Xie An put away his worries about Yu He and approached the bronze stele for a closer look. He even circled it once.
The front was stamped with the national seal, and the back unexpectedly had some scribbled cinnabar handwriting. Because the strokes were messy and did not form complete characters, Xie An couldn't make out what was written.
He vaguely felt... that someone was making a draft before writing formally.
"This is the draft that Li Changchun made before writing that agreement a hundred years ago," Su Yuqing's explanation confirmed Xie An's guess.
Many people often write several drafts on paper before composing important documents, letters, or couplets, to get used to the wolf hair brush, the ink's diffusion, and the paper. Only after they are comfortable do they begin to write formally.
Engraving characters on the large bronze bell and establishing a century-long agreement was naturally an extremely solemn matter. It should be done this way.
Upon closer inspection, Xie An felt that these strokes should have been written with a wolf hair brush, but each stroke penetrated deep into the bronze stele, as if chiseled out with an engraving knife.
Such skill was truly astonishing.
Su Yuqing said, "Li Changchun used his Bright Jade Skill to empower the wolf hair brush to write it."
It is said that some calligraphy masters can achieve 'power through the paper' when writing, but Li Changchun could actually penetrate the bronze stele!
It was truly astonishing.
Suppressing the shock in his heart, Xie An circled the bronze stele, but did not find any other abnormalities.
The entire bronze stele only had something on the front and back: the jade seal imprint on one side, and the Bright Jade Skill inscription on the other.
The material of this bronze stele should be very good, but with Xie An's current ability, shattering this bronze stele... didn't seem to be too difficult.
Could it be that simple?
Impossible...
Xie An instinctively withdrew his hand, but was still pushed back by a huge force. He didn't dare to be careless, and immediately activated his Bright Jade Skill to the limit, his whole body radiating heat, trying to withstand this monstrous force.
Even so, Xie An was knocked back more than ten meters, his back hitting the wall. It looked like he was about to collapse the wall made of bluestone bricks. Suddenly, a slender hand pressed against Xie An's back, helping Xie An to release this primordial force.
After gaining a firm foothold, Xie An's Bright Jade Skill still circulated for a while, confirming that his muscles and bones were not injured. Only then did Xie An stop, and suddenly turned his head, "The power of the Bright Jade Skill? Or the power of national fortune from the national seal?"
Su Yuqing said: "Both."
Xie An was greatly shocked.
Does the national seal of this world really have something to do with national fortune?
It's truly a magical world.
Looking back at everything that had just happened, Xie An felt a burst of lingering fear.
Although he had protected his whole body with the Bright Jade Skill and was not injured, Xie An had only slightly touched the bronze stele. If the contact time became longer, or he forcibly broke it... what kind of powerful recoil force would he receive?
Xie An simply didn't dare to think about it.
What's more... this was just a small piece of scrap from the large bronze bell. If he faced the entire large bronze bell... the recoil force he would receive would probably be ten times greater than this bronze stele.
He couldn't help but doubt himself, could he really do it?
Princess, are you sure you didn't choose the wrong person?
Su Yuqing seemed to see Xie An's hesitation, but remained calm: "Move this bronze stele to your courtyard and ponder it carefully. When you split the bronze stele, it will be the time for this concubine to attack Dayin Mountain."
Xie An: "..."
"This concubine has studied this bronze stele for many years, and there is nothing more to say. It is just the Bright Jade Skill inscription on one side and the national seal imprint on the other. This concubine has not cultivated the Bright Jade Skill, so there is no way to study it. I'm afraid you'll have to ponder it carefully."
Leaving these words, Su Yuqing walked away with small steps, leaving Xie An alone in the room.
He circled the bronze stele several times, and did not find any other anomalies, so he planned to move the bronze stele to his room.
However, he couldn't touch this stone stele.
He was stuck.
Just then, Su Yuqing's voice came from outside the door, "There is a large red cloth next to it, just cover it with the red cloth."
Xie An glanced at the utility room and saw a large red cloth stacked in the corner. Xie An picked up the red cloth and covered the bronze stele, and then reached out to approach it... sure enough, he did not receive any recoil force.
However, the bronze stele was very heavy.
Even with Xie An's current strength, it would take some effort to move it. When passing through the courtyard, Xie An saw Su Yuqing standing with her hands behind her back under the gazebo, looking up at the direction of Dayin Mountain.
This lonely figure was very desolate.
Usually, she would be quietly reading books and brewing tea.
This time was different.
Xie An vaguely felt that maybe this Princess... was also under a lot of pressure.
Worried that more than twenty years of planning and effort would be in vain.
Worried that the demons of Dayin Mountain would revive...
This also added a bit of urgency to Xie An's heart. He did not greet Su Yuqing, but carried the bronze stele away.
Until Xie An walked out the door, Su Yuqing came back to her senses, staring at the departing figure.
Deeply, deeply gazing.
...
Back in the central courtyard, Xie An placed the bronze stele in the practice room, uncovered the red cloth, and sat next to the bronze stele to study it carefully.
Sometimes he sat on the side with the jade seal imprint, staring for a long time. Then he went around to the back to look at the Bright Jade Skill inscription, again for a long time.
He naturally knew that the Princess had entrusted him with an important task, and he also wanted to find a way out.
But... he really had no clue!
"No, Su Yuqing has been studying it for many years, and she hasn't found anything. I have to change my thinking..."
Xie An replayed the process.
There was a question that plagued Xie An: why did Su Yuqing think he could shatter such a terrifying large bronze bell?
You know, when Su Yuqing first approached him... he had only just dabbled in the Bright Jade Skill for a short time, far inferior to now. Even now he was powerless against this bronze stele, let alone back then.
How did Su Yuqing think he could do it?
Careless?
Based on Xie An's understanding of Su Yuqing, this was impossible.
Her approaching him must have a very reliable logic.
Although there were few people who had cultivated the Bright Jade Skill, Old Master Tang was one of them. And Old Master Tang had already cultivated the sixth section of the Bright Jade Skill early on, which was much more powerful than he was at the beginning.
Why didn't Su Yuqing go to Old Master Tang?
Xie An continued to dig deeper along this line of thinking.
He obtained an important piece of information: Su Yuqing once said that she knew he had cultivated some kind of secret technique and absorbed the Qi of Immortality.
Could it be because of this?
The more Xie An thought about it, the more he felt it was possible.
Su Yuqing probably didn't know that he had the destiny of longevity, and only thought it was some kind of special secret technique. But even so, how did Su Yuqing know that absorbing the Qi of Immortality would greatly enhance the cultivation of the Bright Jade Skill?
Xie An didn't have more information and couldn't analyze the reasons, but Su Yuqing's logic in choosing him... should be this?
This woman is not simple, or this place of Dayin Mountain... still has things he doesn't know.
He shook his head and stopped thinking.
Since he had agreed to Su Yuqing's cooperation, he only needed to find a way to shatter the large bronze bell. As for other things... Su Yuqing would do it herself.
After fiddling with it for most of the day, Xie An didn't find anything, so he had to give up. Then he wrote a letter to Big Brother Tang and gave it to Wang Xiang to send to the Tang Family Fortress in the county town.
Originally, Xie An also wanted to visit Big Brother Tang in person. However, Su Yuqing said... the High Priest and Li Changchun were both watching him.
Although Li Changchun had gone to Nanzhou City, the High Priest was still there.
Although Xie An held the Sword Paper, he still felt that it was better to avoid trouble and be more cautious.
In the afternoon, Wang Xiang returned with the letter.
Xie An opened it and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Xie An only asked Old Master Tang one thing: a hundred years ago, when Li Changchun reached an agreement with the Demon Suppression Division, to what level had his Bright Jade Skill been cultivated?
Old Master Tang's reply was also very simple: eighteen sections.
And he also explained in detail that Li Changchun had been stuck at eighteen sections for a long time.
One season has six solar terms, and eighteen sections means that he has completed the solar terms of spring, summer, and autumn, but entering winter... is very difficult.
Entering winter... hibernation!
Could it be that because he couldn't enter the fourth season for a long time, he chose to hibernate in a state of suspended animation...
Suspended animation, hibernation...
It seemed to fit.
That is to say, in order to make the Bright Jade Skill enter winter, Li Changchun relied on suspended animation and hibernation, and spent a full hundred years before stepping into the nineteenth section!
His will is truly extraordinary.
But it also meant that the difficulty of the Bright Jade Skill entering winter was very high. The further he went, the greater the difficulty.
This gave Xie An a piece of information that could be used as a rough judgment: if this was the case, Li Changchun's and the High Priest's Bright Jade Skill progress should most likely be at the nineteenth section now.
They had not reached the twenty-fourth level of great completion that everyone talked about.
Great completion was originally a vague statement.
For example, a multi-millionaire in his previous life.
One hundred million is a multi-millionaire, and ten hundred million is also a multi-millionaire.
Rejuvenation, perhaps, is just the ability of the nineteenth section of the Bright Jade Skill?
Of course, these were just Xie An's rough guesses, and may not be the facts. But they did provide Xie An with a direction.
Thinking of this, Xie An's thoughts gradually became clearer:
"That is to say, Li Changchun and the High Priest are not that scary. Moreover, when he engraved the characters back then, Li Changchun only had eighteen sections of the Bright Jade Skill. As long as I reach thirteen or fourteen sections of the Bright Jade Skill... I should be able to break this bronze bell."
After all, the engraved words weren't from Li Changchun himself, and a century had passed, greatly weakening the power within the script. Thirteen or fourteen sections should be enough.
Currently at nine sections, but Xie An's integration is high.
The previous improvement was like a bonus. The subsequent cultivation speed will inevitably be rapid.
It might just take several years…
If that's the case… then things become much easier.
Cultivating the Bright Jade Skill was what Xie An wanted to do most, and the deal with Su Yuqing… doesn't conflict at all.
He wouldn't need to spend extra time on Su Yuqing's affairs.
Killing two birds with one stone, great.
Clearing away distracting thoughts, Xie An immediately sat down cross-legged and began cultivating the Bright Jade Skill.
This was the first time Xie An used his brand-new Longevity Destiny's integration to cultivate the Bright Jade Skill after exiting seclusion. Xie An was very much looking forward to seeing the progress.
Three days later.
Early morning, Xie An was still sitting cross-legged in the training room, warmth flowing through his body, and fine beads of sweat constantly oozing from the pores of his skin. A scorching heat constantly gathered around Xie An, causing a thermal barrier to form around him. Even a small pine tree placed on the windowsill next to him had its needles withered and yellowed from the heat.
This was the unique thermal barrier of Xie An's full-powered Bright Jade Skill.
After completing a full cycle, Xie An stopped and slowly opened his eyes.
Clearly, Xie An's pupils had become sharp and bright, no longer as cloudy and yellow as an old man's eyes.
【Bright Jade Skill: Grain in Ear 27 / 100】
"Three days, an increase of ten points. This speed… is quite outrageous!"
The newest novels are at 6_9_shu_ba_ first!
This is the ninth section of the Bright Jade Skill!
The difficulty of the same hundred points is more than twice that of the first section.
The integration of the Longevity Destiny is only , yet it's already so perverted.
If it continues to improve… what will happen?
With such speed, Xie An saw hope of shattering the Great Bronze Bell.
In the following time, Xie An spent most of his time cultivating the Bright Jade Skill, occasionally taking the time to wander around the hall and stroll around the academy across the street.
The scale of the academy was getting bigger and bigger.
In addition to Su Yuqing, Zheng Bingxiang hired a few more teachers from the county town and opened arithmetic classes.
More and more villagers were gathering in Shuideng Town. There were also more children coming to study. Undoubtedly… the expenses also increased.
However, with Su Yuqing around, money wasn't a problem.
But Xie An clearly noticed that Su Yuqing was spending less and less time teaching.
Instead, he often saw this usually quiet and gentle princess standing alone somewhere, looking up at Great Yin Mountain, her face full of sorrow.
Seeing her back from a distance, Xie An could feel the pressure she was bearing.
She should be very anxious, but… she never urged Xie An, nor did she reveal anything.
However, this pressure was involuntarily transmitted to Xie An.
A month and a half passed quickly.
Time came to September, and Xie An's Bright Jade Skill, on this morning, stepped into the tenth solar term as scheduled.
【Bright Jade Skill: Summer Solstice 0 / 100】
Huff!
Xie An breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked down to the ground.
He carefully felt it. After entering the tenth section, in addition to the obvious increase in the power of the body's engine, there were no other major transformations.
Moreover, at the beginning of Grain in Ear, the progress was ten points in three days, but the further he went, the slower it became. He couldn't even reach a progress of one point per day.
According to this trend, Xie An estimated that it would take ten years to cultivate to the eighteenth section…?
Xie An could wait, but Su Yuqing seemed to be… under a lot of pressure.
When he walked out of the door, Xie An saw Su Yuqing standing under the eaves of the backyard, gazing at Great Yin Mountain with her hands behind her back.
That back view was lonely and desolate.
Xie An wanted to help, but his ability was limited.
Wait…
Xie An suddenly had a flash of inspiration:
Last time, Xie An speculated that Su Yuqing chose him because she valued that he cultivated some secret technique that could absorb undead energy and accelerate the progress of the Bright Jade Skill.
In fact, there is another possibility… that is, the Immortal Treasure.
Su Yuqing said that Yuhe analyzed that the Immortal Treasure was likely on him. However, this woman always spoke vaguely, and he didn't delve into it at the time, and hasn't asked about it to this day.
What she wants to tell you, she will say without you asking. What she doesn't want to tell you, it's useless to ask.
Hidden very deeply.
Immortal Treasure…
Xie An suddenly thought of this, so he went to the kitchen, moved away the stacked firewood, dug up a bluestone brick, pulled out a cotton bag from inside, and took out the Immortal Treasure to check.
Finally, Xie An held the Immortal Treasure in his hand and came to the training room.
He looked at the bronze tablet while looking at the Immortal Treasure, comparing them to try to find some similarities.
Soon, Xie An was disappointed.
There were no similarities, and there was nothing to compare.
Just as Xie An was about to give up, the red square box… suddenly moved.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The box was vibrating.
Huh?
At first, Xie An thought it was his hand shaking, but after he held it steady, the box was still shaking.
This surprised Xie An greatly.
It had been more than four years since he obtained the Immortal Treasure, and other than drinking the water near it to accelerate the cultivation of the Nourishing Life Skill, he hadn't discovered any other uses. Later, as the integration of Xie An's Longevity Destiny increased, Xie An no longer needed to drink that water, and he had almost forgotten about this thing.
As for inserting his fingers into the keyhole to unlock it… Xie An had never thought about it.
Although he had entered the tenth section of the Bright Jade Skill, but… the keyhole could even break profound iron. No matter how hard his fingers were, they couldn't be harder than profound iron.
Xie An wouldn't do such an obviously unlikely thing.
He never expected that this box would actually vibrate on its own.
As if there was something inside that was stimulated…
Xie An was a little scared…
This was the Changsheng Sect's treasure.
Heaven knows what's in the box?
He took a few steps back and observed vigilantly. He found that the box was only vibrating, and the amplitude and frequency of the vibration were very stable, without accelerating or losing control.
Only then did Xie An slowly relax, slowly walked over, picked up the Immortal Treasure box, and retreated.
As soon as he retreated one step, the vibration amplitude of the Immortal Treasure box weakened.
Huh?
This strange phenomenon caught Xie An's attention.
He retreated another step, and the vibration amplitude of the box slowed down again.
Walking forward two steps, the vibration amplitude increased.
"What's going on? Swinging back and forth…"
After repeated attempts, it was always the same.
The changes were extremely stable.
"The Immortal Treasure, which hasn't moved for four years, why did it suddenly shake? What special day is today?"
Just as Xie An was racking his brains, he inadvertently glanced at the bronze tablet, and his mind suddenly opened up:
Could it be because of the bronze tablet?
Approaching the bronze tablet, the Immortal Treasure box vibrates faster; moving away from the bronze tablet, the box vibrates slower?
Thinking of this, Xie An immediately tested it.
Holding the box close to the Immortal Treasure, the vibration accelerated; moving away, it slowed down. When Xie An moved away to three meters, the Immortal Treasure box completely stopped moving.
"Sure enough… it's the bronze tablet!"
After being in contact with the Immortal Treasure for four years, Xie An felt that this Immortal Treasure did have something. First of all, the box was so hard that it was outrageous. Even Xie An, who had the tenth section of the Bright Jade Skill, couldn't leave any scratches on the box.
This in itself was very离谱.
In addition, when the box approached water, it would change the water and accelerate the progress of the Nourishing Life Skill.
Plus, a small box weighed dozens of pounds.
Combining the above three points, Xie An believed that this box was indeed extraordinary and definitely not an ordinary object.
Today, it was actually stimulated by the bronze tablet…
There were only the engraved words of the Bright Jade Skill and the National Seal on the bronze tablet.
He himself had cultivated the Bright Jade Skill and didn't think that the Bright Jade Skill could stimulate the box. Then, what stimulated the box… was the seal of the National Seal.
Thinking of this, Xie An picked up the box and slowly approached the National Seal.
When he approached one meter, the Immortal Treasure box "clanged and clanged" and shook.
When he approached half a meter, Xie An could hardly hold it steady.
The Immortal Treasure suddenly became very restless, like a greedy beast seeing delicious food.
Xie An was quite uneasy, but he couldn't resist his curiosity. While holding the Immortal Treasure box and constantly approaching the National Seal, he was always ready to throw away the box and retreat if something unexpected happened…
The main thing was that the Immortal Treasure had finally shown signs of life after four years, and it was also related to the National Seal. It was inappropriate for Xie An not to investigate it.
At the moment when the box touched the seal—
Buzz!
The bronze tablet suddenly shook violently, and a power even stronger than before rushed towards Xie An. Xie An instinctively wanted to throw away the Immortal Treasure box and retreat, but suddenly found that this power didn't descend on him, but was… blocked by the Immortal Treasure box.
Then, in Xie An's shocked eyes, the Immortal Treasure box quickly absorbed the extraordinary power on the seal.
"This Immortal Treasure… is actually absorbing the power of the nation's destiny! ?"
At the same time, the Dao Talisman in Xie An's mind also vibrated…
