The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 264: The Ice House and Taoist Priest Ma Yu

In a person's life, there are always many unexpected events that test people's hearts, allowing them to grow and become stronger, and then experience even more violent storms.

Xu Xingchen was taking Guo Jing on their way back, and everything was going well. But one day, Guo Jing suddenly told Xu Xingchen that he could not hold it in any longer, and then he sat down on the ground and entered a state of breakthrough.

".I fed him too much, it was overflowing."

Looking at the disciple who was sitting on the ground with his clothes fluttering and even the ends of his long hair swaying, Xu Xingchen quickly realized what was going on.

Looking around, this is a small oasis with abundant water and trees, only one or two miles in size, surrounded by undulating yellow sand.

In the center of the oasis is a shimmering pond. The water is so clear that you can see the sand and gravel on the bottom and the fish swimming around.

There is a low jungle growing near the pool. It is a cold-resistant and drought-resistant plant unique to the desert. It blocks the scorching sun in the sky and casts a large area of coolness on the grass.

The place where Xu Xingchen and Guo Jing were located was in a clearing in the jungle beside the pond, a relatively open place that was not exposed to the sun.

"Well, it's a good opportunity to rest here for a few days. When I have nothing to do, I can go fishing and have a barbecue, which is also a good experience."

"Besides, this place is not far from the deserted mountain. Once Jing'er finishes his breakthrough, we can rush back in two or three days."

Xu Xingchen's idea was good, but things happen unexpectedly. God's face changed at any time. In the afternoon, the sky was still clear and the sun was so hot that people felt irritated and wanted to take off their clothes and soak their bodies in the pool. In the evening, a black cloud floated from the horizon and swept over with the posture of a galloping horse.

In a short while, the curtains of half the sky were drawn, shrouding the desert grassland in dim darkness.

A gust of wind blew across the oasis, bringing not only the dust from the outside, but also humid moisture.

Watching the flashes of lightning that occasionally appeared in the sweeping black clouds, and listening to the faint rolling thunder that shook the sky and earth, Xu Xingchen patted his forehead, turned back to look at his apprentice who was motionless on the ground, with a look of helplessness and sighing: "I didn't expect that as a master, I would not only have to escort you, but also build a house for you. It's a hard life!"

He turned and walked to the edge of the pool, waving his palm forward, and the dark blue ice flame fell in a fan shape on the water surface near the shore.

Click!Click!
The originally rippling water surface immediately condensed into white ice and quickly spread in all directions.

As Xu Xingchen waved his palms several times, the volume of the ice continued to grow larger, thicker, and more solid.

Choking!

The Dragon Slaying Sword was unsheathed, and the sword light was like lightning, rushing across the ice surface. Wherever it passed, cracks appeared, dividing the ice into regular blocks of varying lengths.

The four-foot green peak then gently lifted up, and pieces of cut ice flew into the sky, drawing beautiful arcs and landed on the grass near Guo Jing.

Xu Xingchen's attainments in swordsmanship have reached the pinnacle, and no one can match him.

Pieces of solid ice flew out of the pool and first formed a neat "foundation" on the grass three meters around Guo Jing. Then, pieces of solid ice fell on the "foundation" one after another, and with slight impact sounds, they quickly piled up and formed a circle of ice wall that was several meters high.

The surface of ice is extremely smooth. If two pieces of ice come into contact face to face with a little force, they will easily slide away.

But Xu Xingchen was able to throw the solid ice from several feet away and make them stack up neatly. The strength and skills used in this were simply incredible.

The sword light drew a three-meter-square circle on the other relatively flat ice block, with a sunken pit in the center. The overall shape was like half a hollowed-out watermelon gourd, and the bottom remained impossibly smooth and round.

He squatted down, grabbed the edge of the watermelon scoop of ice with one hand, and with a little force from his arm, he lifted it high into the air from the water surface.

Xu Xingchen held the sheathed Dragon Slaying Sword in one hand and a three-meter-square semicircular ice block in the other and came to the ice wall.

As he raised his arm, a huge block of ice somersaulted into the sky. A moment later, with the groove at the bottom, it easily covered the high wall.

At this point, an ice house gleaming with white light has been built. From beginning to end, it took less than a quarter of an hour.

Xu Xingchen was also thoughtful enough to raise the threshold on the ground at the door to prevent rain from outside from flooding in, and leave a wide ice eaves on the top to prevent rain from the sky from falling into the house.

Standing at the door and looking around, he felt that this ice house was too simple, so he drew his sword and slashed quickly to the left and right, leaving behind two lines of lonely poetry in the flying ice chips.

In May, there is snow in the mountains, no flowers, only cold.

After sheathing the sword, he looked at the two lines of poetry and shook his head, muttering, "I really can't find any poems that fit the situation, so I'll just have to make do with these two!"

At this time, the dark clouds in the sky rushed over with the noise of lightning and thunder, and at the same time, they also brought strong winds that bent the jungle and heavy rain that fell with crackling sounds.

Boom boom boom!

Crackling!

The sounds outside were one person singing and another performing, it was lively and unlike the usual silence and loneliness.

At the moment the raindrops fell, Xu Xingchen had already walked into the ice house. Looking at the quickly blurry pond, jungle, and desert in the distance outside, he felt that it was a unique scenery.

Guo Jing sat on the ground, unaware of the wind, rain, and thunder outside. As he breathed in and out, he could hear the sound of his bones popping. As time passed, the exposed skin on his face, hands, neck, etc. gradually turned red, as if he had been boiled in a pot.

Streams of heat emanated from his body, lingering in the igloo, melting the ice on the surface, and then condensing into a harder ice shell.

Xu Xingchen looked back at Guo Jing and thought, "Good disciple, take your time and let me see if my theory is correct."

Suddenly, his eyes moved and he turned to look outside the door.

In the distant storm, a figure with fluttering sleeves appeared, walking from the desert into the oasis and heading towards the jungle here.

The person came very quickly. When I first saw him, he was just a blurry shadow. In the blink of an eye, he became clear and a moment later, he had arrived in front of the door of the ice house.

He was a Taoist priest wearing a green cloth robe, about forty years old, with a Taoist bun on his head, a long sword on his back, and a round and kind face.

A stream of sword energy burst out of his body and swirled around him, like an umbrella or raincoat, blocking the surrounding wind and rain three feet away. This showed how profound his skills were.

The Taoist in green stood at the door. He didn't rush in directly, but bowed politely and said loudly: "I am traveling in the desert and don't want to encounter such weather. I saw an ice house here, so I came to take a look. I wonder if the owner inside can allow me to go in and take shelter from the rain?"

Xu Xingchen looked him up and down, calculated the time in his mind, then extended his hand and said with a smile: "When you are out, you will inevitably encounter difficulties. If you don't mind, please come in!"

"Thank you, sir!" The Taoist stepped into the ice house, and the sword energy lingering on his body was quietly retracted into his body. After saying thank you, he noticed the young man behind Xu Xingchen.

After looking at him for a while, he said in surprise: "It turns out that your companion has broken through here. I wonder if I will disturb him?"

"Of course not!" Xu Xingchen waved his hand and said, "The noise of wind, rain, thunder and lightning outside can't disturb him. The Taoist priest just came in to avoid the rain, how could he be disturbed?!"

"In this case, I will feel relieved!" After a while, the Taoist couldn't help but advise: "Sir, the extreme weather outside may hinder your companions' breakthrough."

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "My disciple has a strong character and a will as strong as iron. I believe he can make it through this."

"So that young man is your disciple?!" The Taoist was a little surprised and said "Excuse me" twice. He wanted to say something else, but when he saw that Xu Xingchen looked calm and composed without any sign of nervousness, he finally shut his mouth.

But since Xu Xingchen had developed an interest in Taoist, how could he let the topic between them end here?

After a few casual greetings, he asked, "Master, you should be from the Central Plains, right? I wonder where in the famous mountains you practice? Where in the famous temples you stay?"

The Taoist didn't think much about it. He introduced himself as he would do when he met fellow Taoists in the martial arts world: "I am from the Quanzhen Sect in Zhongnan Mountain. My surname is Ma and my given name is Yu. You can just call me Taoist Master Ma!"

"Zhongnan Mountain, Quanzhen Sect, Ma Yu?" Xu Xingchen had expected this in his heart, but he still pretended to be surprised: "So it's the head of Quanzhen Sect, Taoist Ma. I'm sorry! My last name is Xu, my name is Xingchen, and I'm an unknown person in the martial arts world!"

Ma Yu smiled and shook his head, saying, "You are too modest. I think you built this ice house in a hurry, using local materials to freeze water into ice, so that your disciples would not be disturbed."

"Your Excellency has such great martial arts skills, but you have never shown off in the martial arts world. It is obvious that you are a hermit who does not seek fame for nothing!"

"Haha, Taoist Ma, you are too kind!" Xu Xingchen smiled, pointed at Guo Jing behind him, and said bluntly: "Speaking of which, my disciple is somewhat related to Taoist Qiu Chuji of your Quanzhen Sect."

Hearing this, Ma Yu's heart moved, and he immediately thought of the purpose of his coming to the grassland and desert. He was a little surprised and a little unbelievable, saying: "Sir, you mean, he is, he is."

"Hey, could it be that Taoist Master Ma also knows about that?" Xu Xingchen pretended to be surprised, and then said: "My disciple is called Guo Jing, and he is the descendant of a woman who fled here from the Central Plains. I heard from his other seven masters that my disciple and Taoist Master Qiu Chuji's disciple Yang Kang will have a duel after they turn eighteen. I don't know if it's true?"

"Ah, what a coincidence." Ma Yu's tone was a little stuttering. After a moment, his expression suddenly changed. He looked at the boy sitting cross-legged on the ground again and asked in surprise: "Wait a minute, isn't Guo Jing only sixteen years old this year?"

(End of this chapter)