The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 159 - 158: Sword Drawing Technique

Chapter 159: Chapter 158: Sword Drawing Technique

Xie Jiuniang arrived at the Sect Affairs Hall and exchanged for the items she needed.

The Inner Sect also had a Battle Peak, and there was a Power Ranking on it, too.

Xie Jiuniang did not go to watch the excitement.

Actually, the slots were almost certainly determined by this time.

Just as she returned, she encountered Qiao Shiyun.

To say "encountered" might not be entirely accurate, Xie Jiuniang suspected she was deliberately waiting for her, and she approached proactively with a polite greeting.

"Qiao Third Sister, what a coincidence!"

"It’s no coincidence, Yuanxi, I’ve been waiting here for you on purpose."

"May I know what matter Qiao Third Sister seeks me out for?"

"It’s like this, regarding the slot for the Lu Yuan Secret Realm, can you transfer it to me? I will compensate you accordingly," Qiao Shiyun said in a gentle tone, speaking softly and gently.

With an apologetic tone, Xie Jiuniang replied, "I’m sorry, Qiao Third Sister, I can’t give you this slot."

She did not state her reasons, nor did she seek excuses, simply openly refusing.

At such a time, making excuses would only seem more hypocritical.

Seeing her resolute attitude, Qiao Shiyun realized that the matter would not succeed, "Then it’s nothing, I will think of other methods."

If it weren’t for Xie Jiuniang, the slot this time would have definitely fallen to her, as both her senior brothers had already achieved Core Formation.

This time, her master had not consulted her and directly gave the slot to Uncle Chaoyan, the reason being that the secret realm slots previously under the uncle’s name had all gone to his and her siblings’ benefit.

This was also why she hoped Uncle Chaoyan would not take on disciples.

Xie Jiuniang thought Qiao Shiyun would persist or continue to persuade her to transfer the slot, but Qiao Shiyun did not. After realizing that it would not work on her, she left decisively.

She returned to her cave dwelling on Zhengyang Peak.

There was still some time before the Sect set off. After secluding for two days, Xie Jiuniang organized her Storage Ring.

She exchanged items that were unnecessary for the Secret Realm into a Storage Bag, stored it in her dwelling, and had Xie Xu take some resources useful to her parents to the Sect Market for her Second Uncle to deliver to the family.

During this period, she met with Xie Si Niang and the siblings of the Bai Family once and knew they were doing quite well, so she didn’t pay further attention.

And suddenly, she was idle again.

Xie Jiuniang stayed reclusive in her dwelling once more.

Every day, if she was not meditating and cultivating, she was crafting various Jade Talismans or practicing Soul Arts, occasionally even practicing the techniques taught by Chaoyan.

The Jian Lingyan’s child-like voice complained, "Dog owner, you have me as a Sword Spirit, but is it really okay not to learn swordsmanship properly?"

"I have been learning, haven’t you seen?"

Xie Jiuniang immediately performed a set of Sect’s basic swordsmanship that she had learned in a previous life.

The Jian Lingyan was so infuriated that its sword body quivered, almost going into seclusion.

"Don’t be mad, don’t be mad, I remember Lord Guangluo once gifted a Sword technique, didn’t he?" Xie Jiuniang searched in the corner and finally found the dust-covered Jade Slip, "Where did all this dust come from in here? How come it looks a bit like Spirit Stones have been..."

"Dog owner, don’t wrong me!"

Jian Lingyan bristled, defending forcefully but with less conviction.

Xie Jiuniang looked on with disdain, "So guilty, is that not an admission of guilt?"

"Evidence is key in these matters! How could I possibly steal Spirit Stones? Do I look like I lack a few stones?" Jian Lingyan protested with false bravado.

"Alright, alright, I’ve wronged you," Xie Jiuniang responded perfunctorily.

Over the years, Jian Lingyan had developed a little hobby of sneaking a few Spirit Stones whenever she wasn’t paying attention.

The little guy looked especially funny skulking around, so Xie Jiuniang just took it as a joke and didn’t mind the missing Spirit Stones.

After all, it was stealing in high spirits, never daring to take too much for fear of getting caught. Even though its movements were so obvious, it remained overconfident in its stealth, always smugly pleased with itself.

Xie Jiuniang took out the Jade Slip of sword techniques.

Last time, her Foundation Establishment Divine Sense was unable to view the contents of the Jade Slip.

This time, with her Golden Core Divine Sense, she had not held much hope, but to her surprise, her Divine Sense broke through the seal and she directly saw the contents...

After a while, Xie Jiuniang came back to her senses, "Sword Drawing Technique? Just one move? Didn’t Lord Guangluo say this was a book of sword techniques... It seems now that even he was unaware of the content of the Jade Slip."

"What’s so strange about that? It is obtained by those who are fated," Jian Lingyan chimed in, secretly breathing a sigh of relief that its master hadn’t pursued the missing Spirit Stone issue.

Xie Jiuniang studied and repeated the move, and after a while, she was shocked.

It was an extremely powerful Sword Drawing Technique, a legacy from ancient times.

One move to defeat the enemy, one sword to shock the heavens.

When the sword is drawn, the enemy falls.

The more she studied and practiced, the more astonished Xie Jiuniang became. She asked Jian Lingyan about anything she didn’t understand.

Jian Lingyan might not understand other things, but it seemed to have an innate understanding of swordsmanship.

Merely by watching Jian Lingyan’s demonstration, it was able to perform the technique and told Xie Jiuniang about the essence of this sword move, which lies in the "drawing" of the sword to kill the enemy, emphasizing swiftness and the element of surprise.

Xie Jiuniang skipped the pondering part and practiced directly as Jian Lingyan demonstrated.

She practiced in the open space in front of her cave dwelling and after three months, she finally mastered the technique.

Before departing for the Lu Yuan Secret Realm, Chaoyan came to visit her once, giving her some life-saving items, and cautioned her extensively, such as how to avoid danger, to be measured in seizing opportunities, not to harbor any illusion of luck, and if fellow disciples were in danger, to lend a hand without compromising her own safety.

If the danger was too great, she was to escape first and foremost.

"Disciple, never again show such reckless courage," he said.

Chaoyan grew more worried as he spoke, remembering how on the night of Tianji Building’s downfall, his disciple had dared to confront a Divinity Transformation; he nagged her for a long time.

Jian Lingyan, seeing its canine master maintain a smile on the surface, felt hopelessly dejected inside, yet secretly chuckled with glee, asked in a childlike voice, "Master, do you need my help?"

"What would you help me with?" Xie Jiuniang countered.

"To stop your master from nagging you."

"My master is fine, let him nag if he wants to."

"Oh, the seal inside your master’s body has been lifted, and there’s a Vermilion Bird."

"Wow, I’ve never seen a Vermilion Bird..."

The sword spirit and her master chatted privately as Chaoyan continued his reminders upfront.

The Vermilion Bird, watching from the shadows, saw everything clearly but kept silent.

Not only did Jian Lingyan discover the presence of the Vermilion Bird, but the Vermilion Bird also noticed Jian Lingyan.

In a sense, both were a kind of Spiritual Body.

The Vermilion Bird Soul had not dissipated for countless years; it naturally had its extraordinary aspects. It was no surprise it noticed the existence of Jian Lingyan, especially the Contract Totem on the back of Xie Jiuniang’s hand. Even hidden by a wrist guard, it could not escape the Vermilion Bird’s scrutiny.

"Chaoyan, if you keep nagging without end, your disciple will get annoyed with you, acting like an old mother. This you can rest assured of, your disciple won’t be in danger in the Secret Realm. It’s others who should be worried..." whenever the Child of Destiny faces danger, it almost always turns into good fortune.

The Vermilion Bird didn’t voice the latter part.

Heavenly secrets must not be revealed; saying too much would lead to Heavenly Dao extinguishing it.

According to its original fate, it should have perished.

Now, it could hang on thanks only to the good fortune of the Child of Destiny.

Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird looked at Xie Jiuniang’s right hand, realizing that the fate of the sword spirit within should also have come to an end...