Nascent Soul Realm Ninth Layer, Wood Spirit Sword Technique

"Junior Brother Gu, let me introduce you. This is my childhood friend, Zuo Lin. He wishes to discuss sword techniques with me, so I'd like to have him stay in my courtyard." Li Ya walked up to Gu An and introduced him.

Zuo Lin wore a yellow robe and possessed a handsome face, though the arrogance between his brows was impossible to hide. A precious sword hung at his waist, and one look at it revealed it was of high grade.

Li Ya introduced Gu An to Zuo Lin, but the latter merely gave a slight nod toward Gu An without saying a word.

Gu An was not one to be bothered by such things; he smiled and said, "Then go ahead and get him settled in, Senior Brother Li."

Li Ya nodded, his eyes revealing a look of apology.

Zuo Lin pulled Li Ya forward, saying excitedly, "That Ji Lin from the Ji Family was truly impressive today. Did you see his sword technique? It was exquisite to the extreme. I have a feeling he has a good chance of becoming the final victor."

Ji Lin?

A handsome yet arrogant face surfaced in Gu An's mind. Like him, Ji Lin had joined the Taixuan Sect under the guidance of Ji Xiaoyu. The two didn't interact much, but Du Ye had previously come to help Ji Lin collect medicinal herbs.

He hadn't expected Ji Lin to already be making a name for himself at the World Outer Sect Assembly; one had to remember that Ji Lin was only a few years older than him.

Of course, it might have to do with the cultivation resources he received. With the treatment provided by the Taixuan Sect combined with the resources of the Ji Family, it was understandable that his cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds.

Gu An walked toward the tree, but his ears were busy eavesdropping on the conversation between Li Ya and his friend.

The World Outer Sect Assembly had already begun, and the genius outer sect disciples from both the righteous and demonic paths had gathered to compete for supremacy. According to the two, the assembly was conducted in a one-on-one format, and those who remained undefeated were beginning to make a name for themselves.

Gu An didn't hear the name Ji Xiaoyu, but upon second thought, that made sense; Ji Xiaoyu did not belong to the outer sect.

Xiao Chuan, Wuxin, and the others were quite curious about Zuo Lin. They gathered in small groups, whispering and discussing him.

Zuo Lin's arrival did not disrupt life in the Mystic Valley. He was quite dismissive of the chore disciples, spending his time practicing sword techniques with Li Ya before returning to his room to cultivate.

Because of their arrival, Gu An reduced the frequency of his visits to the Eight Sceneries Grotto-Heaven, but he still persisted with his daily plans.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu An finally reached the ninth level of the Nascent Soul Realm. That night, he felt as light as a feather on his way back.

When he returned to the Mystic Valley, he found someone practicing sword techniques in Li Ya's courtyard.

He returned to his own pavilion, entered the room, and then walked to the window to watch.

The one practicing was Zuo Lin.

When Zuo Lin first arrived, Gu An had assumed he was a genius of the sword.

However, after watching him practice every day for a month, Gu An realized that this fellow's talent for the sword was mediocre at best.

Gu An now possessed a certain level of attainment in sword arts, and he could judge that Zuo Lin's talent was not even as good as Su Han's.

Su Han was the most talented in sword arts within the valley, but that was only within the Mystic Valley; it wouldn't be much to look at outside.

Gu An watched for a while before closing the window.

When dawn broke, Gu An went downstairs and found Zuo Lin still standing in the courtyard. He stood in place, staring at the sword in his hand with a deeply furrowed brow.

Gu An called out to his junior brothers, junior sisters, and the other disciples to begin their exercises, the commotion drawing Zuo Lin's gaze.

"Actually, you don't have to force the sword techniques. Your spiritual root aptitude is already formidable. If you wait until your cultivation realm is higher to practice the sword, you might achieve twice the result with half the effort." Li Ya walked to Zuo Lin's side and said softly.

Zuo Lin's expression darkened. "No, I must become a sword cultivator. My father is the Canghu Sword Fanatic!"

Li Ya had intended to persuade him, but then he thought to himself that he was no different; he also wanted to prove himself to his own father.

Zuo Lin stared intently at Gu An and the others as they performed their exercises. For some reason, he felt that Gu An's movements held a unique profundity. Even though they were doing the same movements as everyone else, there was a hidden mystery in the way Gu An performed them.

At first, he thought it was his imagination, but as he watched, he became increasingly convinced that he hadn't been mistaken.

Li Ya did not continue to disturb Zuo Lin; he turned and walked toward the mountain forest, as he also needed plenty of time to cultivate.

Although he didn't mention his defeat to Xu Ruye often, it was always on his mind.

He didn't want to lose again!

After Gu An finished a set of exercises, he let the disciples in the valley go about their business. By now, the affairs of the valley no longer required his personal arrangement, as Wuxin was gradually taking over the responsibilities of the senior brother.

Xiao Chuan had a reserved personality and didn't like to command or arrange things, so he was happy to defer to Wuxin.

As for Ye Lan, she had already settled her mind and was focusing entirely on the outer sect examination.

For those with mediocre aptitude like them, there was only one path to becoming an outer sect disciple: reach the ninth level of Qi Refining, participate in the outer sect examination, and upon passing, wait for the outer sect to distribute the Foundation Establishment Pill.

If they were to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm directly, they wouldn't need to take the examination.

Gu An was debating whether to improve his Alchemy skills to help his junior sister and brothers refine Foundation Establishment Pills. The medicinal herbs for the pills could all be found within the valley; the difficulty lay only in the refining process.

Ye Lan was still some time away from the ninth level of Qi Refining, which gave Gu An enough time to weigh the matter. As for Xiao Chuan, he was even further behind.

With the aptitude of most people, they could toil for a lifetime and never reach the eighth level of Qi Refining.

Gu An walked toward his pavilion. He pulled the Travels of the Green Hero from his robes, a look of anticipation on his face.

He had deliberately saved these last five chapters, waiting for a beautiful, sunny day to savor them.

In the midst of a torrential downpour, the Green Hero and his Lady Yin would meet at a ruined temple, and the grievances and romance between the two were about to erupt completely...

Just thinking about it made Gu An look forward to it.

"Brother Gu An."

Zuo Lin's voice reached him. Gu An turned his head and saw him walking over quickly.

Zuo Lin felt a bit embarrassed when he approached Gu An, but Gu An didn't hold his previous arrogance against him and asked with a smile, "Is there something you need, Brother Zuo?"

He gritted his teeth and said, "I observed that your set of movements is quite exquisite. Would you be willing to teach me?"

"No problem, let's head over to the tree," Gu An replied.

Promoting Radio Calisthenics is a duty that every son and daughter of Huaxia must fulfill!

Zuo Lin was stunned; he hadn't expected Gu An to be so agreeable, and a wave of shame washed over him. He hurriedly followed in Gu An's footsteps.

The two arrived in the courtyard in front of the pavilion, and without further ado, Gu An began teaching him the exercises.

Zuo Lin had an eidetic memory; once Gu An demonstrated it, he had already mastered it.

"That's it?" Zuo Lin asked, frowning.

Gu An asked in confusion, "Not enough? That's the entire set of movements."

"What about the internal cultivation method?"

"There is no internal cultivation method."

"Impossible. Without an internal cultivation method, how could you..." Zuo Lin said, knitting his brows.

His words left Gu An even more confused, so he couldn't help but ask, "How could I what?"

Zuo Lin grew anxious and said, "It's just that the feeling you give me is different. Even though the movements are the same, you are different from everyone else. You must have an internal cultivation method..."

Gu An felt helpless. Had this kid been driven silly by trying to comprehend the sword?

Seeing Gu An's expression, Zuo Lin felt even more awkward. Reason told him that a servant disciple couldn't possibly be hiding a peerless internal cultivation method.

Yet, his earlier intuition couldn't be wrong.

Since he was a child, he had been most sensitive to a person's aptitude and aura. Even his master had praised him for having an Exquisite Spiritual Heart, making him adept at reading people.

This servant disciple before him was definitely not simple!

Zuo Lin's eyes darted around, and he said, "How about this? I'll teach you some sword techniques, and you give it a try?"

Gu An wanted to refuse, but seeing his demeanor, he knew it would be hard to shake him off, so he could only nod in agreement.

Might as well learn it since it's free!

Seeing that Gu An had no sword, Zuo Lin took a long sword from his Storage Bag and handed it to him, then drew the precious sword at his own waist and began to demonstrate his sword techniques.

This kid really doesn't know how to act!

Why swing the sword so fast?

Gu An complained in his heart, but his eyes watched very intently.

In the distance, Tang Yu and Su Han saw this scene, but they dared not approach and could only watch from afar.

"If Master learns it, wouldn't he be able to teach us?" Su Han said with anticipation. He loved the sword most of all; among the many paths of immortality, only the way of the sword made his heart yearn.

Tang Yu nodded and said, "As long as Master learns it, we will beg him, and he definitely won't refuse."

In their hearts, Gu An was the best master. The key was whether Master could learn Zuo Lin's sword techniques.

The answer was certain. Gu An had invested two thousand years of lifespan into the Li Family Seven Swords; his attainments in the way of the sword were already very high.

The sword techniques Zuo Lin displayed were decent in his view, but they were inferior to the upgraded Seven Sword Formula of the Li Family, let alone the Nine Astonishing Swords.

That made sense; Zuo Lin wouldn't pass on his strongest sword techniques right off the bat.

After Zuo Lin finished demonstrating, he looked back at Gu An and asked, "How much did you remember?"

Gu An shook his head and said, "About twenty percent... I can't say for sure. Your sword techniques are too fluid, leaving me dazzled. I've already forgotten the earlier moves."

Zuo Lin frowned and immediately told Gu An to give it a try.

And so, Gu An began to perform the sword techniques Zuo Lin had just shown. His movements were hesitant and his sword forms were stiff, making Zuo Lin's frown deepen.

In the distance, Tang Yu and Su Han were in despair; it seemed Master couldn't learn it.

After Gu An finished performing the moves clumsily, Zuo Lin refused to give up and demonstrated them again, this time moving even slower. However, Gu An still hadn't memorized the whole thing.

After half an hour of this, Gu An found an excuse to slip away.

An indignant Zuo Lin found Li Ya and claimed that Gu An was toying with him.

After learning the reason, Li Ya was left between laughter and tears, saying, "He truly has no talent for the sword, and he hates practicing it."

"Really?" Zuo Lin's anger subsided quite a bit, though he couldn't help but recall the posture Gu An had when practicing the exercises earlier. He always felt Gu An was hiding something.

"He is my junior brother; how could I not know?"

Li Ya rolled his eyes at him and then warned, "Don't go pestering him again. It's already generous enough that you're allowed to stay. If you keep bothering him, get lost and go back to the Outer Sect to find your father!"

Zuo Lin fell into deep thought, his gaze drifting toward the pavilion where Gu An lived, wondering what he was thinking.

On the other side.

Inside the pavilion.

Gu An sat cross-legged on his bed. He closed his eyes, ruminating on the sword techniques Zuo Lin had taught him.

He slowly opened his eyes, a flash of sword light flickering within them.

He pulled up his attribute panel, and the Wood Spirit Sword Technique appeared under the ultimate techniques section.

Wood Spirit?

Could it be a wood-attribute sword technique?

Gu An's Divine Wood Pure Yang Technique was wood-attribute, so if he practiced wood-attribute spells, he would achieve twice the result with half the effort; he had learned the Poison Wood Array taught by Jiang Qiong very quickly before.

However, he did not want to upgrade this sword technique for the time being; he had to save up to one hundred thousand years of lifespan first.

One thousand years unlocked the lifespan inspection function, ten thousand years unlocked the Longevity Barrier function, and one hundred thousand years of lifespan should also be able to unlock a new function, which he had been looking forward to.