A Piece of Turtle Shell

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Li Yanshan coughed continuously, a large amount of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. His body swayed, and he was about to fall. Fang Chen, quick-eyed and nimble, immediately moved to Li Yanshan's side and reached out to support him.

"Uncle Li, you should sit down quickly!"

Fang Chen prepared to help Li Yanshan towards the stone table under the large elm tree, but Elder Yun walked in front of Li Yanshan. He pressed a few acupoints around the wounds on Li Yanshan's chest and shoulder, then rummaged in his bosom and pulled out a black porcelain bottle. He tossed it to Fang Chen and said, "Give him this pill!"

"Okay!"

Fang Chen nodded, biting the cork with his teeth and pulling hard.

"Pop!"

The cork finally came out. Fang Chen brought the porcelain bottle to Li Yanshan's lips and poured the pill inside into his mouth.

After taking the pill, Li Yanshan immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began cultivating.

Elder Yun turned and walked towards his room, then slowly closed the door. He didn't seem worried about Li Yanshan's injuries at all.

A short while later, Li Yanshan stopped cultivating and slowly opened his eyes. His complexion had become a little more ruddy, and the wound on his shoulder had stopped bleeding.

He slowly stood up and moved his body. He seemed to be fine.

Fang Chen bowed deeply to Li Yanshan, saying with a grateful expression, "Thank you, Uncle Li, for saving me!"

Fang Chen knew in his heart that if Li Yanshan hadn't intervened just now, he would have been killed by Zhang Tielin.

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen and smiled slightly, saying, "What's there to be polite about? You're one of us at Dog Head Ridge now. How could I stand by and watch you get bullied?"

Although Li Yanshan said it casually, Fang Chen was still immensely grateful. In that situation, Li Yanshan could have easily stayed out of it. It wouldn't have mattered much if Li Yanshan hadn't helped him, but he still chose to confront Zhang Tielin and got injured.

He looked at Li Yanshan and said with gratitude, "Regardless, I still want to thank you, Uncle Li!"

"Alright, alright. Enough with the thanks. Just for calling me Uncle Li, I wouldn't let anyone bully you!"

Li Yanshan smiled at Fang Chen and asked, "So? Wasn't your Uncle Li looking pretty cool just now?"

"This..."

Fang Chen was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Very cool!"

Fang Chen had to admit that Li Yanshan had indeed been very cool just now. Although he was only at the third level of Qi Refining, he could go head-to-head with Zhang Tielin, who was at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and even injure him. Although Li Yanshan was also injured, Fang Chen could tell that Zhang Tielin was even more seriously wounded.

"Heh heh!"

Li Yanshan chuckled and looked at Fang Chen. "Zhang Tielin's strength is quite good, but he's afraid of death! When he saw your Uncle Li getting serious, he got scared! He didn't dare to kill me, fearing severe punishment from the Enforcement Hall and ruining his future. In a situation like today, if he had killed me here at Dog Head Ridge, the compensation alone would have ruined him. His life would have been over. That's why he was hesitant in the fight; the tempo was completely controlled by me!"

Fang Chen recalled the fight just now, and it was indeed as Li Yanshan had said.

Killing a high-level handyman would cost a thousand Spirit Stones. Killing an Outer Sect Disciple at the third level of Qi Refining would surely incur a much heavier penalty.

He looked at Li Yanshan and asked, "Uncle Li, Zhang Tielin was afraid of death and the Enforcement Hall's punishment, but weren't you afraid?"

Li Yanshan smiled. "What's there to be afraid of? Your Uncle Li is like a barefoot person who isn't afraid of someone wearing shoes now. Anyone who dares to provoke me, I'll fight them to the death!"

As he spoke of fighting to the death, a sharp glint flashed in Li Yanshan's eyes.

He looked at Fang Chen and said earnestly, "In the future, you must be ruthless towards your enemies. Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to yourself!"

"Mhm!"

Fang Chen nodded vigorously.

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen and asked, "Why are you cultivating immortality?"

"Me?"

Fang Chen was taken aback. He hadn't really thought about why he was cultivating immortality.

He had been sold to the Glazed Sword Sect; he hadn't come of his own accord.

The reason he was cultivating immortality now was simply to become stronger, to avoid being bullied, and to have enough to eat. That was all.

Seeing Fang Chen remain silent, Li Yanshan smiled. "Some people cultivate immortality because they fear death; through cultivation, they can gain a longer lifespan. Some people cultivate to gain greater strength and fulfill their inner desires. Some are forced onto the path of cultivation. I never intended to cultivate immortality back then, but it was by chance that I ended up on this path!"

Li Yanshan paused here and looked at Fang Chen. "I originally wanted to take you out for a stroll, but I didn't expect to get into a fight with Zhang Tielin and get injured. I'll take you out once I've recovered. If there's nothing else, you shouldn't leave Dog Head Ridge. I'm afraid Zhang Tielin might try to attack you opportunistically!"

"Mhm!"

Fang Chen nodded slightly. He then asked Li Yanshan, "Uncle Li, can you teach me martial arts? I've just become an Outer Sect Disciple, and I haven't practiced any martial arts or sword techniques yet!"

Li Yanshan looked at Fang Chen with a somewhat serious expression. "Don't learn sword techniques for now. What you need to learn first is footwork!"

"Footwork? Why?"

Fang Chen frowned slightly. He wanted to learn sword techniques now; his combat power would surely increase significantly once he mastered them.

Li Yanshan said earnestly, "Because if you learn footwork well, when you fight and find yourself outmatched, you can escape!"

"Escape?"

Fang Chen was stunned for a moment, but then he felt it made sense.

"Yes, escape. Follow me!"

Li Yanshan nodded and strode towards his dwelling. Fang Chen followed behind him. Upon arriving at Li Yanshan's residence, he stood quietly at the entrance, waiting.

A short while later, Li Yanshan came out of the house and handed a dark Turtle Shell to Fang Chen. "This Turtle Shell contains a technique called the Misty Turtle Step! It's an extremely good footwork technique. This Turtle Shell still has one use left. Just scan it with your Spiritual Sense, and you'll see the recorded cultivation method. Then, just silently recite the words 'Wang Ba Dan' in your mind!"

"Misty Turtle Step?"

Fang Chen immediately frowned, finding the name of the movement technique too unpleasant.

"Yes, go practice it yourself first! I'm going to rest for a bit. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me later!"

After Li Yanshan finished speaking, he walked back into the house and closed the door with a bang.

Fang Chen looked down at the turtle shell in his hand and then scanned it with his spiritual sense.

As his spiritual sense swept over the turtle shell, he felt it vibrate slightly. Then, he felt his consciousness enter a dark space. Within this dark space, a large amount of golden text floated, darting around rapidly like a swarm of mischievous fireflies.

Fang Chen immediately followed Li Yanshan's instructions and silently recited the words 'Wang Ba Dan' in his mind.

The next moment, as if receiving a command, the golden text seemed to transform into a disciplined formation of soldiers, arranging themselves into neat, uniform rows.

Soon, a cultivation method appeared before Fang Chen. Behind the cultivation method were images of people, emitting a faint golden light, striking various peculiar poses.

Fang Chen memorized the cultivation method's essential points. When he withdrew his spiritual sense, the dark space vanished instantly.

"Crack!"

Cracks immediately appeared on the turtle shell in Fang Chen's palm, and then it shattered.

Fang Chen recalled the cultivation method he had just seen and began practicing it on the ground.