Everything in the valley was moving in a favorable direction.
On this day, as usual, Shu Han washed his thoroughly drunken master and carried him to bed before hurrying to the cave to prepare for the next stage of martial arts cultivation.
Having thoroughly mastered the Chaotian Sword Art and Wandering Cloud Steps, he looked forward to Mu Wan’er teaching him more martial arts.
The daily necessities in the cave were fully provided. Mu Wan’er sat in a rocking chair, leisurely reading a book. Hearing Shu Han’s footsteps, she unhesitatingly called out, “Little Han Han, come give your sister a foot rub and back massage!”
Shu Han sat on the small stool in front as usual, placing Mu Wan’er’s pair of jade feet on his knees. He massaged from light to heavy, even channeling Spiritual Power into them to keep her feet warm.
Mu Wan’er could not help humming softly, enjoying Shu Han’s superb massage skills.
Over the past half-year, the two of them had grown very familiar.
Mu Wan’er had shown exceptionally high martial arts talent since childhood and had been strictly trained by her father without any time for relaxation. Recuperating in the cave for these six months under Shu Han’s meticulous care had been the most carefree period of her life.
As for Shu Han, he was a child from a poor family. It was said that the children of the poor mature early; from a young age, Shu Han had shouldered the responsibility of caring for his little sister, developing a gentle, considerate, and attentive personality.
Coupled with his innate intelligence, Mu Wan’er gradually grew fond of this boy not yet ten years old.
Shu Han was deeply grateful for Mu Wan’er’s meticulous martial arts instruction. In their leisure time, she also told him many interesting stories from Northern Yan, greatly broadening the horizons of the mountain village child. Unawares, Shu Han felt as though he had gained an older sister.
Mu Wan’er hummed comfortably, lying back in the recliner. “Ah, Little Han Han, if you weren’t so young, your sister would marry you without a second thought. You’re smart, good-tempered, and know how to care for people-your sister really doesn’t want to leave.”
“Then don’t leave. I still want to keep learning martial arts from you.”
Mu Wan’er sighed. “You’re too smart. In just half a year, your sister has nothing left to teach you. As you grow older, your martial arts will surpass mine. My injuries are completely healed now, and it’s time to leave this cave and return to the Chaotian Sect.”
Hearing these words, Shu Han’s hands stopped.
Feeling his small hands tremble, Mu Wan’er said, “Stop massaging. Come here in front of your sister.”
Shu Han wanted to squeeze out a smile, but his heart felt heavy and stifled, and he could not manage it.
He stood before her, and unexpectedly, Mu Wan’er reached out and pulled him into her embrace.
Her soft cheek brushed against his head, and the faint fragrance from her chest brought a flush to his young face. She said softly, “Little Han Han, will you sleep with your sister tonight? Sister might be a bit afraid of the dark…”
Shu Han felt awkward and wanted to refuse, but he could not bring himself to say it, so he nodded slightly.
She then lifted him onto the bed, where the faint fragrance of a maiden’s bedding made his heart pound wildly.
Stroking his head, Mu Wan’er kissed him lightly on the lips and chuckled, “That’s your sister’s first kiss! Elders say you can tell what a child will be like when they grow up. Little Han Han, you have good features, cultivation, and martial arts-when you grow up, you’ll definitely attract girls. By then your sister will be old, so I might as well take your first kiss now and let future young maidens be jealous!”
Shu Han wanted to laugh, but could not. In a daze, he fell asleep in her arms.
The night passed thus.
The next day, Mu Wan’er awoke to find herself alone on the bed.
Beside the bed lay three bottles of spiritual medicine and a note.
“Sister, you are leaving during the day, so I won’t see you off. Thank you for your guidance over the past half-year; Shu Han will never forget you. These three bottles of spiritual medicine are my parting gift: one is Clear Spirit Powder, which cures all illnesses; one is Spring-Returning Dew, which resists aging; and the last is the Green Jade Pellet, which strengthens the foundation, fosters vitality, and extends lifespan. I’ve drawn the map down the mountain on the back. May we meet again if fate allows.”
Reading Shu Han’s neat handwriting, Mu Wan’er felt a sudden emptiness in her heart, and her nose stung.
Large teardrops fell onto the paper. She hugged her knees and wept alone in the cave for a long while.
Facing the rising sun, Shu Han stood atop a subsidiary peak.
Emotions surged within him. Unaccustomed to farewells, he could only hide on the mountaintop and practice his sword forms over and over.
The sword grew faster and faster, never stopping.
The immortal path is vast, the mortal path is fleeting.
Now Shu Han finally understood the true meaning of the divide between immortals and mortals.
Immortals possessed long lifespans, watching the rise and fall of the world from above.
Mortals in this vast realm were like duckweeds, like fleeting smoke, born in the morning and dead by night.
Everything would fade away; only the immortal path of longevity endured.
He never missed a single day of practicing this set of Chaotian Sword Art thereafter.
Time flowed on, youth slipped away, and five years passed.
Shu Han had grown from a small child into a half-grown, handsome youth.
No one considered his head big anymore, save for the private teasing of two companions that still reminded him of his big-headed days.
Through five years of arduous cultivation and the consumption of countless Qi-Fusing Pills, Shu Han’s cultivation had long surpassed Erdan’s fifth layer, reaching the eighth heaven of Qi Condensation! Furthermore, he had found time to master the five basic techniques recorded in the Longxuan Three Revolutions Divine Art:
The Fireball Technique, Wind-Riding Technique, Green-Light Barrier, Object-Control Technique, and Aura-Concealing Technique!
Of these, he excelled most at the Aura-Concealing Technique.
This spell could restrain the aura around one’s body, effectively disguising one’s true cultivation realm.
Precisely because of this spell, everyone believed Shu Han was still only at the second heaven, and even his master, the Second Elder, failed to see through it. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Over these five years, he had comprehended all of the Second Elder’s alchemy techniques and mastered all twelve pill formulas, achieving a pill formation success rate that even surpassed the Second Elder himself.
This greatly delighted the Second Elder, who praised Shu Han as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy.
Yet Shu Han knew his own actual standard.
The countless ruined medicinal herbs buried in the valley were the proof.
Following that, Shu Han began dabbling in talisman crafting and artifact refining.
What interested him most were talismans.
Talismans were wondrous items capable of recording and storing techniques for instantaneous release with tremendous power. Yet Shu Han currently lacked powerful offensive techniques.
As his Qi Condensation deepened, the Longxuan Three Revolutions Divine Art provided him with vast reserves of Spiritual Power, but he possessed no high-level techniques to expend it on; the most demanding technique he knew was merely the mediocre Fireball Technique.
A Fireball Technique was more than enough to deal with mortals, but its power fell short in battles between cultivators.
The fact that the Longxuan Three Revolutions Divine Art provided immense Spiritual Power without recording any high-level techniques to utilize it puzzled Shu Han deeply. He vaguely suspected the manual was incomplete, and that the sect had deliberately excised high-level techniques to prevent disciples from cultivating them.
Why do such a thing? To the sect, wouldn’t stronger disciples be better?
Driven by caution, Shu Han devoted himself entirely to the study of talismans, hoping to use them to make up for his lack of offensive means. Talismans were not as complex as pills, but they demanded strict formation-pattern structures and material requirements, making them even rarer than pills.
Yet this drawback posed no problem for Shu Han. Once he gathered a single set of materials, he possessed thousands of sets.
Noticing Shu Han’s obsession with talisman research, the Second Elder bestowed upon him a high-grade Fire God Talisman for self-protection.
According to the Second Elder, this Fire God Talisman required massive materials and was extremely difficult to craft-even the Elder himself dared not refine it lightly.
Its power, however, was considerable, equivalent to the full-strength strike of a cultivator at the twelfth heaven of Qi Condensation!
Upon receiving the Fire God Talisman, Shu Han’s heart surged with wild joy.
With such a talisman, why bother struggling with bitter cultivation? Since he had Spiritual Power but no high-level techniques to use it, he might as well craft hundreds or thousands of these. When encountering danger, he could scatter a handful, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators would be forced to retreat three paces!
From then on, Shu Han ceased taking Qi-Fusing Pills for daily cultivation and devoted himself entirely to crafting talismans.
In his mind, with numerous Qi-Fusing Pills at hand, advancing his cultivation level was merely a matter of time.
Besides, what good would it do even if he reached the twelfth heaven of Qi Condensation? At most, his Spiritual Power would be several times greater than now, but his combat strength would remain largely unchanged. It was far better to pour his efforts into researching talismans and accumulate a pile of Fire God Talismans.