The Five Aggregates of Taixu / Defeat

"I-I definitely won't! I'm not some ungrateful person. You did save me, after all."

"You're not ungrateful. You're just a little stupid."

After being insulted for no reason, Li Sushang froze for a moment, puffed out her cheeks, and was about to get angry.

"You insisted on holding a fair duel with someone else—when they could use True Qi and you couldn't."

"Then, once your sword landed in their hands, you couldn't take it back. They wanted to kill you, yet you didn't even know to run. If that isn't stupid, what is?"

Honestly, although Kaino had intended to help her in her hour of need, he felt that with Li Sushang's strength as, at minimum, an A-rank Valkyrie, she could have worn Old Eagle down even if he had the sword.

But Li Sushang had insisted on fighting that blockhead to the death.

"How can one flee during a Shenzhou duel? I already made a wager with him! I..."

Upon hearing Kaino's words, Li Sushang's puffed cheeks instantly deflated. Though she wanted to argue, she turned her head away when she saw him staring at her.

"Fine. I know I was wrong."

"Then let's get going."

Kaino stood and walked out of the kitchen first. Li Sushang hurriedly got up and followed behind him.

"There shouldn't be any merchant caravans around at this hour. I remember the Golden Sands Gang having a few horses. Let's get them and leave."

"Mm... Huh? No, wait! Raiken, weren't you captured with a merchant caravan? We should at least save them, shouldn't we?!"

"...Did you think I went straight to the kitchen after getting out of the Black Prison? By the time I found them, they were already dead."

Kaino had not forgotten the Kaslana family creed: Kaslanas were the shield of the people. Once he confirmed that the Golden Sands Gang were bandits rather than officials, he naturally could not ignore them.

However, the caravan personnel captured alongside Kaino were not relatively rare Raiken like him, so they could not be sold for a good price.

And goods that could not fetch a good price had no value worth keeping to bandits like the Golden Sands Gang. Keeping them would only waste food.

"But you don't need to worry. I took all the Golden Sands Gang's food, and with us taking their horses as well, there's no way they'll make it out of this desert."

Kaino patted Li Sushang's shoulder, comforting her as she looked somewhat dazed upon hearing that the caravan members had all died.

Li Sushang bit her lip and slowly nodded.

Before tonight, she might have felt a little pity for the Golden Sands Gang bandits who had effectively been sentenced to death. But after that desperate battle, her outlook had changed slightly.

Even without their leader, the Golden Sands Gang would choose a new one. If they were not killed, they would certainly continue killing others and plundering their wealth.

Just as she and Old Eagle had done before.

"Ah, right."

They had just reached the horse enclosure when Li Sushang immediately looked up at Kaino.

"Raiken, I haven't asked yet. Where are you going in Shenzhou?"

There was a faint trace of reluctance in her voice.

"I didn't tell you?"

Kaino created a cart with seats and hitched it to one of the horses in the enclosure. Hearing Li Sushang's question, he scratched his cheek.

"Mm... I came to find the Red Sparrow Immortal. I have some questions I want to ask the Immortal, and if possible, I'd also like to learn... well, cultivation techniques."

"You're looking for the Immortal?"

Li Sushang had already seen Kaino's ability to create objects, so she was not surprised by it. But after hearing his answer, her eyes lit up.

"If you're looking for the Immortal, I can help you!"

"Help me?"

Hearing Li Sushang's words, the corners of Kaino's lips lifted slightly before quickly returning to normal. He pretended not to understand.

"Oh, I remember now. You said that Tai Xu Sword Qi was a cultivation technique passed down by the Red Sparrow Immortal?"

"That's right!"

Li Sushang nodded happily.

"My master and my mother are two of the Immortal's only seven disciples. If anyone knows where the Immortal is, it has to be them."

"As for you wanting to learn Tai Xu Sword Qi... Master did say that the Immortal forbade it from being passed on to outsiders, but I can plead with Master. Maybe she'll teach you. Still, Tai Xu Sword Qi is best cultivated from childhood. It's a little late for you to start now."

"Oh, is that so?" Kaino blinked, then smiled.

"Then thank you."

Tai Xu Five Essences

Across the golden desert, a horse-drawn cart traveled leisurely onward. A man and a woman sat upon it, idly watching the scenery around them.

They were Kaino and Li Sushang.

Li Sushang sat sideways on her seat, curiously examining the cart that had been conjured out of thin air.

Unlike a traditional wooden flatbed cart, this one was made from a lightweight material with a metallic sheen. The cushions on the seats were not cotton cloth either, but an exceptionally soft kind of leather.

Wind-blown sand swept across their faces along with the breeze. However, both possessed physiques beyond ordinary people, so the blowing sand was not particularly bothersome to them.

Otherwise, Kaino would have covered the cart with a canopy long ago.

"Hey, hey, Raiken, how did you make this? Is it some martial art, or something else entirely?"

Li Sushang blinked as she tapped the cart, looking at Kaino curiously.

"You promised you would explain it to me."

"I only said I'd explain the method I used to heal you. I never said I'd explain how I create things, did I?"

Kaino, who had been leaning against the genuine leather cushion in a daze, came back to his senses with some helplessness.

He had already grown too lazy to correct the way she addressed him.

"You said it wasn't a secret. So there shouldn't be any problem with me asking, right?"

Li Sushang chuckled.

"Mm... Let me think about how to explain it."

Kaino rubbed his chin with one hand in thought before speaking.

"As far as I know, the two abilities I can use probably can't be learned by anyone else... at least, we haven't found a way for others to learn them."

"So this probably doesn't count as martial arts."

"As for how it works, I think it would be better to show you directly—let me see your Xuanyuan Sword."

As he spoke, Kaino extended his hand toward Li Sushang.

"Oh, here. Take it."

Without any hesitation, Li Sushang directly handed the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand to Kaino.

The moment the Xuanyuan Sword landed in his hand, Kaino could not help raising an eyebrow.

He had not examined it carefully before, so he had not noticed... This Xuanyuan Sword also seemed to be a God Key?

Interesting.

"To be precise, my ability to make things isn't creation. It's observing an object and then reproducing it, like this."

Kaino held the Xuanyuan Sword in one hand while his other hand hovered in the air. Then, starting from the hilt and extending toward the blade, a weapon identical to Li Sushang's Xuanyuan Sword gradually appeared in his empty hand.

"Of course, according to my experiments, I can create these things even without analyzing and observing them first, but it consumes far more True Qi."

At that point, Kaino sighed helplessly.

"But for some reason, there are things I can create directly, and others I can't. This cart is something I can create directly despite not understanding its details very well."

Kaino had long tried directly creating a Herrscher Core to free up the process by which he absorbed Honkai energy, but cores did not seem to be something that could be created directly.

While cores would not work, God Keys could. Even though Kaino had never analyzed the God Key Oath of Judah, he had once reproduced it in full—though because he did not understand it and his reserves of Honkai energy were low, it took him an entire day. Moreover, the Judas Oath he obtained in the end was only a temporary reproduction. Once the Honkai energy was withdrawn, it would disappear.

The Priest had clearly said that God Keys were made by processing cores.

But Kaino could not analyze things he reproduced without understanding them first, so he could not use Bug Exploitation.

"Wow! That's way too amazing!"

Li Sushang stared at the two Xuanyuan Swords in Kaino's hands with shining eyes and exclaimed in admiration.

"As for the method I used to heal you, it's like my ability to reproduce objects: an innate ability that cannot be taught."

"Likewise, it's an ability that can be used without detailed knowledge of the relevant principles. For example, like this."

Kaino returned Li Sushang's Xuanyuan Sword, then used the Xuanyuan Sword in his right hand to cut his own arm.

"In this situation, all I have to do is think about restoring the wound, then circulate my True Qi. The next moment..."

Kaino did not continue, but the wound on his arm had already vanished without a trace.

"Of course, those are the only two abilities I have that can be used without understanding them."

He placed the Xuanyuan Sword on the seat and shrugged.

"I see."

Li Sushang nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly raised her head to look at Kaino, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"Raiken, you mean you have other abilities?"

"That's a secret. I don't tell just anyone."

Kaino wagged a finger and smiled. "All right, I've finished telling you about my abilities, haven't I? Why don't you tell me more about Tai Xu Sword Qi?"

"Huh? You already have such powerful abilities, and you still really want to learn Tai Xu Sword Qi? Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew."

Li Sushang sighed before beginning her explanation.

"Let me make this clear first... I haven't asked Master for permission yet, so I don't know whether I can teach you Tai Xu Sword Qi at all. Explaining it to you is fine, but I can't teach you how to cultivate it. At least, not yet."

"I'm not some ignorant child."

Kaino said helplessly.

Though it was true that he felt a little regretful inside.

"Tai Xu Sword Qi is divided into five essences—Heart, Spirit, Intent, Form, and Soul."

"Heart Essence is the essence I told you about before, the one that greatly increases the rate at which you absorb True Qi, so I won't go over it again."

"Intent Essence is one I still haven't mastered. Once you learn it, the Xuanyuan Sword will no longer look as it does now. It will become suited to its user's will, changing its form and gaining certain special abilities."

"Form Essence consists of sword techniques. There are four forms—Open, activate, Transform, and guard—with twenty-one moves in total."

Hearing this, Kaino nodded to himself. When he had secretly watched Li Sushang duel Old Eagle before, he had already learned quite a few moves.

"As for Soul Essence, it is a realm in which even grass and trees can become swords. Once you master it, you can use Tai Xu Sword Qi no matter what weapon you wield."

"Spirit Essence, meanwhile, is an exceptionally powerful but also exceptionally difficult essence. As far as I know, only my grandmaster Chi Yuan and my master have mastered it."

"I've never seen Master use it, so I don't know the details. But I heard that once you master this essence, you can use formless qi to Transform tangible..."

Before Li Sushang could finish, her words were interrupted by the sound of galloping hooves.

A man rode up from behind them on a blood-red horse, heading in the same direction at an even faster speed.

"In this direction... there should only be my master."

Li Sushang looked at the man in surprise. "Master actually has acquaintances?"

"I think that if he hears you talking badly about your master behind her back, then he might..."

Before Kaino could finish, the man, who had already drawn level with them, tilted his head to glance at the pair. He paused slightly, then raised his empty right hand and fiercely swung it at the rope connecting the cart to the horse.

Defeat

The attack came without warning and with fierce momentum.

Glancing at Li Sushang, who seemed unable to react to the sudden strike, Kaino activated the authority of the Herrscher of Wind and condensed a Wind Blade to collide with the invisible object in the man's hand.

Though he could not see what the man was holding, Kaino's various authorities were not just for show. It was not difficult for him to see that there was a rod-shaped object there.

To keep the cart he had reproduced from becoming useless, and because Li Sushang had not reacted in time, Kaino could only intervene himself.

Besides that, there was something else that caught Kaino's attention.

If he had judged correctly, the method the man used to conceal his weapon seemed identical to the authority of his Herrscher of Wind.