Chapter 1102: Eh, you can't see it?

"Is that so?"

As soon as these words were spoken, an invisible giant seemed to emerge behind Xu Xiaoshou.

His aura no longer needed time to build; instead, it surged to its peak in the brief moment his gaze shifted.

The majestic aura carried an incredibly sharp and piercing sword intent, radiating outward from him and causing those nearby to feel a sudden jolt, as if pricked by needles, making their hair stand on end.

In the next second, it vanished like an illusion, retracted back into Xu Xiaoshou's body.

At the same time, his pupils dilated sharply, with sword intent converging within them, transforming into two dim, shadowy swords.

"Gui Qian!"

Xiao Kong Dong's narrow eyes widened to their fullest, unable to believe that Xu Xiaoshou had completed the condensation of "Gui Qian" in an instant.

No matter how much he doubted it...

What he saw was that the small swords in Xu Xiaoshou's pupils were identical to his own.

This was clearly a fully formed version, mature as if honed by years of experience—a thoroughly developed "Gui Qian"!

"This..." Mei Si Ren was stunned.

He could understand the success of "Zhao Ling," given Xu Xiaoshou's inherently strong spirit and soul.

But condensing "Gui Qian"—was that something achievable in a single try?

No attempts needed?

No failures?

No fumbling around to find the right path by trial and error before succeeding?

In that moment, Mei Si Ren's mind flashed with images of Ba Zun An and Hua Chang Deng.

In the path of Gui Jian Shu, such keen talent was rare; aside from those two and now Xu Xiaoshou, even the legendary You Tu from back in the day hadn't achieved such rapid mastery.

"How could this be..." Gui Po was deeply shaken.

She couldn't discern the exact power contained in Xu Xiaoshou's "Gui Qian."

But based solely on her intuition and the reactions of Mei Si Ren and Xiao Kong Dong, it all pointed to one conclusion—Xu Xiaoshou had achieved success in one fell swoop!

He was a once-in-a-generation genius, a talent born for ancient sword cultivation.

"I can't wait any longer..."

Earlier, she had dismissed the idea, not believing Xu Xiaoshou could master Gui Jian Shu overnight. But now, her sixth sense told her...

Right here, tonight!

Right before her eyes!

It was even possible that Xu Xiaoshou had already mastered the first realm of Gui Jian Shu, "Yu Hun Gui Shu."

But...

"Even if I can't wait, I have to."

Despite her desperate urge to eliminate Xu Xiaoshou before he grew stronger, with Mei Si Ren and Xiao Kong Dong standing guard nearby as his protectors, Gui Po had no choice. She had to wait until Xu Xiaoshou fully mastered Gui Jian Shu and faced her in a fair fight to resolve the situation.

"There's still a chance, don't rush..."

"The deal isn't done yet. Mei Si Ren said this is just two of the three major thresholds for learning Gui Jian Shu..."

"That's right, just a threshold!" Gui Po nodded vigorously, trying to console herself internally. "Nothing more!"

The long street under the night sky fell abruptly silent for over ten breaths after Xu Xiaoshou successfully condensed "Gui Qian" in his pupils.

Mei Si Ren's emotions were stirred; he truly felt like he had discovered a treasure!

Earlier, when he compared Xu Xiaoshou to Ba Zun An and aimed to cultivate a student capable of rivaling You Tu's lineage, it was just a simple thought.

Now, he believed...

People should dare to dream and dare to act!

"It's done." The old sword immortal spoke through gritted teeth, his tone unable to remain as calm as usual.

"It's done." Xu Xiaoshou nodded.

"Then try mobilizing the sword intent within your 'Gui Qian' and, using the 'Chuan Dao' I taught you earlier, transmit it to the 'Ling' you just summoned. Attempt to control them."

Pausing, Mei Si Ren smiled faintly and tapped his paper fan.

"This requires strong control. You'll need to first learn 'One Heart Two Uses,' then expand to 'One Heart Many Uses.' You'll also have to practice 'Chuan Dao' more seriously. In short, don't let it disrupt your own actions... uh, movements..."

Mei Si Ren trailed off.

Because before he could finish, the "Gui Qian" in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes lit up, and the dense swarm of "Ling" on the long street seemed to respond, each one glowing with tiny shadowy swords.

That wasn't all.

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled lightly and twisted his hand in the void...

"Combine!"

The countless controlled "Ling" moved as if they were extensions of his will, converging in the night and forming an enormous "light fan" over ten zhang high.

As the light fan unfolded, the spirit points above rearranged and formed two large characters:

"Just this."

After the characters, that highly spirited "fan" even bobbed and floated gently.

Mei Si Ren gripped his folding fan tightly, finally unable to suppress his shock.

It wasn't frightening that Xu Xiaoshou could manipulate "Ling"; what was frightening was that he was manipulating so many at once!

Countless, numbering in the millions. Even if these "Ling" lacked intelligence and didn't resist, the mental and soul energy drain on a person would be terrifying.

Oh, wait...

Xu Xiaoshou was the one who could perform the Heart Sword Technique "Mu Xia Shen Fo" three times in a row without any depletion—his mental energy was perpetually full. So, that changed things.

Mei Si Ren's mouth hung open, speechless for a long time.

Clap, clap, clap...

From the side, applause rang out. Xiao Kong Dong shifted his gaze from the light fan, quickly glanced at Mei Si Ren's paper fan, then back to Xu Xiaoshou, shaking his head in admiration. "You've got some real skills, kid."

Gui Po, lurking behind, was already pale as a ghost in her soul form.

As someone who cultivated the soul path, she could instantly tell how immense the cost was for Xu Xiaoshou's technique of manipulating millions of "Ling."

If it were her, she doubted she could do it!

It had nothing to do with spiritual energy reserves; attempting to control so many at once would drain her mental energy in an instant, depleting her soul power to the brink, forcing her to rely on elixirs to survive.

But Xu Xiaoshou... didn't even need elixirs!

"Is he a monster?"

"He must have devoured a massive amount of Taixu souls, or perhaps he's been practicing soul-strengthening methods for years; otherwise, he couldn't handle this kind of consumption..."

Gui Po's eyes flickered, and she even entertained the idea of seizing Xu Xiaoshou's body.

A perfect vessel—flawless in every way!

She was just lacking a body like this.

Unfortunately, as before, she could dare to think but not act...

Xu Xiaoshou cheerfully watched as this move triggered a series of passive value notifications, regretting that there weren't more people around to witness his moment of glory and gain more from it.

These things were difficult for others, but for him, they were simple.

With his "Textile Mastery" at the throne level, techniques of divided control were second nature.

As for consumption... don't even joke. With "Transformation," "Everlasting Vitality," and "Full of Energy," the cost of this move was less than one percent of performing "Mu Xia Shen Fo." It was just child's play.

"Teacher, what's the third step?" Xu Xiaoshou looked toward Mei Si Ren.

Teacher!

This word pulled Gui Po, still lost in shock, back to reality.

"So, Seven Sword Immortal Mei Si Ren is really Xu Xiaoshou's teacher... He admitted it himself, so it must be true... When did this happen? No wonder even Xiao Kong Dong is protecting him... Mei Si Ren and Sheng Nu..."

Gui Po's thoughts raced, eventually sinking into despair, afraid to ponder further.

Now, she only hoped Mei Si Ren would stop teaching and Xu Xiaoshou would stop learning.

If they continued, they'd have their fun, but she'd be done for!

"The third step..." Mei Si Ren took a deep breath. "The so-called third step, you've already demonstrated it. You've learned it."

"Ah?" Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled.

Mei Si Ren stepped forward a few paces, casually dispelling the sparse "Ling" he had summoned. His skill in Gui Jian Shu wasn't his strength, and he hadn't even noticed the abundance of "Ling" that Xu Xiaoshou had found here. He sighed and said:

"The entry trilogy of Gui Jian Shu is 'Zhao Ling,' 'Gui Qian,' and 'Yi Shi.'

"Mastering these three steps means you qualify to cultivate Gui Jian Shu... Well, for most people, this is extremely difficult, possibly taking years or even decades to get the feel for it."

"To advance further in this path and achieve the first realm, 'Yu Hun Gui Shu,' you need to keep trying, summarizing experiences, like honing a sword. Step by step, through repeatedly using Gui Jian Shu, you feed back soul power to temper your soul... strength..."

His voice grew weaker and finally stopped.

Mei Si Ren sighed inwardly: But with your soul strength, kid, you probably don't need any more tempering.

So, he skipped all the follow-up basics and went straight to the advanced part.

"Xu Xiaoshou, remember this!"

"The ordinary 'Gui Qian' you can use freely, as they can be recycled at any time. But for true Gui Jian cultivators, there's a powerful variant: 'Hong Zi Gui Qian'!"

As Mei Si Ren spoke, his eyes sharpened, and the dim swords in them dissipated, condensing into a illusory miniature blood sword at his brow.

"This is 'Hong Zi Gui Qian'!"

"It allows you to form a 'contract' to control a powerful, favored 'Hun Ling' for an extended period, making it serve you for life."

"But condensing 'Hong Zi Gui Qian' is extremely difficult. It requires stripping a piece of your soul flesh, using soul essence blood as the base, combined with various auxiliary methods, plus integrating 'Jian Yi,' 'Chi Ling,' and 'Contract Force' in three ways..."

Once again, Mei Si Ren stopped mid-sentence.

Because he saw the dim swords in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes suddenly vanish, and at his brow, a crimson glow condensed into a blood-red miniature sword.

In that instant, Mei Si Ren, Xiao Kong Dong, and Gui Po all lost their words, disheveled by the night wind.

Gui Po was completely numb, dumbfounded and speechless.

Where was the "extremely difficult" part? Where were the "auxiliary methods"?

Mei Si Ren hadn't even finished explaining the method, and Xu Xiaoshou, how did you just succeed?

Are you sick?

Stop teaching! Stop learning!

Seriously, are you two messing with me? You must have taught and learned this already, right?

Xiao Kong Dong quickly stepped forward, almost face-to-face, sensing the blood-red sword at Xu Xiaoshou's brow. He then turned, stunned, and nodded silently to Mei Si Ren.

At this moment, he believed Mei Si Ren must have taught Xu Xiaoshou this during their Heart Sword Technique lessons.

The successful condensation of "Hong Zi Gui Qian" meant "Yu Hun Gui Shu," the first realm of Gui Jian Shu, was within reach... Xu Xiaoshou started at the peak; he wasn't being arrogant at all!

Did I already teach it? When did that happen? Mei Si Ren almost scratched his head but ended up half-raising his paper fan and forcefully lowering it.

He nearly convinced himself he'd repeated the lesson, but quickly realized that wasn't right—his memory wasn't that faulty.

He clearly hadn't taught it!

"You..." Mei Si Ren opened his mouth.

"Call it enlightenment." Xu Xiaoshou smiled, too lazy to explain.

Mei Si Ren's description had given him the method.

And truth be told, the knowledge in "Jian Shu Jing Tong" was comprehensive; it really included techniques like "Peel Soul," "Chi Ling," and "Contract."

In the past, Xu Xiaoshou just couldn't figure out why "Jian Shu Jing Tong" had such strange elements.

Now, he suddenly understood—it was enlightenment in the truest sense.

Mei Si Ren suddenly felt taking this disciple was no fun at all. He hadn't experienced any joy of being a mentor or guiding the way; it was all frustration, nothing but frustration.

He clicked his tongue silently, gently blowing back the stray hairs at his temple, and emotionlessly continued:

"'Hong Zi Gui Qian' takes effort to condense... well, but using it consumes a lot of mental and soul energy."

"Even though you're strong in that area, if you use it to control a powerful 'Hun Ling,' you might still get drained in an instant. Keep that in mind; I won't elaborate."

Dismissing what needed caution for most but was trivial for Xu Xiaoshou, Mei Si Ren went on:

"A person's energy has limits, no matter how fast it recovers. So, some people can only control one powerful 'Hun Ling' in a lifetime; even with higher limits, it's hard to exceed the count of a hand."

"Thus, 'Hong Zi Gui Qian' is precious and shouldn't be used on ordinary 'Hun Ling.' It's non-recyclable."

Pacing two steps, Mei Si Ren gripped his paper fan and dissolved the "Hong Zi Gui Qian" at his brow back into an ordinary "Gui Qian."

He was a prime example.

To this day, he hadn't found a "Hun Ling" that moved him and was worthy of "Hong Zi Gui Qian."

So, every time he used "Yu Hun Gui Shu," he opened "Di Yu Zhi Men" to control ordinary souls.

"Those 'Hun Ling' suitable for combat are, first, powerful cultivators from life whose obsessions were too strong, leaving their will intact upon death to become malevolent spirits."

"Second, great demons or exotic beasts, but only those with extremely powerful soul energy—these are rare in the current era... I can open 'Di Yu Zhi Men' for you later to help find a top-quality 'Hun Ling.'"

"Third..."

As he said this, an image flashed in his mind of Xu Xiaoshou going berserk and desecrating the corpse of Xie Lao. Mei Si Ren stopped and said, "Just these two."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't even consider the first two options. He turned and pointed at Gui Po, asking softly, "Can I directly control 'people'?"

Gui Po:

Are you being polite?

Mei Si Ren and Xiao Kong Dong's expressions changed immediately.

That was the "third" one!

But any normal person would only think of that after studying Gui Jian Shu for a while, right?

Xu Xiaoshou... this kid... he's really not normal!

"Received fear, passive value +1."

"Received scorn, passive value +2."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't need a response; from Mei Si Ren and Xiao Kong Dong's reactions, he knew that while ordinary Gui Jian Shu might not work, once he reached "Yu Hun Gui Shu," it absolutely could.

What a twisted and overbearing sword technique! The nine great sword arts each have their wonders!

Before the three could panic, Xu Xiaoshou laughed and said, "Just asking, won't actually try it. Relax, Granny, I don't want to waste my precious 'Hong Zi Gui Qian.'"

Gui Po's heart split in two—one half in pain, hearing how powerful Gui Jian Shu was; the other in humiliation. Me, Gui Po—you think I'm not good enough?

"It's pretty good, isn't it? Way better than you, Granny!" Suddenly, Xu Xiaoshou's gaze shifted to behind Gui Po, and he pointed excitedly, as if he'd spotted a treasure.

Whoosh—Mei Si Ren and Xiao Kong Dong followed his gaze, but saw only empty air.

Gui Po felt a chill rush over her, her skin prickling, because her spiritual sense detected nothing.

She whipped around...

Behind her, nothing at all!

"Huh?" Xu Xiaoshou raised his brows, touching his nose uncertainly. "You guys, can't see it?"