Chapter 485

Chapter 485: The Most Mysterious Person in Jiu Province’s Martial World

The Immortal Mountain of the Long Life Gate in Dong Province.

From the same desolate mountain, a seemingly ordinary and handsome young man stepped out.

"The Long Life Gate avoided the tragedy of the Qiao family being wiped out… well, not completely."

The handsome young man moved like a rainbow, punching through the mountain, landing on a Qiao Muflesh clone that was meditating in a cave.

True strength erupted, and the symbols on his fist shone brightly, as a chill suddenly surrounded Qiao Mu’s body.

"You are… the Supreme Elder who emerged from the small world of the Long Life Gate…" Qiao Mu struggled to rise, gathering his energy to throw a punch in defense.

He had lost the chance to strike first and was ambushed with great harm; besides, he was not his true self from nearly twenty thousand years ago, not at his peak, and gradually began to lose.

"Both Taoist techniques and martial arts?" Qiao Mu asked with a frown.

"Is this what they call a Body Refiner?"

Qiao Mu had a total of over ten flesh clones, of which the nine oldest clones were taken to the battlefield in Zhong Province.

The remaining flesh clones were left by Qiao Mu in key places around Jiu Province, such as the Peach Blossom Villa in Nan Province and the Secret Realm at Kuafu Mountain in Western Province.

"Body Refiner? Where did you hear that? It’s just a rumor."

The young ancestor replied coldly.

"Body Refiner and Qi Refiners are both branches of the immortal way. The former is also known as Body Cultivators, but in the end, they belong to a different type of immortal cultivator, which is fundamentally different from the martial arts of ordinary people."

"The so-called Body Refiner cultivates the body through the way of the Dao, and I…"

The young master smiled gently again as he spoke.

"A member of the Qiao family should not neglect their own treasures. By opening the way in Jiu Province, every martial skill you spread will make me stronger, and I have to thank you."

Qiao Mu remained silent; at that moment, a light frost had covered his entire body, making him stiff and his limbs difficult to move.

Suddenly, his head burst apart.

The young master frowned and stood with his fist withdrawn, while the headless flesh clone was enveloped in a block of ice, completely frozen.

"You are indeed strong-willed. It may take some time, but taking the body of a member of the Qiao family should be worth it."

The young master smiled slightly, waved his sleeve, and put the flesh clone into his large sleeve.

In the past, he asked the leader of the Long Life Gate sect to capture a few members of the Qiao family, but unexpectedly, it led to a great defeat for the five major Immortal Gates at Peach Blossom Villa.

Now, at a crucial moment when the chance of becoming an immortal has appeared, he still thinks about the Qiao family members, willing to spend his precious energy to act at this time.

Now that he has obtained the body of a Qiao family member, he feels that his longstanding wish has been fulfilled.

"The Qiao family members are so mysterious."

The young founder looked closely at the flesh clone in the ice, feeling as if he had found a great treasure.

Even now, he does not understand how the Qiao family member could practice mortal martial arts to such a level, or why he has achieved over ten thousand years of mastery in Long Life Fist.

"Now that I have the body of this Qiao family member, even if I cannot uncover the secrets of the Qiao family, it will surely benefit my mortal martial arts."

The Long Life Gate, led by the young founder, is the only Immortal Gate in the world that studies mortal martial arts.

Besides the extremely long-lived young founder, the other cultivators of Long Life Gate, including the sect leader, only practice martial arts and do not train in fighting skills.

Instead of saying they are martial artists, it is better to say they are scholars studying martial arts.

This young founder was the one who created the "Long Life Fist" in the small world and guided the Xue family to establish it.

…………….

Northwest Prefecture.

In the early morning, when the sky was still dim and the east was just beginning to show a light color, the sun rose, and a soft golden light illuminated the world.

Qiao Mu stood quietly by the Sky Piercing River, standing alone.

This is not his real body, but a flesh clone left at the source of the Sky Piercing River in Northwest Prefecture.

Tongtian Mountain is very high, measuring about four to five thousand meters, and right now, it appeared as a vast expanse of snowy mountains.

Only near the Sky Piercing River, it is a bit warmer, as melted snow and ice flow down from the mountain peak into the river.

Qiao Mu knew that the melting snow water would flow downward, passing through places like Western Province, and finally reaching the ocean in Baichuan City of Southeast Province.

The Sky Piercing River is the longest river in Jiu Province, and it is not wrong to call it a mother river, as there are many large cities along its banks.

Heyang City in Nan Province is located on the northern bank of the Sky Piercing River.

Linhe City in Southwest Province also sits by the Sky Piercing River. Once, the Yunxiao Sect from Southwest Province caused the river to overflow and created a water spirit of the Sky Piercing River, but Qiao Mu disrupted their plans.

Naturally, Qiao Mu was familiar with this great river of Jiu Province.

But today’s Sky Piercing River felt unfamiliar to him.

Boom!

The roaring river water kept flowing and even climbed upward along the mountains, rushing toward the snowy lake at the mountain’s peak.

Qiao Mu followed the upstream flow of the river; this unusual sight caught his attention, and he wanted to see why the water was flowing against the current and where it would lead.

"The snow lake at the top of the mountain is the old site of the Tongtian Sword Sect. Could this be related to the missing Tongtian Sword Sect?"

Qiao Mu hesitated, waiting until he followed the flowing Sky Piercing River to the top of the mountain.

He saw the roaring river water rise to the mountain top and then suddenly rush upward like a waterfall flowing against the current towards the sky.

Qiao Mu was astonished. If the river was flowing backwards, that would be one thing.

But this river had no support and no force acting upon it, yet it could still transform into a waterfall rushing to the sky…

With a thought, True strength formed into clouds beneath his feet. He wanted to follow and see where the reverse-flowing Sky Piercing River was headed…

Just then.

A warning suddenly appeared in his heart, the muscles in his back tensed up, his scalp tingled slightly, and goosebumps popped up on his arms.

In the distance behind him, a faint voice sounded:

"The Sky Piercing River flows from the heavens; the source of this river is, of course, in the sky."

"I advised you not to follow; this is not the path for you."

He turned to look back.

Above the clouds, a middle-aged man with a short beard stood in the air, exuding a mystical presence.

This face even made Qiao Mu feel a sense of familiarity… He searched his memories and finally found this face deep in his past.

When he first left Yan City, he had met the mountain bandit Wang Songhe face-to-face in an abandoned temple among the mountains, and it was this man he saw then…

"Immortal Qingmu."

However, it was not just Ancestor Qingmu who appeared.

From other directions, little old man Patriarch Tianshu in a Soul Predicting Path robe emerged, followed by Patriarch Lingxu, whom he had met once from the Great Dao Sect.

"The ancestors hiding in the small world have all come out… If seen this way, there should also be the Supreme Elder of the Tongtian Sword Sect and the Liangyi Sect…"

Qiao Mu kept this thought in his heart and asked calmly:

"What if I insist on going up?"

At this moment, he could roughly confirm… that the place attracting the ancestors of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates to appear together must be where the Sky Piercing River leads.

It should be remembered that people like Patriarch Lingxu and Patriarch Qingmu have hearts as hard as iron; even if the Immortal Gate was destroyed right before their eyes, they would still stand by and watch.

What could attract them to risk a fall in their realm and return to the human world must be an enormous temptation, an incredible opportunity.

The more those Supreme Elders of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates wanted something, the more Qiao Mu wanted to stir things up.

Without hesitation, he stepped onto the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, alternating his feet to run up the waterfall against the current.

When Qiao Mu first practiced the Heavenly Dragon Eight Steps, he was using his lightness skill to climb the waterfall against the flow; this made his speed almost like the wind, soaring straight up with the current.

"On the path to becoming an immortal, you and I are both rivals seeking the chance to gain immortality… but compared to rivals, it is the disruptors who deserve to be eliminated."

Ancestor Qingmu looked over with a blank expression, and a strong killing intent was evident.

………………………………………………

"Two flesh clones have already perished."

Qiao Mu casually lay down on the grass in front of the peach blossom forest, watching the white-haired old soldiers practicing their martial arts in the woods.

Li Gongde stood beside him, his expression reflecting deep confusion.

"Great Dao Sect, Qingxuan Road, Long Life Gate, Soul Predicting Path, as well as Tongtian Sword Sect and Liangyi Sect."

"These six Immortal Gates each had an ancestor emerge… their figures eventually vanished at the peak of the snowy lake at the source of the Sky Piercing River."

"And the question is, where will the逆流的Sky Piercing River ultimately lead?"

Qiao Mu remained silent.

The Great Dao Sect was the last Immortal Gate left in the world, and now he had wiped it out.

The ancestor of the Tao Achieving Stage, Master Lingyuan, had also died, but every time he looked up at the sky and saw the illusory chains stretching across the heavens, he still felt lost about the future.

The Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates are sects that hold True Immortal legacies, and the small world is a remnant of the True Immortal from the ancient sects.

Qiao Mu was able to defeat Patriarch Lingyuan, but he still could not reach the Immortal Gate small world that was hidden somewhere.

"Li Gongde, are you feeling stuck this time too?" Qiao Mu asked.

Li Gongde’s skill was not very high, only at the Golden Core Stage.

But within the Wuji Association, he worked closely with Sun Xuan Envoy Zhang Yinguo, acting as the ears and brain of the association, and he had many clever tricks.

Li Gongde shook his head.

"I have only received the legacy of the Merit Sect cultivator, which allows me to understand the great matter of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates’ Supreme Elder emerging, but this is truly beyond my comprehension."

But after a moment of deep thought, he spoke:

"In the martial world of Jiu Province, there is actually the most mysterious person, and the insightful Senior Qiao Yao might be able to try to ask him."

The most mysterious person in the martial world…

While Qiao Mu was thinking, a wave of noise came from ahead.

"Why do you keep following me?"

Wu Mingkong and Qiao Feixian walked into the woods, one in front of the other.

Wu Mingkong jogged ahead, while Qiao Feixian followed at a leisurely pace, always trailing behind.

In response to Wu Mingkong’s question, Qiao Feixian said with a serious expression:

"My adoptive father Qiao Shuangtu asked me to find you and compete with you, as this is his last wish, and I must fulfill it."

Last wish… Wu Mingkong was momentarily speechless.

The other person brought up Qiao Shuangtu’s last wish, and she really had no way to respond.

"Alright, alright, so this is how we will compete?" Wu Mingkong laughed in anger and began to spar with an elderly soldier who was resting nearby.

With bare hands, she deflected the soldier’s swinging sword and spun around, pushing him back several steps along with his sword.

"This is Hua strength. If you want to compete with me, then let’s see how you fare," Wu Mingkong said confidently.

After spending so much time in Peach Blossom Villa, she certainly knew the true value of Hua strength martial arts.

At first, her skill was praised by the number one on the Skill List, Earth Sword Immortal, as having reached the threshold of superb rank…

But soon, the smile on her face gradually faded away.

Qiao Feixian did not say much. She thought for a long time and also tried to practice with the old soldier from earlier.

The old soldier swung his sword at her, but she moved as nimbly as a cat, smoothly deflecting his attack and striking back in one fluid motion… Although she had not yet matched Wu Mingkong’s mastery of Hua strength, her movements were quick and graceful, already showing hints of skill.

"The ‘First Virtuoso’ recognized by Martial Saint is truly remarkable, a unique genius different from Wu Mingkong."

Beside it, a floating stone sword gently swayed up and down, nodding in approval.

"Wu Mingkong now has a rival from today. This little girl, Wu Mingkong, has Qiao Feixian by her side, which can help her shape her character." At this, Shijian’s voice also became slightly melancholic.

"The loneliest thing in the world is being invincible. I can’t help but feel a bit envious of those two young girls, who found their lifelong rivals at such a young age, unlike me…"

"Don’t sneakily lift yourself up over here." Next to him, Lu Yanbei tapped the hilt of Earth Sword Immortal’s sword.

"Do you still think about your throne as the best in the world over forty years ago? Times have changed."

With the talkative Earth Sword Immortal by his side, Lu Yanbei, who usually had the calm presence of a martial arts master, also became a bit lively, sometimes playfully teasing the hilt of his younger brother’s sword.

Qiao Mu gazed at the scene from a distance and smiled softly.

When Peach Blossom Villa was first established, it was just a place for exchanging martial arts. Qiao Mu used it to teach martial arts and also hoped to gain insights from the talented martial artists in Jiu Province to improve his own skills.

He had a lot of time; as long as the martial artists created a theory that only had a theoretical solution, he could possibly refine it through a long period of practice.

However, as time passed and after experiencing several life-and-death battles, Peach Blossom Villa had changed and was no longer just a holy place for martial arts.

"Li Gongde, please continue. Who did you say is the most mysterious and well-informed person in the martial world of Jiu Province?" Qiao Mu asked.

"Is there really anyone in the martial world of Jiu Province who understands the Immortal Gate Supreme Elder better than you, a cultivator from the Ten Earth Sect?"

Li Gongde nodded.

"That person naturally understands more than I do, but he is not purely a martial artist…"

……………………………………

Yan City.

This Yan City was originally a small town in Nan Province, but it has become more and more prosperous in recent years, with many wandering martial artists visiting.

The teahouse at the city gate is well-known to old locals; it has long been part of the Tide Listening Building’s business.

As soon as Qiao Mu stepped into the teahouse, he saw it was full of people, with tables crowded inside and outside.

The reason for the crowd was a storyteller named Jiang Chen, dressed in a moon-white robe, who was at that moment telling a captivating story.

He was recounting the recent battle that ended the Great Dao Sect:

"…not even a moment of mourning for Qiao Shuangtu’s death, and immediately arriving on the battlefield was Qiao Yao from the Qiao family!"