52: Chapter 52 Frost and Shadow

In the distance, Jiang Yuhe was continuously channeling Catalyzing Green.

She dared not look back.

The illusory body from just now was a green shadow she had temporarily condensed by borrowing the vitality of plants and trees through Catalyzing Green, and by covering it with a layer of Rain Screen of Perception, she had managed to deceive that Sword Cultivator for a moment.

But this bit of deception could only buy a moment; it could not truly stop this person.

That person was too strong.

Sword-flight escape light, sword hidden within the wind, sword techniques that break the Rain Screen of Perception, and minute protective Sword Qi—each one was at least at the level of High Grade Qi Refining spells.

Such a person could never be an ordinary Loose Cultivator, nor did he resemble an ordinary disciple of a Foundation Establishment Family.

Jiang Yuhe fled for a hundred miles in one breath.

The trees flew backward behind her, and in front, she could already see the faint daylight at the edge of the forest.

As long as she rushed out of this forest and turned south into the Rocky Valley, she could rely on the terrain to cover her tracks for a while.

Just at this moment, the Signet of Seal of "Perception of Avoiding Calamity" inside her Dantian vibrated frantically.

Jiang Yuhe felt a chill in her heart, only then realizing that a wisp of aura was still locked onto her.

That aura was extremely faint.

Had she not briefly engaged with the Sword Cultivator and become familiar with his aura, she would never have sensed it.

Yet it was right there, like a thread so thin it was almost non-existent, constantly tethering her.

She immediately understood; it was a tracking method of the Foundation Establishment level.

This was not a spell left behind by the Sword Cultivator on a whim; even earlier, before she had left Canghu Pavilion, this aura had already been on her.

Jiang Yuhe gripped the Spirit Stones again with both hands, continuously absorbing Spiritual Qi.

The previous two Spirit Stones had already been drained dry, and the two she held now were also rapidly fading.

Catalyzing Green and the previous engagement had consumed a vast amount; even with the amplification of the Signet of Seal, her True Essence had already dropped by more than half.

While fleeing, she forced herself to recall every detail.

Canghu Pavilion, the private room, the maid, the transaction in private room number five, the Storage Pouch, the Law-Bearing Slip.

She was suddenly startled and immediately took out the Hidden Cloud Concealment Talisman to observe it.

This Talisman had already been used twice, its cloud energy was heavily depleted, and now its power was less than ten percent.

The Talisman paper lay in her palm, its edge cloud patterns dim.

The old Talisman master of the Shen Clan had once said that this Talisman was stained with the spiritual aura of the Purple Mansion.

Jiang Yuhe did not know the spell to identify spiritual auras, but she could "listen."

Listening to Rain compared every remaining wisp of aura on the Talisman with that Sword Cultivator behind her.

Soon, she heard the similarities.

Like two drops of water from the same river, even if held by different vessels, the base color remained the same.

Purple Mansion spiritual aura, tracking methods, the person capable of acting silently within Canghu Pavilion.

That Sword Cultivator had numerous spells and formidable strength.

The fragmented clues connected at this moment.

Jinglan Lake Shen Clan!

The Luo Family's letter had mentioned that although the Shen Clan's Old Ancestor Shen Huailan was only at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment and inferior to the Gu Clan's Old Ancestor Gu Chengyue, the clan had a Genius who had joined the Main Peak of the Chengtian Sect and became an Inner Sect True Disciple of the Main Peak.

The only ones nearby who could openly come into contact with the Purple Mansion spiritual aura were the Chengtian Sect.

That Sword Cultivator was likely the True Disciple from the Shen Clan who had entered the Main Peak of the Chengtian Sect.

And only the Shen Clan could openly tamper with things inside Canghu Pavilion.

The Shen Clan and Cangya Ridge jointly controlled Canghu Market; if not for the pressure from the Great Sage Tunxiao behind Cangya Ridge, they might not have even waited for her to leave the market before acting.

A deeper chill settled in Jiang Yuhe's heart.

The Shen Clan had likely long decided to tear off the mask with the Gu Clan.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi had publicly sought to marry her, pushing her into the eyes of everyone.

A very young female Cultivator at the Late Stage of Qi Refining, once on good terms with the Gu Clan, could very likely become a Foundation Establishment seed for the Gu Clan in the future.

What the Shen Clan wanted to cut down was not necessarily just her.

They wanted to cut down all future assistance that might turn toward the Gu Clan.

As for the timing of planting the tracking method, it was likely during the transaction in private room number five, when the maid was changed, or on that Storage Pouch and the Law-Bearing Slip.

From that moment on, her path of retreat had already been watched.

The sound of sword ringing behind her drew closer and closer.

Jiang Yuhe took a deep breath, and just as she was about to channel Catalyzing Green again, Listening to Rain suddenly captured a familiar aura in front of her.

That aura was sharp and bright, like a mountain stream breaking through a stone wall, carrying a sense of youthful spirit she had only heard at a tea stall not long ago.

Jiang Yuhe looked up.

At the edge of the forest, someone stood in the wind; his black-bottomed, gold-patterned short robe was slightly lifted by the mountain wind, and the Green Sycamore Bronze Token at his waist reflected a cold light.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi.

The moment Jiang Yuhe saw him, she did not stop her steps.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi did not ask much either.

He raised his hand and tossed something in front of him; a green jade leaf expanded against the wind, transforming into a long, narrow flying boat.

The flying boat was only a little over a zhang long, its entire body like a green sycamore leaf, with faint golden spiritual patterns flowing along the leaf veins, its front end sharp and thin.

A High Grade Qi Refining flying Magical Artifact, the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf.

"Get on."

Young Master Gu Xingzhi only said two words.

Jiang Yuhe did not hesitate and stepped onto the flying boat in one stride.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi channeled his Grain Rain Qi with his palm, and the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf shot forward violently, the trees on both sides stretched into a blur of black shadows.

The aura of the Sword Cultivator behind them was still pursuing, but it was gradually being pulled away by the speed of the flying boat.

She withdrew her gaze and looked at Young Master Gu Xingzhi.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi's aura was steady, but the traces of combat on him could not be hidden.

The tear at his cuff was extremely thin, the edges stained with a bit of cold energy, remaining with an aura similar to that of the Sword Cultivator behind them.

Jiang Yuhe quickly understood.

He had also been hunted.

She had originally thought that, given Young Master Gu Xingzhi's temperament, he would only fight head-on when encountering enemies and would never retreat.

Now it seemed that he was not a reckless person either; he knew when to advance and retreat.

The Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf flew south all the way, its speed extremely fast, and it was about to completely shake off the Sword Cultivator behind them.

Suddenly, within Listening to Rain, a second aura appeared behind them.

That aura was extremely similar to the previous Sword Cultivator, cold and sharp, as if the same piece of cold, frigid iron had been split into two segments.

One was behind, one was to the side, and they were pressing in from two directions.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi also heard it.

He also cultivated the Grain Rain, and although his Listening to Rain technique might not have been blessed by the Signet of Seal like Jiang Yuhe's, it was enough to capture those two similar auras.

He asked straightforwardly: "Is the one chasing you a Sword Cultivator?"

Jiang Yuhe nodded.

"Green and white Daoist robe, Perfection of the ninth layer of Qi Refining."

Young Master Gu Xingzhi's eyes darkened.

"Then that is Shen Zhaowei," Young Master Gu Xingzhi said. "The True Disciple of the Jinglan Lake Shen Clan. A clan grandson of Shen Huailan, who joined the Xuanxuan Peak of the Chengtian Sect."

Jiang Yuhe looked at him.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi did not turn his head, his speaking speed fast: "The current cultivation method is the simplified method of the present age."

"If a Mortal's Meridians can bear the Qi of the Four Seasons, then they are considered to have successfully borne the Qi. One in a hundred may not even produce one; even after finding someone who can bear the Qi, less than ten percent truly succeed, so Cultivators remain few."

"The ancient method is different."

"The ancient method requires first having Fetal Breath, using spiritual apertures to nurture a mouthful of Solar Term Qi. After Fetal Breath is formed, one enters Qi Refining, and during Qi Refining, one absorbs Dao attributes, causing the Solar Term Qi and Dao attributes to blend into one Qi."

"In other words, when practicing the ancient method of Qi Refining, that mouthful of Qi already has a name and a form, approaching things that only form after Foundation Establishment in the modern method."

Jiang Yuhe's heart stirred.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi continued: "Shen Zhaowei Cultivates this type of ancient method."

"His Fetal Breath nurtures the Winter Solstice, and upon entering Qi Refining, he absorbs Clear Qi. The Winter Solstice acts as the body, and the Clear Qi acts as the shadow, training into a mouthful of Profound Frost Shadow Qi."

"This method can form an Immortal Foundation after Foundation Establishment, called Frost Shadow. It can differentiate a body similar to an Incarnation outside the body; the talent and upper limit of the Incarnation depend on the spiritual resources used when shaping the Dharma body."

"If one wants to make this Immortal Foundation reach Perfection, it is equivalent to having to additionally nurture an external body at the Perfection of Foundation Establishment, which consumes an extremely heavy amount of resources; ordinary families simply cannot afford it."

The Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf passed through a valley.

The night wind surged below, the sea of forest like ink.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi said: "Shen Zhaowei has not yet reached Foundation Establishment, so he cannot truly manifest a complete external body; he can only split one body into two Qi. One body Cultivates the Winter Solstice, and one shadow Cultivates the Clear Qi. Both can act separately, or they can merge into one."

He paused.

"The one who was chasing me just now was likely his shadow body."

There was a hint of chill in Young Master Gu Xingzhi's tone for the first time.

"I saw Shen Zhaowei once when I was a child. At that time, he had not yet joined the Chengtian Sect and only stood behind the Shen Clan's Old Ancestor. The way he looked at people was very strange, like looking at living things through a layer of ice; he had neither likes nor dislikes, nor did he have any sense of weight."

Jiang Yuhe did not respond.

She heard the two auras behind her approaching.

Soon, those two auras suddenly collided, like two undercurrents merging back into one place, and the aura suddenly surged violently.

The distance that had originally been pulled away by the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf began to shorten visibly at this moment.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi seemed to have anticipated this; he untied the Storage Pouch from his waist and handed it to Jiang Yuhe.

"Inside this is the Profound Pin Origin-Returning Pill."

Jiang Yuhe looked at him.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi said: "You take the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf and leave. I will stay behind to stop him."

His tone was steady, as if he were speaking of a matter that was taken for granted.

"If I have not come to find you within a month, then Cultivate with peace of mind. Since you have the Foundation Establishment method of Grain Rain combining with Pin Water in your hands, this pill will be just right to help you establish your Foundation."

After saying this, he released the flying boat's control center, and his figure leaped down from the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf.

The night wind filled his robes.

He flipped in mid-air and landed, a flash of spiritual light in his palm summoning a blue-gold long saber.

Jiang Yuhe stood on the flying boat, watching Young Master Gu Xingzhi land.

In the next instant, she raised her hand and pressed the leaf vein control center of the Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf, cutting off her True Essence, and the flying boat stopped instantly.

Then she jumped directly from the flying boat and landed beside Young Master Gu Xingzhi.

The Green Sycamore Cloud-Splitting Leaf, having lost its pilot, transformed into a green jade leaf and spun back into Young Master Gu Xingzhi's sleeve.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi frowned.

"You should have been able to distinguish between the primary and secondary. The struggle between the direct lineages of great families is difficult for you to participate in with your current strength."

Jiang Yuhe did not even look at him, only gazing at the cold aura approaching in the distance.

"I am a Cultivator of the Jiang Family; what does that have to do with the Young Master of the Gu Family?"

Her voice fell into the night wind, carrying a sense of clarity and magnanimity.

"Life and death are one's own responsibility. Young Master Gu, please have some self-respect and stop acting out those heroic rescue scenes from folk tales."

Young Master Gu Xingzhi, after hearing this, was not angry in the slightest.

He glanced at Jiang Yuhe and then nodded.

"It was my meddling."

After saying this, the blue-gold long saber in his hand was slightly raised.

The blade pointed forward.

Deep in the night forest, the cold shadow finally approached.

The first to arrive was the sound of a sword ringing.

Subsequently, a Cultivator in a green and white Daoist robe walked out of the forest.

His features were thin and refined, his skin very pale, as if he had not seen sunlight for many years.

A long sword hung by his side, and beneath the sword dragged a faint shadow.

After the main body and the shadow body merged, Shen Zhaowei's aura even surpassed the ordinary tenth layer of Qi Refining.

Jiang Yuhe spread out Listening to Rain and could hear his aura split into two and then merge into one line.

Shen Zhaowei looked at the two of them.

He said calmly: "Young Master Gu Xingzhi, if you had left by yourself, you could have lived."

Young Master Gu Xingzhi laughed.

"Who do you, Shen Zhaowei, think you are?"

Shen Zhaowei was not angered, only raising his sword.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi took a half-step forward, the Grain Rain Qi on the blade lighting up layer by layer, the rain intent thick and steady.

Jiang Yuhe stood by his side, her palms slightly lowered, the Rain Screen of Perception floating silently under her sleeves.

The night wind passed through the treetops, blowing the grass blades to bow low together.

Young Master Gu Xingzhi raised his blade, his voice clear and bright, carrying an unmasked Battle Intent.

"Then, come and fight."