Master Xuanzhi had twelve direct disciples, among whom the eldest disciple Chu Tianyu, the seventh disciple Mu Jiansi, and the youngest indoor disciple Shan Yundi were the most famous.
The eldest disciple, Chu Tianyu, was nearly two hundred years old and was a mighty cultivator at the Mahayana Realm.
In recent decades, Master Xuanzhi had mostly been in seclusion or traveling across the mortal world, leaving almost all matters within the Yunhai Sect to be managed on his behalf by Chu Tianyu.
Mu Jiansi was thirty-five years old this year, and his cultivation was even higher than Shan Yundi's, having already reached the initial Dao Integration stage. He was once the thirteenth-ranked young master in the Tianxiu Alliance, known to all as the Cloud Sword Young Master.
Because he was now over thirty, he ranked thirty-third on the Tianlin Roll.
At this moment, inside Shan Yundi's bedchamber.
Shan Yundi had a detached and cold personality, focusing entirely on her cultivation; unlike other immortal maidens, she did not care for adornment. Her bedchamber was furnished very simply, lacking any precious furniture or ornaments.
There was only a bed, a wooden table, a dressing table, and a bamboo folding screen.
Behind the screen stood a large, half-person-high bathing tub.
At this moment, Shan Yundi was lying on the bed while a young woman dressed in green was examining her body.
This woman was named Zhen Yourong, and she was Shan Yundi's third senior sister.
Not only was her appearance exceptionally beautiful, but her upper figure was also truly outstanding.
She was bountiful in every sense, living up to her name to the fullest.Zhen Yourong finished checking and let out a long sigh, saying, "Junior Sister, you don't need to worry. These are all external injuries and will heal after a few days of rest. They won't affect your cultivation foundation at all."
Shan Yundi nodded gently and said, "Thank you, Third Senior Sister."
Zhen Yourong smiled slightly and said, "What is there to thank? We are all fellow apprentices."
Suddenly, the door was pushed open.
The two women looked over at the same time.
They saw a young man dressed in purple and white mysterious robes with an immortal sword strapped to his back striding in.
The young man had regular facial features, sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes, and a well-proportioned figure—he was truly a handsome and extraordinary young gentleman.
Zhen Yourong frowned and said, "Number Seven, this is Junior Sister's room. Why didn't you knock before coming in?"
This person was none other than Master Xuanzhi's seventh disciple, Mu Jiansi, widely known in the Mortal World as the Cloud Sword Young Master.
Mu Jiansi walked over to Shan Yundi's bedside and said with a hint of concern, "I heard that Junior Sister came back and was quite heavily injured, so I specifically came to check on you. Junior Sister, who was so bold as to dare injure you? I'll go avenge you."
Mu Jiansi's expression was arrogant and unyielding.
Of course, he had the capital to be so.Leaving aside the fact that he was the personal disciple of Master Xuanzhi, the leader of the Yunhai Sect, his natural talent alone and achieving the Dao Integration Realm at such a young age were enough to make him look down upon the vast majority of cultivators in the Mortal World.
Shan Yundi's tone was very calm as she slowly said, "No one injured me. I was searching for spirit herbs in Yannangui and got hurt by a vicious beast, Zhu Yuan."
Hearing this, Mu Jiansi frowned, his sword-like brows knitting together as he said, "Yannangui? Junior Sister, I told you last time that stepping into the Dao Integration Realm is extremely difficult.
Although you have reached the Peak Out-of-Body stage, you are still young, your time practicing the Dao has been short, and your foundation is unstable. It is impossible for you to step into Dao Integration in the next few years. Why must you still sneak off to Yannangui?
Even with my current Dao Integration Realm cultivation, I wouldn't dare go to Yannangui. It is truly a miracle that you survived and came back this time. Whatever you need in the future, just tell me. Never risk your life alone again."
Shan Yundi said, "I am very tired, Third Senior Sister, Seventh Senior Brother. You two should go back first. I want to rest."
Zhen Yourong nodded and stood up from the edge of the bed.
Mu Jiansi, however, was somewhat reluctant to leave.
Zhen Yourong knew that Mu Jiansi had been pursuing Shan Yundi for the past few years, but Shan Yundi poured her heart entirely into cultivation and had never considered matters of romance, completely ignoring Mu Jiansi's romantic advances.
She pulled Mu Jiansi out of the room and said, "Number Seven, Junior Sister is fine. She will recover after a few days of quiet meditation. Don't go disturbing her these next few days."
Mu Jiansi shook his head and said, "How can that do? The more it's like this, the better I need to perform. I'm going to find Master Uncle Yang at the Alchemy Hall first to get some top-grade immortal pills for Junior Sister. This time, I will definitely make Junior Sister moved..."
Watching Mu Jiansi storm off in a rush, Zhen Yourong smiled bitterly and shook her head.
Usually, she was the one closest to Shan Yundi and understood Shan Yundi's temperament quite well. Shan Yundi was definitely the kind of person who would never fall in love with someone just from being moved.
Mu Jiansi had achieved fame at a young age; he was the center of attention in the Yunhai Sect and enjoyed a massive reputation throughout the entire Mortal World.
This had gradually fostered in him an arrogant, aloof, and unruly personality.
Although he was very handsome and came from a prestigious background, countless women wanted to marry him and bear his children, but that definitely did not include Shan Yundi.
Yet, regarding such matters of romance and affection, Zhen Yourong didn't know what to say, so she could only let him make a fuss.He could only hope that his Seventh Junior Brother would come to his senses soon.
After the two of them left, Shan Yundi lay on her bed, her cold, clear eyes gazing up at the ceiling beams.
Gradually, her gaze lost its focus, as if her mind was wandering elsewhere.
"He should be back by now..."
"Will he be angry that I left without saying goodbye..."
"Where on earth is the Global Village? How does he know about so many bizarre and unheard-of things..."
"He talks rather strangely, too. No, he's strange all over; he seems shrouded in mysteries..."
Alas, the heart of this world-renowned, aloof fairy—frozen for more than twenty years—seemed to be gradually thawing.
As a young woman who had been single for twenty-four years, she had zero romantic experience.
She had no idea that when a woman becomes interested in a man, terrifying things are bound to happen.
Upon returning to Changsheng Valley, Li Feng did not blame his junior brother and sister for preparing a coffin and writing a tombstone for him.
Truth be told, it was his fault to begin with.
Exhausted after days of strain, he chatted with the others for a little while before shutting himself in his room to rest.
Without bothering to sit and meditate, he hit the pillow and fell fast asleep.
He slept soundly and didn't dream at all.
When he opened his eyes, the room was pitch black.
He could still hear the sound of Fuyao and the others laughing and scolding outside.
Li Feng got out of bed and pushed the door open. Countless stars now studded the night sky.
The three fellows were holding a bonfire party right there in the valley.
Seeing Li Feng wake up, Situ Fuyao waved and called out, "Senior Brother, come over and eat!"
Li Feng actually felt a bit hungry, so he walked over.
Three wild chickens were roasting over the campfire.
The rest of the game had also been thoroughly cleaned by the trio and hung on bamboo poles not far away to cure.
Li Feng knew they had lived in poverty for too long and couldn't bear to eat everything at once; they were curing the rest to eat slowly over time.
Yang Mo handed him a bowl of wine and said, "To celebrate Senior Brother cheating death once again! Come, let's drain our bowls!"
Li Feng took the bowl.
The others raised their bowls as well, and they all chugged it down in one go.
As for the taste, though, it was far inferior to the wine Shan Yundi had given him in the tomb chamber.
Tasteless and bland, it was obviously fake wine cut with water!
Qi Shisan wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth and chuckled, "Senior Brother, this jar of wine cost three cash of silver; we bought it to use as an offering when we buried you. Since we don't need it now, it's our lucky day. Senior Brother, next time you die, could you give me a heads-up or a definite date? In just a few days, I've already dug two pits and built two coffins for you!"
Situ Fuyao shouted, "Junior Six, what are you blabbering about? Senior Brother just got back and you're already saying such unlucky things—do you want me to beat you up?!"
Qi Shisan aggrievedly retorted, "I'm telling the truth! Why don't you go dig the hole next time?"
Situ Fuyao jumped up and chased after Qi Shisan to hit him.
Watching this joyful and heartwarming scene, Li Feng felt a deep sense of comfort in his heart.
He secretly vowed that he would make the Changsheng Sect flourish.
After the two of them chased each other around for a while, they sat back down in front of the bonfire.
Situ Fuyao asked, "Senior Brother, you said this morning that the Yunhai Sect tribute issue was settled—is that really true? Where on earth did you get five hundred spirit crystals?"
Earlier that morning when he first returned, the three fellows had bombarded him with questions about where he had been all this time.
Not wanting to reveal to the three of them what had happened at Yannan Gui just yet, he had simply said he went out to make some money over the past few days and had already settled this year's rent.
As for the details, he didn't elaborate before fleeing back to his room to sleep.
Precisely because they no longer had to worry about the rent, the three of them were able to enjoy a carefree bonfire party tonight.
Li Feng said, "Of course it's true. When I went out this time, I met a disciple of the Yunhai Sect, and she said she would lend me five thousand taels of silver to pay the rent."
The expressions on everyone's faces instantly collapsed.
Yang Mo said, "A Yunhai Sect disciple? Lending you money to pay rent to the Yunhai Sect? Is your head screwed on right, or is hers? You actually believe that kind of ghost story!"
Qi Shisan said, "We're doomed, doomed. It was a wasted day of joy—everyone, hurry up and eat all the meat in the next couple of days, then let's split our luggage and go our separate ways."
Situ Fuyao also wore an incredulous look.
Seeing their expressions, Li Feng took an exquisite plum-blossom embroidered pouch from his tunic.
"Here is over eight hundred taels of silver," he said. "She'll definitely bring me the rest in a few days."
Yang Mo snatched the pouch away and, sure enough, dumped out several silver notes and some loose silver from inside.After Qi Shisan finished counting carefully, he looked up at Yang Mo and said, "That's right, the silver notes are genuine, and the silver is real too! It comes to a total of eight hundred and sixty-three Liang and seven Qian, plus seven copper coins."
Yang Mo looked at Li Feng in astonishment and said, "Why is there such an odd amount? Senior Brother, you didn't rob someone, did you? This money pouch... it's embroidered with plum blossoms, has the character Di on it, and even carries a faint fragrance. Did you end up robbing a young lady? You didn't rob her of her virtue, did you?"
Upon hearing this, Situ Fuyao immediately reached out and snatched the money pouch from Yang Mo's hand.
As a woman, she recognized at a glance that this was undoubtedly a woman's pouch.
Situ Fuyao cried out angrily, "Senior Brother, you... you didn't really... really rob a woman, did you?"
"Junior Sister, don't listen to Old Two's nonsense! This was truly lent to me by that disciple of the Yunhai Sect!"
"I don't believe it! Tell me, who is that Yunhai Sect disciple? I'll go check with Old Three tomorrow!"
Li Feng said, "Her name is Shan Yundi."
"Ahem... who?"
Qi Shisan's body trembled as he said, "Senior Brother, you just mentioned a name... I didn't catch it clearly, say it again!"
Li Feng asked suspiciously, "Her name is Shan Yundi. Look, isn't her name embroidered right on the pouch? What, judging by your expressions, do you know her?"
Everyone was dumbfounded, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
Yet their Senior Brother had always been steady and rarely joked around.
Besides, there really was an exquisite character "Di" embroidered on the pouch.
Qi Shisan cried out, "Of course I know her! She's the inner-disciple that Master Xuanzhi, the Sect Master of the Yunhai Sect, took in over a decade ago. Relying on a purple cloud divine sword, she has made a brilliant splash in the Mortal World in recent years, ranking seventeenth on the Tianxiu List. People call her Fairy Yunshuang. I've heard that Shan Yundi is not only as beautiful as an immortal, but her talent in cultivation is also monstrously defying the heavens—she reached the Soul Exit Realm just ten years after entering the sect. She is hailed as the most outstanding female disciple of the Yunhai Sect in eight hundred years! Senior Brother, you don't really know Fairy Yunshuang, do you?"
If the pouch truly belonged to Shan Yundi, then no one would suspect that their Senior Brother had stolen it.
Three years ago, Shan Yundi had already reached the Seventh Layer Soul Exit Realm. Even if she had not yet ascended to the Eighth Layer Dao Integration Realm by now, she was presumably at the Peak Out-of-Body stage.
With only the third-rate cultivation of the Senior Brother's Sixth Layer Primordial Spirit Realm, it was absolutely impossible for him to snatch anything from Shan Yundi's hands.
Seeing the three of them in shock, Li Feng muttered to himself, "So she's that famous in the Mortal World..."
Qi Shisan exclaimed, "Famous? She's practically a household name! Senior Brother, has your brain really broken down? How could you not even know who Shan Yundi is?"
Li Feng hurriedly brushed it off, saying, "When I woke up from my coma last time, my memories hadn't fully recovered yet. I was wondering why the name Shan Yundi sounded so familiar; turns out she's a celebrity..."
An indignant Situ Fuyao questioned Li Feng, asking how he had come to know Shan Yundi, and why Shan Yundi, who had always been renowned for her icy demeanor, would lend him so much silver!
Li Feng casually fabricated a half-true, half-false story.
"As it happens, that day I planned to head to Yannangui to hunt Beast Demons. Just as I entered that miasma-filled forest, I ran into Shan Yundi. At the time, she was being pursued by a ferocious Zhu Yuan beast and was heavily injured. I casually saved her life. When she learned of the predicament our Changsheng Sect is currently facing, she agreed to lend us five thousand Liang of silver to help us through our present difficulties, just to repay the debt of saving her life..."
The three of them looked at each other in dismay.
They found it hard to believe, yet apart from repaying a life-saving debt, they could think of no other reason for Shan Yundi to lend them money.
Could it be that Shan Yundi had taken a fancy to their Senior Brother?
The possibility of that happening was even slimmer than the revival of the Changsheng Sect.
Qi Shisan said viciously, "Senior Brother, you didn't do anything to my goddess, did you?"
"Your goddess?"
"Yes! Fairy Yunshuang is the purest goddess in my heart. You'd better confess honestly whether you took advantage of my goddess's injury to do anything unspeakable to her!"
Li Feng broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing Qi Shisan looking like a fat tiger ready to fly into a rage at any moment, how could Li Feng dare say that the goddess in your heart had been groped and hugged by me over the past few days...
Li Feng immediately adopted a serious expression and said, "Old Six, what are you talking about? What kind of person is your Senior Brother? Don't you know me by now? I'm a modest gentleman who reads the Spring and Autumn Annals; don't make me out to be so sordid and despicable, all right? Not only is this an insult to me, but it's also an insult to Fairy Shan!"
"Besides, if I had any improper designs on her, would she still lend me money?"
The three of them thought about it and decided that what their Senior Brother said made sense.
Seeing that he had muddled his way through, Li Feng hurriedly said, "The roast chicken is almost burning! Come, come, let's eat and chat!"
After eating a simple meal, Li Feng used the excuse of physical weakness to duck back into his room once more.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, practicing for a while according to the texts on the rock wall, and then guided the spiritual power of the Patriarch's Golden Core to nourish his own Golden Core.
This Golden Core was truly formidable; the spiritual power contained within it was simply terrifying.
Li Feng felt that if he truly absorbed all of the Golden Core, he could definitely become a super powerhouse.
He had only been absorbing it for a few days, yet his grain-sized Golden Core had visibly plumped up considerably, and his cultivation had also improved noticeably.
When he finished his cultivation, day had broken once again.
Li Feng did not get out of bed right away.
Since Shan Yundi had agreed to help him solve the rent problem, he needed to start considering how to plot his future development.
He diligently explored the original owner's memories, gaining a deeper understanding of this world.
For immortal cultivators, resources and talent were equally important.
Resources came in two types: one was spirit crystals, heavenly treasures, magical treasures, and elixirs needed by cultivators. These could be bought with silver, but they were exceptionally expensive and generally unaffordable for ordinary cultivators.
The other type of resource consisted of cultivation texts, techniques, and divine abilities.
Yang Mo and the others did not possess magical treasures in the true sense of the word; they usually relied on ordinary iron swords for self-defense.
Because of this, they didn't dare to go out much, nor did they dare to hunt Beast Demons.
Equipping all three of them with a high-grade magical treasure right now was somewhat difficult.
However, cultivation techniques and divine abilities were things he did possess.
For his own safety, Li Feng could not reveal the secret of inheriting the Changsheng Sect Patriarch's techniques and divine abilities at Yannangui for the time being.
Yet he also had to pass on what he had learned to his three junior fellow apprentices.
He was pondering whether to first impart the Ten Chapters of the Changsheng Way or the Divine Sword Art.
Of course, he also had to find a suitable excuse that wouldn't arouse suspicion from others.
After pondering for over an hour, he still couldn't think of a particularly good excuse.
Near noon, Situ Fuyao shouted from outside the room, "Senior Brother, come out to eat!"
Because the Changsheng Sect was truly impoverished, they had broken the bad habit of eating breakfast.
Normally they only ate two meals a day, or even just one—as long as they didn't starve to death, it was fine.
Hearing the shout, Li Feng cast aside his distracting thoughts and stopped worrying about those messy matters; filling his stomach was the absolute truth.
Chapter 28: Nine Palaces and Ten Sword Styles
After finishing a simple meal, the disciples of the Changsheng Sect began their cultivation.
After all, they were cultivators, and practice could not be delayed.
Yang Mo and the others each held an ordinary iron sword over three feet long and began practicing sword forms.
Li Feng could tell at a glance that this was the Nine Palaces and Ten Swords.
Stepping in the Nine Palaces tracking steps and coordinating with sword forms, these were close-combat moves for low-tier practitioners.
However, the Nine Palaces and Ten Swords executed by the three of them had a massive gap compared to the versions Li Feng had learned from the tomb chamber's rock wall—both in terms of footwork positioning and the exquisiteness of the sword forms.
In the past, the original owner had practiced just like this, but now Li Feng simply couldn't bear to watch any longer.
He stepped forward to stop the three of them and said, "You three stop practicing. The footwork you're using and the sword forms you're executing have far too many flaws. Fuyao, give me your sword; I'll demonstrate it for you once."
The three looked at him suspiciously.
What kind of nervous fit was their Senior Brother having today?
They had practiced this set of sword techniques for many years, so why couldn't Senior Brother bear to watch it today?
Even so, Situ Fuyao handed the long sword in her hand over to Li Feng.
Li Feng took the sword and casually twirled a sword blossom.
He said aloud, "Our Changsheng Sect's Nine Palaces and Ten Swords are based on the Nine Palaces footwork. This Nine Palaces footwork changes infinitely. This set of sword techniques has a total of ten styles, with each style containing thirty-six sword moves, making a total of three hundred and sixty sword moves. Furthermore, these sword moves can be switched between casually and seamlessly. I will now teach you once in slow motion, so you must watch carefully."
The reason it was in slow motion was mainly because Li Feng couldn't go fast.
In the tomb chamber, he had merely memorized all the sword forms and chants by rote. He hadn't spent any time practicing or comprehending the profound mysteries within them.
Right now, he could only demonstrate to the three of them at an extremely slow pace, following the written texts and classics recorded on the stone wall.
At the same time, he continuously recited the essential chants of the Nine Palaces and Ten Sword Styles.
The three of them were dumbfounded once again.
They saw that although their Senior Brother's footwork and hand movements were very slow, and somewhat similar to what they usually practiced, they were obviously countless times more exquisite than their own practice.
What shocked them the most were the essential chants that Li Feng kept speaking aloud.
Many of the profound and abstruse chants were things they had never learned before.