Chapter 73

"Big Brother Tang, if one day I want to leave here, will you accompany me?" Shuixue gently lowered her head, her face completely hidden in the shadow of her veil, and suddenly asked softly.

Tang Gu was slightly taken aback by her words.

"Hmm? Leave?"

Then, he reacted and laughed, saying, "Why not? Of course I will. If a beauty commands, how can I dare to refuse? I will follow you through fire and water, even at the cost of my life!"

"Ha ha."

Hearing this, Shuixue suddenly chuckled, and then fell silent. At that moment, Tang Gu clearly felt that the sorrowful aura around her seemed to have diminished significantly.

Although it still lingered, she had regained some of her former cheerfulness.

"Big Brother Tang, tell me another story... I'm afraid that one day, I might suddenly not be able to hear it anymore..."

"Okay, but that won't happen. As long as you want to listen, I'll keep telling you stories."

"What kind of story should I tell you this time? How about the story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy..."

Under the night sky, the two figures, one handsome and the other graceful, leaned against each other. The beautiful and tragic story was narrated by Tang Gu. The wind blew, and the distant drumbeats echoed, each beat resonating deep in their hearts.

When dawn broke, both of them woke up from the strange atmosphere. Shuixue looked up at the sky and then said to Tang Gu with reluctance, "Big Brother Tang, I'll go back first... I'll come again tomorrow!"

"Okay."

Tang Gu agreed, and then Shuixue slowly disappeared along the same path, eventually vanishing from sight.

...

Days passed, and before they knew it, more than a month had gone by.

During this month, Tang Gu relied on the pills provided by the inner courtyard of the martial academy to cultivate, and his Qi Dao cultivation advanced rapidly, reaching the middle stage of the fourth level.

His Ancient Soul Technique also made progress. During the day, when he had nothing to do, he would go into the mountains to find some low-level demon beasts for cultivation, practicing techniques like mental resonance and heart connection. The pale black soul crystal in his mind was gradually turning deeper black.

When it turned light red, it would be at the third level of soul consciousness, allowing him to control third-level demon beasts.

During this period, Shuixue came every day, sometimes bringing a bouquet of flowers, and sometimes bringing some pastries made by her family for Tang Gu to try.

Tang Gu would then tell her stories... stories from another world, full of imagination, some surprising, some thrilling, some gentle, and some romantic, all narrated by him. Shuixue listened intently, and the stories would continue until dawn, when they would part ways.

In that world, the ten great love stories of ancient times—Butterfly Lovers, Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Legend of the White Snake, Song of Everlasting Sorrow, Romance of the Western Chamber, Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix, and The Peacock Flies Southeast—were all retold in this strange world.

Tang Gu's only audience was the cool breeze by the cliff, the bright moon in the sky, and Shuixue by his side.

However, on this day, when they parted at dawn, Shuixue suddenly told him that her alchemy was at a critical stage, and she might not be able to come for a while... the exact time was unknown, and she asked Tang Gu not to wait for her.

Hearing this, Tang Gu nodded in agreement, and they parted. Several days passed, and Shuixue indeed did not come.

Tang Gu gradually got used to life without her, spending his days in intense cultivation and training, making his life very tight and fulfilling.

One morning, Tang Gu was standing on the cliff, practicing the most familiar set of techniques he knew—“Water to Ice.”

As he moved, his steps swayed, and he suddenly split into countless shadows. Then, one after another, ice-blue palm strikes were unleashed.

“Puff, puff, puff, puff...”

A series of dull sounds echoed around him. His steps moved strangely, and countless pale blue ice blocks formed around him, eventually coalescing into strange blue crystal barriers, like shields, protecting him.

In front of him, the Panjiu spat out black threads, striking him. The air around them became slightly blurry, but when the black threads hit the pale blue crystal barriers, they produced a series of “crack” sounds. After more than ten strikes, the crystal barriers finally dissipated.

These crystal barriers had considerable defensive power! Even a Qi Dao cultivator at the fifth level would find it difficult to break them with just a few strikes.

Seeing this, Tang Gu was overjoyed. He finally had his first defensive martial technique, and it was one he had developed himself, with no connection to any previous martial arts.

He had simply utilized the defensive capabilities of ice, as well as its solid, heavy, and expanding properties, to improve and adapt the “Water to Ice” technique...

Indeed, after more than a month of experimentation, this ice-based defensive technique had finally taken shape. From then on, he would no longer be at the mercy of others, and he would have both offensive and defensive capabilities.

“Roar!”

Tang Gu, feeling elated, suddenly turned, performing a 180-degree spin in mid-air, and struck backward with his left hand, which glowed with a faint crystal light, forming a small water-blue crystal block that hit a large rock.

“Puff,” a dull sound echoed, and the rock was instantly pierced through. The water-blue crystal block penetrated it, and in the moment of contact, a blue ice layer spread from the point of impact to cover the entire rock.

In the next moment, “crack, crack, crack...” the entire rock suddenly shattered, scattering into pieces of pale blue ice, creating a beautiful, crystalline scene.

Tang Gu, without breaking a sweat, retracted his technique and stood there, looking ahead with satisfaction. Over the past month, the greatest gain was not the breakthrough to the middle stage of the fourth level of Qi Dao, but the appearance of this ice-based defensive martial technique!

However, at that moment, a small white figure, about the size of a fist, suddenly appeared from the distant mountains, darting back and forth, appearing and disappearing.

Tang Gu's expression brightened: "You naughty weasel, you finally came back. You've been gone for so long, and you only brought me a few worthless yellow spirit herbs... Did you really find something good this time?"

However, the next moment, the silver weasel, which had been gone for half a month, suddenly appeared on the stone cliff, its mouth empty, with nothing in it.

This made Tang Gu furious, almost ready to give it a good beating, but then his fingers suddenly froze.

The silver weasel leaped to the hem of his robe, continuously biting his trouser leg and pulling him to one side, while making urgent chirping sounds, as if very anxious.

Its intelligent black eyes were filled with worry.

"Is this...?" Tang Gu was slightly taken aback. "Does it want to lead me somewhere?"

The silver weasel's behavior was unprecedented. Since Tang Gu had nothing else to do, he decided to follow it. He summoned the “Dark Cloud Iron Sword” hanging on the wall of his thatched cottage, and it flew into his hand.

Tang Gu immediately took the silver weasel and rushed in the direction it was leading.

After about half an hour, Tang Gu had left the range of Moonblade Peak and arrived at a strange place. It was a black stone mountain, wider than Moonblade Peak but slightly shorter in height.

At this moment, the man and the weasel were standing on a patch of dry soil outside a Poison Dragon Pond, where black bubbles constantly emerged. The silver weasel continued to pull him deeper into the Poison Dragon Pond.

Seeing this, Tang Gu hesitated. The Poison Dragon Pond was clearly a dangerous place, filled with countless dead scorpions, poisonous insects, and decaying beasts, all floating and sinking, making it a treacherous environment.

However, when the silver weasel saw that he was not moving, it started to bite his left foot with its mouth, causing an odd itch.

Tang Gu patted its head, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to enter. The silver weasel never did anything without a reason, and if it was pulling him deep into the Poison Dragon Pond, there must be something important inside.

Whatever could make the silver weasel so anxious and important was likely not an ordinary thing. Tang Gu, confident in his abilities, was willing to take the risk to explore.

He picked up the little weasel, leaped forward, and landed on a few withered branches, quickly entering the depths of the Poison Dragon Pond. Finally, he crossed the pond and arrived at the base of a strange black and red mountain.

There, a small triangular cave was guarded by a colorful, arm-thick blue python with a pair of purple eyes.

On top of the blue python's head were five short, coral-like red horns, emitting a rosy glow.

Seeing this, Tang Gu was slightly startled: "A third-level peak rare demon beast, the Five-Flame Python!"

PS: Second update, please give me 1 recommendation ticket.

Also, I recommend a book, "Leisurely Writer in Another World." Beaches, horseback riding on the grasslands, lotus picking in the south, and snow treading in the north...

To live the life of his dreams, Liu Bai left his family and lived like a god, creating martial arts manuals, writing alchemy formulas, drawing forging patterns, building mansions, raising magical beasts, and developing water parks...