361. Turn into a Girl, Song Shuhang!

The swordsmanship of the Li Tiansu was even aimed at the Fifth-Grade Golden Core Realm, a technique at the Spirit Emperor level! This immediately reminded Song Shuhang of the swordsmanship that Master Scarlet Firmament taught Li Tiansu when they parted ways.

Song Shuhang once dreamed of being immersed in the life of 'Li Tiansu', personally experiencing the entire process of Li Tiansu's journey from a boy suffering from a strange illness to becoming a disciple of Daoist Scarlet Firmament, and ultimately experiencing a miraculous encounter.

In his memory, Master Scarlet Firmament did indeed teach Li Tiansu a sword technique that "directly leads to the Golden Core Path".

In fact, Song Shuhang had personally witnessed the process of Daoist Scarlet Firmament passing on his skills and techniques.

Unfortunately, when I was immersed in Li Tiansu's life, my memories of Daoist Scarlet Firmament teaching me the techniques were fragmented and hazy, and some key parts were skipped.

Furthermore, the sword technique manual that Daoist Scarlet Firmament taught Li Tiansu was taught in a language that Song Shuhang could not understand at all.

In the end, Song Shuhang only remembered a few sword stances from this sword technique; he gained nothing else.

"Then, could the mysterious Sword Formula hidden in the portrait be the sword technique that Li Tiansu Daoist Scarlet Firmament?" Song Shuhang wondered to himself.

Just as he was pondering, Xiao Chu Chu had already sat cross-legged in the secret room, staring intently at the four huge canvases, trying to comprehend them.

On the four canvases, there are four different poses of Li Tiansu. On the surface, the four paintings together form a wonderful sword technique. But this should only be a superficial disguise. There must be some clues hidden in the four paintings that can help people 'comprehend' the Sword Formula.

Song Shuhang's gaze followed Xiao Chu Chu's vision, constantly moving back and forth across the canvas—unfortunately, perhaps Song Shuhang's 'comprehension' talent points weren't high enough, and apart from watching Li Tiansu in the portraits posing pretentiously in various ways, he really couldn't see anything profound in these four portraits.

Did the disciples of the Chu Aristocratic Clan comprehend the exquisite Sword Formula from these four paintings?

That requires an incredibly high level of comprehension!

Song Shuhang sighed softly. He had even connected the four portraits with the 'incomplete' image of Daoist Scarlet Firmament teaching swordsmanship in his mind, but he still couldn't see any clues.

Am I really that bad at understanding things?

Or was it that I was destined to be unrelated to this Sword Formula, which is why, in Li Tiansu's dream, Daoist Scarlet Firmament didn't teach him the sword technique again, but instead taught him a different move, the Flame Blade?

Am I destined to never have the chance to wield a sword in my life? Was I born to kill with a knife?

Song Shuhang's thoughts began to wander.

If the four portraits truly depict Li Tiansu's swordsmanship... then why is this set of Sword Formula here?

Song Shuhang remembered that when Soft Feather told him about the feud between the Chu Aristocratic Clan and the Void Sword Sect, she mentioned that the Chu Aristocratic Clan obtained this <Sword Formula> about 'a hundred years ago'.

Then all the disciples of the Chu Aristocratic Clan began to cultivate in secret, not revealing it to outsiders... Unfortunately, there are no secrets that last forever. Somehow, the news of the <Sword Formula> came to the attention of the people from the neighboring Void Sword Sect. What followed was a story of how the Void Sword Sect's greed led to a feud with the Chu Aristocratic Clan.

So here's the question—how did the Chu Aristocratic Clan obtain this Sword Formula about a hundred years ago? Where did they get it from?

You should know that the rogue Li Tiansu was still alive and kicking just a few months ago. Only a month ago did the tragic incident of Extraterrestrial Flying Corpse appear in front of him and Venerable White occur.

How could the Chu Aristocratic Clan have obtained this Sword Formula from a Fifth-Grade Golden Core Spirit Emperor a hundred years ago? If Li Tiansu lost a copy of the Sword Formula a hundred years ago, would he have simply ignored it?

Song Shuhang carefully recalled the dream he had about 'Li Tiansu's life'. However, in his dream about Li Tiansu's life, there was no plot related to the 'Chu Aristocratic Clan' or even the four canvases in front of him.

This scene was probably just a fleeting detail in the dream at the time.

"Could it be that Senior Li Tiansu himself gave this <Sword Formula> to the Chu Aristocratic Clan a hundred years ago?" Song Shuhang thought of the last possibility.

--But this is hard to explain. The Chu Aristocratic Clan is just an insignificant family, while Li Tiansu is Fifth-Grade Golden Core Spirit Emperor. There's no reason for him to give such a valuable <Sword Formula> to a small family.

Uh, wait a minute!

Perhaps it is indeed possible. Judging by the timeline, a hundred years ago, Li Tiansu's beloved daughter was critically ill. At that time, he spent all his wealth just to prolong her illness.

Perhaps the elder of the Chu Aristocratic Clan happened to possess some treasure that Li Tiansu urgently needed, and thus exchanged it for one of Li Tiansu's 'sword techniques'?

"That's not right either." Song Shuhang quickly shook his head, denying this possibility. Given Li Tiansu's character, even if he were extremely poor, he would not casually pass on the sword techniques that Master Scarlet Firmament had taught him to others.

Master Scarlet Firmament held a supreme position in Li Tiansu's heart... This was something Song Shuhang, who had lived through Li Tiansu's entire life, knew all too well.

So, perhaps this <Sword Formula> is an original technique created by Li Tiansu himself, or perhaps it is one of the techniques he collected throughout his life.

Because Song Shuhang remembered that before Li Tiansu's daughter fell seriously ill, he had extremely Fortune. Before he even reached the Fifth-Grade Golden Core stage, he had already amassed a considerable fortune, which was quite substantial for a cultivator!

******************************

Just as Song Shuhang continued to ponder, Xiao Chu Chu suddenly jumped up from the ground inside the room.

"So that's how it is! This is the secret of the Sword Formula!" Little Chu Chu exclaimed happily.

She figured it out? She figured it out so quickly? This Chu Chu girl's comprehension is heaven-defying! Song Shuhang thought in shock. Compared to her, his comprehension was simply trash.

"I feel like my comprehension isn't bad either," Song Shuhang quietly. Whether it was the Vajra Foundation Fist, the True Self Meditation Scripture, the Gentleman Travels Ten Thousand Miles Body Technique, or the 'Palm Thunder' Daoist Technique, Senior Medicine Master and Venerable White had all praised his comprehension. And he seemed to have mastered these techniques very quickly.

Could it be... that Senior Medicine Master and Venerable White were both trying to comfort him?

Or perhaps—is he truly destined to be without the sword?

Inside the secret room, Xiao Chu Chu drew a small short sword that she always carried with her and began to wildly practice a set of sword techniques.

At first glance, this sword technique doesn't seem particularly outstanding.

It appears to be just a Basic Sword Technique.

However, as Xiao Chu Chu danced faster and faster, the sword technique gradually underwent strange changes. The sword technique changed more and more, but eventually it merged into four sword styles.

These were the four sword stances that Li Tiansu had arranged on the wall of the secret room. The return to simplicity transformed into four sword stances, but these four sword stances could be extended to have one hundred and eight variations.

"Swoosh!" Finally, with all her might, Xiao Chu Chu thrust her sword fiercely into the void ahead.

A faint clanging sound emanated from the short sword.

"In my entire life, I will only forge one sword." Little Chu Chu recited firmly in a soft voice, and as soon as she finished speaking, the sound of the short sword in her hand rang even louder.

Song Shuhang could sense that with the final strike, all of Chu Chu's Blood Qi energy was poured into the short sword in her hand. The short sword seemed to have received the infusion of Blood Qi energy, and its blade became even sharper.

Just then, Song Shuhang noticed his heart racing.

It wasn't Xiao Chu Chu's heart that was racing in his dream—it was Song Shuhang's heart that started beating rapidly and powerfully.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst my chest.

Within the Heart Aperture, something seemed about to break free of its shell.

It's Spirit Ghost!

It cried out urgently, as if trying to Dream Entry, to get closer to Chu Chu in the dream. It seemed that Chu Chu's sword had activated the Spirit Ghost.

Not only Chu Chu, but the Spirit Ghost also wanted to get closer to the four paintings. Song Shuhang and the Spirit Ghost had the same senses, so he could personally feel the Spirit Ghost's desire to approach the paintings!

The next moment, Song Shuhang opened his eyes. The dream was over.

Looking out through the crack in the tent entrance, one can see that the night sky is still dotted with stars, the moon and stars shining brightly.

"Is it still the middle of the night?" Song Shuhang gave a wry smile, then reached up to touch his chest.

Before his heartbeat had calmed down, the Spirit Ghost within his Heart Aperture seemed to have been stimulated, becoming incredibly active. This active Spirit Ghost wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it could continuously generate a large amount of Blood Qi energy for Song Shuhang.

Song Shuhang sighed deeply, his mind unable to calm down for a long time.

He couldn't help but touch the Ancient Copper Ring on his finger. Could this be the karmic Cause and Effect left behind after Li Tiansu's death and disappearance?

"The four scrolls in the basement of the Chu Aristocratic Clan... Perhaps I should go take a look?" Song Shuhang murmured.

But how am I supposed to get into the basement of the Chu Aristocratic Clan?

The night was still long, but Song Shuhang couldn't fall asleep at all.

He sighed, climbed out of the tent, and crawled out.

As he emerged from the tent, he suddenly saw a figure sitting on a flat rock not far away.

The figure sat cross-legged, holding a bamboo teacup in both hands, from which steam rose slowly.

Beside the figure was a simple little shelf with some food, fruit, and steaming hot tea on it.

The soft Moonlight shone on that figure, and at that moment, the whole world seemed to quiet down.

Song Shuhang blinked... It's Venerable White.

It's so late, is Venerable White still awake?

Oh... that's right. With Senior White's cultivation level, sleeping is already something he can do without. In fact, Senior White has just been cooperating with Song Shuhang's schedule during this period.

Then, Song Shuhang scratched his head again. He didn't recall there being any flat rocks at that location. He hadn't seen any this morning. And these rocks were as flat as a mirror; they must have been carved out by a single sword strike, right?

As he was lost in thought, the Venerable White on the rock turned his head, squinted his eyes, and smiled at him, asking, "Why are you awake? Had a nightmare?"

"Haha." Song Shuhang chuckled awkwardly, "No, it wasn't really a nightmare... it was just a strange dream, so I woke up suddenly. Then I couldn't fall back asleep, so I thought I'd go for a walk."

"^_^" Venerable White smiled slightly, "If you can't sleep, come and sit down?"

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Song Shuhang climbed up the tall rock, sat down next to Venerable White, grabbed a fruit, and took a big bite.

Venerable White chuckled, poured Song Shuhang another cup of tea, and gently placed it on the shelf.

Then, he picked up his teacup again, gently blew on the steam, took a small sip of tea, and asked with a slightly darkened gaze, "What did you dream about?"

Song Shuhang took the teacup from the shelf, took a small sip like Venerable White, and replied, "I dreamt about some things concerning Miss Chu Chu, and also about Li Tiansu. Daoist Li Tiansu is the rogue Daoist Extraterrestrial Flying Corpse when I made a contract with Spirit Ghost."

"Yes, I remember him." Venerable White nodded slightly and said, "If you don't mind, tell me about the specifics of the dream?"

"I don't really mind... it's just that this dream was a bit strange." Song Shuhang was a little embarrassed. He had never told He Ren about dreaming about 'other people's life experiences' before.

"Then... tell me?" Venerable White chuckled.

Song Shuhang nodded and slowly recounted the contents of his dream...

He spoke as he spoke, while Venerable White listened silently, occasionally nodding in response.

"That's how it is. In the end, I woke up because of the strange movements of the Spirit Ghost in my Heart Aperture." After recounting the entire dream, Song Shuhang drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

"Ah, it's so hot!" He exclaimed, sticking out his tongue and breathing out hot air. At the same time, he felt that the tea tasted amazing, dozens of times better than 'Spirit-Vein Jade Tea'. The taste of the tea was like a flower blooming on his taste buds, so comforting.

The Venerable White smiled and glanced at the lively Song Shuhang: "Have you calmed down yet?"

"Hmm... after talking to someone, I feel much better all of a sudden," Song Shuhang replied, his heartbeat gradually calming down, and the Spirit Ghost in his Heart Aperture also subsiding.

"If you've calmed down, go back and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we'll be leaving this island." Venerable White gazed at the Bright Moon in the sky, gently blowing away the steam rising from his tea.

"Senior White, aren't you surprised? My dream... and the way I dreamt it?" Song Shuhang asked.

"Hmm, I find that strange," Senior White said calmly. "However, for the time being, it won't do you any harm, will it?"

"That's... true." Song Shuhang scratched his head and laughed.

Then, he stood up and waved to Venerable White, "Then, Senior White... I'll go back to sleep now."

"Good night," said Venerable White.

"Good night." Song Shuhang jumped off the rock.

[Seriously, it's surprising that Senior White has such a feminine side—understanding, gentle, and considerate.] Song Shuhang thought to himself.

"Hmm... a feminine side?" Venerable White's calm voice came from the rock. "I think you'd be quite good as a woman, Shuhang. Hmm... like that Chu Chu girl."

Wait, did I accidentally blurt out what I was thinking?