Chapter26:TheTwinWitches

"Ka!Ka!"YunXiwasburyingAshenwithashovel.Nobodywouldbeabletoseeanyremnantsofthehumancorpse-Ashen-thatwasburiedintheplacewhichthegreenhippohadfallen.

Actually,hehadnointentiontokillAshen,butfightingthegreenhippogavehimnochoice-itwaseitherhediedortheotherdied.Hedidn’thaveanyotherchoice.

WhenhenoticedthatthegreenhippoandAshenhadanunusualrelationship,hehadlongbeenawarethattherewasnomedicinethatcouldpossiblyrescuehim.

"Ashen,whenyoureincarnate,Iknowthatyou’llcertainlyhateme.ButImustsayonething,youaretrulymistaken."

Havingfilledthesoil,YunXipluggeditwithseveralbranches.Puttingthevillage’s"onceinalifetime"geniuswhohadunfortunatelyfallenastray-Ashen,intoeternalslumberinthecornerofasmallforest.

"Goodbye,Ashen."

Nobodywouldhaveknownthatinthisplacetherehadbeenasoul-stirringbattleoflifeanddeath.

Afterwalkingquitefar,YunXididn’tnoticethatthepoolofbloodleftbythedeadgreenhippovanishedinthewildernessassoonasabluelightflashed.

****

WhitemistslowlyfilledtheairinthewarmspringwaterastheexhaustedYunXicollapsedinthespring,unabletoevenmoveafinger.

"ThatguyAshenreallygotastrong’girl’."Lyingdowninthefamiliarhotspring,thedeathmatchstruggleamomentagoreappearedinYunXi’smindonceagain.

Onlybyrecallingthelastthreemovesheusedtosolvethegreenhippodidheseethatthemoveshadcontainedatransitionmovement,routelines,aswellasthelimituseoftheblade’sedge.

HuaHuo,youarewaytoostrong.

Withouthavingexperiencedanactualbattlebyhimself,YunXiwassimplyunabletoimaginehowscaryhischildhoodsweetheartHuaHuowasintheSwordArtsRealm.

Ashenwasinfact,notweak.Thatgreenhippohadarollercompactionmovewhichcouldoverwhelmallunderthe3rd-rankedpowerhouse.

ButinHuaHuo’seyes,thisgreenhippowasnotthatdifferentthanapieceofmeatonthechoppingblock;solongastherewasaknife,itwouldfallinsecondseasily.

Tothinkthatbetweenpeopleagapthisbigofadegreeexisted.

Whilehiswholebodywasimmersedinthehotspring,YunXiunconsciouslyusedthebreathingpracticetechniquehegotfromHuaHuo.

Untilnow,hedidn’tknowthenameofthisSecretBreathingTechnique.AccordingtoHuaHuo,thistechniquewasseeminglyassimpleasthebasicBreathingPracticemethod.

ButYunXialsoknewevenbeforehelearnedhishalf-bakedBreathingPracticemethodfromHuaHuo,thatthiswasabsolutelyveryextraordinary.

Notonlywasthisbreathingpracticemethodamazingforabeginner,buthisNoviceIronSwordwasalsothesame.Whenherecalledvividlyinmindthegreenhippo’smoves,evenifhewishedtokillthatgreenhippo,itwasabsolutelyimpossibleforhimtodoso.

"HuaHuo,intheend,you..."YunXiwasverysurethattherewasnooneinthevillage’sschoolthatcouldteachthiskindofthing.

NeitherintheHeavenlySwordGod’sDomainnortheWesternGod’sDomain,thiskindofsecrettechnique’slevelbelongedonlytotherichestandpowerfularistocratfamilyandhadneverbeenpassedontounauthorizedpeople.

Evenahalf-completedBreathingPracticemethodwassopowerful,andthroughHuaHuo’sSeed,hecouldlearnthecompleteeditionofthisBreathingPracticemethod.ForYunXi,ithadopenedanewdoor.

(TranslatedbyGravityTales妫ｅ啯衼)

RegardingMortalGradecultivators,aformidableBreathingPracticemethodwasthemostimportantfoundation.ThereasonforYunXi’s,wasthatheeasilyacceptedHuaHuo’sSeedandhadthehighestcompatibilitysinceHuaHuohadlaidthefoundationforhimtohavelastingachievements.

"Originally...Ihadreceivedsuchcare..."Witheverybreathhetook,YunXicouldclearlyfeelthathisbodywaschanging.

Unliketheabsorptionofthehippo’ssoulthatgavequickresultsanderuption-likechanges,thisseedwassilentlyandsmoothlypromotingthemostfundamentalpartofhisphysicalquality.

"Exhale...inhale..."WhilepracticingthesecretBreathingPracticetechniquefromHuaHuo,YunXi’sheartslowlybecametranquil.

Thesoundofthesurroundingwater,thewindblowingfromthedistanttrees,andhisheartbeatwereslowlyconnectedtogether.Formingonekindofspecialrhythm.

Thiswasbreathing,themostimportantvitalactivityformortallife.Itwasalsothebeginningpointforsecrettechniquespracticedbyallsects.

HuaHuo’ssecrettechniquewasabsolutelythatofthehighest-level.Ittemperedthemostbasicparttoquenchthebodyintoperfectionandlaidthemostperfectfoundationforallstepstakeninthefuture.

Inmanypeople’seyes,evengeniusessuchasAshenwhentheywereinMortalGrade,theywouldpursuepurebattleefficiencyonly.Andforthisreason,theydidn’tevenhesitatetododishonestthings.

Thesekindsofso-calledgeniusesnearlyhadnohopetoenterthe4thRank-theHeroRank.Eveniftheyusedsomemethodtooverdrafttheirfuturepotentialandbarelybrokethroughthegrade,theiradvancementwouldstillbestoppedatthe4thRank.Aftertheyenteredoldage,theirvitalitywouldbecomesoweakthattheywouldstepbackandregressintotheMortalRankagain.

Theywerelackingsomething,whichwasthebasicphysicalquenchingthatwasofferedthroughaBreathingPracticemethodtotempertheirbodytoperfection.Theyweretooobsessedandeagertocrossthethresholdforquicksuccessandimmediategain.Forgettingabouttheirfoundation.

HuaHuo’sfoundationwasunknown,howmanytimesbetterwasitcomparedtoAshen’s?Theirfutureachievementwould’vebeenworldsapart.

"Therefore,Ashen,howwouldyouevenpossiblypursueHuaHuo."

"Moreover,HuaHuoandI..."Thinkingaboutthatincomparablytragicfuture,YunXicouldn’thelpbutsigh.

Regardlessofeverything,hadthat7th-rankedApostlecomehere,shewasstrongenoughtosweepawaytheentireWhiteLotusSwordDomain,butthatwasaproblemforlater.

"Inhale...Haaah..."Thoughhewasfeelinghazy,YunXistillpracticedHuaHuo’ssecretbreathingtechniqueandmaintainedthisstateasmostofhisbodysankintothehotspring,leavingonlyhisnoseandmouthabovethewater’ssurface.

Gettingimmersedinthisstateofecstasymeantthathehadsuccessfullypracticedthissecretbreathingtechnique,ashethenquicklysatinmeditationandforgoteverything.

Havingexperiencedadeathmatchwiththegreenhippo,YunXibecameawareofhiscultivationpathadvancementashefinallystartedtotransformhimselftoenterthisworld.

Meditatingcoupledwiththeaidofthishotspringreallyhelpedhisbloodcirculation.Hecontinuedtoremaininthisstateforquitealongtime,evenYunXiwasunawarethattheskyhaddarkened.

Atanearbyriverwherehewaschaseddownandhadkilledthegreenhippo,atroopfromafarwascamping.Oneafteranother,whitelotus-shapedlanternswerehungupinmidairaslayersofformationthenformed,whichevenbirdswereunabletoenter.

"Welcome,HerHighnessWhiteLotusWitch!"

"Welcome,HerHighnessRedLotusWitch!"

IfYunXiwashere,hecouldseethatthemayorwaskneelingdownonthegroundandsweatingprofuselywithananxiousexpressionfullydrawnonhisface.

Theyhadalreadyremindedthatkid-Ashen-countlesstimesthathemustbyallmeansrushherebeforetonighttogreettheSwordPalace’smessenger.ThatwasalsoorderedbytheemperorpersonallybecausethesetwowitchesweretheWhiteLotusSwordDomain’snextsuccessors!

TheywerenotonlywellknownasgeniusesofthemillenniuminthewholeWhiteLotusSwordDomain,buttheirsoulswerealsointerlinked.Theirtitleswere"WhiteLotusWitch"and"RedLotusWitch".

"Enoughwiththeceremony,weareonlypassingthroughhereandwillonlyselectdisciplesfortheSwordPalace;wedon’twanttoenterthevillageanddisturbtheinhabitants."

"..."

BeadsofsweatswerestreamingdownfromtheMayor’sbaldforehead.

TheheavensmighthavetakenapityonthissmallvillagesincethisvillagewasthemostordinaryfrontierregionintheWhiteLotusSwordDomainwithapopulationoftensofthousandspeople.SohowwouldtheyhavetheopportunitytogreetsuchagreatVIPliketheWhiteLotusWitch?

AndthesetwohadalreadysteppedintotheHeroRank,theywerepeerlesspowerhouses.

Moreover,itwassaidthattheywereonly14-years-old!