Chapter 293: Primordial Spirit

“I just measured the water currents earlier, and I’m a bit muddy now. Please forgive me, the owner of this boat.”

Qin Mu looked over this young master on the ship and felt that he was no ordinary person. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly that men could be so handsome as well. He said, “May I ask where you come from, Shixiong?”

“Shang Cang.”

Xu Shenghua examined Qin Mu and saw that this young man was very simple and pure, with eyes that seemed free of any impurities, yet he also had a wild and unrestrained aura. He said, “And where do you come from, Shixiong?”

Qin Mu thought for a moment. He had never heard of Shang Cang and figured it must be some secluded sacred place. He said, “I come from Can Lao Village.”

Xu Shenghua had also never heard of Can Lao Village, so he noted the name in his mind and thought, “Could it be some secluded sacred place?”

“I just saw Shixiong wave your hand and produce dozens of Yuan Qi threads, which was quite extraordinary. It seemed like they were formed with sword techniques, different from the usual way of refining Qi into threads. I was so absorbed that I lost track of myself.”

Xu Shenghua opened his tea packet and brewed the tea. The four girls boiled the water and waited a moment until it cooled slightly before adding the tea leaves.

Xu Shenghua covered the teapot and said, “Your sword techniques are exceptional. Those dozens of Yuan Qi threads you sent into the water stood straight on the riverbed. Each thread landed on a grain of sand without pressing it down or making it float up. Even with the river’s rapid flow, it didn’t budge your Yuan Qi threads at all. This level of control is truly impressive. Your mastery of Shu Shu is extremely high—could it be that you’ve learned the Dao Men’s sword techniques?”

Qin Mu was surprised and said, “Shixiong has sharp eyes. I have indeed learned the Dao Jian Shisi Pian. Yuan Qi threads are hard to control since they have no weight. To keep them perfectly vertical requires Shu Shu calculations. I used the Di Ci Yuan Li technique for that, which is how I managed to keep them still.”

Xu Shenghua finished steeping the tea and poured a cup for Qin Mu. He said, “Controlling so many Yuan Qi threads at once without exerting any force is a profound skill, down to the finest detail. Achieving this level of precision means your sword techniques are also highly advanced. If you applied this ability to control swords, your swordsmanship would be terrifyingly powerful. I imagine only the Dao Men’s Dao Jian Shisi Pian requires such refined sword control. Moreover, your Yuan Qi threads are unique, formed from sword Qi, making them a sword technique in themselves.”

“The Yuan Qi threads are a creation of the Yan Kang Guoshi’s Rao Jian Shi.”

Qin Mu was surprised again and praised, “You’re quite the remarkable person. This is the first time I’ve met someone like you who can see through my Yuan Qi threads at a glance. Many who’ve lost to me never realized it—you’re extraordinary. It seems Shang Cang is extraordinary too.”

Xu Shenghua laughed and said, “I just got lucky in figuring it out. The place that produced a disciple like you, Can Lao Village, is truly extraordinary. Come, try this Qing Ming tea from Shang Cang.”

Qin Mu sniffed the tea in his cup and took a sip. It was initially bitter, but soon a sweet flavor emerged from deep within his taste buds, lingering endlessly and making his mouth water.

The tea leaves from the Qing Ming tea were also quite appealing, each one like fine hairy tips or sparrow tongues, suspended in the middle of the tea water, some floating up and some sinking down.

Qin Mu praised, “Excellent tea. Could you give me some?”

Xu Shenghua hesitated for a moment and said, “I didn’t bring much Qing Ming tea with me on this trip…”

Qin Mu laughed and said, “Sometime later, I’ll treat you to a drink!”

Xu Shenghua’s eyes lit up. He took out his tea packet and gave half to Qin Mu, laughing as he said, “It’s a deal! Once I finish my business, where should I find you?”

Qin Mu put away the tea packet and said, “Jing Cheng—I’m serving as a Zhong San Dafu there. When you arrive in Jing Cheng, just go to the Tai Xue Yuan to find me.”

“Great. After I take care of things, I’ll go to Yan Kang Jing Cheng to have that drink with you.”

The two clinked their teacups as if toasting with wine. Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua remained composed, but their sleeves suddenly billowed, and a howling wind blew from behind them toward the distance.

The river surface erupted with booming sounds, the water exploding repeatedly and forming two straight lines of waves surging upstream and downstream. It rang out dozens of times before finally calming down.

The four girls on the boat were startled. Qin Mu and Xu Shenghua had been talking normally—how had they suddenly exchanged a strike?

Qin Mu showed a hint of surprise and looked deeply at Xu Shenghua. Xu Shenghua was also somewhat surprised as he lifted his teacup to his lips.

After savoring the tea, Xu Shenghua took the seven-stringed Qin from Qing Ying and began to play it slowly. The Qin sounds were leisurely, evoking a lofty realm, as if a deity in the nine heavens was writing their thoughts with music, or perhaps extending an invitation for the guest to visit the celestial realms.

Qin Mu listened for a while and praised, “What a lofty realm, transcending the mundane. But I’m in the mortal world and can’t escape it.”

From the riverbank, Ling Yuxiu shouted, “Put Niu’s, hurry over here!”

“Got it!”

Qin Mu turned back and shouted in response. He stood up apologetically and said, “I have many mundane affairs to attend to, so I won’t disturb you further. I still need to handle the water management.”

Xu Shenghua stood up to see him off and said, “The trivialities of the red dust will only disturb your mind. Why not come to Shang Cang for some peace?”

Qin Mu leaped off the boat and laughed, saying, “You’re too carefree for my taste—I couldn’t live that idly. I enjoy being busy. Remember to come to Jing Cheng to find me; I owe you a drink!”

Xu Shenghua nodded, and the painted boat drifted downstream along the river.

On the boat, Qing Ying approached the tea table to collect the cups, but Xu Shenghua said, “Don’t touch them yet.”

Qing Ying was surprised and quickly stopped.

On the tea table, one cup was the one Qin Mu had used, still with half a cup of tea in it, while Xu Shenghua’s cup was empty.

Xu Shenghua said to Yu Liu, “Sacrifice the jade bottle and protect the tea table so it doesn’t damage our boat.”

Yu Liu hurriedly activated her Yuan Qi, and the jade bottle she was holding flew up, turning upside down with its mouth facing down.

A light curtain emerged from the jade bottle, enveloping the tea table.

Xu Shenghua blew gently on the table, and suddenly the two teacups shattered with a crack. Xu Shenghua’s cup exploded into pieces, and the fragments shot out chaotically, reducing the tea table to splinters.

Meanwhile, the half cup of tea in Qin Mu’s cup transformed into a beam of light, causing the cup to split evenly down the middle without shattering!

“Expert.”

Xu Shenghua had Yu Liu retrieve the jade bottle and examined the fragments of the two teacups, his expression turning serious. He said, “This young man is about the same age as me, but his cultivation is just a step ahead of mine. Truly formidable. The Shen Tong practitioners of Zhong Tu are not to be underestimated!”

When he and Qin Mu clinked cups, they had covertly exchanged a strike. In the collision of their Yuan Qi, Xu Shenghua’s Shen Tong was suppressed by Qin Mu’s, which was overwhelmingly strong, thus shattering his teacup.

However, Xu Shenghua excelled in Shen Tong, concentrating his power into a single line, so Qin Mu’s cup was cut straight through the center.

Both of their techniques were masterful, trapping the other’s Shen Tong power within their respective teacups. The intent and force were temporarily sealed, so the cups remained intact until external force triggered them!

“He must be the Dao Zi of Dao Men.”

Xu Shenghua looked toward the river and praised, “Dao Men is indeed remarkable. This generation’s Dao Zi will achieve great things in the future! Now that I’ve met the Dao Men Dao Zi, we’ll go to Xiao Yu Jing next, and finally seek out that new Ren Huang. Wu Zun said this new Ren Huang is the Tian Mo Jiao Zhu, so it’s a good opportunity to visit Tian Mo Jiao.”

On the river, Qin Mu ran over to help Ling Yuxiu. She was inserting stakes into the riverbank and asked, “Who was that person on the boat just now? Did he have malicious intent? I saw your Shen Tong explode on the river surface.”

Qin Mu laughed and said, “It was just a mutual test. I’m really happy today—extremely happy!”

Ling Yuxiu tapped a stake and listened to its vibrations, puzzled. She said, “What’s there to be happy about?”

“I always thought I was the only Ba Ti in this world.”

Qin Mu was excited, clenching his fists as he looked at the painted boat drifting downstream. “But today, I met another Ba Ti! If the village chief knew about this, he’d be overjoyed! There’s a second Ba Ti in the world—he’d be so happy for me!”

Ling Yuxiu was a bit confused and thought, “What Ba Ti?”

Qin Mu paced back and forth excitedly, saying, “I just tested his cultivation—it’s only a step below mine, just one step! Do you know, sister? In the same realm, even the Guoshi’s cultivation is far inferior to mine, but he’s only one step behind. If that’s not Ba Ti, what is?”

Ling Yuxiu inserted another stake into the dam and said with a mix of amusement and exasperation, “The Guoshi is a saint that appears once every five hundred years. How could his cultivation be weaker than yours in the same realm? Come on, help me out—I can’t handle this alone. They’ve gone to make the water wheels.”

Qin Mu hurried over to assist, but his mind was still buzzing with excitement. “A second Ba Ti—his cultivation is a bit weaker than mine, but his techniques and Shen Tong are stronger… Truly worthy of being Ba Ti!”

Ling Yuxiu saw that he was distracted and felt a bit annoyed, but she was also happy for him. Meeting someone of the same kind was naturally joyous.

After a while, Qin Mu’s mind settled, and unknowingly, his Yuan Qi flowed smoothly, connecting Ling Tai Wu Yao Liu He. Its circulation became faster, smoother, and more comfortable.

Ling Yuxiu suddenly stopped what she was doing, sensing something unusual around her.

In that moment, the sound of the water became incredibly clear, the birds’ calls delightfully sharp, the scent of flowers and grass in the air vivid, and all her senses extraordinarily acute.

She looked at Qin Mu, puzzled. His gaze was clear, and when their eyes met, Ling Yuxiu felt herself drawn into a wonderful state. She sensed her Ling Tai and Hun Po stirring.

The two stood on the riverbank, hands clasped, smiling at each other, yet their bodies remained still.

Their Hun and Ling Tai flew out of their bodies, expanding vastly as they roamed the great world, traveling thousands of li in an instant.

Ling Yuxiu saw herself and Qin Mu holding hands as they journeyed, flashing east and west, flying to places thousands of li away. They saw the thousand temples and ten thousand monasteries on Da Xu Mi Mountain, then went to the North Pole to view ice mountains and snow lotuses amid the frozen wilderness, and suddenly to the South Sea, stepping on white clouds to behold the blue sea and sky. Then to Da Ruins, witnessing the towering sacred structures amid the vast mountains and rivers.

Just then, they heard someone calling their names, and a formless pull dragged them back from thousands of li away at incredible speed.

Whoosh—

Their souls returned to their bodies, and they found themselves still standing on the riverbank, smiling at each other. Ling Yuxiu’s face flushed slightly as she quickly let go of Qin Mu’s hand. Nearby, Prince Ling Yu Shu was watching them with a serious expression.

Qin Mu reflected on the sensation and said, “Your Highness, I just comprehended the Da Yi Tong Gong Fa of the Liu He realm and suddenly entered a wonderful state where my Ling Tai and Hun Po merged and flew out of my body to roam the vast world. Do you know what that was?”

Ling Yu Shu’s body shook, and he exclaimed, “So quickly? You’ve achieved Yuan Shen!”