Demon Sword Immortal

"Nourishing the spirit for ten stages, the normal pace is two stages per year."

"It would take an average person five years to complete these ten sections of the road, but she finished them in just two years."

"Such terrifying talent naturally attracted the attention of others. At one point, many famous swordsmen came to him to take him as a disciple."

"However, she was chosen by Xiang Xian, the current leader of the Yuming Sword Sect, long ago. Xiang Xian also made an agreement with me that she would wait until your aunt turned 18—or until she felt the time was right and wanted to forge the sword ahead of schedule. At that time, Xiang Xian would personally go to Chilong to pick her up and take her to Yujing to forge the sword and seek the Dao."

"The turning point came when she was 17."

"Yes, about the same age as you are now."

"She told me she was going to Nanshan to meditate, but she got into a fight on the way and killed the young prince of Nanling Prince's Mansion. She was arrested and imprisoned."

"During the subsequent interrogation, we only saw your aunt's testimony, in which she said that the one who was killed was not the Prince of Nanling, but a cunning and treacherous person in human skin who had put on a good disguise!"

"However, the autopsy performed in court proved that the body was not a monster in disguise."

"Of course we believe she wouldn't fabricate a lie, but with such a charge and such irrefutable evidence, even Xiang Xian couldn't get a chance to see your aunt, let alone us... I've exhausted all my connections and still can't get in!"

“Even after your aunt died in prison, we still can’t recover her remains.”

"Your uncle went to extremes because of this. He felt that Xiang Xian was unwilling to do anything for Nian Chan. He thought that cultivating swordsmanship was not as good as cultivating power. He thought that if the Bai family could hold a high position and have great power, just having good relations with them would be enough to save lives first."

"And your second uncle, who was originally a genius, planned to venture to Yujing with your aunt. After this incident, he not only chose to stay in Daoli, but also went against his nature and married the daughter of the deputy envoy of the Transport Bureau."

“Your third uncle hated me for not protecting my sister, so he ran away, crossing most of the Yu Kingdom, and went to Liangzhou in the far east to live alone.”

"Everything changed overnight..."

Bai Shengju opened his mouth, blinked hard, and his fingers on the teacup trembled slightly.

"Afterwards, unable to bear the depression any longer, I went to Yinling Temple to find Master Cizheng, only to unexpectedly encounter someone who was giving away an abandoned baby to the temple..."

“I believe in Buddhism a little. I felt that you came to me right after your aunt’s accident, which might be in line with the Buddhist concept of reincarnation. So I took the initiative to ask Master Cizheng for you.”

"Before leaving, Master Hua'an of Longhua Temple also visited Yinling Temple."

“He saw what I was thinking and gave you the single name ‘Xiang’, so you were called Bai Xiang.”

It turned out to be the case.

After a moment of silence, Bai finally understood the origins of a series of events.

Bai Nianchan died unjustly in prison. Because the Bai family had little influence and lacked evidence, they could not pursue the matter and could only swallow this bitter pill.

Because of his excessive longing for his youngest daughter, Bai Shengju accepted Master Hua'an's suggestion to name the adopted baby girl "Bai Xiang" in an attempt to replace and commemorate Bai Nianchan, but this move was not accepted by Bai Guanshan.

Bai Guanshan refused to acknowledge that Bai Xiang was a substitute for Bai Nianchan, and therefore always disliked her.

The others knew that his various actions were for a reason. Even someone as stubborn as Bai Lianzhou couldn't force his elder brother to accept Bai Xiang.

In this way, all the connections become clear.

If Bai Xiang had to give her opinion, she felt she didn't care.

No matter how much Bai Guanshan disliked her, no matter how much he complained, he still gave her New Year's money and birthday gifts every year.

One year, Bai Xiang even fell ill on his birthday, but Bai Guanshan still gave him double the amount of money.

She's not a child who would hold a grudge against someone because of their outward attitude.

Moreover, Bai Guanshan also had his own difficulties.

Putting myself in her shoes, I know I wouldn't accept it either—replacing my beloved deceased sister with an outsider.

"I understand."

Therefore, Bai Xiang took the initiative to signal to Bai Shengju.

"I won't blame the older man."

"I can understand."

Upon hearing this, Bai Shengju smiled broadly.

"Go and wait for dinner to be served."

He flicked his hand outwards.

"Go!"

"Let's have a proper chat this afternoon after we finish eating."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Locking Yin and Slaying the Dragon (Please add to your favorites and read on!)

Bai Shengju does not eat with others.

This is because he is old and his teeth are not good, so the food he eats needs to be specially prepared by the kitchen and delivered to him to enjoy.

Whispering is not allowed at the dinner table, so Bai Xiang kept quiet and focused on eating.

She found that her appetite had increased significantly compared to before.

It's not just bigger than in its previous life, but almost twice the size of its original form.

She felt that her body's energy consumption was becoming more excessive.

Unleashing so much potential after entering the Dao, as well as the several fierce battles with the demons that day, all of these consumed energy.

She didn't think it was a bad thing either.

If these losses can be replenished simply by eating, that would be ideal. The problem is that as cultivation continues, the losses will increase, and even overeating may not be enough to compensate. In such cases, it would be necessary to purchase rare and hard-to-find medicinal herbs.

After finishing her meal, she was about to go to the backyard to find Bai Shengju when Bai Leying stopped her.

"Sister~" Bai Leying grabbed her hand and shook it back and forth, "Grandpa wants you to go over this afternoon?"

"Mm." Bai Xiang nodded.

"Then he's definitely going to teach you something real!" Bai Leying pouted, looked around, and suddenly leaned closer, "Sister..."

"Speak your mind." Bai Xiang looked up at the wall clock.

Bai Shengju never takes a nap, and he gets very unhappy if you make him wait too long.

"It's very simple!" Bai Leying held up one finger. "Grandpa always says that the cultivation method for nourishing the spirit will only be taught to us after we enter the Dao, but I'm not going to practice it ahead of time. I'm just curious. Tell me how to practice it when you come back~~"

"Okay." Bai agreed without hesitation.

Anyway, the little girl is easy to fool. When the time comes, she can just casually mention this matter to Bai Shengju and then she can confidently say that she was warned by her grandfather not to say anything.

"Sister is the best!" Bai Leying cheered, rushing over and nuzzling Bai Xiang's chest with her little head.

As Bai Leying walked away, Bai Xiang happened to see Bai Zhuqing hiding behind the door.

Realizing she had been discovered, Bai Zhuqing quickly turned and walked away, avoiding any eye contact with Bai Xiang throughout.

It's a bit strange.

Bai frowned, but didn't take it too seriously.

Upon arriving at the backyard, they found only Bai Shengju there. The old man was lying in a rocking chair, his eyes closed, resting.

There was another coal-fired stove next to it, with a large pot on top, steaming up with a hissing sound.

"You came!"

Hearing footsteps, Bai Shengju opened his eyes and pointed to the side, "Go see if the food is ready."

Bai walked over and saw a pair of fire tongs on the ground. He picked up the tongs, lifted the pot lid, and glimpsed a dark, simmering substance inside, somewhat resembling overcooked vegetable soup.

It's not exactly smelly, but it's not exactly pleasant either.

"Tell me if there's still water inside," Bai Shengju's voice came.

"Yes," Bai thought to himself.

"There's probably about an inch of water left."

"Well then, let me explain my reasoning first."

Bai Shengju called Bai Xiang over, had her find a small stool to sit on opposite him, and began his lecture.

"Since you're on holiday, I'll tell you about methods for nourishing the spirit."

"Nourishing the spirit involves ten stages: the first and second stages train the skin, the third and fourth stages train the flesh, the fifth and sixth stages train the internal organs, the seventh and eighth stages train the bones, and the ninth and tenth stages rejuvenate the blood."

"It's hard to change your bloodline... but it's even harder to control your own mind."

"Why is nourishing the spirit called nourishing the spirit and not nourishing the body? Because its core is still to focus on the cultivation of the 'mental state' and the cultivation of the 'spirit'."

"Can you really train your skin and flesh just by working hard on your own? It's not like that... Otherwise, there would be no need to enter the Dao, and anyone could try the method of nourishing the spirit."

"So this doesn't depend on whether your body is active or not, it depends on your 'mental state'."

“Nourish your mind and spirit to nourish your body. Remember that the core of this step is to cultivate your ‘mind’ and treat your ‘mind’ as a deity within you.”

“If you don’t cultivate your mind properly, you won’t have enough energy to feed back to you, and your physical cultivation will naturally stagnate.”

"Only when you have cultivated your mind and spirit, and your mind and spirit have excess power that can be released, can you use this power to hone your body and lay the foundation for your pursuit of the Dao before you forge the sword."

Bai Shengju explained it in great detail, almost like breaking down the principles and feeding them to Bai Xiang.

I would stop every now and then to let her ask questions, and if she didn't have any questions, I would ask her to explain her understanding. I wouldn't continue until I was sure she really understood, for fear that she might be trying to fool me.

"Generally speaking, once you reach the seventh or eighth level of bone training, you've already met the requirements for sword forging. After consolidating your skills, you can try forging a sword."

Bai Shengju gently stroked his beard.

"But that applies to the children of wealthy families. Those people start studying the 'Demon Pool Visualization Diagram' enshrined in their homes from the very beginning of their cultivation. Their sword-forging difficulty is much lower than ours."

"For example, in the Green Fang Sword Dao, there is a 'Dragon and Python Picture' enshrined on the top floor of the dojo. It was drawn by our ancestors by condensing the essence of the 'Green Fang Dragon and Python' from the demon pool. By viewing it for many years, one can adapt to the aura and pressure of the 'Green Fang Dragon and Python' in advance, greatly reducing the difficulty of forging the sword."

"And I, Shenming..."

At this point, Bai Shengju couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"The visualization diagram is no longer available, and the method of sword forging has been lost. I cannot say how you will proceed on the path of sword forging."

"At that time, you can either go to a prestigious university to become an apprentice, or you can choose to inherit my mantle; it's all up to you."

"But before that, I must help you lay a solid foundation."

"You must practice the Tenth Stage of Nourishing the Spirit until you reach the point of blood exchange!"

His tone was stern, even revealing a hint of nervousness.

"Yes." Bai Xiang nodded in agreement.

"Um……!"

Bai Shengju was very satisfied with her attitude, and pointed to the pot, "Go check if it's boiled dry yet?"

Bai Xiang stepped forward, repeated the previous steps, and said, "It's done."

“This is the Mingyu Cream your second uncle bought for you… First, scoop a spoonful of the medicine into your mouth and hold it there, then squeeze a tube of cream into your mouth.”

Bai Shengju took out a gift box from beside the chair and instructed Bai Xiang to blow on it to warm it up, take a mouthful of the medicine, and then squeeze in an entire tube of ointment.

A tube of Mingyu Cream is about the size of a toothpaste tube, and the contents are similar to toothpaste, appearing as white jade and emitting a cool sensation.

The icy-cold Mingyu Frost fell into the pot and melted as soon as it came into contact with the boiling "vegetable soup," giving the strange smell a subtle fragrance.

"I won't watch it."

Bai Shengju walked shakily into the inner room.

"Next, take off your clothes."

"Reach your hand in, stir it well, rub it all over your body, and then swallow what's in your mouth!"

Is that so?

Bai Xiang was stunned for a moment, but seeing that Bai Shengju was gone and she was all alone in the courtyard, she had nothing to be ashamed of. She quickly took off all her clothes and reached into the large pot to stir the medicinal soup.

I thought I would get burned, but after Mingyu Shuang stirred it, it had a cooling effect. It was hot, but not unbearably so.

After stirring for a while, watching Ming Yushuang's white color completely disappear in the black paste, Bai wanted to stop and started scooping up the paste and smearing it on his body.

She applied the paste very carefully, covering every corner of her body, including her scalp and eyelids, with the paste completely.

After applying the ointment, she followed Bai Shengju's instructions exactly and swallowed the portion she had in her mouth.

Really bitter.

There's also a strange smell that's hard to describe in words.