Chapter 318: Simply Drawing the Sword
Ding Ying raised his arm, and the silver lotus crown on his head actually bloomed like a living thing. The originally closed petals spread outward, swaying gracefully. Ding Ying placed the miniature flying sword at his fingertip inside it. The crown returned to its original shape, the silver petals closing one after another.
Ding Ying clasped his hands behind his back, lowered his head, and gazed at the river of sword qi so close at hand. Even someone like Ding Ying had to admit that this scene was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen in his life.
While looking down at the snow-white stream suspended in the mortal world, Ding Ying laughed and asked, "Chen Ping'an, is this the art of sword mastery? You and Feng Qingbai both used it before. I let my guard down and didn't expect you to be able to control the sword from such a distance. But it doesn't matter. The overall situation is already decided. Besides, as the master of such an immortal sword, isn't it a pity that you don't truly grip the hilt but instead use an illusion to hold it loosely?"
Ding Ying withdrew his gaze, turned around, and looked at Chen Ping'an. "Or is it that you actually can't fully control this sword? What a pity. These things that are neither mist nor water—could they all be sword qi? Sword qi should dissipate extremely quickly."
Chen Ping'an hadn't expected Ding Ying's eyesight to be so sharp, seeing through his "outward harmony but inner discord" with the sword so quickly.
As for this long qi, Chen Ping'an had drawn it from the scabbard once outside Flying Eagle Fort. The flesh and blood on his entire arm had been stripped clean by the sword qi, leaving only bare bones. It was only because Lu Tai had used the miraculous medicine of the Yin-Yang School's Lu Clan that flesh grew back on the bones. This time, summoning the long qi to his side was certainly not because Chen Ping'an's sword mastery had reached the point of perfection, able to control a sword from such a distance. Rather, it was because Chen Ping'an and the long qi had been together day and night. The sword qi had permeated his body, and in turn, his soul had drawn the sword qi. Even when the two were separated, they remained connected like a broken lotus root still joined by its fibers.
Ding Ying pointed to his lotus crown. "Now that you have your sword, I have temporarily lost the divine power of this immortal crown. One loss, one gain. From now on, would you call this a fair fight?"
Chen Ping'an's five fingers, which were loosely gripping the sword hilt, increased their pressure slightly. The river of sword qi that began in the small alley courtyard and ended at Chen Ping'an's palm instantly gathered back. The sword qi converged again on the blade, and the long qi sword in his hand no longer showed any unusual signs.
Chen Ping'an "weighed" the long qi sword in his hand, feeling that the weight was just right. It was heavier than the Devoted Heart Sword among the fifteen flying swords. Since Chen Ping'an had obtained the "Orthodox Sword Art" at Old Dragon City and begun practicing swordsmanship on the Peach Blossom Island ferry, he had always felt the swords were too light. Now, even loosely gripping the long qi, it felt suitable.
Suitable weight was good.
It was only at this moment that Ding Ying elevated Chen Ping'an from the ranks of Lu Fang and Zhong Qiu to the level of Yu Zhenyi, who had cultivated immortal arts.
The difference between the two was that no matter how exquisite Lu Fang's swordsmanship or how invincible Zhong Qiu's fist techniques were, in front of Ding Ying, they were still like children playing with willow branches or an old man shaking his fists. In this world, only Yu Zhenyi, whose offense and defense were both at their peak, had the chance to injure Ding Ying.
Chen Ping'an exhaled heavily.
The only advantage here was that in a martial artist's duel, Chen Ping'an wouldn't have to worry about his breathing.
It seemed that the martial artists of this world lacked the first step of becoming a pure martial artist in the Bright World. In Chen Ping'an's world, martial artists and qi refiners went in opposite directions. They needed to first disperse all the spiritual energy within their bodies, refining a single mouthful of pure true qi. That qi, like a dragon, would roam through the five viscera, six bowels, bones, and qi reservoirs, like an elite border cavalry pioneering new territories, opening up paths suitable for true qi to circulate. Only then could one enter the hall and truly step onto the martial path.
But in this world, probably because of the thin spiritual energy, martial artists didn't have such considerations. Thus, they lacked that refinement. From the very beginning, their foundation was inferior. Many martial arts grandmasters in the jianghu pursued the return to simplicity, but in truth, they only realized after reaching a certain height on the martial path that they needed to reverse and go against the current.
Yet even so, in the hundred years of this jianghu, there had still emerged such prodigies as Ding Ying, Yu Zhenyi, and Zhong Qiu. Historically, there had also been the stunning brilliance of Wei Xian, Lu Baixiang, and Sui Youbian.
Ding Ying smiled slightly. "Apart from this lotus crown on my head, the sword in your hand, Chen Ping'an, is the second thing I, Ding Ying, want to obtain."
Holding the long qi with a loose grip.
Chen Ping'an began walking with the six steps of the Hillside Punch, incorporating the pinnacle meaning of Zhong Qiu's great fist stance.
Each step had a different amplitude, but after a million punches, everything came naturally. The fist intent had long penetrated Chen Ping'an's marrow. Moreover, the pinnacle of the fist stance that Zhong Qiu had pretended to fight but actually taught secretly already had a smooth and flowing quality. The two combined seamlessly.
In Ding Ying's eyes, these six steps of Chen Ping'an revealed not a single flaw. It was true unity of heaven and man, perfectly aligned with the Great Dao.
In the past sixty years, Ding Ying had extensively collected and compiled the martial arts of the world. He himself was a martial arts prodigy rarely seen in a century. He had integrated and comprehended them all, attempting to compile a treasure manual that would make the world's martial arts into peerless arts.
Seeing these unremarkable six steps forward, Ding Ying's eyes sparkled. It seemed his secret manual still had room for additions and corrections.
Since there was no opportunity for a single fatal blow, and wanting to extract more otherworldly martial arts from Chen Ping'an, Ding Ying simply avoided the sharp edge.
But Ding Ying quickly realized that this retreat was a miscalculation.
After the sixth step, Chen Ping'an's entire momentum had reached its peak. The fist intent was so dense that it had condensed to the point of resembling water, like drops of water rolling on a lotus leaf. Day after day, carrying the long qi sword and tempering his soul, the sword intent that had slowly seeped into Chen Ping'an's body was like the veins of that lotus leaf.
Leaping high, he slashed down with the sword.
Chen Ping'an held the sword with both hands, turning the blade from vertical to horizontal, and flashed past in an instant.
The street was split into left and right by the sword qi. If someone had been standing on either side of the street, they would have seen that for a moment, the view on the opposite side had become blurry and distorted.
Ding Ying had already retreated three zhang away. He twisted his heel, turned sideways, and let the snow-white sword qi roar past in front of him.
Like a sightseer watching the surging tide.
Facing the second sword sideways, Ding Ying clapped his palm, lifted his feet off the ground, and let his body float in the air, dodging the fierce sword qi aimed at his waist. His palm landed precisely on the body of the long qi sword, the palm and the sword pressing against each other like millstones grinding together.
Ding Ying frowned. The flesh on his palm was torn and bleeding. He suddenly exerted force, flicked the long qi sword with his finger, used the momentum to roll backward, and floated away.
But Ding Ying, having lost the initiative, found it difficult to shake off Chen Ping'an.
Chen Ping'an's next six steps: the first step landed in the air an inch off the ground, the second step landed a foot off the ground, each step ascending skyward. At the same time, he released the long qi sword, which turned into a white rainbow shooting forward, pursuing Ding Ying.
This was certainly not because Chen Ping'an had already broken through to the seventh Wind Riding realm of martial arts. Rather, it was a clever trick: borrowing momentum from the long qi sword, using the connection of qi between man and sword to ride the wind and soar through the air. Earlier, in the battle with Zhong Qiu, after Chen Ping'an had broken through to the fifth realm following the Dragon Contest, those few steps in the air that successfully crossed the chasm cut by Lu Fang on the street were due to the qi not yet being fully stabilized, like floodwater leaking out. It was precisely because Zhong Qiu had seen this that he had punched to help Chen Ping'an temper his martial path.
Ding Ying stamped his foot, causing an explosion beneath him, and his body tilted to rise higher into the air. He stamped again, the same scene repeated. He used his released protective qi to condense into stepping stones, "placing" them in the air before landing, allowing Ding Ying to go anywhere he wished in the sky.
This was almost the embryonic form of the Wind Riding realm in the Bright World.
If Ding Ying could ascend and leave Lotus Flower Blessed Land, his achievements would be unimaginable.
Among the nineteen people in the world besides Ding Ying, whether local martial artists or exiled immortals, within the cage of Lotus Flower Blessed Land, they all considered the unity of heaven and man as the highest peak. Reaching this step was extremely difficult and cost them endless effort. But Ding Ying was different. It was only because the highest peak in Lotus Flower Blessed Land could only be the unity of heaven and man that he stayed in place year after year, waiting for others to climb the mountain step by step, while he had long been at the highest point for many years, overlooking the world, utterly bored.
That was why Ding Ying had taken the rules and the Great Dao of this world as his opponent.
This was a battle in the sky that shocked the world.
Chen Ping'an employed the method of sword mastery.
His moves were supplemented by the Avalanche Strike from the "Orthodox Sword Art."
He never let Ding Ying create distance, yet he also didn't let Ding Ying close in within two arms' length.
The two tangled endlessly in the sky above the capital of Nanyuan Kingdom, constantly moving southward.
Sword qi and fist energy collided with a rumbling sound, like thunder, causing all the people in the capital to look up involuntarily.
The young man in a snow-white robe controlled a long sword like a white rainbow. The spectacular and moving scene was like a heavy snowstorm where no snowflake ever touched the ground.
Among the spectators were the Nanyuan Kingdom emperor, heavily guarded by the Imperial Guard.
In the crown prince's mansion, the old cook wearing an apron ran outside. Crown Prince Wei Yan and Mirror Heart Studio Fairy Fan Wan'er stood there.
Together outside the tavern on the street corner stood Zhou Fei and Lu Fang.
The woman who would never reach the residence of the scholar surnamed Jiang sat slumped against a wall. Glancing at the strange sight in the sky, she was filled with regret. She slowly closed her eyes. She was truly tired. Even if she saw that beloved scholar and knocked on the door of his small courtyard, what then? Would she let him see her covered in blood like this? Forget it. If she didn't see him this last time, even if others said she was a bad person, at least he would remember her as a beautiful woman.
So the woman tilted her head and fell asleep with a smile.
Empress Zhou Shuzhen did not return to the palace. Instead, she sneaked into the crown prince's residence, carrying an extra bronze mirror.
In the courtyard, Cao Qinglang was helpless and lonely. He had thrown away his firewood knife and was squatting on the ground, sobbing, holding his head in his hands.
With no one around, a thin little girl carried a small stool, swaying as she turned into a small alley. She looked left and right, full of curiosity.
In the sky south of the Nanyuan Kingdom capital.
Chen Ping'an's control of the sword became increasingly skillful.
The blade was too sharp, the sword qi too abundant, the sword techniques too strange.
In sixty years, Ding Ying had never been so embarrassed, forced to focus solely on defense.
Ding Ying was a bit angry, but since he could do nothing about it in the short term, he simply calmed down. He wanted to see how long this young exiled immortal's flawless state could last. As soon as Chen Ping'an showed a single flaw, Ding Ying would severely wound him. Ding Ying did not remain idle. He casually threw out moves from his vast repertoire of mixed martial arts. He punched at a slant, not even aimed at Chen Ping'an, but the fist energy would explode beside Chen Ping'an— maybe at his brow, shoulder, or chest. The angles were tricky and bizarre. This was Ding Ying using the techniques of the Mysterious Gate and Plum Blossom Numerology in his punches. Compared to this, the ghostly movements of the Laughing Coins Gambling Den were laughable.
With two fingers together, Ding Ying flicked them lightly, sending out strands of protective qi like long swords.
With one hand forming a Daoist hand seal, he possessed the divine ability to move mountains and seas. He frequently tore large sections of rooftops and trees from the ground to defend against the surging, flowing white sword qi.
Eventually, the two landed on the high city wall of the capital's outer district.
Along this patrol path, one crenellation after another, along with the wall, shattered with a crash. Dust flew everywhere, scattering inside and outside the capital.
It seemed that after arriving here, Chen Ping'an had truly shed his last restraint and let himself go completely.
His sword mastery technique was almost approaching the method of sword control.
A long section of the patrol path was completely annihilated by the rainbow-like sword qi of the long qi.
Whenever there was a brief gap, Ding Ying, about to escape, would be sent back into the cage of sword qi by Chen Ping'an's punch.
This was the first time in sixty years that Ding Ying, the undisputed number one in the world, had been suppressed and forced into a defensive stance.
Although Ding Ying was not injured, several cracks had appeared on his sleeves.
Chen Ping'an moved lightly and gracefully, strolling leisurely on the shattered patrol path at a distance neither too close nor too far.
It was clear that Ding Ying had been stirred into a genuine rage. The long qi sword was flicked several times at either the blade or the hilt by Ding Ying's fingertips. The sword energy shattered and surged, but because the sword qi was so abundant, forming a flowing stream, such losses were like throwing a rock into water—they only splashed water on the shore and were negligible.
With a sudden inspiration, Chen Ping'an stood on a solitary, broken crenellation with gaps on both sides. He brought his two fingers together in the standing stance of the Hillside Punch, forming the Sword Furnace.
The long qi, which had been frantically whirling around Ding Ying, suddenly shot up more than ten zhang into the air. The flying sword, already at extreme speed, accelerated even faster, defying common sense. It truly vanished as it tore through the air. Then a white rainbow, carrying wind and thunder, descended from the sky. The long sword split the top of the Nanyuan Kingdom city wall, then burst out from the base of the wall. In an instant, it came to hover beside Chen Ping'an on the wall, humming.
As the dust cleared, Ding Ying raised his hand; his right sleeve was completely torn.
Chen Ping'an reached out and loosely gripped the hilt of the long qi. His palm touched the hilt for a moment, then he released it again.
Ding Ying laughed loudly. "In sixty years, my bones have never been so stretched."
Chen Ping'an asked the same question: "Doesn't it feel good?"
The last time, Ding Ying had been unmoved. This time, however, his expression couldn't hold up.
Ding Ying stamped his foot, and his figure became ethereal and indistinct. His hands could be faintly seen forming the starting posture of an unknown fist stance.
Behind Chen Ping'an, a blurry figure of an old man with a lotus crown appeared, his ten fingers forming an ancient Celestial Official seal.
To the right, in the sky outside the Nanyuan Kingdom capital, Ding Ying twisted his arms and rubbed a ball of glaring light between his palms.
To the left, within the bounds of the capital, Ding Ying extended his arms, his five fingers hook-like, causing two cracks more than ten zhang long to appear on the city wall.
Chen Ping'an loosely gripped the long qi. The sword qi used the Avalanche Strike to break the formation, while the long sword in his hand used the Subdue the Spirit Head technique from the Orthodox Sword Art.
He used his mind in two places at once.
In an instant.
A huge gap, five zhang long and six zhang high, appeared in a long section of the capital city wall.
For a moment, dust blocked out the sun.
Ding Ying stood at the edge of the gap on one side, with the bearing of a peerless grandmaster, as steady as a mountain.
Behind him, clouds and mist rolled. This was the result of Ding Ying no longer deliberately restraining his vast protective qi. The mist gathered and dispersed repeatedly, eventually condensing into the outline of a divine being made of clouds and mist, as if a god was about to descend upon the world.
Chen Ping'an remained calm. Standing on the other side, he did not even glance at the celestial phenomenon caused by Ding Ying.
He simply held the hilt of the long qi with one hand and brought the two fingers of his other hand together, gently stroking them from left to right along the blade.
This was Chen Ping'an imitating her sword stroke from the landscape scroll of the Sage Wen's old scholar.
Even if it only had one-tenth of the resemblance.
That unruly long qi sword actually quivered slightly, as if resonating with Chen Ping'an.
It seemed that it had finally acknowledged Chen Ping'an, saying to him, "Do you have something to say to this world?"
Then speak loudly!
Before this, Chen Ping'an couldn't even truly grip the long qi sword. So he could only be considered close to the sword qi, not truly holding the sword in hand.
Now, this was the real arrival of a sword in this mortal world.
Chen Ping'an suddenly gripped the sword hilt. At that moment, brilliant light burst forth from the gaps between the fingers of his left hand.
It was like the rising of a bright moon, surging in all directions like a tide, illuminating heaven and earth.
It was already broad daylight with the sun hanging in the sky, but at this moment, the entire Nanyuan Kingdom capital became even brighter by several degrees.
After gripping the sword.
The sun and moon existed simultaneously.
At present, this long sword had no scabbard, but Chen Ping'an still made the gesture of drawing a sword from its sheath.
Ding Ying was surprised to find that he could not cross that gap. Although shocked, he was not terrified. The three-zhang-tall divine being formed of protective qi behind him looked down at the tiny figure of the man and sword.
Ding Ying knew in his heart that he could not retreat.
He stood as immovable as a mountain, but in front of him, dozens of arms flashed and changed, dazzling to the eye. There were Buddhist seals: the Teaching Seal, the Meditation Seal, the Demon-Subduing Seal, the Wish-Granting Seal, the Fearless Seal. Each seal was brilliant golden.
There were Daoist hand seals: the Three Pure Ones Finger, the Five Thunder Finger, the Heaven-Overturning Seal, the Celestial Master Seal. Each seal was accompanied by the drifting of protective wind and the lingering sound of thunder.
There was also Yu Zhenyi's sleeve energy, Zhong Qiu's Collapse Punch, Mirror Heart Studio's finger sword, Liu Zong's Blade Grinding, Cheng Yuanshan's Arc Lance...
The divine being followed suit. Whatever seal or stance Ding Ying used, it used the same, and its momentum was even greater.
Ding Ying's martial arts cultivation had gathered the strengths of a hundred schools in the world.
Yu Zhenyi stood at the peak of Daoist arts in this world; Lu Fang stood at the peak of swordsmanship; Zhong Qiu stood at the peak of fist techniques; Liu Zong stood at the peak of blade techniques...
But even higher than the peaks of the mountains stood Ding Ying, who had long been suspended in the air. This made Ding Ying as brilliant as the midday sun in Lotus Flower Blessed Land.
This was simply too unreasonable.
Chen Ping'an had only one sword.
Simply drawing the sword.
After that one sword.
The divine being shattered.
All laws broke.
No sign of Ding Ying.