The Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records

The moment Lu Xing revealed the mechanical lotus arm on her right hand, Lu Qi was so humiliated and furious that she ran off. Lu Xing had won the contest, shown off her family's legacy, and displayed a bold spirit that was no less than a man's. Naturally, no one had any objections to her inheriting the position of family head anymore.

Lu Xing was also quite generous. Though she and Lu Qi had clashed, she still made the arrangements for Senior Brother Lu's outsider to enter the Lu Family and pay his respects, treating him as a concubine. The legal wife had probably been cowed by Lu Xing's resolve in cutting off her own arm and didn't dare make a fuss anymore. Whether she was willing to hand over the Lu Family's ancestral secret manual was an internal matter for the family.

After such a bitter dispute, who knew what Senior Brother Lu would think if he knew about it from beyond the grave? At any rate, the cultivators who had come to pay their respects had no desire to linger. They came forward one after another, hurriedly paid their respects to the deceased, went through the motions, and then dispersed.

Li Fan went in as well and offered incense. As the family head, Lu Xing thanked him and even took out a purse about the size of a sachet and handed it to him. "Junior Brother Qingyue, this is the five thousand Divine Astral Coins you were supposed to receive for this round of Mu Long duty. Given everything that happened, and the loss of Bamboo Mountain's Coiled Dragon, it wasn't the fault of you attendants. You probably won't get many chances to make out-of-sect rounds as a Mu Long attendant anymore, so please accept this small token as an apology."

"How can I accept this..." Li Fan had meant to refuse, but when he saw Xuanbao give him a look from outside, he thought it over and accepted. "Though we didn't know each other for long, Senior Brother Lu treated me very well. If there's ever anything I can help with, Qingyue, please don't hesitate to ask, Family Head Lu..."

"Thank you for your kindness, Junior Brother. I'll remember it." Lu Xing nodded and returned the courtesy. She was perfectly proper and polite now; it was hard to imagine the commanding, arrogant figure who had let her dominance show when she won outside.

Li Fan opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything comforting to say, so he took his leave of the Lu Family.

Yuan Xuanbao waited for him at the entrance. "I've met Lu Qi a few times, but I hardly know Lu Xing. I'd meant to scold her to her face, but... she handled things properly enough. Keep the money. Senior Brother Lu was that sort of person too, so don't dwell on it."

Li Fan had gotten a sense of Yuan Xuanbao's temperament. It was actually a little like the Profound Heaven Sword Intent's: if you didn't see eye to eye, he wouldn't waste a word on you, but if you hit it off, he'd charge straight into danger with you. What a foul temper. Still, it was nice to have him as a friend...

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Host, don't talk nonsense! I'm nothing like that! Hmph, you don't understand a thing!"

Damn it, could you stop giving yourself a tsundere personality every other moment? A white-bearded old man with twin tails would be disgusting...

Just thinking about it made Li Fan shudder.

"By the way, Qingyue, how has your injury healed? Are your arm's movements and your vision still impaired?"

Hearing Yuan Xuanbao ask, Li Fan nodded. "A little. I still feel a bit out of sorts, and circulating qi hasn't felt comfortable these past few days. I'm probably not fully healed yet, so I should rest for a while..."

Yuan Xuanbao thought it over and shook his head. "The medicine room in the Outer Sect has a broth made from Xianzhi that can bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bones. Only Inner Sect disciples can use it, and there's nothing better for mending bones and growing flesh. I think there's nothing seriously wrong with your body; there's just some baleful qi left between your muscles and bones.

"Why don't you come with me to see Master and ask him for a Body Domination Technique to dispel the baleful qi?"

"Oh, the Body Domination Technique? Great!" Li Fan was genuinely interested. Though the Profound Heaven Sword Intent always found something to criticize, the natives of this world were so fierce, constantly wielding blades and swords, and even Golden Core cultivators weren't safe. Learning a couple more moves for self-defense couldn't hurt, right?

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "It's fine for the host to learn the Body Domination Technique."

Huh? Sword Intent, why the change of heart? Weren't you always saying the Body Domination Technique was garbage?

*The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "What good is a close-combat killing move, no matter how well you train it? Someone can still take your head off with a flying sword. You can thrust your sword as fast as you like, but can you move faster than a flying sword? It's useless if you might not get to use it even once in the next two or three hundred years. Wouldn't you call that garbage?

"But then again, if you really get lucky like last time and save your life, all that hard work will have been worth it. That dignified Golden Core cultivator was actually killed by the host through trickery. It just goes to show that today's cultivators have become far too lax and unskilled in the basics of hand-to-hand combat.

"Fine, go ahead and practice. That way, you won't be rolling and crawling through a tomb passage once your qi runs out. It wouldn't suit the bearing and dignity of a Beichen Sword Sect successor. You'd be unworthy to say that I trained you."*

...Damn it. It always had something to say, no matter what. I'm too lazy to argue with this thing.

So Li Fan released his flying crane, intending to visit Real Person Liang, Yuan Xuanbao's master.

But Xuanbao waved his hand. "No need. He lives just outside town. We can walk."

The town was full of wealthy families, all dependents of the Immortals of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Its streets were lined with high walls and grand buildings, making it feel as if they were walking through palace grounds or a fortified camp. There was even a Nascent Soul Real Person stationed just outside town. It seemed rich and powerful families were the same in every world: they took community security very seriously.

"That's the place. My master, Real Person Liang, is in charge of guarding the town's charity mortuary. If any family's young disciples catch his eye, he'll guide and train them from childhood."

A charity mortuary was originally a public residence set up by a clan using communal fields and property. It usually provided clan members with food, clothing, and basic living assistance. Sometimes it served as a public venue for weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies, or even housed a school or ancestral hall. But in this world, it had another, most important function: it served as a temporary resting place for coffins and remains before they were buried.

Since even a trace of baleful qi could cause a corpse to transform, the Lou Guan Taoist priests who guarded the charity mortuaries of Cultivation Families day and night couldn't be mere Golden Core cultivators. They had to be at least Nascent Soul Real Persons.

Real Person Liang was one such proper Lou Guan Taoist priest, living among the people and guarding the mortuary. He wasn't from the Mountain Master's faction, but rather an ordained disciple under the Abbey Master.

As soon as they entered the mortuary's main gate, they saw him sitting on a meditation cushion in the main hall. He didn't look the least bit like an immortal. He looked like a withered skeleton on the verge of burial, with a bony, horse-like face and eyebrows joined into one conspicuous line. His tattered Taoist robe hung from his frame, exposing rows of ribs across his chest and belly. He wore no headcloth or crown, only a wooden twig as a hairpin, and a blade of foxtail grass dangled from his mouth.

On the shrine behind him stood a rather crude clay statue of a divine general. If this was his original form transformed into a Revered Heavenly Demon...

Li Fan looked up. It seemed... no different from the ordinary. It was just a normal human figure, without even a blue face or fangs. It looked like an ordinary Taoist divine general, and he couldn't tell who it was supposed to be. If this was Real Person Liang's manifested Devil Form, then he was, at most, a bit on the plump side... Or was it simply a clay statue placed in the shrine for worship?

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Tsk... this guy's got something. He's stronger than your master."

Oh.

...You mean stronger than Real Person Wanshu at the Nascent Soul Stage, or...?

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "He's stronger than her at her current Transformation Stage, too."

Li Fan sucked in a sharp breath. "Tsk... This junior, Qingyue, pays his respects..."

Before he could bow, Kun emerged from his collar and floated up to the Taoist. It met Real Person Liang in a bug-eyed stare, then snapped up the foxtail grass from his mouth, chewed it, and spat it out.

Kun says, "Ptooey, no taste."

Kun!

Real Person Liang's joined eyebrows bent into a blunt angle.

Yuan Xuanbao wiped away a cold sweat. "Ahem, M-Master, this is Junior Brother Li Qingyue, who avenged Daotong. He still has some baleful qi in his body and hopes you'll pass on a Body Domination Technique to dispel it."

Li Fan hurriedly bowed. "Li Qingyue pays his respects to Real Person Liang."

Real Person Liang kept his eyebrows bent and said nothing. He poked Kun with his withered-branch-like index finger. "...Kun?"

Kun used its fin to slap the belly he'd poked, then swam back and settled on Li Fan's head.

Li Fan was drenched in cold sweat. He and Xuanbao could only smile and nod.

"To think there's still a Kun around these days..." Fortunately, Real Person Liang didn't take issue with the catfish-like creature. He leaned his body over his other knee and waved a hand. From beneath a coffin in a side room, a sheet of rice paper flew out, its back facing the two attendants. It drifted lightly as if held up by some ghost, landed in Real Person Liang's hand, and rolled itself into a scroll.

Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point

What was that...?

"Pfft!" Yuan Xuanbao spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood streamed from all five openings on his face, and he sat down cross-legged. "This disciple is too dull."

"Damn, Brother Xuanbao, what happened to you?" Li Fan was startled by the mouthful of blood.

Real Person Liang nodded again and again. "No wonder you managed to kill a Golden Core cultivator, kid. You've got good aptitude... And this Kun came from the Tai Su Baleful Abyss too, right? Not bad at all..."

Real Person Liang tossed the scroll in his hand to Li Fan. "I'd planned to talk to you about the Dao, but Xuanbao's fortune is too shallow. He couldn't withstand a breakthrough like that... Forget it. This painting depicts the 'Yuan Shi' I observed, the place where I worship the moon and comprehend the Dao. Take it back and study it yourself."

"Ah, oh, yes. Thank you, Real Person..." Li Fan was torn.

"What else do you want?" Real Person Liang sprawled on the cushion, leaned back against the table behind him, and asked with his neck tilted to one side.

"Ah, yes. This junior wanted to ask for a Body Domination Technique to dispel the baleful qi..."

"A Body Domination Technique?" Real Person Liang scratched his face and slowly rolled his eyes. "A Body Domination Technique... What do you want to learn?"

What else was there to choose?

Li Fan shrugged. "Swordsmanship."

Real Person Liang shook his head. "I don't know any."

Li Fan opened his mouth. "Thank you, Real... Huh?"

"I don't know any." Real Person Liang spread his hands. "There aren't any sword techniques in the Body Domination Technique. Didn't Xuanbao tell you?"

"This disciple... pfft... is too dull..." Yuan Xuanbao was spitting blood again.

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Hmph, it doesn't even have sword techniques. And you say it isn't garbage?"

Li Fan broke into a cold sweat. So that was what made it garbage... But how could that be? Wasn't it supposed to collect martial arts from all under heaven? How could it not have any sword techniques?

"I've met plenty of lads like you. You want to learn swordsmanship because wielding a sword looks cool, right? Yeah, I get it. After all, the Beichen Sword Sect's sword techniques and secret arts were spread far and wide back then. Every cultivator had a copy. Everyone used swords, this sword and that sword, so hardly anyone bothered to train properly."

Real Person Liang waved his hand. "Back when the Divine Lord compiled the Body Domination Technique, the Immortal Palace was in decline. The backbone of the resistance against the Divine Sect, the leading sect of the mystic sects, was the Beichen Sword Sect. They called themselves the progenitors of all sword sects, focused exclusively on swordsmanship, and claimed their skills were unmatched under heaven. Their disciples went down the mountain every day to smash other people's plaques, defeating every sword sect and sword style in the Immortal Dao and Human Dao. So the Divine Lord had no sword techniques to study..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Hmph, so that's how it was. I didn't even know the Body Domination Technique had that little detail. The Beichen Sword Sect really is unrivaled under heaven..."

"So the Divine Lord had to comprehend five sets of sword techniques himself, drawing on the Body Domination Technique and his experiences in combat. Later, he went to the Beichen Sword Sect's main mountain to test and evaluate them. In a one-on-one swordsmanship match between people of the same realm, he swept through their sect and defeated them all..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Bullshit!"

Real Person Liang picked his nose. "Later, the Divine Lord decided those five sword techniques were too powerful and too complete to be suitable for teaching to ordinary people as part of the Body Domination Technique. So he placed them in the Blood Record Heavenly Book, one of the Divine Sect's three great heavenly books, and named them the Blood Record Sword Scripture. Only successive Sect Leaders and Saintesses were allowed to cultivate it, so it wasn't passed down."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Tsk... So that's how the legendary Blood Record Sword Scripture came into being. No wonder that old witch's every move countered me... No! That's not right! He's talking bullshit! Host, don't listen to him! He's talking nonsense! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! The Beichen Sect's swordsmanship is unrivaled under heaven!"

Li Fan: "..."

Real Person Liang flicked away his booger. "You don't believe it, huh? Fair enough. The Beichen Sword Sect was full of sword maniacs. They were always making other people famous, and later Youquan wiped them out, but their sword techniques had spread throughout the world, so they still had quite a reputation.

"If you get the chance, you can visit the Beichen Sword Sect's main altar on Nine Yin Mountain. They have a sword stele, where successive disciples comprehend sword intent. That character for 'sword' was carved by the Divine Lord when he was on the verge of comprehending the Dao, after winning a sword duel and perfecting his swordsmanship. Not long afterward, the Divine Lord comprehended the Dao and ascended..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Hahahahahaha! There's the flaw! That character for 'sword' was clearly..."

"But the sect's own records say Profound Maiden carved it. Well, think about it and you'll understand. Profound Maiden once fought her way through the Immortal Palace and killed the Immortal Emperor of the time, comprehending the Dao in the process. Even if she really did carve the character for 'sword,' it should've been in the Immortal Palace.

"So every successive Sect Master of the Beichen Sect hunted down members of the Divine Sect. Especially the Saintesses. They all hoped for a chance to challenge the sword techniques the Divine Lord had comprehended. In The Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records, the instructions left by successive Sect Masters were to defeat the Blood Record Sword Scripture!"

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "No—you're lying! Waaaah! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

Sword Intent, don't be like that... This... It doesn't prove that the other party's sword techniques were better than yours... It only proves that the Divine Lord was better than all of you...

Real Person Liang smiled. "So, what do you think? Do you still want to learn swordsmanship?"

Uh... If he said never mind, the Sword Intent would probably have a breakdown...

"I do." Li Fan steeled himself. "Strength only lasts for a moment, but coolness lasts a lifetime. Ahem, I mean, there's no perfect method in the world. Since you say the Divine Lord's sword techniques were so powerful, didn't he not even know how to use a sword before compiling the Body Domination Technique? What weapon did he use before that?"

Real Person Liang's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're a clever lad. That's right. You should have seen the Divine Lord at Lou Guan Tower too. He had a blue face and fangs. Someone harmed him while he was cultivating the Dao, severed the tendons in his hands and feet, and destroyed his face, leaving him crippled. That was why he created the Primordial Spirit Method to fight others and eventually became an Ancestral Master. He was a legendary cultivator with tremendous willpower. But strictly speaking, he was best at the illusions and spells of the Primordial Spirit Dao. He didn't really know any proper hand-to-hand combat or weapon techniques."

Li Fan nodded. "In other words, the various techniques and secret arts of the Postnatal Immortal Dao kept developing and improving. Back then, the Divine Lord saw things from a different perspective and a higher realm, and comprehended swordsmanship that surpassed the Beichen Sect's old methods. But that was many years ago. The Heavenly Dao has changed dramatically since then, and I cultivate the Tai Su Dao. There's no reason I can't derive swordsmanship that surpasses the Blood Record Sword Scripture!

"Besides, if the Beichen Sword Sect really fell into decline for good, how could its name still be so famous today? Everyone knew the Divine Lord, who once held the world in awe, was powerful, and they knew that the Tai Su Heavenly Dao was now stronger than the Taiji Xian Dao. But how many people could be like these sword cultivators—unyielding, undaunted by danger or tyranny, and willing to challenge an existence like Dao Ancestor Youquan with sword in hand?

"That spirit is what we, as aspiring sword immortals, truly yearn for!"

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Host, you don't have to comfort me like this. I just lost my composure for a moment. You're being so considerate... I'm almost embarrassed..."

Who the hell was comforting you? You're disgusting!

"Hahaha!" Real Person Liang burst out laughing. "You've got some ambition. I can't tell whether you're bragging or talking big..."

...Aren't those two the same thing?

"How about this? There aren't any sword-based body-training methods in the Body Domination Technique, but out of personal interest, I collected a set of martial arts that uses swordsmanship to train the body. It's truly an excellent work. I can teach it to you."

Real Person Liang flipped his hand and took out an ancient book, handing it to Li Fan. "This secret manual also came from the Beichen Sword Sect. They say that back then, one of their Sect Masters killed a Saintess of the same generation, saw some of the Blood Record Sword Scripture's moves, and worked backward from them to devise sword techniques that could break them..."

Li Fan took it and glanced at the cover. "The Profound Heaven Sword Method..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Bullshit! I didn't write this book!"

Real Person Liang said, "But I suspect it was a forgery by later generations. As far as I know—well, it's actually written in their own The Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records—that Sword Ancestor Xuantian was best known for refining flying swords. He forged many astonishingly powerful swords. And he wasn't just skilled at forging weapons; he was also proficient in alchemy, talismans, formations, and divination. He was a rare genius of his time and a true Ancestral Master..."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "Hmph! Flattering me won't help! I've got my eye on you now!"

Maybe we shouldn't speak too soon. Can't you tell? I don't know if Real Person Liang always talks like this, or if everyone tells the Beichen Sword Sect's stories the same way: first they praise them, then they tear them down...

"But..."

See? There it was!

"But he was actually terrible at passing on teachings. To put it plainly, that Xuantian Sect Master was too clever, had a terrible personality, and learned too many disparate things. He would casually call the sect's disciples trash, minnows, useless wretches, and rotten timber. On top of that, he was fated to be alone, and none of his direct disciples survived. Nobody in the sect liked him, and the Sect Master of a great sword sect didn't show his face for a hundred years. By the time the disciples realized it, he had disappeared.

"As for what became of Xuantian, some said he had achieved Dao Integration, some said he had ascended, some said he had disintegrated and reincarnated, and some said he'd been ambushed and sealed away. There were all kinds of stories. In the end, with their Sect Master missing and no successor, the Beichen Sword Sect used its traditional method to choose a new Sect Master: a sword duel. Too many people died, and the sect was severely weakened. It was eventually wiped out.

"Anyway, that's all a later story. But this sword manual is exceptionally ingenious, with profound meaning in a few simple words, and yet easy to understand. It really doesn't seem like something Xuantian could have written, since he couldn't even properly teach his own disciples."

Li Fan and Xuantian: "..."

"Maybe later generations hadn't seen the records in the Sect Masters' secret book. They saw that Sword Ancestor Xuantian was best known for refining so many flying swords and assumed he was a peerless genius, far more talented than the Sect Masters who came before him. Perhaps he also didn't want to get into trouble for cracking the Divine Sect's signature sword technique, so he used Xuantian's Daoist name as a pen name." Real Person Liang saw the pained look on Li Fan's face. "What's wrong? Don't like it? Want me to find something more reliable?"

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent says, "This one! Damn it, I want to see what kind of Profound Heaven Sword Method this is! There's no way my Profound Heaven Sword Intent couldn't come up with it!"

Li Fan sighed. "Sigh... Fine, I'll take this one..."

"Ah, we didn't get around to discussing the Dao and ended up talking about gossip instead. Oh, it's all from this book, The Beichen Sword Sect Master's Secret Records. Want to take it and have a look?"

Oh? That actually sounded rather... Ahem, maybe next time. I'll see if I get the chance...