Chapter 347: Striving for Position |
“Forget yourself. Forget the outside world. Gently knock your teeth together seven times, then silently start the incantation. This is not a spoken spell but a mind spell. It goes like this: Warm the dantian. Form the immortal elixir. Swallow the mystic pearl. Take your place among the immortals...”
“When the qi on both sides has merged, move the body just slightly. That movement is used to build the Five Tones...”
“You don’t know the five sounds? The five sounds are: mm, ha, huh, ah, and hoo...”
“No, that’s not quite right. The ‘mm’ needs a slight upward lift. Mm. Try again. Right, now ‘ha.’ Good. Next comes ‘huh.’ Huh. It’s not just going through the nasal passage. It has to pass through the heart too. Again...”
“My sect’s Yin-Yang Scripture absolutely includes methods for cultivating the meridians, but your meridians are already fine. So we’re not working on those. We’re going straight to Yin-Yang techniques...”
The two of them just sat on the wooden platform in front of the house and got into teaching. Liu Xiaolou took it seriously and taught with full focus, right up until the sun started dipping low in the west. Only then did he finally stop and say: “Alright, that’s enough for today. Brother Han, spend tonight really getting these parts down solid. We’ll pick up the next stuff tomorrow.”
Han Gao let out a long breath and sighed. “Man, I’ve messed around with yin-yang techniques before, even studied them a bit. But it always felt… off, like something was missing. Today, actually learning it from you step by step, I finally get it. This is... insanely deep and profound. Way beyond what I used to think.”
Liu Xiaolou said, “It’s not really your fault. The problem is with the techniques you were exposed to. The Yin-Yang Path values balance and correctness above all else. What you saw before probably strayed onto a crooked road. The Yin-Yang techniques of our Sanxuan Sect follow the true path.”
“How do you tell what’s true and what’s crooked?” Han Gao asked.
“I see,” Han Gao said.
As they were talking, Liu Xiaolou suddenly said, “They’re back.”
Han Gao froze for a moment. “The two who went down the mountain earlier?”
Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Yes. They went sightseeing around the mountain. Big White, Big White! Start cooking!”
Han Gao was a little surprised. He knew Liu Xiaolou had only reached Foundation Establishment three years ago, and his cultivation was far below Han Gao’s. So how had Liu Xiaolou sensed someone coming up the mountain earlier than he had? Then it clicked. Liu Xiaolou specialized in formations, so there was probably a mountain-protecting formation set up across Ganzhu Ridge.
While he was still thinking it over, the newcomers appeared on the mountain path, striding toward them.
Han Gao took one look and his eyes went wide. That morning, when he had looked down from Ghost Dream Cliff, they had been several li away, too far to make out. Who would have guessed that Liu Xiaolou’s two friends would turn out to be Lin Twin Fish and Wu Changeng?!
Being in Lingnan, and as the head of one branch of a family affiliated with Luofu Mountain, Han Gao of course knew who these two were. They were outstanding members of the next generation of the Southern Sea Sword Sect, one of Luofu Mountain’s three most important affiliated powers. As sword cultivators, disciples of the Southern Sea Sword Sect were always considered half a level, or even a full level, stronger than others when it came to combat. Han Gao had never crossed swords with them himself, but he had heard plenty about their exploits.
He stood behind Liu Xiaolou, stunned. The man and woman across from them had already entered the small bamboo courtyard.
Lin Twin Fish said, “Sect Master, dinner’s on Big White. I’m counting on you.” Then, noticing Han Gao, she nodded. “I was wondering who it was. So it’s Second Master Han from Dafeng Mountain.”
Han Gao bowed. “Han Gao pays his respects to Twin Fish Sword and the Taibai Sword.”
“Second Master Han,” Lin Shuangyu asked, “did you receive the Twin Fish Token I sent out as well? I only sent that token to the various branches under our Southern Sea Sword Sect. How did you end up receiving it?”
Han Gao looked confused. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”
She nodded. “That’s what I thought. So Second Master Han came to Wulong Mountain on his own to look for Sect Master Xiaolou?”
Han Gao was even more stunned. “Sect Master Xiaolou?”
Lin Twin Fish let out a sigh. “You don’t know anything at all. How did you even make it up the mountain?”
Wu Changeng spoke up from the side. “Second Master Han, my senior sister and I are now guest elders of the Sanxuan Sect. If you’re just here to visit a friend, I suggest you say what you need to say and head back soon. Sanxuan Sect will be heading to Dongting to join a battle in the near future. You know about the Battle of Dongting, right?”
Liu Xiaolou pulled Han Gao aside and quickly ran through the whole story for him. After listening, Han Gao felt his heart stir.
If he could use this opportunity to build a connection with the Southern Sea Sword Sect’s Twin Fish Sword and Taibai Sword , it would be an absolute golden opportunity. Yeah, the price was having to throw himself into a war on a scale nobody’s ever seen before. But the reward was just as tempting. There would be a chance to enter an ancient cave abode!
All the more so since staying close to the Southern Sea Sword Sect was, relatively speaking, much safer.
No wonder his younger half-brother Han Jiuqian had been so eager to befriend this Daoist Liu. And this Sanxuan Sect clearly was not something to be taken lightly.
With that thought, Han Gao took the initiative and asked to join the fight. “Xiaolou, Sect Master, I’m willing to serve as a guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect as well. I ask that you accept me.”
Liu Xiaolou glanced at Lin Twin Fish, but Lin Twin Fish shook her head. “No.”
Liu Xiaolou could only gesture helplessly at Han Gao. “See?”
So Han Gao brushed past Liu Xiaolou and went straight to Lin Twin Fish to apply on his own, asking to join the Sanxuan Sect as a guest elder. Lin Twin Fish told him plainly that this opportunity was reserved for those aligned with the Southern Sea Sword Sect. Someone from the Han clan of Dafeng Mountain like him should not even think about it.
Han Gao then argued his case forcefully and at length. He said that although the Han clan of Dafeng Mountain was far inferior to the Southern Sea Sword Sect, they all belonged to the same Luofu Mountain lineage. Once they stepped outside the Lingnan region, they were all one family, so there should not be favoritism or discrimination.
His reasoning was sound, and he held the moral high ground. He argued so convincingly that Lin Twin Fish found herself at a loss for words.
So Wu Changeng spoke up from the side, backing him down. He said that becoming a guest elder of the Sanxuan Sect required deep cultivation. Han Gao’s level simply was not enough. If he went onto the battlefield, he would not only fail to earn merit for the sect, he would probably end up dragging his comrades down.
Han Gao argued back that although he was only at mid Foundation Establishment and could not compare to the two of them, he did have a special skill: the Han clan of Dafeng Mountain’s Spirit-Sealing Step. When facing a powerful enemy, it could not only keep him alive, it could even help Sect Master Liu escape.
“If you run into a Golden Core cultivator,” Wu Changeng asked, “can that Spirit-Sealing Step still get you out?”
“If the enemy have a Golden Core cultivator,” replied Han Gao, “then his our side will have a Golden Core to take them on.”
Wu Changeng snorted at that. “If you go onto the battlefield with that kind of mindset, you would die a very ugly death.”
Han Gao said, “It’s not like I’ve never been to war. I’ve been on the battlefield more than once, and I’m still alive, aren’t I?... Taibai Sword, if you don’t believe in my ability, then tell me. What do you do when you run into a Golden Core?”
Wu Changeng said, “What I mean is this. When we run into a Golden Core, people from the Southern Sea Sword Sect have an understanding. Three of us work together in coordination, and we can hold off a Golden Core cultivator head-on. If it were you, you wouldn’t be able to take it.”
Han Gao looked around. “And who is this third guest elder you’re talking about?”
Wu Changeng looked toward Lin Twin Fish. Lin Twin Fish answered, “They haven’t arrived yet. We need to wait a bit longer.”
So Han Gao agreed to wait. He was genuinely curious to see who this other person was. And who knew, if they waited long enough, an opportunity might present itself. What if the person Lin Twin Fish and Wu Changeng were waiting for never showed up?
After all that arguing, the three of them were arguing on empty stomachs and growing hungry. Lin Twin Fish called out toward the stove, “Big White, is dinner ready yet? Add another dish tonight. We’ve got one more mouth to feed. Oh right, where’s the Sect Master? Has anyone seen him?”
Wu Changeng pointed toward the bamboo grove. “The Sect Master went into the woods. No idea what he’s up to...”
While they were talking, Liu Xiaolou slipped out from the bamboo grove, holding a gourd in both hands. He looked over at the three of them and grinned:
While they were talking, Liu Xiaolou came out of the bamboo grove, holding a gourd in both hands. He looked at the three of them and grinned. “This is Golden Ring Bee honey, a specialty of my Qianzhu Ridge. You’re in for a treat. Litle Black caught three wild pheasants. We’ll roast them soon, sprinkle them with the Han family’s July Fragrant Orchid seeds, then brush them with this Golden Ring honey. The aroma is going to be insane.”
Lin Twin Fish said eagerly, “I’m a little worried the food won’t be enough. Second Master Han, how’s your appetite?”
“It’s fine,” Han Gao replied, “Not very big. I couldn’t even finish one chicken.”
Only then did Liu Xiaolou remember and ask casually, “So how did it go? Can Brother Han serve as a guest elder of my Sanxuan Sect?”
Lin Twin Fish shook his head. “He can’t.”
Han Gao immediately objected, “He can!”