Cautiously moved to the front of the thatched cottage, Zuo Mo's entire body was like a tightly strung bowstring, and with just a bit of external force, he might launch into action.

  Taking a deep breath, although "Fetal Breathing" had broken through the second breath and he no longer needed to breathe through his mouth and nose, when he was nervous, he still habitually took deep breaths to calm himself down. Composing himself, he bowed deeply at the wooden door of the thatched hut: "Disciple Zuo Mo, paying respects to Master!"

  "Come in!" A cold and stern voice came from the grass hut.

  The wooden door of the thatched hut opened silently, and inside was a dark expanse. Luo Mo's heart couldn't help but hang again. Steeling himself, Luo Mo plucked up his courage and walked in.

  Inside the thatched hut, it was extremely simple and crude, with only a rush cushion. Besides this, there was nothing else. Xin Yan Shibo sat cross-legged on the rush cushion, a beam of sunlight shone in from the top of the thatched hut, illuminating Xin Yan Shibo's body. Shibo was situated in the sunlight, but his face was hidden in the shadow of his hair on his forehead, and it couldn't be seen clearly until he opened his eyes.

  In the shadows, two cold glints suddenly lit up. For some reason, Zuo Mo only felt a chill run down his spine, from the base of his tailbone all the way up to the top of his vertebrae, causing his entire body's muscles to stiffen.

  "You surprised me." Xinyan's voice was like a cold mist, seeping into Luomo's skin and heart, chilling him to the point of almost being unable to move.

  "You don't have the talent for swordsmanship." Xinyin said calmly.

  Zuo Mo's heart suddenly tightened, and he felt that at this moment, he had even forgotten to breathe. Fear, like a burst dam, instantly broke through Zuo Mo's psychological defenses. Had Shibo discovered it?

  "You can comprehend the sword intent in three months, which is quite unexpected." Xīn Yán didn't look at Zuǒ Mò, he slowly closed his eyes, and those two points of chilling cold light disappeared into the shadows: "I don't care what kind of extraordinary encounter you had. But remember, if one day you do something that betrays our sect, I will cut you down with my sword."

  Spoke in a flat tone, as if talking about something extremely ordinary.

  It was as if he had suddenly risen from hell to heaven, and this sudden surprise left him stunned for a moment. He had already made up his mind to await his execution, thinking that Second Master had seen through the evil spirit in his mind.

  His tense muscles suddenly relaxed, and he felt a wave of weakness throughout his body. The lingering fear in his heart surged like a tide, almost overwhelming him, and his legs felt weak and numb.

  "Yes!" Zuo Mo hastily replied, his fright slightly alleviated.

  "The 'Lishui Sword Manual' you've been practicing has some remarkable aspects, but it's limited by the creator's insight and will be difficult to improve further. Besides, your foundation is too poor, there are several places that need to be revised. However, the adjustments you made yourself in a few places are not bad."

  Xin Yan pointed out a few places, and Zuo Mo's mood calmed down and he couldn't help but feel admiration. The places that Shibo pointed out were exactly where he felt uncomfortable and stagnant. He just didn't know where to start, but after hearing Shibo's words, his mind was suddenly enlightened.

  Then, Master Xin Yan handed over a jade slip to Zuo Mo: "Inside are some basic sword techniques, you should practice more." After a pause, he said with some regret: "You mainly cultivate alchemy and are also a spiritual plant husbandry expert, which is not suitable for cultivating the sword. Sword cultivation emphasizes a focused mind and clarity of thought. You should take care of yourself."

  Bid farewell to Master Shi, from then on, whenever he passed by the muddy ground in front of the thatched hut, there was no longer even half a hint of the previous sword intent that had oppressed people. It was as if the sword intents underground recognized him and remained dormant.

  On the way back to Xifeng Small Yard from Wangyang Peak, Zuo Mo was pondering over Master's words. Master's meaning was very clear, if he wanted to make further progress in sword cultivation and truly achieve something, he must abandon spiritual planting and dan making, and become a pure sword cultivator, otherwise, it would be difficult for him to achieve anything in sword cultivation.

  Shibo's words are reasonable and clear, but Zuo Mo doesn't know how many catties he himself weighs.

  If he were like Wei Sheng, perhaps he would abandon everything and become a true and pure sword cultivator. But he wasn't. He knew his own limitations, and without the help of the Pú Yāo, he wouldn't have been able to comprehend the Sword Intent in the first place. It had taken him thousands of times being split apart to finally understand Master's Tidal Sword Intent, whereas Wei Sheng would have grasped it in just a few dozen attempts.

  If he hadn't had the experience of comprehending the tide sword intent, it would be absolutely impossible for him to comprehend the leave water sword intent in just three months.

  I myself am destined not to be able to walk the path of Wei Wuxian!

  As he walked, the gentle breeze brushed against his face, and Luo Mo's mood also became more expansive. Everyone's path is different, let alone the fact that he was able to reach where he is today, which in the past, he didn't even dare to think about. But now, he had actually achieved it.

  He soon recovered his emotions. Today's mood has been ups and downs, and his body also feels a bit tired, he needs to rest.

  However, when he walked to the entrance of Xifeng Valley, his feet slipped and he stood still on the spot.

  "Ah! Left Mo Shixiong, you've finally arrived! The grand assessment of our sect's strength is about to begin, and I, your junior brother, have come especially to offer my congratulations. This humble gift..."

  "Brother, do you still remember me? If it weren't for your 'Little Cloud and Rain Formula' back then, I would have been finished. Your little brother has always remembered it in his heart..."

  "Big brother, big brother, I'm practicing swordplay, but it's a pity that I don't have a famous master..."

  "Senior brother, our sisters from East Peak..."

  Looking at the dense crowd in front of me, Luo Mo's head suddenly exploded with a loud bang.

  The entire Western Wind Valley entrance was packed to the point of bursting, and this scene was even more intense than when Zuo Mo had been promoted to inner sect disciple. The gifts they had prepared were also much more generous than last time, with some wealthy outer sect disciples having spent a small fortune.

  Suddenly, Left Mordon's head split into two large ones.

  "What's all the commotion about!" A voice suddenly rang out, and the scene immediately fell silent.

  But then, he saw Xu Yi arrive with two women. Upon closer inspection, they were Gong Sun Qing and Xu Yixia, both senior sisters. The one speaking was Xu Yi. He waved his hand: "Everyone disperse."

  These outer disciples saw the situation and immediately dispersed like birds.

  Xu Yichao bowed to Zuo Mo and smiled: "Younger brother, don't blame me for taking over the kitchen, these people are really too noisy."

  Zuo Mo hastily returned the courtesy: "Thanks to Big Brother Master, I'm already dizzy and my eyes are blurry. If Big Brother Master had come a step later, I reckon I'd be lying dead at the valley entrance." Then he bowed to Gong Sun Qing and Xu Xi Xia: "Big Sister Master, Xi Xia Sister Master!"

  "Haha! You're quite interesting!" said a green-robed Xuyi Xia with a chuckle.

  Towards this seemingly innocent and naive girl, Zuo Mo was deeply wary and on guard. Li Yingfeng Shijie said that the jade slip was obtained from Xu Yi Xia Shijie at that time, and it was hard to say what her intentions were when she gave him the jade slip.

  "Gong Yang smiled warmly and said: 'Young Master seems quite fatigued; let's come again another day.'"

  "Where is Master speaking from? Come, come, everyone, let's go into the valley and have some tea." Zuo Mo hastily said, taking the opportunity to crack a joke: "It's just that I don't have Master's divine tea here, so please don't blame me, fellow masters."

  The crowd moved towards the inner valley, and the three of them saw the wolf-like restrictions covering the ground outside the valley, each with a thoughtful expression. The story of Luo Li rushing to the valley entrance to challenge had long been circulating in the Wu Kong Sword Sect, and they had also heard about it earlier. Thinking again about that match where both sides suffered heavy losses, the three of them couldn't help but have their own thoughts.

  Zuo Mo didn't change his expression, but in reality he couldn't change it either. That zombie-like face of his wasn't capable of showing any emotions.

  Entering the west wind courtyard, I saw Zuo Mo return. The gray goose on the roof called out once, as if greeting him. Zuo Mo, who had just narrowly escaped death and was in high spirits, also waved his hand at the female bird, returning the greeting.

  Gongsun Qing couldn't help but smile when she saw Zuo Mo's youthful and innocent nature.

  Xu Yizhi only took a glance, seeing that it was just an ordinary grey goose, and withdrew her gaze, with a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes. Her mount was a three-star Fire-Eyed Golden Qiong Beast, majestic and awe-inspiring, while the grey goose was nothing but a rustic good-for-nothing in her eyes.

  The four men sat down, and Zuo Mo poured a pot of tea. The three of them barely touched their lips to the cups before putting them back down. Zuo Mo didn't think much of it either - he only had ordinary tea leaves, which were indeed somewhat bland, and even he rarely drank them normally.

  "Junior brother grasped the sword intent in just three months, which really surprised me. Junior brother is really not very considerate, actually not revealing even a hint of his progress, making me worried." Xu Yi said with a smile.

  Zuo Mo hastily said, "It's not that I intentionally hid it, even I myself didn't think of it. Saying it out loud isn't embarrassing, but when I was practicing sword in the river, I was washed away by the river water for hundreds of miles, and it also caused people from the sect to search for me."

  The other three people's faces suddenly looked a bit strange. Zuo Mo being washed away by the river while practicing sword in the river had always been a joke among them, and the three of them either ridiculed or despised him in their hearts. Now that Zuo Mo was self-deprecating like this, the three of them suddenly didn't feel right in their hearts.

  Zuo Mo had already grasped the intent of the sword, and was far ahead of them. Their previous mockery and disdain for Zuo Mo only made them appear even more ignorant and foolish.

  "What sword technique is Shidi practicing?" Xuyi Xia asked with a innocent face.

  "Water Separation Sword Manual." Zuo Mo didn't try to hide it, if they had the heart, they could naturally investigate. He smiled and said: "It's a Five Elements Sword Manual, third-grade, unfortunately Second Master said that it's probably hard to make further progress."

  Xu Yixia heard this and a hint of excitement flashed in her cunning eyes.

  Just as he was caught by Zuo Mo, he couldn't help but sneer in his heart. This girl indeed had ill intentions!

  "Don't be discouraged, young brother." Gong Sunqing comforted him: "With your exceptional talent, Master and the others won't waste it either."

  "Shi Jie is right." Feeling the other's faint concern, Zuo Mo's heart felt a sense of gratitude and he bowed to Gong Sun Qing. Perhaps because Big Sister was going to get married soon, she didn't get along closely with Qin City and the others, it seemed that she didn't want to get involved in the conflict between these two factions.

  "This time I'm here to find my junior brother." The senior sister smiled and said, her words were as gentle as spring breeze: "Both of them are brought by me to accompany. I heard that Junior Brother can refine a kind of Golden Crow Pill's spiritual elixir, which may be refined into Golden Crow Fire, is it true?"

  "To be honest, I've never tried it myself," said Zuo Mo cautiously.

  "That's good." Gong Sun Qing smiled and took out a jade box: "I want to use this thing, exchange it with my junior brother for 100 Golden Crow Pills, what do you think?"

  After finishing speaking, she gently pushed the jade box in front of Zuo Mo with her slender fingers.

  Zuo Mo opened the jade box with some doubt, and at the moment he opened it, his pupils suddenly expanded, and his eyes showed an uncontrollable excitement!