This movement technique was named 《Lesser Swallow Steps》. Just as Chen Er had said, it was a widely circulated movement technique among low-level cultivators, with a rank of merely Tier 1.
Copies of it were not difficult to find; one could even say it was ubiquitous.
But Shi Yu did not mind, looking at the thin booklet in her hand with a touch of curiosity.
Aside from the 《Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Record》 deeply imprinted within her soul—an incomplete cultivation technique that currently covered only the Qi Refining Realm—this booklet of 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 was the only technique Shi Yu possessed.
She opened a page and read it carefully.
The paper had turned somewhat yellowed, and the corners were severely worn, showing that it had been through many years. Yet the handwriting was clear and vigorous, clearly a handwritten copy from a senior cultivator.
The opening lines consisted of several small rows of characters written concisely and clearly:
“《Lesser Swallow Steps》 captures the essence of agility and lightness, mimicking the momentum of cloud swallows skimming through the sky. Though it is a low-tier movement technique, if practiced diligently, it yields miraculous effects in combat and escape.”
Shi Yu nodded slightly and continued leafing through it. The content consisted mostly of basic movement mnemonic formulas and posture diagrams, with a focus on the first stance, "Brushing Willows, Skimming Branches," which emphasized borrowing and deflecting force while avoiding direct clashes to exploit weak spots.
She read attentively, involuntarily comparing the movements in her mind to her own posture. Going through them stance by stance, she gradually found a sense of alignment.
“Although this movement technique is shallow, it has a practical use for me right now,” she murmured softly.
When spiritual Qi was exhausted and pills ran out, if she truly encountered pursuers or danger, saving her life would depend entirely on her own feet.
Moreover, lacking a teacher to guide her, she had to figure everything out on her own. A technique that was too profound would not be suitable anyway.
Whether she could master it or not was one thing, but if she strayed down the wrong path with no one to warn her, that would be real trouble. A simpler technique like this was perfectly suited for getting started.
Since it was only a lowest-tier movement technique, the cultivation method was not complex, with only five or six pages in total remaining.
Shi Yu quickly finished reading it once, committing the entirety of the cultivation method to memory.
Seeing that it was still early, she planned to practice it a bit first. Since she had nothing better on her, she would learn it for now and make do, switching to a better movement technique once she found one in the future.
Rising slowly, she walked over to the open space in the courtyard and stretched briefly. Coincidentally, a few swallows skimmed across the sky above the courtyard. Shi Yu looked up to observe them for a moment, and then her body moved.
Following the key points she had just memorized, she regulated her breathing and focused her mind. Taking a light step with her body lowered slightly, her toes lightly tapped the ground, appearing almost to rise upon the wind.
However, she was unfamiliar with it after all.
The moment she leaped up, she felt her shoulders and back grow heavy, her center of gravity wavered, and her form stumbled several paces before she managed to steady herself.
Shi Yu took a deep breath and stood still with her eyes closed.
She was in no hurry, slowly spreading her palms open to adjust her posture according to the diagrams, shifting her center of gravity to her feet as her focus settled with it.
The wind brushed through the trees in the courtyard, rustling the leaves like trickling streams, perfectly echoing the intent of a nimble swallow skimming branches in her mind.
Attempting it once more, although her steps remained somewhat crude, they were far sturdier than before, barely managing to imitate the posture of "Brushing Willows, Skimming Branches."
Having practiced like this for several hours, her footsteps gradually lost their awkward stiffness, becoming light and swift.
...
It was not until the sun set behind the mountains in the west, painting the horizon in a fading layer of orange-red, that Shi Yu halted her practice.
Half a day’s effort yielded good results. She was growing increasingly adept when executing the first stance of 《Lesser Swallow Steps》.
However, after assessing herself, Shi Yu shook her head slightly. “Regrettably, there are too many flaws. 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 allows for rapid dodging and attacks during combat, making it suitable for close-quarters fighting. But its flaws are numerous, and because the technique is so common, it can be easily seen through by opponents.”
“Furthermore...” Sensing the fatigue, exhaustion, soreness, and pain throbbing in her body, she murmured, “it places a heavy burden on the body. Prolonged use will drain blood and Qi while causing damage to the muscles and bones.”
As the deep blue night gradually fell, Shi Yu returned to her room, flicking her finger to ignite the oil lamp with a wisp of fire Qi.
“I should find time to refine a lamp artifact for lighting,” she muttered to herself, taking a sip of the diluted Life Spring water before consuming a High-Grade Dew-Condensing Pill. Then, she returned to her bed, sat cross-legged, and began practicing the 《Fate-Tapping Record》 to restore her physical strength and spiritual Qi.
But the moment she sat cross-legged and projected her divine sense inward to inspect her body, she immediately sensed something amiss.
Within her Purple Mansion, the Fate-Tapping Bell radiated a faint glow, but now a tiny speck of light had appeared around its perimeter, floating and bobbing beside the Fate-Tapping Bell like a firefly.
She could not help but hesitate. “This is...”
Not knowing what this suddenly appeared speck of light was, she hesitated for a moment before extending her divine sense toward it.
In the next instant, a powerful suction force suddenly burst from the tiny speck of light. Before Shi Yu could react, it dragged her divine sense inside.
Immediately, a vast and boundless aura surged into her heart. Alarmed, she was about to struggle when she felt that although the force was domineering, it was gentle and harbored no malicious intent.
Realizing that the emergence of this speck of light was bound to be linked to the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, Shi Yu calmed her mind slightly and used her divine sense to observe the unfamiliar environment within the speck of light.
She saw a formless space of chaos where up, down, left, and right did not exist. She felt as though she were standing at the dawn of chaos, experiencing the profound mysteries of the heavens and earth opening up.
Why had this space come to be? And what was its purpose?
Before Shi Yu could ponder further, the faint sound of bird chirping suddenly reached her ears.
Stunned, she listened closely, but could hear nothing more.
Just when she thought it was a trick of her imagination, the birdsong sounded again. This time, Shi Yu recognized it as the chirping of swallows.
Immediately after, dreamlike lights and shadows appeared before her eyes, gradually contracting inward to condense into a human figure.
It was a woman who seemed to have been born from the gathered beauty and spiritual essence of the entire world. Standing quietly there, she gave off the impression of a soul that had leaped out from a painting—a frozen, breathtaking landscape.
It was precisely Shi Yu’s original appearance without her disguise.
“...” Shi Yu froze. Before she could react, she saw the figure move.
The woman shifted her feet lightly and began demonstrating a movement technique, every move and stance looking remarkably familiar.
《Lesser Swallow Steps》?
No. Realizing something, Shi Yu stared intently at the figure before her.
She was so light and nimble; the charm of her movement technique resembled 《Lesser Swallow Steps》, yet it transcended it entirely.
The woman, sharing Shi Yu’s exact appearance, was as light and agile as a swallow, moving like a shadow. Though walking on the ground, she seemed to dance through the air, making her elusive and hard to grasp.
Within the space, light and shadow converged once again, giving birth to a human figure. This figure had no facial features, merely an illusory existence serving as an opponent to engage the woman in battle.
The woman shuttled back and forth amidst his attacks, every dodge perfectly timed and every strike lethally precise.
The woman’s footwork shifted continuously, demonstrating the entirety of 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 right before Shi Yu’s astonished eyes.
Or more accurately, an upgraded and refined version of 《Lesser Swallow Steps》.
All the flaws Shi Yu had discovered while practicing 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 during the day had actually been improved and resolved.
The technique had been deduced and perfected, its inherent potential pushed to the ultimate limit. The current 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 was likely not inferior to a Tier-2 movement technique in the slightest.
“To think the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell possesses such a miraculous function.”
She had not noticed it before, but only upon beginning to practice another technique today did she realize the Fate-Tapping Bell had such heaven-defying capability.
Although the Fate-Tapping Bell only came with one cultivation heart code, the 《Fate-Tapping Record》, and nothing else, now that she had discovered this function, practicing other spells and divine abilities in the future would surely yield outstanding results.
These thoughts flashed past in an instant, and the female figure resumed her demonstration once more.
Shi Yu observed with total concentration, unwilling to miss a single movement.
However, during this demonstration, the consumption of her divine sense was unprecedented, like a full bucket of water pouring out.
Just as her divine sense was on the verge of depletion, the woman’s movements abruptly stopped, and Shi Yu’s divine sense was forcibly ejected from the speck of light.
Shi Yu opened her eyes and let out a long breath, a look of shock surfacing on her face.
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