The spiritual energy at his fingertips slowly converged and dissipated as the aura circulating around his body gradually settled into calm.
Gu Yanqing concluded his nightly breath regulation, the clamor of voices outside drifting clearly into the room.
Draping his outer robe over his shoulders, he pushed the door open and stepped outside, just in time to see Fang Shouyi standing before Shen Wanwan’s door.
Fang Shouyi raised a hand, hesitated, lowered it, raised it again, and finally gave the door a few light taps.
“Third Miss, it’s time to wake up.”
No sound came from inside.
Fang Shouyi knocked again, slightly harder this time.
“Third Miss, dawn has broken. If we don’t set out now, today’s journey will be delayed again.”
Total silence still met him from beyond the door.
He sighed, turning around to see Gu Yanqing, and cupped his hands with an embarrassed look.
“Good morning, Senior Brother Gu. My young miss... has always woken up rather late.”
“Rather late?” Gu Yanqing glanced up at the sky.
Fang Shouyi gave a dry cough.
“If she gets enough sleep, it’s fine, but if she hasn’t slept enough, forcing her awake makes her throw a terrible temper.”
“All the disciples serving her in the sect know this; nobody dares invite such bad luck.”
Saying so, he shook his head again.
“The Sect Master says the miss is wonderful in every way, except that this morning temper of hers is thrice as ferocious as her sword technique.”
Gu Yanqing pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation.
There truly were all kinds of strange cultivators in the world. A Foundation Establishment cultivator who slept in like a mortal—and more importantly, refused to let anyone disturb her.
Dropping his hand, he said, “Let’s go eat breakfast first, then. Once she’s up, she’ll naturally come find us.”
Fang Shouyi nodded repeatedly. “Senior Brother Gu is right. There’s a stall selling spirit grain porridge in the alley ahead; I scouted it out last night. Let’s go fill our bellies first.”
The two stepped out of the inn and walked east along an alley blanketed in snow.
...
Dawn in Cold Water Valley seemed like an entirely different world from the outside.
Covered in ice and snow, the narrow, elongated valley was hemmed in by towering rock faces on both sides that nearly blotted out the sky, leaving only a slender slit of daylight.
A frigid wind howled down the valley path, slamming into the icy walls on either side with low, rumbling echoes.
Lin Zhixue stood upon a dark blue-black rock, the Guilan Sword already unsheathed.
Eyes closed, she slowly adjusted her breathing.
The next instant, a brilliant sword light flared.
First stance.
An aqua-blue sword glow flowed along the blade. The opening motion was gentle, yet the sword light grew increasingly solid.
As the first stance drew to a close, her wrist flicked abruptly.
Second stance.
The sword tip sliced across midair.
Yet at the exact moment the two stances transitioned, the originally fluid sword light suddenly hitched.
The aqua-blue sword glow dimmed slightly, and the entire momentum shattered instantly.
Lin Zhixue lowered her sword.
Still slightly off.
She looked down at the Guilan Sword in silence for a moment before lifting it once more.
“Still practicing?”
Xiaoyu floated out from the jade pendant.
Looking at Lin Zhixue, it couldn’t help saying, “You’ve already been practicing for an entire shichen.”
“Mm.”
“You’re always like this.”
Xiaoyu crossed its arms.
“Your first stance is getting better and better, and the second stance is fine too, but the moment you try to link the two together, it’s always just that little bit short.”
Lin Zhixue didn’t reply.
She knew this well enough herself.
Yet the clearer the problem became, the more determined she was to solve it.
She swung the sword once more.
The blade drew an aqua-blue arc through the air.
This time, though a faint hesitation lingered, it was much smoother than before.
Lin Zhixue lowered her sword and stood firm.
“A bit better than earlier.”
Xiaoyu nodded.
“Mm.”
Pondering for a moment, it pointed into the distance.
“Still, the spiritual energy here really is quite peculiar.”
“Have you noticed it?”
Lin Zhixue nodded.
“The cold-attribute spiritual energy is exceptionally dense.”
And unlike ordinary chill,
the cold spiritual energy here was not violent, but remarkably pure.
Having arrived in Cold Water Valley barely half a day ago, she could already feel her spiritual energy circulating far more smoothly than usual.
She continued deeper along the valley floor.
The further in she went, the quieter the surroundings became.
The snow gradually thinned, replaced by expansive stretches of dark blue-black rock smoothed by flowing stream water.
After walking a while longer, she suddenly stopped.
Between the stone walls ahead, a wisp of faint white mist drifted slowly outward.
Lin Zhixue parted the hanging ice vines and slipped sideways through a narrow rock fissure.
Her view suddenly opened up.
A small hollow encircled by mountains appeared before her.
In the center lay a spring barely two to three zhang across.
The spring water was unfrozen.
Milky-white spiritual mist rose gently from the water’s surface, and the surrounding rocks, nourished by spiritual energy over countless years, took on a warm, jade-like luster.
Xiaoyu floated over at once.
It stared at the spring for a long while, its eyes gradually brightening.
“Zhixue.”
“Mm?”
“It seems we’ve stumbled upon a real treasure.”
Lin Zhixue walked to the edge of the spring.
Xiaoyu waved its hand above the surface.
“Cold Marrow Spirit Liquid.”
“This stuff is exceedingly rare.”
“It isn’t meant for directly boosting cultivation realm, but it’s exceptionally useful for cultivators with water spirit roots.”
“It can temper the meridians bit by bit, making spiritual energy denser and purer, and it also enhances control over spiritual power.”
Lin Zhixue crouched down and dipped a fingertip into the spring.
The next moment, a surge of pure chill rushed from her fingertip into her meridians.
Her brow twitched slightly.
The chill caused no discomfort; instead, it felt like a clear brook gently cleansing her meridians.
Yet after only a moment, that power dissipated from her body.
Lin Zhixue drew back her hand.
“I can’t retain it.”
“Right,” Xiaoyu nodded.
“Your current cultivation realm isn’t high enough.”
“If you absorb it by force, at least half of the spiritual energy will simply disperse.”
It looked down at the spring.
“Besides, this Cold Marrow Spirit Liquid has accumulated here for so many years; using it gradually is the only way to avoid wasting it.”
Lin Zhixue was in no rush to try again.
She simply committed the spring’s location to memory.
“I’ll return when the time comes.”
“Mm.”
Just as Xiaoyu was about to speak, it froze.
It turned to look at the stone wall behind them.
Lin Zhixue sensed it as well.
Someone was there.
Resting her palm on the hilt of her sword, she turned to look.
A figure stepped slowly out from behind the rock wall.
She was a tall woman, dressed in dark robes that nearly blended into the shadows.
Her ink-black hair was simply tied up, held in place by only a single silver hairpin.
In her hand, she held a sword.
Its scabbard was unadorned and ancient, devoid of any ornate decoration.
Their gazes met in midair.
Lin Zhixue remained silent.
The woman did not immediately approach either.
After a moment, she was the first to speak.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“I am merely passing through.”
Her voice was very soft.
Lin Zhixue kept her hand on the hilt.
She could feel that the other’s aura was far stronger than her own.
Yet there was no killing intent.
The woman glanced at the spring behind her, then shifted her gaze to the Guilan Sword in her hand.
“I was the one who found this place originally.”
“You need not worry about me trying to snatch it.”
Lin Zhixue was slightly taken aback.
She had indeed been guarding against that very possibility.
As though seeing through her thoughts, the woman said calmly, “I have already been here for several days.”
“If I truly wanted to take it, I would have done so long ago.”
Lin Zhixue was quiet for a moment.
“Why?”
The woman looked toward the spring.
“Because it is of little use to me.”
Lin Zhixue looked at her.
The woman did not conceal the truth either.
“I have water-wood dual spirit roots.”
“My cultivation is also centered on water-attribute sword techniques.”
She paused.
“However, I already have resources suited to me.”
Lin Zhixue looked thoughtful.
Right then, Xiaoyu drifted to her ear and whispered, “Zhixue, her cultivation realm must be very high.”
Lin Zhixue nodded faintly.
She had already sensed it.
Golden Core.
The woman looked at Lin Zhixue.
“Did you come here for this spring?”
“No.”
Lin Zhixue shook her head.
“I came to practice a sword technique.”
The woman’s gaze fell upon the Guilan Sword in her hand.
She did not pry further.
She merely looked at Lin Zhixue, then suddenly said,
“Then you may stay.”
Lin Zhixue was somewhat surprised.
“Though secluded, I am not the only one who knows of this place.”
The woman swept her gaze across their surroundings.
“If you cultivate here, you at least will not have to worry about anyone barging in unexpectedly.”
Lin Zhixue fell silent for a brief moment.
She felt no malice from the woman.
Furthermore, the woman was clearly far stronger than she was.
If she harbored ill intent, there would be no need to speak this much.
In the end, she nodded.
“Thank you.”
The woman gave a slight nod.
“I am Su Qinglian.”
“Lin Zhixue.”
The two briefly exchanged names.
Beyond that, no further words were spoken.
Su Qinglian turned and walked to the base of the icy wall on the other side, sitting down cross-legged.
Lin Zhixue returned near the spring.
Once again, she unsheathed the Guilan Sword.
Morning light spilled down from atop the cliffs.
Two figures, one blue and one black, occupied their respective corners of this tranquil hollow.
There was no conversation.
Only silent cultivation.
Xiaoyu floated beside Lin Zhixue, glancing at Su Qinglian in the distance, then back down at the Cold Marrow Spirit Liquid before them.
It felt that this place seemed far more interesting than they had anticipated.
...
Two days later, near the Scarlet Flame Mountain Range, a field of grayish-black jagged rocks began to appear in their line of sight.
The air turned noticeably dry and hot, worlds apart from the snow and ice outside the city.
Wisps of heat seeped out from fissures in the ground; while walking on it did not burn one’s feet, a stifling warmth surged straight up from the soles.
“Miss, we’ve arrived!”
Carrying a sack half as tall as a man on his back, Fang Shouyi took two strides forward in high spirits, turning back to look at Shen Wanwan.
“Obviously.”
Shen Wanwan trailed behind him, looking as if she hadn’t fully awakened yet.
Gu Yanqing cast a glance at her.
After spending the past two days together, he had run out of words for this young miss’s daily routine.
Every single day, she slept until noon, and once awake, sat daydreaming by the bedside for half a cup of tea’s time before actually stepping out the door—by which point nearly half the day was already gone.
What was worse, she refused to let anyone rush her; every time Fang Shouyi barely called out “Third Miss,” he was immediately yelled at.
Taken all together, the two of them could do nothing every morning but wait idly for her to wake up.
By normal travel time, were it not for her schedule, they should have arrived here yesterday.
How did this look anything like a Foundation Establishment cultivator? She looked more like a wealthy layabout out on a sightseeing excursion.
Fang Shouyi, however, was genuinely diligent. Each day, he planned their route in advance, clearly marking where to rest and where to replenish water, acting just like a little steward.
Gu Yanqing shook his head and dismissed the thoughts.
Lifting his eyes toward the layered grayish-black mountain ridges ahead, he continued forward alongside the two.
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