"Ha—"

Following the cool breeze, Qing Shui yawned softly.

Guarding the gate was an extremely boring task, just as insipid as Qing Shui's Daoist name suggested. But for Qing Shui, guarding the gate was actually...

How should one put it? An extremely unfortunate task?

Anyway, Qing Shui felt that every time it was his turn to guard the gate, troublesome and unlucky events would come his way.

Years ago, when Daoist Xuanfeng returned with the body of that junior brother, Qing Shui was manning the gate. When Elder Brother Qingxu came back severely injured, it was Qing Shui at the gate.

The last time Elder Brother Qingxu and his group left, Qing Shui was on gate duty.

When Master Xuanming returned to the mountain with the gravely injured Xuan Yun, it was still Qing Shui on gate duty.

Later, just a few days ago, as Qing Shui was guarding the gate, his companion unwittingly offended Daoist Xuan Shang, resulting in punishment from the elder. Unfortunately, Qing Shui was also affected.

He suffered from headaches for several days and had barely recovered, only to find himself back on gate duty shortly after.

"Hope today is another uneventful day." Qing Shui looked up at the sky, full of hope.

Then, the sound of the wind approaching from behind shattered Qing Shui's fantasy.

One after another, two figures landed.

Upon seeing the one in front, Qing Shui and another gate-guarding Daoist hurriedly lowered their heads and said, "Greetings, Master Xuanming."

"Mhm," Master Xuanming nodded slightly, then turned to the person who had landed behind him and said, "Daoist Qingyu's Qinggong is truly extraordinary. I did my utmost, yet Daoist Qingyu still managed to catch up with ease."

"You flatter me, Daoist Xuanming," Qingyu replied humbly. "The 'Red Sun Refining Heaven Map' of Chi Ming Peak is peerless in power, and I too have long admired its reputation. It's just that Daoist friend is not adept in Qinggong, which is the only reason I was able to keep up."

'Phew—thank goodness!' Qing Shui thought to himself, letting out a sigh of relief.

Previously, when Daoist Qingyu had entered the mountain, he was welcomed by Daoist Xuan Shang, and now it was Master Xuanming seeing him off. Qing Shui was genuinely concerned that the two might end up fighting.

In that case, as collateral damage, the two of them on gate duty would certainly get caught in the crossfire, likely ending up bedridden for several days at the very least.

But now, seeing the two converse amicably with not a hint of hostility, a fight seemed unlikely to occur.

Just as Qing Shui had this thought, he heard Xuanming say, "With that being the case, I would like to exchange pointers with Daoist Qingyu and witness for myself Daoist Qingyu's Divine Skills. What do you say, Daoist?"

Although it was phrased as a request, Xuanming's aura had already risen, silently fixating on Qingyu.

Clearly, Qingyu had no possibility of refusal.

"I would be glad to," Qingyu considered briefly before replying with a smile.

"However, this place is the entrance to the Zhenwu Sect's mountain. It is not quite appropriate to spar here. Daoist friend, please follow me."

No sooner had he spoken, than a fierce wind arose. A roar filled Qing Shui's ears, and a gust lifted him into the air, tossing him about several times before he landed, staggering backwards over ten paces to find his footing.

"That was close!" Qing Shui watched the distant firelight with lingering fear.

In the midst of the firelight was Xuanming's figure. As for Qingyu, not even a shadow could be seen.

"This Daoist's movement technique is... so fierce," Qing Shui watched in the direction of the disturbance for a long time before finally squeezing out these words.

He had not expected the white-haired Daoist Qingyu, who appeared serene and saintly, to be so wildly fierce in combat. This was something Qing Shui had not anticipated and it took him by surprise.

However, amidst this surprise, Qing Shui harbored deep envy and desire.

Such immense strength could upend him with just the gust of wind from a movement technique. In Qingshui's heart, a seed of desire for great power suddenly sprouted.

Compared to the lives of these warriors, the job of gatekeeping was both mundane and uninteresting. In the past, Qingshui had always thought to live out his life in such monotony, but today, he felt an abrupt distaste for the ordinary life.

"It turns out I also have a restless heart," Qingshui murmured, pressing his hand against the left side of his chest, feeling the strong heartbeat, and gained some insight.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Qingyu swiftly moved as fast as lightning, leaving behind a vivid and deep trail on his path, arriving at the edge of a small grove.

"This should be about right."

His figure abruptly came to a halt, without a single hint of wind. From extreme movement to extreme stillness, there wasn't the slightest discordance, even the inertia-induced gusts of wind were effortlessly dispelled by Qingyu.

By this time, he had lost Xuanming's trace behind him, but with this trail, Xuanming should not lose direction.

"That little Taoist must have already germinated the seed of desire," Qingyu glanced back in the direction of the Zhenwu Sect, with an inexplicable smile.

If he truly wanted to deploy his qinggong, Qingyu certainly wouldn't have made such a commotion. Because of the "Harmonizing Light with Dust" cultivation technique, most of the time, his qinggong appeared completely natural, with no trace of artificiality. Even if he needed to move quickly, there would be no disturbance at all.

Let alone creating an intense roar like he just had.

He behaved like this only because he saw that the gatekeeping Taoist had decent heavenly talent and wanted to casually throw a stone to see the ripples it created.

The Taoist seemed to yearn for a simple life, but in reality, having seen people return severely injured numerous times, even the Sect Leader's top disciple died outside, and when the True Pill Realm masters returned, they were barely hanging on to life—how could he not develop a longing for power?

And now, Qingyu intended to hasten the sprouting of Qingshui's seed of desire.

As to how Qingyu knew of the affairs of Taoist Qingshui, he employed the Heavenly Son's Qi Observation Technique and the Power of Thought to understand.

Against Divine Origin Realm warriors, there might be room for resistance, but in the Innate Realm, in the face of Qingyu, there wasn't even a chance to perceive it.

"Whoosh—"

A fierce wind suddenly arose, and the sense of scorching heat spread around as Xuanming arrived.

Qingyu, with a smile, watched as the figure enveloped in blazing flames hurriedly approached, and called out loudly, "Daoist, I've been waiting for a long time."

"Then let's start straight away."

The fiery figure spoke, his hands coming together then suddenly stretching apart, bringing forth an overwhelming Fierce Storm, "Fierce Sun Storm."

Wind carried fire, forming an extremely fierce Flame Wind. As the Fierce Sun Storm swept over the earth, countless water droplets evaporated, leaving the ground to crack and break into pieces of dried mud.

The moment Xuanming made his move, he exerted all his strength, which seemed less like a spar and more like a battle to the death.

"Return to Nothing."

Qingyu's right hand, held behind his back, made an empty grip, and he slightly sidestepped as if the fiery storm was nothing.

"What?!"

This exclamation wasn't for the other's inaction in the face of the attack but for the sudden disappearance of the flaming wind.

As the Fierce Sun Storm approached the white-haired Taoist, it vanished into thin air as if into nothingness.

"Daoist Xuanming, with just this move, you've left me somewhat disappointed," Qingyu said.

Green Earth Essence Qi emerged from the ground, absorbed by Qingyu into his body.

Earth Dominating Technique, seven times the power.

In an instant, an intangible heaviness pressed upon the heart, the overwhelming aura even caused hurricanes, forming visible trails of flowing wind in the air.

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