In his sleep, he seemed to reveal a faint smile.

The Sword Dao Primer booklet still lay on the ground, and the pale golden bead remained submerged in the water.

……

Amidst the mountains and wilderness, Old Taoist walked on foot, holding a white-headed, green-bodied celestial guest bird in his hand.

Old Taoist's hair and beard were all white, appearing even more snow-like under the moonlight.

He hurried along, making his way deep into the mountains.

If one could look closely, they would notice that wherever his feet touched, within a radius of about a zhang, the grass bent low as if pressed down by the wind. Yet beyond that distance, the vegetation merely swayed, not flattened by any strong wind.

Wherever Old Taoist walked, the grass and trees would bow low.

As he passed beneath a tree, the whole tree swayed, and leaves fluttered down.

The falling leaves landed near Old Taoist, but before they could get within a zhang, they were blown back as if by an invisible barrier, or as if someone secretly exhaled to blow the leaves away.

Within a zhang around Old Taoist, a gentle breeze stirred.

Within this radius, the wind bent the grass and rustled the leaves.

If any cultivator saw this, they would be shocked—this Old Taoist clearly possessed the ability to project true qi outward, a skill nearly equivalent to the pinnacle of martial arts, enough to pluck flowers or send leaves flying to harm others.

Yet few knew that this Old Priest had not only cultivated true qi, but had also mastered martial arts.

He struck upward with his palm, and a fierce bird swooping down from the tree was sent flying backward.

"This bird..."

Old Taoist glanced down; the bird, which had been on the verge of death, was being nourished by true qi in his hand, its life force preserved, not yet dead. But true qi was no elixir—it could only sustain life, not fully heal the bird.

"If it can't be revived before dawn, then there's nothing more to be done. On this trip, who knows if there truly are immortals or saints? But danger, I'm afraid, is still danger. Otherwise, that Young Sullivan and the others wouldn't have lost several people in the mountains, forced to take Chiyuan Powder just to escape."

Old Taoist knew that although these people were still of the younger generation, they were already no less skilled than some of the elders. That one surnamed Sullivan, the one in yellow, had both cultivated inner strength and were rare martial arts masters, a cut above the average sect leader. Even the least among them could circulate their vital energy and were highly renowned in the martial world.

Yet these extraordinary young heroes all died at the hands of a young Daoist. If word got out, who knows what kind of uproar it would cause? Even if it didn't, their absence for a time would spark countless rumors.

"Old Priest Guanyun is unwilling to practice martial arts or cultivate qi, only wanting to refine pills and seek the Dao, taking these unorthodox paths. Yet unexpectedly, he taught a disciple who could kill with poison—quite impressive."

This Old Taoist sighed, "It's a pity that I, Ethan, in all my life..."

With a sigh, he hurried deeper into the mountains.

Moonlight shone into the depths of the mountains, eerie and mysterious.

Chapter 005: Sword Dao Primer

Once again, it was morning, with the rising sun.

Henry Carter sat on the bed, dazed for a long time.

Yesterday, when he went into the mountains to gather herbs, it was also at sunrise, and the celestial guest bird was by his side. But now, the pleasant chirping of the bird was gone from his ears.

So much had changed in just one day.

Even he, Henry Carter, had taken several lives, though no blood was shed, yet he still felt a heavy weight upon him.

Everything felt like a dream.

He sat at the bedside, silent for a long time, until the sunlight outside gradually grew stronger. Only then did he snap out of it and forced himself to get up, but suddenly froze. He turned his head to look at his shoulder—there, the skin was fair and smooth, almost comparable to a woman's. Yet he vaguely remembered that before falling asleep last night, his shoulder was still bruised and swollen.

He had intended to apply medicine to the wound, but succumbed to his injuries and fainted.

But now, the injury was completely healed, as if nothing had happened. Henry Carter immediately recalled the two gusts of gentle wind from yesterday.

Could it be... when those breezes passed over him, not only did they ease his pain, but also healed his wounds?

Henry Carter looked astonished, already convinced that those two breezes that soothed his pain came from Old Priest. Could it be that this Old Priest felt guilty after taking the four martial arts manuals and healed his injuries as compensation?

But that couldn't be right—before falling asleep last night, he was clearly still bruised.

"This... why does it feel like I've taken some miraculous elixir?" Henry Carter frowned and pondered for a long time, but couldn't think of any rare medicine in the world that could heal injuries overnight. Books often mentioned thousand-year ginseng or ten-thousand-year snow lotus that could increase a martial artist's internal strength by decades, but he had never heard of such a miraculous healing medicine.

He thought for a long while but couldn't figure it out, so he got up, remembered the martial arts manuals, and hurried to look for the Sword Dao Primer.

Fortunately, the thin booklet was still on the ground. He picked it up and placed it on the bed like a treasure, then picked up his Daoist robe. But when he checked, the pale golden bead was missing. Henry Carter's face turned slightly pale—Young Master Sullivan valued that bead so highly, it was clearly no ordinary jewel but a rare treasure. How could it be lost?

He searched anxiously, but after a long while still couldn't find it. Just as he was frowning, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of the water vat, and he showed a look of astonishment.

The vat clearly contained clear water, but now it glimmered with a faint golden hue. At first glance, it looked as if sunlight was shining on it, but the sun had not yet reached the window, and the room was still somewhat dim.