allendalepharm Chapter 133 The Drunken Sword Immortal! City folks are weirdos!
Chapter 133 The Drunken Sword Immortal! City folks are weirdos!
Chapter 133 The Drunken Sword Immortal! City folks are weirdos!
Chu Yang, unable to contain himself any longer, let out a loud shout, startling Li Xiaoyao and the other two.
"Brother Chu, what's wrong with you—"
Chu Yang patted Li Xiaoyao on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You know about my senior brother's situation, so don't upset him."
Li Xiaoyao suddenly realized what was going on, glanced at Xu Changqing with pity, and turned to explain to Aunt Li in a low voice.
A moment later, Aunt Li also looked at Xu Changqing with the same gaze.
Xu Changqing scratched his head, puzzled, only noticing that everyone's eyes were unusually kind.
After this incident, the three of them stopped crying. When they learned that Li Xiaoyao was getting married on Immortal Spirit Island and that his bride was Zhao Ling'er, Aunt Li was overjoyed.
"You're really lucky, lad, to have married a fairy like Ling'er—"
Aunt Li showered Zhao Ling'er with compliments, making her ears turn bright red.
After chatting about everyday things, Li Xiaoyao told Aunt Li about how Chu Yang and the others had saved her life. Only then did Aunt Li realize that these two young Taoist priests were the benefactors who had saved her life.
They were about to kneel down when Xu Changqing used magic to lift them up. "Auntie, you mustn't do this. You are our elder, and we cannot accept such a grand gesture!"
"I can accept it! I can accept it!" Aunt Li found that she couldn't bring herself to bow anymore, so she had to stand up again, put her hands together, and nod repeatedly. "You two are living gods who saved my Li family. I can accept any kind of great gift."
Chu Yang said helplessly, "If you keep bowing like that, you'll scare my senior brother away. He's a very disciplined person and respects the difference between elders and juniors. How can he stand it?"
Li Xiaoyao then pulled Aunt Li back and reiterated that Xu Changqing had mental problems.
Aunt Li looked at Xu Changqing with a mixture of heartache and regret, "What a pity, what a real pity—"
Xu Changqing: "???"
Li Xiaoyao pulled Aunt Li to a corner and whispered, "There's one more thing I need to tell you. I've decided to become a disciple of the Shu Mountain sect. I'll be setting off soon with the two Daoist masters to Shu Mountain, and we'll also take a trip to the Southern Frontier to visit relatives with Ling'er."
Li Xiaoyao only spoke half of what he said, without mentioning the Moon Worship Cult at all, because he was afraid that his aunt would be frightened.
Aunt Li hesitated and said, "Aren't the Shu Mountain Sect monks? Why would they accept you as a disciple?"
Li Xiaoyao coughed and recounted Chu Yang's previous rambling explanation. He was already intimidated, let alone Aunt Li.
Aunt Li's eyes widened as she listened, nodding blankly, "Hmm—ah—so that's how it is."
After talking for a while, Aunt Li slowly walked up to Xu Changqing and said, "Could you two Taoist priests please let Xiaoyao stay for one more night before leaving? I'd like to pack some things for him. They say a poor family should be frugal on the road."
Xu Changqing nodded quickly and said, "That's what I should do, Aunt Li."
"Thank you both!" Aunt Li happily pulled Zhao Ling'er back to the room, and they chatted about something after closing the door.
Three grown men stood in the lobby, silent.
As the eldest disciple, Xu Changqing decided to break the silence, saying with a serious expression, "Brother Li, my sword control technique cannot take the three of us to Mount Shu, and we brothers have been ordered by our master to descend the mountain to cultivate in the mortal world—"
"For both reason and emotion, the journey ahead might be a little tough for us, please don't mind."
Li Xiaoyao dared not say he minded, and quickly waved his hand, saying, "It's fine as long as Master Xu makes the arrangements. I have no objections. It's already a great thing to have your help."
Xu Changqing shook his head, his tone and demeanor as rigid as an old man's, "These are two different things, you don't need to confuse them—"
Before he could finish speaking, Chu Yang rudely interrupted him, "Senior brother, the journey is long and no one can guarantee what might happen. Why not teach Xiaoyao some sword control techniques so that he can have some ability to protect himself?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoyao immediately became excited, his face filled with anticipation.
Xu Changqing frowned deeply. "Junior brother, Brother Li is not yet a disciple of Mount Shu. According to the sect rules, we are not allowed to teach sword control techniques privately. This is absolutely unacceptable!"
Chu Yang pursed his lips.
It's just like a rock in a latrine, smelly and hard!
Li Xiaoyao also lowered his head in disappointment.
No, Li Xiaoyao doesn't know anything, going to Mount Shu like this will affect my plans!
Chu Yang thought to himself, and then said, "How about this, I'll teach him some sword techniques that I created myself. That shouldn't be considered a violation of the sect rules, right?"
'
Xu Changqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."
Li Xiaoyao was overjoyed!
In his opinion, given Chu Yang's medical skills that could bring the dead back to life, his swordsmanship and Taoist magic must be quite good as well.
"Let's go find a quiet place, and I'll teach you some swordsmanship."
Chu Yang patted Li Xiaoyao on the head, and the latter happily led the two away from the inn to Shili Slope.
Teaching Li Xiaoyao swordsmanship was a spur-of-the-moment idea for Chu Yang. He wanted to see how Li Xiaoyao, who possessed swordsmanship from several different worlds, would integrate them into one.
Li Xiaoyao's exceptional talent and comprehension made him Chu Yang's best experimental subject, providing him with a new approach.
Xu Changqing was also somewhat looking forward to it, after all, his junior brother Chu had told him personally that Li Xiaoyao's martial arts talent was extremely high, and he wanted to see just how high it was.
The three arrived at the dilapidated mountain god temple in Shili Slope, where Chu Yang began to teach Li Xiaoyao swordsmanship.
As a foundational sword technique, the Dugu Nine Swords is unparalleled. It is hailed as the general outline of all sword techniques, containing the ultimate principles of swordsmanship and representing the rules and summary of swordsmanship.
The Dugu Nine Swords is not about the power of the moves, but rather a sword technique that becomes stronger as the master's cultivation level increases.
The only drawback is that it requires extremely high comprehension.
And this happens to be Li Xiaoyao's greatest advantage.
"The ultimate technique of the Dugu Nine Swords has 360 variations. Based on this, the sword intent of the following eight sword techniques can be incorporated into it to achieve the effect of unifying the nine swords—"
"The other eight forms are the Sword-Breaking Form—"
"The essence of the Dugu Nine Swords lies in not memorizing by rote, not being bound by the moves, and reaching the realm of no moves being better than moves."
Chu Yang recounted his insights into the Dugu Nine Swords in detail, and then began to demonstrate the moves and mental techniques.
Li Xiaoyao was mesmerized.
Xu Changqing's gaze was solemn, and his face showed some heartache. He could see that Chu Yang's teaching of Li Xiaoyao's swordsmanship was completely different from the swordsmanship they had used in their last sparring session.
This means that over the past ten years, Chu Yang has mastered two unparalleled sword techniques through his own talent.
Such talent is admirable, and from the perspective of the senior brother, Xu Changqing also felt sorry for Chu Yang.
"If my junior brother had a little more talent in cultivation, he would probably be the senior brother of the Qi Sect than I am."
Xu Changqing was lost in thought.
Time flies, the sun sets and the moon rises.
Chu Yang taught Li Xiaoyao from day to night, and Li Xiaoyao had fully mastered the Dugu Nine Swords and the Mysterious Sword Technique.
Just as Chu Yang continued to teach him the Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin technique, a lazy voice came from nearby.
"You two are also disciples of Mount Shu, what kind of rubbish sword techniques are you teaching?"
"They've tarnished the reputation of Mount Shu for no reason!"
The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw an incredibly handsome middle-aged man lying on a large rock, staring at Chu Yang with a dissatisfied expression.
The uncle had a bright red wine gourd hanging from his waist. He took it off, took a big gulp, and loudly scolded, "The Shu Mountain Sect's sword control technique is unparalleled in the world. Why would we need to teach other sects' sword techniques? It would only make us a laughing stock!"
He squinted at Chu Yang and said, "You brat, if you don't want to teach, just say so. Stop being so petty. Let me teach you!"
Seeing Chu Yang being inexplicably scolded, Li Xiaoyao angrily threw his wooden sword away, yelling, "What are you saying, you drunkard? Come down here and I'll beat you to death!"
Xu Changqing pulled the shouting Li Xiaoyao behind him, clasped his hands in greeting to the drunken uncle, and said, "Changqing greets Uncle Mo."
Hearing someone call him "Uncle-Master Mo," the Drunken Sword Immortal sobered up considerably. He carefully examined Xu Changqing, who was dressed in pristine white, and suddenly remembered, "Oh! You're the old man Cang Gu's disciple, the one from the Qi Sect—"
Xu Changqing solemnly said, "Xu Changqing, a disciple of the Qi Sect of the Shu Mountain Sect, pays respects to Uncle-Master Mo."
The Drunken Sword Immortal jumped down from the large rock, circling Xu Changqing in a cryptic manner, and said with a sneer, "Knowing that you won the last sword energy contest, you keep mentioning the Shu Mountain Sect—"
Xu Changqing remained serious and continued to bow.
The Drunken Sword Immortal couldn't stand his attitude and waved his hand impatiently, saying, "Stop talking nonsense. A loss is a loss. I'll just ask you, if you're going to pass on your skills, why not teach this kid sword control techniques instead of some useless swordplay?"
"Because Brother Li has not yet formally joined the Shu Mountain sect, according to the sect rules, we cannot teach him the sword control technique without authorization."
At this point, Xu Changqing abandoned his respectful attitude and said with a grim expression, "The sword technique I just passed on to Brother Li is the culmination of my junior brother's painstaking efforts over more than a decade. I urge you to show some respect, senior, otherwise—I will certainly have to ask you for guidance!"
"Oh, young man, you've got quite a temper, haven't you? You're just like Cang Gu, not bad!" The Drunken Sword Immortal walked straight past Xu Changqing, stood before Li Xiaoyao, and asked, "They won't teach you sword control, but I will. Do you want to learn?"
"I won't learn!" Li Xiaoyao regarded Chu Yang and Xu Changqing as his benefactors. He was very angry when the Drunken Sword Immortal belittled Chu Yang's swordsmanship. Although he came from humble origins, he understood the meaning of loyalty.
"None of you are giving me any face." The Drunken Sword Immortal, feeling the effects of the alcohol, suddenly became angry. "If you won't learn, I'll teach you anyway, let's see what you do then!"
As he spoke, the Drunken Sword Immortal reached out to grab Li Xiaoyao's head, intending to use his mind to transfer the sword control technique directly into Li Xiaoyao's brain.
This requires extremely high levels of cultivation to achieve.
This approach differs from the transmission of skills; it only imparts the principles of sword control techniques. As for how well one cultivates the sword, that depends on the individual's natural talent.
Just as the Sword Immortal was about to succeed, a sword light struck, separating him from Li Xiaoyao.
Chu Yang stood with his sword in hand, smiling broadly. "Uncle-Master is being presumptuous. Although Brother Li has not yet formally become my disciple, he is already considered half a disciple of my Qi Sect. There is no need for the Sword Sect senior to trouble himself."
"You little brat, you dare draw your sword against me!"
The Sword Immortal formed a sword with his fingers, gathering a fierce sword aura at his fingertips, and thrust it towards Chu Yang. The latter did not dodge, but instead raised his sword to meet the attack, exchanging sword moves with the Sword Immortal.
Seeing this, Xu Changqing hurriedly said, "Uncle-Master Mo, you are the elder. My junior brother has not yet completed his Qi cultivation. You cannot bully the younger one!"
The Sword Immortal appeared angry, but was actually eager to test Chu Yang's self-created sword techniques. After hearing Xu Changqing's words, he turned around and glared at him, "You brat, who do you think I am?!"
Chu Yang said loudly, "Senior Brother, don't worry, Uncle Mo is willing to give me some pointers on sword techniques."
The two brothers kept arguing, putting the Sword Immortal in an awkward position. He had no choice but to restrain his power and compete with Chu Yang using only sword techniques.
This was exactly what Chu Yang had planned. He couldn't reveal his true fighting strength, but if they only compared sword techniques, he would have won easily.
The swordsmanship of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect prioritizes intention over exquisite sword techniques. It emphasizes harmony with the Dao to maximize power.
In actual combat, the Qi Sect combines sword control techniques with magic, using the sword to control magic, which requires a high level of skill in both areas.
Neither the Sword Sect nor the Qi Sect paid much attention to swordsmanship. Therefore, in the eyes of the Drunken Sword Immortal, although Chu Yang was a very promising talent, he had gone astray.
"Young man, your swordsmanship is indeed amazing, but unfortunately it is too much like craftsmanship and will not lead you to the true path."
Having already fallen into an absolute disadvantage, the Drunken Sword Immortal used his sword energy to deflect Chu Yang's sword after Chu Yang stabbed him.
When he looked at Chu Yang again, his eyes were like those of someone looking at a treasure, but also with a hint of regret.
"Thank you for your guidance, Martial Uncle!"
Chu Yang sheathed his sword and clasped his hands in a salute.
"What kind of teaching are you talking about? You've beaten me so badly I can't even tell which way is which!" The Drunken Sword Immortal rolled his eyes, picked up his wine gourd, took a big gulp, and laughed heartily, his posture carefree and unrestrained.
He continued, "I take back what I just said. Your swordplay is original and not rubbish!"
"Sword intent and swordsmanship are both part of the way of the sword. Sword intent is difficult to enter but easy to understand, and it points directly to the origin of the Great Dao. Swordsmanship, on the other hand, is easy to enter but difficult to understand. In the end, it is a rugged path that is harder than climbing to heaven."
"I hope you will make a careful decision!"
The Sword Immortal sat on the ground and spoke eloquently about his insights into swordsmanship, completely unconcerned about the so-called battle of sword energy, wanting to fill in any gaps in Chu Yang's knowledge.
Chu Yang felt admiration and listened attentively.
The Sword Immortal's swordsmanship is far superior to the overall swordsmanship level in the Fengyun world.
Xu Changqing stepped forward and bowed, "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle-Master. I was being presumptuous just now, and I apologize to you, Uncle-Master."
The Sword Immortal didn't care at all, waving his hand, "You looked better the way you were before. Now you look like old man Qingwei, so old-fashioned."
Xu Changqing was speechless.
The Sword Immortal lowered his head, tied his wine gourd to his belt, and said casually, "This humble Taoist is truly convinced of my defeat this time, and will not contend with your Qi Sect. Tell me your names, and I'll be leaving now!"
"Chu Yang".
"Li Xiaoyao".
The Sword Immortal's hand suddenly stopped, and he squinted at Li Xiaoyao, asking, "What's your name?"
Li Xiaoyao scratched his head and repeated it, thinking to himself that this slovenly uncle's hearing wasn't very good.
The next moment, the Drunken Sword Immortal appeared beside Li Xiaoyao in a flash, grabbing him in one fell swoop. "Since that's your name, then I have no choice but to teach you today!"
That's all.
The Sword Immortal forcibly passed on the Sword Control Technique to Li Xiaoyao.
Xu Changqing was startled.
Chu Yang was taken aback.
"No wonder his surname is Mo, not Situ, and he's a mixed-race sword immortal. Judging from this, the Sword Saint Sect Master of the Immortal Sword Sect must be in a similar situation."
"Riding the wind on a sword, I vanquish demons across the land."
"I can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk, for I am the Sword Immortal of Wine."
Watching the Sword Immortal's departing figure on his sword, Chu Yang and Xu Changqing remained silent, while Li Xiaoyao scratched his ears and cheeks, jumping up and down in anger.
He said he didn't want the Sword Immortal's sword control technique, but he was still forced to learn it anyway.
Li Xiaoyao said angrily, "This old man is crazy!"
"Alright, stop acting all innocent after getting the benefit!" Chu Yang grabbed his neck. "Show me your sword control technique and let's see how much you've learned."
Li Xiaoyao reluctantly picked up the wooden sword and began to practice. In Chu Yang's eyes, his true energy automatically circulated as soon as he moved, as if it were instinct.
Xu Changqing nodded repeatedly as he watched from the side, "Junior brother is right. Brother Li is indeed a martial arts prodigy. He learned almost all of this sword control technique after just one look."
Chu Yang laughed and said, "If he walks back to Mount Shu like this, he'll probably be able to participate in the Sword Qi Competition."
A moment later, Li Xiaoyao drew several sharp sword energies on the ground, then sheathed his sword. The whole process was smooth and fluid, and his sword control technique was already quite impressive.
The three of them then left Shili Slope together and returned to Yunlaiyunqu Inn.
at the same time.
The Nanzhao Kingdom.
The main altar of the Moon Worship Cult.
Shi Jieren, the leader of the Moon Worship Cult, was observing the night sky when he suddenly noticed something unusual. He couldn't help but exclaim softly, "This star was barely visible a few days ago, how come it has suddenly become so bright?"
Can fate really be changed?
"Interesting, I really want to meet this friend—"
After watching with interest for a while, Bai Yue summoned several believers and asked them how the matter of bringing back Zhao Ling'er was going.
"We haven't been in touch for a whole day. Something must have gone wrong. Please send us to investigate, Master."
Several believers knelt on the ground, pleading respectfully.
"Forget it, using violence will only backfire. I'm going to use other methods to accomplish this."
"Call Anu here."
Bai Yue waved for them to leave, then got up and left the room, heading to a remote mountain area.
A moment later, a naive girl dressed in Miao ethnic clothing came running and skipping, and her face lit up with a smile the moment she saw Baiyue.
The two talked for a long time under the moonlight.
The next day.
Chu Yang and the others got up early and went to the dock in Yuhang Town to take a large ship to Suzhou City.
Li Xiaoyao grew up in Yuhang Town and had never traveled far from home. Suddenly leaving his familiar place made him feel somewhat uneasy.
However, in order to reassure Zhao Ling'er, he pretended to be calm and composed, but his eyes kept glancing at Chu Yang, revealing his guilty conscience.
Needless to say, Zhao Ling'er was extremely nervous, clinging tightly to Li Xiaoyao's arm.
Seeing this, Xu Changqing began to provide psychological counseling to the two.
Whether it was because he was too talkative or because the two of them really relaxed, Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er fell asleep not long afterward.
When they woke up again, the ship had already arrived at the dock in Suzhou.
The dock wasn't near the town, but in a more remote suburb; you'd have to walk quite a distance to get into the city.
"Ling'er, what are people like in big cities?"
"Brother Xiaoyao, I don't understand what you mean. Aren't all people the same?"
"I mean demeanor, manner of speaking—"
"They should be about the same as Master Xu and the others, right?"
"Too."
The conversation between the two naive young adults was so funny that it made Chu Yang want to tease them.
"People in big cities generally have some quirks because the pressure of life is too great and they can't find the right way to vent."
Chu Yang spoke nonsense with a straight face, "Some people would even hang someone from a tree and take turns whipping them, today you hit me, tomorrow I hit you, to release their stress."
Zhao Ling'er was horrified and asked nervously, "Master Chu, can we change our route? Ling'er suddenly doesn't want to go into the city anymore."
Chu Yang shook his head and said, "That won't do. It's more dangerous in the wilderness; you're more likely to encounter monsters."
Zhao Ling'er looked at Chu Yang with eager eyes, "But we can subdue demons and monsters, so there shouldn't be any danger."
Chu Yang rolled his eyes. "Who sleeps with half an eye open? If you get carried away by a demon, we won't even know."
Zhao Ling'er hung her head dejectedly and stopped talking.
Li Xiaoyao laughed heartily, "Ling'er, Brother Chu is just teasing you, how could such a thing possibly happen—"
Xu Changqing nodded with a smile.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Xiaoyao heard cries for help. He looked into the distance and his face turned ashen.
Two people, a man and a woman, were tied to a tree in the distance. A girl in red stood in front of them, whipping them repeatedly.
The screams made them stop in their tracks.
Li Xiaoyao pointed ahead and said tremblingly, "Are people in big cities really this twisted? I don't want to go into the city anymore, let's just leave."
Xu Changqing was also stunned, muttering, "Are the customs in different places really so different?"
Chu Yang said irritably, "Are you all idiots? Hurry up and go save them! Customs my ass!"
Xu Changqing and Li Xiaoyao then realized what was happening and quickly flew forward. Xu Changqing cut the ropes to free the couple, while Li Xiaoyao drew his sword to force the girl who was hitting them away.
"Who dares to obstruct my affairs!"
The girl in red had a fiery temper, and she recklessly lashed out at Li Xiaoyao's face with her whip.
"What a vicious witch!"
Seeing that his opponent was ruthless, Li Xiaoyao immediately followed suit and used the "Breaking the Rope" move from the Dugu Nine Swords.
The sword light followed like a shadow, like a serpent coiling around the long whip in the red-clad girl's hand. With a sudden burst of power from Li Xiaoyao, the whip flew out of her grasp.
Struck by a soft, yielding force, the girl in red felt as if she had been bitten on the wrist. Clutching her wrist, she angrily exclaimed, "Such bizarre swordsmanship! Where did you learn such unorthodox techniques?"
Li Xiaoyao disliked hearing others say that Chu Yang's swordsmanship was unorthodox and heretical. He was immediately enraged and continued to thrust his sword at the girl in red.
The girl in red was terrified, but she had no weapon to defend herself. Caught off guard, she could only offer her neck for execution.
Seeing this, Chu Yang flicked a sword aura with his finger, knocking the sword out of Li Xiaoyao's hand. He walked forward with a smile, saying, "You really need to work on your temper. When masters clash, it's all about who can stay calm. You'll suffer a great loss sooner or later if you keep acting like this!"
After his anger subsided, Li Xiaoyao suddenly felt a chill of fear. If he had actually stabbed her with that sword, the girl would have been dead without a doubt.
"I'm so sorry!" Li Xiaoyao quickly apologized to the girl in red, scratching his head and saying, "I was just angry. Who told you to say that to me first—"
The girl, who had just escaped death, glared fiercely at Li Xiaoyao, and the next second, tears welled up in her eyes.
She was terrified too!
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