Chapter 48: The Triple Emergence

Chen Xuan had practiced martial arts for three years, refining his combat techniques almost to the worldly peak. Later, when he began practicing the Way of Qi, he never let his martial prowess lapse.

A grandmaster of martial arts.

To use a title that had no business being applied to a young man to describe the current Chen Xuan was not an exaggeration in the slightest.

"This man's martial techniques are not below mine."

Chen Xuan glanced at the young man and immediately sensed something amiss.

This was a terrifying insight that only someone who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts could possibly experience.

The young man stood with an air of casual ease, seemingly defenseless, yet his posture was entirely natural, utterly devoid of flaws. No matter from which direction an attack might come, the other party could instantly counter-attack.

"In this world, besides myself, is there really another cultivator willing to hone their martial techniques to such an ultimate degree?"

Chen Xuan muttered to himself, feeling utterly bewildered.

For as one's realm advanced, close-quarters combat ceased to be of primary importance. The power of immortal qi and esoteric arts was simply too immense, too wondrous...

"Swish!"

Possessing keen perception, the young man instantly turned his head. Meeting Chen Xuan's scrutinizing gaze, he raised an eyebrow and asked:

"What are you looking at?"

"..."

With a smile on his face, Chen Xuan took the unprecedented initiative to introduce himself:

"I am Chen Xuan, a martial artist."

Noticing Chen Xuan's friendly attitude, the young man found it hard to lose his temper. He replied in a muffled voice:

"My name is Ye Kui. Do you know what a kui is? A kind of ox... You're a martial artist? Aren't you a fisherman?"

With a harpoon slung across his back and a fishing net tied around his waist, Chen Xuan indeed bore no resemblance to a martial artist.

Rather than taking offense at the blunt tone, Chen Xuan looked at him with sincere, almost burning eyes, and said:

"Fellow Daoist Ye is also a martial artist, is he not? Your utter devotion to the martial path is as dazzling as the blazing sun overhead—I can feel it. Forgive my presumption, but would you care to spar with me in martial arts?"

At this moment, a fierce urge surged within Chen Xuan's heart: to engage in a martial art duel devoid of immortal qi against this man named Ye Kui. That surely would be an exhilarating, peak-level battle of epic proportions...

This was the mutual admiration and empathy shared by those who had walked the furthest in the same field.

It felt to Chen Xuan as though he had been transported back to those glorious days of practicing martial arts in the Liu Town dojo, free to do as he pleased and pursue whatever amused him.

"Whoosh!"

At that exact moment, the profound and unadorned demeanor of a grandmaster of martial arts emanated from within Chen Xuan. The other party would surely understand his intent!

"Utter devotion to the martial path? What on earth is that rambling about?"

A look of bewilderment crossed Ye Kui's face, seemingly completely oblivious to Chen Xuan's grandmaster aura. He shook his head and said, "Makes no sense. Farewell."

With that, he turned and walked away directly.

Moving at great speed, his figure vanished in the blink of an eye.

"???"

Chen Xuan stood frozen in place. A moment later, his accumulated grandmaster aura drained away entirely.

He scratched the back of his head, gazing at the harpoon jutting past his shoulder, a look of profound confusion on his face.

This Ye Kui.

Didn't he want to experience a hearty, flesh-and-blood battle belonging purely to martial artists?

The high regard and sincerity—which he hadn't even had time to offer to his ally Yan Yushu—had just been rejected by the other party like that...

...

In a deserted alleyway.

The young man named Ye Kui walked in high spirits, hands pillowing the back of his head, a stalk of dogtail grass clenched between his teeth, looking utterly carefree.

"Heh, that pretty girl with the corrupted heart must be the [Six Desires Heaven], right?"

"Come tomorrow morning after a sound sleep, I'll get to see that utterly jinxed [Longevity Seed]."

"Wonderful. Two of my own kind, still breathing."

"I heard there used to be a [Millet Dream] in Red Crow City, but unfortunately it died. I arrived a few days too late."

Ye Kui muttered to himself inwardly. As he walked, the image of the young Qi practitioner named Chen Xuan whom he had just encountered flashed through his mind.

Chen Xuan had faintly given him a peculiar sensation, akin to a resonance at the very level of the soul...

However, Chen Xuan's gaze had been far too sincere and blazing, chilling him to the bone and raising goosebumps all over, prompting him to flee in haste.

Such a strange look!

"Utter devotion to the martial path? I haven't practiced martial techniques for more than a few days. Back then, I simply..."

"Allocated points."

A strange, eerie smile curved the corners of Ye Kui's lips, and a trace of crimson seemed to flash across his pupils.

"Maxed them out..."

A violent, bloody stench seemed to permeate the air.

...

Inside a room within a courtyard provided by the idyllic ancient village of Peach Blossom Spring.

"You are about to undergo ascension?"

Yan Yushu's clear voice resounded in his mind.

"Yes, I ran into a very interesting person... and a very dangerous one."

Chen Xuan looked out the window. Atop a tall wooden pavilion, Yan Yushu stood with her robes fluttering in the wind, her striking grace resembling an immortal about to ride the wind and depart. Overlooking the village nestled halfway up the mountain, she was scanning the area for potential hidden threats.

In truth, nothing untoward was likely to happen.

Hundreds of ancient inhabitants resided here; should anyone cause trouble, they would be swiftly suppressed.

If any danger did arise, it would be tomorrow, after meeting the destined one of Peach Blossom Spring—the [Longevity Seed]—and after the various cultivators and spirits departed from this place carrying the relics of the ancient sages.

"By the way, that man's name is Ye Kui. I have a feeling he was sizing you up from behind with a different kind of gaze."

Chen Xuan reminded her. Although his mind had been set on a spar, it had merely been a momentary impulse, and he had not lost his basic powers of observation on account of it.

"I will be careful," Yan Yushu replied.

However, being scrutinized by others was the most normal thing in the world for her. If a day ever came when people stopped looking at her, that would be the abnormal sign requiring immediate vigilance.

"Click!"

With that, Chen Xuan closed the wooden window and began his ascension.

His physical strength at this moment had reached over sixteen thousand catties. Once he stepped into the third ascension, the massive enhancement brought by the Millet Dream Qi, coupled with the supplementary power of the Ascension Immortal Robe, would simultaneously refine his physique, directly pushing him past the threshold of twenty thousand catties.

"Whoosh!"

Soon, white mist billowed, filling the small room with a faint, hazy aura as the subtle fragrance of grain gradually diffused.

"Hiss!"

A streak of cyan-gold immortal qi was the first to emerge, shimmering with a metallic luster. This seemed to herald the prologue, immediately followed by thousands of brilliantly glowing threads that erupted at top speed, carrying out the final, thorough marrow-cleansing transformation for his body.

Chen Xuan slowly closed his eyes, sinking into a light slumber as every part of his body underwent rebirth. His internal organs roared like thunder, and his skin gleamed with the luster of jade...

"If possible, I still hope to fight that martial artist named Ye Kui, even if it means using immortal qi."

Chen Xuan thought to himself as his consciousness drifted off.

"Whoosh!"

Before long, a cyan-gold ascension immortal robe gradually took shape in the air and slowly drifted downward.

The immortal robe settled over his shoulders.

...

Time flowed on as dusk descended.

At the foot of the mountain, beneath the towering wooden paifang, an ancient scholar was organizing his books and packing up his tools.

"It's truly bizarre. With Peach Blossom Spring descending this world this year, all sorts of demons and ghosts have come crawling out of the woodwork."

He muttered inwardly, preparing to order the other ancient villagers to seal off the mountain paths and conclude the day's work.

Right at that moment, a group of figures dressed in black robes with their faces concealed beneath hoods approached silently from afar like a flock of black birds under the cover of night.

Upon seeing this, the ancient scholar's expression turned grave as he sat up straight behind his desk once more.

A moment later.

A figure inscribed a name into the register book before breaking away from the group and walking alone toward the village enveloped in twilight.

A breeze blew, fluttering the brim of the hood to reveal a pair of gloomy, phoenix-like eyes.

At the tips of their fingers, a letter spun rapidly.