Chapter Sixty-Eight: Combination Technique

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"This..." Yue Qi truly did not know how to begin. He glanced at Bai Lian, then, forcing himself to speak, said, "Brother Xin, have you felt in your body an... how should I put it, an attraction, or perhaps a summons?"

"Attraction? Summons?" Now it was Xin Zi's turn to be puzzled. He had thought Yue Qi had come to him for something important, but he hadn't expected such inexplicable words.

"Brother Yue, you must be joking. Such mystical matters are the business of you cultivators. What has any of that to do with an ordinary man like me..." Xin Zi tried to laugh it off, but suddenly a chill swept through his heart. Could Yue Qi be unhinged?

"I..." Yue Qi was so anxious he could not find the words, but it was clear he could not give up on the Five Spirits Shifting the Universe technique now.

"Enough, Brother Qi, let's just speak plainly," Bai Lian sighed. To reveal their secret to someone they'd only met today was clearly unwise, but for Yue Qi to have a chance at that cultivation manual, there was no other way.

Bai Lian explained the strange sense of being summoned that Yue Qi felt to Xin Zi, though she concealed the true nature of the cultivation technique and only mentioned Yue Qi sensed something on Xin Zi that seemed to call to him.

"A summons? On me?" Xin Zi frowned deeply, but he could see that Yue Qi and the others were not lying.

"But, Brother Yue, you know I'm no cultivator, and I'm not lying. If there is something on me... could it be something left by my late friend Minghui?" Xin Zi pondered aloud.

Yue Qi nodded. That afternoon, he had heard Xin Zi speak of his deceased cultivator friend—it was highly likely something left behind by him. The thought made Yue Qi's heart race.

"I don't know what good things I might have, but I'll take them out for you to see..." Xin Zi cast a strange look at Yue Qi, then produced a small pouch from his robes.

"All Minghui's things are here. There was a sword, but I left it behind because it's too heavy..." Xin Zi's tone grew somber, clearly reminded of his lost friend.

"May I ask where your late friend studied?" Bai Lian suddenly inquired.

"Oh, it's nothing worth concealing. Brother Minghui was from the Qiongyu Sect of Kunlun Mountain. His master, you may have heard, was Elder Tianyin, the disciplinary elder of Qiongyu. Elder Tianyin went traveling and took Minghui with him. When they passed the Sword Manor, Minghui and I became friends, so Elder Tianyin left Minghui here and returned to his sect alone. Later, when I went traveling, Minghui accompanied me, and we happened upon that affair on the road..." Xin Zi did not hold back, telling all.

"Elder Tianyin! It was him!" Bai Lian exclaimed in surprise. The Qiongyu Sect of Kunlun was not an ordinary cultivator sect and had, in recent years, nearly rivaled the Three Pure Ones Sect, far surpassing the Qinghe Sword Sect.

"Lian, who is that?" Yue Qi, who had not practiced cultivation long, was not well informed and so had never heard of him.

"Brother Qi, the Qiongyu Sect of Kunlun is almost as famous as the Three Pure Ones. The sect's disciplinary elder is Elder Tianyin..." Bai Lian explained, then added, "Elder Tianyin's strength is unfathomable. It's said his cultivation has reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and he is not far behind the sect leader himself!"

"Mid-Nascent Soul!" Yue Qi drew in a sharp breath. For even a disciplinary elder of such a grand sect to possess such power—he could not help but yearn for those places. What extraordinary landscapes must exist to nurture such people...

But now was not the time for such thoughts. Yue Qi took the pouch Xin Zi handed him and placed it on the table.

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"Do you feel anything?" The object was within reach, but Yue Qi hesitated to open it. Bai Lian, being meticulous, asked for him.

"Nothing..." Yue Qi frowned. "But I can sense it's here!"

"Open it and see..." Without further ado, Bai Lian opened the palm-sized pouch. Inside were a few spirit stones and a small booklet, but nothing else of note.

"It's none of these..." Yue Qi picked up the items, shook his head, his eyes revealing a trace of disappointment.

"Not these?" Now it was Xin Zi's turn to be surprised. "But these are all the cultivator's items I have. The rest are just things I brought from home, or gifts from my father for self-defense..."

"In that case, there's no need to trouble you further, Brother Xin. I've been too presumptuous these past few days, and acted most shamefully..." Yue Qi apologized with a wan smile, though his disappointment was clear.

"Don't say that, Brother Yue. You saved my life—it is only right that you ask something in return. If you have a request, I should surely oblige!" With that, Xin Zi produced a few more belongings from his person.

"That really isn't necessary..." Yue Qi was startled but found his opinion of Xin Zi rising. Still, out of conscience, he tried to stop Xin Zi. After all, these were private possessions, and his own behavior was too much.

"Brother Yue, don't think so little of me..." Xin Zi said, continuing to lay out his things. He was determined to help Yue Qi—not because his life had been saved, for he believed he could have survived on his own. The greater reason was that Yue Qi had kindly brought him into their camp. Though perhaps it was for some ulterior motive, Xin Zi felt a pang of shame for having doubted his intentions.

Seeing Xin Zi's earnestness, Yue Qi was at a loss for words. Xin Zi had laid out everything he had, but Yue Qi still felt nothing unusual.

"Could that feeling have just been my imagination?" The thought flickered through Yue Qi's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. How could such a powerful sensation be a mere illusion?

"That's all of it, Brother Yue. Did you find anything?" It was clear Xin Zi had revealed all he possessed, but luck was not on Yue Qi's side—he found nothing.

Xin Zi, seeing Yue Qi's expression, knew the outcome was not as hoped. He offered a faintly apologetic look and began to pack up his belongings.

Feeling a little warm, Xin Zi rolled up his sleeves to speed the process. On his right arm, a silver bracelet caught the eye.

"That...!" Yue Qi's heart gave a violent thud. He stared at Xin Zi's bracelet in astonishment and asked, "Brother Xin, might I have a look at that bracelet?"

"The bracelet!" Xin Zi's eyes flashed with a sudden, piercing light. He locked his gaze on Yue Qi, his voice dropping to an icy chill.

"Is the item you seek a manual called Five Spirits Shifting the Universe?!"

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All at once, the room seemed to freeze. Both Yue Qi and Bai Lian stood rooted to the spot, their minds echoing with a single question: "How does he know?!"

"Tell me! Is it?!" For the first time, Yue Qi saw the gentle Xin Zi truly angry—and for some reason, this rage sent a chill through his heart.

"Yes, that's correct. But Brother Xin, how did you know?" Yue Qi, worthy of being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, soon regained his composure. He gave Bai Lian a look, then calmly asked.

"As I thought. I should have guessed!" Xin Zi suddenly slumped onto his stool, his face tinged with bitterness. "The Five Spirits Shifting the Universe—this was not created by cultivators. On the contrary, it was devised by an ordinary man..."

"An ordinary man?!" Now it was Yue Qi and Bai Lian's turn to be shocked, for they had never imagined such a manual could be the work of someone without spiritual roots.

"That's right!" Xin Zi forced a smile, but changed the subject: "Surely you've heard that, in the mundane world, there exist people called augurs—fortune tellers, as they are known. The creator of this technique was one such man, a fellow named Zhou Yi..."

Before the others could react, Xin Zi continued: "This Zhou Yi was a man of talent. From childhood he longed to cultivate immortality, but his aptitude was lacking and none of the cultivation sects would accept him. Yet Zhou Yi was clever; he understood the mutual generation and restraint among the five spirits, and so he sought to create a technique, combining different types of spells into what he called a 'composite art'..."

"Composite art? Do you mean to combine aspects of the five spirits?" Bai Lian was astonished, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Exactly..." Xin Zi nodded. "What's more, Zhou Yi actually succeeded in creating this technique! Thus was born the Five Spirits Shifting the Universe, a manual introducing the art of combination!"

Yue Qi and Bai Lian both drew in a sharp breath—they had not anticipated such an origin for this cultivation technique.

"But then, a strange phenomenon occurred! After Zhou Yi completed the manual, the sky was suddenly filled with omens. It's said that for thousands of miles, the heavens were shrouded in darkness, thunder and lightning crashing down! In a flash, a bolt of lightning struck the manual in Zhou Yi's hands, splitting it into five parts!" Xin Zi grew more animated as he spoke.

"The five fragments sprouted wings and flew off in five different directions, leaving not a scrap in Zhou Yi's hands..." Xin Zi shook his head at Yue Qi. "Do you know what that's like, Brother Yue? To see the fruit of all your life's labor destroyed in a single day?"

Yue Qi nodded. He had never known such loss, but could well imagine the agony.

"Later, Zhou Yi cursed the heavens, but just then, a vortex appeared in the sky and drew him upward... Some say he transcended the tribulation; others say he was struck dead by lightning for defying the heavens..." Xin Zi's eyes grew distant, as though lost in the scene.

"As for the manual, it was once found and practiced whole, but the consequence..." Xin Zi paused, "that person died a miserable death, and the manual again split into five and vanished in different directions..."

[End of excerpt.]