Chapter 598 - Dual Cultivation

Gradually, a change that even Ding Hao himself did not expect took place. As the Purple Nether Flame grew stronger, it began to intertwine with Ding Hao’s Heaven Fire Qi. This was an extremely curious process. The two kinds of flames seemed to have produced a peculiar fusion, mutually absorbing each other’s advantages and bringing about an interesting evolution.

It felt so enchanting, as if they were in perfect harmony.

Their Qi and souls were inextricably intertwined. Two kinds of Qi produced a change so rare that it was beyond words.

Neither of them had expected such change, but it was too late to separate because no one could predict what would happen if they stopped in the middle of the process. Ximen Qianxue suddenly turned red as blood, because the spiritual bonding of yin and yang was more arousing and intimate than an actual intercourse.

In essence, this was probably something akin to dual cultivation in martial arts.

Ding Hao was in an even deeper dilemma. He had not intended to take advantage of Ximen Qianxue, but they were indeed having physical intimacy with dual cultivation, however accidental it had been. Would Ximen Qianxue misunderstand?

However, it was impossible to pause at this time.

Ding Hao could only grit his teeth and continue injecting Heaven Fire Qi to guide and stimulate the Purple Nether Flame.

At the same time, he could clearly feel that his Heaven Fire Qi was also undergoing some change. In addition to being intense and violent, it began to show flexibility and diversity. This was a qualitative improvement: the change of the Heaven Fire could nourish his body, bringing great benefits in many ways.

After an unknown period of time, a new Qi Seed had finally germinated in Ximen Qianxue’s Dantian.

It was fuller than before.

Streaks of liquid Qi separated from the Qi Seed, rushing into Ximen Qianxue’s meridian channels and apertures, like water bursting out of a dam. She had a good cultivation foundation; the meridian channels which had been cleared were quickly recovering, like dried riverbeds being nourished by rain again.

Purple misty flames were diffused from Ximen Qianxue’s body, completely enveloping her.

After about a quarter of an hour, Ding Hao slowly exhaled a mouthful of murky Qi and slowly withdrew his palms.

At this time, the purple mist that was enveloping Ximen Qianxue had turned into purple flames. They were burning without emitting heat, which was a sign of the complete recovery of her strength—not only that, she also entered a new realm, the three-apertured Inborn Martial Grandmaster realm, thanks to Ding Hao’s guidance.

After a while, Ximen Qianxue slowly opened her eyes.

Everything in front of her became clear. When she saw the bright smile on Ding Hao’s and Li Yiruo’s faces, and the golden sunshine from outside the house, she was suddenly moved by how beautiful everything was.

“Instructor Ximen, are you awake?” Li Yiruo jumped up excitedly and immediately put a robe on Ximen Qianxue. She added with a smile, “Haha, that’s great. You’ve finally recovered. Everyone has been worried about you.”

Ding Hao rubbed his nose and said with a smile, “Yes. That’s true.”

He looked a little guilty.

Ximen Qianxue’s eyes were dreamy, adding an unusual charm and femininity to her look. She rolled her eyes and glared at Ding Hao, and then said with a smile, “I’m completely recovered. My strength has been restored thanks to Ding Hao. Sorry for making all of you worry. These days, although I couldn’t see or speak, I was still conscious of the outside world. Yiruo, thank you for taking care of me all this time.”

“Instructor Ximen, I just did what I had to do.” The little girl’s face blushed. If Ximen Qianxue could feel the things outside when she was asleep, she must have also sensed when she kissed Brother Hao not long before.

Ding Hao felt relieved after hearing Ximen Qianxue’s words.

It seemed that she would not blame him for his recklessness.

However, the feeling of bonding Yin and Yang had been intoxicating. It was as if they had made love. Was this how dual cultivation felt? It was really memorable.

After mumbling a few words, Ding Hao turned around and was about to run away.

Ximen Qianxue stopped him. “Ding Hao, wait a minute.”

Ding Hao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Ding Hao, thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have…” All the previous encounters, especially the ones in the mysterious ancient city, made Ximen Qianxue quite emotional. She felt more grateful toward Ding Hao.

If Ding Hao, her dear archenemy, hadn’t appeared in time, she would have been a decayed corpse by then.

After the narrow escape from death, Ximen Qianxue came to understand how wonderful life was. She was sincerely grateful to Ding Hao.

Perhaps she had been destined to meet and be troubled by this young man.

As for the embarrassing incident…

Ximen Qianxue bit her lip. She believed that Ding Hao had not meant to offend her.

As far as she remembered, Ding Hao was not a womanizer.

Of course, after what they had been through, even if Ding Hao really meant it… Ximen Qianxue would surrender. Not knowing when it began, she found that she had lost the ability to resist this little man long before.

Her eyes fell on Li Yiruo.

She might have become the same as this simple and direct little girl. Ding Hao was like a mark that had been branded on her heart and she would never be able to break free from him…

Since the day he entered Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, this man had stolen the hearts of countless girls, making them go crazy. So many female disciples dreamt of him, but most had been discouraged by the thought of his glamour. He was indeed the lady killer.

“Uh, Instructor Qianxue, don’t mention it. We’re not just teacher and disciple.” Ximen Qianxue didn’t have any make-up on her face. Ding Hao saw how she blushed after hearing the words, and immediately knew that she had misunderstood, so he quickly explained, “We are also partners of the Heavenly World.”

Ximen Qianxue didn’t bother to argue with him anymore. She ignored him and took Li Yiruo’s hand to chat.

Naturally, most questions were about what happened later in the Sage Battlefield.

She didn’t know what had happened to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

Ximen Qianxue’s master, also the Chief of the Magical Herb Pharmacy, had died during the disaster.

Ding Hao turned around and left.

Perhaps it would be better to let Li Yiruo tell her everything.

Leaving Ximen Qianxue’s residence, Ding Hao walked in a daze and went to the cliff of the Swordsmanship-snatching Rock.

Standing there, he was able to see more than half of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect mountain. That was also the place where one day that Li Jianyi, Tang Folei, and Qi Qingshan, the three giants, made the heroic decision that preserved the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect against the odds.

Spring arrived particularly early that year in Snow Province.

In just a few days, the mountains in the distance had begun to burgeon green.

The words of the deceased elders still echoed among the clouds and mountains.

Ding Hao clenched his fists.

From then on, he would never let war disturb this place; such a tragedy must never happen again.

As he looked around, he saw disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect everywhere, especially the first seven passes that had been destroyed by the war. They were working around the clock trying to rebuild them. Everything went on in an orderly manner under the leadership of Guan Feidu, Wang Juefeng, and Leng Yixuan. The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect had almost been restored to its original state.

Ding Hao felt the urge to take out the rusted sword. He stimulated his Qi and waved the sword in the void.

Using his powerful divine senses and knowledge of inscriptions, he carved these golden letters in the void:

“Being invincible, he laughed at the world, dwarfing all other heroes. As long as General Li Guang guarded the Dragon City, galloping marauders would not dare cross the Yin Mountain.”

After he wrote down the lines, a robust power hidden behind the words triggered a sudden change in the world.

The energy between heaven and earth rolled on, gathered, and flowed into the golden inscription, making the 30 characters more dazzling. The heart-stirring aura was spread in all directions, almost covering the whole sky.

Soon, all the people in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect noticed that the inscriptions were like thirty golden suns radiating light that brightened the whole mountain gate.

Once the characters absorbed enough energy of heaven and earth, Ding Hao no longer hesitated. He immediately increased his Divine Senses and injected Word Will into them.

“Ho, ho, ho…”

Thirty golden characters coiled like a golden dragon. They roared clearly as if they were alive. After hovering in the sky for a while, they turned into a bright light and disappeared into the eastern area of the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain.

The next moment, a strong force rose to the sky in the eastern area of the sect gate.

It was like a massive shield, completely sealing off the entire east side.

This force was so majestic that even people who didn’t know martial arts could see the golden barrier with their naked eyes the moment it appeared. Within thousands of miles, countless creatures trembled. People could feel its existence from hundreds of miles away. Anyone who tried to break into the eastern area of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be ruthlessly attacked by it.

Everyone looked up blankly at the figure standing on the edge of the cliff.

It was like a miracle.

Ding Hao waved his rusted sword. The world shook with his movement. He shouted each word like a decree, full of solemnity and majesty.

He kept his word.

This force was sensed by the super experts of the Snow Province’s major sects. They couldn’t help but feel shocked.

Not far away, Yin Zuimo and the others from the Heavenly Sound Valley were also stunned. They looked at the figure on the side of the cliff in disbelief.

Seeing was believing. Although they had heard about how Ding Hao had killed the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect’s sword practitioners, they had not seen it with their own eyes, so they were not impressed. But this time, they had almost forgotten to breathe at the sight of such monstrous power.

Even tracing back to tens of thousands of years, no one in Snow Province had been able to perform this technique.

Yin Zuimo’s judgment was more acute than that of the ordinary disciples of the Heavenly Sound Valley, so she knew better what all of this meant. Not to mention other things, Ding Hao’s mysterious inscription technique alone could dominate the Snow Province.

At least in her memory, there was no one who could compete with such formidable power.

If she had to name one, only the mysterious Deity Phoenix Great Sage might be able to fight with Ding Hao.

With Ding Hao’s presence, the rise of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be unstoppable.

Yin Zuimo suddenly felt a little envious of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Why didn’t the Heavenly Sound Valley have such a genius?

While she was thinking, Ding Hao performed the inscription technique again.

This time, he rose into the air, hovered in the void a kilometer above, and looked down at the entire Swordsmanship-seeking mountain to observe the terrain. After thinking for a while, he waved his rusted sword and engraved the inscriptions in the void:

“To the southeast of Mountain Lu stand the Five Elders Peaks. Like golden lotus flowers, they cut into the blue sky. Over the peaks, I enjoyed the panoramic views of Jiu Jiang. How I want to dwell there, among the clouds and pine trees.

“The road to Shu is harder than scaling the sky afar! Can Cong and Yu Fu of ancient dates were kings of the land with frontiers. Blocked off from neighboring states, for thousands upon thousands of years. To the west stands the Great Taibai the mountain high, through which up to the crest of Emei birds can fly. Under the crumbled peak the five brave warriors died, then the ladder to heaven hooked the stone-wood bridge’s side. Above the six-dragon cart finds the peak standing in the way, below is the zigzagging river with torrents roaring all day…”

Ding Hao recited from memory several ancient poems that described the precipitous terrain, including the Ode to Hard Roads to Sichuan written by Li Bai, the Poet Immortal. There were several hundred words, and each word absorbed a large amount of Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.

In particular, immersed in the purple dragon Qi spreading from the landfill area at the back mountain, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s mountain range grew richer in Spiritual Qi. While in this environment, Ding Hao’s inscriptions showed greater power. Utilizing with the terrain, he mobilized the surrounding “momentum” and injected the inscriptions into various directions around the sect.

Streaks of golden or silver flames rose into the sky, like invisible giant swords, densely appearing around the gate of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. They contained endless killing intent, which was strong enough to shatter the void. They almost blocked all the entrances and exits to the sect, forming an extremely horrifying sword formation.

This sword formation was many times stronger than the one the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect had placed in the landfill area at the back of the mountain.

From then on, it would become the strongest defense of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

If anyone wanted to attack them, they would have to break this sword formation first, which contained two kinds of Qi: Heaven Fire and Hell Ice. With the supreme power of the rusted sword and the favorable terrain, the formation could continue to absorb the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. Over time, it would become increasingly stronger.

No one could break such an inscription sword formation unless they were experts at the Martial Sage realm.

After doing all this, however strong he was, Ding Hao couldn’t help but feel tired.

He descended and landed on the Sword-snatching Rock again. He recovered after adjusting his breath for a while.

Ding Hao didn’t stop after setting up the sword formation. Instead, he set up hundreds of large and small inscription formations in various key places of the mountain gate. Once the outer formations were broken, the small ones could also guard the mountain and deter the enemies.

After witnessing all this, the disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect were enraptured.

This was the benefit of having an outstanding expert in the sect. It was said that a dog swaggers when its master wins favor. In this cruel world, having an unrivaled super expert meant having the most powerful deterrence against all enemies.

Ding Hao then taught a few trustworthy elites of the sect how to activate different formations and told them how to cooperate.

This was one of the things he had been planning to do for a long time. It had finally been done.

It took him an entire day to set up the inscription formations.

In the evening, Wang Juefeng, Guan Feidu, and the others looked for Ding Hao again and briefed him about the sect events in the past few days. However, Ding Hao was not interested in those mundane matters at all. He felt a headache after only dealing with it for a while.

Fortunately, there was Ji Yingqi, the smart little girl. Although she didn’t have much inside knowledge of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, she always had insightful suggestions, which amazed everyone.

There was news sent from various sources.

Unfortunately, there was still no information about Lin Xin and Li Canyang.

What worried Ding Hao was that his good friend Fang Tianyi had also disappeared. No one had seen him since their enemies withdrew. According to one disciple, the last time he saw Fang Tianyi was more than ten days before. The two had been sent to the mysterious crystal mine, and he never saw him again.

The cold moonlight shone upon the earth like falling frost.

There were still lights inside the gate of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. The disciples were busy repairing the sect day and night.

Ding Hao went to the cliff of the landfill area at the back mountain.

Along the way, he greeted the familiar faces with smiles. What welcomed Ding Hao was pairs of respectful and admiring eyes.

Tang Folei’s words before his death were correct. At present, Ding Hao was like a god in the eyes of the whole Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Even if Li Jianyi, Qi Qingshan, and the others were resurrected, it would be difficult for them to compare with Ding Hao in terms of personal prestige.

In the distance, the Young Sword Master Guan Feidu was already waiting at the edge of the cliff.

Guan Feidu said with a smile, “Martial Uncle Ding, I heard that you want to go deep into the abyss. I picked some disciples who are familiar with the terrain inside the mine. Why don’t you let them go with you?”

The Young Sword Master seemed to have regained his former self-confidence. He was still dressed in a white robe, a handsome man with a graceful bearing. After the disaster of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, he seemed to have become more reserved, with a mature temperament.

Behind him, 20 well-equipped disciples looked at Ding Hao excitedly.

It was their dream to enter the mine with the god of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

Unfortunately, Ding Hao politely declined by shaking his head and saying, “No, you guys take this time to rest. I can go by myself.”

Before he finished speaking—

Ding Hao had turned into a flowing light, disappearing right in front of them.

Guan Feidu shook his head. Although the 20 disciples were a little disappointed, they could still brag about having had a once-in-a-lifetime close encounter with one of the gods of the sect.