A man stands before the heavens, his sword emerges from the Emei Mountains.

The water reflects the ice like a mirror, the snow is swept away like jade dust. Why ask about the past and present, for this is the man of the former emperor.

Chen Yu, inside the ice cellar, felt as if he were in a celestial realm of jade palaces. A chill permeated the air, and wisps of icy mist, like gauze, swirled around the pristine white ice walls, resembling white dragons soaring among them.

The surrounding ice surface was crystal clear and so clean that there was not a single impurity.

The firelight illuminated a spirited, handsome face on the ice.

Chen Yu had already memorized the moves of the Quanzhen Swordplay and the Jade Maiden Swordplay. With important matters on his mind and also worried about Miejue and the others, he should have found a way to leave the valley as soon as possible. However, he realized that the cliff was hundreds of feet high, and not only was it difficult to carve a hole and climb the rock, but he would also need to rely on his lightness skills.

He tempered and cleared the Yangqiao and Yinqiao meridians on Mount Emei, accumulating internal strength day by day. He planned to use the Huangjing (Polygonatum) that had been stored in the back mountain for decades to break through the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and elevate the "Three Folds of the Wandering Dragon" lightness skill to a higher level. However, he encountered the little white ape by chance and gave this opportunity to the spirit.

Having traveled by boat all the way from Mount Emei, and diligently practiced with the help of the Jade Ruyi, his Emei Nine Yang Skill has improved day by day. Therefore, after much consideration, he has decided to use the ten-thousand-year-old mysterious ice in the ice cellar to assist in his cultivation, temper his meridians, improve his lightness skill, and then leave the valley.

Chen Yu's thoughts returned. He extinguished the fire tinder, sat cross-legged, and a chill instantly permeated the Shaoyang and Yangming meridians of his legs. Following the meridians and in harmony with his breath, it stimulated blood circulation, regulated the balance of Yin and Yang, and brought a refreshing sensation from the meridians on both sides of his tailbone straight into the Shenting acupoint, instantly clearing his mind.

The effect of the jade ruyi in assisting cultivation is far inferior to that of the ten-thousand-year-old ice in this ice cellar. This thought flashed through Chen Yu's mind, and he used his intention to guide his qi, beginning to temper the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.

The white fish from the pool and the honey from the valley not only dispelled the cold toxins for Chen Yu, but also enhanced his internal strength for a year. The warm and gentle Nine Yang internal energy, along with the expulsion of the old and intake of the new, started from the middle jiao, connected with the large intestine, passed through the diaphragm, ran from the lung system down to the elbow crease, then along the anterior edge of the inner forearm, passed through the Yuji acupoint, and then from the Shaoshang acupoint on the inner side of the thumb, and finally from the Lieque acupoint on the back of the wrist to the Shangyang acupoint on the inner side of the index finger, connecting with the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.

Wherever the internal force passes, it is as if countless small hammers are forging the meridians, strengthening the muscles and fascia, and tempering the meridians and the eleven major acupoints in this area.

Chen Yu was so absorbed in the world that he lost track of time, yet subtle changes were already occurring, like "waves rising from ripples, winds rising from the tip of duckweed."

As Chen Yu inhaled, his breath was like a dragon soaring through the wind and clouds. With each breath, the muscles beneath his clothes contracted and undulated, like ripples spreading across a still lake. This continued for nearly an hour, until a crackling sound, like soybeans being added to a hot pan, arose from within his body and then grew louder.

Chen Yu felt his breath travel through his chest, ribs, and upper back, making his body feel lighter and more akin to ascending to heaven. He continuously channeled his inner energy, and as the tidal wave of energy surged forward wave after wave to its peak, a profound sound, like the grandest bell, suddenly rang in his mind. Immediately afterward, his Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin resonated, and all the acupoints and meridians flowed freely.

Chen Yu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, opened his deep, bright eyes, and realized he understood.

He suppressed his joy, circulated his qi through several major cycles to consolidate his blood and qi, and then got up to stretch his muscles and bones before leaving the ice cellar.

……

With a splash, the water parted abruptly, and Chen Yu went ashore. He put the white fish he had caught in his clothes into a wooden basin, took a few quick steps, gathered his energy, and formed a subtle microcosmic orbit between the Pucan and Kunlun acupoints of the Foot Yang Qiao Meridian, the Zhaohai acupoint on the inner side of the heel of the Foot Yin Qiao Meridian, and the Yunmen acupoint of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, which suddenly erupted.

Chen Yu slumped his shoulders and elbows, lightly tapped his feet, and leaped out with the power of his internal energy circulating between the three meridians. With this swift movement, his Qi Sea surged like waves, and he was already more than ten zhang away in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, Chen Yu focused his energy in his dantian and circulated it throughout his body. His figure soared high like a crane dancing, floating more than ten feet into the air. His body swayed in the wind and snow, then tilted and rose another ten feet or so before finally falling to the ground.

Chen Yu was overjoyed. "I still can't do what Miejue said—spin three times in the air, each time higher than the last. This is related to the fact that my internal strength and the many hidden meridians and separate meridians connected to the three main meridians haven't been tempered and unblocked. But at my current level, if I did it again, I could at least hold out until Miejue arrived, so I wouldn't have to resort to the desperate measure of pulling Wei Yixiao down the cliff with me. However, the Green Winged Bat King's lightness skill is truly well-deserved; it's something that can't be done without talent. I'll remember this grudge."

With this in mind, Chen Yu started a fire to cook, and ate white fish and honey to fill his stomach. After eating his fill, he felt a thick flow of qi and blood rising in his abdomen, like a spring gushing from flat ground, which was equivalent to the effect of several days of hard training.

Unfortunately, time waits for no one, and he could not practice his skills at his leisure. Chen Yu sighed and went into the pool again, catching a lot of white fish. He extracted the fish fat to make oil, found a stone slab, fried dozens of small white fish, and carried them with him. He packed his bundle and sword, entered the pool from the ice cellar, and went all the way to the valley where he fell off the cliff and into the water.

……

A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell softly and weakly into the valley. Chen Yu floated out of the pool and took a few steps before his pupils suddenly contracted. He saw a rope hanging down from the knife-cut cliff face all the way to the valley.

Chen Yu's vision gradually blurred, and a hazy white light seemed to rise in his field of vision. Seeing herself fall off the cliff, Miejue demanded to see him alive or dead, and ordered her disciples to find ropes and descend into the valley to search for him.

Surrounded by sheer cliffs and a deep pool, the extinct creature's search yielded no results, but knowing its exceptional swimming skills, it held onto hope and left by hanging a rope.

Based on this analysis, Chen Yu thought to himself that Miejue had saved his life and treated him with sincerity. He would definitely help Miejue strengthen Emei in the future and fulfill his long-cherished wish.

With this thought in mind, Chen Yu calmed himself down, pulled on the rope to test his strength, and then climbed up.

……

A misty rain enveloped the Guanluo Mountains, and the hazy smoke was lifted like a curtain. Chen Yu, wearing a bamboo hat, carrying a Longquan sword wrapped in cloth, and with a bundle on his shoulder, walked towards the Han River.

Chen Yu spent several days healing and cultivating in the valley, opening up the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, and eating white fish to increase his qi and blood and strengthen his muscles and bones. Now, he is completely refreshed and full of energy.

Whether Bai Guishou was in the Guanluo area was still unknown. After being delayed in the valley for dozens of days, there were even more variables. After thinking it over, Chen Yu set off for the Han River.

Miejue would definitely recognize Wei Yixiao. She had a blood feud with the Ming Cult, and now that she saw Wei Yixiao trying to kill her, how could she let it go?

The Ming Cult's Bat King is also thinking of using Zhou Ziwang to control the Maitreya Sect. According to the storyline of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, Chang Yuchun is very likely to go to the Han River, and Wei Yixiao also has a chance to go there.

If Extinction were to learn of this, it would not stand idly by.

Chen Yu then followed his deductions to search for the person. If he failed, he could simply go to Anhui again to try his luck and see if he could encounter Bai Guishou, Miejue, Yang An, Ji Xiaofu and others. If all else failed, he would return to Mount Emei.

……

In the yellow plum season, it rains at home, and there are frogs everywhere in the grass pond.

Chen Yu traveled all the way from the Valley of Heartbreak, and when he arrived at the Han River, it was the plum rain season. The continuous, incessant rain made him feel like his body was getting moldy.

Around noon, Chen Yu arrived at a market town called Xianrendu on the banks of the Han River.

There was a restaurant on the street, where people were drinking and chatting. Chen Yu went straight to the second floor, found a table by the window, and ordered two snacks and a pot of sake.

The Han River wharf is just over ten feet away from the restaurant.

Wearing a green bamboo hat and a green raincoat, fishing nets flutter in the slanting wind and drizzle. Vendors brave the rain to hawk their wares in the street. Caravans of镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) rumble by, their horses neighing. A beggar sings a folk song.

A lifetime of myriad experiences, shrouded in a misty rain.

"Sir, your food and drinks are ready." The waiter called out the order of serving the dishes and drinks, and Chen Yu looked back at the food and drinks.

Just across the street is a small soy milk shop, the steaming aroma of soy milk seemingly shielding you from the rain outside.

A boatman carrying a bamboo basket and a girl of about ten years old passed by a soy milk shop. The boatman said, "Have a bowl of soy milk and wontons before you go."

"Um!"

The girl nodded vigorously, spoke in a clear and crisp voice, and smiled happily, as radiant as the morning sun.