Having the figure evolved by the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell demonstrate the technique move by move for her was undoubtedly far more intuitive and vivid than the vague general points and diagrams in the technique booklet.
The benefits were no less than having a master teach her in person.
Even with an ordinary handwritten copy of a technique, under the demonstration of the figure evolved by the Fate-Tapping Bell, it achieved effects similar to—or even superior to—a jade slip.
What was more, it could even perfect and enhance the technique, which was simply inconceivable.
“Except that the consumption of divine sense is far too immense...” Shi Yu pressed her temples, feeling a fine, dense pain pricking through her head like needles.
Aside from increasing along with the strengthening of the soul during realm breakthroughs, divine sense could generally only be trained and slowly grown through the process of continuous depletion and recovery.
Because Shi Yu was constantly crafting talismans, refining pills, and forging artifacts, her divine sense was utilized with maximum efficiency, making it considerably stronger than that of cultivators at the same realm. Yet even so, during the technique demonstration, she could only hold out for a little over a quarter of an hour before reaching her limit.
Compared to refining pills or forging artifacts, the Fate-Tapping Bell's technique deduction consumed over ten times more divine sense.
Unlike spiritual Qi, divine sense could only recover passively over time, though regulating her breathing or sleeping could slightly speed up the recovery process.
There were indeed pills that restored divine sense and strengthened the soul, but even the lowest grade among them were Tier 5, far beyond what Shi Yu could currently use.
She closed her eyes and regulated her breathing for nearly half an hour before feeling her headache ease significantly.
“It seems I can't use this function too often.”
The oil lamp had long burned out. With the bright moon hanging high in the sky, Shi Yu recalled the woman's footwork in the chaotic space, lightly shifting her steps in the courtyard under the soft moonlight to imitate it.
Her body suddenly sprang up, her feet lightly tapping against the wall as she launched herself forward, skimming past like a swallow over water. As she moved, her plain-colored sleeves fluttered, resembling a stretched length of silk that cut through the night sky, leaving a crisp, graceful arc.
Although still far from the effortless, fluid lightness of the woman in that chaotic space, as she practiced continuously and her mastery deepened, executing it became increasingly natural.
On a small tree in the courtyard, two swiftlets flapped their wings and flew over, settling securely on a branch as they tilted their heads to watch Shi Yu.
...
She practiced like this for five consecutive days. Midway through, Shi Yu entered the chaotic space inside the light speck once more with her divine sense to identify flaws, refine details, and absorb its underlying intent, deepening her understanding of 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 even further.
Now, she had completely mastered the essence of the first stance, "Brushing Willows, Skimming Branches."
On this day, as she was grinding ink to draw talismans, Chen Er came over with good news: “Young Master, the spirit beast riot has quieted down! The defense line has also been disbanded.”
Shi Yu raised an eyebrow. This riot had started suddenly, and it had ended just as abruptly.
She asked, “Do you know what actually caused the riot?”
Chen Er shook his head, looking embarrassed. “I'll go inquire further.”
Having rushed to inform Shi Yu the moment he got the news, he was not very clear on the details.
“No need,” Shi Yu said, raising her hand to stop him.
Thinking that she had been cooped up in the courtyard for days and ought to go out for a walk, she tidied herself up and headed out, finding a tavern on the most bustling street in the market.
With the spirit beast riot over, the streets were once again bustling with a steady stream of people, lively as ever.
Shi Yu found a seat by the window, asked the waiter to warm a small pot of wine, and turned to look out the window, slowly pouring and sipping her drink.
She appeared to be admiring the scenery outside, but in truth, she was listening to the idle chatter of the tavern patrons around her.
The spirit beast riot that had lasted for months had suddenly quieted down like this. With such a major event, the patrons' conversations naturally revolved mostly around it.
After listening for a while, Shi Yu gradually pieced together what had happened.
Deep within the Fulong Mountain Range, there was a spirit beast named the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon. Possessing several thousand years of cultivation, it was matchlessly powerful and the undisputed overlord of the Fulong Mountain Range.
But a few months ago, for reasons unknown, another spirit beast of equal strength suddenly appeared, engaging in a territorial dispute with the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon that lasted for months.
The battle between two overlord-level spirit beasts triggered fierce, earth-shaking tremors. Powerful spiritual energy ripples spread outward, and the pressure of the spirit beasts swept across the vast mountain forests, causing numerous weaker spirit beasts in the range to flee outward in panic to escape the conflict.
This was what had brought about the spirit beast riot that lasted for months.
Now, whether the two spirit beasts had determined a victor or reached a compromise to coexist, the commotion had subsided, and the rioting herds of spirit beasts were gradually returning to their original habitats.
“That Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon likely possesses power close to the Golden Core Realm. What kind of origin does that other spirit beast have to be able to fight it so fiercely?”
“Indeed. The Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon has long been famous. Those prominent families from the prefecture city coveted the treasures all over its body and moved against it many times without success, yet this time it nearly lost its own territory...”
Someone asked in confusion, “Just what was that spirit beast that popped up out of nowhere? How did it seem to appear out of thin air in the Fulong Mountain Range?”
Shi Yu perked up her ears, her curiosity sparked as well.
At a neighboring table, a cultivator in blue robes raised his voice and proudly said to his companion, “I know. It was a thousand-year-old Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python.”
“What?!” Hearing this, the others were instantly astonished, turning their gazes toward the blue-robed cultivator.
Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python. Shi Yu silently repeated the name in her mind.
Although the background of the Origin Realm was largely similar to the Xian Yuan game, looking closer revealed many differences—geographical distributions, native species, and so on. There were far too many discrepancies; the two worlds were like two branches stemming from the same source. Thus, she could not act entirely based on her past game experience.
This so-called Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python before her was a spirit beast she had never heard of before.
Why were the people so astonished to hear about it?
The surrounding conversations continued, with many sneering at the blue-robed cultivator who had just spoken. “What kind of joke are you making? How could it possibly be a Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python?”
“If you're going to make something up, at least make it plausible. The Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python isn't a spirit beast of the East Continent, so how could it appear in the Fulong Mountain Range?”
The questioned blue-robed cultivator flushed crimson. “What did I make up? I caught a glimpse of it from afar aboard a cloud boat, and it really was a Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python! The falcon and the python fought until flying sand and stones blotted out the sky—it was a grand spectacle!”
The others treated it like a joke, not bothering to speak with him further.
The companion beside the blue-robed cultivator tried to smooth things over. “Looking from afar on a cloud boat, it's naturally hard to see clearly. Perhaps you simply misidentified it.”
“Indeed. Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Pythons have always resided only in the Desert Region of the North Continent. The East Continent and North Continent are separated by tens of thousands of miles. If a Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python really traveled all that distance to get here, how could there have been no word of it along the way?”
As the crowd chimed in one after another, that cultivator gradually grew hesitant as well, muttering after a long pause, “Perhaps... I really did see it wrong.”
Shi Yu committed all the information revealed in these conversations to memory.
The rest was merely idle banter among the tavern patrons. Seeing that there was no more useful news to be heard, she stood up, paid her tab, and left.
Regardless, this spirit beast riot had ended at just the right time.
There was still some time before the large-scale auction in the prefecture city began, so she could start preparing to depart from this place.
However, before leaving, she had to visit the volcano over five hundred miles to the south. She needed to figure out what had caused that strange sensation she felt earlier.
Although the spirit beast riot was over, navigating these five hundred miles through crisscrossing peaks and valleys would not be easy and was bound to be fraught with danger.
“Refining a cloud boat and flying over would save a lot of trouble, but a cloud boat requires immense materials, which I likely can't gather in a short time.” Shi Yu calculated in her mind and shook her head. “Even if I did gather them, refining it would take several months, and I can't afford that delay right now.”
As she left the tavern, Shi Yu paused in her steps.
She saw a good number of bounty notices posted on the tavern's outer wall, with a few rogue cultivators gathered around viewing and selecting them.
Cultivation resources were hard to come by for rogue cultivators, so taking on bounties to earn spirit stones was a common occurrence.
“Hmm... Posting a bounty to find a few high-cultivation cultivators to accompany me is something worth considering.”
Rate on N.U.
