Chapter 91: Pear Fragrance Garden

"You actually mastered more than a dozen types of sword intent..." Hong Qu was stunned for a while before coming back to her senses. "And, you've also practiced internal energy?"

Xiao Yu nodded and sighed: "Sigh, no wonder they say 'Qi is the root' and 'Qi is the good medicine for strengthening the heart, spirit, intent, and body'; whether you have internal energy or not makes a huge difference.

Before, even though I mastered many types of sword intent, it was difficult to directly cash them in for powerful killing moves.

Now that I have internal energy, internal energy has become the 'body' that carries the sword intent.

Intent is the soul, Qi is the body; with soul and body, the sword Qi has spirituality like a living person."

The difficulty of practicing internal energy is far less than the cultivation of "heart, spirit, and intent," but "Qi" is the foundation of the extraordinary.

Without "Qi," no matter how strong the heart, spirit, and intent are, they cannot exert extraordinary power.

Even the divine intent itself needs "Qi" to display its power.

Before she had cultivated internal qi, Xiao Yu's physique was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person's; she could not possibly leap two zhang high, tread upon tree branches to soar, or swing a sword to release half a chi of sword qi.

Even if she added the fierce tiger divine intent to her sword moves, ordinary people without knowledge couldn't see the divinity.

Only in the soul state, facing ghosts and gods, could the realm of spirit and intent be perfectly exerted.

Now, anyone with eyes who saw the scene of her practicing sword just now would know she was an "expert."

"Internal energy is good, but the price is not small. Before, you didn't practice internal energy and only practiced divine intent, so there was still a bit of hope for the immortal path; now the 'clear water' has brewed tea leaves.

Once you step into the side path, it's hard to turn back," Hong Qu sighed.

"Do you think I can encounter an immortal opportunity in the Red Sleeve House?" Xiao Yu glanced at her, her tone complex. "Perhaps you still have a bit of hope that someone will come to save you.

But the person who comes to save you wouldn't split me to death with a casual sword; I'd have to kneel and thank them for not killing me.

If I want to survive in the Red Sleeve House and live happily and freely, I must practice immortal martial arts!

So, this is not a question of choice; there's simply no choice."

Hong Qu shook her head and said gloomily: "Perhaps I will eventually have to ask you for advice on the path of immortal martial arts."

She didn't say a sentence in her heart: simply practicing immortal martial arts and reaching the peak is only becoming a Human Immortal; I'm afraid it's difficult to obtain true happiness and freedom, like the Five Absolute Sword Maiden Li Manman.

Her father once told her personally that Li Manman's true strength was not weaker than his, even if she didn't have the name of "Human Immortal."

Yet Li Manman is still the "Five Absolute Sword Maiden" and the number one famous prostitute in Western Shu!

"What sword were you practicing just now? It seems every move possesses divine intent, yet it's not the *Tiger Soul Seven Kills* you mainly practice," she asked curiously.

Xiao Yu smiled proudly: "Your eye for martial arts is really not bad, even if you don't practice them."

*Tiger Soul Seven Kills* has seven great mysteries, and Guan Huchen comprehended five of them. When the Purple Mansion deduced the "Guan Huchen's Method of Destroying Law," it not only found all the flaws in the five great mysteries but also provided methods to break the moves.

For example, one of the seven great mysteries, "Tiger Roar Knife," can condense knife momentum.

The Purple Mansion deduced the move to break the knife momentum.

If the "Tiger Roar Knife" move is practiced with divine intent, it is called "Fierce Tiger Divine Intent"; the 'Tiger-Slaying' divine intent can also be practiced specifically to break the 'Tiger-Breaking Momentum.'

Thus, Xiao Yu not only mastered the "Fierce Tiger Divine Intent" which was at a higher realm than Guan Huchen's, but she now also practiced the Tiger-Slaying divine intent specifically to break the *Tiger Soul Seven Kills*.

The "illusions" Hong Qu saw before: roaring giants, arms waving axes, masked assassins, wind elves, a large net... were all the sword move divine intents of the "Tiger-Slaying Five Swords" and "Wind-Breaking Nine Swords" (which restrained the *Wind Yin Treasure Mirror*).

Xiao Yu's pride lay in the fact that she only used one night to endow the "Tiger-Slaying Sword" and "Wind-Breaking Sword" moves with souls, which was practicing the "sword intent" corresponding to the sword moves.

The Purple Mansion only provided the method to break the moves; practicing the moves to have divine intent relied on her own Kunpeng wisdom supernatural power.

The comprehension supernatural power combined with the "Great Father-Destroyer" truly became a "Godfather Killer."

"Although the *Tiger Soul Seven Kills* is good, I am no longer Guan's adopted daughter, so it's not appropriate to display the *Tiger Soul Seven Kills* publicly," Xiao Yu explained with a smile.

Hong Qu widened her phoenix eyes and said in disbelief: "Don't tell me that the sword moves and sword intent just now were all created by you yourself."

—Of course I created them myself; they are unique in the world!

Xiao Yu really wanted to show off.

"Of course they weren't thought up out of thin air. My godfather is the Immortal Eye Tiger, I experienced the Eight Immortals Shooting the Sun myself, and I followed Marquis Lieyang all the way from Flying Immortal Crossing; why would you think I only know the *Tiger Soul Seven Kills*?"

Yesterday, she also witnessed the ultimate techniques of more than a dozen Wu Lin bigwigs and obtained four martial arts manuals.

Xiao Yu had too many excuses.

Moreover, her excuses weren't excuses at all.

In two more days, she would be able to study the ultimate techniques of bigwigs like Xu Daho thoroughly.

Her new sword moves and sword intent would have clear shadows of the ultimate techniques of bigwigs like Xu Daho.

After all, yesterday she truly called them "Daddy."

They all responded, and then they all triggered the "Great Father-Destroyer."

Hong Qu said seriously: "You are really amazing; your talent for sword path is rare in my life.

Ordinary martial artists practice for a lifetime, mostly only having the form, unable to touch the 'spirit.'

Moves come easily to you, and spirit and intent are easily comprehended.

But you've taken the wrong path; martial arts should be refined, not numerous. Your sword intent is very strong, but it's too mixed."

Xiao Yu knew her knowledge was high, so she didn't argue, just asked curiously: "What will happen if it's too mixed?"

Hong Qu said: "Being too mixed not only wastes time and makes it impossible to strive for perfection and reach a higher realm, but it also wastes a huge amount of mental power.

I once heard Uncle Kong say that the 'intent' that endows moves with a soul is like a newly born chicken egg.

The 'chicken egg' is obviously not the end of life, but the beginning.

Above 'intent,' there are many more realms.

Each one is thousands of times more difficult than comprehending the initial 'intent.'

Although your talent is high, you only have a hundred years of lifespan, only one pot of 'clear water.'

The 'clear water' has also brewed tea.

Instead of wasting time dividing the 'tea water' into many small cups, it's better to focus on one cup and turn a cup of 'tea' into a cup of nectar, or even into a divine medicine or immortal elixir capable of changing one's fate and creating miracles."

Xiao Yu listened intently and asked hurriedly: "What are the sayings about the realms above 'divine intent,' and how can they be reached?"

"I don't know."

Seeing the doubt on Xiao Yu's face, Hong Qu said lightly: "If Uncle Kong could reach a higher realm, could you still ambush him?"

"Even if he doesn't eat pork, hasn't he seen a pig run?" Xiao Yu said.

"The realm above 'intent' is not a 'pig,' it's a phoenix, it's a qilin. As the saying goes, phoenix feathers and qilin horns are rare.

Have you seen a phoenix fly, or have you seen a qilin run?" Hong Qu said.

Xiao Yu patted the refined steel sword in her hand and sighed with a smile: "It seems I can only be the phoenix myself."

Breakfast was very ordinary: pickles, mixed grain porridge, and oil cakes.

It was not bad for ordinary families.

Xiao Yu saw little girls like Little Zi Ying and Little Du Juan eating very happily.

But she was a martial artist!

"Internal energy" needs to extract essence from the body and bloodline and transform it into "Qi."

To absorb "Qi" from the outside world to supplement oneself, one has to wait until the "True Origin Realm."

Xiao Yu had just practiced internal energy, and it was exactly the time when she needed internal supplementation.

"Zi Ying, the errand boy I told you about last night, did you help me find him?"

Zi Ying didn't send breakfast over, but just called them to the "dining hall" to eat together.

Because after breakfast, they had to go to the Pear Fragrance Garden for "class" and couldn't continue to stay in "Little Quiet Pavilion" to be lazy.

The dining hall couldn't be compared to the cafeteria of the past at all.

It was in a small room next to the kitchen, low and cramped, with dim light, less than thirty square meters, crowded with forty or fifty beauties, the youngest only two or three years old, still in their mother's arms, and the oldest in their early thirties.

There were "daughters" who hadn't been listed, and "girls" who were officially in business.

The daughters slurped their porridge, and their appetites were all very good.

The "girls" were either sleepy and dull, or talking excitedly about the dirty jokes they had personally experienced last night.

Not to mention a dance of demons, at least it was foul and smoky.

Fortunately, the atmosphere was not bad; there was no bullying or noise, and no one disturbed Xiao Yu.

At most, they used probing eyes to quietly look at her and Hong Qu and whisper.

"It was too late yesterday, and the gate of the front courtyard was locked. After the Aunties' classes are over in the morning, I'll take you to see Uncle Zhang," Zi Ying also had a good appetite.

Hong Qu finished an oil cake and a bowl of porridge, but she ate two large oil cakes!

"What kind of classes are there? Has Hong Qu been there before?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Hong Qu sister just arrived... Auntie Liu specifically told me last night to take Little Sister Little Fengxian and Hong Qu sister to the Pear Fragrance Garden together."

Xiao Yu was surprised to find that more than half of the girls and women eating in the dining hall had gone to the Pear Fragrance Garden.

The Pear Fragrance Garden was large, the courtyard was large and empty, without rockeries, fish ponds, vine trellises, etc.

It was paved with bluestone slabs and was very spacious, suitable for practicing martial arts. In fact, when they entered the courtyard, more than a dozen young women were already practicing dance and sword there.

The courtyard was large, and the attic was not small either.

Zi Ying left Hong Qu on the first floor and led Xiao Yu to the third floor, sharing a room with a group of four or five-year-old little radishes.

"Are you not going to teach me to read?" Xiao Yu said strangely.

Zi Ying nodded and led her to a fat-faced woman in a purple gauze skirt in her thirties, saying: "Little Sister Little Fengxian, next you will follow Third Auntie to open your mind. Third Auntie, I'll trouble you."

She also bowed to the woman.

Third Auntie looked at Xiao Yu curiously and asked: "How many characters do you know?"

Xiao Yu was a bit speechless and said: "Although I am a Shaman, on the way from the Northern Wilderness to the Shu Kingdom, I learned to read every day; things like *Qionglin Youth Learning* and *Thousand Character Classic* can't stump me at all."

"Then write your name for me to see," Third Auntie said.

Xiao Yu picked up a brush and wrote the three big characters "Chen Yufeng Immortal" on the paper.

"Hehehe..." Zi Ying covered her mouth and giggled.

The little girls on the side also giggled strangely.

Third Auntie's mouth twitched and said: "Your writing—"

Xiao Yu blushed and was about to quibble, when suddenly her heart moved and she said: "Wait a moment, I'll write it again."

She held her breath and focused, using the brush as a sword, heart, spirit, body, and Qi combined; the soft brush tip became the sword edge, following her heart, dancing like a dragon and phoenix on the paper.

The three characters were written in one go, in one stroke, integrated into one, almost flying off the paper, turning into a phoenix, spreading its wings and flying high.

Those who saw the three characters "Chen Yufeng Immortal" even had an illusion in their minds: the phoenix flapping its wings brought a current of air, and a gust of wind blew in their faces.

"Good writing, good spirit!" Third Auntie's expression changed, and she couldn't help but praise loudly.

Zi Ying and the little girls on the side all widened their eyes, looking stupid and not understanding.

Xiao Yu threw away the brush and laughed proudly: "Do I still need to learn?"

"Sigh, no wonder the ancient sages said that if one path is mastered, all paths are mastered. Today I finally witnessed it."

Third Auntie sighed and looked at Xiao Yu again: "If you are only satisfied with daily reading and writing, you indeed don't need to learn anymore.

But if you want to win the name of 'talented woman' in the world of pleasure, there is still a lot you need to learn.

Of course, even if you want to learn, you have to let Auntie Liu find another famous teacher; my 'enlightenment hall' can't teach a 'talented woman'."

"Third Auntie must be humble. I once heard Auntie Liu say that the talent of 'Wu Sanniang' twenty years ago was not weaker than Sister Shao Yao's today.

Not only were countless literati and scholars captivated by her, but in the poetry collections sold in Western Shu bookstores today, one can still see the works left by Wu Sanniang back then." When going downstairs, Zi Ying said to Xiao Yu.

"So amazing! Then why didn't she move out like Sister Shao Yao, but instead returned to the Pear Fragrance Garden to enlighten us?" Xiao Yu asked.

Zi Ying looked at her with a complex expression and said: "After you go to the 'Nursing Home,' you won't feel that Third Auntie's situation is bad anymore."

"Where is the Nursing Home? Is it full of old singers and dancers?" Xiao Yu said.

"Outside Tianmen Town, walk twenty miles from the South City Gate, at the foot of Bashan Mountain. It's not only for those who are old and fading, but also for those who are sick and crazy.

Every month, new sisters come in from the front door, and sisters are also sent out from the back door of the Red Sleeve House," Zi Ying said gloomily.

Xiao Yu didn't speak.

She of course knew that the late life of ordinary prostitutes wouldn't be good, but Wu Sanniang was once "famous in Tianmen Town"!

Only in her thirties, falling to become a teacher for children, was already considered a very good ending.

What about the private money she saved in her early years?

In just a few sentences, Xiao Yu determined that Wu Sanniang was not a wasteful character.

Could it be that when the prostitute got old and couldn't make money, the private money was snatched by the Prince of Qinghe to build a new palace?

Sigh, it's still her plan that's good, immediately exchanging private money for medicine bags to improve strength. ===== CHAPTER 92 =====