Hatred, resentment, anxiousness, and fears were the emotions that were hindering the cultivators. They were like sticks of firewood that hung by one’s Taoist Heart and become a fence that blocked the fresh air and water from the outside. Should this situation remained for long, everything inside the fence would wither.
The inability to enter the Back Mountain of the Academy was the first hurdle Prince Long Qing had met on his path towards Taoism. Ning Que was the firewood outside his Taoist Heart. One of his major motives for cultivating in the Wilderness was to move this firewood. There were many ways to break the fence around one’s Taoist Heart. For example, one could learn the classics, or force himself into an impasse before erupting. However, the simplest method was to chop up the firewood into sawdust and allow the wind to blow it away.
That was why when Prince Long Qing had found out that the piece of firewood called Ning Que was coming and that there was hope in breaking the fence around his Taoist Heart, his Taoist Heart had brightened considerably from the darkness it was previously enshrouded in. He felt a large gust air gushing from his chest and into the high mountains.
It was at that moment when he began to see the world differently. The aura of heaven and earth swirled between the black rocks of the snow-capped peak. The flow of rich, complex and unspeakable words seemed to be able to be mastered. A door appeared in the clear air between the mountains in the distance, much more clearly than ever before.
Open the door, cross that threshold, and one would be able to know one’s destiny.
Prince Long Qing held his hands behind his black shirt and looked at the distance passionately. He was silent for a long time.
It was unknown how much time had passed when he finally retracted his gaze and looked at a snow-covered tree by his side.
The snow gradually melted under his gaze. Droplets of water landed on the dry branches and met at its end. It then formed into a crystal of water which froze into ice rapidly from the winter winds.
In the process during which the water crystalized into ice, there seemed to be a curious carving knife in the wind. The crystal of water did not freeze circularly, but instead, it blossomed. Petal after petal peeled from the center until a shape was formed.
It was a crystal clear peach blossom but it gave one a sense that it was colored vividly.
Colorless pure water had frozen into ice but looked as if it was colored. It was very amazing.
Prince Long Qing looked at the ice cherry blossom that wavered with the wind as it sat on the branch. There was no pride or satisfaction on his beautiful face. Instead, a look of self-deprecation appeared between his brows. He sighed softly.
“Just a bit more time.”
He had once thought that he was about to enter the Knowing Destiny State on the horse carriage departing from Chang’an when he returned to West-Hill from Tang in spring. He had even thought that he would attain that state on his journey. However, what had happened after had awakened him from this dream. He had returned to cultivating calmly after that.
One could only move forward on the cultivation path that stretched on ahead. There was no turning back. One could travel through it fast at the beginning, but it gets more and more dangerous as one continues on the path. The threshold that separates the Grand Cultivators and ordinary cultivators was even further up the path. The bar was so high, it was up in the clouds and the climb up was treacherous. Even though he had already seen it, he did not know how much time it would take to get close to it and cross it.
Prince Long Qing did not feel down just because of that. He was still young and had already seen the threshold. He had the right to be prideful compared to those who have cultivated for a hundred years and still did not know the path. This was especially so since he now knew he was getting closer to it.
Every inch forward was extremely difficult when one came close to breaking the realm. That was why every inch forward was touching and even intoxicating.
The snow on the bald branches of the trees had all melted and flowed to the tip of the branch. They all froze into crystal clear peach blossoms. The light refracted in the air was beautiful and the beauty seemed beyond this world.
Prince Long Qing’s extended a pale white hand out of his black sleeves. He held up a single ice flower with three fingers against the sun. He looked at it for some time before saying softly, “Long Qing, you are really strong.”
At this moment, a clear voice sounded from the mountain path afar. The voice was full of surprise and curiosity.
“Are people from the Central Plains all so shameless?”
Prince Long Qing’s smile disappeared and he looked at the direction from which the voice came from expressionlessly.
A girl that with a child-like appearance appeared on the cliff.
The girl was wrapped in several tattered pieces of leather and furs. She wore a pair of old dirty black boots and had a leather cap on her head. Her beautiful black long hair was braided into a large plait that landed near her knees. It swayed along with her. A large furry tail from a beast covered most of her face, but could not hide the youthfulness in her eyes.
Prince Long Qing did not sense any movement in Psyche Power from the girl. His brows lifted as he thought to himself that she was an ordinary person. How did she appear in the piercing cold of the Tianqi Mountain and how did it escape his notice?
He thought of only one possibility. He looked at her coldly and asked, “Are you a Desolate Man who have returned south?”
The girl was not more than 15 or 16 years old. Her face was wind-swept and red from the cold. She nodded forcefully when she heard his question. She then said, “I am Tang Xiaotang, what about you?”
Prince Long Qing did not reply. He looked at the furry beast by the girl’s side and frowned. He asked, “A rabbit?”
Tang Xiaotang shook her head and said, “It’s not a rabbit. It is an adorable white wolf.”
Prince Long Qing did not want to talk to the Desolate Man girl any longer. He twirled the ice peach blossom between his fingers and prepared to send her off back to the heavenly realms of Haotian.
The little white snow wolf who had been sitting quietly by Tang Xiaotang’s side suddenly arched its back and stood up. It bared its fangs and looked at him alertly. It was just that the snow wolf was too tiny. Even should all his fur stand up, he’d just look like an adorable giant snowball. It did not look scary at all.
Prince Long Qing thought of the white horse that his fiance had gifted him and he suddenly smiled. He thought to himself that he shouldn’t harm such a rare snow wolf when he killed the Desolate Man girl later. He thought that his fiance would like the wolf very much.
Tang Xiaotang did not become uneasy because of the little wolf’s alertness. Her dark eyes were filled with laughter as she asked the prince, “Do you intend to kill me?”
They were on a vast snow mountain with was no hint of another living person nearby. What kind of world was it that a young girl of 15 or 16 years old would ask a stranger who was about to kill her if he was about to end her life laughingly without feeling afraid? There were only two reasons. She was either a silly child, or she was the one to be afraid of.
Prince Long Qing’s lips curled and he laughed self-deprecatingly. He thought that he had read about this kind of situation in one of those trashy novels. He believed that the Desolate Man girl was truly a little weird. However, there was no way a girl this young could threaten him in this world.
As he thought of this, a flash of bright red appeared before his eyes. Like koi wriggling around in a lake, the flash of red had appeared several years ago. It was a representation of a past that made him very unhappy. And because of this memory, he felt rather annoyed at that moment. His expression darkened, and his beautiful features resembled the ice peach blossoms.
He looked at Tang Xiaotang expressionlessly. “I have killed many from what remains of the Devil’s Doctrine. But I have yet to kill anyone from the Desolate Man of the Devil’s Doctrine. Young lady, you should feel honored.”
Tang Xiaotang laughed. She placed her hand behind her back and looked at Prince Long Qing who was standing beneath the tree. “I’ve killed many beasts like wolves and sheep. But I have never killed anyone from the Divine Hall. You should feel honored.”
Her light laughter was a show of contempt. Her contempt for him meant that she was provoking him. From Prince Long Qing’s point of view, her provocation at him meant that she was provoking the Divine Hall and was disrespectful to Haotian. That was why he got mad. However, his expression remained calm.
No matter how he saw it, he was certain that it would be a one-sided battle. It was like an adult bullying a little girl. However, he did not expect the first person to move was the girl wrapped in tattered pieces of leather.
Tang Xiaotang did not make the first move with her hands.
But with her feet.
She kicked at the snow on the ground. A deep footprint appeared in the snow. It was so deep it looked as if it was concaved into the ground. The dirty black boots that looked ordinary did not tear, only appeared to be slightly out of shape.
Then, Tang Xiaotang ran towards the tree with peach blossoms hanging off it.
A large flurry of snow would rise strongly as her feet kicked against the snowy ground. It was as if her tiny body was a heavy mountain. The cliff began to tremor slightly.
The crystal clear ice peach blossoms shook, fell off the branches and landed on the ground.
Tang Xiaotang came with the snowstorm.
Prince Long Qing’s eyes narrowed. His left hand that fell against his black Taoist robes began to shake lightly. The ice peach blossoms which were about to fall from the branches were touched by the primordial Qi of heaven and earth. Like several arrows, they flew towards Tang Xiaotang.
These crystal clear ice peach blossoms refracted beautiful lines of light under the sun and filled the cliff with hindrances. A powerful strength grew between each fragile petal.
The winter winds blew across Tang Xiaotang’s slightly red face. The beast tail that hid her face emitted a whirring sound. Her speed was so fast, one could barely see her with their bare eyes. One did not know where she hid such great power in her tiny body, and one could not imagine that her slender legs could run at that speed without breaking.
Due to her fast speed, she had nowhere to hide when the terrifying yet beautiful ice peach blossoms appeared before her eyes and got closer to her face.
Tang Xiaotang had learned to fight with her brother since she was a child. Hiding did not exist in her dictionary.
Her right hand was always behind her body when she ran at high speed. It was only when her vision was filled with ice peach blossoms when she finally pulled her hand from behind.
She pulled out a large blood red curved sword.
The curved sword was ridiculously large, especially when placed beside her tiny body. It seemed terrifying as well. The blade was a bright blood red. One could not imagine where she had hidden the sword on her previously.
The blood-colored huge blade cleaved down from above with a whistling sound.
The transparent ice peach blossoms shattered with the sound, filling the ground with ice shards.
The magic that Prince Long Qing executed skilfully was of course not that simple. A strong Qi of Heaven and Earth rushed out from the broken ice blossom once it shattered.
However, Tang Xiaotang was already ten feet away from her starting point at this time. She had already cleaved apart her fifth ice peach blossom.
The peach blossoms continued to shatter, turning into useless shards of ice before falling limply onto the ground.
The magic imbued with the peach blossoms drew up countless of waves of Taoist Qi on the cliff. The tremors drew up snow and black rocks. However, it did not catch up to Tang Xiaotang’s speed but only complemented her prowess. Compared to her, it was sluggish and weak.
The blood-colored huge blade wielded in Tang Xiaotang’s hands cleaved apart a peach blossom, and another one, and a third.
It kept on cleaving until it reached Prince Long Qing.
Prince Long Qing’s eyes brightened. He sent the ice peach blossom in his right hand forward, blocking the blood-colored huge blade. The transparent petals sprang open and multiplied.
The sharp blade.
And the seemingly fragile ice peach blossom.
Met.
And was victorious over most on earth.
The Qi of Heaven and Earth gave an intense jerk within the snow cliff.
The tree that had several peach blossoms on it earlier was torn to shreds by the turbulent flow in the air.
Prince Long Qing hissed but did not retreat.
The hair tie that kept his black hair tied broke, releasing a wave of black hair. He looked slightly pathetic.
The pale right hand that held on to the ice peach blossom trembled slightly.
A tiny crack appeared down the ice peach blossom between his fingers.
Tang Xiaotang stepped through the clouds dextrously like a nimble bird. She backflipped and landed on the snow-covered ground lightly.
She laughed and looked at Prince Long Qing and his messy hair. She said, “You are really handsome. You look like the women from the Great River Kingdom in embroideries. But it seems that you can’t really fight.”
Prince Long Qing glared at the young Desolate Man girl. It took a lot of effort before he could stop his teeth from chattering out of anger. A trace of blood appeared from the corner of his lips.
The color was a vivid as the pistil of a peach blossom.
…
…
Strands of black hair danced across Prince Long Qing’s beautiful pale face. His eyes were abnormally cold and his hands which were outside his sleeves trembled slightly. The peach blossom with a tiny crack had disappeared. The divine sword on his waist that was gifted to him by the hierarch personally began to buzz.
Tang Xiaotang looked at him and scratched her head. “Your state is really high, but it is true that you cannot fight. Your peach blossom is quite interesting. It’s better than this sword of yours, You have got to use that sword of your hierarch’s if you want to spar with mine. You will only die faster if you abandon your peach blossoms and use your sword now.”
Prince Long Qing tried to wipe off the blood at the corner of his mouth slowly. He looked at her with a half-smile. “We can try that.”
Suddenly, a strange look appeared in Tang Xiaotang’s eye. It wasn’t fear or excitement. It was as if she had sensed something strange that had annoyed her coming closer.
“There’s no time to try today. I have something on, so I have to make a move first.”
Tang Xiaotang looked at Prince Long Qing and said, “I have to remind you, this mountain belongs to my family. If I see another of your people from the Divine Hall, I will kill every single one of you.”
Prince Long Qing could sense the aura that was heading towards them rapidly and could not help but frown. He felt very annoyed. He stared at Tang Xiaotang and said in a low voice, “Do you think you can leave today?”
“This is the third time I’m going to say you can’t fight.”
Tang Xiaotang looked at him pityingly, “We disciples of Daming Sect are best at running. How will you catch up with me unless you’re already in the Knowing Destiny State? Do the Divine Hall not teach these anymore?”
A clear voice could be heard from afar, “Tang Xiaotang. Don’t run if you have the guts.”
Tang Xiaotang could not help but shivered when she heard the voice. She replied angrily in a loud voice, “Ye Hongyu, you crazy shrew. Don’t be such a menace if you have the guts!”
And then, she turned around and started running with the little white wolf. She ran faster than the wind.