When Gu Han, who was usually so serious, saw the sword maiden form of the Shuihan Sword for the first time, he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. How to put it, this sword maiden looked extremely similar to a character from a thousand years ago: the snake spirit from the story of the Calabash Brothers...
Standing at 1.8 meters tall with legs that stretched 1.2 meters, she had snow-white hair and a slender figure that seemed to sway in the breeze. Of course, what made her most similar to the snake spirit was her tiny waist, which looked like it could be wrapped with just one hand from a distance.
It was no wonder, after all, the original owner of the Shuihan Sword was a snake demon under the command of the True Wu Emperor. Influenced by its master over time, it wasn't strange that it looked like a snake demon.
However, when Yuan Kong saw his sword maiden for the first time, he felt extremely awkward. He was a Taoist priest, so why did he have such a seductive sword maiden? Just looking at her made his face turn red, and if they were to live together, he would be in constant discomfort.
"Daoist Yuan Kong! Congratulations, congratulations!" Gu Han stepped forward to offer his congratulations. After reaching the top of Wudang Mountain, Gu Han, who was usually serious and seldom smiled, became very cheerful and even took the initiative to congratulate an NPC.
The reason for this change was not that Gu Han had become sunny and cute, but that he was deliberately increasing the friendliness of the Wudang Mountain NPCs. The better the friendliness, the more obedient these NPCs would be, and the lower the chances of any trouble.
"I dare not, I dare not. If it weren't for the guidance of Commander Tidu, Yuan Kong would never have touched the Shuihan Sword and would have lived a muddled life. Commander Tidu has given me a new lease on life, and I will never forget this!" The young Taoist Yuan Kong was so moved that tears streamed down his face, and he insisted on kneeling down to kowtow to Gu Han.
Seeing his sword holder insisting on kneeling to someone else, the newly awakened sword maiden Shuihan felt a surge of frustration. Opening her cherry lips, she said in a sharp voice, "Yuan Kong, you useless thing, since you are my sword holder, how can you casually bow to some random people..."
Before Shuihan could finish her sentence, a sharp glare from Yue Wang silenced her, and she swallowed the rest of her words.
"It's nothing, nothing at all!" Gu Han quickly helped Yuan Kong up. "Soon, the Dark Dragon King's subordinates will attack. We need your strength to deal with this crisis together!"
"Commander Tidu is right, Yuan Kong will certainly..."
"Wait, Commander Tidu, what did you just say? The Dark Dragon King's subordinates are going to attack?" The old Taoist Rumi was shocked and quickly grabbed Gu Han's hand to ask.
"That's right. I forgot to tell you, Rumi. My brother at the foot of the mountain just sent a message. The Dark Dragon King has discovered that his eighteen lines of defense have been breached. He is now dispatching troops, and the first batch will arrive in about fifty minutes."
"Also, according to my brother's estimate, these incoming enemies are much stronger than those in the eighteen lines of defense." Gu Han said this very casually.
Although Gu Han said it casually, Rumi couldn't remain calm. If each of these enemies was stronger than the skeletons, how could the Wudang lineage survive? Rumi looked at Gu Han with concern, and Gu Han understood, comforting him.
"Don't worry. I have already contacted the Yanjing Base City. Reinforcements will arrive within five hours. When they do, you will follow my commands, and I guarantee to protect everyone for these five hours!"
Perhaps Gu Han's calm attitude infected Rumi, who calmed down a bit and bowed deeply to Gu Han. "I entrust everything to Commander Tidu!"
ββ
As mentioned before, there are three NPCs on the top of Wudang Mountain who have the potential to become sword holders. Among these three, one is the Taoist Yuan Kong, and the other two are ordinary survivors outside the Taoist group.
This time, Rumi did not accompany Gu Han but led his Taoist group to do some tasks as instructed by Gu Han. Time was precious, so Rumi did not follow Gu Han but let the newly awakened sword holder Yuan Kong accompany him, taking the opportunity to teach Yuan Kong some basic knowledge and combat skills of sword holders.
The area of Tianzhu Peak on Wudang Mountain is quite large, about a few hundred acres. However, most of this land is composed of rocks and cannot be cultivated. Only some sheltered areas have accumulated enough soil to be cultivated into fields. These fields are the only ones for the seven hundred people on the top of Wudang Mountain.
When the Celestial Master Zhijing was alive, a large area of land in the heart of Wudang Mountain was cultivated by the survivors. At that time, the grain produced was enough for a thousand people, with some surplus.
However, three days ago, the battle between the Dark Dragon King and Celestial Master Zhijing in the heart of the mountain resulted in all the fields being burned to ashes by the Dark Dragon King's dragon fire. The remaining fields on the mountain top were not enough to feed the seven hundred people. Even if the Dark Dragon King did not attack but simply blockaded the mountain top, the survivors would starve to death.
Because the land on the mountain top was precious, all the exposed areas were cultivated into fields, and the survivors lived in artificial caves. The survivors who tried to escape returned to their caves and put down their belongings.
However, they would soon have to pick up their belongings again because, according to Gu Han's plan, everyone must gather in the Chao Tian Palace for unified protection. They would wait for the strong reinforcements from Yanjing City to arrive and then be taken away together. Otherwise, if even one or two people were left outside and killed by the enemies, Gu Han's SSS rating would be completely ruined.
Gu Han walked the mountain path with ease, turned a few corners, and saw a beautifully constructed cave. On both sides of the cave's stone walls, two lifelike lions were carved, making it look like a wealthy person's home.
"Here we are. According to my senses, there is a potential sword holder inside!" Gu Han pointed to the cave.
"Commander Tidu, you mean here?" Yuan Kong laughed foolishly and shouted into the cave, "Daniu, come out and greet the guest!"
ββ
Daniu, as Yuan Kong called him, was a strong man in his thirties. According to Yuan Kong, this man was his great-uncle's son. His ancestor was also a sword holder, but he had a poor mind. At the age of thirty, his intelligence was like that of a seven-year-old child, and he loved to play with Yuan Kong.
His father died a few years ago while protecting the villagers in the heart of the mountain, killed by an enemy on the fields. Daniu, being left without care, would have starved to death on the top of Wudang Mountain if it weren't for his strength, which allowed him to earn a living by doing odd jobs for other survivors.
Gu Han explained his purpose to Daniu and brought Yuan Kong and Shuihan to him as examples. Daniu clapped his hands and laughed foolishly. He didn't really understand what Gu Han was saying but looked enviously at the beautiful Shuihan behind Yuan Kong and asked foolishly, "Can Daniu also marry a wife as beautiful as Xiaokongkong?"
If it weren't for Yue Wang's glare, Shuihan would have been so angry that she would have slashed Daniu with her sword.
According to the guide, Daniu's sword was not in the Wudang Mountain armory. Since Daniu's father was Yuan Kong's great-uncle and thus part of the Wudang lineage, Daniu had also tried over a thousand swords in his childhood, but none of them worked.
Daniu's sword was in another family's home. Unlike Daniu's luxurious cave, this family's cave was much more desolate. It was located in the darkest part of the mountain top, and even at noon, the cave was dim and hard to see clearly.
The owner of this cave was an old woman with a wrinkled face. When Gu Han visited, she only muttered, "Don't rush, don't rush, the old woman is still one day away from turning sixty!"
Yuan Kong felt awkward and a bit sad, waving to Gu Han, "Grandma is old and confused. Don't mind her."
"It's fine!" Gu Han smiled, leading Yuan Kong, Shuihan, and Daniu to the deepest part of the cave. He pointed to the stone wall and said, "This sword is naturally formed and is inside this stone wall. Shuihan, split the stone wall and see."
"What are you, spouting nonsense? Why should I do this..." Yue Wang glared fiercely at Shuihan, and she immediately softened. For some reason, every time she saw Yue Wang's eyes, she felt a deep sense of insignificance and fear.
In the end, Shuihan obediently used her sword to split the stone wall, and pieces of rock fell continuously, quickly forming a large pit.
"Stop!" Gu Han signaled Shuihan to stop. When the dust settled, he looked closely. Indeed, there was a stone block that looked like a sword hilt, with the sword blade embedded in the stone wall.
"There really is a sword inside!" Shuihan, who had thought Gu Han was just talking nonsense, felt her eyes were blind. Others might not be sure if the stone block was a sword hilt, but as a sword maiden, Shuihan knew from the first glance that it was indeed a sword hilt.
"But Commander Tidu, how can we pull the sword out if it is deeply embedded in the stone wall?" the young Taoist Yuan Kong asked in confusion.
"That's easy!" Gu Han pulled Daniu to the front of the pit and said gently, "Daniu, grab the sword hilt."
Then, a brilliant light shone, illuminating the entire dark stone cave.
ββ
**Shuihan Sword:**
- **Material:** Pear Wood
- **Origin:** Natural (Ming Dynasty Β· Ordinary)
- **Realm:** Ancient Sword (Cannot be upgraded)
- **Grade:** 9th Rank (Can be improved)
- **Sword Path:** Confucian Path
- **Confucian Path Characteristics:** Incense Offering β Within a certain range, for every ordinary person who prays to the Shuihan Sword, Shuihan's attributes increase by 1%, up to a maximum of 30%.
- **Awakening:** Awakened
- **Form:** Sword Maiden Form
- **Sword Holder:** Yuan Kong (NPC)
- **Deep Engraving:** Not deeply engraved
- **Damage Ratio:** Sword Maiden Form 0.01 / Sword Form 0.012
- **Protection Ratio:** Sword Maiden Form 0.25 / Sword Form 0.34
- **Agility Ratio:** Sword Maiden Form 0.082 / Sword Form 0.091
- **Synchronization Coordination Time Requirement:** 3 minutes
- **Initial Engraving:** After synchronization, permanently increase the sword holder's sword essence by 100 points, and the sword holder's reputation increases by 1 point.
- **Engraving Contract:** After synchronization, the sword holder becomes a guardian deity of Taoism, with strong killing power against soul-type enemies.
- **Basic Skill β Cold Strike:** Consume 50 sword qi to fill the sword with cold and launch an attack. If it hits, the enemy will be in a cold state, reducing their hit rate by 10% for 5 seconds. The effect is doubled against fire-type enemies.
- **Passive Skill β Immune to Evil:** In battle, can resist three curse attacks from soul-level enemies or below every minute.
- **Advanced Skill β Ice Seal:** Consume 10% durability and 400 points to immediately freeze soul-level enemies or below. If the enemy is fire-type, it will take 50 fixed damage. If non-fire-type, it will recover 50 health points after the freeze ends. The freeze lasts 3 seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.
- **Ultimate Skill β Snake General Descends:** Summon the Snake General to possess the body, significantly increasing combat power. During the Snake General's possession, the sword holder will lose control of the Shuihan Sword. The effect lasts 30 seconds, with a 20-minute cooldown.
- **Description:** One of the eight magical weapons of the Snake General under the True Wu Emperor. It is said to be formed from a pear seed in the True Wu Emperor's body, inherently water-based, and can freeze opponents with intense cold.