White-Robed Chief
chapter-64

"Shrinking Ground?" Chu Li shook his head — he had never heard of it.

"It's a secret martial art study passed on by the Green Deer Cliff." Su Ru put down her cup and sighed. "It's impossible for an outsider to learn!"

She stared at Chu Li, her eyes were filled with emotion.

Chu Li did not even need to use the Omniscient Mirror to tell that she was implying something. He suddenly smiled. "I'm not sure if Aunt Xiao Yueling would pass it on to me."

"That'd be pretty tricky." Su Ru revealed a smile, and Chu Li was very astute.

"Then I'll need Chief Su Ru to bring it up with Lady Xiao." Chu Li smiled as he said.

Su Ru rolled her eyes when she heard this, and it was then followed by a snort. "I'll talk to the Lady about this."

"Thank you, Chief!" Chu Li gave her a closed fist salute and smiled.

Su Ru scoffed and rolled her eyes in response. "Although, I'd appreciate it if you could give Lady Xiao a little less worry."

Chu Li's existence was due to Lady Xiao's careful cultivation. The Glory's WIll, Andromeda, Nightmare Flower, and all the other spirit herbs, all of them had never left Chu Li's side. To Lady Xiao, Chu Li was more important than herself. Moreover, he did not know what she was thinking because she did not restrict his activities even with Aunt Xiao Yeuling's physiognomy.

"Are there any Codices of Formations in the Public House?"

"There is, but you don't have access to it." Su Ru shook her head. "Give up! No matter what, Lady Xiao will not allow you to read those books."

"Maybe I'm good with formations."

Su Ru scoffed when she heard this. "I cannot risk it. You're doomed the moment you become obsessed with it!"

"It's not that serious." Chu Li broke into a playful smile, in sharp contrast to Su Ru's stern tone.

Su Ru could not be bothered with him anymore. "There are far too many drawbacks with the Codex. If you become obsessed, you'll no longer be bothered to eat or drink — you'll be consumed by it. Soon, you'll lose your motivation to survive before it takes your life. You have no idea how many have died because of this!"

In general, people saw the Formation Codex as a heavenly book where they would not understand it at all. Only those with incredibly high intelligence could attempt to understand it. However, they would only delve deeper and deeper once they had begun reading it like they were in quicksand. In the end, they would be buried alive in the obsession.

"Then why is the Tempest Temple able to pass on the formations?" Chu Li asked curiously.

Su Ru scoffed at the question. "It's said that the senior monks that have refined dharmic base would be enlightened, gaining immortality. Their intelligence knows no bounds and hence allows them to research and study the Codex safely. These monks had already transcended life and death and had devoted their lives to the temple. You have no idea how many senior monks have died to the formation because of the Tempest Temple!"

Chu Li nodded slowly.

Su Ru glared at him as she continued, "Chu Li, don't assume that you're able to read the Codex just because you have a relatively refined dharmic base! Do you actually believe that it's as refined as that of the senior monks of the Tempest Temple who have spent their entire lives building it? It was dangerous even for them to study the Codex! Don't go around thinking that luck will always be on your side. Is the Sentient Menace not enough for you? Do you really think that they can control the formations? No! They can barely do a thing about it!"

Chu Li replied sharply as soon at the mention of the Sentient Menace, "I know the reason to why my progress of cultivation is slow."

"Slow? Your progression isn't by any means slow!" Su Ru scoffed.

Chu Li's progression of the Sentient Menace was astounding. In fact, it was perplexing that he dared to call it slow.

"Actually, it hasn't been cultivating very well lately, and nothing else works."

Su Ru did not seem at all surprised. "That's just how cultivation is. There are times where it's fast and times where it's slow, but it's fine as long as you're able to complete it. Don't go too fast; just go through the motions."

"But I've already found the meridian's end."

"And?" Su Ru scoffed.

"I need a torso tuning technique." Chu Li smiled meekly.

"Torso tuning?" Su Ru furrowed her brows when she heard this. "Don't be silly!"

"I need other torso tuning techniques to support my cultivation of the Sentient Menace," Chu Li said seriously.

This was the secret that the Tempest Temple did not pass on. It was not recorded anywhere and even those who had obtained the secret guidebook of the Sentient Menace could not continue their cultivation by themselves because they did not know the trick to it.

"Which torso refining technique?"

"There's no specific one," Chu Li replied. "But of course, the more exquisite, the better."

"In that case…" Su Ru pondered for a moment before replying, "You can go and look for it in the Training Hall, though not many people have succeeded in torso refining. It takes a lot of effort and it most of the time, it doesn't give you the desired outcome."

Chu Li furrowed his brows and gave it some thought. He wondered if the top martial art guidebooks had documented the torso tuning techniques.

"I'll go and have a look today," Chu Li replied.

Before Su Ru stood up, she reminded him. "Remember, don't leave the Public House!"

Chu Li smiled and did not say a word. In truth, he did not feel like leaving the Public House but he had no other way too. That was why he did not make any promises.

Su Ru stared at him and left quietly.

Xue Ling returned after sending Su Ru off and she politely asked, "Master… are we going to the Hall today?"

Chu Li shook his head. "We'll go to the Martial Arts Hall fist, and then the Wisdom Tower."

"Okay!" Xue Ling answered in excitement.

Chu Li lowered his head and started to think about which torso tuning technique to choose, but Su Ru appeared again as he was scratching his brains. She summoned him. "Chu Li, follow me! Lady Xiao has called for you!"

Chu Li ordered Xue Ling to go to the Martial Arts Hall herself before following Su Ru to the Stargazing Tower.

When the duo arrived on the third floor, they saw Xiao Qi in her white gown, practicing her swordsmanship. The swordplay was not fast, but it moved fluidly and Chu Li found himself deeply impressed. There was an indescribable charm in her swordsmanship which had improved leap and bounds from before.

She was probably trying to find the path to the Grandmaster using her blade. Nevertheless, the sword technique she was cultivating was extremely unique.

Xiao Qi sheathed her sword and turned her sparkling eyes towards Chu Li. "You wish to learn the Shrinking Ground?"

Chu Li gave her a closed fist salute and replied, "When pursued by the Tempest Temple, retreat is the best option."

He was in a dire situation. He had already experienced how scary the Tempest Temple was; if not for the Omniscient Mirror rendering him unaffected by formations, he would have suffered a very unfortunate fate.

Luckily for him, he had come up with an idea. He had asked them about the trick to cultivating the Sentient Menace. Naturally, they would not tell him but the answer appeared in their heads regardless. It ended up being quite a productive discussion.

However, the lesson he learned this time was of great importance to him. If his Light-body Technique was better, he could have taken the two women with him and escaped.

"The Shrinking Ground is a study that is secretly passed down from the Green Deer Cliff. So, even I didn't have the chance to learn it. Do you really think that you stand a chance?" Lady Xiao asked nonchalantly.

Chu Li smiled. "I think that Aunt Xiao Yueling has taken quite a liking to me."

"How thick-skinned!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him.

Xiao Qi shook her head and merely looked at him calmly. "I'll give you one chance. You shall go and visit the Wonders Temple, but only once."

"Lady Xiao, the Tempest Temple is after him!" Su Ru suddenly exclaimed.

"I'm willing to bet that the Tempest Tempest isn't even ready yet. Besides, if Chu Li were to set off alone, he could probably arrive in a day," Xiao Qi replied.

The Infinity Sea of Azure's strength was dependant on one's inner energy for power. In that regard, his inner energy was definitely of a high enough caliber.

Chu Li gave a fist salute once more. "I'll personally request Aunt Xiao Yueling for it!"

"Well, I also have this letter and the Grass of Freedom here." Xiao Qi pointed at the bundle of files that were wrapped in cloth. "Please help me send those to Aunt Xiao Yueling."

Su Ru looked at Chu Li hesitantly. She was still worried.

Xiao Qi glared at her for her disobedience. Thus, Su Ru could only take the package and pass it to Chu Li. "Have a safe journey.'"

Chu Li smiled. "No need to worry about me, Chief."

"As if you haven't made me worry before..." Su Ru sighed. "Leave now and don't let anyone see you!"

Chu Li nodded, took the bundle, and kept the letter in his clothes. He gave a fist salute for the final time before he left the Stargazing Tower. Immediately after, he left the Public House and blended into the crowd, leaving Chong Ming Town altogether.

He activated the Infinite Azure Sea and his inner energy increased up to twice his usual amount. He was incredibly fast; like a gust of wind, he whizzed past the area.

He had arrived at the Wonders Temple by evening.

The sunset painted the Wonders Temple in pale red, increasing its atmosphere of solemness and inactivity.

Chu Li walked up to the front of the temple and gently knocked on the door. In a moment, Ah Shu appeared and stared at him. She then invited him into the temple and walked with him into the main hall.

There was a pleasant smell that was lingering in the hall as Xiao Yueling was kneeling in front of the statue of God in her green robe, her beautiful figure unmoving. Chu Li quickly averted his eyes.

Ah Shu knelt by the side of the cattail hassock and stopped moving.

As Chu Li quietly sat in the main hall, time felt as if it was frozen. There were only sounds of tired flocks of birds outside that were flying back to the woods to seek shelter for the night.

Chu Li could sense everything in the Wonders Temple and all the plants around it. He saw a garden behind the temple with all the colored and fresh flowers that were blooming inside.

After a while, Xiao Yueling stood up and gently walked to him. Her eyes were like stars while her face signaled that she wanted to smile, but she was suppressing the urge to.

Chu Li bowed and gave a fist salute. He then handed the letter to her and passed the bundle to Ah Shu.

When Xiao Yueling was done with reading the letter, she looked at him with a smile. "You want to learn the Shrinking Ground?"

"The Tempest Temple is coming after me. If I don't have the highest level of Light-body Technique, it will be very hard for me to escape," Chu Li said seriously.

"Such hegemonic monks!" Xiao Yueling scoffed. She quietly left the main hall and moved to the stone table in the courtyard. She sat down as Ah Shu served them some tea.

Xiao Yueling looked up at the red clouds in the sky as she let out a faint sigh. "The Shrinking Ground is the secret study of the Green Deer Cliff — I won't pass it down to you."

Chu Li had expected this.

His request was a little absurd. After all, it was the secret study of the Green Deer Cliff. If it was taught to outsiders, the Deer of the Cliff would no longer be special. No matter how strong Xiao Yueling was, she could not just disobey their rules, considering she was one of their followers.

"However, the Shrinking Ground isn't the only top leveled Light-body Technique in the world!" She advised.

Chu Li shook his head. "All the others are too far from my reach."

He knew about a few other Light-body Techniques, but all of them were either the secret study of the royal family or of a popular sect.

"I assume you know about Narrowed World?"

"Narrowed World? I've never heard of it." Chu Li shook his head.

"Narrowed World is an ancient martial art study," Xiao Yueling said. "I got it when I was young but unfortunately wasn't able to complete it. You can give it a try since you're performing in-form at the moment; you might be able to make the cut."

Chu Li smiled bitterly as she said this. "If Aunt Xiao Yueling can't make it, I'm afraid…"

"You're a man, have some spirit!" Xiao Yueling snapped. "If you don't try, you'll die anyway. But if you succeed, you'll have hope in surviving. The next chase and kill from the Tempest Temple will be like a strike of lightning! Fast and unavoidable."

"Understood." Then, he gave her a fist salute. "Thank you very much, Aunt Xiao Yueling!"

"Ah Shu." Xiao Yueling waved her delicate hand to signal for her associate with a light laugh. "Naturally, I can't just give you Narrowed World for free."

Chu Li continued to salute with his fists, as a sign for her to order him as she pleased.

"I have a friend, and this friend is currently facing a little problem. You shall go and protect this person for a month," Xiao Yueling said.