Chapter 133: Chapter 115: The Inner and Outer Aspects of the Ding Fire Daoist Skill, Old Grudges and New Hatreds

Jiang Yi prided himself on being methodical, on planning before acting. Getting rid of Sui Liushu and turning him into a Daoist Can was not a spur-of-the-moment decision or an act of mere bravado.

He had calculated it all carefully. The only thing that Elder Sui of Observing Fate Peak relied on was his daughter, who had joined an Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage.

Beyond that, he had nothing else.

Sect Leader Liu Huan, who resided on Observing Sun Peak, had yet to make a move precisely because he was wary of this.

As the saying goes, how can one allow another to snore beside one’s own bed?

Liu Huan’s cultivation had reached the Twelfth Level. He could suppress Sui Liushu with a flip of his palm, yet he continued to tolerate the man’s presence on Observing Fate Peak, not even demanding the return of the other half of the Talismanic Decree Dharma Lineage.

It was practically like splitting the Qianji Sect in half, which just went to show how intimidating the Innate Sect was!

“But I’m not afraid.”

Jiang Yi chuckled, as if he had it all figured out, completely disregarding the Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage.

As long as the obstacle of the Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage disciple was removed, Sui Liushu himself was nothing to worry about.

“Cat Master, how powerful do you think a Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer cultivator is? With my current abilities, can I handle one?”

Jiang Yi pushed aside his stray thoughts. He had already come up with several ways to eliminate Sui Liushu; he just needed to wait for the Celestial Book’s deductions to decide on a concrete plan.

“Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer? That old man Sui?”

True Master Xuanmiao loved nothing more than instigating Xiao Jiang into killing people and seizing their treasures, robbing and pillaging. It made him feel as if he had returned to the glorious days of wreaking havoc upon the Daoist Lineages of the world with his former master.

Suddenly hearing Jiang Yi’s question, the calico cat rubbed its paws together in excitement and chuckled slyly.

“Well, that depends. This True Master has heard you talk about that Sui fellow. His failure to break through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer means he never passed the ’Qi Barrier’ and failed to condense Innate Qi. That’s one victory for you, Xiao Jiang!”

Jiang Yi’s eye twitched. ’He felt the Cat Master was about to start being unreliable again.’

“When clashing with True Qi and controlling Spells with Divine Thought, it ultimately comes down to the level of one’s Cultivation.”

“Xiao Jiang, you refine Bing Ding Fire, possess Profound Merits and Virtues, your Primordial Essence is pure, and your foundation is solid. You’ve also condensed a Dao Embryo Prototype and your physical body can withstand a Ninth-Grade Magical Artifact. That’s a second victory!”

True Master Xuanmiao stood straight up on its two hind legs, tucking its front paws behind its back and putting on the air of a wise, calculating senior.

But just as he got to this point, he suddenly stalled. He tilted his head and thought for a long while before stating stiffly:

“You have two victories, so let’s just count another one! That’s the third victory!”

Jiang Yi almost laughed out of exasperation. ’The Cat Master was truly hit-or-miss—only useful occasionally, but mostly just a gluttonous, lazy freeloader.’

But True Master Xuanmiao only grew more animated, rambling on endlessly:

“He cultivates Ding Fire, and at best it’s just a Seventh-Grade Technique. You also cultivate Ding Fire, but yours includes the transformations of Bing Fire—that’s the fourth victory!”

At this point, it finally became a little more serious and mused thoughtfully:

“All techniques of the Five Elements are divided into external and internal aspects. Take Bing Fire, for example. Pure Yang and ferocity are its external aspect, while debilitating, arid heat is its internal aspect.”

“Some take the external aspect for their Refining Technique, making it a simple matter to burn the seas with giant flames; others pluck the internal aspect for their Spells, specializing in using dead fire to damage the Dharma Body.”

These words served as a wake-up call for Jiang Yi. He suddenly recalled what Xuan Chanzi had once told him:

“You cultivate Ding Fire, yet you aren’t sinister or soft. You’re open and forthright, which is quite rare.”

Thinking back on it now, he finally understood. That Foundation Establishment True Master had been judging his character based on the external and internal signs of his Five Elements technique.

’Sui Liushu stirred up Grandpa’s memories to confuse his mind. It’s clear he follows the ’internal path of Ding Fire,’ capturing dark thoughts and prying into the human heart.’

Jiang Yi felt a bit more at ease. With the protection of “Bing Fire,” he wasn’t afraid of his “Heart Spirit” being shaken by “Ding Fire.”

“AHEM. In short, by this True Master’s calculations, you have at least ten victories in hand! You are by no means inferior to that old ghost!”

True Master Xuanmiao patted its chest, then suddenly added:

“But if he has some trump cards up his sleeve, you still need to be on guard.”

’Great. That was as good as saying nothing at all.’

Jiang Yi completely gave up on asking the Cat Master for advice. He reached out, scooped up the increasingly heavy ball of fur, and strode out of the main hall of the Merit Supervision Institute.

“Dean Jiang, where are you headed?”

The Daoist Child on duty outside the hall saw his hurried pace and quickly came forward to ask.

“I’m heading to the Supreme Merit Institute. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them to wait.”

Jiang Yi walked with great strides. Just as when he had eliminated Zhang San and Dong Si on that snowy night, killing someone within the Dharma Lineage wasn’t the problem; the crucial part was how to manage the aftermath.

Therefore, he had to find out Observing Sun Peak’s stance.

…

…

Observing Fate Peak, Elder Mansion.

Inside the main hall, two old men were already half-drunk, their eyes drowsy and their mouths full of nonsense.

Even Qi Cultivation Cultivators couldn’t withstand the kick of this Body-Burning Wine from Dangyin Ridge. They felt their Primordial Brain God being soaked in a stupor, unable to find even a sliver of clarity.

Yang Xun forced himself to maintain a final shred of alertness. He held a long needle between his fingers, piercing through his robes and into his flesh from time to time.

He used the piercing pain to keep himself awake, terrified that a moment of carelessness would lead to him falling for one of Sui Liushu’s tricks again.

“Younger Brother Yang, thank you for keeping me company these past few days. To be honest, this old man hasn’t felt this content in over a decade.”

Sui Liushu seemed about seventy or eighty percent drunk. The superior air he usually carried from his high position was mostly gone. He gripped Yang Xun’s hand tightly with his withered one and sighed.

“Ever since I failed in my attempt to break through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, this old man has been sullen and joyless. I feel as though there’s nothing left to look forward to in the rest of my life.”

“Fortunately, Yuzhu made me proud. She entered the Innate Sect to cultivate and has now reached the Twelfth Level of Cultivation, just like the Sect Leader. There’s hope for her to reach Foundation Establishment.”

Yang Xun offered a few perfunctory words of comfort, but then he heard Sui Liushu’s tone shift, now tinged with resentment.

“Back then, this old man brought my family’s assets and threw my lot in with Liu Cheng. Together, we ran errands for the True Masters of the Innate Sect, guarded Dangyin Ridge, and developed Resource Lands. We escaped death by a hair’s breadth more than a dozen times!”

“Younger Brother Yang, you don’t know this, but I was a renowned figure in Beimang Ridge back in the day. I reached the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer in just five years, advancing steadily. My Merit and Daoist Skills progressed in tandem, and I charged all the way to the Ninth Layer in one go.”

“In terms of Cultivation and talent, I was superior to Liu Cheng in every way!”

Yang Xun’s expression twitched slightly. Liu Cheng was the name of the Qianji Sect’s previous Sect Leader.

He remained silent, just listening quietly.

“The True Masters of the Innate Sect wanted us to exterminate the Zhongyi Sect Remnants. We fought bloody battles several times, our lives hanging by a thread, and managed to collect seven or eight heads of Sword Cultivators.”

“On the last mission, Liu Cheng took a blow of Xin Metal Sword Qi for me, injuring his Inner Mansion. I gave him the Inner Sect Dharma Lineage Token as repayment. That’s how the Qianji Sect came to be!”

Yang Xun could hear the surging resentment in his words, but he still remained silent and didn’t respond.

“Liu Cheng told me himself that if his heir was a good-for-nothing who couldn’t live up to expectations, I could take over this foundation and assume control of the Dharma Lineage!”

“As a show of good faith, he even placed half of the Talisman Decree in my hands!”

Sui Liushu seemed extremely drunk. Old memories flooded his mind, and his eyes, as dim as dying lamps, held a myriad of dark thoughts.

“I believed him! So after he passed away, I did everything in my power to support the Qianji Sect. In the competitions between the three sects of Beimang Ridge, if I hadn’t stepped up, the Qianji Sect would have been devoured by the Yin Puppet Sect and the Joyful Union Sect until not even a scrap was left!”

He slammed his hand on the table, the drunkenness and rage rushing to his head.

“But what did Liu Cheng do? In the ’Ding Fire Celestial Flame Qi’ that I was supposed to use to break through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, he mixed in a wisp of ’Ren Water Heavy Dull Qi,’ causing me to fail at the last second!”

“And his precious son? He sat back and enjoyed the Spiritual Resources, breaking through the Tenth Layer barrier in one go! I fought for the Liu Family’s foundation for half my life, but even on his deathbed, he was still plotting to ruin my Dao path!”

Yang Xun gasped, sucking in a cold breath. He never would have thought that such a deep-seated grudge was hidden behind the discord between Sect Leader Liu Huan and Sui Liushu!

…

…

Observing Sun Peak, Supreme Merit Institute.

Jiang Yi stepped out of the hall, a slight shift in his expression.

’Senior Sister Zhou is in seclusion, but she specifically left this wisp of ’Ren Water Heavy Dull Qi’ for me,’ he thought. ’She even said, ’Take what you need and do as you see fit.’’

’As expected, the Sect Leader has wanted to get rid of Sui Liushu for a long time; he just never had the chance.’

He glanced at the characters on the Celestial Book Golden Paper and mused to himself:

’The entanglement between this Elder Sui and the Liu family father and son is more complicated than I thought.’

Neither side could be said to be right or wrong; it was just a matter of selfish schemes and mutual plotting.

Back when Sui Liushu was in charge of the Qianji Sect, he had wanted to depose Liu Huan, who was helpless after losing his father. He’d hoped to seize control of the entire Dharma Lineage to support his daughter Sui Yuzhu’s cultivation in the Innate Sect.

Unfortunately, he was outplayed by a single move. He was instead schemed against by the previous Sect Leader, Liu Cheng, who ruined his Dao path and made it impossible for him to ever break through to the Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer.

’Now, Sect Leader Liu Huan has sent this wisp of ’Ren Water Heavy Dull Qi.’ The meaning couldn’t be clearer.’

Jiang Yi’s eyelids lowered, his gaze deep and profound.

’Ding Fire is like a candle. To extinguish its flame, one must use Ren Water.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep