Azure Luo Calculation Method

"As for this bracelet..."

Taking the last item out of the Storage Bag, that simple, timeworn silver bracelet, Qi Yun turned it over and over, carefully tracing every pattern on its surface with his fingertips.

He injected a thread of True Qi to test it, even forcing out a drop of blood and letting it fall onto it.

There was no response.

The silver bracelet remained cold and still, like an ordinary object.

"Would an ordinary bracelet be stored alongside these precious pills, jade talismans, and spiritual objects?"

Qi Yun frowned slightly, his fingertips tapping unconsciously against the bracelet.

But after repeated attempts yielded nothing, he could only put it back into the depths of the Storage Bag for now.

For the time that followed.

Qi Xiu simply kept silent watch in this narrow, hidden cavern, suppressing his presence like a stubborn rock sinking to the bottom of a pool.

Fight to the death out there all you like. I'll remain unshaken and quietly wait for the trial to end.

Meanwhile, in the valley.

His eyes bloodshot, Tang Shun looked like a demonic god descended upon the world. His presence surged, and scarlet, vicious Sword Qi flickered between his palms. Even a glance at it made one's skin ache.

Who?!

Who the hell was it?!

The loss of his Storage Bag had sent this smiling tiger into a complete frenzy. He no longer concealed his abilities as he had earlier, instead fully revealing his savagery and murderous intent.

Everyone who encountered him had their heads severed by his overbearing, ruthless Red Night Sword Qi in a single exchange. Never mind resisting-they did not even have a chance to flee.

Bending down, he carefully searched the corpse before him once again, leaving no inch of fabric or pocket unchecked. Finding nothing yet again nearly drove Tang Shun mad.

Losing the other things hardly mattered, but the crucial thing was that bracelet...

"Which little bastard swallowed a bear's heart and a leopard's gall, daring to steal my things?!" Tang Shun clenched his fists so tightly that they cracked, gritting his teeth.

The trial was about to end. If he could not find that person before it ended, he would most likely never recover his belongings.

"Oh, isn't this Brother Tang Shun? Judging by your expression, you've run into trouble. Well? Want me to help?"

A voice tinged with amusement came from beneath the shade of a nearby tree.

Tang Shun turned to look, his face dark. A man with delicate, refined features and a pair of long, narrow phoenix eyes was leaning against the trunk.

"Shen Fan? Don't stand there asking for trouble. Get lost."

Glancing at Shen Fan beneath the tree, Tang Shun impatiently ordered him away.

If not for his wariness of the elder backing Shen Fan, whose cultivation surpassed even his uncle's...

This eyesore would long since have become a departed soul beneath his sword, material to consecrate his blade.

"Don't get so heated. I heard from Old Du that you'd run into trouble, so I came looking for you to lend a hand." Tilting his head slightly, Shen Fan spoke slowly, unbothered by Tang Shun's tone.

"Spare me. As if you'd be so kind." A smiling tiger himself, Tang Shun naturally would not trust others so easily.

"Hehehe, I never said I'd help for free." Shen Fan chuckled, his slender, pale fingers unconsciously forming an orchid gesture.

"What do you want?"

His buttocks tightening, Tang Shun instinctively backed away, wariness in his eyes.

"Nothing much. I came today simply to forge a good connection with you. If I need something in the future, you'll have to help me once in return," Shen Fan explained at an unhurried pace.

His brows slowly knitting, Tang Shun studied this uninvited Shen Fan before him. After a moment's hesitation, he said:

"If you really can help me, that's only fair. But how do you plan to help?"

Seeing Tang Shun agree, Shen Fan's lips curved slightly. He turned his right palm over, and an antique, copper-yellow compass appeared in his hand.

"Your Sword Qi is unrivaled in offense, Brother Tang. If I didn't have some ability of my own, why would I come here asking for a rebuff?"

"You know divination?" Tang Shun raised an eyebrow at the compass in Shen Fan's hand.

"I have little talent for other Law Techniques. Only in divination do I have some slight understanding."

Stepping up to Tang Shun, Shen Fan pressed two fingers together, reached out, and gently plucked something from his shoulder.

An extremely faint silver thread, almost invisible to the naked eye, was forcibly "combed" out of his presence.

"Whatever you lost must still carry traces of your presence, Brother Tang. I can use this strand from you as a guide and find that thief with the [Azure Luo Calculation Method]."

"Really?!"

A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes, and Tang Shun immediately said:

"Good! If this works, I, Tang Shun, will owe you a favor."

"Then it's settled."

With a smile, Shen Fan guided the silver thread formed from Tang Shun's presence into the compass. Softly reciting an incantation, he began manipulating it.

For a time, countless images of light and written characters continually combined and rearranged themselves over the compass, finally becoming a golden breeze that drifted into the distance.

"Brother Tang, follow this golden breeze. It will take you to that thief." Looking somewhat tired, Shen Fan pointed at the drifting golden breeze.

"Good!"

Cupping his fist toward Shen Fan, Tang Shun wasted no more time. Keeping close on the golden breeze's trail, he shot away like an arrow released from its string and vanished into the depths of the forest!

Once Tang Shun's presence had completely receded, the shadows in the woods stirred again.

A slightly plump figure slowly emerged from one side, hands clasped behind his back, his head completely bald and a smile like Maitreya Buddha's on his face.

"Got it?" Du Yunian asked with a beaming smile, looking in the direction Tang Shun had gone.

"Of course. Fortunately, that thief stole Tang Shun's belongings and unsettled his mind. Otherwise, with his usual disposition, he would never have fallen for it so easily."

Shen Fan opened his palm, revealing half a silver thread lying quietly upon it.

Du Yunian swept his sleeve, drawing that half-thread lightly into his hand.

"Word came from the sect a few days ago that the lost [Peach Garden] has been salvaged by the True Lords. Perhaps it will open soon.

After this trial, our cohort of disciples will very likely be among the first sent to the [Peach Garden].

When that time comes, the competition is bound to be a hundred times more brutal than today's.

Tang Shun's aptitude is ordinary, but his talent for the sword is extremely high.

Otherwise, how could someone from an insignificant offshoot of a collateral branch like him receive such an honor?

With his talent, once he enters the sect and receives guidance from an expert, his combat strength will surely place him among the best of our generation.

Taking a strand of his presence as a bargaining chip today will give us a means to suppress him somewhat if we encounter him in the [Peach Garden] in the future." He weighed the silver thread in his hand, his smile still gentle, but without a trace of warmth in his eyes.

"Still, compared to Tang Shun, I'm more interested in the person who could steal his belongings right under his nose." Shen Fan's long, narrow phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

"Unfortunately, Tang Shun has already mastered [Red Night Sword Qi]. Even you and I are no match for him.

That person is probably doomed."

Inside the underground cavern.

Seated cross-legged, Qi Yun was quietly recalling the contents of [Basic Sword Qi] in his mind.

Cultivating Law Techniques was not the work of a single day.

It demanded talent, comprehension, and intelligence.

And although [Basic Sword Qi], like the [Clear Breeze Technique], was a very common Law Technique.

It was far more difficult to cultivate than the [Clear Breeze Technique].

"Fortunately, this [Basic Sword Qi] text contains extensive annotations. Almost all its key points and essential principles are explained, greatly reducing the difficulty of cultivating it." He was immersed in those exquisite methods of applying force and routes of spiritual power circulation, trying to grasp that thread of sharp "intent."

Boom!

The very next instant!

A streak of scarlet Sword Qi savagely tore open the cavern entrance, the exploding rock and earth whipping up a thick cloud of dust.

A sinister figure with a face as still as water blocked the cavern's only exit, a pair of eyes overflowing with murderous intent slowly sweeping across the entire cavern.

"You little bastard! Let's see where you can run this time!"