https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-29-The-Devil-s-Shadow-Divine-Art-Appreciated-by-Jiang-Qiong/12574048/
Chapter 30: Nascent Soul Realm, Ninth Layer, Wood Spirit Sword Technique
Chapter 30: Nascent Soul Realm, Ninth Layer, Wood Spirit Sword Technique
"Gu Shidi, let me introduce you to my childhood friend, Zuo Lin. He wishes to discuss sword techniques with me, so I'll be having him stay in my courtyard." Li Ya walked up to Gu An and introduced him to his friend.
Zuo Lin wore a yellow robe, his features handsome and proud, his brows exuding an air of arrogance that he made no attempt to hide. A precious sword hung at his waist, indicating a high level of quality.
Li Ya proceeded to introduce Gu An to Zuo Lin, but Zuo only nodded slightly at Gu An without saying a word.
Gu An, however, was used to such behavior and smiled. "Then, Li Shixiong, please go ahead and show him to his quarters."
Li Ya nodded, his eyes conveying an apology.
Zuo Lin pulled Li Ya along as he walked ahead, his excitement evident. "That Ji Lin from the Ji family is truly remarkable. Did you see his sword technique? It was exquisite! I think he has a good chance of being the final winner."
Ji Lin?
Gu An's mind conjured up an image of a handsome and proud face. Like Gu An, Ji Lin had become a disciple of Ji Xiaoyu at the Tai Xuan Gate, and although they didn't interact much, Du Ye had once helped Ji Lin collect medicinal herbs.
Who would have thought that Ji Lin would already be making a name for himself at the Heavenly Realm's Outer Sect Assembly? And to think that Ji Lin was only a few years older than him.
Of course, it could also be due to the cultivation resources he had access to. The treatment he received at Tai Xuan Gate, coupled with the resources of the Ji family, could easily explain his rapid progress.
Gu An walked towards the tree, but his ears were tuned to eavesdrop on Li Ya and Zuo Lin's conversation.
The Heavenly Realm's Outer Sect Assembly had already begun, bringing together the talented outer sect disciples of the righteous and demonic paths. From what Li Ya and Zuo Lin were saying, the assembly was conducted in a one-on-one format, and those who remained undefeated were starting to gain fame.
Gu An didn't hear Ji Xiaoyu's name mentioned, but then again, she wasn't an outer sect disciple.
Xiaochuan, Wuxin, and the others were quite curious about Zuo Lin and gathered in small groups to gossip about him.
However, Zuo Lin's arrival didn't disrupt the life in Xuan Gu. He looked down on the menial disciples and usually only practiced the sword with Li Ya. After their practice, he would return to his room to cultivate.
Due to their presence, Gu An reduced the frequency of his visits to the Eight Scenery Wonderland, but he continued to stick to his daily plan.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Finally, Gu An reached the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm. That night, as he made his way back, he felt as light as a feather.
When he returned to Xuan Gu, he noticed someone practicing the sword in Li Ya's courtyard.
He went back to his attic and only approached the window after entering the room.
The practitioner was Zuo Lin.
When Zuo Lin had first arrived, Gu An had assumed he was a sword genius.
But after observing his daily practice for a month, Gu An realized that Zuo Lin's talent in the sword was extremely mediocre.
With his current understanding of the sword, Gu An could tell that Zuo Lin's sword talent was not as good as Su Han's.
Su Han was the most talented swordsman in the valley, but even he would not be considered exceptional outside of Xuan Gu.
Gu An watched for a while before closing the window.
As dawn broke, Gu An went downstairs and saw that Zuo Lin was still standing in the courtyard, staring at the sword in his hand with a furrowed brow.
Gu An called out to his junior disciples to practice their morning exercises, and the noise drew Zuo Lin's attention.
"Actually, you don't have to force yourself with sword techniques. Your spirit root talent is so powerful that if you wait until your cultivation base is higher, you might be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort in sword cultivation." Li Ya walked up to Zuo Lin and spoke softly.
Zuo Lin's face turned gloomy as he replied, "No, I must become a sword cultivator. My father is the renowned Sword Maniac of Lake Cang!"
Li Ya had intended to persuade him, but then he thought of his own situation and how he also wanted to prove himself to his father.
Zuo Lin stared intently at Gu An and the others as they practiced. For some reason, he felt that there was something special about Gu An's movements. Although they were the same as everyone else's, there seemed to be a hidden depth to them.
At first, he thought it was his imagination, but the more he watched, the more convinced he became that he hadn't mistaken.
Li Ya, on the other hand, didn't disturb Zuo Lin further and instead turned towards the mountains to cultivate. He needed a lot of time to cultivate as well.
Although he didn't bring it up often, the memory of his defeat at Xu Ruye's hands still lingered in his mind.
He didn't want to lose again!
After Gu An finished practicing, he assigned tasks to the disciples in the valley. By now, the affairs in the valley no longer required his personal arrangement, as Wuxin was gradually taking over the responsibilities of the senior disciple.
Xiaochuan had a dull personality and didn't like giving orders, so he was happy to let Wuxin take charge.
As for Ye Lan, she had already retracted her affections and was now solely focused on passing the outer sect assessment.
For people like her with average talent, there was only one path to becoming an outer sect disciple: reaching the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm and then participating in the outer sect assessment. Passing the assessment would mean receiving a Foundation Establishment Pill from the outer sect.
Of course, if they could directly break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, there would be no need for an assessment.
Gu An was considering whether to improve his pill refining technique to help his junior martial sisters and brothers refine Foundation Establishment Pills. All the ingredients for the pill could be found in the valley, but the challenging part was the refining process itself.
Ye Lan was still some time away from reaching the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, giving Gu An enough time to make a decision. As for Xiaochuan, he was even further behind.
With most people's talent, they would never reach the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm even if they cultivated their entire lives.
Gu An made his way towards the attic, pulling out the 'Qing Xia Chronicles' from his pocket, his face filled with anticipation.
He had deliberately saved the last five chapters for a beautiful day like this to savor them.
In the pouring rain, Qing Xia and his beloved Yin girl met in a ruined temple, and their love and hatred were about to explode...
Just the thought of it filled Gu An with excitement.
"Brother Gu An."
Zuo Lin's voice carried over, and Gu An turned to see him striding towards him.
When Zuo Lin reached Gu An, he seemed a bit embarrassed, but Gu An didn't hold his initial arrogance against him. Smiling, he asked, "What is it, Brother Zuo?"
Zuo Lin bit his teeth and said, "I observed your set of moves, and they are quite exquisite. May I ask you to teach them to me?"
"No problem. Let's go under the tree," Gu An replied.
"Promoting broadcast calisthenics is the duty of us Chinese children!" Zuo Lin froze for a moment, surprised at how easily Gu An agreed. Suddenly feeling ashamed, he quickly followed Gu An's footsteps.
The two arrived in the courtyard in front of the attic, and without further ado, Gu An began to instruct him in the exercises.
Zuo Lin had a photographic memory, and after watching Gu An once, he had already memorized the routine.
"Is that it?" Zuo Lin frowned and asked.
Gu An, confused, asked, "Not enough? Those are all the moves."
"What about the mental cultivation technique?"
"There isn't one."
"Impossible! Without a mental cultivation technique, how could you possibly..." Zuo Lin said, his brow furrowed.
Gu An was even more perplexed by his words and asked, "What about me?"
Zuo Lin became anxious and said, "It's just that you give me a different feeling. Although the movements are the same, they are different from the others. You must have a mental cultivation technique..."
Gu An was helpless. Had this kid gone crazy from his obsession with the sword? Seeing Gu An's expression, Zuo Lin felt even more embarrassed. His rational mind told him that a menial disciple wouldn't possibly possess an extraordinary mental cultivation technique.
But his initial feeling about Gu An couldn't be wrong.
Since he was young, his perception of a person's aptitude and aura had always been extremely sharp. Even his master praised him for having a smart and perceptive mind, skilled in seeing through people.
The menial disciple in front of him was definitely not simple! Zuo Lin's eyes narrowed as he said, "How about this? I'll teach you my sword technique, and you can give it a try?"
Gu An initially wanted to refuse, but seeing Zuo Lin's attitude, he knew it would be difficult to shake him off, so he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
'It's free, so why not learn it?' Zuo Lin saw that Gu An didn't have a sword, so he took out a long sword from his storage bag and handed it to him. Then, he drew his own precious sword and began to demonstrate his sword technique.
'This kid really doesn't know how to behave!' Gu An inwardly complained as he watched Zuo Lin's swift swordplay. However, he observed intently.
From a distance, Tang Yu and Su Han saw this scene and dared not approach, so they could only watch from afar.
"If Master learns it, then he can teach us, too!" Su Han said excitedly. He loved swords the most. There were many paths to cultivation, but only the path of the sword cultivator captivated his heart.
Tang Yu nodded and said, "As long as Master learns it, we can ask him, and he definitely won't refuse."
In their hearts, Gu An was the best master. The key issue was whether Master could learn Zuo Lin's sword technique.
The answer was yes. Gu An had invested two thousand years of his lifespan into the Seven Swords of the Li Family, and his understanding of the sword had already reached a high level.
In Gu An's eyes, the sword technique Zuo Lin demonstrated was indeed good, but it was not as impressive as the upgraded version of the Seven Swords of the Li Family, not to mention the Exquisite Nine Swords.
That made sense. Zuo Lin wouldn't likely start by teaching his most powerful sword technique.
After Zuo Lin finished demonstrating, he turned to Gu An and asked, "How much of it did you remember?"
Gu An shook his head and said, "Maybe two parts... I'm not sure. Your sword technique is too smooth and dazzling, and I got confused. I've already forgotten the earlier sword moves."
Zuo Lin frowned, and he immediately asked Gu An to try performing the technique.
Thus, Gu An began to demonstrate Zuo Lin's sword technique. His movements were hesitant and stiff, causing Zuo Lin's frown to deepen.
From a distance, Tang Yu and Su Han felt despair. It seemed their master wasn't going to be able to learn it.
After Gu An clumsily finished the technique, Zuo Lin still didn't give up. He demonstrated it again, this time slower, but Gu An still couldn't remember all of it.
After bothering Gu An for half an hour, Zuo Lin finally left.
Angrily, Zuo Lin found Li Ya and accused Gu An of mocking him.
Li Ya, upon learning the reason, couldn't help but laugh and say, "He really doesn't have any talent for the sword, and he hates practicing it."
"Really?" Zuo Lin's anger subsided a little, but he couldn't help but think of Gu An's earlier calisthenics practice. He felt that Gu An was hiding something.
"He's my junior martial brother. How could I not know?"
Li Ya rolled his eyes at him and then warned, "Don't bother him anymore. It's already good that he's letting you stay. If you keep pestering him, then get out of here and go back to your father in the Outer Sect!"
Zuo Lin fell into deep thought, his eyes unconsciously drifting towards the attic where Gu An lived. He didn't know what he was thinking.
On the other side, in the attic...
Gu An sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed. He was replaying Zuo Lin's sword technique in his mind.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, and a sword glint flashed within them.
He checked his attribute panel, and under the 'Ultimate Skill' section, he saw the 'Wood Spirit Sword Technique'.
Wood Spirit?
Could it be a wood-attribute sword technique?
Gu An's Pure Yang Wood Spirit Art was wood-attribute, so if he cultivated a wood-attribute technique, he would achieve twice the result with half the effort. Previously, he had quickly learned the Poison Wood Formation that Jiang Qiong had taught him.
However, he didn't plan to improve this sword technique for the time being. First, he needed to save up ten million years of lifespan.
A thousand years to unlock the lifespan scanning function, ten thousand years to unlock the lifespan barrier function, and ten million years of lifespan would likely unlock a new function. He had always looked forward to that.
(End of Chapter)
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