Borrowing a sword

Chapter 13 As Simple as Breathing

The moment that sword was mentioned, the hall fell silent.

Finally, it was sect leader Xiang Yan who spoke first:
"Whether we can gain its approval, who can say for sure?"

"Once she reaches the first realm of cultivation, the outcome will be clear."

"But no matter what, it is indeed a blessing for our Daoist sect to be able to accept a new disciple with the Xuan Yin Physique."

"Junior Uncle has been detached from worldly affairs for so many years, and has finally accomplished something worthwhile."

When he mentioned his junior uncle, everyone had a look of mixed amusement and exasperation on their faces.

At this moment, Ninth Elder Nangong Yue spoke up: "Since this Han Shuangjiang has the Xuan Yin Physique, what about Chu Huaixu, who came up the mountain with her?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Li Chunsong, their eyes filled with curiosity.

This child is favored by Junior Uncle along with the Xuan Yin Physique, so he must have some extraordinary qualities.

Fifth Elder Zhao Shuqi urged, "Sixth Junior Brother, stop being so mysterious. We're not buying it. Just tell us already!"

Standing in the center of the hall, Li Chunsong hesitated, then finally just sighed and raised his hand, saying:
"Him? Let's not talk about him! Let's not talk about him!"

The group exchanged glances, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Elder Lu Pan frowned, making his forehead wrinkles appear even deeper, and said in an unhappy tone, "Sixth Brother, just say it when I tell you to!"

Among all the fellow disciples, apart from the junior sister Chu Yinyin, everyone was afraid of the eldest senior brother Lu Pan. Even the second senior brother Xiang Yan, who is now the sect leader, was actually afraid in his heart.

Li Chunsong immediately smiled ingratiatingly, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Senior Brother, it's not that I'm unwilling to talk about it, it's just that I really don't know where to begin!"

"Anyway, based on the current situation, he should be a [pseudo-spiritual embryo]." The Sixth Elder shrugged.

"What do you mean by 'should'?" Lu Pan frowned. He was always serious and meticulous, and he was very dissatisfied with this vague answer.

“Because I don’t know why Junior Uncle would send a pseudo-spiritual fetus up the mountain. Besides, you haven’t seen this kid. Let me tell you, this kid is very handsome and tall.” Li Chunsong narrowed his eyes, as if he were talking about something of great importance.

"What!?" The Taoist leaders present were genuinely shocked.

The reason is simple: they all know their junior uncle too well.

Junior Uncle has many minor flaws.

One of them is jealousy!
He was short and of average appearance, but considered himself a womanizer.

He doesn't like men who are too handsome, especially tall and handsome ones.

Why was the sect leader Xiang Yan so highly regarded by his junior uncle?

They had privately considered that the fact that their second senior brother was so ugly and bald must have been a plus.

Under these circumstances, for Chu Huaixu, a pseudo-spiritual embryo, to be chosen by his junior uncle, he must possess something extraordinary!
This alone shows that their curiosity and attention towards Chu Huaixu subtly surpasses that of Han Shuangjiang, who possesses the Xuan Yin Physique!

Sect Master Xiang Yan asked with concern, "Have you arranged all the entry procedures? Have you also chosen the cultivation method for the Qi Refining stage?"

Nangong Yue added from the side, "For the Xuan Yin Body, I remember the most suitable technique is the Ice Purity Technique, right?"

Li Chunsong waved his hand, somewhat helplessly: "How could I not know to choose the 'Bingqing Technique'? I'll definitely handle this small matter properly, so you can rest assured."

“But I don’t think you can recommend Chu Huaixu either, can you?” He raised an eyebrow.

No one could refute this.

It's all the same whether it's a pseudo-spiritual fetus or not.

Even if Junior Uncle came, he still wouldn't know where to start.

This is too difficult! This question is too hard!
"Ahem, it's just the Qi Refining stage, nothing serious. Once he officially enters the gate of cultivation and attempts to break through to the first realm, we'll discuss it further and choose a new cultivation method for him," Xiang Yan decided.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Seeing that the groundwork was almost laid, Li Chunsong began rubbing his hands together again in the center of the hall.

"I guess they're all practicing their cultivation inside their rooms now."

"I see that you all seem to be in a good mood today. A little gambling is good for fun. How about we bet on something?" He rubbed his hands together even more vigorously.

As the elder in charge of law enforcement, Lu Pan immediately snorted: "Sixth Elder, a country has its laws, and a sect has its rules. Our sect has never encouraged this kind of behavior. Article 17 of the sect rules states that setting up a gambling den privately will result in a fine of one hundred taels of silver, and any participant will be fined fifty taels of silver."

"Don't break the rules!"

Upon hearing this, the Sixth Elder, Li Chunsong, immediately smiled and said, "I understand, I understand."

As he spoke, he took out a hundred taels of silver from his storage token, walked to Lu Pan's side, and presented it with both hands.

The elder in charge of law enforcement stared at him with a serious expression, then looked around at everyone in the hall.

One silver note after another was taken out of the storage token, then carried by spiritual energy, and floated onto his table.

Now it was everyone's turn to stare at him.

Lu Pan remained solemn and unmoved.

Finally, Ninth Elder Nangong Yue gave him a way out: "Oh dear, Senior Brother, don't be such a spoilsport. It's rare that everyone is in such a good mood today, so let's all join in."

The elder in charge of law enforcement, his forehead wrinkled and face dark, snorted again, took out a silver note and slammed it on the table: "Bang! This is the last time!"

Inside the main hall of the Taoist sect, Li Chunsong proposed, "Let's bet on how long it will take them to open their first acupoint, shall we?" Zhao Shuqi waved his hand and said, "What's the point of betting on that? Han Shuangjiang has the Xuan Yin Body. She only needs to circulate the Ice Purification Technique within her body for one cycle, and she will be able to successfully open her acupoint."

“Yes, her constitution is like she was born with all nine orifices open; right now, she just has some bodily impurities accumulating. Her orifices are practically useless,” Nangong Yue added.

“There’s no point in betting on her.” Li Chunsong started rubbing his hands together again, his face slightly flushed. “If we’re going to bet, let’s bet on the [Pseudo-Spirit Embryo]!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in shock.

Hiss—! If it's a pseudo-spiritual embryo, then it's really hard to say.

"So how do you plan to gamble?" Zhao Shuqi asked.

"How about three days?" Li Chunsong suggested.

“Alright, I bet I’ll break through the first aperture within three days!” Xiang Yan spoke first.

"I'll bet on it within three days."

"Add me one."

“Three days should be enough,” even Lu Pan said.

Now things are really messed up, Li Chunsong is in a panic.

I also want to bet within three days!

"No! He's a pseudo-spiritual embryo. It would be good enough if he could break through the first aperture within ten days, and that would also require body tempering. Why are you all betting on within three days?" He was getting anxious.

“Because he was chosen by Junior Uncle,” Nangong Yue replied matter-of-factly.

“Absolutely right!” Zhao Shuqi chimed in.

Seeing Li Chunsong's speechless expression, they asked with a smile, "You don't also want to deposit it for three days, do you?"

"Otherwise what?" Li Chunsong was truly speechless.

At this moment, Xiang Yan, the ugly bald man, suddenly had a bright idea and asked, "Sixth Junior Brother, how long did it take you to break through the first aperture back then?"

Li Chunsong raised his chin: "Although I am not a top-level spiritual embryo with the Xuan Yin Body, I am still considered a person with all nine orifices open innately, so naturally I only need to circulate my energy for one cycle."

"Then why don't you have more faith in Chu Huaixu?" Xiang Yan said in his extremely unpleasant voice.

Upon hearing this, Li Chunsong's gambling instincts began to kick in.

—No child cries every day!

I refuse to believe it! I always think that fortune and wealth are found in danger, but is it really that hard to come by?
"May my junior uncle protect me!" he murmured to himself.

The guy, whom the players called the "Charity Gambling King," blushed even more: "I bet he can break through to the next level in just one session of internal energy cultivation!"

Everyone laughed and did the opposite.

As mentioned before, the Qi Refining Stage is also known as the Qi Refining and Body Tempering Stage.

Why is it said that the only way out for a pseudo-spiritual fetus is to refine the body, like Xue Hu, who was killed instantly by Chu Huaixu?
Even if someone with a pseudo-spiritual embryo spends money to buy and take a Qi-opening pill, they still need to constantly rely on external forces to refine their body.

Those who possess a spiritual embryo will have the spiritual embryo absorb the effects of the medicine and transmit them to their limbs and bones.

No need for physical training; the body can become stronger simply by taking drugs.

The pseudo-spiritual embryo cannot transmit the effects of the Qi-opening pill throughout the body, so it needs to rely on external stimulation through body-refining methods.

This process was painful and torturous.

Many people can't even stick to daily exercise, let alone engage in excruciatingly painful physical training.

Even more disheartening is that many people with pseudo-spiritual embryos spend a lot of money to buy the Qi-opening pills, and after taking them, they insist on practicing their bodies every day, but in the end, they may only be able to open two or three acupoints.

Despite all that effort, I'm only a little stronger and physically better than the average person.

Only those who enter the first realm can be considered true cultivators! They are worlds apart from ordinary people!

As a powerful expert of the eighth realm, Xiang Yan had just secretly scanned Medicine Mountain with his divine sense and discovered that Chu Huaixu's nine orifices were completely blocked.

One cycle of internal energy circulation takes about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

It's so tightly blocked, how can it be cleared?
The betting game officially began.

The great cultivators in the main hall spread their divine senses to perceive the current situation of Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.

"Oh, this little girl has already successfully broken through her cultivation meridians!" Nangong Yue smiled. "It seems she can't wait to start cultivating."

Meanwhile, Chu Huaixu had just finished reading the booklet and calmly spread out the jade slip, preparing to cultivate the "Sword Refining Technique".

The main hall was completely silent. Everyone closed their eyes and patiently sensed with their divine senses.

Not long afterward, everyone opened their eyes at the same time, their faces showing disbelief.

Because Chu Huaixu's first orifice had actually opened.

And it only took three breaths.

(End of this chapter)