Chapter 411 - No Money, No Cultivating!

Yun Xiao tucked away the half-book into his robe and turned to Feng Qingcong, "Much obliged, Uncle Feng."

"What now? You're taking that old thing, seriously?" Feng Qingcong was just pulling his leg, but Yun Xiao seemed dead set on it.

"Paying my respects to the ancients," Yun Xiao said, solemnly.

"Respect all you want, but that book's not leaving with you. House rules," Feng Qingcong laid down the law.

"I can't take it out?" Yun Xiao pursed his lips, "Guess I'll just take everything in right here then."

And with that, he propped himself against a bookshelf, eyes sparkling, lost in the pages of that half-book.

"..." Feng Qingcong was floored. He then turned to Lian Xi and asked, "What's he up to?"

"Playing it cool," Lian Xi said, her cheeks a shade of red.

"In front of this old timer? Hardly seems fitting." Feng Qingcong was lost for words.

"He's not doing it for you." Lian Xi's eyes were peach blossoms as she watched Yun Xiao. "A man absorbed in a book is a sight to behold."

"..." Feng Qingcong was speechless yet again. These young'uns were beyond him.

Yun Xiao flipped through the book at lightning speed, his eyes darting like two chess pieces, one black, one white, dancing in the air. One breath, one page. In 60 breaths, he was done with the half-book.

Yun Xiao took a deep breath, and handed the book back to Feng Qingcong with a simple "Thank you."

"Well, I'll be," Feng Qingcong stroked his beard.

"Let's have another game sometime," Yun Xiao said with a grin.

"On the house?" Feng Qingcong probed.

"You've already paid," Yun Xiao said.

"Paid? When did that happen?" Feng Qingcong looked at him, bewildered.

"Lil Xi, do you think we should keep searching?" Yun Xiao peered into the depths of the ancient palace with a hint of curiosity.

While pondering over the Polar Yin-Yang Chess, his gaze had caught something else. It was a stone stele, almost resembling a gravestone, cloaked in a layer of dust.

Yun Xiao could barely make out some inscriptions on it. "What's this?" He stepped closer, asking both Lian Xi and the nearby Feng Qingcong.

"Oh, I know this one," Lian Xi chimed in. "This is the Primordial Triforce Stele, engraved with the Primordial Triforce Sword Art. It's the foundation of the Primordial Academy and a pinnacle of swordsmanship. While the loss of the Dual Polar Yin-Yang Chess is a regret in the realm of chess tactics, the disappearance of this sword art is a true lament for all Sword Cultivators."

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Without uttering a word, Yun Xiao approached and wiped the dust off the stele, revealing that four-fifths of the original inscriptions had been erased.

What should have been 1,000 characters was now reduced to less than 200, scattered across every corner of the stele. This was even more dramatic than the loss of the Polar Yin-Yang Chess!

It was evident that the erased characters were forcefully chiseled away with a Sword Soul. Why had this stele been reduced to such a state? Yun Xiao didn't ask. He suspected it was yet another tale of selfishness, greed, and betrayal.

He was more concerned with what remained of the stele's teachings.

"This sword art... such a pity. Had it remained, our academy's swordsmanship wouldn't have declined to such lows, completely overshadowed within the Primordial Ruins." Feng Qingcong sighed, shaking his head.

As he spoke, he noticed Yun Xiao reaching out to touch the stele, tracing both the remaining characters and the chiseled holes, his eyes flickering with determination, as sharp as a sword's edge.

"This kid's putting on a show again!" Though they had known each other for less than half an hour, Feng Qingcong was already deeply impressed.

After about 15 minutes, Yun Xiao had touched every character from start to finish.

"How about it, once-in-a-generation genius?" Feng Qingcong coughed, asking.

Yun Xiao turned around, took a deep breath, and said to Feng Qingcong, "Uncle Feng, I owe you two games of chess."

"Oh? Then let's not wait. Fight now! You won the first game because I underestimated you. But from here on out, it won't be so easy for you," Feng Qingcong chuckled with a hint of challenge.

Under the shade of a pavilion, by a stone table, the two made their return. Feng Qingcong was just setting up the chessboard and sorting the pieces, muttering to himself, "This time, I'm taking the white pieces."

"Uncle Feng," Yun Xiao suddenly halted his hand, fixing him with a profound gaze. "We won't be needing your chess set."

"Then which one shall we use?" Feng Qingcong asked, setting aside his board and pieces.

"We'll use mine," Yun Xiao declared, sweeping his hand from left to right across the stone table.

In a swirl of celestial mist and shifting lights, a miniature chessboard, alive with the turmoil of clouds, materialized on the table.

With a gentle tap, black and white chess pieces, forged from the sacred power, floated before Yun Xiao and Feng Qingcong.

Grasping a cloud-like white piece, Yun Xiao smiled at Feng Qingcong and said, "I've always been partial to white. Let's say the white pieces are mine."

Lian Xi, hand over her mouth in astonishment, watched Yun Xiao, utterly bemused.

Feng Qingcong took a deep breath, clutching the Polar Yin-Yang Chess book close, tears welling up as he gazed at Yun Xiao. "Alright, they're yours."

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In the Mystic Zenith Temple, nestled in the deepest reaches of the Primordial Academy, was a place of solemn grandeur, its buildings clad in hues of black and silver, some shimmering coldly, others dark and forbidding.

Reputed as the academy's most impressive and revered site, few disciples dared to venture here. The temple's fore had seen countless executions, accumulating a dense aura of resentment over time, especially in the past century as the temple imposed stricter rules, elevating its authority and instilling fear at its mere mention.

At this moment, a woman clad in a silver robe, her demeanor both alluring and frosty, sauntered into a secluded hall, her presence stirring the silent air.

At the temple's heart, Dharma Crown Qin stood with a respect that bordered on reverence, her gaze fixed on a crimson shadow behind a curtain. "I've briefed you on the situation. The boy is an enigma, tied to the remnants of the Martial Emperor. I wonder what the Three True Immortals..."

Before she could finish, a silver and black token appeared out of thin air, hovering before her eyes.

"With this token, you may enter the Nine Hells," came a chilly female voice from behind the curtain.

"Thank you, Three True Immortals, and thank you, Temple Head," Dharma Crown Qin bowed deeply, taking the token and backing away.

"Spare him, bring him to me," the voice suddenly commanded.

Caught off guard, Dharma Crown Qin nodded. "Understood! His dual mastery of sword and sigil could offer some insights..."

"You talk too much." The crimson shadow cast a cold glance her way.

Dharma Crown Qin's smile vanished. She nodded and left, her gaze turning icier.

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In the Divine Dawn Pavilion, another night unfurled.

Beneath the moon, two figures leaned by the lake, basking in its hidden glow.

Lian Xi nestled in Yun Xiao's arms, her cheeks flushed with a rosy tint.

"You really do like being spoiled..." Yun Xiao mused, gently pinching her earlobe.

With Zhao Xuanran, it was usually him lying on her jade-like legs, moon-gazing. The difference was palpable!

"What's on your mind?" Lian Xi whispered from his embrace.

"I'm troubled," Yun Xiao replied, his voice heavy with concern.

"Worried about something? Is it about what's happening in five days?" Lian Xi asked with a hint of concern.

"No," Yun Xiao shook his head, "My worry is... I'm broke!"

"Out of Immortal Jades?"

"Yep, cleaned out," Yun Xiao confessed. He had hoped things would go as smoothly as in the Nine Hells, but reality in the Primordial Ruins proved more... fair.

Under the shadow of the Three True Immortals, there was no chance for another Exiled Sword Immortal, a supreme Immortal reincarnated, to rise above all. So, money was a tight squeeze!

"I can buy you what you need!" Lian Xi offered eagerly.

"No need, I'll figure something out." Yun Xiao knew she was at a crucial stage too, needing her Immortal Jades. In times like these, he had to fend for himself. Otherwise, he'd be stuck in the Mid Genesis Spirit Realm, with no quick way to power up.

"Lil Xi, what's the quickest way to make a buck in the Primordial Ruins?" Yun Xiao asked.

"Uh... the fastest ways are all listed in the disciple's rulebook, on the page about capital punishment," Lian Xi replied with a twinkle in her eye, playfully.

"Is that so?" Yun Xiao thought back and realized it was true. An offhand remark could carry a heavy truth!

"I'm already on the hit list, what's a little more law-bending?" Seeing no one around, he leaned in and whispered, "Hey, does the Primordial Ruins have any Sword Hearts? The really powerful kind?"