Samadhi True Fire

Suddenly, Lu Chuan's gaze swept over the area and landed on the moat outside Chaoge City, not far away.

The moat was an artificial river dug around a city to help defend it during battle.

Judging by eye, this moat was at least thirty meters wide.

Lu Chuan stood up and stared at the moat, eager to give it a try. "Master, teach me the Water Escape incantation."

"Hm?"

Shen Gongbao was startled. He followed Lu Chuan's gaze and asked in surprise, "You're not thinking of...?"

"Just teach me, Master." Lu Chuan's eyes shone.

Shen Gongbao gave a soft exclamation. "You've learned Earth Escape?"

He had arrived late and hadn't seen how Lu Chuan had landed, so he'd assumed the boy had fallen.

Lu Chuan smiled. "More or less. Your disciple has already grasped some of it."

He had almost figured out the essentials of Earth Escape. The key lay in taking off when beginning the technique and controlling the landing when ending it.

As long as you mastered those two points and had enough power to draw on, you could fly for an entire day without a problem.

"Not bad, not bad!"

Shen Gongbao nodded with satisfaction. This time, he taught Lu Chuan not only the Water Escape incantation, but also the incantations for Fire Escape, Wood Escape, and Metal Escape.

He had already realized that although Lu Chuan's natural constitution wasn't the best, he truly had some talent for learning Daoist arts.

After listening, Lu Chuan furrowed his brows and silently committed the incantations for the Five Escape Techniques to memory. Then he had Shen Gongbao check them over to make sure there were no mistakes.

This was one of the ways Lu Chuan was especially careful: even though he knew the incantations, he still had Shen Gongbao check them again.

The incantations for Daoist arts were crucial, like the formulas for solving problems he'd studied in his previous life. If you remembered even one character wrong, you could forget about performing the art.

If you couldn't beat an opponent and needed to use an escape technique, but couldn't make it work because you'd misremembered the incantation, the situation would be incredibly awkward.

Once he had memorized the incantations, Lu Chuan sat down again, closed his eyes, and began regulating his breath and circulating his power to recover what he had spent.

Watching Lu Chuan meditate on the ground, Shen Gongbao suddenly let out a long breath. A flash of relief crossed his eyes.

To be honest, when Jiang Ziya had asked him that night to teach Lu Chuan, he hadn't been very willing.

He, Shen Gongbao, had excellent natural talent and constitution. He was also a seasoned cultivator who had practiced for many years on Kunlun Mountain. Why would he think much of an ordinary mortal?

At a glance, Lu Chuan's constitution seemed above average—decent, certainly, but not the most promising.

Still, Jiang Ziya had entrusted the boy to him, and he couldn't very well refuse.

So his plan at the time had been to take Lu Chuan on the road for a few years, teach him a few things here and there, and then send him back. That would be enough to fulfill his promise to Jiang Ziya.

But when they encountered the female demon at that ruined temple outside Chaoge, Lu Chuan's behavior had surprised him.

Shen Gongbao had noticed the female demon from the start and sent his mount, the Divine Tiger, ahead. But later, fearing something might go wrong, he had gone himself.

He arrived just as the female demon was trying to tempt Lu Chuan, while Lu Chuan was talking back to her.

Seeing that, he was quite disappointed.

He thought Lu Chuan had already fallen into the female demon's trap, so he decided not to intervene just yet. Let the demon teach the boy a good lesson.

But what happened next was completely beyond his expectations.

He watched Lu Chuan turn and run in the opposite direction from the one he'd agreed on with the female demon.

And when the demon caught up with him, Lu Chuan remained calm even after seeing her hideous true form. He chatted with her as though nothing were wrong, secretly leading her into a trap without her realizing it.

That composure, cleverness, poise, and calm...

Watching him, Shen Gongbao slowly began to change his original opinion. Then he passed on to Lu Chuan his finest technique, the Five Elements True Origin Formula.

It could be said that if Lu Chuan hadn't encountered that female demon that night, and his actions hadn't changed Shen Gongbao's mind...

Then he would never have had the chance to learn the Five Elements True Origin Formula, or receive Shen Gongbao's wholehearted instruction.

And then there was today.

Seeing Lu Chuan's astonishing talent for Daoist arts, Shen Gongbao was even more delighted. He was deeply relieved that he had changed his mind that night.

An incense stick later.

Lu Chuan stood up, looking refreshed. His power was still shallow, so it hadn't taken him long to recover.

Then he lowered his head and fixed his gaze on the moat.

"Interception Sect disciples are the most skilled at Water Escape, while those of my Exposition Sect are more skilled at Earth Escape."

Shen Gongbao smiled. "But remember, the Five Elements Escape Techniques follow the principles of mutual generation and restraint. If your opponent uses Earth Escape, chase or flee with Wood Escape. It works exceptionally well."

"This disciple will remember."

Lu Chuan nodded earnestly and committed those words to memory.

"Good. Then practice Water Escape!" Shen Gongbao said with a smile. "With your master here, you can practice without a worry..."

Hearing this, Lu Chuan was just about to perform the technique when he rolled his eyes and thought, As if I believe you. Didn't you just say it was normal to take a couple of falls?

Whoosh!

He focused his mind, steadied his breathing, then suddenly pointed toward the moat with his sword fingers. A thread of true qi shot from his fingertip into the water, sending up a splash taller than a person.

As the water surged upward, Lu Chuan quickly thrust his left hand into the spray and pulled it back into a fist. His right hand formed a seal, and his lips began to move.

"Escape!"

After chanting, Lu Chuan gave a low cry and flung his clenched left hand upward. Water droplets scattered.

Hiss!

Lu Chuan's figure instantly turned into a gleaming, pale-blue streak of water and rose into the air, heading toward the city.

"He learned it after just one try?!"

Shen Gongbao stared in astonishment. He hadn't even demonstrated the technique. Then he burst into delight. "Good, good, good! What a fine disciple! Your master is coming..."

Before his words had even faded, his body twisted and transformed into an earthen-yellow streak of light that shot into the air.

He was right: the Exposition Sect as a whole was indeed more skilled at Earth Escape. But that didn't mean they couldn't use other escape techniques.

The Five Elements Daoist Arts, including the Five Escape Techniques, were the foundation of the Mystic Gate's Daoist arts. Everyone had to learn the Five Escape Techniques before entering the sect, and master at least one of them.

But with Lu Chuan's talent...

It seemed he would have no trouble with any of the five techniques. Still, he needed some practice.

Over the next three days, Shen Gongbao made Lu Chuan practice the Five Escape Techniques until he had completely mastered all five.

Three days later.

After absorbing the morning light, Lu Chuan practiced the Small Heavenly Circuit for half an hour. Then he practiced his sword for another half hour.

In the courtyard.

Lu Chuan sat cross-legged on a cushion, resting. His practice sword lay across his knees.

"Disciple, your swordsmanship has already reached a decent level, and you've mastered the Five Escape Techniques."

Shen Gongbao stood before him with his hands behind his back. "I think it's time to teach you a new Daoist art."

"A new Daoist art?"

Lu Chuan perked up at once and asked with a smile, "What art, Master?"

"Samadhi True Fire," Shen Gongbao said.

"Samadhi True Fire?" Lu Chuan was visibly shaken.

Seeing his expression change, Shen Gongbao asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing, Master!"

Lu Chuan quickly shook his head, but he couldn't help thinking of the monkey from a thousand years in the future.

After the monkey learned his skills, he gained incredible powers and formidable magic. But once, he nearly lost his life at the hands of his nephew.

And the spell his nephew used that time was Samadhi True Fire.

On television, the monkey was nearly burned to death by the true fire. But Lu Chuan had read the original story, and he knew the monkey had almost died from the smoke, not the flames.

The monkey knew the Fire Avoidance Formula and had once spent forty-nine days in the Eight Trigrams Furnace without being burned to death. Though Samadhi True Fire was a secret art of the Daoist sects, it wasn't powerful enough to kill him.

In fact, his eyes had been damaged when he was in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, leaving him with a weakness to smoke.

But Samadhi True Fire was a Daoist art, so many disciples of the Exposition Sect and the Interception Sect knew how to use it. Among them were Yang Jian and other third-generation disciples of the Exposition Sect.