Borrowed Sword

Chapter 57: Storyteller

“Ah!!!” A heart-wrenching scream came from the adjacent room.

Chu Huaixu stood up from the meditation cushion with great satisfaction, even theatrically mimicking it in his own room: “Ah!”

Tormented to death and back by this “Painful Menstruation”, Old Chu now felt utterly exhilarated! The joy was so intense it made his scalp tingle!

“Feeling good, feeling good.” Chu Huaixu pushed open the door with a beaming smile, heading toward the Cold Pool.

Inside the small room, Xu Ziqing collapsed on the ground, dazed and devastated.

“This cultivation method is truly tormenting!”

His gaze fell upon the booklet, and he suddenly realized something.

“The two seniors mentioned on the first and second pages must have failed in their practice! That’s why they left behind such words!”

“This technique is too difficult and torturous. Only the third senior succeeded, thus leaving behind the four characters—Peerless Divine Skill!” Xu Ziqing started spiraling into self-made delusions, fabricating wildly.

Yet, it somehow all made logical sense.

He had now understood—if one couldn’t endure the pain and circulate energy through one full cycle, then all previous suffering would be in vain.

“No wonder Senior Brother told me to prepare myself mentally.” Once again, he felt his Senior Brother’s kindness.

Xu Ziqing, carrying the deep hatred of his family’s tragic death, now lived solely for revenge.

Gritting his teeth, he resumed his cultivation.

Chu Huaixu had upgraded by spending Experience Points as soon as he started, directly reaching entry-level mastery. Consequently, his pain threshold rose with it.

Xu Ziqing, having achieved nothing yet, had a normal human pain threshold, making it all the more unbearable.

《Sword Refining Art》was, in fact, the hardest to get started with! The vast majority of Body Training methods were like this.

The refined youth turned his ocean of hatred into strength, nearly fainting from pain, yet still persevered with grit.

At last, he successfully completed one full energy cycle, then collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Did... did I succeed?” A smile crept onto his face as he curled up on the ground, appearing a little pitiful.

Soon, the smile turned into a bitter one, because his acupoints didn’t budge at all and remained heavily blocked.

The path of cultivating a False Spirit Embryo was never going to be easy.

“As expected, I overestimated myself. I’m not some cultivation genius.” Xu Ziqing was defeated inside, his youthful edge further dulled by reality.

“Looks like I really am, just as Senior Brother said, a rookie.” He imitated Chu Huaixu’s phrasing, mocking himself softly.

At this thought, he pulled out the first Silk Pouch from his chest.

“Senior Brother said, after completing one full cycle, I could open the first Silk Pouch.” He was a bit curious—what clever strategy lay inside?

Upon opening it, the first thing that caught his eye were four bold characters, causing his pupils to constrict.

—“If you suck, practice more!”

......

......

On the other side, Chu Huaixu had already arrived beside the Cold Pool.

“The cold air is starting to rise again?” His expression turned grim.

Earlier, the cold energy in the pool had been absorbed by the Secret Realm, allowing him, at the Qi-Opening Stage, to reach the bottom of the pool.

Now that the cold air was regenerating, the time he had left grew shorter.

“I need to harvest all the Experience Points from the third stage before the cold gets worse!” Chu Huaixu thought to himself.

Seizing the moment, he leapt down.

The Water-Repelling Pearl activated once more, but he still felt a chill creeping in.

The deeper he went, the stronger that chill became.

Had it not been for his strong physique, he might truly have struggled with this bone-piercing cold.

Entering the Secret Realm, Chu Huaixu once again chose the Seventh Entrance.

Then, using the【Map】function, he navigated swiftly through the maze of the first stage.

Very quickly, he cleared it.

Arriving at the eleventh fork in the road, Chu Huaixu knew the illusion was ahead.

He walked forward, and with a single thought, the Black Small Sword that resonated with his heart gave a faint tremor.

In an instant, the surrounding illusion shattered violently—just like last time, cracks spread across the scene like a broken mirror.

A blinding light poured through the cracks, forcing his eyes shut.

When everything returned to normal, he was already standing on a clearing paved with Blue Stone Slabs.

“This is already the second time.”

“I can now confirm, the illusion is cleaved apart by the【Heart Sword】!”

“In that case, after seeing through the illusion, there must be another method to clear the second stage.”

“But... I just cleaved it apart in one strike?” Chu Huaixu speculated inwardly.

He closed his eyes and tried sensing the small sword in his Sea of Consciousness again.

It had just shown power moments ago, yet now appeared sickly and weak once more.

Chu Huaixu did not linger in that place, which might still carry Han Shuangjiang’s scent. He left the clearing directly.

He opened the Stone Door and entered the third stage.

Since no one was around, he planned to strip completely before taking the blade strikes.

“Can’t be ruining a set of robes every time, right?”

After jumping into the water, everything progressed just as Chu Huaixu had expected.

The suspended Stone Walls on either side dropped down, blocking the water current, turning the underground river back into a Water Pool.

The formation activated, and Water Blades swept in.

After a few slashes, Body Tempering Medicine Liquid began to flow from the four holes.

Chu Huaixu could clearly feel the Water Blades dealing less and less damage to him.

With one more acupoint opened, it meant he had succeeded in another round of body refinement—his Defensive Properties increased.

As for the residual pain, it wasn’t even worth mentioning anymore.

What disappointed him was the significantly slower Experience Point gain—reduced by more than half.

“The strengthening effect of the Body Tempering Medicine Liquid on muscles and bones is, after all, limited.”

“I guess I’m nearing its maximum benefit.”

Still, better than nothing.

Swimming around in a pool and getting stronger—what was there to complain about?

Half an hour passed quickly. Chu Huaixu alternated between backstroke and breaststroke... feeling very relaxed.

He didn’t take the Water Blades seriously at all.

Once they dissipated, he checked his gains this time.

“Not even half of what it used to be—only 850 Experience Points.”

“But together with the previous remainder, it’s just enough to reach level 8.” He was quite content.

Chu Huaixu climbed out of the water, put on his robes, then retrieved a Spirit Disk from his Storage Token and placed it on the Stone Pillar.

He pressed his palm against it, and the pointer turned to mark three.

The Stone Door opened, and he entered the secret chamber once more.

No system notification sounded, nor did he receive the【Pill King Token】as the dungeon clearance reward again.

“Looks like that 1000-point Experience Reward can’t be farmed repeatedly.”

“Can’t milk it!” Chu Huaixu was disappointed again.

For now, the only option was to backtrack and re-enter the dungeon, hoping to squeeze a bit more Experience Points from the third stage.

With that thought, he moved again.

......

......

Mirror Country, Imperial Capital, Red Sleeves Beckon.

Red Sleeves Beckon was a renowned brothel in the Imperial Capital. It was once an industry under the dual cultivation sect, Joyous Sect.

Now that Joyous Sect had been wiped out, Red Sleeves Beckon had changed ownership.

Although still a brothel, its business style had shifted.

For instance, at the central high platform, a Storyteller was energetically narrating tales.

In high-end venues, there was no shortage of people who fancied themselves cultured.

Of course, it helped that this Storyteller was truly skilled—his renditions of tales from the cultivation world were vivid and captivating.

When he finished, many in the outer hall gave him tips.

“You’re quite the storyteller. Only wish each session were longer,” said a Patron, still wanting more.

“Not too short, not too short.” The Storyteller smiled slightly and cupped his hands in thanks toward the tippers.

After stepping down from the stage, he found a seat in the corner of the outer hall.

His job was done. Soon, the girls would take the stage to dance.

The white-robed Storyteller took a mirror from his chest and earnestly inspected himself, brushing the two strands of dragon whisker-like fringe from his forehead.

Though average in looks and short in stature, he gazed into the mirror as if in a trance.

At the same table sat a burly man.

With dark, coarse skin and messy hair, he looked like a middle-aged farmer.

His fingernails, thick and deformed, suggested he was the kind who bit them over long years.

Looking helplessly at the mirror-obsessed Storyteller, he couldn’t help but ask:

“Little Martial Uncle, shouldn’t we be heading back to the sect soon?”