Illusion

Chenzhong Terrace.

Li Gan carried his master, Zhou Buping, back here.

He made up a bed for his master.

He spread clean sheets over it.

He also lit a fire in the room, driving away the chill of deep winter.

Zhou Buping watched from the side.

Once Li Gan had finished, Zhou Buping had him sit down and asked, "I've been your master for over three years now, yet I still don't know anything about your family. Why don't you tell me about them?"

"Master, my family is a minor official's family in Baibi City. There's nothing much to tell."

Li Gan replied.

"I've never seen you go back. Since you have family, how can you cut ties with them? Cultivating the martial path doesn't mean you have to sever all worldly connections."

Zhou Buping asked in return.

He could hear the Chen Bell ring every day. Apart from the one time each year when Li Gan went out on a mission, the bell's toll had hardly ever stopped.

That also meant Li Gan usually never left the Divine Sword Sect.

Li Gan couldn't very well say that he was a transmigrator and didn't feel close to his family, so he simply recounted this body's history in a calm voice.

"You're still thinking like a child. No matter how many faults your family may have, they're still your family in the end."

Zhou Buping shook his head and sighed. "Would you like to hear about my past?"

"If Master wants to tell me, of course I'd like to hear it."

Li Gan nodded.

He was quite curious how his master had spent decades guarding Yanmen Valley, wasting the best years of his life, only to end up alone.

"When I was young, my circumstances were actually much like yours. My mother died early, and my father was strict, so I was very rebellious too. My family was in business and had a modest fortune. From the time I was little, my father placed great hopes in me, wanting me to inherit the family business. But I had no interest in business at all. Instead, I yearned for the sort of life in the martial world I'd read about in adventure tales, where heroes righted wrongs and upheld justice. Unfortunately, my aptitude was only average, so I could only serve as a Menial Disciple in the Divine Sword Sect. Five or six years passed like that. My father nearly emptied the family coffers to gather resources for my cultivation, but I still couldn't become a Ranked Martial Artist. He told me to give up martial arts and come home to help him. I refused no matter what, and we had a huge fight. From then on, my father cut off all my financial support, and my cultivation nearly ground to a halt. Then, more than a year later, I suddenly received terrible news. My family had offended someone, and my father had been framed and thrown in prison. In the end, our home was ransacked, and my father and several other relatives all died horribly behind bars."

Zhou Buping recounted his past calmly.

His expression was calm, without sorrow or joy.

Li Gan listened quietly too.

He could sense a trace of unrest in his master's heart beneath those calm words.

"When I heard the news, I was completely shattered. It was the greatest blow I'd ever suffered. I'd hated my father, but in the end I realized he was the most important person in my heart."

Zhou Buping gave a self-mocking laugh. "Perhaps hatred was what kept me going. From then on, it was as if I'd suddenly been enlightened. My Sword Piercing Fist improved by leaps and bounds. In just three years, despite having almost no cultivation resources, I opened the Ren and Du Meridians and successfully became a Ranked Martial Artist. I also cultivated the Sword Piercing Fist to perfection and ultimately obtained the inheritance of the Heartless Sword Art."

"Although I later avenged my father and relatives, they could never come back to life."

Zhou Buping looked at Li Gan. "I'm only telling you this from my own experience so you'll understand: if there's anyone in this world who'll care about you, it's your family."

Li Gan fell silent.

Because he knew his master was right.

It was just that his situation really was different.

How could he explain it?

"So, in the future, you should still go home and visit more often. Do your best not to let it become your greatest regret."

After saying this, Zhou Buping patted Li Gan on the shoulder with deep meaning.

"Master, I'll remember that."

Li Gan replied quickly.

Whether he'd really taken it to heart or not, he still had to show the right attitude.

Cough, cough.

Zhou Buping had talked too much and couldn't help coughing violently. He even coughed up blood.

Li Gan hurried over to pat his back. It took a good while for him to catch his breath.

And so, Zhou Buping settled down at Chenzhong Terrace.

Li Gan rang the bell and cultivated every day.

Zhou Buping spent most of his time reclining on the bed. With his qi sea damaged, he couldn't circulate True Qi to heal himself, so all he could do was take various Medicinal Pills each day and rest as he recovered.

After some time, Zhou Buping's injuries hadn't worsened and seemed to have stabilized.

Li Gan guessed the sound of the Chen Bell must have helped somewhat.

More than three months passed like this.

During this time, Li Gan took meticulous care of Zhou Buping.

For the first half-month or so, Zhou Buping needed Li Gan's help. As his injuries gradually improved, though, he could mostly manage on his own.

During this time, elders and Peak Masters from the Divine Sword Sect came by one after another to visit.

The Divine Sword Sect Master, in particular, was surprised by how quickly Zhou Buping was recovering.

That day, after ringing the Chen Bell, Li Gan began cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body nearby. After one round, his whole body felt refreshed, as if he'd worked up a good sweat.

By now, cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body placed only the slightest strain on his meridians—so little that it could practically be ignored.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He summoned the System Interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Gan.

Cultivation Base: Postnatal Realm (Ninth Layer 99/100).

Sacrificial Tool: Chen Bell (Artifact 1252/10000).

Martial Arts: Sword Piercing Fist (Perfection), Heartless Sword Art (Perfection), Immaculate Sword Body (Great Accomplishment 26/100).

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent (Virtual Image 93/100).

Secret Technique: Myriad Transformation Sword Qi.

The Immaculate Sword Body had now reached Great Accomplishment 26.

Its progress increased by one point roughly every ten days.

As for the Heartless Sword Intent, it was even harder. It took at least twelve days to increase by one point.

At this rate, it would take at least two or three years for the Immaculate Sword Body to reach perfection.

As for the Heartless Sword Intent, its progress had already reached ninety-three. It might break through in the next few months.

Above Virtual Image-grade Martial Intent was Illusion-grade Martial Intent.

If Virtual Image-grade Martial Intent could only bring a certain degree of mental impact to an enemy,

Illusion-grade Martial Intent could make those affected feel as though they were trapped in an illusion, beset by all kinds of phantom sounds and visions, unable to escape.

Xiantian Martial Artists who had comprehended Illusion-grade Martial Intent were known as Martial Arts Grandmasters.

So he was looking forward to seeing whether he could raise his Martial Intent to Illusion grade without entering the Xiantian Realm.

After coming down from the Bell Tower, Li Gan saw his master, Zhou Buping, instructing Chen Yong in the Sword Piercing Fist.

Perhaps Zhou Buping was bored.

Perhaps he saw his former self in Chen Yong.

Either way, Zhou Buping often gave Chen Yong pointers.

Zhou Buping's martial arts attainments were naturally far greater than Li Gan's, so he could offer much better advice.

Chen Yong had now opened his Du Meridian and was working on the final of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the Ren Meridian.

Once he managed to open it, he would become a Ranked Martial Artist.

Li Gan only glanced over before starting to prepare lunch.

With his master around, Li Gan couldn't be too casual about the three meals a day.

Once he had prepared the food, he called his master to eat.

"Old Master, Brother Gan, I'll head down the mountain first."

Chen Yong said quickly.

"You can stay and eat too."

Li Gan said.

Chen Yong felt a little embarrassed.

Staying for a meal now and then was fine, but if he did it often, he'd be taking far too much advantage.

He knew what Brother Gan ate at every meal.

He was already more than satisfied with the guidance he'd received from Old Master and Brother Gan, which had saved him from many detours.

"Quit being so bashful."

Seeing the boy still acting shy and honest, Li Gan put on a stern face.

Chen Yong could only go inside.

Besides a large basin of Medicinal Meat Porridge, there was a plate of stir-fried meat with horseradish, a plate of braised chicken, and a dish of stir-fried greens.

The last three dishes were made with ordinary ingredients.

The focus was on flavor.

Because Zhou Buping loved them.

Li Gan served himself and Chen Yong each a large bowl of Medicinal Meat Porridge.

For him, the medicinal meat's effects were barely worth mentioning, but for Chen Yong, it was a great tonic.

Chen Yong lacked cultivation resources. Though he trained hard, he could easily deplete his body's qi and blood, which would hinder him from opening the Ren and Du Meridians.

That was why Li Gan often had Chen Yong stay for a meal.