The blind girl is called a saint with a sword!

After serving the tea, she began to inquire about the purpose of Yu Shen and the others' visit.

With the capital in chaos, Yu Shen and his group's sudden visit suggests they have important business to discuss, rather than simply coming to visit.

She was also quite curious about how Yu Shen and the others knew she lived here. Since bringing Sikong Tingxue here the day before yesterday, she had not gone out again, nor had she loudly proclaimed that she lived here.

Yu Shen said, "A few days ago, chaos broke out in the capital. Seeing that the situation was not good, several old friends in the Liang court urgently sent a letter to invite us to the capital for a gathering. After receiving the letter, I was worried that there would be more trouble, so I immediately traveled with Brother Shen and others from Luoyang all night. At that time, I did not know that the Goddess was in the capital. It was only after arriving in Ba Shang and meeting the people of Tianzong that I learned that the Goddess was here."

"A person from the Heavenly Sect? Could it be Xia Chongxuan, the Heavenly Lord of the Heavenly Sect?" An Qingwan asked in surprise.

Yu Shen said, "It is indeed him."

An Qingwan frowned slightly.

Tianzong was originally one of the four major sects of the Demonic Sect, so why is it now doing things that are detrimental to the Demonic Sect as a whole?

An Qingwan asked, "Besides me being here, did Xia Chongxuan say anything else?"

Shen Ruiqing said, "He also told us two secrets."

An Qingwan: "?"

Shen Ruiqing said, "The first secret is that the Cangming Saint Master of the Yinji Sect did not die at the hands of the Sword God back then."

An Qingwan said, "So the disappearance of the Holy Master Cangming for many years was related to the Sword God?"

Shen Ruiqing said, "Back then, after the founder of the Yin-Yang Sect, Fairy Ningbing, became a Grandmaster, she explored the supreme natural law and thus devised a method called Extreme Yin Transformation into Yang. Although the specific effects of this method are unknown, it is said that only women can cultivate it. Saint Master Cangming also sought the supreme natural law, but he could not practice the Extreme Yin Transformation into Yang method. Therefore, he referred to the Nine Nether Soul Refining Technique of the Nine Nether Island overseas and created a method called 'All Beings Become Myself.' This method is extremely vicious; it aims to absorb the essence, energy, and spirit of others to help oneself climb the supreme natural path."

"After mastering this mental cultivation method, Master Cangming committed countless sins, which aroused the condemnation of many people in the martial arts world. Xie Ji, the master of Jinghua Shuiyue Dock, led hundreds of martial arts heroes to fight against Master Cangming at sea, but they were no match for him. Fortunately, the Sword God was nearby comprehending the Way of the Sea and rushed over after hearing the commotion."

"Although the Sword God was not one to hate evil, he still looked down on people like the Holy Master Cangming. From that time on, he relentlessly pursued the Holy Master Cangming for over a year. The Holy Master Cangming narrowly escaped death and, in order to survive, he pretended to be a beggar, dressed up as a woman, and took hostages, using every means possible. In the end, he had no choice but to fake his death and jump into the sea."

"At the time, even the Sword God thought he was dead. Who would have thought that he had gone into hiding overseas for ten years, until he returned to the East not long ago."

Yu Shen sighed, "Ten years ago, Master Cangming's martial arts were already divine. In the past ten years, he has been studying martial arts overseas, and his power is probably far greater than before."

An Qingwan asked, "What is the second secret?"

Shen Ruiqing said, "The second secret is that the Holy Master Cangming has colluded with Garuda King of the Great Brightness Sect. The two of them joining forces will surely become a great threat to the world."

An Qingwan nodded with a serious expression.

Just then, the Celestial Master Xuanjing of Jinglun Heavenly Palace suddenly said, "This is not the most unsettling thing."

An Qingwan: "Oh?"

Master Xuanjing said, “Five years ago, my master fought a great battle against the Great Brightness Cult in Yinshan. At that time, my master used the ‘Peaceful World-Suppressing Talisman’ to pierce through Garuda King’s dantian. Garuda King’s divine power was extraordinary, and the Great Brightness Cult had a profound foundation. Although this move was not enough to completely cripple Garuda King, it should have been enough to make him lie low for many years. However, my master has not yet gotten rid of the Mingzun’s Extinction Palm, but Garuda King seems to have broken free from the shackles of the Peaceful World-Suppressing Talisman. This is really abnormal.”

Yu Shen said, "If Garuda King has not yet recovered, it is not too bad. But if he has recovered, or even made further progress, then it will be terrible."

Shen Ruiqing said, "I have sent people to the East Sea to find the Sword God, but the Sword God has abandoned his sword for a long time, and I really don't know if we can persuade him. Fortunately, Mr. Han Jing of the Qing Shuang Sect and Xie Ji of the Jinghua Shuiyue Dock should not refuse to come and help. With the two of them there, the situation is not too bad. Right now, I'm afraid that the Great Bright Sect and the Yinji Sect will cause trouble before Mr. Han Jing and Xie Ji arrive."

Yu Shen continued, "It's not just the Great Brightness Sect and the Yin Extreme Sect; the Rebirth Pavilion, the Mandarin Duck Sect, and other demonic sects are also secretly eyeing us. There's also the Heavenly Sect. We really can't figure out what the Heavenly Sect is up to. Although the Heavenly Sect seems to be helping us right now, who knows if they have some deeper schemes up their sleeves?"

An Qingwan said, "The storm is brewing. Why have you all come to see me today? It's not just to tell me these secrets, is it?"

Yu Shen's expression became even more serious.

"goddess."

"Ok?"

"I just have one question now."

"go ahead."

Yu Shen said, enunciating each word clearly, "Are you already a Grandmaster?"

An Qingwan suddenly realized.

She understood that Yu Shen and the others probably thought she was a Grandmaster and wanted to invite her to join them in dealing with Garuda King and Cangming Saint Master.

She frankly said, "The martial arts I practice are not exactly the same as yours. In terms of internal strength and other aspects, I think I have reached the level of a grandmaster, but in terms of realm, I am still one step away."

"One last step? Which step?"

"I can't say for sure, I can't explain it clearly. Maybe I can take that step today, or maybe it will take several months or even a year."

"That……"

"If you were to ask me whether I could fight a Grandmaster, I wouldn't be able to answer that, since I have never fought a true Grandmaster."

An Qingwan's words caused Yu Shen and the others to sigh deeply.

If An Qingwan were a Grandmaster, how wonderful that would be!

The group then spoke for a while, explaining the current situation in the court.

Rumors circulated that after the palace turmoil of the past few days, the Prince of Qi had completely lost faith in the capital and was considering taking the emperor to his stronghold, Ye City.

"This is not a rumor. The Qixia Sword Sect is located in Taihang. With the support of the Qixia Sword Sect, the King of Qi has long intended to move the capital to Yecheng. A few days ago, a major upheaval occurred, which gave him a convenient excuse to move his troops."

Qixia Sword Sect, along with Qingshuang Sect and Jinghua Shuiyuewu, is one of the five major righteous sects.

"The Shuofang area had already fallen into the hands of Ji Xiaojie of the Zhenwu Sect. With the departure of the Prince of Qi, the Guanzhong region is now vulnerable. I'm afraid Ji Xiaojie and the rebels from Hexi will immediately march on the capital, Daliang..."

Tang Jincheng of the Wanma Escort Agency had the closest relationship with Daliang, and seeing Daliang in its current state, he was truly saddened.

An Qingwan could only offer a few words of comfort before seeing off Yu Shen and the others who had other important matters to attend to.

Over the next two days, Yu Shen and the others would take some time to visit, but they wouldn't say much, just exchange information about the recent situation.

On the fourth night after Sikong Tingxue fainted, An Qingwan was washing Sikong Tingxue's feet.

Sikong Tingxue's eyelashes suddenly trembled, and she slowly woke up.

An Qingwan breathed a sigh of relief: "Miss Sikong, you've finally woken up."

She smiled and got up to prepare some food for Sikong Tingxue, but was suddenly stopped.

Sikong Tingxue said in a hoarse, dry voice, "Although I was unconscious these past few days, and felt as if I were in a fog, seeing many strange things, but..."

but what?

An Qingwan turned her head curiously.

Sikong Tingxue said, "I can actually still vaguely hear the noises outside."

At this point, Sikong Tingxue's expression suddenly turned extremely sorrowful and indignant.

"I heard your voice, and I also heard Yu Miaozhen's voice. While I was unconscious, were you and Yu Miaozhen fooling around together?"

An Qingwan had no idea that Sikong Tingxue was interested in this.

She did meet with Yu Miaozhen a few times, but they didn't have any casual sex, not even physical contact.

Just as she was about to explain, Sikong Tingxue suddenly grabbed her right wrist.

He gripped her tighter than ever before, so tight it felt as if he wanted to meld her into his own body.

Even more powerful than Sikong Tingxue's hands was Sikong Tingxue's voice.

It was a sudden, furious roar.

It was a sudden emotional outburst.

"I have nothing left, I only have you, I really only have you!"

An Qingwan suddenly froze.

This was not the first time she had seen Sikong Tingxue cry.

But this was the first time she had seen Sikong Tingxue so fragile, like a delicate porcelain piece that would break at the slightest bump.

P.S.: Thank you GDI cook, my slave, and the razor blades!

Using qi to control a sword isn't uncommon in wuxia novels; it appears in Gu Long's works. In *The Duel of Xiao Shiyi Lang*, it's mentioned that the characters Hongying and Lüliu reached the level of "controlling lines with qi, and swords with lines." However, they could only control lines two zhang long, but when controlling the sword, they could easily make it dance like a divine dragon. In their words, they needed another ten years of practice to control a ten-zhang line before they could truly master controlling the sword directly with qi. I also mentioned this in a post yesterday, but I made a mistake. *The Duel of Xiao Shiyi Lang* states that mastering sword control with qi doesn't require 150 years of internal energy, but rather 150 years of dedicated sword practice. This requirement means no one has ever truly mastered sword control with qi (because even if one could live 150 years, it would be difficult to dedicate 150 years to sword practice). However, this isn't a problem for An Qingwan, who has already awakened.

A fleeting moment of spring on January 28th, the advancing Sikong Tingxue [2.5k]

Sikong Tingxue has always been incomplete.

But imperfection does not necessarily mean fragility; even imperfection can forge fine steel.

But at this moment, she was anything but strong.

She was fragile, as fragile as porcelain, as fragile as paper.

An Qingwan slowly turned around.

She didn't deliberately use the Emperor's Aura Observation Technique, but she still sensed Sikong Tingxue's breathing, her heartbeat, her panic, and her pain.

Sikong Tingxue had put on a show for her many times in the past, but this time, she knew that Sikong Tingxue was really not acting.

An Qingwan sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I do not go."

She spoke softly, then bent down and hugged Sikong Tingxue.

“I know, I know you are desperate right now, I know that only I can be by your side right now, so I haven’t left these past few days.”

A sudden warmth enveloped her, but Sikong Tingxue was still crying.

She was not only crying, but also struggling, trying to shake An Qingwan off her.

She was, after all, Sikong Tingxue, and her strength was astonishing.

"You're lying to me, you can't fool me. I heard Yu Miaozhen's voice. It's not an illusion. That... Waaah."

Seeing that Sikong Tingxue was struggling fiercely, and not wanting to use too much force, An Qingwan had no choice but to suddenly lean forward and kiss Sikong Tingxue's lips without her noticing.

The sudden warmth on her lips and teeth made Sikong Tingxue stop struggling.

Her body had frozen.

Her eyes were wide open.

She even forgot to breathe, forgot to respond, and just stiffly felt the exchange of their body temperatures.

Time seemed to stand still.

It seemed like only a moment had passed, yet it also seemed like a very long time had gone by.

Finally, Sikong Tingxue struggled once again.

This time it wasn't because she disliked An Qingwan, but because she felt like she couldn't breathe.

An Qingwan released Sikong Tingxue at the opportune moment.

Sikong Tingxue said, "You..."

An Qingwan said, "Tingxue, can you listen to my explanation now?"

Sikong Tingxue stared at An Qingwan in astonishment: "What did you call me?"

An Qingwan said, "Listen to the snow."

Sikong Tingxue closed her eyes: "Explain it."

So An Qingwan recounted everything that had happened in the past few days.

Although there were no dramatic events during this period, there were undercurrents, especially in the last two days, as the King of Qi has made it clear that he intends to go to Ye City, causing turmoil both inside and outside the capital.

"So many things happened while I was unconscious?"

An Qingwan said, "The situation of the world being torn apart is irreversible, and there will be more major events to come."

Sikong Tingxue nodded. She didn't really care about any of that; what she wanted to know was something else entirely.

"After talking with Yu Shen and the others, did Yu Miaozhen stay behind alone? Did you go to see Yu Miaozhen alone? Did you do anything like that?"

An Qingwan said with a straight face, "No."

"Really not?"

"Not really."

After An Qingwan finished speaking, Sikong Tingxue fell silent.

The room was deathly silent, like a cemetery, exuding a chilling atmosphere.

An Qingwan didn't know whether Sikong Tingxue believed what she said, but she could clearly feel that Sikong Tingxue's heart was still trembling.

That heart, after all, is not so easily healed.

Anyone who has experienced what Sikong Tingxue went through will find it difficult to recover in a short period of time.