Lin Nan’s study of the Summoning Monster Technique progressed rapidly.
Rather than learning it anew, it was more like a review.
After all, she was already a half-monster by nature, and had lived as a monster in more than one past life.
The Summoning Monster Technique had only served to open the door for her; the world inside that door she had already thoroughly explored.
It carried a certain flavor of “At first the path is narrow and only the gifted can enter, but after walking several dozen steps, it suddenly opens wide.”
What she needed to refine now was simply using her monster energy as a guide to cultivate true qi.
Cultivation was a tedious task.
Every day, she would carry a bamboo basket full of food to the Reflection Cliff, sit before the Tomb of the Clothed and Crowned, copying the incantations of the Summoning Monster Technique while meditating and circulating her cultivation method.
Shen Yuer stayed in her cave residence, drawing talismans one after another until her true qi was completely drained.
Then she would sit in meditation, and once a little true qi was recovered, immediately throw herself back into talisman drawing.
Though their paths were different, both girls were essentially doing the same thing laying a foundation.
No matter how high one’s cultivation, true qi was the foundation.
The first month at Qingyun Sect passed quickly.
When Lin Nan clearly felt the speed of her progress in the Summoning Monster Technique slow down, Shu Ying timed it well and handed her a sword, saying it was time to teach her the Qingyun Heart Sutra.
It was a very ordinary iron sword; the blade wasn’t particularly shiny, and there were even a few small dents visible.
When Lin Nan took it, her fingertips touched the cool sword hilt, and her mood sank into a mysterious calm.
“The Qingyun Heart Sutra emphasizes clarity of the sword’s heart,” Shu Ying said, standing beside the Tomb of the Clothed and Crowned.
Morning light filtered through the strands of her hair and fell in scattered spots on the stone table.
“Your monster energy is too lively; you need to use the sword’s firmness to contain it.”
Lin Nan gripped the iron sword and tried to take the stance as she had been instructed.
Her arm had just lifted when Shu Ying tapped her elbow with a bamboo staff.
“Too stiff.”
“The sword is an extension of your arm, not a block of iron tied to your hand,” Shu Ying walked behind her, warm breath brushing past Lin Nan’s ear.
“Imagine your energy flowing through your fingertips, now let it travel along your arm and climb to the sword tip.”
Lin Nan’s ear tingled slightly.
She deliberately ignored the breath so close to her skin and focused on feeling the monster energy inside her.
An ink-blue flow of energy surged upward through her meridians, but just as it neared her wrist, it suddenly slowed.
Monster energy was wild by nature; it refused to obediently follow the sword.
“Don’t rush,” Shu Ying’s voice softened, her bamboo staff gently resting on Lin Nan’s wrist.
“Breathe in, drop your shoulders… yes, just like when you channel monster energy, let the energy take its own path forward.”
This time, the flow of the Qingyun Heart Sutra became much smoother.
Though it still carried a slight awkward liveliness, it finally climbed along the sword blade.
The sword tip trembled faintly and even stirred a light breeze, scattering a few incantation papers on the stone table.
“Very good,” Shu Ying withdrew her bamboo staff and stepped back half a pace, a barely perceptible smile hidden in her dark eyes.
“Practice this stance over the next few days until when you raise your hand, the sword feels like it’s grown from your own hand.”
Lin Nan nodded and began repeating the stance over and over.
The morning light shifted from east to overhead, then gradually slanted west.
The soft clinks of the iron sword striking the bluestone echoed repeatedly across Reflection Cliff, monotonous like a Buddhist bell.
Shen Yuer came by once during the day, carrying a food box and standing at the foot of the stone steps.
Seeing Lin Nan so focused on practice, she didn’t dare disturb her.
She just placed the food box beside the stone table and left a note:
“Food’s here. Heat it if it gets cold. I’m going to draw talismans now~”
Next to the writing was a little drawing of a cat holding a talisman, its tail cocked high.
Lin Nan practiced until the sun was past midday before she finally felt a trace of smoothness.
When she lifted her hand, her white hair no longer flailed wildly from stiffness.
The sword blade glowed warmly in the sunset.
Her movements of raising and lowering, simple though they were, finally showed a shadow of “the sword and self as one.”
Shu Ying had somehow sat on the stone steps in front of the tomb.
She held a worn sword manual, and when Lin Nan stopped, she nodded and beckoned, “Come here.”
Lin Nan approached, about to speak, when Shu Ying reached out and gently pressed her finger on the web of Lin Nan’s hand.
“You’re gripping too hard here; if you keep it up, you’ll get calluses.”
Her fingertip, hardened by years of sword practice, felt like a feather brushing over Lin Nan’s skin.
“Relax. The sword must obey you, but first your hand must be comfortable.”
Lin Nan quickly withdrew her hand and looked down at the webbing, which was indeed slightly red.
“Thank you for your guidance, Elder. I will ask the Senior Sister from the Health Preservation Peak to help with it.”
Shu Ying’s hand froze mid-air, then she casually turned a page in the sword manual.
“Come again tomorrow at the hour of the dragon. I’ll teach you the first turn of the ‘Flowing Cloud Style.’”
As she spoke, her gaze fell on the food box Shen Yuer had left on the stone table.
“Your friend has quite the talent for talisman drawing.”
“Mm, she’s very hardworking,” Lin Nan said, picking up the food box.
Her fingertips brushed over the cat drawing on the lid, and the corner of her mouth lifted.
On the way down the mountain, the sunset stretched her shadow long behind her.
The iron sword dragged along the ground, making a soft “shh shh” sound.
Passing the training grounds, she saw Shen Yuer squatting on the ground, grinning foolishly at a blank talisman paper.
A droplet of water was suspended in the center of the paper, crystal clear, and it hadn’t dispersed for a long time.
“Did it work?” Lin Nan walked over and patted her on the head.
Shen Yuer was startled, then looked back and, seeing it was Lin Nan, immediately jumped up holding the talisman paper.
“Look, look! I didn’t draw on the talisman paper, I just condensed the energy into water directly!”
The water droplet spun in her fingertips like a living pearl.
“Impressive,” Lin Nan ruffled her hair and handed over the food box.
“Hungry, right? I stopped by the library, and Senior Sister Qiao gave me some osmanthus cakes.”
“You must have asked for them, right?” Shen Yuer opened the food box, her eyes sparkling.
“I knew Xiao Lin cared for me the most.”
She said this while shoving a piece of osmanthus cake into Lin Nan’s mouth, then popped a piece into her own mouth, mumbling,
“Tomorrow I’ll come with you to Reflection Cliff. I’ll draw talismans nearby so I won’t disturb your sword practice.”
Lin Nan chewed the cake, the sweetness spreading over her tongue, and felt a sudden warmth inside her heart.
“All right.”
She nodded, wiping the cake crumbs from the corner of Shen Yuer’s mouth.
“But we’ll have to get up early. Elder Xun Lin never waits for anyone when teaching swordsmanship.”
Shen Yuer nodded vigorously, shoving another piece of cake into Lin Nan’s mouth.
“Promise I won’t be late!”
Dusk deepened.
The disciples at the training grounds gradually dispersed, leaving only their laughter mixed with the evening breeze, drifting far away.
Lin Nan gripped the ordinary iron sword, its blade reflecting the darkening sky.
Suddenly, she felt that these tedious days of cultivation might not be so unbearable after all.
Meanwhile, at Reflection Cliff, Shu Ying still sat on the stone steps, holding a single white hair that had fallen from Lin Nan during practice.
The strand was very soft, carrying a faint herbal fragrance, exactly like the teacher’s hair from her memories.
She sighed softly, placed the hair into her sleeve pouch, and rose to walk toward the stone chamber.
On the stone table, beside the open sword manual, lay the Qingyun Heart Sutra.
On its title page were a few faint lines of writing.
The night wind blew through the stone chamber, turning the pages gently as if answering without a sound.