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 began learning how to draw Flame Talismans from the Old Daoist.
The Old Daoist had his junior sister teach Wang Xian a life-saving technique.
Dongfang Nishang told Wang Xian to show her a sword move, but Wang Xian shook his head. "Master hasn't taught me swordsmanship yet!"
"Then what has he taught you?" Dongfang Nishang flew into a rage. "What kind of master in this world does that?"
Wang Xian chuckled. "Master said that once I finish copying the Dao Scripture and can recite it backward and forward, he'll start teaching me sword practice!"
So angry that she cursed, Dongfang Nishang said, "You old bastard, you made me teach a blockhead. What kind of scheme are you harboring?"
The Old Daoist smiled faintly. "Isn't Xiaoxue different? She's never drawn talismans before either."
In a fit of anger, Dongfang Nishang turned her fingers into a sword!
With a flash of sword light, she stabbed toward Wang Xian's chest like lightning.
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 let out a long, unhurried sigh.
"What are you screaming for? If it had been someone 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 a truly fatal strike!
Yet Dongfang Nishang had not pierced Wang Xian's heart. At that moment, she merely wanted to test whether her senior brother and Wang Xian had deceived her.
She could not believe that her senior brother had not taught Wang Xian swordsmanship and had instead made him copy the Dao Scripture.
If everyone in the world could understand the Dao Scripture and cultivate according to it,
her senior brother would not have been trapped in the Daoist temple south of Kunlun for half his life because of this scripture.
Seeing Wang Xian's belatedly panicked expression, Dongfang Nishang sighed.
She turned and walked toward the main hall.
As she walked, she said, "Come in. Let's play a different game!"
The Old Daoist did not mind either, and immediately called to Wang Xian, "If you're not dead, get over here. Once your martial aunt leaves, you won't even have a place to cry."
"Argh!"
Wang Xian sprang up from the snow and rushed into the main hall.
He shouted at the Old Daoist, "Master, why don't you try taking that sword? It nearly cost this disciple his life!"
The Old Daoist glared at him so hard his eyes nearly popped out.
He smiled faintly. "So, do you still want to learn skills from your martial aunt?"
"Yes!" Wang Xian patted his chest.
"Junior Brother, you're really pathetic!"
Holding a wolf-hair brush, Dantai Xiaoxue 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 stomach, he said to the Old Daoist, "Master, I'm hungry!"
After saying that, he turned and headed out of the hall. He was hungry, so he would cook something for himself.
Dongfang Nishang froze.
A strange expression appeared on her face. "Senior Brother, this brat has quite a temper!"
Dusk deepened.
The Old Daoist 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 thought that Dongfang Nishang would take out an object wrapped in silk?
As the layers of silk were unfolded, they revealed a yellowed hide scroll, without a single word on it.
Seeing the grave look on his martial aunt's face, Wang Xian did not dare ask more. He merely stared fixedly at the object in Dongfang Nishang's hands.
Dongfang Nishang let out a quiet sigh.
She displayed the Heavenly Book, which she had never shown anyone before—not even her senior brother—before Wang Xian's eyes.
She gently opened it, pointed at the densely packed symbols on the hide scroll, and asked softly, "Look carefully. Take your time, then tell me what you see."
Wang Xian lowered his head to look, only to be instantly dumbfounded.
Those densely packed symbols looked like crooked marks carved into the hide scroll with a small knife.
Who could possibly understand 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 shot straight into his eyes.
Right before Dongfang Nishang's stunned gaze,
the youth seemed to have been hypnotized. He slowly closed his eyes, as though entering 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 snow mountain... no, there are long stone steps in the mountains, leading toward the peak of the snow mountain..."
"Hiss..."
Dongfang Nishang sucked in a cold breath. This was completely different from what she had expected. She had studied it for decades, yet had never seen this mountain.
She had come this time precisely to let her senior brother see what he could find in this Heavenly Book.
She did not believe the youth before her could see anything. She had shown it to Dantai Xiaoxue before, but the little girl had seen nothing.
After all, Dantai Xiaoxue was the youngest member of the Kunlun Sword Sect.
Yet she was also its most outstanding disciple.
She refused to believe that Wang Xian was stronger than her own disciple!
Seeing Wang Xian gradually enter meditation, Dongfang Nishang had no choice but to summon her senior brother.
When the Old Daoist arrived at the main hall and took a look, he was stunned. The spring water atop the brazier was humming away, the tea had yet to brew, and his precious disciple seemed to have entered meditation?
Originally, he had wanted his junior sister to teach Wang Xian a nimble, elusive sword move.
He had never expected Dongfang Nishang to directly take out the Heavenly Book and show it to his disciple.
Most crucially, it was a Heavenly Book that he himself had never seen.
His disciple had entered meditation with a single glance. Who would believe that if it were told?
One had to know that his junior sister had spent more than half her life studying it before barely glimpsing some of its mysteries.
Dongfang Nishang smiled faintly. "Senior Brother, shall we make a wager?"
"Wager on what?" The Old Daoist 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 thought for a moment before replying, "What do you want?"
Dongfang Nishang smiled. "If I win, then when spring comes, you'll send this fellow to the Sword Sect..."
The Old Daoist nodded. "Fine!"
And right then, Wang Xian was staring blankly at the snow mountain before him.
He muttered, "Martial Aunt, what is so special about the stone steps on this snow mountain?"
Dongfang Nishang glanced at the Old Daoist and sighed softly. "I have never seen the snow mountain steps you saw. Would you like to 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, hurry up and get lost back down!"
Before her words had faded, Wang Xian had already stepped onto the seventh stone stair...
Boom! A thunderclap crashed down.
A terrifying pressure bore down upon him.
Startled, he shouted, "Martial Aunt, there's something strange about these stone steps... my waist is about to be crushed!"
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