Now, the temptation in front of Lin Luoran is not only the ability to ride on a sword, but also the chance of getting out of this valley.
Looking at the Sword of Bright Snow in Lin’s hand, the White Fairy shows a faint sense of yearning. During her long life, except for all the fighting, she has done a lot of things to tempt others. She has seen too many talented cultivators, and none of them can resist the temptation of spells and magic weapons.
Therefore, the White Fairy is confident. She doesn’t feel anxious anymore because she believes that this junior here must be anxious sick.
The fairy puts on a stunning smile with a little bit of restraint, but mostly, she is wearing the dominant arrogance of a previous high-level cultivator.
Lin Luoran thinks for a while and stands up from the grass. She looks at the fairy and says, “Alright, your proposal is indeed attractive. I am tempted… Fairy, what is your requirement in exchange?”
The White Fairy claps her hands, which actually makes a sound. How can her essence do that? Perhaps she makes use of the friction of wind in the air?
“My requirement is simple. Take me out of the valley.”
That’s it? Out of the valley? Lin Luoran frowns. The deep valley is a problem for her, a junior cultivator in the level of Training Qi, but can it trap this fairy who doesn’t have a body?
The White Fairy seems to see through Lin’s hesitation. She points to the round stone under her feet and explains, “Years ago, I was set up by some villains. My body was destroyed and my essence was severely hurt. Part of my essence managed to escape into this valley and was gathered by this Soul Stone so that I could prolong my last gasp. However, I am also trapped by it. I’m stuck with the stone and can’t go anywhere away from it…”
Speaking of this, the White Fairy smiles bitterly, “Even if I can break the imprisonment of the Soul Stone, without any protection, the strong wind in this valley will definitely tear my essence apart.”
Lin Luoran is silenced by these words. She is not sure how many of these words are true. Nevertheless, if the fairy is telling the truth, it is indeed miserable for her essence to be trapped here for over a thousand years.
“Fairy, with all due respect, can I ask you a question?”
The White Fairy will absolutely not lower her attitude and make such a long conversation with Lin Luoran if she doesn’t need Lin’s help. Now that she has said things which should and should not be said, it’s ok to answer another question. The fairy nods.
Lin Luoran hesitates for a few seconds and asks, “Before you ended up here, Fairy, what is your level of cultivation? Also, what is the story behind the disappearance of cultivators in the level of Gathering Vitality?”
The fairy was expecting this question. She pauses. She hasn’t thought about the past for a long time. It should be the third year of the reign of Queen Wu of Zhou.
“Before the incident happened to me, I never heard of the disappearance of cultivators in the level of Gathering Vitality. This should happen after I was hurt… It was the third year of the reign of Queen Wu of Zhou. You must have heard of her. A junior cultivator named Wu Mei’er in the Joy School ran to the mortal world to be a queen on the spur of the moment, which was a big joke in the world of cultivation… I am sure that I never heard of the disappearance of high-level cultivators because I was in the later stage of Gathering Vitality before I was set up. If high-level cultivators had decided to go somewhere together, I would have been informed. So, junior, I can’t give you the answer to the question.”
The later stage of Gathering Vitality? Lin Luoran takes a deep breath because she has underestimated the White Fairy before. Thank god the fairy only has part of her essence and she needs help, or else the situation may get more difficult.
“Senior, is it possible that only cultivators above the level of Gathering Vitality can receive the message?” Lin Luoran pursues. She doesn’t understand why she is so interested in the mysterious disappearance of cultivators. Perhaps those seniors knew that the Tao of nature would decline, and they predicted the downfall of the world of cultivation on earth so they migrated to another place, or, something had happened and they had to leave… Anyway, Lin Luoran is sure that as she goes further on the path of cultivation, the whereabouts of those seniors will become more important to herself.
The White Fairy bursts out laughing, “Cultivators above the level of Gathering Vitality? I spent 600 years on cultivating myself from the level of Training Qi to Gathering Vitality. Since I entered the world of cultivation, I had never seen anybody break through the level of Gathering Vitality and enter Divinization! People say that once you enter the level of Divinization, you will be free of limitations among spaces and fly up to heaven. No one can know for a fact where those divinized cultivators have gone if they ever exist.
Free of limitations among spaces and fly up to heaven? Lin Luoran clenches her fists. This state is unreachable for her right now, and she may as well live in the moment!
“Fairy, shall I start to learn the Sword-riding Spell?”
The White Fairy checks on Lin Luoran from head to feet and nods, “My essence is hurt, and I can’t see what nature your Taoist root is. Since you are able to make a crappy water curtain, you must have the nature of water, which may be enough to help you ride on the sword.”
The fairy raises her hand and points to Lin Luoran. A flash of bright light drills into Lin Luoran’s head at high speed. A piece of information written in classical Chinese suddenly appears in her mind. Lin realizes that this is the so-called “Sword-riding Spell”.
“Just read it up by yourself.” The White Fairy says. Perhaps she has used too much energy to show up in this ghostly form, the fairy then changes into smoke and disappears under the round stone.
Lin Luoran sits down casually on the grass. She leaves 10% of her spirit to stay alert against those deer-horses and rabbits and concentrates on reading this not-so-obscure classical Chinese prose.
“Sword is a weapon. It can be made from metal and wood, and it needs to be fired…” The preface introduces the ranking system of sword-riding and common materials to make flying swords, as well as some basic skills to refine weapons.
The following paragraph is the actual Sword-riding Spell, which contains the magic circle carved on the Bright Snow and the method to activate and control it.
By contrast, the preface not only opens the door of sword-riding for Lin Luoran, but also gives her a systematic understanding on weapon refinement, which is the most valuable part.
Lin Luoran feels that she is surfing on waves. She absorbs knowledge like whale drink water. Lin Luoran doesn’t want to leave out anything. The prose has over ten thousand words and it is written in classical Chinese. Still, Lin Luoran remembers everything by repeated reading — the White Fairy inputs these words into Lin’s head with a flash of light, which is convenient. However, Lin feels insecure because she doesn’t work for it. She believes that she must memorize these words so she will never forget.
There are days and nights in the secret land, which is quite strange because the land is hidden under the sea. Anyway, it must have its own laws.
Lin Luoran wakes up from her meditation and finds that the night is falling. The valley is deathly quiet, but the chirps of insects add some vitality to this night.
Lin Luoran opens her eyes and stares at the round stone with mixed emotions. Under the moonlight, dews on the grass are adorable. The round stone is still. Where can she find the White Fairy?
Lin lowers her eyes and recalls the Sword-riding Spell and the introduction on weapon refinement. She is not sure what the White Fairy really wants to do by sending her such a great “gift”.