Watching the Mountain

Chapter 379: Chapter 206: Seven Sons of Profound Pure, New Calendar

He had taught these four swordsmanship forms to Luo Qianxue and Chu Lingxiao before. Since he had even taught outsiders, he was all the more willing to teach them to members of his own Sect.

Upon hearing Xu Ran’s words, the eagerness on Elder Xu’s face grew even more intense.

He was inwardly ecstatic. ’I knew it! I knew this Hidden Mountain Elder had more skills up his sleeve.’

Elder Xu quickly spoke with great enthusiasm, ”For them to be taught swordsmanship by the Hidden Mountain Elder is a blessing they are lucky to receive once in many lifetimes. I thank you on behalf of these students.”

As he spoke, he gestured to Xu Ran with a wave. ”Alright then, Hidden Mountain Elder, shall we begin now?”

He spoke as if he were afraid Xu Ran might go back on his word.

Xu Ran was rather speechless at Elder Xu’s behavior. ’Am I the kind of person who goes back on their word?’

However, he didn’t say anything more. He walked to the edge of the nearby cliff and gave a light wave of his hand. A cold light flashed, and a longsword was already in his grasp.

Then, an aura that seemed to signal the end of all things began to emanate from the longsword in his hand.

Silent Sparrow, Autumn Sorrow, Melting Snow, Scorching Sun.

When he had finished demonstrating the four swordsmanship forms, Xu Ran turned to find Elder Xu staring at him, utterly dumbfounded.

Elder Xu stared at Xu Ran in utter shock. He knew that someone like the Hidden Mountain Elder, capable of pioneering two new paths of cultivation, must have many hidden talents.

However, this was not at all what he had expected. He originally thought the Hidden Mountain Elder would produce some extraordinary swordsmanship, one with a Sword Dao philosophy completely different from that of traditional Sword Cultivators, just like the Flying Immortal Stream and the Hidden Mountain Spell.

But that was not the case. What Xu Ran had demonstrated was the swordsmanship of a traditional Sword Cultivator.

But what had he just witnessed?

A Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator had unleashed four different Mental Realms: death, spring, summer, and one that seemed to be the passage of time itself.

The very distinction between the Golden Core and Core Formation stages in the Cultivation Realm existed because a cultivator had to comprehend a Mental Realm at or before the Purple Mansion Stage to form a Golden Core. Otherwise, they could only become an ordinary Core Formation Stage Cultivator.

In the Cultivation Realm, there might only be one Golden Core Stage Cultivator for every ten at the Core Formation Stage. This showed just how difficult it was to comprehend a Mental Realm.

And yet, the Hidden Mountain Elder had comprehended four of them all by himself.

Beyond his shock, he was simply baffled. He couldn’t help but wonder how such a person was still only at the Purple Mansion Stage in their cultivation.

The Flying Immortal Stream had been around for a long time, which indirectly spoke to how long the Hidden Mountain Elder had been cultivating. ’Just how in the world does he train?’

As for the seven students, they were completely captivated by Xu Ran’s swordsmanship and were now staring at him with faces full of fervor.

They desperately wanted to learn such swordsmanship.

Observing their reactions, Xu Ran pondered for a moment before taking out a blank Jade Scroll. He placed it against his forehead, imprinted his swordsmanship techniques onto it, and handed it to Elder Xu.

When Elder Xu saw this, he accepted it with a wide grin, bowing and thanking Xu Ran profusely. After he was done, he fixed Xu Ran with an intense, burning gaze.

’This Hidden Mountain Elder probably hasn’t revealed all his skills, has he?’ he thought. ’How can I get him to share every last one?’

A shiver went down Xu Ran’s spine when he met Elder Xu’s gaze. Forgetting everything else, he quickly lied about having important matters to attend to, then hastily bid farewell to Elder Xu and the seven young disciples and departed.

Elder Xu’s expression gave him the distinct feeling that staying there any longer would be a very bad idea.

Upon hearing Xu Ran’s words, Elder Xu could only nod with a look of deep regret as he watched him depart.

Only after Xu Ran’s figure had completely vanished from sight did he turn back to advise the seven young students at his side:

”You all saw that, didn’t you? This Hidden Mountain Elder is an incredibly capable man. More importantly, he’s a man of principle and feeling; he can’t stand up to pestering from his own people. From now on, whenever you have free time, go and visit him. If one day I’m no longer around, you keep pestering him. He definitely won’t ignore you or leave you to fend for yourselves.”

He had been severely injured before because of the Dust-Sealed Stone incident. Although he had since recovered, the injury had left a chronic ailment. He was already over nine hundred years old, fast approaching the twelve-hundred-year lifespan of a Golden Core Stage cultivator.

After that ordeal, he wasn’t sure how much longer he had to live.

These seven promising students had not yet matured, and he couldn’t rest easy about their future.

Hearing Elder Xu’s words, the seven youths’ expressions faltered. ”Teacher—”

Elder Xu waved his hand dismissively, his face stern as he chided them, ”I’m just teaching you how to acquire skills, not that I’m on my deathbed! What’s with those looks on your faces?”

”What are you standing around for? Get back to your cultivation!”

The seven students ducked their heads at his words.

’So it really was just our imagination,’ they thought. ’Our teacher is as fierce as ever. He’s never been gentle...’

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In truth, Xu Ran hadn’t just been brushing off Elder Xu and the others. He really did have something to attend to.

Senior Sister Yue had previously told him that Jiang Nian of Spirit Stream Peak was refusing to be Dust-sealed, and no amount of persuasion had worked.

Most people would beg for the chance to be Dust-sealed. Previously, only Qing Li had refused, and now there was Jiang Nian. He decided to go see what was going on.

Upon arriving at Spirit Stream Peak, he found Jiang Nian still busy at work in the Spirit Field.

His face lit up when he saw Xu Ran, and he hurried forward to greet him. ”Senior Brother, what brings you here?”

Xu Ran had never revealed his identity to Jiang Nian, so the young man had always addressed him as ”Senior Brother.”

He nodded in greeting to Jiang Nian and spoke slowly, ”I came to see how you were doing. I heard you’re unwilling to be Dust-sealed?”