Chapter 28: Could there be such a good thing?

The next day, Shi Feizhe and Shan Xu parted ways.

This is how it is in the Jianghu. After a chance encounter, people continue to travel their own paths.

Everyone has their own journey.

Shi Feizhe was going to Qiuyang City, while Shan Xu was returning to Yanzhou.

“Brother Shan, we’re not friends, and we’re not brothers!” Shi Feizhe suddenly said as they were about to leave.

“Oh?” Shan Xu was a little confused.

“That way I won’t stab you with my sword in the future!” Shi Feizhe said with a smile.

“Hahahaha…” Shan Xu laughed loudly. “Brother Shi is truly humorous!”

“The green hills will remain unchanged!”

“And the clear waters will flow forever!”

After they bid each other farewell and Shan Xu watched Shi Feizhe depart, he went to Ye Qiandeng’s grave.

Calling it a grave was an exaggeration; it was just a small mound of earth. He and Shi Feizhe had buried Ye Qiandeng together this morning.

Shi Feizhe hadn’t initially planned to bury him, but Shan Xu had persuaded him with a few words, and the two had laid Ye Qiandeng to rest.

After all, before Ye Qiandeng poisoned and tried to kill him, he had truly considered him a friend!

Friends, in this treacherous Jianghu, were especially precious. But precisely because they were precious, one should strive for them even more!

After a long, long time, Shan Xu sighed, left Ye Qiandeng’s grave, and headed towards Yanzhou.

Shi Feizhe traveled all the way southeast towards Qiuyang City, making good progress by traveling during the day and cultivating at night, finding lodgings along the way.

Sure enough, after leaving that unlucky Shan Xu, trouble wasn’t so easy to come by!

His Blood and Qi Barrier cultivation was going smoothly. Every day, after practicing the fist and foot techniques from the 《Dark Spring Divine Shadow Record》, he would practice the sword techniques from the 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》. Both were exercises for the body, yet they had a complementary effect.

For example, sword techniques were good for training the wrists, arms, and other parts, while fist and foot techniques focused on the core strength of the waist and the integration of the whole body. Practicing both together yielded twice the results with half the effort.

But the visualization technique for the Essence and Spirit Barrier wasn’t going well.

The problem was that while physical training techniques could complement each other, the visualization techniques for cultivating “spirit” conflicted with one another.

A person’s spirit was limited. It was impossible to visualize the Monkey King while also visualizing oneself as a divine sword.

And if the two were combined, the Monkey King holding a long sword would be too ridiculous!

How could he visualize something that was so cringeworthy even he couldn’t bear to look at it?

Of the three techniques Shi Feizhe possessed, the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》 was the easiest. He only needed to perform the standing post exercise diligently every day. Over time, quantitative changes would eventually lead to qualitative changes.

He had obtained the 《Dark Spring Divine Shadow Record》 at Three Talents Manor after receiving guidance from Hua Xiaomei and had used his exceptional martial arts talent to replace the Ten Kings of Hell in the visualization with the Monkey King.

The 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》 was obtained by chance, taught to him by Shan Xu.

If he hadn’t started cultivating the 《Dark Spring Divine Shadow Record》 and visualized the Monkey King, he would have definitely given up on the 《Dark Spring Divine Shadow Record》 and focused solely on the 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》!

Once the 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》 was mastered, it would undoubtedly be greatly beneficial to the 《True Origin Sword Finger Formula》. Now that he had already visualized the Monkey King, he was quite reluctant to give it up.

But there was no other way!

After much deliberation, he could only give up visualizing the Monkey King. Every day, he would visualize the divine sword and cultivate the 《Twelve-Layered Pagoda》!

After traveling for more than ten days, he finally arrived at Qiuyang City.

Qiuyang City was an ancient city in Yi Province, with a history of one or two thousand years. Merchants from north and south, carrying goods, converged here. The city walls were twenty zhang high, no shorter than the walls of Yiyang City. Soldiers patrolled atop the walls.

Shi Feizhe arrived from the north, so he entered through the north gate. As he queued to enter, he saw a crowd of people watching something lively.

Shi Feizhe had no interest in watching the commotion. He just wanted to find a place to stay, bathe, and change his clothes. But then he heard someone in the crowd shout:

“The Sun Moon Brilliance Sect is recruiting outer disciples!”

“Strong and healthy individuals with a foundation in Blood and Qi are welcome.”

“Upon entry, you can cultivate the Sun Moon Brilliance Sect’s secret transmission, the 《Sun and Moon Concentric Art》, to strengthen your spirit, achieve one mind with two uses, and attain the supreme method for becoming an expert!”

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“Three meals a day, food and lodging provided, generous benefits, monthly allowance, limited spots, sign up now!”

As the person spoke, the onlookers raised their hands and shouted, “Me! Me!”

The mere promise of food, lodging, and a monthly allowance was enough to attract idlers from the city to sign up. Only some seasoned Jianghu wanderers, upon hearing this, sneered silently and left without looking back.

There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world!

Every sect’s disciples were either related to the sect, orphans raised from a young age, or children from wealthy families. Each one had a clean background and was well-known to the sect.

Openly recruiting outer disciples like this was either for cannon fodder or test subjects!

Shi Feizhe wasn’t interested in joining a sect. He didn’t lack techniques, and he didn’t lack money, so what was the benefit of joining a sect? But then he heard the person shouting that the 《Sun and Moon Concentric Art》 could allow one mind with two uses and strengthen the spirit.

Wasn’t that exactly what he wanted? And they provided food, lodging, and even paid him?

Could there be such a good thing?

It was like someone offering him a pillow right when he was feeling sleepy!

So he squeezed into the crowd and saw two people sitting at a table. Next to the table stood a banner with the words “Sun Moon Brilliance Sect” written in large characters.

One person sat behind the table, pen in hand, taking notes. The other stood in front of the table, scrutinizing the idle men who raised their hands to sign up, saying, “No! You need to have a martial arts foundation!”

Shi Feizhe saw that the man was tall and muscular, with thick eyebrows. He exuded an aura that intimidated the idlers, and it turned out he was someone who had cultivated True Qi.

“Do you think I’m qualified?” Shi Feizhe asked the muscular man.

The muscular man carefully examined Shi Feizhe and saw the obvious signs of physical training on his body. He nodded and turned to the person behind the table. “Uncle Hua, do you think this person is suitable?”

The man behind the table was about fifty or sixty years old, with a weathered face. He looked up at Shi Feizhe and said, “His Blood and Qi may not be abundant, but his Essence is stable. He can give it a try!”

“Good! Come stand behind me. We’ll return to the sect together later!” The muscular man said to Shi Feizhe.

“Wait, I have a few questions I’d like to ask!” Shi Feizhe said. “It’s not unreasonable for me to ask a few questions since I don’t know much about your esteemed sect, right?”

“Of course not, please ask!” The muscular man replied politely.

“May I ask if your esteemed sect has any enemies? I wouldn’t want to be killed by them one day.” Shi Feizhe asked in a low voice.

He was truly scared after the Three Talents Manor incident.

The muscular man’s face darkened. “Although our Sun Moon Brilliance Sect isn’t a famous or large sect, our Sect Leader is a Celestial Cycle expert! We have some reputation in Qiuyang City and don’t have any enemies!”

“May I ask what the standard is for the three meals a day?”

“Meat and vegetables, as much as you can eat! The sect isn’t stingy!”

“May I ask how much the monthly allowance is?”

“Five taels of silver!”

“May I ask…”

Shi Feizhe asked several questions in a row, clearing up all his doubts before standing behind the muscular man with satisfaction.

This sect was practically inviting a wolf into their home. They were doomed.