Chapter 63: The Grey-Robed Elder
After his earlier ordeal, Li Yan finally gained some insight into the use of divine sense and also understood what would happen if he recklessly used spells.
Now that he was certain of that, another matter immediately came to mind, the "Fractured Poison Body" had granted him entrance into the Wraith Sect, but it could just as easily lead to his ruin.
Settling himself indoors, he began calming his mind. Once his divine sense gradually withdrew inward, he once again entered his sea of consciousness. Gazing down at the still, dark lake beneath his feet, he felt as though it had been a lifetime since he was last here, a sense of surreal detachment washed over him.
Only after quite some time did Li Yan compose himself and focus his mind. As he directed his consciousness toward the surface of the lake, lines upon lines of golden script began to rise and shimmer in the air.
As expected, the incantation for the first layer of the Qi Condensation stage had been replaced. New lines of text had taken its place, he immediately spotted a dozen or so lines outlining the cultivation method for the second level.
Holding his breath and steadying his thoughts, Li Yan began memorizing the second-level incantation word by word. Once he had thoroughly committed it to memory, he swiftly exited the sea of consciousness.
Back in the room, he immediately sat down and began cultivating according to the new incantation for the second level of Qi Condensation...
An hour later, Li Yan opened his eyes, a rare smile appearing on his face.
What he had feared most was that the "Fractured Poison Body" might have mutated his spiritual roots. Although Wei Chongran had confirmed once more that he still possessed a mixed spiritual root, Li Yan had remained deeply uneasy, what if the elemental balance had shifted, rendering him unable to cultivate the Guishui True Scripture?
In this world, with such a poor spiritual root configuration as his, he truly couldn't think of any other cultivation technique better suited than the Guishui True Scripture.
Fortunately, his fears were unfounded. Upon practicing the new incantation, he found that the technique still circulated smoothly through his meridians. The spiritual energy surged without hindrance, just as it had before.
Looking at the five energy vats in his dantian, each now visibly larger than before, he willed the elemental flows to shift among the five phases and as before, the transitions were seamless and natural. Only then did he finally relax.
With everything in order, Li Yan rose and walked out into the courtyard. He was still filled with excitement and now couldn't resist the urge to try something, flying.
Aside from soaring in his sea of consciousness and the brief flight earlier with Li Wuyi, he had yet to truly experience the exhilaration of flying. He was eager to finally ride the clouds and drift through the skies.
With a tap on the storage pouch at his waist, a flicker of spiritual light flashed as his divine sense activated it, and a small, shuttle-shaped object appeared on the ground.
Li Yan knew that infusing it with spiritual power or mounting a spirit stone would activate it. But unwilling to waste his precious few spirit stones, he instead poured his own spiritual power into it. With a wave of his hand, the shuttle-shaped flying spirit artifact rose a foot above the ground.
Within a few breaths, it expanded to five or six feet in length. Considering the size of his courtyard, Li Yan adjusted its dimensions slightly smaller and then stepped atop it in one smooth motion...
...
That night, Li Yan lay in bed, smiling in his sleep. In his dreams, he was wobbling unsteadily through the air above the courtyard, one moment fast, the next slow, sometimes crashing into the protective array on the walls and being bounced back, other times plummeting face-first toward the ground...
The next morning, waking to the sight of a clear blue sky through the bamboo leaves outside his window, Li Yan stretched lazily.
Refreshed and clear-headed, he washed up, disabled the courtyard's defensive array, and stepped out to find a bamboo lunchbox already placed neatly at the doorstep, steaming gently with the scent of food.
It seemed his status as an outer sect disciple still carried weight. As he'd arranged with the servant disciples the day before, his meals would now be delivered on time daily.
The meal was simple yet satisfying, not gourmet fare, but light and delicious.
Afterward, Li Yan headed straight to the cultivation room to resume his training. He was acutely aware of his shortcomings, having entered the sect so late, he needed to work twice as hard to catch up. Once he was rested, he was unwilling to waste a single breath.
However, after barely half the time it took to burn an incense stick, Li Yan suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes. Looking down, he saw the token at his waist flashing silently, emitting a soft green glow.
He channeled his divine sense into it and a moment later, he raised his head with a knowing expression.
"So it's Senior Brother, he must be coming to take me to choose my cultivation method and immortal techniques."
By now, he'd already explored most of the token's functions. The pulsing glow was part of its communication feature, allowing it to act like a transmission talisman within a thousand-li range.
Whether for emergency sect summons or peer-to-peer communication, the embedded imprints in the token allowed messages to be sent and received. Yesterday, Li Wuyi and Lin Daqiao had both handled his token, likely leaving behind their personal imprints then.
Li Yan recalled that when he'd examined the token last night, he'd seen nine faint green dots glowing within. It seemed that either the eldest or seventh senior brother had helped imprint the marks of the other members of Little Bamboo Peak as well.
Finishing his cultivation, Li Yan swiftly opened the door and stepped outside.
Li Wuyi stood at the gate of the bamboo courtyard, smiling. When he saw Li Yan emerge, he returned a slight nod.
Last night, Lin Daqiao had come by to inform him of Li Yan's residence and gave a brief account of their conversation. Knowing how meticulous his eldest senior brother was, he assumed anything he hadn't covered would be filled in later.
What surprised Li Wuyi most was hearing that this new disciple, despite only reaching the second level of Qi Condensation, could already project his divine sense beyond his body, a feat far beyond expectation. But that surprise quickly turned into quiet joy.
A true heir of the Fractured Poison Body, to have such extraordinary ability at such a low cultivation level was remarkable indeed.
After a few casual words at the courtyard gate, Li Wuyi summoned his flying magical tool and took Li Yan with him into the skies. Li Yan's clumsy and low-grade flying spirit artifact were, of course, politely ignored by both parties.
After soaring for a while and leaving the cluster of courtyards behind, they flew for several hundred breaths until they arrived at a part of the mountain surrounded by dense ink-black bamboo.
There, nestled within the bamboo grove, was a small bamboo hut, no more than three or four zhang wide. Li Yan couldn't help but blink in surprise.
This tiny place was the famed Treasure Repository?
It was utterly unlike what he'd imagined based on the name alone.
As they drew within several dozen zhang of the small bamboo hut, Li Wuyi descended from the sky and put away his flying magical tool, leading Li Yan straight toward the hut.
Li Yan followed closely behind. But just as they closed the distance to within about a dozen zhang, he suddenly felt a divine sense sweep over his body. He paused instinctively, but in the next moment, that divine sense vanished without a trace.
Because of Strategist Ji's frequent use of divine sense to examine him in the past, Li Yan was particularly sensitive to such probing and instinctively resisted it.
When he glanced at Li Wuyi, however, the senior's steps didn't falter in the slightest. He continued forward as if completely unaware.
Li Yan pondered to himself:
It seems the person guarding the Treasure Repository isn't necessarily at a high cultivation level. Otherwise, why wait until we were so close to send out divine sense to examine us?
The bamboo hut's door was open, and from where he stood, Li Yan could see a table just inside. Slumped over it was a figure who looked to be sleeping.
As they reached the doorway, Li Yan could see the entire interior clearly and what he saw left him even more baffled. The inside of the hut was exactly as it appeared from outside, small and plain.
Aside from the single table, one chair, and the person dozing on top of it, there was nothing else inside. With such a tiny space, there wouldn't even be room for a few storage chests, let alone any shelves of books.
This is the Treasure Repository? It's far too shabby!
Li Yan recalled how, just yesterday, Li Wuyi had pointed out the other four peaks from afar. Though he couldn't get close to Four Symbols Peak due to the grand formation, and was warned to keep his distance from Boundless Peak, he had at least glimpsed the Treasure Repositories of Spirit Insect Peak Peak and Old Lord Peak from the sky.
Those were true pavilions, towering buildings seven or eight stories tall, majestic and awe-inspiring, radiating an aura of reverence. Compared to those, this bamboo hut wasn't even on par with the outer sect servants' quarters.
"Greetings, Martial Uncle Gu. This disciple has brought a newly arrived junior to select a cultivation technique and immortal techniques."
Li Wuyi stopped at the doorway and offered a deep bow.
His action shocked Li Yan. He was beginning to understand the hierarchical etiquette of the cultivation world, and this gesture was clearly one used when a junior greeted a senior. Could the seemingly sleeping man before them actually be a Core Formation cultivator?
Just yesterday, Lin Daqiao had explained how a Foundation Establishment expert could easily destroy a mortal town with a single blow, and that a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could crush an early-stage one like a bug.
From that, Li Yan had gathered just how terrifying a Core Formation cultivator truly was, an existence far beyond his imagination. And now, one such person was right before him? How laughable that he had dared speculate about the man's cultivation level earlier.
"Oh? So this is the boy everyone's been gossiping about, the one with the 'Fractured Poison Body'?"
A lazy, drawling voice echoed in Li Yan's ears.
He looked up and saw the man slowly straightening from his slouched position.
It was a gaunt, short elder dressed in grey robes, looking to be around seventy or eighty years old. His white hair was neatly combed, his face deeply lined with age. He exuded a languid air, his half-lidded eyes barely open.
Yet the moment he casually glanced at Li Yan, the young man felt as if his very soul were laid bare. A shiver ran down his spine, and he went pale. That single glance seemed to see through every secret he possessed.
"Hm? This kid is a bit interesting… Heh heh. The depth of his spiritual power feels more like someone at the third level of Qi Condensation, odd given his actual level. Could this be the effect of that 'Fractured Poison Body'?"
The grey-robed elder's first words seemed addressed to the two of them, but the latter part of his mutterings were clearly to himself, low enough that only he could hear them.
The oppressive sensation suddenly lifted from Li Yan's body, and the soul-chilling fear disappeared. But in that brief moment, cold sweat had already soaked his back.
Li Wuyi replied respectfully, "Yes, Martial Uncle Gu. The Eighth Junior Brother indeed possesses the 'Fractured Poison Body.'"
"Oh? Then come here, boy. Let me take a closer look."
The grey-robed elder withdrew his divine sense and spoke with a hint of interest in his tone.
"Yes, Martial Uncle Gu!"
Li Yan didn't dare delay. Forcing himself to steady his nerves, he bowed respectfully just like Li Wuyi, then stepped forward.
As he approached the table, the elder leaned slightly forward and reached out with a bony, withered hand, seizing Li Yan's wrist.
Li Yan gave a wry smile inwardly. Since arriving at the Wraith Sect, he had experienced this sort of probing too many times to count. He was growing numb to it.
A moment later, the elder released his grip. His deeply wrinkled face showed a trace of regret.
"Ah, it's as I thought, just a mixed spiritual root. What a waste of such a fine physique."
He gazed at Li Yan with disappointment for a few seconds, then returned to his slouched, half-lazy posture.
"What's your name, boy?" he asked listlessly.
"Disciple Li Yan," Li Yan answered respectfully.
(Chapter End)