Warding Of Evil Spirit

Chapter 9: Entering the Dao through Martial Arts - Springtime Sword

Late that night, amidst the jagged rocks, Chu Weiyang, along with Steward Ma's crate, struggled to find a sheltered spot. They huddled by a campfire, trying to dispel the faint chill and dampness of the late spring night.

The flickering flames cast an uncertain glow on their faces.

Unlike during the day, lighting a campfire at night was dangerous.

Chu Weiyang knew that with his speed, he hadn't escaped the Demon-Suppressing Cave too far.

The firelight in the desolate darkness could easily attract cultivators from the Qian Yuan Sword Sect.

But this was ultimately Chu Weiyang's only option.

Trapped in the Demon-Suppressing Cave for many years, and now suffering the torment of demonic energy entering his body, Chu Weiyang's body was likely terminally ill.

If the harsh winds and dampness of the mountains were to afflict him too severely, a serious illness might strike, potentially ending Chu Weiyang's life.

Silently gazing back in the direction he had come from, Chu Weiyang finally withdrew his gaze with worry after a long while, then huddled up, closed his eyes to rest, seemingly lost in thought.

At the same time, Steward Ma's sneer drifted over.

Whether it was from sleeping too long in the basket during the day, or from the lingering pain of his missing lower limbs, Steward Ma appeared unusually energetic.

“I told you, don’t worry about anyone coming after you today. So much has happened today: the Demon Suppression Cave was destroyed, someone broke into the mountain gate, offended the Chunyu family, and defied the Tingchang Mountain lineage…”

“Each of these incidents is far more important to the Sword Sect than your life!”

“Like a mountain? Like a stone?”

“Besides, Elder Ding is the one guarding the Demon Suppression Cave. I know that person; he has some skill. He wouldn’t die at the hands of the Tingchang Mountain people.”

“As long as Elder Ding is alive, no matter who comes from the sect, there’s no reason for them to act before Elder Ding.” “

The aftermath will still fall on Elder Ding. And given his lazy nature, unless you and I actively appear before him, he’ll just assume we’re both dead in the Demon Suppression Cave. He won’t have the time to search the whole mountain for you!” “Of

course, afterwards, he’ll probably just put on a show and search the mountain a few times.”

"As long as we travel diligently, we can leave these mountains sooner."

Perhaps the hurried journey throughout the day had drained too much of Chu Weiyang's energy and spirit. At this moment, the young man couldn't even muster any emotion. Hearing Steward Ma's words, Chu Weiyang simply shook his head calmly.

"I am indeed uneasy, but as you said, there is nothing I can do. If we travel too slowly, the risk of being caught will inevitably increase. If we travel too fast, I'm afraid of ruining my health. I can only leave it to fate at this moderate pace."

"Fate is not something we can control."

"These are things I cannot decide. I must focus on the details. Even if I'm drowning, I must still struggle to stretch my arms and legs. Time waits for no one. I plan to start practicing swordsmanship tomorrow!"

"Steward, you've been thinking about this for most of the day."

"Is there anything you can teach me now?"

As he spoke, Chu Weiyang opened his bundle, took out the several Taoist books, and carefully placed them on his lap.

Upon hearing Chu Weiyang mention swordsmanship, Steward Ma became completely alert.

In a daze, Chu Weiyang even saw a hint of a grandmaster's demeanor and a touch of the arrogance of a genius in this blood-stained cripple.

"To cultivate our sect's sword techniques, one must understand the lineage of our swordsmanship and the essence of our sect's heritage!"

"The so-called Qian Yuan (**) is truly great, supremely vast and empty, supremely noble and pure!"

"Therefore, the highest level of our sect's swordsmanship is close to the Way of Heaven and Earth, such as the Zhenjiao Kaitian Scripture (*****), the Jieyun Scripture (***), the Chengqian Scripture (***), and the Taiyin Sword Scripture (****), all of which contain this principle."

"Don't look at me like that. That's how the elders taught me back then. I don't know a single word of this method."

"As for settling for second best, all the myriad paths and phenomena can be cultivated into sword techniques. There is no difference in their superiority or inferiority, but there are differences in the difficulty of starting."

"The easiest to learn is generally considered to be the Four Seasons Sword Technique. Following the order of the four seasons, the sword technique circulates through the inner and outer universe. With diligent practice, it is easiest to gain insight."

"Now that spring is in full bloom, I'm going to start teaching you from the 'Springtime Sword'."

At this point, Steward Ma looked up at Chu Weiyang and, seeing that the young man's expression hadn't changed and he had even nodded, Steward Ma continued.

"Our sect's sword cultivation combines martial arts to enter the Dao with the methods of Xuanmen visualization. When entering the path, the key is not meditation, but rather using sword dance as the dynamic exercise, with all moves and forms circulating naturally within the body!"

"Once the moves are refined to perfection, truly understood, and internally and externally harmonized, and all phenomena of the universe are contained within the sword!"

"This is entering the Dao, requiring a shift to stillness, using the methods of Xuanmen visualization to enter a state of deep meditation!"

"In this deep meditation, visualize all the sword moves, and then—seated in oblivion!"

"Forget the whole! Forget the form! Attain the state! Attain the meaning!"

"Then, that wisp of sword intent hangs above the dantian, like the sun illuminating mountains and rivers! From then on, your magical power is sword energy!"

"Furthermore, you can cultivate both movement and stillness, constantly refining the sword moves, then sitting in oblivion to attain sword intent, until you truly achieve a state of forgetting form and meaning, when the inherited sword techniques can no longer provide further progress. Then, the sword intent you possess yourself becomes your unique sword technique!"

"In fact, from the moment you enter deep meditation and attain the first sword intent through sitting in oblivion, you can gradually integrate the evil energy to enhance its power and sharpen its edge."

"Of course, ordinary people first obtain the sword intent and then refine the evil energy, but you refined the evil energy first and then entered meditation to obtain the sword intent."

"The same sword technique, due to different people's understanding, has never produced two identical sword cultivators in our sect's lineage!"

"Perhaps it will be even more miraculous with you!"

"I am very curious, when the evil energy penetrates your bones, what kind of sword intent will you attain through sitting in oblivion in the 'Springtime Sword'!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Weiyang smiled instead, a smile of satisfaction.

"I don't care whether this sword technique is supreme or ordinary, nor do I care whether it's miraculous or commonplace. As long as I can condense sword intent, and as long as that sword intent can refine away more evil energy, for me, it is the supreme method!"

Upon hearing this, Steward Ma sighed, "I finally understand why you, with your early Qi Refining stage cultivation, could survive so long in the Demon Suppression Cave, and why Guo Dian eventually passed on the 'Five Viscera Qi Refining Technique' to you."

Seeing Chu Weiyang's smile gradually disappear, Steward Ma quickly changed the subject, pointing to the thickest Daoist book.

"If you're not sleepy, I'll explain the six chapters and thirty-six forms of the 'Spring Sword' to you now. The Four Seasons Sword was created by the same ancestor of our sect. All four sword techniques use the Yu Step in their footwork. This first chapter, first form...