Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

The capital of Liang was experiencing a bleak autumn with continuous rain.

After half a year of recuperation, Lord Shangshan has made great progress and is no longer as skin and bones as before.

At this moment, his 300-year-old misunderstanding was resolved, he reunited with his old friends, and had a capable and adorable grand-disciple by his side. His life should have been very fulfilling... but his face was always etched with an unyielding sorrow.

Because his favorite grand-disciple had completely transformed his prized secret technique into swordsmanship.

Watching Su Baichen display the "Yin Lotus Annihilation Sword" in the arena, the icy blue Yin lotuses blooming at the sword's tip appeared both beautiful and dangerous. This was a happy dilemma for Daoist Shangshan, given that his two disciples, Feng Linzi and Su Baichen, were both exceptionally talented.

After half a year of instruction, Feng Linzi was already able to barely unleash the "Condensing Yin Annihilation Qi," which greatly exceeded Shangshan Daojun's expectations. He became even more certain that Feng Linzi was the candidate to succeed the Yin Sect in the next era.

As for Su Baichen, this "extraordinary talent," he could no longer comment on him, but at least he achieved the same goal through a different approach, so he could be considered successful. As for the rest, Zhang Qiuzhuo had already succeeded in the "Frost Condensation" step and was now struggling to cultivate the later parts, while Wu Xiangyu, on the other hand, had first mastered "Disassembly" and was finding the "Frost Condensation" part difficult.

So these two...

They mastered the "Death Frost" and "Shadow Splitting Sword" taught by Su Baichen, thus giving the "Frost Condensation" and "Disintegration" steps, which were originally just secret technique training steps, a certain practical value.

To some extent, a "creative talent" like Su Baichen is far more important to a sect than a qualified successor. He now fully understands Xuan Yin Zhenren's intention in allowing Su Baichen to grow freely; only by letting him develop freely can his talents be maximized.

Therefore, rather than teaching other disciples and grand-disciples to practice secret techniques, Shangshan Daojun preferred to bring Shangyu villagers along to preach to Su Baichen.

This is crucial for laying a solid foundation. Only by providing Su Baichen with ample resources can he shine even brighter in his subsequent cultivation.

Su Baichen had previously been browsing through the Daoist scriptures at the Yin Sect and had accumulated many questions, so he took this opportunity to ask the two great masters various questions.

As the Supreme Elder of the Yin Sect, Shangshan Daojun possesses a wealth of orthodox theoretical knowledge, while Yuxiang Ke, born into the royal family, can be considered a rogue cultivator or a family that attained enlightenment through cultivation, and has rich practical experience.

The combination of these two elements makes them the best teacher for Su Baichen.

He then raised a question that had long troubled him: "Grandmaster, senior, what is cause and effect, and what is karmic obstacle?"

Lord Shangshan was the first to answer the question: "Because the cause of the past has led to the effect of today."

He then changed the subject: "This answer is simplistic, but changing two words might be more enlightening for you."

"The cause of the past life determines the effect of this life."

Su Baichen asked doubtfully, "Can the past life really influence this life?"

The Supreme Daoist Lord said, "When a cultivator enters the Nascent Soul Realm, they will inevitably revisit their past lives from time to time."

"If you experience those things, you will find that many people who appear around you in this life were already around you in previous lives." "The many causes and effects throughout countless lifetimes are like a large net, forming the foundation for the operation of the world."

"Then we'll talk about karma."

"The cause and effect of past and present lives is like a net, trapping people within it from which they cannot escape."

"If someone breaks this net with external force, then they will have to bear the backlash of this rupture of cause and effect... that is, karma."

"To put it bluntly, it's a punishment from fate. The karma of each person is linked to the fate of many others. Disrupting one person will inevitably disrupt the original trajectory of many others... This change is karma."

As Su Baichen was pondering, Yu Xiangke chuckled and said, "Let me give you something more practical, like myself..."

"Only then did I manage to recall my past life. I don't know how many lifetimes ago, I was a disillusioned scholar with only an old ox and my beloved wife by my side. We lived a simple but happy life."

"But one day, my beloved wife fell seriously ill, and I had no choice but to take the old ox to the market to sell it and raise money for her medical treatment."

"I just didn't expect that my beloved wife would not survive. Half a month later, I heard that the old ox also starved to death. In that life, I died alone and depressed." Su Baichen was bewildered. What was the purpose of telling this little story?

"In this life, when I look back at my memories of that past life, I find that my beloved wife and the old ox from that life have actually reappeared in my life."

Su Baichen listened intently; he was beginning to take an interest in the story.

"In that life, I exhausted all my wealth but still couldn't save my beloved wife's life. As a result, in this life, she became the mother who gave me life... This is karma."

"In that life, I was forced to betray the old ox who trusted me the most, and in this life, I want to repay that trust even if it costs me my life." Su Baichen found it strange and asked curiously, "Senior, who has the old ox become in this life?"

Just then, he suddenly realized that his grandmaster's expression was strange.

He turned to look at Shangshan Daojun in astonishment, only to see him say with a complicated expression, "In that life, I knew you had it tough, and I never complained." Yu Xiangke said, "I know, but this is the cause and effect between us, destined for me to repay you once... and I have already missed one chance." At that moment, Su Baichen truly felt a strong sense of destiny.

But then he realized that his soul, strictly speaking, came from another world, just like the Formless One, and didn't have much causal connection with this world... Suddenly, he felt a little lonely.

Just then, Yu Xiangke suddenly changed the subject, took out a small, dark stone from his pocket, and said, "This is the 'Stone of Bonds,' which is also one of the fragments of the 'Stone of Three Lives.' Through it, you can see the moment when the bond between you and the person next to you begins."

"Of course, this 'Fate Stone' wasn't originally that useful. After all, once you open your spiritual aperture, you'll eventually be able to see the cause and effect of everything around you. This is just for you to play with now... Consider it an early birthday present to you."

Su Baichen was taken aback... That's right, it was his birthday soon.

After your birthday, you'll be thirteen...

He instinctively took the dark, unsightly stone and held it in his palm, when suddenly his senses kicked in and he looked down at his feet...

That was Su Xiangxiang, curled up in a small ball, sleeping lightly at his feet.

But at this moment, a different scene appeared in Su Baichen's spiritual sense...

In a small tree hollow, a long-dried skeleton lay there, unattended.

Until one day, a young Taoist priest dug open the tree hole and carefully buried the skeleton...

The restless soul ascended to the sky, and that final, deep glance back sealed the fate of their past lives...

Su Baichen bent down and picked up the little fox spirit with a dazed expression, then said softly, "So you came here specifically to find me."

No wonder...

The others seemed to have noticed something as well, and Quan, who had turned into a stone statue, said in a deep voice: "Princess Xiangxiang did indeed leave Nanqiu quietly with her ghost fox talent and special abilities not long after she was born."

"Previously, I only knew that the princess had sensed the evil intentions of the Formless One, but now it seems that there is also a connection between her and Lord Bai Chen." It must be said that from this moment on, Su Bai Chen's feelings towards Su Xiangxiang began to change...

I originally thought it would be like having another little pet, and I wouldn't have to put in much effort.

But now, he feels he should still raise Su Xiangxiang seriously, as a way of fulfilling this cause and effect.