames, fading away into nothingness. Without the golden giant sword to hold back the attack, the fire phoenix charged fiercely toward the young man who used gold-type magic.

Just when it seemed the young man would be gravely injured by the fire phoenix, a golden light suddenly flashed around him, transforming into a massive golden shield that blocked the fire phoenix’s attack. However, he was pushed back more than ten steps by the force of the impact. More importantly, with this strike from the fire phoenix, his golden protective light was also shattered. If the fire phoenix attacked again, he would surely be severely injured. And judging by his pale face, that last attack must have caused him some serious internal wounds.

But the fire phoenix did not attack again. Instead, it flew back to the young man who used fire-type magic, turning into protective flames and slowly being absorbed into his body.

After defeating his opponent, the young man who used fire-type magic showed no sign of satisfaction; the smirk at the corner of his mouth became more apparent.

"You have also reached the Inedia Stage!" The young man who practiced gold-type magic became even paler after being injured. Though weak, he still spoke defiantly.

"I admit you are a genius, managing to cultivate gold-type magic to the Inedia Stage in just a few years." The young man using fire-type magic did not respond to him but said this before turning to walk up the mountain. His soft voice echoed in the empty back mountain, "But no matter what kind of genius you are, in front of my Feng family, you are just a joke."

As his calm yet proud voice faded away, he slowly disappeared into the dense woods of the back mountain until he was completely gone, as if the duel just now was an insignificant event.

At this moment, even though Xu Qingfan had always disliked his pride and his indifferent attitude towards others, he had to admit that he looked very graceful at that time.

The young man who practiced gold-type magic had been looking at his disappearing figure with a complicated expression. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood and then fell down straight, remaining still for a long time, having fainted.

Seeing the young man who suddenly collapsed not far away, Xu Qingfan hesitated for a moment about whether to help him but finally walked over to the young man.

Although Xu Qingfan disliked trouble, he could not just ignore someone in danger because of that dislike.