Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains《蜀山劍俠傳》by Huanzhu Louzhu 還珠樓主 (lit. Master of Returning Pearl Loft) was published between 1932 and 1948 and is one of the most influential wuxia novels of all time. Many of the elements in this novel became standard tropes of the wuxia genre. It is also the forefather of the modern xianxia cultivation novel. Huanzhu’s cultivation system became the standard, fusing the Daoist quest for transcendence with the Buddhist reincarnation cycle and tribulation system, as well as the Confucian virtue of humaneness 仁 and the chivalrous xia 俠 archetype. At over 4.1 million Chinese characters, it is also one of the longest wuxia novels, though it remains unfinished due to the civil war in China. So the first cultivation novel was also eunuched—rather fitting.

The story follows multiple protagonists as they gradually gather together, fighting heretical sects and spirit elementals on their way to founding the Mount Emei Sect. Most outstanding among these protagonists is Li Yingqiong, who begins the novel as a girl with no martial arts abilities, and through the course of the novel cultivates to become a transcendent (aka immortal).

In this novel, plants, animals, and monsters can all become human and cultivate to transcendence, or lose their primordial spirit (aka nascent soul) and have to start all over, or be obliterated completely after failing their tribulation. Grotto-heavens and magic treasures abound, and we see the beginning of sects as major organizations in wuxia novels with important roles in the plot, such as Emei, Qingcheng, Mount Hua, Wudang, Mount Huang, Snowy Mountain, Kongtong, Kunlun, and Wutai, as well as the emergence of what would later become the archetypal eccentric beggar character. There are miraculous drugs, sword kinesis, and battles between mythical beasts, and heretic cultivators trying to cheat their way to a faster transcendence. In short, pretty much all of the elements one normally sees in the typical xianxia cultivation webnovel.

"Disciple, you have the potential to become a great immortal!"

When the master said this and sent Song Yin into the alchemy furnace, Song Yin understood...

It is our responsibility to restore the glory of righteousness!

The Reticent Blade is, first and foremost, a wuxia novel, meaning that the world and its character’s powers and abilities are more grounded. Instead of cultivators who can soar through the heavens and shatter planets, you will find martial artists who can still perform superhuman feats but not so fantastical as to tear through space or achieve immortality.

The world of The Reticent Blade is one of medieval China, loosely based upon the time period of the Ming Dynasty. It is a time of chaos and strife, where war and death are rampant. We follow the intertwining story of several protagonists and antagonists as they navigate the chaotic times, unraveling the threads that connect the past, the present, and the future of the world.

The Reticent Blade is a story of heroism, love, revenge, and cruelty.

The Reticent Blade is a story of both the righteousness and vileness of the Jianghu.

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Official Blurb:

Someone once asked me, "What is the jianghu?"

I thought for a moment, and what came to mind was…

A jug of unrefined wine on a weathered table,

A lone silhouette fading into the distance under the setting sun,

A nameless grave bathed in moonlight,

The smoldering incense in my grasp, its final wisps dissipating.

They then asked me, "Where is the jianghu?"

I smiled faintly and lifted my gaze beyond the window. Out there, beneath the vast heavens, countless jianghus lay.

A single soul carries his own story.

When two paths cross, a jianghu is born.

[Ordinary daily life + Relaxed + King of Gou + Invincible in the same realm + Stupid and rich] No, what I gave him was the Qigong method. Has he cultivated to the level of the Great Emperor?

Hua Liuyun, who has been an orphan since childhood, has started his capitalist life step by step with his extraordinary luck.

The son of luck is out of date. He is the father of luck. In the face of absolute strength, even the master of the restricted area has to raise his hand to offer a cigarette, and in the face of money, even the heaven has to wag its tail and beg for mercy.

Lord of the Forbidden Zone: Lord Demon Emperor, please smoke my cigarette. This is the immortality medicine cigarette that I specially found!

The Emperor of Jiuzhou: My boss, can you give me the contract for building the Great Wall outside the territory?

Ten Directions Demon Emperor: Everyone, work harder. The boss's furs have been sold to the prehistoric world. Let's try to get the boss a new Demon Emperor car next year.

Until one day, Hua Liuyun met a man, and the man asked: Can you lend me some money?

From then on, a generation of capital legend had become a deadbeat...

A mysterious movie ticket severed the causal bonds of worldly affairs. From then on, he battled between life and death, climbing the perilous path of seeking the truth. (Original Infinite Flow story, book clubs 100, 490, 340) If you think "Infinite Evil Bone Road" is good, please don't forget to recommend it to your friends on QQ and Weibo!

In the world of Kyushu, players full of resentment gathered together and formed an alliance with their blood, vowing to make the big devil's soul disappear.

Suddenly, all directions responded, the storm surged, and everyone saw a bright tomorrow.

Except Lu Bei.

He is the so-called devil.

"Calling me a devil, blaming me for cheating you. How could I, an NPC, cheat you? That's what cultivating an immortal is like!"

The story is now complete, so please enjoy it without worry. My new book is titled "Nobody's Better at Showing Off in Public." He came from the primordial era, bearing the destiny of humanity. He has countless disciples and together they nurtured twelve emperors for the human race. *sobs* After raising so many boys, now I need my female disciples to scrub my back! [cabinet emoji]

Su Chen traveled to the seventh year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty and became a Taoist priest in a Taoist temple outside Chang'an City. However, he found that this place was actually a world of high martial arts. A powerful warrior could sweep through thousands of troops and fight against ten thousand enemies alone.

He couldn't even practice his true qi and couldn't even protect the Taoist temple where he lived. Fortunately, he accidentally awakened the "Golden List of Interpretations". As long as he interpreted the divination for others, he could get rewards.

[Li Lizhi asked for a divination, the worst divination, the interpretation of the divination can get a hundred years of cultivation skills, and the calamity can get the "Taishang Wangqing Sword Technique"]

[Empress Changsun asked for a divination, the worst divination, the interpretation of the divination can get three hundred years of skills, and the calamity can get the "Nine Phoenix Changchun Gong"]

[Li Shimin asked for a divination, the worst divination, the interpretation of the divination can get a thousand years of skills, and the calamity can get the "Invincible Saint Emperor Golden Body"]

…

Six years later, in the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Su Chen already had 100,000 years of...

The time traveler, messing up fate, causing the sky to fall, is not in the cause and effect, and the believers are all over the kingdom of God! Open the way, remove the shackles, go against the Daluo, walk the ladder of heaven on the way, and ascend to the high seat of God!

[Honghuang] [King Gou] [Funny and humorous] [Dark-hearted] [? ? ? ? ]

The young man traveled through time and space and became a prehistoric gourd vine, and gave himself the domineering name "Cang Qing Teng". As a result, his whiskers were stepped on by the Three Purities at the very beginning, and his leaves were eaten by ferocious beasts. He realized on the spot: being domineering cannot save your life, and pretending to be a coward is the way to go!

From then on, Kunlun Ruins had an "extremely cowardly" vine: it would hang down its vines and pretend to be dead when it saw a big boss, and would cover its head and cry for mercy when encountering a conflict. The gourds it produced were "famous for being a tyrant but actually a pit" - the "Qingcang Gourd" could not stop thousands of troops, but could only stop mosquitoes; the "Zhensha Gourd" could not suppress evil spirits, but could only make people's legs weak.

He secretly transformed into a timid young boy, clinging to the saint's thigh with a childish voice while filling his "primordial black book" with vengeance. He robbed the Dragon Han to retrieve spiritual treasures, muddied the waters in the war between the witches and liches, and pretended to be innocent on the Conferred God Platform. It was not until the demon from outside the domain attacked that he tore off his cowardly mask, controlled thousands of vines and shouted angrily: "I am Cang Qing Teng, who dares to touch me?!"

Saint: "??? Turns out the most cowardly one is the biggest guy!"