Wandering Swordsman |

"Remember," Master Zhang stopped what he was doing and looked at Shen Mo with a serious expression, "the martial arts of the Wudang School are not only about the level of skill, but also about inner cultivation and moral character. I hope you can always maintain an upright and kind heart, which is the true meaning of the Tai Chi Xuan Tian Sword."

Shen Mo nodded gratefully, "This junior will keep it in mind." His eyes were filled with respect and gratitude for Master Zhang, as if he had already engraved these words deep in his heart.

Then, Master Zhang took out a wooden plaque from his robes. The front was engraved with the words "Wudang," and the back with the words "Zhang Zixuan." He gently tossed the plaque to Shen Mo and said, "If anyone from Wudang recognizes this sword technique, just say that I taught it to you."

Shen Mo took the wooden plaque and examined it carefully. The plaque was made of hard wood and finely carved, with each stroke exuding an ancient and solemn aura. The two characters "Wudang" on the front were magnificent, while the three characters "Zhang Zixuan" on the back appeared vigorous and powerful. Shen Mo's heart stirred, and he guessed that "Zhang Zixuan" was the name of Master Zhang.

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Zhang. I will certainly live up to your expectations," Shen Mo said respectfully, holding the wooden plaque in both hands as if it were an extremely precious gift.

Master Zhang smiled slightly, his tone full of expectation: "Shen Mo, you are exceptionally talented and your future is limitless. Once you have mastered the Taiji Xuantian Sword technique, please come to the Wudang Sect and do me a small favor."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo felt a little puzzled, but he quickly understood Zhang Zhenren's intention in imparting martial arts to him. He immediately nodded and agreed, "This junior will definitely do my best, and when I have mastered the swordsmanship, I will visit Zhang Zhenren at the Wudang Sect."

Shen Mo then returned to his room and began practicing the Tai Chi Xuan Tian Sword once again.

Inside the room, sword shadows flashed as Shen Mo, longsword in hand, concentrated intently on practicing the "Tai Chi Profound Heaven Sword." His figure was as light as a willow catkin in the wind, each move imbued with profound meaning and power.

At the height of his practice, Shen Mo stopped, his eyes revealing deep emotion: "Master Zhang's swordsmanship is indeed superb, far surpassing the 'Heavenly Gang Sword Technique' taught by my master. If I want to rescue Situ Meng, this sword technique will surely be of great help to me."

After sheathing his longsword, Shen Mo remembered the several manuals and the two ginseng roots he had brought back from the Black Wind Gang leader's study. He quickly rummaged through his travel bag and found the six manuals among a pile of miscellaneous items. Upon closer inspection, three were demonic cultivation techniques—"Blood Fiend Demon Art," "Nine Revolutions of Yin and Yang," and "Blood Shadow Technique"; two were orthodox cultivation techniques—"Heart Cleansing Technique" and "Iron Shirt"; and the last one was called "Heavenly Void True Qi."

Unable to distinguish between righteous and evil techniques, Shen Mo, filled with curiosity and a desire to explore, first opened the manual "Blood Fiend Demon Art." As his understanding of the technique deepened, he began to try practicing it himself.

However, not long after, Shen Mo felt the originally gentle internal energy in his body become violent and uncontrollable, as if a violent energy was rampaging through his body, causing him great pain. It felt as if his internal organs were about to be torn apart, and this pain was almost unbearable for him.

At this critical moment, Shen Mo suddenly remembered the "Formless Sutra". He immediately closed his eyes, concentrated, and circulated the "Formless Sutra" to harmonize his internal energy, attempting to calm the chaos within his body.

Before long, the chaotic power within his body was split into two by the Wuxiang Sutra: one was the normal internal energy he was familiar with, and the other was a malevolent energy generated from cultivating demonic arts. Then, under the effect of the Wuxiang Sutra, these two forces immediately merged into one and became internal energy.

However, Shen Mo made an astonishing discovery shortly afterward: with the help of the "Formless Scripture," he could freely switch the internal energy in his body into malevolent energy, and even switch it back.

At the same time, Shen Mo also realized that the Blood Fiend Demon Art he had just practiced required the use of malevolent energy to drive it. Although this technique was powerful, it was also full of dangers.

Therefore, Shen Mo decided that he would never use this dangerous energy-driven martial art unless it was a matter of life and death. He knew that if the "Formless Scripture" could not control the violent energy generated by the internal force conversion, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His gaze then fell upon the "Nine Revolutions of Yin and Yang" and the "Blood Shadow Technique." As his understanding of these two techniques deepened, Shen Mo discovered that they were also martial arts driven by malevolent energy.

However, setting aside the malevolence, the three martial arts manuals, Blood Demon Art, Yinming Nine Revolutions, and Blood Shadow Technique, are in no way inferior to the Taiji Xuantian Sword passed down by Master Zhang, and in some aspects even surpass it.

Therefore, even though these demonic cult techniques were fraught with danger, he decided to memorize them for future use. After all, in a life-or-death situation, having more methods meant having a better chance of survival.

Then, Shen Mo picked up the *Qingxin Jue* and the *Tiebushan*. As he opened these two manuals, he was overjoyed. It turned out that these two techniques didn't require relying on malevolent energy; they could be activated through normal internal energy cultivation. This was undoubtedly good news for Shen Mo at his current state. Therefore, he began to concentrate intently on studying these two techniques.

Shen Mo first practiced the "Heart-Cleansing Technique." He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes slightly, and slowly circulated his internal energy according to the instructions in the manual.

At first, he only felt a warm energy slowly rising in his dantian. Gradually, this energy began to flow along his meridians, eventually spreading throughout his entire body. Each breath felt like a cleansing of the soul, bringing Shen Mo an unprecedented sense of tranquility and peace.

As time went on, he found that he could not only control his emotions more freely, but his mind also became clearer and brighter. This feeling made him realize that the "Purifying Heart Technique" was not just a method to improve internal strength, but also a way to cultivate one's state of mind.

Then, Shen Mo began practicing "Iron Shirt".

Unlike the introspective cultivation method of the "Heart Cleansing Technique," the "Iron Shirt Technique" emphasizes external training of muscles, bones, and skin. Shen Mo first adjusted his posture according to the illustrations in the manual, with his legs shoulder-width apart and his hands naturally hanging at his sides.

Then, he began to move each joint of his limbs and torso in a specific order. With each movement, Shen Mo could feel a slight "clicking" sound between the muscles and bones, as if awakening a dormant power.

As his movements quickened, a fine layer of sweat began to appear on his body. Despite this, Shen Mo did not slack off in the slightest; on the contrary, he became more and more engrossed in his training. He repeated each movement repeatedly until every inch of his muscles was fully trained.

Before I knew it, the sound of a rooster crowing came from outside the window, announcing the arrival of a new day.

Shen Mo then realized that he hadn't slept all night. However, he didn't feel tired at all. On the contrary, after a night of cultivation, he felt that both his mental and physical strength had improved significantly.

In particular, through the practice of the "Heart-Cleansing Technique," his mind became more resilient and calm; while the "Iron Shirt Technique" greatly enhanced his physique, making Shen Mo feel that his skin was impervious to swords and blades.