What Is Being Hidden?

Xiao Yan's voice stopped abruptly, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing the edge of his tea cup.

"Master, I've thought about it carefully. An evil cultivator capable of cultivating this kind of mycelium is likely no ordinary figure."

Xiao Yan was startled for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded slightly. "Tell me your reasoning."

"First, modifying a thousand-change mushroom requires a sample of the original plant." Li Nanzhu dipped her finger in tea and drew a circle on the low table. "And you said, Master, that the cave dwelling was completely defenseless while you were asleep—this means the person who took the sample not only knew the location of the cave dwelling, but also exactly where you were cultivating the thousand-change mushrooms."

Suisui watched the circle Li Nanzhu drew on the table with curiosity, but did not cause any trouble, sitting quietly to one side and listening intently.

"Second," Li Nanzhu continued, her fingertip tracing another water trail, "being able to transform a common symbiotic fungus into a parasitic killer is a method far beyond what a typical evil cultivator can achieve." She pointed to the blue stains on the fabric. "Not to mention the ability to manipulate corpses."

Xiao Yan looked at her with some surprise. "Continue."

"The third point is the most critical." Li Nanzhu hesitated before speaking. "The cultivation techniques shown in the murals form their own system. Either a once-in-a-generation genius has appeared among the evil cultivators, or..."

"Or there is someone behind them giving instructions," Xiao Yan suddenly interjected, a flicker of darkness passing through his eyes. His knuckles turned white from gripping so tightly.

Li Nanzhu noticed Xiao Yan's abnormality. "Master, did you think of something?"

Xiao Yan did not answer immediately, looking out the window once more. The morning light traced a blurred outline on his face. If his memories from when he was alive were not wrong... or rather, if their speculations from back then were correct...

The moment this thought arose, he felt his divine soul tremble violently, and his heart pounded wildly. He immediately cut off his train of thought. He couldn't think about it, absolutely couldn't think about it anymore.

If he were still a living person, it would be fine, but now he was just a divine soul. To think any further... Xiao Yan struggled to erase that thought from his mind.

Even so, in just that brief moment, his form became noticeably more transparent than before.

Li Nanzhu stood up abruptly, her sleeve knocking over the teapot.

"Master, what's wrong?!" She grabbed Xiao Yan's sleeve. Fortunately, she didn't grab thin air this time; she actually felt him, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Your master is fine," he raised a hand to stop her, though his voice sounded as if it were filtered through a veil. "What matters now is..."

Li Nanzhu keenly sensed his avoidance. That situation just now... what exactly happened to cause Xiao Yan's divine soul strength to weaken again? But she knew that if she pressed him, he would likely end up like he just did.

Ultimately, she said nothing, waiting quietly for him to continue.

Xiao Yan looked at his clever disciple and suddenly realized his loss of composure. He took a deep breath—if even he began to waver, how could he protect her?

"Listen." His voice suddenly became extremely serious. "No matter what kind of person has appeared among the evil cultivators, no matter what happens in the future, there is only one thing you need to do now."

Li Nanzhu straightened her back. "Please instruct me, Master."

"Become strong." A green light flickered at Xiao Yan's fingertips. "Strong enough to handle any unforeseen change."

He rose suddenly, his sleeves stirring a cool breeze. The tea set on the table vanished instantly, replaced by three crystalline jade slips.

"From today on, we change the method of teaching."

Xiao Yan infused spiritual energy into the jade slips. Upon contact, they transformed into countless motes of spiritual light, coalescing in the air into vivid phantoms of spiritual plants, each emitting a faint green glow.

Li Nanzhu was surprised to find that these phantoms even gave off the scents of their corresponding spiritual plants.

"This is..."

"Spirit Breath Phantom Shape, another of my exclusive secret techniques." Xiao Yan's finger lightly tapped one of them. "Look closely. This is a nine-leaf lingzhi. The edges of its leaves have serrated patterns..."

His teaching style suddenly became incredibly detailed. He not only explained the physical characteristics of each spiritual plant but also used spiritual energy to simulate their changes at different growth stages, even demonstrating the details to watch for during harvesting.

"Master, didn't you say earlier that I should memorize the books first..."

"Knowledge from books is ultimately shallow," Xiao Yan interrupted her. With a flick of his finger, the phantom of the lingzhi floated in front of Li Nanzhu. "Feel the direction of the leaf veins."

Li Nanzhu reached out to touch it and was shocked to find that the phantom had a realistic texture. The patterns of the leaves, the roughness of the stem, and even the tiny fuzz on the back of the leaves were clearly perceptible.

"Remember this sensation." Xiao Yan's voice was more serious than ever before. "A true nine-leaf lingzhi will... in the moonlight..."

He suddenly began to cough violently. The edges of his silhouette began to blur, and even the patterns on his robes became difficult to distinguish.

Suisui hurried over, using its bone claws to support his arm. Li Nanzhu also rushed over anxiously to help.

"Master, stop using your spiritual energy."

At this moment, Li Nanzhu finally understood why it was said that an inheritance would consume all of one's divine soul strength. Just manifesting these spiritual plants already caused such a drain; letting an inheritance enter another's mind directly with deep understanding and memory would surely be an enormous consumption.

"It's no matter." Xiao Yan waved his hand, continuing to manipulate the spiritual energy. "Next is the seven-heart begonia. Pay attention to the arrangement of its stamens..."

Li Nanzhu noticed that the pace of Xiao Yan's teaching had accelerated significantly.

In less than an hour, he had explained more than twenty kinds of rare spiritual plants, and he required her to remember the most minute characteristics of each one.

"Master..." By the thirty-seventh plant, Li Nanzhu couldn't help but speak up. "Is this too fast? And the drain on you is too great."

Suisui also nodded frantically at her side, clutching Xiao Yan's hem tightly. It was clear that it had also been trying hard to provide life force to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's fingers paused. "Fast?" He suddenly gave a bitter smile. "Yes... I suppose it is a bit rushed."

He was too anxious. At the thought of that possibility, he couldn't control his worry. Even if that future was still far away, a thousand years had passed, and even the Five Elements Dao Sect had been destroyed.

With his current suspicions, how could he not be anxious? Yet he also knew that some things simply could not be rushed.

The shadows of bamboo outside the window fell across his semi-transparent face, looking exceptionally desolate. Only then did Li Nanzhu notice that his sleeves had faded enough to see the medicine cabinet behind them. Even the bamboo forest outside seemed thinner than it had been yesterday.

"I am the one who was too hasty," Xiao Yan's voice was somewhat raspy. "I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you."

"No," Li Nanzhu shook her head. "There's no pressure. I know you're doing this for my own good, Master, and I'm very happy to be able to learn so much so easily. I'm just worried that if you keep pushing yourself like this..."

She was worried that the warmth she had finally found would slip through her fingers again.

Even though she had not been with Xiao Yan for long, it was already the most relaxed she had felt in the twenty-plus years of her life.

Seeing the worry in Li Nanzhu's eyes, Xiao Yan's tense shoulders finally relaxed a bit. He gently patted Suisui's bone claw, and his soul fire transmitted a sliver of warmth.

"Fine, I promise you." His voice softened, and the green light at his fingertips gradually faded. "We will proceed step by step, but we will study for an extra two hours every day."

"Since you agreed so readily, Master..." Li Nanzhu's fingernails dug into her palm, though she felt no pain. "It actually makes me even more afraid."

She looked at the thinning bamboo forest outside the window. "With this kind of consumption... how much longer can this small world last?"