The chaotic, trashed courtyard wrecked by Manager Yan's lackeys had been tidied up once more. Verdant grass stretched across the ground, as lush and fine as sugar crystals, while a cool, refreshing breeze brushed over her face.
Shi Yu sat down on a stone bench, propping her chin on one hand as her elbow rested against the stone table. She watched the white clouds drift peacefully through the gaps in the tree shade before slowly closing her eyes, allowing herself a moment of quiet rest.
Too much had happened recently, bringing her face-to-face with danger time and again. Fortunately, the dust had finally settled, turning crisis into safety, and her harvests had been far from meager.
Only now did she finally have the time to carefully take inventory of her gains.
Sinking her spiritual sense into the Fate-Tapping Bell, she saw that the space—spanning thirty feet in diameter—was crammed nearly to capacity. The most eye-catching objects were the corpses of the two spirit beasts, whose massive bodies occupied more than half of the space.
Scattered in the gaps between the two spirit beast carcasses were various items piled at random.
There were spiritual plants and materials Shi Yu had previously gathered, alongside the bountiful spoils acquired from her recent trip to the Fulong Mountain Range, all shoved inside in a jumble.
“Since I have some free time right now, I might as well organize everything.”
First were the numerous spiritual plants.
Quite a few ingredients used to refine Dew-Condensing Pills and Rejuvenation Pills remained. Shi Yu cleared out an open space with her spiritual sense, dedicated specifically to storing these common herbs.
“I'll be heading to the main city soon, and it's a long journey. I need to restock and hoard a bit more of these commonly used ones.”
These spiritual plants were consumed quickly, held low value, and were easy to buy, so there was no need to plant them in the medicinal field beside the Life Spring.
Space in the medicinal field was limited, so every bit of it had to be utilized wisely.
Aside from the few rare spiritual plants that came with the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell itself, the medicinal field currently held the Dragon Bamboo Grass she had just obtained.
It had been about ten days since the Dragon Bamboo Grass was planted. The faint, barely visible red terminal buds on its bamboo joints had now grown to the size of a fingernail.
Dragon Bamboo Fruits would grow from these buds. At this rate, she might be able to enjoy fresh, ripe Dragon Bamboo Fruits in another month or so.
In addition to the Dragon Bamboo Grass, there were also various poisonous herbs retrieved from Wu Hao's storage bag. Shi Yu picked out a few useful ones and planted them in the medicinal field as well.
For instance, the Seven-Star Blood Vine was the primary ingredient for the Primal Chaos Bone-Molding Pill, while the Sinew-Rending Grass and Heartbreak Honeysuckle were essential for refining Qi-Restoring Pills. Planting these herbs and poisonous plants early meant they would be ready for use once her cultivation rose high enough to refine higher-tier pills.
She selected a few other high-quality herbs to plant in the field and gathered the rest into a neat pile.
With the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, she didn't have to worry about these spiritual plants losing their spiritual nature. Instead, it could nourish and enhance their spirituality—this alone was nothing short of heaven-defying.
Once the spiritual plants were sorted, it was time for the various spiritual materials and natural treasures.
There were materials she had previously bought from Tongyi Pavilion, collected at the market, and useful items picked out from the storage bags of her fallen foes.
Next were the carcasses of the two spirit beasts, which were treasure troves from head to toe.
Scales, feathers, blood... whether for weapon refining, talisman crafting, or alchemy, every part had its use.
The two spirit beast carcasses were quite large, especially the Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python, which was a true giant. They would surely last her a long time.
As for the other miscellaneous spiritual materials, Shi Yu categorized and stored them according to their Five Elements attributes.
Finally, miscellaneous goods and foodstuffs—such as cultivation manuals, clothing, utensils, spiritual grain, and spiritual vegetables—were neatly arranged into designated areas.
Thus, a single glance into the Fate-Tapping Bell revealed everything neatly organized.
Shi Yu was quite satisfied. Going from having nothing at the very beginning to such a bumper harvest brought a deep sense of ease and contentment.
She withdrew her spiritual sense from the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell, but was in no rush to leave her Purple Mansion. Instead, she carefully observed the few specks of light floating and revolving around the bell in the hazy, grayish soul space.
These specks of light represented the techniques she had learned.
There were five specks of light in total, varying in brightness, which reflected her level of mastery over each technique.
The brightest speck belonged to 《Lesser Swallow Steps》, the first technique she had learned and the one she used most frequently, making her naturally most proficient in it.
Next were 《No Thought of Return》 and 《Wind Walking Art》, whose representative specks of light were almost equal in brightness.
Then came 《Basic Saber Art》 and 《Fire Cloud Palm》, which glowed most dimly since she practiced and used them the least.
At this moment, Shi Yu noticed two faint, fluorescent threads extending from the speck representing 《Lesser Swallow Steps》, connecting it to 《No Thought of Return》 and 《Wind Walking Art》 respectively.
She secretly mused, “The Fate-Tapping Bell has the ability to deduce and perfect techniques. If I'm not mistaken, these threads mean those pairs of techniques can be fused together.”
Should she choose to merge 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 with 《No Thought of Return》, or with 《Wind Walking Art》?
“《No Thought of Return》 is a music-based technique, primarily related to the soul and spiritual sense. In terms of compatibility, 《Wind Walking Art》 and 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 are both movement techniques, so they should be far more compatible.”
“Besides, both have their own strengths and flaws. If they can merge and complement each other...”
After weighing her options, Shi Yu made her decision.
Her spiritual sense slowly approached the thread connecting 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 and 《Wind Walking Art》. Driven by curiosity, she gave the thread a light nudge with her spiritual sense. Instantly, the thread vibrated, sending out a faint ripple of light.
The two glowing specks of light representing the techniques slowly drew closer, like a pair of drifting stars.
The mist surrounding them gradually dissipated. In the dim haze of her Purple Mansion, with a soft chime, the two points merged perfectly into one.
This was a brand-new speck of light, noticeably larger than any of the previous ones.
“Brightness represents mastery, while size likely indicates the technique's tier.”
The specks for 《No Thought of Return》, 《Basic Saber Art》, and 《Fire Cloud Palm》 were all equal in size, as all were Tier-1 techniques.
The newly formed speck was a ring larger than the others; barring any surprises, it was a Tier-2 technique.
As Shi Yu's spiritual sense made contact with it, the name of the new technique instantly entered her mind.
“《Swallow Walking Art》...”
The next instant, an endless suction force erupted from the light point, devouring Shi Yu's consciousness.
Her vision turned black and her body felt heavy as her soul entered a completely new space.
The surroundings were a primordial chaos—colorless, soundless, and completely empty, as though all creation had yet to take shape.
Immediately after, a woman's figure seemed to condense out of thin air.
She stood in silence, her long eyelashes slightly lowered, her eyes as serene as lotus flowers.
Though she bore the exact same face as Shi Yu, her entire being was unsullied, untouched by a single speck of worldly dust. Like white jade adorned with pearls, she possessed an ethereal, transcendent grace that seemed to belong not to the mortal realm, but to nature itself.
The next moment, the figure moved, demonstrating a brand-new movement technique right before Shi Yu's eyes.
Shi Yu's gaze focused sharply as she concentrated with all her might, striving to engrave every movement, posture, and nuance deep into her memory.
With a light wave of her sleeves, the figure moved like a swallow returning to its nest, her form as light as the wind.
Her robes fluttered as she darted forward, blindingly fast.
Nimble as a swallow and elusive as a flickering shadow, her steps seemed borne by the wind. Her picture-perfect form resembled a cold swallow soaring through mountain ranges—at times swooping down close, at times rising and falling in a flash.
...
Under the evolution and refinement of the Fate-Tapping Bell, 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 and 《Wind Walking Art》 had merged perfectly. The footwork was nimble and ingenious, possessing superb speed and flexibility alike.
Technique fusion was far more than a simple combination of the two; the resulting effect was powerful enough to rank among the top Tier-2 movement techniques.
Shi Yu observed the demonstration repeatedly, only exiting the chaotic space reluctantly when her spiritual sense was nearly exhausted.
Closing her eyes, she quietly reflected and mentally rehearsed the movements several times before trying out the new movement technique in her small courtyard.
Experiencing it firsthand deepened her understanding. This new 《Swallow Walking Art》 preserved the essence and discarded the flaws of its predecessors, vastly outclassing both original techniques.
“It just consumes slightly more spiritual Qi during execution than before, but that's well within acceptable bounds.”
Once she fully digested all her insights into this new technique, her strength was bound to increase significantly.
Rate on N.U.
