94: Chapter 95 Banquet in Qingdu

The man had originally been bleary-eyed, his face still bearing the irritation of having been disturbed from his sleep.

He took a look at Jiang Yuhe, and his brows suddenly twitched.

That trace of drowsiness, as if doused by cold water, vanished completely in the blink of an eye.

Terror welled up from the depths of his eyes.

"Jiang..."

He turned abruptly and roared into the house, "The Jiang Family is here!"

He roared once, then roared a second time.

There was not the slightest movement from the back room.

There wasn't even a response.

The man froze at the doorway, finally sensing that something was wrong.

He looked down and saw, to his surprise, a thin veil of water floating around him.

This water veil was so thin it was almost invisible, flowing naturally against the shadows under the eaves, as if it were merely a layer of moisture in the air.

If he hadn't opened his mouth to shout and heard his own voice swallowed up completely, he would never have realized the existence of this thing.

His voice could not get out, and even the sound of his breathing was trapped within the water veil.

Before the door, Jiang Yuhe was still speaking with Yan Qingju.

She did not look at the man, but merely raised her right hand and lightly pointed with her index finger.

A water arrow silently coalesced.

The water arrow, as thin as a silver needle, pierced into the man's glabella in an instant.

The man's pupils suddenly constricted.

The next moment, his entire body, from his glabella to his Dantian, had his Qi pathways pierced through by a line of water.

That stream of water washed along his Meridians inch by inch, wiping out his vitality completely.

He fell straight down without making a sound, not even a single drop of blood flowing out.

Yan Qingju stared blankly at this scene, his throat as if blocked by something, unable to utter a single word.

In the past decade or so of his life, a Cultivator at the Late Stage of Qi Refining was already a high and mighty figure.

Those people could make neighbors bow their heads and yield the path, and could decide the future of a youth from a small clan with a single sentence.

Yet, this Cultivator from the Yao Family before him did not even have the chance to truly fight back.

He died at the doorway without even being able to send his voice out.

Jiang Yuhe stepped over the corpse and pushed the door open to enter the main room.

In the main room, a Yao Family Cultivator was sitting at a desk with his back to the door, holding a brush to draw a Talisman.

The cinnabar on the desk was not yet dry, the Talisman paper was held down by several stone paperweights, and the light filtering in from the window fell on his shoulders; his expression was extremely focused, as if he had not heard what had happened outside at all.

Yan Qingju stood outside the door, feeling a chill crawl up his spine.

From the moment Jiang Yuhe pushed the door open and entered, until she walked behind that Yao Family Cultivator, the man had not noticed a thing.

The small space he occupied had already been separated by a layer of Spiritual Power resembling fine rain.

Where the sound of rain fell, the inside and outside were cut off from each other.

His Talisman was only one stroke away from completion.

The Yao Family Cultivator raised his brush, about to finish the final stroke.

Jiang Yuhe reached out and pressed her hand lightly on the top of his head.

Grain Rain Spiritual Power poured in from her palm.

The Cultivator's body shuddered, the tip of his brush hovering above the Talisman paper, unable to fall again.

Spiritual Power rushed down from his Baihui point, piercing through his Meridians all the way, like spring rain pouring back into withered branches, shattering those already unstable Qi pathways inch by inch.

He did not even let out a scream.

The corpse fell beside the desk, and the Talisman brush rolled off, only to be caught by a wisp of water Qi and placed gently on the table without making a sound.

Jiang Yuhe continued walking toward the back room.

In the back room, the remaining Yao Family Cultivator and the Head of the Yao Family, Yao Dingchuan, were sitting cross-legged in meditation.

A censer of incense was burning in the room, masking the faint scent of Medicinal Pills.

Jiang Yuhe walked right up to the Head of the Yao Family, Yao Dingchuan, before he suddenly opened his eyes.

In that instant, every hair on his body stood on end.

He saw a water arrow suspended before his glabella.

Before his heart, another water arrow was suspended.

The two water arrows were silent and motionless, their tips less than half an inch from his skin.

If they were pushed forward just a little, they could pierce through his skull and heart.

Terror surged in the eyes of the Head of the Yao Family.

The Yao Family Cultivator beside him had just realized something was wrong and was about to stand up when Jiang Yuhe already raised her hand and struck down.

Grain Rain Spiritual Power poured into the top of that person's head, instantly severing their Qi pathways.

The Cultivator's body went limp, and he fell onto the meditation cushion, devoid of breath.

The Head of the Yao Family's eyes were bloodshot, and the muscles on his face twitched violently.

He understood the fate of those few Yao Family Cultivators outside in an instant.

Grief, indignation, terror, and despair appeared alternately on his face.

The Head of the Yao Family's voice trembled.

"What… do you want?"

Jiang Yuhe looked down at him, her tone still calm.

"I want the Yao Family's Qingqi Breakthrough Method."

The Head of the Yao Family's Adam's apple bobbed.

Jiang Yuhe said, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. As long as you write it out truthfully, I will certainly spare you. The Jiang Family is not so petty as to go that far."

She paused for a moment and added, "Of course, if there is a single word that is untrue or a single point that is incorrect, I'm afraid you will not be able to keep your life, Fellow Daoist."

The Head of the Yao Family's expression was full of shock and uncertainty.

But he quickly realized that he had no room for negotiation at this moment.

He could only nod.

"Fine… I will write it."

He slowly drew the paper and brush from the side using Spiritual Qi, his movements extremely slow, fearing that he might trigger those two water arrows by mistake.

As the brush touched the paper, the Head of the Yao Family's hand was still trembling.

He wrote word by word, repeatedly deliberating even on several critical points, for fear that Jiang Yuhe might see any hesitation.

Before long, the Qingqi Breakthrough Method was written on the paper.

He handed the paper to Jiang Yuhe and said eagerly, "This method was bestowed by the Gu Family years ago. It is indeed a method for cultivating Clear Qi during the Spring Equinox, and can lay the foundation for Immortal Ascension, [Yan Qing Du]."

"If you do not believe me, Fellow Daoist, you can bind me and take me to the Gu Family to confront them."

"This matter concerns my life, and I would never dare to deceive you, Fellow Daoist. I beg you to investigate!"

Jiang Yuhe took the paper and looked down at it.

[Yan Qing Du]

At the Spring Equinox, day and night are equal; Clear Qi washes away the turbid to return to the truth.

The so-called Yan Qing Du is not a banquet for feasting and pleasure, but a gathering where all Qi returns to its seat, and the Clear Capital sets its rituals.

Once the Spring Equinox arrives, Yin and Yang are each half, and day and night are balanced; Clear Qi enters the body, turbid Qi gradually recedes, and the hundred Meridians are like those seated in the Clear Capital, each in its proper place.

Therefore, once this foundation is formed, it can cause the body's Qi flow to shed the turbid and return to the clear, correcting deviations, and allowing Yin and Yang to temporarily achieve balance.

If cultivated to a deep level, it can also wash away impurities in the Qi, stabilize the spiritual platform, and fix a breath of clear mechanism when breaking through a realm, making it difficult for external evils to invade and Heart Demons to disturb.

After reading, Jiang Yuhe raised her eyes and asked, "Is this really so?"

The Head of the Yao Family was just about to answer.

The two water arrows suddenly moved.

One sank into his glabella.

One pierced into his heart.

A short, choked sound came from the Head of the Yao Family's throat, and before the lingering look of survival in his eyes could dissipate, his whole body stiffened on the couch.

A dignified Cultivator at the Late Stage just died like this.

Yan Qingju stood outside the room, motionless, naturally able to see everything that happened inside clearly.

He saw how Jiang Yuhe killed without a sound.

He saw how the Head of the Yao Family begged for his life, how he wrote down the Breakthrough Method, and how he was nailed to death by two water arrows the very next moment.

His face was slightly pale, his fingers already clenching his sleeves without him realizing it.

It was not until Jiang Yuhe picked up the Storage Pouches of the four people one by one and returned to him, saying softly, "It's time to go,"

that Yan Qingju seemed to suddenly wake up.

"Yes…"

His voice was hoarse, and he quickly followed.

Jiang Yuhe broke the Restriction on the Head of the Yao Family's Storage Pouch and flipped out a scroll from it.

On it were written a few characters in small seal script: [Yan Qing Du].

She opened the book and compared it one by one with what the Head of the Yao Family had just written.

Not a single word was different.

Jiang Yuhe's expression remained indifferent, and she simply put the book and the paper together into her Storage Pouch.

Afterward, she and Yan Qingju left the house.

The village remained quiet, and in the distance, several Mortals were bowing their heads as they carried water; no one knew what had happened in this new wooden house.

Jiang Yuhe raised her hand and flicked it.

A spark of fire landed on the edge of the threshold.

The fire quickly climbed up the roof beams along the wood grain.

The items remaining in the room were engulfed by tongues of flame, emitting a faint crackling sound.