Sword and Ghost-Faced Spider

It was a fine sword.

It was just too heavy! Su Fuxi exerted some strength to lift it.

Lin Sui had suffered a backlash from the sword pool's gravitational pull. His spiritual power was also depleted, and his body had been overtaxed after he used the Great Strength Talisman. The sword had crushed down on him so heavily that he had fainted on the spot.

She scooped Lin Sui up with one hand and picked up the bizarre sword with the other, carrying him out of the underground cavern.

As they left, the sword pool steward was dozing off. He felt a breeze and opened his eyes a crack, only to see a streak of purple light and shadow vanish in the blink of an eye.

Even if he noticed the commotion underground, he paid it no mind. After all, it was nothing unusual; it happened every so often.

Only Li Yuanqing, who had already returned to the main hall, cast an almost imperceptible glance in the direction of the sword pool.

Chongming Pavilion.

"What kind of sword is this, to be bound by so many talisman papers?"

Su Fuxi sat by the bed, studying the sword propped casually against the headboard, murmuring to herself. On the bed, Lin Sui lay fast asleep, completely unconscious.

It's already been a day and a night, and this boy still hasn't woken up. Su Fuxi lightly tapped the center of his forehead with her forefinger and confirmed that he was merely sleeping, with nothing else wrong.

Her gaze fell on the sword. Its aura was cold and sinister, and its black blade was covered in talisman papers, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about it.

The hilt was fashioned in an antique style, with intricate, subtle patterns. It was probably the sword of some expert.

Clearly, it was still bound by the talisman papers, giving off only a little chill. Su Fuxi could tell at a glance that the sword suited Lin Sui.

"Master... what happened to me...?" It was not until a downpour fell on the sweltering evening that Lin Sui opened his eyes, roused from his dreams by the sound of rain.

"Mm, good, you're awake. It's your sword, so you'll have to refine it yourself before you can control it easily." Su Fuxi had stayed by his side all this time because she would not be at ease until he had subdued the sword.

Lin Sui rubbed his head. He felt that he had slept exceptionally soundly, and seeing his master personally keeping watch by his bed when he woke, he felt a warmth pass through his heart.

"Yes, Master." Hearing her, he nodded. Then he caught sight of the sword and gave a surprised sound. He reached for it, but when he tried, he could not lift it. "This sword is so heavy!"

He immediately planted his feet and strained with his whole body, using both hands together to lift the sword, which weighed more than several hundred jin. He drew a breath. "This... how am I supposed to use it to kill enemies?"

Su Fuxi was somewhat surprised. The sword had actually offered no resistance when he approached it. When she had touched it earlier, she had needed to use spiritual power to forcefully lift it.

"Never mind. This sword isn't something you can use yet. You don't have the spiritual sense to refine it, so you can only try to see whether your Object Control Technique can move it. Put it away for now. It won't be too late to use it after you reach Foundation Establishment."

Su Fuxi patted him on the shoulder:

"This sword is extraordinary. Since it hasn't turned on you, I can rest easy. Don't touch these talisman papers before you reach Foundation Establishment."

"Yes, I understand." Lin Sui put the sword into the storage bag at his waist. Su Fuxi nodded and instructed him, "You're now an official disciple and receive a monthly stipend. You mustn't slack off in your cultivation."

"That medicinal bath has passed the second transformation. From now on, it will only be effective if it's made entirely with demonic beast essence blood. Today, consolidate your cultivation first. Have Wang Xiaohu take you to the Scripture Repository to make a copy of the sect's core cultivation technique. Tomorrow night, you'll begin the second transformation of blood refining."

Lin Sui said, "Yes!"

Su Fuxi returned to her secret chamber to meditate and cultivate.

Perhaps because Lin Sui was exceptionally gifted, the body-tempering technique had been remarkably effective. With just four ordinary beast-blood baths, he had reached the first transformation in less than half a month.

Normally, it took a month to lay the foundation for the first transformation. She pondered the matter and decided she needed to control the pace of Lin Sui's advancement.

It would be a real joke if his cultivation surpassed hers before the cauldron mark had matured.

Besides, before Foundation Establishment, faster cultivation was not necessarily better, though slower was not necessarily better either.

Rather, he had to constantly strengthen his foundation. Neither his body nor his cultivation could be weak; he could not neglect one in favor of the other!

Otherwise, Lin Sui's excellent physique would be wasted for nothing.

Su Fuxi was serious about raising her cauldron.

"Master, this blood is so cold..."

Lin Sui shuddered from the chill of the Frost Jiao's blood. Su Fuxi formed a hand seal, refined the Frost Jiao's inner core, and tossed it into the blood. She said casually:

"That's normal. Just endure it for a while. The Frost Jiao's essence blood shares your attribute, so its effect is doubled."

Lin Sui's body trembled at her words. He remembered how mild the ordinary blood had been during his last body tempering, but this time the cold pierced his bones.

He hurriedly circulated the body-tempering pill within him, absorbing all the chilling medicinal power and using it to scour his flesh and blood.

For the sake of all the effort his master had put into him, he could not complain or slack off in the slightest, even though he truly felt every sinew and meridian in his body, every inch of his flesh and blood, screaming in pain.

Then he heard Su Fuxi's calm voice again. "From now on, you'll take a demonic beast blood bath like this once every seven days."

"As for meditation and cultivation, you only need to spend three shichen on it each day."

"Your daily lessons will continue as usual until you can perform arithmetic exercises."

"Oh, and at least one shichen a day on the Remnant Star Sword Art."

"As for the rest of your cultivation, arrange it yourself."

After saying all this, one sentence at a time, Su Fuxi sat cross-legged on a cushion beside him. She thought for a moment, then added, "From now on, we'll go down the mountain once a month. I'll take you to have a look around the market."

Her voice was clear and soothing, pleasant to hear, and she was no longer as unapproachable as she had been at first.

Listening to her, Lin Sui felt as though the pain of the medicinal bath had become somewhat easier to bear.

From then on, he passed each session accompanied by her voice. In just half a year, Lin Sui had already reached the third transformation, and he gradually grew accustomed to this method of body tempering.

The strength of his body could no longer be compared with what it once was. His cultivation had also been consolidated at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, and he had shot up a good deal in height.

Lin Sui now reached Su Fuxi's shoulder. When they traveled by flying sword, she could no longer hold him in front of her. Instead, she had him stand behind her and turned sideways to grasp his arm with one hand as they flew through the clouds with the speed of wind and lightning.

Their destination was the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.

Lin Sui had already learned to protect himself with spiritual power. In front of him, Su Fuxi's long hair and the silk over her eyes fluttered, constantly brushing against his face and tickling him.

A streak of rainbow light swept over the outskirts of the forest and descended straight into the mountain range.

"This is the place."

The flying sword landed, and Su Fuxi released Lin Sui. Her spiritual sense instantly spread out: there were no second-tier demonic beasts within a hundred li.

"Back then, a wolf king at only the first layer of the first tier was enough to leave you struggling to cope. Today, this place is full of demonic beasts at the middle stage of the first tier or above. Go on, let me see what you're capable of. Your God-Slaying Finger should advance as well."

Lin Sui nodded and summoned the sword he had used to slaughter the wolf pack. His figure flashed as he rushed out, disappearing into the forest ahead in a few leaps. Now, his speed and movement were finally those of a true cultivator.

Su Fuxi nodded in satisfaction. She spun around, sprang up, and landed in a large tree, spreading out her spiritual sense to watch the fight.

Lin Sui soon picked out a middle-stage ghost-faced spider.

Although it was only first-tier, the spider was glossy black all over and stood more than a zhang tall. Its chelicerae were enormous and sharp, and its black-and-white face bore three pairs of compound eyes, giving it a rather terrifying appearance.

It could also spin silk. Its threads were thick and sticky, and anyone touched by even a little would have difficulty breaking free. Its mouth could spew blasts of wind that carried a deadly poison.

It was extremely difficult to deal with.

Su Fuxi blinked her sightless eyes. The boy was rather bold. She felt it necessary to teach Lin Sui some more basic knowledge about demonic beasts.

"That's a Ghost-Faced Spider. It's cunning by nature and quite powerful. Its weakness is its abdomen; the rest of it is hard, and it's difficult to leave a mark. Be careful."

A hundred meters away, Lin Sui received his master's voice transmission and immediately grew wary. No wonder his sword had been unable to cut through the armor on the spider's head.

Its jointed limbs were covered in fine hairs, and the tips of its claws were as sharp as knives. Lin Sui was extremely skilled with the Object Control Technique. Without approaching the spider, he stepped and flipped out of the way of the silk shooting toward him.

He could not get close to it, and it was impervious to blades and spears. It was indeed a little troublesome.

The spider raised one of its jointed limbs and stabbed downward, smashing even stone to pieces. Lin Sui tried for a long while, but his enchanted sword became stuck to the spider silk and was pulled from his grasp. He could do nothing to his opponent.

With several sharp whistles, spider silk suddenly came sweeping toward him, covering the sky and earth! Lin Sui hurriedly dodged and shifted, then pushed off a branch and approached the enormous spider from a tricky angle.

His eyes narrowed. She didn't seem to say I couldn't use fire.

So he deftly formed a hand seal and sent a ball of fire onto the spider's head, only for it to be blocked by a thick layer of silk. The silk burned away completely with a series of soft pops, leaving a strong charred stench.

But the spider had also fled. It seemed it really was afraid of fire, and had no desire to keep fighting!

Seeing this, Su Fuxi smiled. "Not stupid, at least." It was unclear which one she was talking about.