Cultivation through Skin Making

Song Yan followed his memory and returned to the Cave Mansion on Red Leaf Island.

Compared to the cave-like Cave Mansions of the Puppet Sect, the Sword Cultivators' Cave Mansions were mostly bamboo shelters by the water.

At dawn and dusk, the bamboo shelter would reflect together with the breaking dawn and the evening clouds into the Misty Sea, creating slight ripples with the waves, forming creases. But when the wind calmed, it would return to clarity.

This architectural layout was established by the first Sect Leader of the Sword Sect.

The Sect Leader intended to tell every Sword Cultivator that when thoughts arise, there is no need to panic or hurry, for they will eventually pass, and the heart will return to equanimity, just like the rippling reflections seen daily.

As for the Misty Sea, it was the name of this rather large inland lake where the Southern Wu Sword Sect was located.

It is named a "sea" rather than a "lake," which was also decided by that first Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader said, "A flower can contain the world, a lake too is the Vast Sea. The sword held by a Sword Cultivator may seem ordinary, but who knows if it doesn't contain the roar of a tiger or the cry of a dragon, the winds and frost, purple lightning?"

As Song Yan walked through the paths of Red Leaf Island, various thoughts and memories naturally surfaced.

Even on the plaza upon entering the island, despite it being winter and amidst war, there were still dozens of Sword Cultivators seated cross-legged, both men and women. They sat quietly, seemingly engaged in visualization and circulating their qi, their white robes fluttering, exuding a sense of transcendence.

Even as Song Yan walked by and made a noise, no one opened their eyes, wholly immersed in their own world of cultivation.

Song Yan recalled the daily exploitation of the Furnace in the Puppet Sect and the scenes of cultivation within their dark Cave Mansions, unable to help but reflect, "The cultural atmosphere between sects is truly different."

As he thought, he returned to the bamboo shelter, took out the Sword Sect's identity plate from his bosom, which glimmered slightly, and then the door of the shelter opened.

...

This was Bai Xiuhu's bamboo shelter.

Inside, it was clean, yet somewhat messy. The bed lay at the end, a wooden table stood beneath the window, and a few strands of morning light still slanted over, illuminating some pieces of Xuan paper on the table, upon which many "sword" characters were scrawled crookedly.

The first "sword" character looked fairly neat, but the further along it went, the more disordered and scrawled it became, eventually turning into indistinct ghostly symbols...

Song Yan envisioned before his eyes a scene of "writing while crying, tears falling on newly written characters."

He glanced at the floor again and found crumpled balls of Xuan paper scattered everywhere.

Song Yan bent down, picked one up, spread it open, and it again bore the character for "sword."

A slight search through his memory allowed him to roughly understand that Bai Xiuhu had, after initially fleeing, locked himself in his room, practicing calligraphy in a state of both collapse and a desire to pull himself together, hoping to "calm his mind through writing, and restore his courage."

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel quite a connection.

A Skin Master must have a profound understanding of Painting Skill.

Painting faces and skins also requires painting bones. Without this, it is impossible to grasp what is now regarded as the core Secret Technique of a Skin Master—the "Divine Face Hundred Defenses."

Yet a Sword Cultivator enjoys practicing calligraphy.

Through characters, they calm the mind, illuminate the heart, and see within themselves.

The crooked "sword" character showed how shattered Bai Xiuhu's Dao heart was at the time, and his inclusion in the group a second time was essentially his sect's way of taking care of him.

Bai Xiuhu was a Sword Cultivator of decent talent, and his sect hoped he would "get back up where he fell," thus sending him out again to patrol and combat the Demon Sect.

However... Bai Xiuhu profoundly embodied the truth of "where you fall, you lie down." The second time, his Dao heart truly shattered, causing him to madly flee back to the southern Linwu City, transforming into the state Song Yan witnessed.

The human heart is truly peculiar.

Thirty years of cultivating the sword, yet a single thought turned to devilry.

He thought slightly and recalled that Bai Xiuhu once had a Dao companion, but it seemed she perished during his first escape, which was another reason for his breakdown.

Song Yan swiftly cleaned the room and then prepared to pay a visit to his "master."

In terms of teaching and imparting knowledge, Southern Wu Sword Sect and Puppet Sect were entirely different.

The Puppet Sect's approach was more "here's stuff, practice on your own," and the relationship between master and disciple wasn't as close.

There was Gu Rufeng cuckolding Stone Seat Elder and even wanting to kill him, Stone Seat Elder deceiving an adopted son, and Gu Huangzi making a comeback after difficult challenges to betray his mentor—all commonplace occurrences.

There is an inherent wariness between master and disciple in the Demon Sect.

However, the Southern Wu Sword Sect was nothing like that.

The only way to obtain a Cultivation Method at Southern Wu Sword Sect was through a "master."

And "masters," when treating disciples, often were pure-hearted, without complex intentions.

As for the Sun Family Sun Elder Song Yan had met before, they were the rare exception within the entire Sword Sect, as most Sword Sect members were not adept at interacting with others.

He had met the likes of Mr. Su San, Sun Elder, who were outstanding among them...

Most, in fact, were much like Su Yao.

Therefore, Song Yan had to seek out his master to obtain a Cultivation Method.

He lay on the bed, pondering all night, and the next morning... as dawn broke, he mounted his Flying Sword and stepped towards a bamboo shelter deep within Red Leaf Island.

...

Before the shelter, an old man lay on a rocking rattan chair, a book in his hand, reading.

One could vaguely see some herbal illustrations on the book.

This old man was Bai Xiuhu's teacher—Sun Kuye.

Sun Kuye was naturally from the Sun Family, and his original name was not Kuye. He only took this name due to feeling his age, akin to the red leaves on Red Leaf Island, which wither and flourish annually, thus self-titled "Kuye," and the Sword Cultivators on the island called him the "Kuye Sword Master" or simply "Sword Master."

Sun Kuye was undoubtedly a master of the Crimson Palace Realm, but it seemed he took risks with Essence Blood while setting the "First Central Palace," absorbing residual poison, leading to an unstable foundation, making advancement difficult, and hence, he remained at the Early Stage.