Chapter 1 Listening to the Roar of the Wild Wind

Listening to the roar of the wind in his ears, Liu Ming's face was as white as a sheet. One hand gripped a fiery golden falcon, while the other desperately clutched the horn of the Frost Serpent.

He wanted to shout, but the moment he opened his mouth, the wind filled his stomach.

Whoosh~

The Frost Serpent dove down, the gust of wind it created stirring up the thick snow on the ground.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, Ji Liu and the other only felt a blur before their eyes. Two more people and a falcon were standing before them, and a Frost Serpent spiraled and danced in the air, occasionally emitting a roar like a cross between a bull and a tiger.

A mountain-like aura filled the heavens and the earth, enveloping the entire snowfield and pressing down on their bodies and minds.

It instantly extinguished all the courage in their hearts, causing them to tremble.

"Hoo, hoo!"

As soon as Liu Ming landed, he started retching repeatedly.

The golden falcon, whose wing he was clutching, let out a crisp cry but seemed extremely frightened, not even daring to break free from the hand that seemed so weak to it.

What terrified it so much was not the Frost Serpent circling in the air but the Daoist standing quietly before it.

"Golden Feather Falcon..."

Feeling the gaze that weighed down like a mountain, Ji Liu felt his mouth go dry and his heart beat rapidly.

All his previous disdain was now replaced by a deep sense of oppression.

Denigrating the enemy was fundamentally due to fear, but he now realized that the fear in his heart had been amplified infinitely.

The Daoist stood silently, yet gave him the immense pressure as if the entire sky were collapsing, making him unable to help but feel dry-mouthed and breathless.

And the Golden Feather Falcon being held in the little monk's hand as if it were a chick made his heart sink.

Could this Daoist have discovered their tracks long ago?

'This Daoist has such a strong aura...'

Ji Ba also felt oppressed, his breathing somewhat labored.

He knew that the Daoist was deliberately using his aura to intimidate them and might not really attack, but the Daoist's presence was too powerful, completely suppressing them and filling them with fear.

It was as if the bravery he had shown on the battlefield had completely disappeared at this moment.

It was like an ordinary person having a tiger beside them; even if the tiger was full, the fear in their heart would not disappear.

There was no other reason than that their life was at the mercy of the other's whim.

"You were waiting for me?"

An Qisheng glanced at the two of them indifferently.

Three months ago, Ji Chonghua had returned after leaving, and he had been unable to lock onto his position, but he had naturally discovered the tracks of these two people long ago.

He had simply not paid attention to them.

Although the Golden Feather Falcon was a spiritual bird and rarely seen in the world, even the Golden Falcon King was no match for the Frost Serpent, so how could these descendants of the Golden Falcon King escape the Frost Serpent's clutches?

Naturally, it was easily caught as soon as it took off.

In fact, if it were not for his intentions, the Golden Feather Falcon would have been a delicious meal for the Frost Serpent the moment it soared into the sky.

"An, Daoist An."

Ji Liu took a deep breath and forced a smile: "We are here on the orders of the Grand Tutor to deliver gifts to you, sir, and have no malicious intentions."

"Deliver gifts?"

An Qisheng remained noncommittal, his expression calm.

The two of them felt the pressure on them suddenly decrease, and a great weight lifted from their hearts.

Without needing to say more, they immediately strode towards the side of the pavilion, opening the three large iron boxes that had been covered in snow and then revealed by the wind.

The three large iron boxes were square and quite large. When they were opened, they contained not gold or silver, but chunks of iron ingots of various colors and materials, specially forged.

At a glance, there were no fewer than dozens of pieces, and their weight was likely to exceed a thousand pounds.

Among them were rare metals such as Cold Iron Essence, Flame Essence Iron, Yang Deficiency Stone, Meteorite Iron Stone, and Earth Mother Stone, all of high value.

For example, Cold Iron Essence required a hundred pounds of cold iron to be specially refined to obtain three pounds, and the other materials were the same, all extremely rare.

Although their value was not as high as the materials he had used to forge this long spear, it was enough to forge a divine weapon.

This gift was a generous one to give to anyone.

Ji Chonghua was quite generous, offering a large gift directly without mentioning anything or caring about success or failure.

However, An Qisheng only glanced at it before retracting his gaze, answering indifferently:

"The things are not bad."

Ji Liu and the other glanced at the red spear in An Qisheng's hand, which had not yet been sharpened but was so sharp that it seemed as if their eyes would bleed if they looked at it, and their hearts trembled slightly.

They knew that with his divine weapon in hand, the weight of this generous gift in his heart had greatly decreased.

"Daoist, although the divine weapon is forged, it still needs to absorb the essence of the five metals to nourish it..."

Ji Liu gritted his teeth and spoke.

After a divine weapon was forged, it still needed to absorb a massive amount of metal essence to nourish its spirituality and enhance its power.

Even renowned experts of the Divine Pulse realm had to search for these strange metals, so this gift was not without its use.

"You're right."

An Qisheng nodded slightly, saying indifferently:

"Tell me, what does your Grand Tutor want to do by offering such a generous gift?"

Now that the divine weapon was forged, the day of his Divine Pulse realm was not far off.

This process involved making the divine weapon highly compatible with his 'spirit' until the weapon was 'spiritualized.'

In other words, it was about transforming the divine weapon, which could only be used by the body, into a divine weapon that could also be used by the 'spirit.'

In the Jiufu world, this process was called 'Fusing the Weapon with the Body' or 'Spiritualizing the Weapon.'

Only in this way could the divine weapon have the effect of avoiding disasters and calamities when the Yin Spirit left the body.

As for absorbing metal essence to nourish the divine weapon, that was a matter for later. He had not yet 'Spiritualized the Weapon,' so he had not reached the point of using metal essence to nourish the weapon's spirituality.

"Daoist."

Ji Liu glanced at the Golden Feather Falcon.

He secretly rejoiced that he had not exaggerated or included any subjective opinions in the letter, so even if An Qisheng found out, it should not cause any trouble.

Otherwise, they would be doomed for sure.

He pondered for a moment, suppressing the throbbing in his heart, and said, "My Grand Tutor has not been in Dafeng for the past few years. Having returned this time and heard of the Daoist's reputation, he greatly admires you and wishes to form a connection with you..."

"Enough with the nonsense."

Before he could finish speaking, An Qisheng interrupted him.

Ji Liu's face flushed instantly, but when he saw those calm and indifferent eyes, his heart turned cold again.

He could only grit his teeth and continue, "My Grand Tutor does not wish to become enemies with a peerless figure like you. He hopes to resolve the grudges between you and the imperial court, so that you can turn enemies into friends in the future. Whether the Daoist wants to establish a sect or roam the martial world alone, it will be much more convenient..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Ji Liu felt a sense of relief.

His greatest fear was that his previous disparaging words had been heard, causing An Qisheng to angrily attack him, leaving him no chance to say these words.

Now that the words were out, he naturally felt relaxed.

Although he had only just returned from the northern lands with Ji Chonghua, he knew about the grudges between An Qisheng and the imperial court.

In his view, the imperial court had suffered losses all along the way, and this old Daoist had not suffered a single loss.

Now that the imperial court was taking the initiative to show goodwill and wanted to resolve this grudge, he could not think of any reason for him to refuse.

Otherwise, if he were to fight the imperial court to the end, even a Divine Pulse expert would definitely not have a good ending.

On the other hand, Ji Ba's expression tightened slightly, vaguely sensing a bad omen.

Because on An Qisheng's face and body, he did not see or feel even a trace of joy.

All he saw was a calmness and indifference as deep as an abyss.

"Ji Chonghua is indeed generous. I have killed so many experts of the imperial court, and he is willing to let it all go."

Hearing this, An Qisheng smiled, but a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes.

"My Grand Tutor is in charge of yin and yang and has a broad mind. How could he care about temporary gains or losses? My Grand Tutor has the magnanimity..."

Seeing An Qisheng smile, Ji Liu felt relieved. Although his expression was humble, there was a hint of arrogance in his tone.

Ji Chonghua had risen through the ranks, first joining the army and being ennobled, then becoming a general and a minister. What a figure he was.

Although he was a family slave, he shared in the glory.

"Unfortunately, I have never been a generous person..."

An Qisheng sighed softly, his voice like mercury flowing:

"On the contrary, I hold grudges very well..."

You want to pursue and kill, so you do?

You want to write it all off, so you do?

No matter whose principle this is, it is definitely not his principle!

Kindness must be repaid, and revenge must be taken!

No matter who it is!

And no matter where they are!

This is his principle.

"Not good!"

Ji Liu and the other's expressions changed drastically, their hair standing on end. They simultaneously unleashed their true qi and scattered, trying to escape.

"This old bastard is crazy!"

Ji Liu's eyes turned red instantly, and his true qi burst out from his body.

In an instant, he shot up into the sky, shattering the howling wind and snow behind him, trying to escape.

But at this moment, a crimson golden light seemed to flash and disappear in his red eyes, followed by endless darkness.

Boom!

Ji Ba spat out true qi from his feet, and at the moment of rising from the snow, he retreated dozens of feet. Just as he was about to continue escaping, his expression suddenly changed drastically, as if struck by lightning.

He saw that in front of the pavilion, the Daoist was holding a spear and stabbing straight into the void.

Amidst the dripping blood, Ji Liu had been nailed to death in mid-air!

He had not even let out a scream.

His head had been pierced by the spear!

The spear was so fast and so ferocious that even from dozens of feet away, Ji Ba felt a darkness before his eyes, as if his brow had also been pierced.

Whoosh~

With a flick of the spear, Ji Liu's large body was flung out ten feet, and as brains and hot blood splattered, he crashed heavily into the snow.

"Brother Liu!"

Ji Ba roared like a wolf, his eyes about to burst.

They were not true brothers, but decades of fighting side by side had made them closer than real brothers. How could he remain calm at the sight of Ji Liu's death?

But his cry was like a cuckoo lamenting blood, and his speed increased even more, surging hundreds of feet in a few bounds.

As he ran, he could not help but look back in grief and indignation.

Between the howling wind and snow, the dragon spiraled in the air, and the Daoist stood with his spear before the pavilion, as he had been when they arrived, as if he had never moved.

Before his grief and anger could subside, he heard a calm but mountain-like heavy voice explode in his heart:

"From here to Fengdu is six thousand li. Go and tell Ji Chonghua that I will walk these six thousand li step by step,

To see,

How high the city walls of the number one city in the world are!"