Chapter 104

The rain from the night before seemed to have worsened, bending the branches heavy with buds in the courtyard. By dawn, it had stopped completely.

When Yun Shuchen woke, Qing Zhouxue was leaning against her as usual, already awake but resting with her eyes closed.

Yun Shuchen moved her wrist, which was sore. She sat up slowly, and her waist ached as well. She winced; with any further movement, her whole body felt like it was coming apart, her bones still weak.

"Master, we both forgot yesterday."

Her disciple's clear voice came to her ear, tinged with regret.

"Forgot what?" Yun Shuchen rubbed her brow, still drowsy, half-leaning against the headboard to clear her mind.

"We forgot to practice Dual Cultivation."

Early in the night, Qing Zhouxue had been thoroughly overwhelmed by Yun Shuchen's attentions; the thought of using her cultivation to expel the poison flickered once, only to be extinguished in the warmth her master gave her. Later, Yun Shuchen vaguely mentioned "the poison acting up," but Qing Zhouxue, dazed, had embraced her, drifting through ebb and flow, no longer knowing up from down.

She had completely forgotten that important matter.

The two had simply indulged in romance.

Yun Shuchen paused, then curled her lips and sighed deliberately. "Then what can we do? We'll have to wait until next time. Don't forget again, Qing'er."

"But next time..."

Yun Shuchen glanced at her. "Rest today."

If she remembered correctly, by the end, she had been so dazed she nearly fainted, and even seemed to have blacked out midway through a kiss.

Yun Shuchen twisted her wrist uncomfortably; when she applied force, her wrist and index finger would tremble slightly.

For the first time, Yun Shuchen felt she truly needed to exercise more.

There were still faint marks on her neck that would be hard to explain today. Her disciple, in contrast, had been bitten several times last night, yet she remained like silver sand washed by water—clean, pale, and as pristine as before.

Yun Shuchen narrowed her eyes, inspecting her.

Suddenly, something felt off.

As far as she knew, Qing'er's self-healing increased steadily with her cultivation. Since the year she broke through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, this ability had soared to another level.

Now that her Golden Core was shattered, she should not have such strong cultivation—yet Liu Xunqin had said that after being struck by heavenly lightning, her disciple had recovered from charred flesh to perfect health in just one night, which was almost terrifying.

A new conjecture surfaced.

Yun Shuchen's heart stirred. "Give me your hand."

Qing Zhouxue looked at her, puzzled. "Hmm?"

Yun Shuchen took her wrist, sent a wisp of spiritual energy, and pushed it in gently, but it seemed to sink into the sea. Yun Shuchen continued, increasing to forty percent of her cultivation. If her disciple's cultivation were at Foundation Establishment level, she would not be able to bear this and should feel the pain of meridians swelling.

But Qing Zhouxue's breathing remained steady, and she didn't even frown.

Yun Shuchen gradually increased the pressure, and even when she poured in all her cultivation, Qing Zhouxue still seemed to feel no discomfort at all.

Yun Shuchen released her. Using spiritual energy had caused her own blood to surge, and she began coughing behind her hand.

Qing Zhouxue steadied her. "Master, you just—"

Yun Shuchen lifted her head, wiped the trace of blood from her lips, and took her hand again. "I'm fine. Would you practice circulation with me?"

Qing Zhouxue nodded and quietly closed her eyes. The familiar sensation flowed through her meridians, circulating smoothly.

Yun Shuchen estimated internally, stunned at first, then smiled. "Strange indeed. Haven't you noticed these past few days that your cultivation is still intact?"

Qing Zhouxue looked at her in surprise.

After losing her Golden Core, she had never attempted futile circulation again. Moreover, since Yun Shuchen had been unwell recently, she was busy attending to her master and had no time to consider herself.

And since they had not yet practiced Dual Cultivation, she had never tested her cultivation.

Although she no longer had the symbols of cultivation realms—Golden Core or Nascent Soul—the inexhaustible spiritual energy within her remained in her dantian, circulating endlessly.

Yun Shuchen couldn't precisely estimate her cultivation now, so she used her own as a ruler—by realm, her disciple was roughly at early Nascent Soul strength.

Qing Zhouxue tried to levitate a vase across the room and found she could lift it quite steadily.

So had the tribulation succeeded or failed?

It seemed she had truly stepped beyond the six realms governed by the Heavenly Dao, no longer needing to grovel under Thunder Tribulation.

"Qing'er, take off the red string."

If her guess was right, the string was now useless to her.

Qing Zhouxue did as she said and removed the red string. Her breathing hushed, her eyes fixed intently on the sky outside the window.

One quarter-hour passed, then two.

A cloud seemed to gather with intent, and Qing Zhouxue silently clutched a fold of her clothes. That cloud drifted slowly away, dispersing as it met others, each following the wind to travel far.

The sky was clear, the breeze gentle.

The thunderous tribulation of that day did not recur, as if it had been a dream in the deep night.

She stood frozen; Yun Shuchen retrieved the red string, rubbed it a few times, and sighed. "The Heavenly Dao knows it can't do anything to you anymore, so it stops these futile efforts."

Yun Shuchen was about to put the red string away when Qing Zhouxue pinched one end. "I want to keep wearing it."

"Why?"

She said, "What if you can't find me? I'd rather wear it. I've worn it for many years; I can't feel at ease without seeing it."

Yun Shuchen released it and watched her tie it again. The red had faded over the years, leaving only a soft light pink, worn thin after sixteen years.

"You've grown up now. As long as you wear this, I can know your whereabouts at any time." Yun Shuchen paused and asked softly, "Are you content with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with it."

She lowered her eyes and tied it tighter, seemingly indifferent, accepting this protection—even this tether—without hindrance.

Perhaps raising a disciple was like flying a kite: one end held in hand, taut at first, then loosened year by year. Yun Shuchen hesitated for a long time, tentatively releasing a little, only to find Qing Zhouxue flew back to her side.

She smiled softly. "Then keep wearing it. This string is worn and ugly; we could make a new one."

But her disciple shook her head, stubbornly. "Just this one."

In the afternoon, the two had a quiet meal. Qing Zhouxue, as usual, pulled out the yet-unfinished "The Art of Dual Cultivation" and sat in the pavilion to enjoy the breeze and continue studying.

Actually, the original had been returned to Lingsu Peak; this was her own handwritten copy. Yun Shuchen glanced casually and saw dense notes in red ink between the lines.

She wondered what insights she had gained.

Yun Shuchen moved to the study, leaned against the door—it clicked softly as she closed it tightly.

She raised her hand, fingertips gliding over the orderly rows of book spines, stopping at a tattered ancient book nearly falling apart.

She pulled it out and flipped through it; her brows furrowed slightly, as if she couldn't find what she wanted, so she put it back.

Several books in succession were the same.

Years ago, when she had vaguely guessed Qing Zhouxue's origin, she began searching for any records related to the "Sword Soul."

A soul like that should only form gradually over millennia in the ancient Sword Tomb, not since entering the six paths, with no chance to be reborn as a human.

But the hexagram seemed to point directly to this, so she had sought Master Huijue to examine Qing Zhouxue's past lives.

That gamble had paid off.

She always thought her disciple's birth into the mortal world was no coincidence but someone's intention.

A thought stirred for a moment, and Yun Shuchen sighed softly.

A tribulation-transcending ancestor, even if unmatched across the nine provinces, was still touching the ceiling. But Qing Zhouxue had already broken through boundaries; if she could keep climbing—

It was only a matter of time. With her talent and diligence, she would eventually surpass the tribulation-transcending stage. And if she went further, what kind of person would she become?

The forest is beautiful; the wind will destroy it.

Liuyun Sect would not stand idly by, nor would the four immortal sects. Even small and medium sects, like Lingxu Sect at Beiyuan Mountain, would come to fear Taichu Realm and keep watchful eyes.

The Heavenly Dao has no human wisdom. Once Qing Zhouxue grew beyond its control, the Heavenly Dao would follow its rules, directly losing the ability to balance her, and would no longer act.

But humans are different. They can band together in groups, stop at nothing. Even if not enough to kill at once, like a flock of crows pecking here and there, they can devour a giant elephant, strangling her before she can protect herself. No matter how the elders of Taichu Sect protect her, there's always a gap.

Yun Shuchen's headache worsened at the thought. In her bosom she now carried a treasured baby, shiny and bright, and midway through the journey, she always had to guard against someone snatching it or dropping it.

She closed the last book and tossed it aside, her fingers bending slightly, drumming on the desk in mild irritation.

Looking across the nine provinces, there was only one at the tribulation-transcending stage—that was Taishang Wangqing of Liuyun Sect. Below that was a gap, then the great-vehicle stage, with about ten or so people; Taichu Sect and Liuyun Sect each had roughly half, and the remainder were the heads of the four immortal sects and that one from Penglai Pavilion.

Going further down—the fusion, void-refining, and spirit transformation stages—were scattered among elders or sect leaders of small and medium sects. Individually they were nothing to fear, but with numbers, caution was needed.

Yun Shuchen didn't consider the rest, but these were only the immortal path.

There were also the Demon Realm and the Demon Spirit Realm. She was familiar with the former but knew little of the latter—indeed, countless.

She suddenly felt the room too stuffy and opened the window a crack, only to catch sight of Qing'er's profile as she read seriously.

Yun Shuchen stood at the window, gazing at her for a moment, then lowered her eyes again.

In recent years, she had slowed her cultivation, only focusing on seclusion and healing her body. She had improved a bit, but after the tribulation and all the turmoil, her body had worsened.

If she continued like this, she might not be strong enough to keep the one she wanted.

When she was young and weak, she had been powerless against her master and mistress's deaths, powerless against her clan's blood debt—only able to exact revenge years later, one by one.

That disgust and hatred toward her own helplessness, like needles piercing bone and blood, ached clearly every deep night.

Five hundred years later, the pain was still sharp.

Yun Shuchen recalled some distant matters and slowly closed her eyes—this time, she would not repeat past mistakes.

Qing'er was right; she needed to resolve this poison and let her body recover quickly.

Then, prepare to break through to the next realm.