Chapter 39 Searching and Searching

"To the east..." The senior martial brother put away the tortoise shell and began searching the eastern side of the room.

Right at midnight, when the moonlight was at its most intense, the door of the quiet courtyard creaked open. The senior martial brother emerged with disheveled hair, holding a luopan compass in one hand and calculating with his fingers as he walked. "The tortoise shell isn't accurate enough. I should have used the compass from the very beginning. Why is it still the east..."

"East, east, east... south?"

The senior martial brother turned around and found himself facing an empty room.

He blinked, suddenly realizing—ah, yes, he had piled some unused miscellaneous items in his son's room.

Putting away the compass, the senior martial brother pushed the door open. Without even lighting a lamp, he began rummaging around in the pitch darkness.

After turning the fine room completely upside down, he finally retrieved several books from a toy chest.

Most of them were treatises on intricate mechanisms, but sandwiched between them was half a tattered manual, barely clinging to one of the mechanics books.

"Aha, this is it! I knew it—with a memory as sharp as mine, how could I possibly remember wrong? I told you I'd seen a similar cultivation technique before. The Kunyuan Technique, though it's only a half-volume, and heaven knows where the other half might be."

The senior martial brother flipped the booklet open and read it carefully. After merely glancing at the beginning, he hurriedly flipped to the end. "Splendid, splendid, this is the one! Although it's only half a volume, few in this world can ever cultivate to this realm anyway, so there's no need to rush."

Tucking the booklet into his robes, he turned back to survey the chaotic room, shook his head, and muttered, "Too messy. I'll have the kids clean this up tomorrow."

With that, he returned to his own room to sleep.

Meanwhile, separated by a courtyard, Pan Yun was also awake. She was examining the fragmented descriptions of Mount Sanqing she had extracted from the spiritual realm.

She had never visited Mount Sanqing of the twenty-sixth century, but she knew that multiple wars and civilizational shifts over the millennia had left it scarred.

Culture had suffered a fracture ever since, yet a great deal could still be unearthed from within, such as: what did the Mountain Deity of Mount Sanqing actually look like?

Pan Yun flipped through the records page by page. With a realm spirit at her disposal, searching for keywords was merely a matter of a single thought; even without it, she could execute precision searches.

The trouble was that the search results yielded a multitude of Mount Sanqing deities with wildly varying depictions. She had no idea which one to believe, so she had to slowly sift through the database to deduce the most plausible image.

Lord Pan, who possessed the head of a chicken and the body of a man?

Pan Yun could not help glancing at the black cat, sighing inwardly. Why could the Mountain Deity never have anything to do with a cat?

Pan Xiaohei, the nocturnal feline, was already drowsy. Seeing her still lying prone and rummaging through the spiritual realm within her mind, the cat could not help asking, "What on earth are you searching for the Mountain Deity of Mount Sanqing for?"

Pan Yun replied, "Xuanmiao only helped out to repay a favor. Since that's the case, when I take a master, I ought to apprentice myself to the absolute mightiest and most noble one. Who is the most formidable being in Mount Sanqing? Naturally, it is the Mountain Deity of Mount Sanqing! I want to become senior and junior fellow apprentices with Daoist Wang."

Pan Xiaohei: "...What connection is there between the two? Your train of thought makes entirely too many leaps. Very well, but isn't the most noble entity in Mount Sanqing supposed to be the Three Pure Ones? Surely the Mountain Deity must answer to them?"

Pan Yun fell silent.

Seeing her remain mute for quite some time, Pan Xiaohei asked hesitantly, "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Pan Yun sat up and declared. "You weren't wrong. I was the one who was wrong. I simply lacked the audacity to think and act boldly enough. My daring can clearly stretch a bit further. You're right—which of the Three Pure Ones do you think is suited to be my master?"

Pan Xiaohei: "Are you... serious?" It had merely tossed that out casually.

Yet Pan Yun was dead serious. She began weighing the matter in light of her own circumstances. "The time and space I came from has already progressed to the twenty-sixth century, far into the future of this era. I feel that I am a very good match for the Primeval Lord of Heaven. What do you think?"

The black cat lay down flat and refused to speak.

After glowing with excitement for a while, Pan Yun abandoned the idea on her own. "Never mind. Daoists everywhere across the world revere the Three Pure Ones and are all their devotees. If I choose any of those three, not only would few people believe it, but it would also disrupt the market. The Mount Sanqing Deity is just right."

Only then did the black cat perk its head back up.

Recalling Tao Ji's miraculous encounter after singing a song when they ascended the mountain earlier that day, Pan Yun's conviction grew even firmer. "This Mountain Deity of ours sounds like a very benevolent deity who enjoys entertainment. We're a wonderful match. Once I take Him as my master, I shall sing songs to Him every single day."

The black cat shuddered before saying, "As long as you're happy."

With her mind settled, Pan Yun closed her eyes and began picturing the appearance of the Mountain Deity in her mind.

A gentle breeze stirred the talisman pouches hanging beneath the corridor, and another brushed against Pan Xiaohei's fur, yet no one noticed, and the cat remained oblivious.

Once Pan Yun grew quiet, both human and cat quickly drifted off to sleep.

Perhaps because she had thought too much right before dozing off, Pan Yun spent the entire night dreaming of a man clad in armor, wielding a giant sword, who gazed at her with a half-smile.

His looks were passable, but he was simply too towering. The Pan Yun in the dream appeared exceptionally short and small, keenly feeling the oppressive aura emanating from his height.

Pan Yun was profoundly displeased. A table materialized not far from the dream-version of Pan Yun; she promptly dragged the table over, climbed on top of it, and spent the entire night locked in a glaring contest of big eyes against small eyes with the warrior-like man.

It was not until dawn began to break, when the figure in the dream transformed into a crane and flew away, that Pan Yun finally woke up.

She crawled out of bed and sat blankly on the edge, dazed. The dream from the previous night gradually faded, leaving Pan Yun with only a vague shadow.

She could not help knitting her brows tightly as she asked the black cat, "Pan Xiaohei, do you think ghosts and gods truly exist in this world?"

Pan Xiaohei replied, "Ghosts and deities are always mentioned in the same breath. Since you've already seen a ghost, why are you still asking whether gods exist?"

Pan Yun countered, "Ghosts existed in my past life as well, yet I never once laid eyes upon a god."

Pan Xiaohei let out a cold laugh. "That is precisely why the development of your arcane arts struggles to advance any further. You wish to harness divine power, yet you refuse to believe that entities surpassing you exist in this world."

Pan Yun inquired, "Did the person who created and possessed you become a deity?"

Pan Xiaohei grew defensive. "Why do you ask?"

Pan Yun kicked off the blanket and stepped out of bed. "Nothing at all. I merely wished to know if I could pull some strings through connections. Since you won't say, then they most likely never ascended to divinity."

Pan Xiaohei: ...

Pan Yun already had a plan forming in her mind and chose not to dwell on matters of her past life; the present moment was what mattered most.

After neatly folding her blanket, she stepped outside.

In the neighboring room, Miaohhe also pushed open her door, stepped out while stretching lazily, and upon catching sight of Pan Yun, immediately dropped her arms and bounced over. "Little sister, you're awake! Come, I'll take you to wash up."

As Pan Yun nodded, the door directly across opened as well, revealing a young girl half a head taller than them. Seeing Pan Yun, the girl paused slightly before stepping forward and cupping her fists in a formal greeting like an adult. "Junior Sister Pan, this humble Daoist is Miaozhen."

How had she suddenly become her junior sister?

No matter; she wouldn't be for much longer.

Pan Yun also cupped her fists in return. "Daoist friend Miaozhen, I am Pan Yun. I have not yet officially been initiated into Mount Sanqing."

Miaozhen wore a deadpan expression of utmost seriousness and declared, "Since you have come, you will eventually be initiated. There is little practical difference between calling you that a bit earlier or a bit later."

Miaohe watched from the side, finding it immensely entertaining. She immediately squeezed herself into the conversation and announced, "I want in too!"

She first cupped her fists toward Pan Yun, saying, "Junior Sister Pan, this humble Daoist is Miaohe."

Then, with a beaming smile, she cupped her fists toward Miaozhen and said, "Fourth Senior Sister, this humble Daoist is Miaohe."

Pan Yun: ...

Miaozhen: ...

Pan Yun returned the greeting, while Miaozhen wore a look of utter helplessness and, under Miaohe's expectant gaze, returned the bow as well.

Coming back to her senses, she noticed that Xuanmiao was standing in the doorway of the main room, having apparently watched them for quite some time.

The moment she saw the three of them turn toward her to offer greetings, Xuanmiao waved a darkened hand and commanded, "Go wash up!"

Miaozhen and Miaohe each grabbed one of Pan Yun's arms and bolted away. "Hurry, hurry, time for morning exercises!"

Under their guidance, Pan Yun washed her face and brushed her teeth. Once dried, they headed toward the front courtyard.

The two girls each carried a cattail-leaf meditation mat and casually shoved one into Pan Yun's arms as well.

Carrying them to the large open space in front of the Three Pure Ones Hall, they found Tao Ji and a young boy already practicing their fist forms.

Their movements were relaxed and fluid, yet every punch was imbued with genuine internal force.

Miaohe put down her mat and said, "Today we're practicing the Twelve Great Strengths. Junior Sister Pan, do you know them?"

Pan Yun answered, "I know the Eight Brocades, the Frolics of the Five Animals, and Tai Chi."

"Oh, those will be practiced as well. Later on, we also have to practice the Zhou Tian Circulation Technique."

Tao Ji slowly brought his movements to a close, turned his gaze toward Pan Yun, and smiled until his eyes crinkled. "Junior Niece Pan is awake? Come, I shall teach you the Twelve Great Strengths; you will need them for all future morning workouts."

Pan Yun did not bicker with him over the form of address and stepped forward to learn from him.

Once the fist forms were concluded and they had regulated their breathing, it was time to practice the Zhou Tian Circulation Technique, which had to be performed while seated on the meditation mats.

Pan Yun's Zhou Tian technique differed entirely from theirs. Recalling their warnings that her cultivation method was flawed, she dared not circulate her internal energy freely; instead, she merely regulated her breathing and entered a state of meditative absorption—which was also one of the methods for increasing one's cultivation realm.

The so-called cultivation technique began, fundamentally, with entering meditation and adopting a unique method of respiration.

No matter how many times he witnessed it, Tao Ji was invariably astonished by the speed at which she entered meditative absorption.

After sighing inwardly over her innate talent, he closed his eyes, regulated his breath, entered meditation, and began practicing the Zhou Tian technique.

When they emerged from meditation and everyone simultaneously opened their eyes, they saw the senior martial brother standing not far away, swinging his arms.

Wang Feiyin swung his arms while looking back at them. "You're awake? Go make breakfast. Pan Yun, stay behind."

The others scattered in an instant. Before leaving, Tao Ji cast a subtly triumphant glance in her direction; the next time they met, he would be able to call her his junior niece even more openly and righteously.

Wang Feiyin did not bring up that matter first. Instead, he produced the half-volume cultivation manual he had found the previous night and showed it to her. "This is the Kunyuan Technique. Don't look at it as merely a half-volume; completing its practice is no easy feat. Take a look—isn't this extremely similar to the technique you practiced before?"

Pan Yun flipped to the first level of the technique and read through it. After a long while, she nodded with a serious expression. "Indeed, it is... except that the latter half has certain modifications. Is it because the meridians and acupuncture points utilized in the latter half differ that my technique had flaws?"

Wang Feiyin pondered for a moment before replying, "Not merely that. Those who cultivate the Dao cultivate *Qi*. You aren't wrong to call it spiritual energy, but calling it primordial essence is far more accurate."