Seeing the Heavenly Book

What puzzled Wang Xian was this.

After becoming beautiful, Dongfang Nishang did not turn back into an old crone. Instead, she stayed at the Daoist temple.

Thus, Dantai Xiaoxue followed the old Daoist priest to learn a Fire Talisman.

The old Daoist priest had his junior sister teach Wang Xian a life-saving technique.

Dongfang Nishang told Wang Xian to show her a sword move. Who would have thought Wang Xian would shake his head? "Master hasn't taught me swordsmanship yet!"

"Then what has he taught you?" Dongfang Nishang flew into a rage when she heard this. "What kind of master in this world does such a thing?"

Wang Xian chuckled. "Master said that once I finish copying the Dao Scripture and can recite it backward without missing a word, he'll start teaching me sword practice!"

Dongfang Nishang was so angry that she cursed, "Old fellow, you sent me to teach a block of wood. What are you plotting?"

The old Daoist priest merely smiled faintly. "Isn't Xiaoxue different? Has she ever written talismans before?"

In a fit of anger, Dongfang Nishang raised her fingers as a sword!

A flash of sword light shot like lightning toward Wang Xian's chest.

Clang!

A streak of Sword Qi struck him in an instant. Wang Xian flew back three zhang and crashed into the snow, letting out a "Wah!" as he howled!

The old Daoist priest let out a long, unhurried sigh.

"Why are you howling like a ghost? If it had been anyone else, that sword would have pierced your heart already!"

With just that one sword, Wang Xian felt that he had nearly died at his martial aunt's hands. This was what a truly fatal sword looked like!

Yet Dongfang Nishang had not pierced Wang Xian's heart. At that moment, she merely wanted to see whether her senior brother and Wang Xian had deceived her.

She could not believe that her senior brother had not taught Wang Xian swordsmanship, instead making him copy the Dao Scripture.

If everyone in the world could understand the Dao Scripture and cultivate through it,

then her senior brother would not have been trapped in a Daoist temple south of Kunlun for most of his life because of this scripture.

Seeing Wang Xian's flustered expression, Dongfang Nishang sighed.

She turned and walked toward the main hall.

As she went, she said, "Come in. Let's play a different game!"

The old Daoist priest did not mind either. He immediately called to Wang Xian, "If you're not dead, hurry over here. Once your martial aunt leaves, you won't even have a place to cry."

"Ah!"

Wang Xian sprang up from the snow and rushed all the way into the main hall.

He shouted at the old Daoist priest, "Master, why don't you try it instead? That sword nearly took this disciple's life!"

The old Daoist priest glared at him so hard that his eyes nearly popped out.

Then he smiled faintly. "So, do you still want to learn some skills from your martial aunt?"

"Yes!" Wang Xian patted his chest.

"Junior Brother, you're far too useless!"

Dantai Xiaoxue held a wolf-hair brush and smiled. "Let's compete. We'll see whether I learn to write talismans first, or you learn Master's swordsmanship first."

Wang Xian ignored her. Rubbing his belly, he said to the old Daoist priest, "Master, I'm hungry!"

After saying that, he turned and headed out of the main hall. He was hungry, so he was going to cook something himself.

Dongfang Nishang froze.

A strange expression appeared on her face. "Senior Brother, this brat has quite the temper!"

Dusk deepened.

The old Daoist priest and Dantai Xiaoxue had already returned to their rooms to rest. Wang Xian lit a brazier in the main hall and brewed a pot of tea.

His martial aunt had told him she would teach him something that night.

Though he was surprised, he still sat obediently before Dongfang Nishang, waiting for that thrilling moment to arrive.

Who would have known that Dongfang Nishang took out an object wrapped in silk cloth?

Layer by layer, she unfolded the silk, revealing a yellowed scroll of cowhide without a single written character on it.

Seeing the solemn look on his martial aunt's face, Wang Xian did not dare ask questions. He only stared fixedly at the thing in Dongfang Nishang's hands.

Dongfang Nishang let out a faint sigh.

She revealed the Heavenly Book, which she had never shown anyone—not even her senior brother—to Wang Xian.

She gently opened it and pointed at the densely packed symbols on the cowhide scroll. In a soft voice, she asked, "Look carefully. Look slowly. Then tell me what you see."

Wang Xian lowered his head to look, and instantly went blank.

Those densely packed symbols looked as though someone had used a small knife to carve crooked, twisted marks into the cowhide scroll.

Who could understand something like this?

Just as he was about to give up, a "Buzz!" rang out in his mind, like...

Like the sword his master had slashed toward the horizon that day, a golden light suddenly flashed in Wang Xian's mind and rushed straight into his eyes.

Right before Dongfang Nishang's stunned gaze,

the youth seemed to have been hypnotized. He slowly closed his eyes, as if he had entered meditation.

She endured and endured, until after a quarter of an hour, she finally asked softly.

"Tell me, what did you see?"

"I saw a snowy mountain... No, there are long stone steps in the mountains, leading toward the summit of the snowy peak..."

"Hiss..."

Dongfang Nishang sucked in a cold breath. This was completely different from what she had expected. She had studied it for decades, yet she had never seen this mountain.

This time, she had come because she wanted to show her senior brother and see what he could perceive from this Heavenly Book.

She did not believe the youth before her could see it. She had shown it to Dantai Xiaoxue before, but the little girl had been unable to see anything.

One had to know that Dantai Xiaoxue was the youngest disciple of the Kunlun Sword Sect.

Yet she was also its most outstanding disciple.

Dongfang Nishang did not believe Wang Xian was stronger than her own disciple!

Seeing Wang Xian gradually enter meditation, Dongfang Nishang had no choice but to call her senior brother over.

When the old Daoist priest entered the main hall, he was stunned. The spring water on the stove was whistling, the tea had not even been brewed, and his precious disciple seemed to have entered meditation?

Originally, he had wanted his junior sister to teach Wang Xian a light, elusive sword move.

Yet he had never expected Dongfang Nishang to bring out the Heavenly Book and place it before his disciple.

Most fatal of all, it was the Heavenly Book that he himself had never seen.

His disciple had entered meditation after only one glance. Who would believe such a thing if it were told aloud?

One had to know that his junior sister had spent most of her life studying it, only barely managing to glimpse some clues within.

Dongfang Nishang smiled faintly. "Senior Brother, shall we make a wager?"

"Wager on what?" The old Daoist priest only wanted to know what Wang Xian had seen.

Dongfang Nishang smiled faintly. "I wager that your disciple can see the Heavenly Book that even you cannot understand."

"Ah..."

The old Daoist priest thought for a moment before replying, "What do you want?"

Dongfang Nishang smiled. "If I win, when spring comes, you'll have this fellow make a trip to the Sword Sect..."

The old Daoist priest nodded. "Fine!"

At that moment, Wang Xian was staring blankly at the snowy mountain before him.

He muttered, "Martial Aunt, what is so special about the stone steps on this snowy mountain?"

Dongfang Nishang glanced at the old Daoist priest and sighed softly. "I have never seen the snowy mountain steps you saw. Do you want to give them a try?"

Hearing this, Wang Xian could not help but chuckle. "This disciple will give it a try!"

Without another word, he stepped upward...

Buzz! Golden light flashed over the stone steps, and Wang Xian felt as though he were riding the wind.

Dongfang Nishang's voice drifted through the wind. "Little fellow, I'll only give you three days. If you can't climb up there, hurry and roll back down!"

Before her words had even faded, Wang Xian had already stepped onto the seventh stone stair...

Rumble! A thunderclap crashed down.

A terrifying pressure bore down upon him from above.

Startled, he shouted, "Martial Aunt, there's something strange about these stone steps... My waist is about to be crushed!"