Sword Dance in the Snow

The rain started falling from the day Long Qiqi planned to cut down the Demonic Weeping Willow, and it kept falling without stopping, falling and falling, and the temperature kept dropping. The last few days there were some ice crystals floating in the air, and today, floating all over, it finally started snowing.

Long Qiqi barely went out anymore, going from wrapping herself in blankets to wrapping herself in quilts. She was always drowsy and couldn't stay fully awake. She still held books to read, but looked the same as when Li Shiyin read books.

In fact, whether it was the little wooden house or their bedroom, Qin Ran had set up formations so it was very warm inside.

But Long Qiqi was acting like she was about to hibernate.

"You said this place was a Cave Paradise, but there are still winter cold and summer heat." Long Qiqi complained while curling up in a wooden chair.

"The four seasons cycling is the natural way of Heaven, all things revive in spring, grow in summer, ripen in autumn, and perish in winter, this is the Dao."

Qin Ran was reading medical books, researching immortality, and he smiled at Long Qiqi's words, "A Cave Paradise is a suitable place for cultivation. Dan Peak has abundant spiritual qi, four seasons cycling, this kind of suitable place for cultivation, what if not a Cave Paradise?"

"Yes, yes, you and your convoluted logic!" Long Qiqi weakly retorted.

Qin Ran looked up towards the window, pointed, and said to Long Qiqi: "Look at Chasing the Wind over there!"

Without looking she knew what the situation outside was like, Long Qiqi was too lazy to look.

Don't be fooled by Chasing the Wind's large size, he's actually the youngest. He's still a few months shy of being one year old!

So he had never seen snow before.

This was the first time in his life seeing snow.

Chasing the Wind was picked up on a rainy night by Li Shiyin, he knew that rain fell from the sky; but he didn't know that this kind of thing, like willow catkins, would fall from the sky.

Snowflakes, they were extremely beautiful. Not willow catkins.

So Chasing the Wind madly frolicked in the snow, his silly wind-like figure could be seen all over Dan Peak...he was truly too happy.

The snow was heavy, like willow catkins, like tufts of cotton, falling down from the sky in clumps, hitting people with a clear feeling.

Li Shiyin danced with her sword in the snow.

Every move, very slowly, not like her usual fierce swordsmanship, like an elderly person's fitness swordplay.

Snow fell on her, in her hair, clothes, dancing sword; her hair seemed white, her clothes seemed embroidered with snowflakes, her sword seemed to have snow patterns. She danced with her sword, watching the snow, watching the footprints in the snow, and thought of her grandfather.

Last year, when the first snow fell, she watched her grandfather dance the Big Shovel Spear in the snow, her grandfather wielded the spear, keeping the snowflakes away; this year, the first snow fell, she danced alone with her sword, snowflakes covered her whole body.

Qin Ran opened the door and leaned against a pillar under the eaves, watching Li Shiyin dance with her sword in the snow.

His foolish disciple was very beautiful, her posture was also very good, developed over the past half year, curvy front and perky long legs, words that could now be used to describe her. So she danced gracefully in the snow, sleeves billowing, sword dance transcendent, extremely pleasing to the eye.

Truly a masterpiece, a fairy that graces the mundane world.

He watched, enraptured.

After a good while, even Chasing the Wind who was like a Samoyed had ran by several times, Li Shiyin finally sheathed her sword. She stood in the snow, the gentle breeze blowing her clothes, her aura was as cold as the snow, gazing into the distance, lost in memories, and also sorrowful.

So-called transcending the mundane world, feathers scattering as she ascends to immortality. In this moment, Li Shiyin was even better than Tushan Youyou.

Qin Ran walked out from under the eaves, standing in the snow, coming to Li Shiyin's side.

He tilted his head to look, his disciple was as tall as him now, he asked: "Missing home?"

"Mm." Li Shiyin nodded, "I miss Grandfather."

Qin Ran stretched out his hand to catch a snowflake, using magic to prevent it from melting. He looked at this untouched natural work of art, and said to Li Shiyin: "As long as you still remember your grandfather, he will never truly die. He will forever live on in your heart.

"So you must live healthily and happily, because your grandfather will always be with you."

Li Shiyin looked at Qin Ran, took the snowflake from his hand, she thought for a bit, but still asked: "Master, is the elixir of immortality really so hard to refine?"

"The physiology of the human body determines humanity's lifespan limit, the maximum human lifespan being 180 years old. Because of illness, injury and other reasons, most die by 100 years old.

"Talk of increasing lifespan and longevity in ordinary times means healthy diet, healthy habits, taking fortifying medicine, appropriate exercise. It's increasing lifespan within the limit, not expanding the lifespan limit itself.

"Cultivation can change a person's physique, especially at the Golden Core stage, the lifespan limit of a Golden Core cultivator would be 800 years, so after reaching the Golden Core stage, one can no longer be considered human. And if not cultivating, the human lifespan limit is 180 years, basically unable to exceed. Meanwhile, because the physique is still within human limits in the Foundation Establishment stage, the lifespan limit of Foundation Establishment is 180 years.

Qin Ran really had no sense of romance, a standard science man. He earnestly explained to Li Shiyin the deeper reasons why the elixir of immortality was so hard to refine,

"So, to increase a human's lifespan, in the end it still requires changing the human physique, only by changing the physique can the limit of 180 years be extended. But to accomplish this with a single medicinal pill, the difficulty is no less than turning an ordinary person into a Golden Core cultivator overnight."

Li Shiyin was silent, she crushed the snowflake in her hand, lowered her head, only looking at the white snow on the ground.

"Master will definitely refine the elixir of immortality." Seeing Li Shiyin's mood, Qin Ran consoled.

"Mm." Li Shiyin responded dispiritedly.

"You believe in master..." Qin Ran asked.

But before he could ask "right?", he was interrupted from behind by Chasing the Wind shouting loudly:

"Dad! Take my Barbarian King Headbutt!!!"

Qin Ran's expression greatly changed. Looking back, he only saw a white shadow flying over following the sound in the distance, moving extremely fast. He didn't even have time to move his body technique before being collided into by that large white blur, then sent flying...

Chasing the Wind had headbutted right into Qin Ran's lower abdomen, directly knocking Qin Ran back over ten meters!

Li Shiyin beside him was badly startled when her master suddenly disappeared, crying out loudly: "Master!!" Then flying over.

Qin Ran flew dozens of meters in the air, then slid another dozen meters in the snow, from in front of the little wooden house, headbutted all the way to Sword Washing Lake.

Fortunately his physique was Golden Core, if his body was a bit weaker, he certainly wouldn't be well off today.

Li Shiyin pulled him up from the ground, he sat in the snow, clutching his abdomen that was hit by Chasing the Wind, temporarily unable to stand. His stomach really hurt, he felt a bit like throwing up.

He looked towards Chasing the Wind, Chasing the Wind was there watching his sorry state and laughing loudly. To Chasing the Wind, him flying out dozens of meters and rolling in the snow was an extremely amusing thing.

Qin Ran's face was completely black, this fool Chasing the Wind truly thought it was fun, completely unaware that his weight was nearly 1000 jin!

He endured for a bit, forcing himself to stand. Just as he was about to teach Chasing the Wind a lesson, at this time, someone outside the protective mountain formation sought an audience.

"Phew!" He had no choice but to let Chasing the Wind go for now, opening the protective mountain formation to let the person outside come in.

The person coming in was Tian Wenjin, dressed in plain white clothes, carrying a blue-black longsword on her back. She slowly walked over in the heavy snow.

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