Chapter 152 – The Mysterious Miaojiang Maiden, a Man's Ultimate Dream: Flying on a Sword!
[Ding! Two lottery chances used. Congratulations, you have obtained: Soul Summoning Banner, Shushan Sword Manual.]
Huh!?
They could even give him something like this?
Renji glanced over the Soul Summoning Banner. It was an item whose function was just as its name implied—summoning souls, as well as imprisoning them within the banner. It was extremely effective in restraining powerful ghosts.
He couldn't help but feel that it had little to do with the righteous path; manipulating souls was something the Evil Path preferred. Still, it depended on whose hands it was in.
The Shushan Sword Manual, however, surprised him. It originated from the Shushan of the Legend of Sword and Fairy world.
And the Shushan in the game was far stronger than what was shown in the TV series. Characters like Li Xiaoyao and Jing Tian only displayed a couple of moves onscreen, yet in the game, Shushan possessed many techniques.
For someone from the Divine Firmament Sect to receive the Shushan Sword Manual was unexpected. Still, there was no rule saying he could not cultivate it. Since the Shushan of this world had long vanished, he could be said to be reviving its techniques.
The manual contained all the moves Li Xiaoyao later developed, though unfortunately it lacked Shushan's talisman arts, formations, and qi cultivation methods.
"Master, you seem to be in a good mood?"
Ren Tingting, ever perceptive, noticed his improved demeanor—without any clear reason.
"No, I just thought of something."
A disciple had just died, and though expelled, it still felt wrong to say outright he was happy.
"Oh."
Realizing she had spoken out of turn, Ren Tingting quickly dropped the subject.
"Let's bury Aqiang. At least he won't be left exposed in the wilderness."
Though expelled, Aqiang had followed Mamadi for some time. Mamadi would not leave his corpse discarded by the roadside.
After burying Aqiang, they set off again.
Along the road, Mamadi and Uncle Jiu still bickered, disliking each other's ways, yet their rapport had improved.
When the conversation turned to the righteous path and the Evil Path, they had new developments to discuss. Uncle Jiu glanced at Renji, then asked, "Daoist friend, want to come with me to check something? There's news over there."
If he was not in a hurry, they could go together.
"All right."
Renji thought for a moment before agreeing.
A band of horse bandits was using witchcraft to plunder and kill—was it that female ghost? The enemy remained in the shadows while he was in the open. Perhaps it was indeed time to open a breach.
"By the way, can that person who's been following us come out now?"
"Someone?"
Uncle Jiu was startled, following Renji's gaze behind them—but saw nothing.
A trick of the eye?
"Master, what is that?"
"So many bugs!"
"If you don't come out, I'll burn all these insects at once!"
As he spoke, Renji raised his hand, and a flame appeared in his palm.
"Wait, wait, you really are no fun!"
From the woods behind, a crisp voice called out. Soon after came the sound of small bells, accompanied by light footsteps drawing nearer.
Parting the branches, a young beauty stepped into view—face adorned with painted lines extending from the corner of her eye to her temple, fair skin, and delicate features. Small red-string bells hung from each wrist and ankle.
"Miao tribe?"
Uncle Jiu paused. He was well-traveled and, through conversations with Four Eyes, had heard of other regions.
From her attire and the insects that had appeared, he could tell she was a maiden from Miaojiang.
"Yes, and you're a Maoshan Daoist, aren't you?"
The girl nodded, then produced a jar, shaking her bells to draw the gu worms back inside. Muttering, she complained that these "bull-nosed" Daoists were too ruthless—she had only been joking, yet he had nearly burned her gu worms to ashes.
How could someone so handsome have such a wicked mind?
"This is my junior brother Mamadi, and this is Renji, sect master of the Divine Firmament Sect," Uncle Jiu introduced before preparing to leave.
There was little to talk about with a Miaojiang girl.
To them, Miaojiang was too mysterious; few, even cultivators, wished to deal with its people.
Miaojiang's gu arts were extraordinary—skilled Daoists could still fall victim. With the region being so closed-off, few truly understood it.
Not knowing why this girl was here, Uncle Jiu preferred to avoid trouble and take his leave.
"Wait, I heard you're after a horse bandit named Granny Wang, right?"
Blocking their path, the girl introduced herself without waiting for them to answer. "My name is Xuehua. I came out this time to kill Granny Wang, a traitor of Miaojiang."
She had intended to pass through without stopping. After all, Daoists avoided contact with Miaojiang, and Miaojiang people did the same.
But upon overhearing talk of Granny Wang and the bandits, she realized they sought the same target. She decided to test these Daoists' abilities first—only to have her gu worms nearly burned by Renji, forcing her to reveal herself.
"Miaojiang traitor?"
Uncle Jiu murmured. He had only just learned Granny Wang was Miaojiang-born. She had once studied witchcraft, but after leaving Miaojiang upon graduation, she began plundering and killing.
Miaojiang sorcerers almost never left their homeland without permission, and certainly not to use their arts to harm others. Granny Wang's actions tarnished Miaojiang's name.
Recently, Miaojiang had also discovered the Evil Path targeting their greatest treasure. Investigation revealed that Granny Wang had leaked the news.
Naturally, they could not let her live. Xuehua was assigned to carry out the execution.
"What do we do?"
Mamadi glanced between Renji and Uncle Jiu, his mind in a whirl.
Technically, the matter was under her jurisdiction, but the mysterious nature of this Miaojiang girl made him curious to engage with her.
"Why not bring her along? Granny Wang is one of their own, and having a Miaojiang sorceress with us could be to our advantage."
Uncle Jiu finished speaking and turned his gaze to Renji. In truth, he had another motive—he wanted to test Miaojiang's attitude along the way.
In this conflict between righteous and evil, Miaojiang still had not chosen a side. If they could be drawn in, it would give them a decisive advantage against the Evil Path. Miaojiang's strength was formidable.
"I don't mind. Uncle Jiu, do you know the exact location?"
"Of course."
Uncle Jiu nodded. It was not far from Renjia Town. He had originally planned to head there himself, but because of Mamadi's situation, he came here first and sent Awei ahead.
"Then let's go directly."
With that, Renji formed a hand seal. The sword on his back flew into the air and began to expand.
"That's Sword Control?"
Uncle Jiu's eyes flickered. This wasn't a Divine Firmament Sect technique. Just how many skills had Renji stolen from other sects? Would he eventually even learn Maoshan arts?
"So cool!"
Ren Zhuzhu's eyes widened in disbelief. She had thought Renji's Samadhi True Fire was already impressive, but this flying sword was even more so.
Xuehua was equally amazed.
So this was Daoist magic?
It was her first time seeing it, and it left her with a lasting first impression.
"Master, why does your sword seem to wobble?"
"Daoist friend, we're not going to fall, are we?"
"I just left Miaojiang, Daoist, I don't want to die yet!"
At first, everyone was excited—after all, it was their first time flying through the air. Uncle Jiu's face flushed red; he had heard of a device in the West that could record images, called a camera, and wished he could take a picture of himself now.
But once the excitement faded, reason returned. The sword's constant swaying began to worry them.
If they fell from this height, they might not even know how they died.
"Calm down. It's normal for a first time flying with the sword. I just need to get used to it."
For Renji, it was his first time using sword flight, so losing control at the start was natural.
"Daoist friend, you're using our lives to practice!"
Mamadi was in tears. He hadn't died on the execution ground, but now it seemed he might die at Renji's hands.
Was this man a demon? Just moments ago he'd saved his life, and now he was paying it back in full.
The whole way, Renji kept adjusting to controlling the sword. Once he got the hang of it, he even tried a few spins. Now he understood why cultivators loved to show off this skill—
It really was stylish.
"Daoist friend, I, Lin Jiu, swear I will never ride your flying sword again!"
Uncle Jiu had long dreamed of sword flight, but this experience had left him with a mild psychological scar.
"See? I'm steady now."
Renji rubbed his chin, feeling a little embarrassed—it was true he had used them as test passengers.
But they had been excited earlier, hadn't they?
"Daoist, could you go a bit faster? I think I'm used to it."
If Xuehua had been afraid at first, now she felt the opposite. While the others wanted Renji to keep steady, she wanted him to go faster.
This heart-pounding sensation was something she had never experienced in Miaojiang. Miaojiang women were bold and adventurous by nature, but they were usually confined to their homeland. Since leaving, stopping Renji had turned out to be the best decision she had ever made.
When she returned, she would tell everyone about her sword-flying experience.
"Faster?"
Renji glanced back at her in surprise. Seeing her nod, he cautiously increased the speed.
From her face, there was no fear—only excitement. With arms spread wide, Xuehua felt freer than ever.
Her enthusiasm seemed to spread, and the others, once fearful, began to relax.
"Actually, the scenery along the way isn't bad at all."
Uncle Jiu nodded serenely, while Mamadi couldn't help poking at him: "Someone seemed pretty scared earlier, didn't they?"
For people who had always lived on land, soaring through the air was both thrilling and terrifying.
"I've heard the West has a device that can make people fly, but compared to Master's sword flight, it's nothing at all!"
Ren Tingting offered flattery, but she also meant it.
"An airplane?"
"Master, you know about them?"
Ren Zhuzhu's eyes widened. She had thought Renji, as a Daoist, would know nothing of the outside world.
"A bit."
Of course he knew—he was a transmigrant.
"Daoist, can all Daoists do this sword flight?"
Xuehua's curiosity made Uncle Jiu and Mamadi's expressions sink. Was she implying they weren't real Daoists?
"Of course not. This is just a specific technique, like your Miaojiang gu arts."
"Mhm, gu arts are indeed mysterious, but they don't seem as impressive as your abilities."
Xuehua had always been taught that Miaojiang gu arts were feared by all. But meeting Renji so soon after leaving home, she felt his abilities were greater—sword flight, fire control—she began to wonder if all Daoists were like this.
No wonder some of the former Saintesses had left Miaojiang to elope with Daoists or live in seclusion, longing for someone far away.
If Renji was the example, she could understand.
"Every sect has its strengths. Miaojiang's are simply different—there's no need to belittle them. Anyway, we've arrived."
Sensing the area below, Renji knew they had reached their destination.
(End of chapter)
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