Chapter 36: The Crushed Dao Heart of Hu Chen

“What? A ghost is crawling on my back?”

Guan Zhong, his expression blank and face weary, jumped up like a startled frog, spinning wildly to look behind and slap at his back.

He kept shouting, “I’ve burned you so many spirit cashes already—why aren’t you picking up the money? Why bother me?”

Xiao Yu laughed at his foolish spinning, saying, “The ghosts saw you burning spirit cash—they know you’re an endless mountain of gold and silver. Clever ghosts naturally want to cling to your leg.”

“Miss Yu, don’t joke like this… There really is a ghost behind this old servant? Are you teasing me?”

Guan Zhong’s face was drawn with distress, his eyes still hopeful, clinging to the thought that Xiao Yu was merely jesting.

“There really is a ghost on your back—I can’t see it clearly, only a dark, blurry shadow.”

Xiao Yu herself was slightly puzzled; seeing the ghostly shadows, she felt not the slightest fear.

Had seeing the old ghost made her indifferent to the little ones?

Master Zhang was an old ghost, yet he seemed kinder and more approachable than any living person.

“Yu’er, you couldn’t see those ghostly shadows before, could you?” Hu Chen stepped forward and said.

“Before, I only felt cold winds swirling through the courtyard,” Xiao Yu replied.

Hu Chen turned to Guan Zhong and activated his Immortal’s gaze; three-zhang beams of golden light lit up the courtyard like a thousand-watt incandescent bulb.

“Whirrrrrr~~~” The golden light swept everywhere, and the ghostly shadows fled in panic.

“Enough. Forget the wandering spirits drawn by the night offerings—now not a single dark ghost remains in Hengsha Pass.”

Guan Zhong exhaled deeply, his whole body relaxing. “Master, your divine power is unmatched—I truly feel much lighter now, my mind clearer. It seems I was indeed targeted by an evil entity.”

Hu Chen turned again to Xiao Yu and mused, “The Immortal’s True Transmission slightly damaged your soul—when the spirit is weak, evil invades, so you faintly sensed the malevolent presence.”

You need not fear—they cannot harm you.

Hmm, the less afraid you are of them, the less power they have over you.”

He then turned to Guan Zhong and said, “Starting tomorrow, prepare two bowls of Warm Spirit Soup for the young lady each morning and evening.”

Xiao Yu finally felt the true toll of her incomplete soul.

Beyond mental weakness and seeing unclean things, she now struggled to sleep.

Lying in bed, exhausted as she was, she simply could not fall asleep.

Unable to sleep, she grew more exhausted; her heart burned hot, discomfort deepened, and sleep grew even more distant.

She nearly gave in and ran to the Eastern Garden to beg Hu Chen for the Shadow God Map.

Master Zhang, though not a true Immortal, possessed the “Immortal Painter’s Art” to bestow souls upon painted figures.

He effectively added an extra soul for Xiao Yu, rather than extracting spirit from her own soul to merge into the Shadow God Map.

Extracting spirit from the soul to merge into the map splits 100 parts into 99 and 1—99 remain with the person, 1 goes to the painted figure; but Immortal Awakening adds one extra part, making 101 total—100 unchanged, the extra one resides in the painted figure.

Both methods leave the soul incomplete.

To restore normalcy requires long-term rest and adjustment.

If the Shadow God Map is kept close, the symptoms of spiritual weakness are greatly alleviated.

Because Master Zhang awakened the “Painted Spirit,” Xiao Yu can draw spiritual energy from the map to strengthen her soul.

This is one of the true benefits of the legitimate Immortal’s True Transmission.

The true Immortal’s True Transmission has negligible side effects and can calm the spirit and solidify the soul.

“Immortal Awakening seems to share something in common with the Fierce Tiger Divine Intent of the Tiger Soul Seven Kill!”

Unable to sleep, Xiao Yu sank her consciousness into her Purple Palace and continued studying the Tiger Soul Seven Kill mantra.

“Immortal Awakening grants life to an inanimate object. The Fierce Tiger Divine Intent likewise imitates the fierce tiger to forge a tiger spirit.

But the Fierce Tiger Divine Intent is your own—you must split off a portion of your soul to replicate the true tiger spirit.

Yet fundamentally, both are creating another soul.”

“So is this what they mean—Three Thousand Great Daos, all leading to the same end?”

Unaware, Xiao Yu became utterly absorbed in studying the Fierce Tiger Divine Intent, then drifted into a drowsy sleep.

The next morning.

“Xia Zhi, tell the kitchen—one bowl of Warm Spirit Soup isn’t enough. At least two vats.”

When Xiao Yu woke, her spirit was not as strong as before, but still decent.

But when she began breakfast and drank the amber-colored paste—the Warm Spirit Soup—her eyes brightened and her heart pounded.

As soon as she swallowed it, though still uncertain of its healing effect on her incomplete soul, she immediately felt her Purple Palace—exhausted from last night’s intense cultivation—suddenly like parched earth drenched in rain, or an electric car plugged into a charger.

What did this mean?

The Purple Palace is like a human computer that deduces Dao methods, consuming mental and physical energy. Physical strength recovers easily—a bowl of Strong Bone Soup brings instant results—but spirit and soul can only be restored through rest.

Now, Strong Bone Soup replenishes essence, Warm Spirit Soup replenishes spirit—her Purple Palace could sustain prolonged operation.

“Miss, two vats of Warm Spirit Soup? Can you really drink that much? You still have two vats of Strong Bone Soup!” The maid Xia Zhi stared at her as if she were a pig demon.

Her Miss Yu was no “Medicine Person” who treated medicine like food.

Miss Yu drank plenty of medicine, yet never skipped meals—she ate with care, balanced meat and vegetables, had both soups and solids, and always finished with fruit and desserts.

Even eating fruit required a rainbow—she wanted all seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple.

Even Master Hu had fewer whims than she did.

“Xia Zhi, here’s my advice—don’t worry whether I can drink it until I start bleeding from the nose.” Xiao Yu lifted the bowl and drained the Warm Spirit Soup in one gulp.

“Zhang Lai is bleeding from the nose,” Yong Xue said.

“Zhang Lai? What happened to him?”

Yong Xue looked at her strangely and said, “You said cultivation requires bold, relentless progress, so you drink two vats of Strong Bone Soup daily.

He heard this, clenched his teeth, shouted, ‘I, Zhang Lai, am no weaker than anyone!’ and downed two large bowls of Strong Bone Soup in one go—his face turned crimson like a boiled shrimp, blood gushed from his nose, he went dazed, and still hasn’t recovered.”

“Miss is truly amazing,” she added at last.

“Miss is indeed amazing,” Xia Zhi nodded, fully agreeing.

They weren’t praising Miss Yu’s martial skill.

She did train—she’d seen her do backflips, tiger jumps, and wild punches and kicks.

Honestly… no wonder she was a barbarian.

But they truly admired Miss Yu’s eating power.

“Hehe, I’ve got even more amazing things yet.”

Xiao Yu put down her chopsticks, rinsed her mouth, then strode out of the courtyard.

When she found Hu Chen, he was practicing.

“Yu’er, your father will now demonstrate the Tiger Soul Seven Kill sword technique for you.”

Seeing Xiao Yu arrive, Hu Chen wasted no time—he immediately fulfilled his promise from last night, performing all forty-nine Tiger Soul Sword movements in sequence.

At first, Xiao Yu could clearly see Hu Chen’s movements—each strike sharp and fierce, like a mountain tiger pouncing on prey.

Hu Chen’s movements grew faster; in flashes of motion, she could only see his shadow.

Gradually, Hu Chen was wrapped in a swirling vortex of snow-white blade light—she could no longer see him, only a ball of radiant snow rolling, floating, leaping, and spinning across the courtyard…

Xiao Yu’s lips turned white, her eyes strained wide, desperately trying to memorize his movements—but she was powerless.

—It’s just forms. Merely the simplest element among heart, spirit, intent, qi, and body—how could it be harder than the mantra?

The mantra…

A flash of insight struck Xiao Yu—she closed her eyes and entered the state of the Fierce Tiger Divine Intent.

“Roar, roar, roar~~~”

The blade’s howls circling Hu Chen, tearing through the air, transformed into the roars of a fierce tiger.

Gradually, the tiger’s roars fell into clear rhythm and cadence.

She could easily distinguish them, keep pace, even feel effortlessly at ease.

Then Xiao Yu opened her eyes again—still unable to see each of Hu Chen’s movements—but a look of sudden understanding and ease spread across her face.

Why must she see every single movement?

What difference does it make whether she sees the feints that never target her vital points?

She couldn’t see his individual strikes—but she saw his blade’s momentum with perfect clarity.

In her eyes, Hu Chen’s image changed again.

From a swirling snowball of blades, he became a tiger leaping and darting across the ground.

No matter how the tiger moved, its core always lay in three points: tail, mouth, claws.

Hu Chen’s countless sword strikes ultimately merged into seven killing methods using the tiger’s tail, fangs, and claws.

The Seven Kill’s essence was the soul of these seven methods.

Xiao Yu had already grasped the soul of the forms—now, watching Hu Chen demonstrate, though she still couldn’t see his movements, she no longer needed to.

He used countless movements to form one momentum: tiger biting, tiger swiping, tiger lashing…

Just as ordinary people cannot see the countless mechanical and electronic parts inside a Gundam robot, yet clearly understand the robot’s overall motion.

Hu Chen’s movements were the countless internal parts of the “Fierce Tiger Gundam”; the true effect of his strikes—the blade momentum—was the Gundam’s punch and kick.

Ordinary people were merely one of the countless parts inside the “Fierce Tiger Gundam,” seeing only the motion of the parts before them.

Xiao Yu had transcended the physical (form) level—her soul had ascended to a higher perspective, ignoring appearances to perceive essence.

“Yu’er, how do you feel? What insights? What did you see?”

After roughly one incense stick’s time, Hu Chen sheathed his blade—shifting instantly from maximum speed to absolute stillness, sweat beading only on his forehead, not even breathing hard.

Xiao Yu admired his physical endurance…

Perhaps the effect of his breathing technique?

Watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, she fell into thought.

“Father’s blade technique is superb; my heart sees it clearly, while my eyes and hands lag a myriad miles behind.”

“The heart sees it clearly, while the eyes and hands lag a myriad miles behind...”

Huchen lowered his head, chewing over her words, and a flash of insight lit up within him: she could perceive fully his blade’s momentum and intent.

Her realm is higher than I thought!

“Excellent—‘the heart sees it clearly’! Xiao Yu, you are a rare martial genius. Though you have not yet learned the cultivation methods or breath control, you have already grasped the essence of the Tiger Soul Seven Kill.”

You have already broken through the hardest barrier in cultivating the Tiger Soul Seven Kill.

Merely in terms of ‘spirit’ and ‘intent,’ you are already ready to graduate... yet you only encountered the Tiger Soul Seven Kill yesterday.

Sigh... this is truly...”

—Truly a talent that would drive others to despair!

Huchen even felt the urge to throw his precious blade into the latrine and never wield a sword again—never even look at one.

“Father, you flatter me. I don’t even know the cultivation methods or breath control—how could I graduate? I haven’t even entered the door yet; I must continue learning from you,” Xiao Yu said earnestly.

Huchen sighed: “I have cultivated the Tiger Soul Seven Kill for forty years. Before I turned thirty, I could only see the forms and movements, and I pursued only sharpness and speed in technique.”

At thirty-one, after swallowing a Bodhi seed, I entered a state of sudden enlightenment and for the first time saw what you saw today—an endless stream of forms passing through my mind, forgotten instantly, leaving only a ferocious tiger roaring to the heavens.”

That is the first secret of the Seven Kill: Tiger Roar Blade.

Now, at forty-three, after consuming countless celestial treasures and medicinal herbs, I have finally raised my Tiger Soul Seven Kill to the fifth level—having comprehended five secrets.

Tiger Roar Blade, Sky-Rending Blade, Tiger Devour Blade, Tiger Tail Blade, Ghost-Slaying Blade.

I have yet to touch the sixth level, Soul-Shattering Blade, or the seventh, Pride-of-the-Immortals Blade.

And you...”

He stared at her steadily, “Have you already mastered all seven secrets? Has your spirit and intent reached perfect completion?”