Twenty-Seven Fire Dragon Method

Xiao Nan had taken two disciples and felt greatly pleased. He thought to himself, Now that I've refined all five magical treasures, if I run into Sun Yougui again, I'll make him perish on the spot.

I just wonder where he's hiding now.

Had Xiao Nan emerged from seclusion a few days earlier, he might have witnessed Sun Yougui fighting another in a battle of sorcery. But now he could not; Sun Yougui had already driven back his opponent and returned to the little temple.

Zhu Ying had originally received only the Primordial Sword Formula. He knew Xiao Nan would not teach him any more profound sword arts and had felt deeply regretful. Now that he had formally taken Xiao Nan as his master and become an official disciple, he took the two volumes of Daoist scriptures. Though he knew he would not be able to read them, he still secretly flipped through them. Sure enough, every page inside was blank. His cultivation was insufficient, so all he could see were white pages.

Xiao Nan smiled. "These three Daoist scriptures follow one after another. Since you have yet to master the Primordial Sword Formula, reading the later volumes will do you harm and no good. It is not that your master is being stingy."

"Not to mention you two—even I have only recently become able to read these two volumes."

Zhu Ying put away the scriptures and said with a grin, "Master, tell us about the origins of these two Daoist scriptures. We won't be cultivating from them, so there should be no problem."

Xiao Nan smiled. "When our sect's founding patriarch, Zhang True Lord, established the lineage, the introductory Daoist scripture was the Twenty-Seven Fire Dragon Method! But this method is exceedingly profound, and very few could cultivate it to completion. Thus Patriarch Sa altered it into the Fire Dragon Sword Technique, making it easier to begin with."

"Yet the Fire Dragon Sword Technique was still somewhat difficult. So, in the generation of Patriarch Bai Yue, the Primordial Sword Formula was created anew."

"The Primordial Sword Formula is easier to cultivate. Thus, among the fifth and sixth generations of Five-Terrace Sect disciples, more than half entered the path through this method."

Little Bug asked, "Patriarch Bai Yue created the Primordial Sword Formula. Did the other three fourth-generation patriarchs not create any methods?"

Xiao Nan smiled. "Naturally, they did. But I do not belong to their lineages, so I could not learn the Daoist arts of the three patriarchs Tuotuo, Taihun, and Situ."

"Still, though the introductory methods passed down by the four patriarchs differ, all must cultivate the Fire Dragon Method. There is no difference in the methods of advancement."

Xiao Nan was too embarrassed to say that above the Twenty-Seven Fire Dragon Method lay even more profound Daoist arts, which he himself had never been taught.

After giving his two disciples some guidance, Xiao Nan considered the palace beneath the pool. It was a quiet enough place, and he was about to enter seclusion for several more days to study the Profound Lantern Record.

But Zhu Ying was somewhat worried about his elder brother. He said, "My second brother went out with his friends and has not returned for quite some time. This disciple is deeply worried that he may have encountered some formidable figure. Master, could you take me to investigate? If my second brother is all right, I'll urge him to return early."

Xiao Nan thought, With me here, if someone still harmed the Little Dragon King, that old dragon would never be able to save face. I might as well go out and look for that old ghost Sun while I'm at it. If I can find him, killing him on the spot will eliminate a future threat.

He immediately replied, "Very well. I'll take you with me to look around nearby and see whether we can run into the Little Dragon King."

Wanting to show off a little, he took out a red flower and gave it a shake toward the sky. It transformed into a mass of fire cloud, carrying the three of them as it soared through the air.

Xiao Nan used no spell at all. Relying solely on the blazing power of the fire cloud, he forcibly evaporated the pool water. The water driven aside turned into steaming mist, like an old dragon rising from the waters, its spectacle immensely grand.

Sitting upon the fire cloud, Zhu Ying cried inwardly, Master never had such methods before. So the treasure Chongdi spoke of really existed—and Master got it.

I wonder what magical treasure this fire cloud is!

The red flower Xiao Nan used was one of the five magical treasures obtained from behind the bronze gate. Although it could transform into a fire cloud, it was an offensive treasure. By chance, it suited the Daoist arts of the Five-Terrace Sect, making it even smoother to wield than the Profound-Heaven Glazed Lamp.

Xiao Nan guided the fire cloud toward Little Cold Mountain.

Little Bug, sitting upon the fire cloud, was filled with unfamiliar feelings. Before long, he saw his own village. Perhaps because too many people had died, every household was draped in white mourning cloth, and wailing echoed from many courtyards.

Though he knew his mother had already left, he still worried deeply. He thought, I wonder how Mother is doing. Is everything all right at home?

Xiao Nan paid little attention to the village below. He urged the cloud onward in a sweep, reaching Little Cold Mountain before long.

There were already quite a few cultivators near Little Cold Mountain. When some saw the fire cloud pass overhead, they released protective spells or magical treasures, lest the passing traveler suddenly launch an attack.

Some, highly skilled and bold, paid it no heed at all.

Others concealed their auras, afraid of being discovered.

Xiao Nan activated a secret art of the Five-Terrace Sect but found no familiar aura. Just as he was about to circle around and change directions, Little Cold Mountain below suddenly rippled slightly, and a new hill appeared.

A tall stone stele stood atop the hill. Beside it sat a white-bearded old man, staring at the sky with a face full of panic.

Xiao Nan had not expected the formation that inverted the void around the Langhuan Celestial Stele to suddenly fail. With swift hands and sharp eyes, he pointed, and his flying sword shot downward.

Caught unprepared, White Spider Elder opened his mouth and spat out a great mass of gray-white radiance, intending to block Xiao Nan's flying sword. But how could he?

Xiao Nan's flying sword passed through the gray-white demonic aura like a sharp blade slicing through tofu. With a single turn, it severed one of White Spider Elder's arms.

Just as he was about to strike with another sword and finish off this demon guarding a mountain of treasure, his vision blurred. The small hill, the celestial stele, and White Spider Elder all vanished without a trace. He could not even sense his flying sword anymore.

Xiao Nan was greatly alarmed. He thought, Good thing I didn't use any of the powerful magical treasures I just acquired. If I lost one of them, wouldn't that break my heart?

Even though it was only his flying sword that had been lost, Xiao Nan still ached deeply over it. He guided the fire cloud in circles over Little Cold Mountain, unwilling to leave for a long while.

Little Bug did not know what had just happened. He thought, It was that white-bearded old man. Did he take Master's flying sword?

Is that old man's sorcery even stronger than Master's?

That must be it. He guards the celestial stele. No matter how foolish he is, after so many days, he must have memorized it all. I've only learned five talismans. He's a demon with a foundation in cultivation, so he must have learned far more and possess much stronger sorcery.

But Little Bug did not know that White Spider Elder had no way of learning the spells upon the celestial stele.

Born a demon, he cultivated the Myriad Demons Formula. He could not understand the Heaven-Mixing Talismans on the celestial stele at all. Even after looking at them once, they left no impression in his mind, and he could never remember a single talisman.

White Spider Elder had also begun as a wild demon and was not particularly literate. It had never occurred to him to copy down the talismans from the celestial stele. All he had thought about was taking this treasure away.

After Xiao Nan's sword severed his arm, White Spider Elder writhed about the ground in agony. Once the celestial stele's formation inverted the void again, he found his arm and reattached it with demonic arts. But the sword qi at the wound could never be expelled, and after a while, his arm fell off once more.

The cultivators nearby witnessed Xiao Nan pass by and the celestial stele immediately appear. They assumed he possessed the means to break the Inverted Void Formation. One after another, they rode their escaping lights into the sky, seeking to stop this "key figure."

After circling several times, Xiao Nan saw dozens of escaping lights rise into the air. He did not dare remain any longer, chose a direction, and fled.