After the battle ended, a faint scent of blood lingered in the hollow, mingling with the mist rising from the spirit spring before being slowly dispersed by the mountain breeze.
Jiang Yinglan put away the formation stone and was about to call everyone to head down the mountain when Sun Yi pointed at the fluorescent spring pool, his eyes lighting up.
“Senior Martial Sister, this is a spirit spring! Since we’re already here, why don’t we borrow its spiritual energy to recover a bit before leaving?”
Jiang Yinglan glanced at the spring, then looked around at the others.
Zhou Ping still had bruises on his arm from where a wind wolf had collided with him, and Sun Yi’s own spiritual energy was largely depleted.
Gu Yanqing’s arm was smeared with wolf drool; though the skin was unbroken, his aura still carried a lingering sharpness from the combat.
Lin Zhixue was quiet as usual, but having only recently broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, her realm was not yet entirely stable.
“Alright.” She propped her sword against a boulder beside the spring. “We’ll rest here for half a shichen.”
Though the spirit spring was not large, it brimmed with an almost extravagant abundance of spiritual energy.
The five each found a spot by the spring to sit cross-legged. As the spiritual energy in the water seeped into their meridians with every breath, their meditation efficiency was several times greater than usual.
Gu Yanqing sat on a flat rock by the spring, circulating both the spiritual energy he had absorbed during combat and that of the spirit spring to channel the mental chant for the fourth revolution of the 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》.
Though the wind wolf’s bite had not broken his skin, his muscles had undergone real-combat tension and impact, penetrating deeper into his flesh and sinew than the whippings used during body tempering.
Now, as spiritual energy poured in, the microscopic torn fibers grew even tougher as they repaired themselves.
He could feel the toughness of his bones and tendons rise another notch, the density of his flesh far surpassing that of cultivators of the same rank.
This cultivation technique was punishing indeed, but the results were undeniable.
Not far across from him, Lin Zhixue sat with her eyes closed, circulating her spiritual energy.
Her realm, having just broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, had been thoroughly tempered in the crucible of battle.
Nourished by the spirit spring, her slightly unsettled spiritual energy gradually solidified, flowing smoothly and steadily through her meridians. Her foundation at the sixth level had now solidified completely.
After half a shichen, the group concluded their cultivation one after another and opened their eyes.
With their spiritual energy mostly restored and Jiang Yinglan’s mission successfully completed, they should have headed straight down the mountain back to the city.
Yet Lin Zhixue was in no hurry to leave. She stood atop a boulder beside the spring, the mountain wind pouring down from above and gently fluttering her ponytail.
Looking into the distance from here, the outline of Canglan City shrank beneath her feet into a tiny patch of gray, with undulating layers of mountains stretching even further out.
And beyond that lay a sea of clouds dyed pale gold by the setting sun, an endless expanse that seemed to have no limit.
She stood there for a long time.
Xiaoyu drifted out of the jade pendant, following her gaze into the distance without saying a word.
Jiang Yinglan walked over beside her, following her line of sight toward the sea of clouds on the horizon.
Thinking Lin Zhixue was merely admiring the view, she was surprised when the girl spoke.
“The Yunxiao Sect...”
“Is it very far?”
Slightly taken aback, Jiang Yinglan turned her head to look at her.
The setting sun traced a slender profile along Lin Zhixue’s face. In her amber eyes reflected the light of the horizon, trembling faintly within their depths.
Jiang Yinglan did not answer right away.
Having spent years in the sect, she had seen far too many people bend over backward just to squeeze into the Yunxiao Sect.
Some did it for cultivation techniques.
Some did it for status.
Some simply wished to flee backwaters even more derelict than Canglan City.
Yet the girl before her was different.
She had not asked “How do I get in?” but rather “Is it very far?”
It sounded as if, so long as it was not impossibly far, she could simply walk there on her own two feet.
“Very far.”
A faint smile touched Jiang Yinglan’s lips.
“Yet with your talent, you should be able to make it there.”
Silence lingered for a moment.
Lin Zhixue merely gazed at that sea of clouds, repeating those words in her heart over and over.
In the past, she had only wanted to survive, earn spirit stones, and cultivate to become stronger; as for what to do after growing strong, she had never considered it.
Now, for the first time, she had a vague sense of direction.
One she had seen with her own eyes by lifting her head.
...
At the edge of the dense forest, Lin Yuanfan stood behind a pine tree, slowly crushing a pine needle between his fingertips.
He had stalked them the entire way today. From the five heading up the mountain to finding the spirit spring, from the chaotic melee with the demon beasts to their rest by the water, he had witnessed it all.
He had not intervened or made a sound, maintaining just enough distance throughout to avoid detection.
His cultivation was at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, four levels higher than Lin Zhixue's. As long as he did not expose himself deliberately, neither she nor Gu Yanqing at Mid Foundation Establishment was likely to notice him.
He had seen Lin Zhixue pierce the wind wolf’s throat with a single thrust—a strike far too clean for the sixth level of Qi Refining.
He had seen her standing upon the rock, turning her head to say something to Jiang Yinglan.
Asking for directions? Inquiring about the sect?
He was too far away to hear clearly, seeing only that Jiang Yinglan smiled after hearing it and replied with a sentence.
Then, the corner of Lin Zhixue’s mouth shifted slightly.
Lin Yuanfan’s expression remained unchanged, but the fingers hanging at his side slowly curled tight.
Having known Lin Zhixue for over a decade, he had never once seen such an expression on her face.
She was looking into the distance.
Lin Yuanfan ground the pine needle to powder and brushed the debris from his hands.
His expression did not shift much, yet his eyes grew darker.
A branch member of the Lin family producing a junior who caught the eye of an inner disciple from the Yunxiao Sect should have been a good thing.
Yet if that person was Lin Zhixue, that was entirely wrong.
In the past, he could manipulate and control her at will within the clan because she had nothing to rely on in the Lin family.
Her father was neglectful, her stepmother was harsh, and her branch status ensured she would always be treated as lesser.
Yet if she went to the Yunxiao Sect, all of that would change.
She would no longer be a branch member of the Lin family; she would be a disciple of the Yunxiao Sect.
When that time came, what leverage would he have to control her?
Casting one last glance toward the mountain summit, he turned and melted silently back into the dense forest.
He needed to coordinate with Madam Zhou as soon as possible, and lay the groundwork with Lin Zhixue's father beforehand.
No matter what methods it took, Lin Zhixue could not be permitted to leave the Lin family.
...
In the rear courtyard of the Gu manor, steam from a medicinal bath seeped out through the cracks of the door.
Gu Yanqing leaned against the edge of the wooden tub, biting down on a towel as he endured the final wave of medicinal potency from the body tempering bath.
The scalding brew soaked into his skin, blazing along his meridians deep into the marrow of his bones; everywhere it passed felt as though it were being scraped repeatedly by a red-hot iron brush.
Yet unlike previous times, he could clearly feel his body adapting.
It was likely because his physical body was growing stronger—strong enough to withstand tempering of this intensity.
The 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》 had nine revolutions in total, and he had already endured five.
The first two revolutions had merely reddened his skin, the third and fourth had made him howl in agony, and though the fifth was still agonizing, at least he no longer needed to grind his molars to dust.
Concluding his cultivation, he leaned on the rim of the tub and panted for a good while before picking up a towel to dry himself and slipping into an outer robe.
He sat by the tub, spacing out for a moment.
Jiang Yinglan had arrived. People from the Yunxiao Sect had appeared.
This meant that the original novel's plot point where the female lead entered the sect was not far off.
Naturally, he wanted to enter as well. As for why...
Even he was not entirely certain.
Perhaps it was because he knew the plot and knew that once Lin Zhixue joined the sect, she would face even greater challenges and far more complicated situations.
And if he remained in Canglan City, he would be powerless to help her.
Or perhaps it was because he had no desire to live his entire life as a useless playboy muddling along beneath his clan's shelter.
In truth, he didn't have to go at all.
Staying in Canglan City was the safest choice; the Gu clan had a Nascent Soul ancestor holding down the fort, so even if he couldn't walk around like he owned the city, he would at least never have to worry about food, drink, or safety.
The Yunxiao Sect was a place where hidden dragons coiled and crouching tigers rested, teeming with geniuses; tossing his meager Mid Foundation Establishment cultivation in there wouldn't even make a splash.
Not to mention the sect missions, secret realm expeditions, and factional struggles, where a single slip-up could cost him his life.
Yet he had already decided to go.
Perhaps it was because the wind on the mountain had been too fierce, clouding his head.
He tossed the towel into the tub and stood up to walk out, his steps noticeably lighter than after previous rounds of tempering.
The changes in his body did not lie; he was no longer the useless playboy from when he had just transmigrated, the one who couldn't even hold a sword steady.
Rate on N.U.
