abcnovels
Chapter 106
Chapter 106
Chapter 106
In the end, Qin Ran did not do anything to Li Shiyin, only criticizing and educating her a little. For a seasoned veteran like Li Shiyin who was wholeheartedly focused on cultivation, criticism and education were just empty words that went in one ear and out the other.
So after the meal, Qin Ran went to the bamboo grove behind the mountain and dug up a bamboo root to take back and temper in the river water.
When Li Shiyin saw this, she felt an itchiness throughout her body and keenly sensed that the bamboo whip that was about to take shape would likely have an intricate connection with her skin.
She swallowed hard, then walked over and tentatively asked, "Master, what is that used for?"
"Oh this?" Qin Ran replied. "Remember how I was researching pain and death a while ago?"
Li Shiyin remembered that in order to refine the longevity medicine, her master had specially gone to research death. What was that line he had said? To research life, one must first research death.
Of course, she didn't really understand. What left a deep impression on her was that her master had been exceptionally irritable during that period.
"I remember, but what does that have to do with this?" she asked again, secretly praying that she herself had nothing to do with it.
"I envisioned this bamboo whip to be something that, when lashed onto a person, would not injure their bones or muscles yet bring endless pain," Qin Ran explained as he tempered the bamboo whip.
"Where I'm from, many people believe that filial piety comes from the stick. All children play around too much and need to be disciplined.
"However, children have delicate skin and soft bones. If you use an actual stick or rod to hit them, you'd risk seriously injuring them.
"Thus, some genius came up with hitting their buttocks with bamboo canes instead. Bamboo is slender and flexible, so it doesn't damage bones, yet buttocks have thick flesh and abundant nerves, so getting hit there is painful.
"When the bamboo strikes the skin, it makes a sharp swooshing noise, which has an immense deterrent effect. With clothes still on, lashes from the whip leave welt after welt on the buttocks. And that pain clings on stubbornly for a long time afterwards..."
As Li Shiyin listened, she felt a phantom pain in her own bottom. She covered up her behind with both hands and quietly shuffled away.
"Stand right there!" Qin Ran suddenly shouted.
Li Shiyin was so startled that she immediately stopped.
"Come here," Qin Ran ordered.
Li Shiyin didn't dare to move.
"I told you to come over!" Qin Ran turned to look at her.
Only then did Li Shiyin reluctantly make her way over to Qin Ran's side.
"Why are you standing so high up?" Qin Ran was sitting by the riverbank while Li Shiyin was quite tall. Standing there, he had to crane his neck to look at her, which didn't seem very dignified.
As instructed, Li Shiyin found a rock to sit on.
"From now on, this bamboo whip will serve as your punishment!" Qin Ran declared. "In the future, if any of you make mistakes, you'll get to experience its might."
"Huh?" Long Qiqi, who was under the old pagoda tree researching how to climb it, was completely confused. "What's that got to do with me?"
"Yes, Master!" In contrast, Li Shiyin had always been mischievous and was highly experienced in getting beaten. She promptly lowered her head in acquiescence.
"Also..." Qin Ran continued. "Today, I will teach you how to consecrate your Lifebound Sword."
"Consecrate my Lifebound Sword?!" Li Shiyin's eyes lit up excitedly.
Qin Ran nodded. "It's long overdue for you to start. My original plan was to begin after I got ma...after I returned. I didn't expect to be gone for so long this time. I thought three or two days would be enough. I didn't anticipate it dragging out like this.
"That matter is about to erupt soon. I don't even know if you'll have enough time now."
"What matter?" Li Shiyin asked in bewilderment. "Master, what were you out doing the past seven or eight days that you're now hurrying me to consecrate my sword as soon as you return?"
Qin Ran glanced at Li Shiyin, intending to explain everything to her carefully. But then he reconsidered—given her intellect, even if he did tell her, it would be useless. So he decided not to elaborate and simply said, "Don't worry yourself over these matters. I will handle them. You just focus on your cultivation."
"Oh, I see," Li Shiyin answered obediently with a nod.
"It's getting late...take out your Lifebound Sword," said Qin Ran.
Li Shiyin promptly retrieved her sword from her Universe Bag.
"To a certain degree, the Lifebound Sword is like an extension of the cultivator's body, or you could say, it is a part of the cultivator's body," Qin Ran explained the fundamentals about lifebound swords to Li Shiyin. "Therefore, in order to integrate it into the body, it needs to be consecrated with blood so that it will develop its own vessels and channels—flowing with the cultivator's blood—and truly become an intrinsic part of the body.
"So, the first step is to nourish it with vital blood!"
He stretched out his finger and pointed at the spot where the hilt met the blade. "There are all sorts of consecration methods in the cultivation world, talking about nourishing it daily with your vital blood over the course of 49 days, 81 days, and so on. But the bottom line is one requirement—blood must run from the guard to the tip and cover the entire sword.
"Some people are faster and only need 49 days. Others who are slower take 81 days. And still some others with exceptional talents can complete consecration instantly. But there's no need to fret over the variation in time because this is your Lifebound Sword, bound together with you for life, growing with you. So the speed of consecration is meaningless..."
"You're formally beginning the consecration process today. Start by offering your vital blood. Don't rush; make sure that after each offering, your body is unharmed, otherwise it wouldn't be worthwhile."
Having listened to Qin Ran's instructions, Li Shiyin expressed her understanding. Then without warning, she bit down on her finger and let the blood drip onto her Setting Dusk Sword before tilting her head to ask Qin Ran, "Do I start now?"
She had acted so swiftly that Qin Ran didn't even have a chance to stop her. All he could do was watch as she asked, "Did it hurt?"
Li Shiyin nodded. "Of course it hurts!"
"Then why did you bite yourself?!"
"Isn't that how it goes in fantasy novels?"
Qin Ran smacked his forehead in exasperation. He picked up the bamboo whip, intending to give this silly disciple of his a lash, but he had no choice but to resign himself. "You're an immortal cultivator. You can use many different means to extract your vital blood..."
He took out some pills for Li Shiyin to heal her wound.
"And I haven't finished explaining yet—consecration isn't as simple as that!" He continued lecturing, "Aside from using your own flesh and blood, you also need to channel magic power and the forces of celestial bodies. I've told you time and time again that consecrating your Lifebound Sword is a long process, one that will continue for your entire life as a sword cultivator. Do not be impatient!"
"Lastly, before beginning the consecration, you need to become familiar with your Lifebound Sword first.
"The reason it's called a Lifebound Sword is because the method used to forge it is fundamentally different than regular flying swords."
He looked into Li Shiyin's eyes and pointed solemnly at the junction where the hilt met the blade.
"This—is called the Sword Core. Similar to a living being's heart, it is the origin of the sword's blood vessels and channels. In the future, your magic power will pour forth from here and into the sword.
"Every sword has a different location for its Sword Core, typically only known to the cultivator itself. Given your exceptional talents in the Dao of the Sword, you should be aware why...The position of the Sword Core will be your deepest secret."
"Hold your hand out," he instructed.
Li Shiyin obediently rested her hand on top of his finger that was pointing at the Sword Core.
Qin Ran was flustered. He looked into Li Shiyin's eyes again and asked, "Why are you touching my hand?"
"Didn't you ask me to hold my hand out?" Li Shiyin blinked her big innocent eyes.
"I meant for you to place your hand on the sword!"
Only then did Li Shiyin move her hand onto the Sword Core.
"Send your divine sense into the Sword Core," Qin Ran directed.
Li Shiyin inserted her divine sense into the Sword Core.
"I'll guide you in becoming familiar with the channels and pathways within the Lifebound Sword. They follow the same paths as the human bod..."
Qin Ran also slipped his divine sense inside. But he failed to notice that at the Sword Core, his divine sense had brushed up against Li Shiyin's...The sensation of their divine senses making contact was indescribably strange, almost like having one's soul caressed by the spring breeze. It caused his voice to hitch slightly before he managed to resume his explanation normally after a long pause.
"They...they mirror the human body's meridians..."
After painstakingly guiding Li Shiyin to recognize every structure within her Lifebound Sword, Qin Ran hastily retracted his divine sense, as though he had just surfaced from a deep dive and was now gasping for air. He quickly turned his back to deeply inhale and catch his breath.
In a failed attempt to cover things up, he shakily asked, "Have...have you read the vital blood offering technique from the Nine Revolutions Star Sword Technique for consecrating lifebound swords?"
Li Shiyin's face had also long turned red as an apple. She was drenched in fragrant sweat. After a long pause, she finally responded in an equally shaky voice, "I've...I've read it before."
"Then my brief explanation will suffice..."
From her perch atop the old pagoda tree, Long Qiqi watched the two figures by the riverside. She was still too young and couldn't comprehend whether the pair was truly lecturing about consecrating the Lifebound Sword or whispering sweet nothings in courtship.
"Tsk tsk!" But that didn't stop her from eagerly observing the drama unfold. "The gentleman harbors feelings, and the lady is willing. It's just a matter of not knowing when they will... hehehe..."