629. Broken Jade

Intent, is the martial path!

Ever since he had comprehended “Broken Jade”, his path of martial arts had already been set.

When it came to judging the most domineering “Intent” of the era, Wei Yuan’s “Breaking Formations” was one example.

But if you were to discuss whose martial arts was the purest and most extreme, Xu Qi’an’s Broken Jade would definitely be at the forefront.

Other martial artists comprehended “Intent” for the sake of fighting, for killing their enemies.

Xu Qi’an’s “Intent”, rather shatter as jade than live as clay tile, was aimed at mutual destruction.

This, was to gamble with his life.

At first, it appeared that Wei Yuan’s death in battle and the relentlessly changing situation had forced him to comprehend this extreme “Intent”. However, what if “One Blade from Heaven and Earth” had never laid the foundation?

Without that most extreme martial skill, born of “after one blade, either you die or I do”, would he really have been able to comprehend “Broken Jade” in that life-and-death crisis at Yuyang Pass?

Looking back now, from the moment he had chosen “One Blade from Heaven and Earth” as his ultimate skill, his martial path had already been decided.

Looking back now, he had been able to swiftly comprehend “Intent” and step into the fourth rank, because he had always been cultivating this very “Intent”, forming the embryonic shape of “Broken Jade” ever since the eighth rank, the Refining Qi stage.

Xu Qi’an’s cry of “wager your life” was not out of impulse or bravado, but for a reason.

Ever since he had slain Zhende and entered the jianghu, Xu Qi’an’s situation had always been precarious.

He had to guard against Xu Pingfeng’s schemes on one side, and on the other, pursuit by the Buddhist Sect.

Struggling in such adversity, his understanding of “Broken Jade” had grown ever deeper.

All the way until the battle at Quanrong Mountain, as he weaved between the attacks of three beyond-mortal experts, deep in a true life-or-death crisis, where one mistake could cost everything, Broken Jade finally reached its breakthrough…

…

Wager your life with me!?

This roar echoed through the heavens, even the soldiers and cavalry in the military garrison beneath Quanrong Mountain heard it clearly.

Though separated by great distance, the battle on Quanrong Mountain was so fierce that even the garrison could acutely sense its ferocity.

They understood that the Wulin Alliance was facing the greatest crisis in its history.

The fight between Xu Qi’an and the three beyond-mortal experts would sometimes spill from the mountains into the sky, everyone at the garrison could see it plainly.

Nalan Tianlu summoning torrential rains—

“Wager your life with me? Silver Gong Xu is being forced to wager everything…”

In the downpour, a martial artist wiped his face, lips trembling.

“They all say Silver Gong Xu is the representation of righteousness. I’d only ever heard tales, never witnessed it myself. Now I know the stories are true. He’s fighting for our sake, treating life and death as nothing.”

A low-ranking soldier gripped the sabre at his waist, blood boiling, wishing he could soar into the sky to help.

…

“Si— Silver Gong Xu, he’s been pushed to the very end…”

A woman from Wanhua Tower covered her face, tears brimming in her eyes.

People’s faces were filled with grief, indignation, and worry. It was clear that, faced with such powerful enemies and god-like strength, Silver Gong Xu was staking everything in a desperate struggle.

His cries were like the anguished roar of one trapped in despair.

Rongrong’s complexion was deathly pale, her delicate fists clenched, her heart sinking with dread.

“How could it come to this!”

Young Master Liu heard his master’s muttering, and turned to see that the hand gripping the sword trembled faintly.

Intuitively, as master and apprentice, Young Master Liu understood his master’s meaning.

Why fight to such lengths for the Wulin Alliance?

Why die defending Quanrong Mountain?

Not far off, Cao Qingyang turned and looked at the middle-aged swordsman, speaking quietly:

“It’s for the Old Ancestor, the Old Ancestor is in seclusion inside.”

Sensing the puzzled stares, Cao Qingyang explained:

“Back in the capital, when that great battle happened, the Old Ancestor helped him. So, he will defend the Wulin Alliance, he won’t retreat.”

The Old Ancestor had acted in the battle at the capital?

So today, Silver Gong Xu is fighting for the Wulin Alliance, willing to risk everything just to repay that past aid… Everyone fell silent.

Xiao Yuenu stepped forward a few paces, took a deep breath, and called out:

“A young man’s valour, brings heroes from five capitals old!
With loyal heart, with just hand. With words of iron, life or death, A promise is worth a thousand tons of gold!”

She gazed at the young man standing in wind and rain, murmuring softly:

“A promise worth a thousand tons of gold.”

Everyone suddenly remembered this was one of Silver Gong Xu’s famous works, said to have been written when he alone stood against twenty thousand rebel troops in Yunzhou, and later widely sung in the capital, spread across the Central Plains by storytellers.

Silver Gong Xu, a promise worth a thousand tons of gold…

…

Wind-Riding Boat.

Xu Yuanhuai stood drenched in rain, looking down on the figure below with a complicated expression:

“He’s going to wager his life…

He’s finally been forced to the very limits as well.”

Xu Yuanshuang frowned in silence.

Ji Xuan stood by the rail, leaning forward slightly, as if to see more clearly.

“Master of Rain Nalan has called upon the power of heaven and earth. I do not dare say whether it reaches first rank, but it is certainly at the peak of second rank.”

Ji Xuan drew a deep breath: “This is a whole realm above Xu Qi’an. If he does not have a helper or a hidden ace at the same realm, he’s absolutely doomed.”

…

“Wager my life?”

“Dongfang Wanrong”’s gaze shimmered with five colours, a sign that the strength of the five elements had filled her body.

Her tone was bland, even slightly contemptuous, as she countered:

“A mere third rank martial artist, worthy of wagering his life with me?”

As she spoke, she raised her right hand high, palm facing the sky.

Boom~

Thunder struck down again and again, slowly “splitting” into a long spear in her palm.

The spear, made of pure lightning, blazed in blue and white, lightning serpents dancing along its length, fizzing as it crackled.

“Dongfang Wanrong” channelled the formless power she had drawn in, infusing it into the lightning spear, and its fierce blue-white instantly turned into swirling five colours.

Her hand began to tremble, as if she could not fully control the force.

“If I so much as toss this thunder spear lightly, you will die without doubt. Wager your life? Xu, are you worthy?”

Despite her acerbic words, there was no mockery in “Dongfang Wanrong”’s tone or expression, only calm, as though she spoke some universal truth.

Vajra Du’nan and Vajra Dufan quietly retreated, joining their palms in prayer from afar.

This thunder spear of five elements exuded an unparalleled sense of danger. Their proud Vajra bodies felt utterly lacking in confidence or assurance before it.

This thunder spear in Nalan Tianlu’s hand had drawn on heaven and earth and the power of thunder and lightning. It could kill any third rank martial artist.

Danger. Danger. Danger… All Xu Qi’an felt was his body in a frenzy of warnings, survival instinct screaming at him to flee.

The power concentrated in the thunder spear was more than enough to kill him.

“Xu Qi’an, if you survive this, you’ll be famous across the land. My Brother Yang will once again be so envious he’ll beat his chest and stamp his feet, wishing he could possess you…”

Li Lingsu, standing on his flying sword, watched from a great distance.

Those who had pursued him like White Tiger, Jingxin, et cetera, had stopped fighting and were watching the distant battle. Everyone knew this was the critical deciding moment.

Cao Qingyang and his group upon the southern peak held their breath, faces white as sheets, every gaze fixed and intent.

For a moment, they seemed turned to stone.

“Wei Yuan…”

Nalan Tianlu murmured, took a step forward, and hurled the thunder spear.

At that moment, what surfaced in his mind was the image of that figure in deep azure robes. That young man in the torrential rain gradually merged with the man in his memories.

Nalan Tianlu did not care about the survival of the Wulin Alliance, nor had he come purely for the Dragon Qi. The reason he chose to cooperate with Qianlong City and the Buddhist sect was because he knew he would inevitably cross paths with Xu Qi’an.

Whether it was the Wulin Alliance, or that old scoundrel, Nalan Tianlu could not care less.

He did not even care about Xu Qi’an himself.

This spear of his was to pierce through a knot in his heart that had festered for twenty years, to pierce through the enmity and tangled grievances with the man in the azure robe.

Rumble…

Amid the terrifying sonic boom, the Thunder Spear transformed into a dazzling streak of light and pierced through the curtain of rain.

The eyes of everyone present reflected that gorgeous, resplendent gleam.

Xu Qi’an suppressed all his emotions and collapsed all his qi, his body turning into a black hole, devouring the power within him.

Facing this gleaming light, he calmly drew the Sovereign Sword and unleashed the One Blade from Heaven and Earth.

The brass sword erupted with radiant splendour. As Xu Qi’an swung the sword, the fierce and surging brilliance converged, condensing into a golden thread, sweeping through the rain and the void, slashing toward the prismatic aurora.

The sword light, containing all of Xu Qi’an’s power, resembled a fragile thread. At first it snapped, and then it disintegrated.

Only then came the sound of an explosion.

And by the time everyone heard the blast, the Thunder Spear had already pierced towards Xu Qi’an with the force of a hot knife through butter.

The One Blade from Heaven and Earth had only weakened the Thunder Spear, without actually stopping its advance.

Wind and rain seemed to freeze, as if time itself had stopped flowing.

All eyes were on Xu Qi’an, who was about to meet with misfortune. On their faces slowly appeared expressions of sorrow, longing, wild joy, or concern.

Slowly, because the Thunder Spear was moving faster than their faces could react…

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Layer after layer of righteous aura dissipated.

“Stupa tower…”

Xu Qi’an opened his arms and met the Thunder Spear head-on.

Crackle…

The moment the Thunder Spear struck Xu Qi’an, it did not pass through him like an ordinary weapon. It directly “dissolved” into his body.

In the next instant, arcs of blinding electricity leapt across his skin, and every pore on his body spewed dazzling Five Elemental power.

The Thunder Spear’s force exploded within him, wreaking havoc and destroying his vitality, obliterating the mighty vitality of a third-rank warrior.

Such destructive power was far more terrifying than simply piercing through the body.

The light in Xu Qi’an’s eyes gradually faded into lifelessness.

His charred body plummeted from the air, powerless.

“Silver Gong Xu!!!”

On the summit of South Peak, a mournful, shrill scream suddenly rang out. No one knew who was wailing.

On the Wind Riding Boat, Xu Yuanshuang swayed, two scorching streams running down her cheeks. Her Qi-watching technique told her that person’s aura had been extinguished.

Even at this moment, she did not know whether she ought to feel joy or sorrow.

“Dead?”

Ji Xuan narrowed his eyes, staring unblinkingly through the rain at the falling, blackened figure.

Li Lingsu flew out on his sword, his face rigid, rushing toward Xu Qi’an, wanting to catch him before he hit the ground.

Elsewhere in the dense forest, Miao Youfang was likewise frantically running, heading for the falling Xu Qi’an, the coarse, rough-edged wanderer’s face twisted with grief and fury.

…

Yunzhou!

Today the sky was clear and bright, a cold wind from the northeast cut to the bone.

Located at the southern edge of Jiuzhou, close to the coast, Yunzhou was damp, cold and gloomy, but the temperatures were far higher than in other regions.

It was also the place least affected by the winter disaster.

The Vaidurya Bodhisattva, who typically stood at the watchtower gazing into the distance, was today seated by a tea table, cross-legged, sipping tea and tasting Yunzhou’s local delicacies.

Xu Pingfeng, who always brewed and drank tea alone, had instead stood at the watchtower for the entire day.

“Sigh, if only, in this Wulin Alliance battle, they could have killed Xu Qi’an and that old scoundrel. Wouldn’t that have been wonderful.”

Xu Pingfeng suddenly sighed.

“Hearing you speak thus, it seems things have not gone as planned.”

The Vaidurya Bodhisattva’s tone was calm.

“There is still hope. But whether it will succeed depends on fate. We may plot, but fate decides.”

Xu Pingfeng stood with hands behind his back.

“If Xu Qi’an were to die fighting in Yunzhou, half the national fortune would return to the Great Feng, which would be detrimental to our plans.”

Vaidurya Bodhisattva silently studied him.

Xu Pingfeng nodded slightly and, seemingly digressing, sighed:

“If not for that old scoundrel of the Wulin Alliance meddling, today would have been the best moment to reclaim half the national fortune.

“Looking back, leaving the Flower God’s reincarnation alive back then was a mistake on my part.”

Vaidurya Bodhisattva put down his teacup, as if realising something, and turned to look at the back of the white-robed Arcanist.

“You have other schemes.”

Xu Pingfeng laughed:

“One can never put all their eggs in one basket when playing against the Jianzheng, never pursue but a single aim. Otherwise, one will lose, and lose badly indeed.

“Do you know how I plotted for twenty years in Yunzhou, built Qianlong City, and managed to hide it from the Jianzheng?”

…

“Amitabha!”

Vajra Du’nan pressed his palms together and said a buddhist chant.

Ananda showed two completely different attitudes toward Xu Qi’an: the group headed by Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Arhat Du’e favoured guiding Xu Qi’an into Buddhism.

They supported Mahayana Buddhism.

The group led by Vaidurya Bodhisattva, on the other hand, advocated Hinayana, and so were not friendly toward Xu Qi’an.

The Vajra protectors were, without doubt, of Vaidurya Bodhisattva’s faction.

For this Bodhisattva, highest of Buddhist combat power, wielded one of the nine great dharma aspects, the Vajra aspect.

Against this backdrop, the attitudes of Vajra Du’nan and Vajra Dufan towards Xu Qi’an were thus: to convert if possible, to kill if not.

From Leizhou to Yongzhou, the contradictions and clashes along the way had worn away the patience of these two Vajras.

If he would not convert, and time and again opposed the Buddhist sect, then he must be slain.

“In this way, Ananda would not need to fight to the bitter end over this, and the Mahayana–Hinayana conflict would be much milder.”

This was also what the Ashura Vajra thought.

Suddenly, Dongfang Wanrong let out a high-pitched, agonised scream. Her skin leapt with blinding electric arcs. In an instant, her pale skin carbonised.

Rainbow light gushed from her mouth, eyes, nostrils, and ears.

A terrifying force erupted in her body, instantly robbing her of most of her vitality.

Broken Jade!

Before the two Vajras could even react, there was another thunderous boom in the distance, the Stupa tower burst out from the soil that entombed it, floated upwards, and sped towards the falling Xu Qi’an.

At its summit, a golden dharma aspect appeared, one hand pinching a flower, the other holding a jade vase. The figure was slightly rotund, benevolent and kind-looking.

Drops of fragmented light poured from the jade vase, like spring rain, merging into Xu Qi’an’s body.

The aspect of the Medicine Buddha.

629. Broken Jade

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