After the Master returned, she began guiding me in practicing the two secret manuals, Liyun Scripture and Chuchen Codex. For someone like me, who spent my entire previous life sitting in an office, this time was extremely painful.
Every dawn, as soon as the birds in the forest crowed, Master dragged me out of bed for bone-strengthening and tendon-stretching exercises. Before I could recover from clenching my teeth and pain. I had to swing my sword three thousand times with perfect accuracy. As Master put it, to become a sword cultivator, I must stop seeing the sword as a separate object, it had to feel like part of my arm. Where my eyes looked, the blade must strike instantly!
Exhausted beyond belief, I'd lie on the stone bed each night, completely drained in body and spirit. My mind couldn't help but secretly grumble: "Someday I'll make you scream like a phobe alarm that never stops!" The dream was bold, but reality was tough.
After two years of such brutal training, I finally sensed a faint 'qi' swirling in my lower belly. I excitedly showed it to the Master, who only sighed.
"Even with my personal guidance, it took you two years to barely reach the body refining stage. I've been too soft on you."
I froze, then dropped to my knees at lightning speed, clutching Master's long, bare legs and crying loudly. "Master, I've worked so hard! More training will kill me!"
As it turned out, I wasn't so easy to kill. Under my master's strict guidance, another two years passed. I broke through the Body Refining stage, condensed my Qi, advanced through the Qi Refining stage, and steadily stepped into Foundation Building.
According to the Master, cultivation had twelve tiers. Body Refining, Condensing Qi, Qi Refining and Foundation Building, these four formed the mortal path to long life. Reaching Foundation Building granted two hundred years of life, making one immune to normal fire and unbreakable by ordinary weapons.
Heart Awakening, Spirit Awakening, Golden Core and Primordial Infant, these four marked the path for immortals. After breaking through Heart Awakening, one leaps like a fish through a gate, shedding mortal flesh to roam the world freely.
Beyond these lie the four true realms of earthly immortals: Spirit Departure, Spirit Division, Spirit Union, and Great spirit. Reaching these realms cuts all ties to mortal affairs. Those at these levels move mountains and seas with ease, calling clouds and rain with divine power. Their every word and deed connects to the Dao, their actions tied to karma. The good may build legacies for ages, honored with offerings; the evil may ruin regions, causing bloodshed across vast lands.
Yet, no matter their deeds, their ultimate goal is one: to shed mortal form, ascend as immortals and soar toward the Great Dao!
I asked the Master, "Are there truly ascended immortals in this world?"
Master replied, "The path of immortal cultivation has lasted three thousand eight hundred years, yet only two have ascended. One was Zhang Dao, the Taoist Patriarch of Dragon-Tiger Mountain. He slew demons and monsters across the land, respected by countless worshippers through offerings, until he ascended in broad daylight atop a Dragon-Tiger Mountain."
"The other had no name or fame. His deeds are unknown, except that he slaughtered monks across the five continents, turning the sacred Grove Forest into a burial ground. Five centuries later, that place still reeks of evil spirits, constantly spawning dark creatures. After such slaughter, unmatched in the world, the Heavenly Dao unleashed thunder tribulations on him. Yet he faced the Nine Thunder Tribulation, withstood divine thunder and fire and seized the moment of Heaven's punishment to rip open the Heavenly Gate with his bare hands, defying the heavens and ascended!"
"What realm is Master at?"
Facing my question, Master swirled the wine gourd in her hand, her gaze slightly hazy as she looked at me. "Probably… the realm which is Third Under Heaven."
I curled my lip at Master's claim. She was undoubtedly powerful, but claiming third in the world was likely boasting. If she truly ranked third, why would she hide with me in this valley?
When we first arrived, Master left the valley once a month, each trip lasting three to five days. Upon returning, she always looked tired, her body often bloody. I never asked what she did and she never told me.
Upon returning, she'd wash in the stream beside our hut. Then, carrying her wine gourd, she'd sit on the valley's highest cliff, drinking under the moon until dawn. Those moments were both my happiest and saddest times. My worry came from the deep loneliness that seemed part of her very bones, while my joy came from freely admiring her naked form during her bath.
Though she never stopped me from staring at her nearly thin clothes in daily life, only during her bath could I see her naked body without obstruction. Her body was truly stunning, completely hairless except for her head, with skin as smooth as silk. Her breasts were enormous and perfectly round and flawless. The pale pink nipples were delicate as small buds, while the faint pink areolas, nearly matching her skin, formed tiny circles.
What made my mouth water most was the smooth, hairless private area between her legs. The two pale pink labia were tightly closed, forming a single line. The full area was high like a freshly baked bun. When Master kept her legs closed, the entire private area looked even fuller, making my cock rock hard.
It was beautiful, yet I felt something was missing. Glancing at the bloody clothes Master had tossed aside, it hit me: such a stunning body paired with a few pieces of clothing, wouldn't that make it twice as tempting?
At first, Master didn't care about my habit of collecting her discarded clothes. But when she learned I planned to use them to make new clothes, she tapped my head without emotion. "You'd make clothes for me out of such dirty things?"
Rubbing my head, I realized I hadn't thought it through. Just as I was about to give up, Master left the valley the next day. This time, she returned quickly, bringing back several rolls of fine fabric.
"Use this instead."