Chapter 190 Chu Tang Learns Swordsmanship...

As the setting sun streamed in, it warmed the room, outlining the people and the furniture.

Their shadows gradually merged, becoming one.

A warm touch came, their breaths mingled, their eyes were very close, neither of them closed, gazing deeply into each other's eyes, and time seemed to stretch out infinitely at that moment.

Each cultivator's residence in the forbidden area has restrictions and barriers that can prevent divine sense from prying into it and also isolate a quiet place.

In the quiet environment, their hearts pounded like drums. They could both hear each other's heartbeats, but mistakenly thought they were their own.

Song Yin's ears started to burn uncontrollably. It was so strange; she had never felt this way during kisses before. She attributed the unusual feeling to the different atmosphere today, which in turn affected her mood.

In contrast, Shi Heming, who was initially the most embarrassed, has now lost the color on his face and his eyes have become deep and mysterious.

Song Yin still had the cultivation manual in her hand. She thought, "Why don't I give it a try?" With that thought, she transmitted her thoughts.

Song Yin's voice rang in Shi Heming's mind. After listening, his pupils dilated, and a few seconds later, the two disappeared from the study.

The array plate was still there, but the cultivation manual was taken away with it.

She said, "Shi Heming, let's try practicing this technique."

Shi Heming felt a heavy blow to his heart. Countless fantasies he had once held had become reality. He had never mentioned this matter before; he dared not and did not want to, not wanting to offend her with his own selfish desires. But now that she had brought it up, how could he refuse? He was overjoyed.

"Are you sure?" Shi Heming asked again.

"Actually, I also found many cultivation techniques in the sect's archives. Let's see whose technique is more useful."

...

For Chu Tang, her master went to the forbidden area and didn't return for many days.

She followed the steps in the alchemy room to put the spiritual herbs in, and then put the processed spiritual herbs into the alchemy furnace. She has no problem refining first-grade pills now, and is now trying to refine second-grade pills.

She readily accepted the inherited cultivation method from Danque Peak, but her acceptance of another cultivation method taught by her master, which was not controlled by cultivation level, was only so-so.

After researching extensively, Song Yin instructed Chu Tang to first learn the Danque Peak cultivation technique. The technique she obtained from the Nine Heavens Secret Realm was beyond Chu Tang's immediate grasp; mastering it required a certain foundation, so Song Yin advised Chu Tang to build a solid foundation first. With a strong foundation, everything would be fine.

Chu Tang paused midway through refining the pills, noticing two new auras at the summit of Danque Peak.

Chu Tang ran out of the alchemy room, exclaiming in delight, "Master!"

Song Yin was chatting with Shi Heming about the changes in their cultivation over the past few days when she heard this and turned her head, "Xiao Tang."

Chu Tang stopped in front of the two of them and bowed to Shi Heming, saying, "Greetings, Senior Shi."

Shi Heming's attitude was kind and approachable. "Oh, it's Xiaotang. This is a ninth-order talisman drawn by a senior. Take it and play with it. You can also use it for self-defense."

Chu Tang shuddered and glanced at her master, Song Yin.

Song Yin: "Take it; one cannot refuse a gift from an elder."

Chu Tang accepted the ninth-grade talisman. Because of its high grade, her hands trembled slightly as she held it. "Thank you, Senior Master."

Good heavens! Senior Master was actually being kind and gentle to her. In the past, every time she saw Senior Master, he was always indifferent to her, just like he was to other disciples in the sect.

She wondered what good things had happened to her senior today, but it must be something good, otherwise she wouldn't be so kind. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Congratulations, Senior Shi."

I don't know what good thing happened to him, but congratulations anyway.

Shi Heming raised an eyebrow. "Good boy, I'll give you a few more high-level formations to play with."

Seeing this, Song Yin was speechless and rubbed her forehead.

"Were you in the alchemy room just now?" Song Yin didn't want things to take a strange turn, so she changed the subject.

Chu Tang nodded: "I am refining second-grade pills. I have already successfully refined one batch."

Song Yin became interested: "Oh? Take me to see it." Before she left, Chu Tang couldn't even refine a second-grade pill, but unexpectedly, after only a few days away, she had successfully refined a second-grade pill.

Song Yin glanced at Shi Heming before going to the alchemy room to check on Chu Tang's alchemy results, leaving Shi Heming to wait by himself for a while.

Shi Heming was very generous: "Don't worry about me, you guys go ahead and do your work."

Song Yin's lips twitched. "Okay, you can go wait at my place first."

Song Yin and Chu Tang went to the alchemy room, just as Chu Tang's latest batch of pills was about to be ready.

Song Yin waited for a moment, watching as Chu Tang retrieved the pill with her clumsy technique. However, for Chu Tang, who was now in the late Foundation Establishment stage, it was quite good that she could successfully refine a second-grade pill, so she didn't need to worry about the technique.

"Master, please look, this is a Grade Two Lesser Rejuvenation Pill that I refined." Chu Tang presented the pill.

Song Yin pinched a pill between her thumb and forefinger, held it up to observe: "You've only just learned how to refine second-grade pills, yet you can control them to be at the mid-grade level. Very good."

Hearing her master's praise, Chu Tang, now grown up, couldn't help but smile, "It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching."

Song Yin turned her eyes to Chu Tang. Her apprentice spoke so nicely, “It’s no use if only I teach you. The main thing is that you have high comprehension and strong hands-on ability.”

Chu Tang's fingertips twitched nervously. She hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, "Master, can I learn swordsmanship with you too?"

Her master took her in mainly so that she could inherit the legacy of Danque Peak. Now that she has asked to learn swordsmanship, will her master think she is greedy?

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision by Chu Tang. Having lived on Dan Que Peak for so many years, she often saw fellow sword cultivators from Dan Que Peak competing. They didn't know that she only studied alchemy; they only knew that she was Elder Song's personal disciple, who practiced both alchemy and swordsmanship. They assumed that they were also practicing both alchemy and swordsmanship, and then extended competition invitations.

After she explained several times, they realized that she hadn't studied Kendo. Her fellow students stopped inviting her to competitions and instead became enthusiastic about teaching her swordsmanship.

Chu Tang knew quite a bit about alchemy, but she knew she was no match for her fellow disciples in swordsmanship. Seeing their expectant gazes, she inexplicably agreed. The disciples of the Immortal Cloud Sect all knew basic swordsmanship; with a foundation in swordsmanship, they could learn other sword techniques more quickly. Thus, her fellow disciples kept praising her.

As she practiced more, she gradually discovered some enjoyment in it, and the idea of ​​learning kendo began to emerge uncontrollably.

Chu Tang thought that she was very grateful to her fellow disciples at Danque Peak for her interest in swordsmanship.

The reason why the sword cultivators of Danque Peak took the initiative to teach Chu Tang was very simple. As the eldest disciple of Elder Song, who cultivated both swordsmanship and alchemy, how could he not understand the way of the sword? As the senior sister of Danque Peak, Chu Tang should cultivate both swordsmanship and alchemy like Elder Song!

"Your real thoughts?" Song Yin asked Chu Tang in return.

Chu Tang: "Hmm." She truthfully expressed her inner feelings and truest thoughts, "I used to have a neutral view of swordsmanship, but in the past few years, my fellow disciples have been teaching me a few different sword techniques, and I have gradually come to appreciate the joy of swordsmanship. But learning swordsmanship is no small matter, so I came to ask my master."

Song Yin didn't rush to respond. Unlike Qi Zibo back then, she didn't get angry the moment she heard her disciple wanted to learn swordsmanship. But she wanted Chu Tang to experience what she had gone through back then. There was no other meaning behind it; it was like watching her disciple climb a tree, hehe.

Song Yin was sometimes rebellious as an apprentice, and she remained so as a master.

"Ahem, you can learn swordsmanship, but there's a condition." Song Yin walked out of the alchemy room and pointed to a tree. "You run and I chase, and you just need to be able to dodge my attacks and climb that tree."

Chu Tang's eyes lit up: "Great!"

Song Yin wanted to take a whisk, but she didn't have one, so she had to take the unsheathed Qingyang sword instead.

"Three, two, one!"

Song Yin rushed towards Chu Tang, and Chu Tang immediately sprinted forward, getting close to the tree and climbing up it in a few quick movements using both hands and feet.

After climbing up, Chu Tang felt a little strange. Her master was already a Tribulation Transcending cultivator, so how could he not catch up with her? Looking down from the tree, Chu Tang saw that her master had another recording stone in his hand.

Chu Tang: A photo stone?

Song Yin: "Oh my, I've got this precious footage."

Chu Tang: "..."

Having spent nearly two decades together, she knows that her mentor is sometimes unreliable.

Not hearing Chu Tang's voice, Song Yin looked up and said, "Come down. I will teach you swordsmanship starting tomorrow. However, the training will be more difficult from now on, as you will have to take both alchemy and swordsmanship seriously. If you don't see good results in both, you will have to focus on alchemy. In Danque Peak, alchemy is more important."

Chu Tang jumped down from the tree again, "No problem!"

Song Yin: "Go and find a sword today."

Chu Tang happily left Danque Peak to find a sword suitable for beginners.

When Song Yin returned to her residence, she saw Shi Heming smiling and in a good mood feeding the birds that had landed in the backyard.

"I'm back."

"Yes, Xiaotang said she wants to learn swordsmanship, and I agreed. I'll let her find a sword she likes first, and I'll start teaching her swordsmanship from tomorrow."

Shi Heming leaned closer, "Yinyin, so tonight..."

Song Yin pushed away the face that was getting closer, "My cultivation has improved these past few days, so the first thing I should do is consolidate it."

Shi Heming was pushed away, his voice low, "Oh..."

Song Yin: "Listen to me, several new spiritual veins have appeared in the cultivation world. Because our sect has sent out few people, and those people are not in a hurry, other sects have become suspicious."

The seed of doubt planted in one's heart will naturally lure people to investigate the vicinity of the Immortal Cloud Sect. Large spiritual veins can benefit all things, and people from other sects don't even need to specifically approach the Immortal Cloud Sect; they can detect changes in spiritual energy simply by looking in other places around it.

Shi Heming: "If a new spiritual vein appears, they won't covet the spiritual vein of the Immortal Firmament Sect."

Song Yin: "I can only say that what my master told me back then was right. I plan to put this large spiritual vein in my body into the Qiankun Chengmai Gourd before my ascension, and give it only to the sect leader at that time, so that the future sect leader can keep it in secret."

“It’s a good decision. The extra spiritual veins will be another layer of protection for the Immortal Cloud Sect.” Shi Heming then said, “Yinyin, let’s find a time to hold the contract-forming ceremony.”

Shi Heming's words came as a surprise; Song Yin hadn't considered this possibility before.

Shi Heming: "With our cultivation level, we have long surpassed the realm you mentioned back then." Shi Heming still regrets his actions back then, which backfired on him.

Song Yin: "Tell me the truth, how long have you been thinking about this?"

Shi Heming: "I started thinking about you the moment I realized I liked you."

Very well, it seems to be the truth.

Song Yin readily agreed, "Okay, we'll find a time later." She wasn't the type to be coy or push things around. Since she had already decided to be with Shi Heming, forming a bond was only a matter of time.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine too, we can—” Shi Heming belatedly realized, blinked and stammered, “Yinyin, you, you agree?”

Song Yin: "Why can't we agree to this? We'll talk to our master and the others about it later, and remember to inform your master as well."

Shi Heming felt that the year he turned 401 was the happiest year of his life.

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Author's Note: Shi Heming: This year has been the happiest year in history, and from now on it will only get happier. [Sunglasses]

Shi Heming: Also, thank you. How did you know Yinyin agreed to the contract? [Sunglasses]

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[Empty bowl]