"Does Master have many swords?" Xue Nu asked, puzzled. Even Yan Lu looked on with curiosity.
"Right now, the ones he carries number two: one called Jianjia, ranked sixteenth on the sword manual; one called Lingxu, tenth on the manual; one called Xueji, the Daoist sect's leader sword, passed between Tianzong and Renzong in turn, sixth on the manual; and one called Chunjun, unranked but no less than the manual's top Tianwen, hailed as peerlessly noble. Plus the divine sword Tianding." Xiao Meng listed them one by one.
"I never imagined the divine sword Tianding was in Daoist hands." Yan Lu sighed in admiration. No wonder they didn't covet the Three Swords of Seeking the Dao—with Tianding already theirs, those swords held less allure.
"With matters settled, I must return to Sanghai, awaiting the honored arrival of you two Uncle Masters." Yan Lu lingered another two days before taking his leave.
"We'll surely impose then—but do mention to Master Fu Nian that I have no cultivation now; I can't spar with him," Li Haimo said with a laugh.
"Ahem, that's beyond my say—Eldest Senior Brother's temperament is beyond even my control," Yan Lu replied awkwardly.
"When do we head to the Little Sage Manor?" Xiao Meng asked once Yan Lu had departed.
Li Haimo turned to Xue Nu. "Since you've entered the Daoist Renzong, all your prior learnings must be discarded. Do you want to purge them now, or after we reach the Little Sage Manor in Sanghai?"
Xue Nu blinked, unsure of the difference.
"Right now, I have no cultivation at all, so we rely entirely on Xiao Meng for protection. If you purge now, we'll need to stay here longer. If at the Little Sage Manor, we leave in two days, but the road will take a year and a half—meaning you'd miss much cultivation time," Li Haimo explained.
"It's all up to Master to decide." Xue Nu didn't know how to choose, so she deferred to him.
"Then we'll stay here a while longer," Li Haimo said.
"Daoist techniques vary by individual, so the two most suited to you are Heart Like Still Water and my Renzong's core, the Chongxu Heart Method. Heart Like Still Water demands a mind as clear as ice, calm as placid waters. Chongxu, by contrast, requires tasting the world's myriad flavors before release, leading to great attainment," Li Haimo introduced.
"Heart Like Still Water requires unwavering serenity—before mastery, any flicker of emotion or desire risks total failure. Back then, even my own composure nearly shattered, so choose carefully," Xiao Meng cautioned, glancing at Li Haimo. Her own heart had reached great attainment, yet this fellow broke it. And now Xue Nu, stuck by his side—good luck maintaining that poise.
Li Haimo scratched his head; he hadn't realized Heart Like Still Water had such stringent demands.
"My advice: learn Chongxu. Not everyone can be like Master Yan Lu—enduring such tempests and still holding a tranquil heart," Xiao Meng added. She truly admired Yan Lu: after all that hardship, he'd mastered the Confucian Sitting in Oblivion heart method—a gentleman like an orchid in seclusion, faintly fragrant and serene.
Li Haimo felt the same. If the Zhang Liang of later tales was a jade-like gentleman, Yan Lu was water-like—everyone around him grew calm.
Xue Nu watched the two, knowing she could never match Yan Lu's poise, so she heeded Xiao Meng's suggestion.
"Then I'll teach you Chongxu Heart Method, and you'll merge your prior cultivation into this Daoist heart technique," Li Haimo said.
The Daoist heart methods were the most accommodating among the Hundred Schools—inclusive like rivers to the sea. Yet that very gentleness allowed harmony with other schools; otherwise, to learn military arts, one would scrap all prior cultivation and start anew.
"Which Daoist heart method does Master cultivate?" Xue Nu asked Xiao Meng.
"The Daoist heart method's general outline: the Daoist Scripture. That's why he's... like this." Xiao Meng chuckled. The two girls—Xue Nu two years Xiao Meng's senior, Li Haimo a year her junior—were just turning twenty.
"Is the Daoist Scripture very powerful?" Xue Nu asked.
Xiao Meng nodded, then shook her head. "There's a saying in the jianghu: those who study the Daoist Scripture are either fools or madmen. So if you see your master acting foolish or deranged, just ignore it. Do you know what he was like the first time I met him?"
Xiao Meng recounted Li Haimo's debut: clad in a Daoist robe but stark naked below the waist, then swatted by Beiming Zi into a naked sprint across the mountain. When she told him they were different, he burst into some bizarre song.
As she went on, Xiao Meng's retelling grew ever more comical. Xue Nu couldn't fathom it—her master, who appeared so refined and jade-like, had such antics? And in the Daoist sect, he was the sort who, left unchecked for three days, would climb the roof and tear off the tiles. It shattered her preconceptions.
"Back on Taiyi Mountain, even from afar, you could hear Senior Brother Xiaoyao chasing him across the peaks with beatings—and plenty of Renzong disciples scribbling all sorts of tales," Xiao Meng said, laughing.
"Tales?" Xue Nu was stunned. This Daoist sect is nothing like what I imagined...
"Taiyi Mountain gets dreadfully dull—no descending the mountain, no urge to cultivate—so all sorts of oddities sprout up. When your master spun stories and jokes on the mountain, even Tianzong disciples snuck over to listen. Our female disciples hoarded little tales penned by Renzong folk: Secrets the Leader and Little Uncle Master Couldn't Avoid, Tyrannical Leader and the Charming Uncle Master, Tyrannical Leader Falls for Me—now priceless collector's items. When we return, I'll show you; I have a few scrolls. But absolutely don't let your master see them." Xiao Meng glanced around, ensuring Li Haimo was absent, and whispered.
"You and Master wed four years ago—how are you still...?" Xue Nu voiced her lingering curiosity. Master doesn't seem the sort who'd... falter.
"That's why they say Daoist Scripture cultivators are mad or foolish. Your master keeps insisting I'm still young, still need raising." Xiao Meng flushed.
Xue Nu eyed Xiao Meng's ample chest, then her own, feeling a pang of inadequacy. If that's 'still small,' what am I? Daoist Scripture folks don't just have brains addled—their eyesight's gone too. Who else loses their cultivation mid-practice? First the mind goes daft, then vision fails—now power vanishes. Heaven knows what comes next. Good thing he didn't have me try the Daoist Scripture.
"Xue Nu, how far along are you in the Chongxu Heart Method?" Li Haimo's voice suddenly cut in, startling them both.
"Already at the third layer," Xue Nu stood, replying earnestly.
Li Haimo frowned. A year in, third layer... Damn, that's quick. It'd shame Renzong disciples—most took three years for the first layer, three more for the second, seven or eight for the third, scraping into the fourth. Across the Daoist sect, most hovered at fourth or fifth; sixth-layer mastery earned elder status. Only Xiaoyao Zi had reached Chongxu's pinnacle before advancing to the Liezi's Free and Unfettered Wanderings, also attaining mastery.
Xue Nu watched him anxiously, unsure if she'd excelled or failed. Xiao Meng couldn't tell either—she'd barely mingled with others, and she'd conquered Heart Like Still Water's seventh layer in five years, earning her the title of Daoist once-in-a-millennium genius, surpassing Tianzong's eight elders at eight.
"Passable, I suppose." Li Haimo held back praise. Sure, I floundered with the Daoist Scripture and got chased mountain-wide by Xiaoyao Zi—but a disciple can't know that. Little did he suspect Xiao Meng had spilled every embarrassing detail.
"This is the Yin-Yang school's True Person Pill—it clears your meridians, balances yin and yang energies, unlocks potential. It aids our Daoists in condensing the Chongxu ethereal qi too." Li Haimo produced a vial, traded from Qianlong Hall. Xue Nu had missed prime cultivation years, so this was the fix.
"Thank you, Master." Xue Nu smiled, accepting the bottle.
"Xiao Meng, help her convert the yin-yang energies to Chongxu ethereal qi." Li Haimo said his piece and left—who knew what scenes unfit for young eyes might unfold.