Elder Shanshi’s Visit

The day after the appreciation gathering, Elder Shanshi headed for the Old Immortal Cave. He descended the mountain while watching the outer disciples draw water at the water station and eventually arrived in front of the Old Immortal Cave.

After concealing his presence, Elder Shanshi entered and observed Kou and the others training.

“No. What matters there is where you place your center of gravity. Shift your weight decisively.”

After being corrected, Haoxuen repeated the same movement.

“Like this?”

“That’s right. But now the angle of your foot when stepping in is half-hearted. I’ll demonstrate, so watch carefully.”

Kou deflected his opponent’s attack with his left hand, stepped in sharply, and drove the heel of his palm into the opponent’s chest. His step was swift, and his palm strike was heavy. It was proof that he had mastered the use of Floating Yang Qi and Heavy Yin Qi freely.

“Thunder Technique Fist, huh?”

Perhaps Kou heard Elder Shanshi’s murmur, because he shot a sharp look toward him.

I was surprised when I sensed someone other than Haoxuen and Seiran inside the Old Immortal Cave. Then, when I spotted Elder Shanshi near the entrance, I let out a sigh.

“Elder Shanshi, please don’t startle me like that.”

“I did not intend to startle you. I was interested in what kind of instruction you were giving.”

“I understand. By the way, did you need something?”

“There is something I wish to ask you.”

I guided the elder to the table and asked Seiran to prepare tea. Once the elder sat down, I took the seat across from him.

“What would you like to know?”

“It concerns the Meimei Gong, Middle Transmission. I heard you have been teaching it to the outer disciples.”

“Not only the outer disciples. I have also taught it to Haoxuen and Shunlin.”

Elder Shanshi said he wanted to know how I was teaching it, so I explained the Meimei Gong, Middle Transmission. After making it clear beforehand that my conclusions were only conjecture, I also explained the parts that had become unclear.

“I see. There are no contradictions in the underlying principles. It appears to be correct.”

Elder Shanshi said that after drinking the tea Seiran had served. It seemed I had received the elder’s approval. That reminded me that I had been considering making my own training manual.

“Elder, I have thought this for some time, but the manuals in the library are not only written in Immortal Secret Script, they are also written in difficult prose. Would it be unacceptable to create manuals that are easier to understand?”

Elder Shanshi frowned when he heard that.

“That would not be allowed. There is a reason the manuals are written that way.”

“What reason would that be?”

“They are designed so that even if they are stolen, they cannot be mastered easily.”

Hearing that, I nodded.

“So that was the reason.”

I gave up on my plan to create my own manual. It seemed Gyorei Cave’s martial arts could not be mastered completely without the manuals, oral teachings, and guidance from one’s predecessors.

Before receiving Elder Shanshi’s instruction, I had believed I had mastered the Demonic Horn Warhammer Art and the Broadsword Fox-Flame Technique, but I now understood that had been a mistake.

“Do you think many of Gyorei Cave’s Taoist practitioners are suited to moving art?”

“There should be people suited to moving art, people suited to still art, and people suited to both. I would estimate the proportions to be fifty percent suited to still art, forty percent suited to moving art, and ten percent suited to both.”

The elder should have been able to investigate that with the Lone Awakening Eye if he wished. However, it seemed he had never viewed the inner disciples through that kind of classification. Incidentally, I was the type who could manage both, though I was somewhat better suited to moving art.

“Forty percent is a large number. So moving art is necessary as well. This is my responsibility as an elder. I will make arrangements so they can study moving art.”

I decided to ask Elder Shanshi about something that had been bothering me.

“When was the Meimei Gong, First Transmission lost?”

“It was shortly after I entered Gyorei Cave. Bandits tried to break into the library, and a battle broke out with the Taoist practitioners. It caused a tremendous uproar.”

“Was the Meimei Gong, First Transmission the only thing stolen?”

“No. The manual for the Vermilion Spirit Sword was stolen as well.”

“Hm? But I saw a Vermilion Spirit Sword manual in the Wallside Hall library.”

“That was reconstructed by an elder from that time using only the portions he remembered. It is not accurate.”

Elder Tsuen must have been the one who placed such a thing in the Wallside Hall library.

“What kind of sword art was the Vermilion Spirit Sword?”

“It was a sword art jointly created by Founder Weiru and his friend, Lord Youjun. It was something special to Gyorei Cave, so it is regrettable that it was lost.”

What kind of people had those bandits who infiltrated the library been? Even though they had ultimately been driven off, they had succeeded in stealing the Vermilion Spirit Sword and the Meimei Gong, First Transmission, which meant they must have possessed considerable skill.

“I understand why they stole the Vermilion Spirit Sword, but why did they steal the Meimei Gong, First Transmission?”

“They probably stole the Vermilion Spirit Sword first, were discovered and forced into battle, then grabbed a nearby manual while fleeing.”

“Did no practitioner of the Vermilion Spirit Sword appear afterward?”

“No. I have heard no such reports.”

Having asked what he wanted about the Meimei Gong, Elder Shanshi stood to leave.

“By the way, I heard you obtained Dumin’s treasured sword. Are you not going to use it?”

“That treasured sword is too long and difficult to use, so I intend to shorten it and use it as a broadsword. However, since I plan to qi-forge it myself, I am currently learning the method from Elder Min.”

“That treasured sword was made from Supreme Silver. Is qi-forging Supreme Silver not difficult?”

“Yes. I am learning from Elder Min, but the difficulty is extremely high, and it seems it will take quite some time before I can do it.”

Elder Shanshi nodded and then left.

“Kou-shixiong, was the Vermilion Spirit Sword really such an incredible sword art?”

Haoxuen asked me.

“I have read the manual before, and it was certainly an incredible sword art. However, because it was a sword art that used spiritual power, there were many points I could not fully understand.”

“Do you think those bandits were Taoist practitioners from another sect?”

Seiran asked.

“There isn’t enough information from what we heard to know.”

It also bothered me that no practitioner of the Vermilion Spirit Sword had appeared after it was stolen. If they had stolen it, they should have studied it. Perhaps it could not be mastered from the manual alone. That seemed entirely possible.