Chapter 54: Guidance from Master Qi

As the formation shifted once more, Yin Zhiping and his companions fell back into a stalemate with Elder Hong Qixing. With the exception of Zhao Zhijing and the youngest, Shen Zhiyan, the other five disciples all had a faint purple aura suffusing their faces—the external manifestation of driving the Purple Cloud Skill to a high degree!

Zhao Zhijing and Shen Zhiyan failed to achieve this because their mastery of the Quanzhen Mental Skill was still inadequate. Forced practice would only yield half the results with twice the effort. Only when one reaches the second stage of the Quanzhen Mental Skill—gaining a true mastery—or ideally achieving the great completion of the third stage, can one truly internalize the mental technique. Only then would practicing the Purple Cloud Skill yield twice the result with half the effort. This was fundamentally a matter of compatibility between the cultivation method and the individual, though it was not overly difficult to achieve.

Because the newly revised Quanzhen Mental Skill had incorporated the Guidance Technique of the Five Animals Frolic, it was relatively easier to improve one's natural aptitude while simultaneously reaching the second stage.

Of course, one still had to contend with the issue of mental compatibility. Take Zhao Zhijing, for instance: his mind was too distracted and far too impetuous. In Qiu Zhiqing's view, he was unsuited for Daoist mental cultivation; rather, he was much better suited for more explosive martial arts.

For instance, the Fierce Flame Palms—a martial art emphasizing both internal and external training sent over by Tan Chuduan from Mount Heng some time ago—would have suited him exceptionally well. When he grew older, perhaps he could comprehend the principle of extreme yang giving birth to yin and re-enter the Dao. Who could say?

To return to the matter at hand, the inner Qi of the seven Quanzhen disciples was linked, their sword qi surging as they fiercely clashed against Hong Qixing's ferocious and overpowering Dragon-Subduing Palm force. Whether intentional or not, the paving stones of the martial arts arena were once again suffering terribly.

Qiu Zhiqing's eyelids twitched uncontrollably at the sight. Just how many man-hours would it take to repair all this again? The watching disciples, however, cared nothing for such concerns. While gasping in cold awe at the spectacle, they cheered in sheer delight.

Especially the children brought back just yesterday—their eyes shone with dazzling brilliance, each fantasizing about the day when they, too, could wield such formidable power! Naturally, they were letting their imaginations run wild; not a single person on the field had practiced martial arts for less than twenty years!

Perhaps sensing Qiu Zhiqing's resentment, Yin Zhiping inwardly regretted choosing this venue. They should have fought on the back mountain. Given the current state of affairs, it seemed they would be laying new paving stones all over again.

Yet sparring with a grandmaster of the Five Greats caliber was not an opportunity that came every day. In their view, while Qiu Zhiqing was admittedly formidable, he was still a notch or half a notch inferior to Hong Qixing!

Moreover, fighting Qiu Zhiqing was a frustrating endeavor because he understood the Heavenly罡 Dipper Formation far too well, frequently disrupting their transitions and coordinated attacks. While that was certainly beneficial for their progress, it was thoroughly vexing to fight against; how could it compare to the sheer comfort of sparring with Hong Qixing?

Before long, the ever-shifting maneuvers of the stars were exhausted, and a new round of aggressive assaults was about to commence. Hong Qixing finally experienced the same helplessness that Elder Huang had felt back then. He was confident in the might of his palm force, and if this continued, the ones who wouldn't be able to hold on would undoubtedly be these young Daoists.

Yet he was of the same generation as their grandmaster, and here he was, unable to crack the grand formation laid down by their grand-disciples. Those in the know would say Wang Chongyang was truly a grandmaster-level figure, capable of creating formations of such formidable power. Those not in the know would think old beggar Hong had lost his touch, unable to handle even a group of young Daoist grand-disciples!

"Listen up, you youngsters! This old beggar is about to counterattack!" With a single cry, Hong Qixing unleashed the move "A Dragon Battles in the Wilderness," shattering the incoming sword qi. Simultaneously, he executed "A Divine Dragon Swings Its Tail," beating back Fang Zhiqi and Chen Zhiyi who were pressing the attack!

Following closely, Hong Qixing deployed "Proud Dragon Repents," aiming straight for Shen Zhiyan, the weakest among them. Knowing full well that even with the assistance of his senior brothers' inner Qi, he was no match for Hong Qixing, and fearing he might be blasted right out of his position in the formation, a panicked Shen Zhiyan was forced to call for a shift in the formation. With a loud shout, he cried, "The Seven Stars Converge!" Hearing this, the others immediately understood that Shen Zhiyan lacked the confidence to face this inescapable palm strike alone.

With inner Qi channeling rapidly, Shen Zhiyan—originally stationed at the Tianji position—felt a surging torrent of Qi. Seeing Hong Qixing's palm force bearing down on him, Shen Zhiyan swept his sword behind his back and executed the Three Flowers Gathering atop the Crown Palm technique. The palm forces met across the empty space, and the resulting shockwaves rippled outward, causing even the stone-paved floor to sink by over a foot...

To everyone's surprise, this collision resulted in an unexpected draw. Thinking this might be an opportune moment to counterattack, Yin Zhiping shouted, "Revolve the Seven Stars, Kaiyang shifts to Tianji!" This was a transition within the formation that severely tested mutual coordination!

Even the Seven Masters of Quanzhen rarely used it under normal circumstances because it required position swapping. To prevent Fang Zhiqi at the Kaiyang position and Shen Zhiyan at the Tianji position from being chased down and beaten by Hong Qixing, they had to exchange places, which would inevitably create a momentary flaw in the formation...

Yet they failed to grasp the true nature of Hong Qixing's "Proud Dragon Repents"—he struck with ten parts of his force while holding twenty parts in reserve! Seeing the young fellows suddenly alter their formation, the wily old Hong could hardly fail to guess their intentions!

Noticing they still dared to shift formations at such a moment, Hong Qixing smiled triumphantly. He executed the move "Walking on Frost and Ice," driving straight toward the seven youths with the reserve energy he had just withheld. The faces of the seven, who had just completed their positional shift and hoped to resume swarming Hong Qixing, changed drastically...

"The Seven Stars Converge!" However, the attempt was far too rushed. Fang Zhiqi managed only a hasty palm strike before all seven were blasted far backward. Their linked inner Qi instantly severed, their formations fell into complete disarray, and the formation was broken!

Qiu Zhiqing silently thought that Yin Zhiping must have water in his brain. Even though Hong Qixing appeared to have struck with his full force, did they really need to execute such a rushed positional shift? Who told them that a full-strength strike must always be followed by a momentary pause?

Would it not have been better to directly execute the formation shift "The Seven Stars Fall" to use offense as defense? Wasn't that far more convenient than attempting the unfamiliar and vastly more difficult "Revolving the Seven Stars"?

Yin Zhiping was also somewhat helpless. His understanding of the Dragon-Subduing Palms was limited to the superficial impression of fierce and overpowering might. Who could have imagined that right after executing a full-strength strike, Hong Qixing would immediately unleash an even more ferocious one?

Within moments, however, they reorganized their formation. Qiu Zhiqing watched and nodded inwardly; if nothing else, their reaction time was acceptable. They hadn't been completely dazed. Seeing that they were about to press the attack again, Qiu Zhiqing quickly called a halt!

"Enough, let's stop here for today. You junior brothers still need to practice your cultivation!" With that, he stepped forward and bowed to Hong Qixing, saying, "Many thanks to Elder Hong for your guidance, and thank you for showing mercy!"

Yin Zhiping and the other six also bowed in gratitude, saying, "Many thanks to the senior for your guidance, and thank you for holding back!"

Hong Qixing waved a hand dismissively. "Haha! Guidance is one thing, but holding back? There was truly none of that! This old beggar's waist is aching from the beating. Wang Chongyang truly has worthy successors!"

To his surprise, Hong Qixing's polite modesty was taken literally by Shen Zhiyan, who stepped forward and asked, "What are your symptoms, Elder Hong? Might you share them with this junior? This junior possesses some specialized knowledge in medical arts!"

"Gulp..." That left Hong Qixing utterly speechless. Qiu Zhiqing hurriedly stepped in to defuse the awkward situation. "Having traveled the entire day yesterday, Elder Hong must be fatigued. Allow me to show you around the famous sights of Zhongnan..."

With that, he glanced back at the group, taking in the shattered paving stones and the pitted surface of the martial arts arena. A sudden jolt of foreboding struck the disciples, sensing that disaster was imminent, and they immediately began plotting excuses to slip away.

Yet how cunning was Qiu Zhiqing? One look at their expressions told him exactly what they were planning, and he preempted them by declaring, "As for you junior brothers, you can easily hand over your routine duties to your deputies and spend some time repairing the arena first... Elder Hong, this way please!"

To Qiu Zhiqing's great regret, Hong Qixing declined his invitation to a sparring match under the pretext of old age and fatigue...

Half an hour later, the two men arrived at the precipice of the back mountain. Gazing down at the Chongyang Palace nestled within the valley—a place where quiet serenity mingled with a hint of worldly bustle—Qiu Zhiqing could not help sighing, "I wonder when peace will return to the realm, so that every place may be as serene and harmonious as this!"

Hong Qixing, however, replied with utter nonchalance, "Peace in this world is always fleeting, while strife is eternal! From the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors down to the mighty Han and prosperous Tang, throughout four thousand years, how many years of peace has there truly been to enjoy?"

Looking down at the Chongyang Palace, which resembled a paradise isolated from the mortal realm, Hong Qixing continued, "In times of such chaos, the Chongyang Palace is privileged to enjoy its own peace. We practitioners of martial arts need only rely on our own abilities to navigate the world, uphold righteousness, and remain true to our original hearts!"

Noticing Qiu Zhiqing's dazed expression, Hong Qixing asked, "Do you know why both you and Wang Chongyang practice the Innate Skill, yet you fall so far short of him?"

Thinking to himself that it was naturally because he had only started practicing it this year, he instead asked out of curiosity, "How did Elder Hong know I had begun practicing the Innate Skill?" Besides, he had only been cultivating it for a few months; was it really that obvious?

Hong Qixing was rendered speechless. Was that what he had meant? Still, he casually replied, "I fought him for days and nights..." Of course, he was boasting; to be precise, he and four others had joined forces to fight Wang Chongyang for days and nights!

Without waiting for Qiu Zhiqing to ask another question, Hong Qixing picked up his previous thread. "Wang Chongyang knew what he wanted. When failing to resist the Jin failed, he turned to Daoism with absolute firmness! You are different; you treat martial arts and Daoist cultivation more like a way of life! Much like eating meals and drinking water..."

Qiu Zhiqing nodded in agreement, for he had already discovered that the deeper his cultivation progressed, the more detached he became. If this continued, it would not bode well; the state of supreme emotional detachment was not his ultimate pursuit.

Naturally, supreme emotional detachment was not a derogatory term; rather, his current realm was simply inadequate, easily mistaking true transcendence of emotion for heartless ruthlessness.

He understood the elder's meaning. The saying goes that one cannot achieve greatness without a touch of obsession; it was time for him to descend the mountain and wander the world. This time, he could travel farther, and the duration mattered little...

Nurturing the will through non-action, leaving worldly emotions far behind, and maintaining the unity of Quanzhen—this is the true essence of the Mysterious Gate!