A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

Lizhu Cave Heaven.

A deep, muffled roar came from the horizon, as if something had broken apart deep within the heavens and earth.

Ye Yun looked up and saw a huge crack in the sky. The crack stretched from east to west, like a torn wound, with its edges gleaming with a blinding white light.

With each passing breath, it spreads outward a little further, tearing the clouds in the sky to shreds with a teeth-grinding cracking sound. Sunlight pours down from the cracks, shining on the earth, but without any warmth.

The Lizhu Cave Heaven is about to face a calamity.

Ye Yun stood up and looked at the town. The town was unusually quiet that night.

Ye Yun withdrew his gaze and looked towards the sky, where a figure in a green robe stood suspended in mid-air.

Qi Jingchun.

He stood between heaven and earth, his blue robe fluttering in the wind, his long hair flying. His slender figure appeared exceptionally small in the face of the enormous crack, yet he remained completely still.

He faced the collapse of heaven and earth without fear, as if he were attending a pre-arranged banquet.

Ye Yun stood on the hillside, gazing at the figure in the distance.

He knew what Qi Jingchun was going to do.

The fortune of Lizhu Cave has been overdrawn for three thousand years, and the Heavenly Dao is going to settle accounts. Those who have benefited from this place, and those who have cultivated and attained enlightenment through the fortune of the True Dragon, will all have to pay the price.

But there are still six thousand people in this town who know nothing, have done nothing wrong, yet are forced to be buried with them.

The Way of Heaven does not follow reason; it only follows cause and effect.

What Qi Jingchun has to do is to shoulder this responsibility.

The cracks in the sky are becoming more numerous and denser.

Qi Jingchun moved, transforming into a gigantic Dharma image, her hands tightly protecting the Lizhu Cave Heaven as if she were holding a bright moon.

He raised his hand, and a beam of azure light shot out from his palm, transforming into a huge light shield that enveloped the entire town.

Ye Yun watched this scene from the hillside and felt the power within it. Was this the power of the peak of the fourteenth realm?

Qi Jingchun channeled all his life's cultivation into this moment, drawing upon the power of Confucian sages, solely to protect the six thousand lives beneath his feet.

Several figures suddenly appeared in the depths of the sky.

At the very top stood an old man in a gray robe, with a stern face and cold eyes, surrounded by an aura of righteousness. He stood in the eastern sky, looking down at Qi Jingchun as if he were looking at a junior who was ignorant of his own limitations.

A Confucian sage, one of the Seventy-Two Sages of the Temple of Literature.

On the left is a white-robed monk with a compassionate face, holding prayer beads, surrounded by a radiant aura. He stands in the western sky with his eyes closed, chanting something as if he were performing a ritual to guide the souls of the dead.

A Buddhist saint. A follower of the Medicine Buddha lineage.

On the far right is a Taoist priest in black, with a cold and stern face, carrying a long sword on his back, surrounded by purple aura. He stands in the northern sky, his eyes like lightning, coldly looking at Qi Jingchun.

A Taoist sage.

Sages from the three religions arrived together.

Ye Yun's heart sank.

He finally understood what Qi Jingchun was facing. It wasn't a reckoning by Heaven, nor the collapse of the world, but the machinations of the three religions.

The Lizhu Cave Heaven shattered, and its fortune dissipated. Where did that fortune go? It was divided among the three religions, who wanted to use this natural disaster to seize their last share of profit.

Qi Jingchun's protection of the town is blocking their path.

"Qi Jingchun," the gray-robed old man spoke, his voice booming like thunder.

"The fate of Lizhu Cave has run its course. Heaven's retribution is imminent and cannot be stopped by human power. Get out of the way."

Qi Jingchun didn't speak, but simply stood on the light barrier, calmly watching the three people.

The gray-robed elder frowned and said, "You intend to defy the heavens?"

Qi Jingchun finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly: "Heaven is ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. But I am a scholar. What do scholars learn from the classics? Nothing more than the word 'benevolence'."

"These six thousand people are innocent. I will bear the consequences of their lives."

The Taoist priest in black sneered, "Can you guarantee it?"

Qi Jingchun did not answer; he simply raised his hand and wrote a single character in the air.

"quiet."

The character hung in the air, radiating a warm glow. It was his birth character, the culmination of his life's cultivation.

As soon as the word "quiet" was uttered, the clamor between heaven and earth suddenly subsided. The collapsing mountains stopped, the surging rivers slowed down, and even the cracks in the sky ceased spreading.

The gray-robed elder's expression changed. "Are you willing to risk your life? Is it worth it?"

Qi Jingchun ignored him, so he raised his hand again and wrote the second character.

"spring."

The character hanging next to the character "静" (quiet) radiated a vibrant light.

As soon as the word "spring" appeared, the withered grass under the sun began to turn green again, the dried-up riverbed began to moisten, and the injured people felt that their wounds no longer hurt and that a warm current flowed through their bodies.

The white-robed monk opened his eyes, looked at Qi Jingchun, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes, but he didn't speak, he just continued chanting the sutra.

The character representing one's birth year is suspended at the very top, radiating a vast, ocean-like light that transforms into a pillar of light that reaches the heavens and the earth, firmly protecting the entire town.

Qi Jingchun stood in the center of the pillar of light, her blue robe fluttering in the wind, her long hair flying, but her eyes remained calm.

The old man in the gray robe finally changed color: "Qi Jingchun, you've gone too far."

Qi Jingchun smiled, a faint and calm smile, as if she were talking about something insignificant.

He looked up at the sky, at the cracks, at the four sages, and at the unseen schemes beyond the heavens. Then he uttered those words:

"When Heaven retaliates, I, Qi Jingchun, will shoulder the burden."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like thunder, echoing between heaven and earth.

The gray-robed old man fell silent, and the white-robed monk closed his eyes. The black-robed Taoist's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, but he did not draw it.

They all knew that Qi Jingchun was prepared to trade her life for those six thousand lives.

No one can stop him.

Ye Yun stood on the hillside, contemplating the origin of his natal character.

His sword intent surged within his body, his four natal flying swords hummed, and the sword of law trembled.

He wanted to make a move, to rush forward and test just how strong this so-called saint really was.

But this was Qi Jingchun's choice.

He could only watch.

The crack in the sky finally shattered completely. The laws of heaven and earth of the Lizhu Cave Heaven turned into countless fragments, scattering in all directions.

The reckoning of Heaven has arrived. It is not wind, rain, thunder, or lightning, nor is it a landslide or earthquake. Rather, it is an invisible force, an irresistible will, that seeks to erase everything in this world.

Qi Jingchun opened her arms and went to meet her.

The force struck him, causing his body to tremble violently and blood to flow from his seven orifices.

But his feet didn't move, his hands didn't loosen, the character for his birth still hung above his head, and the light shield still protected the town.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

Every breath felt like an eternity.

Qi Jingchun's face grew paler and paler, and he bled more and more, his body swaying precariously. But his eyes remained calm, and there was even a hint of a smile on his lips.

After an unknown amount of time, the Heavenly Retribution finally subsided.

The Lizhu Cave Heaven shattered.

They landed safely, and the six thousand people were still alive. Qi Jingchun used his life to snatch this town back from the clutches of Heaven.

The light shield dissipated.

Qi Jingchun's Dharma body dissipated, and she eventually disappeared from this world.

But Ye Yun knew that Qi Jingchun's cultivation level was still there; he had not truly died.

Ye Yun stood on a hillside not far away, watching all of this from afar.

The Lizhu Cave Heaven was completely established on the land of the Dali Dynasty.

The people in the town stared blankly at the sky, not knowing what had happened. All they knew was that the sky had collapsed and that their surroundings seemed to have changed.

In Mud Bottle Alley, a boy squatted on the ground, looking at the jade hairpin in his hand. He knew someone had left.

Ye Yun bowed towards the direction of the private school and said, "Respectfully seeing off Mr. Qi."

Before Qi Jingchun's physical body disappeared, the other party gave him another insight into his destiny.