Chapter 31: Loquat Fruit (Part 5)

During the day, Xu Qianyu still accompanied her mother-in-law, spinning the top with her right hand, and only practiced with her left hand after her mother-in-law left.

This made my mother-in-law quite happy.
Now they could spar in the small courtyard. Occasionally, Xu Qianyu would miss catching the top, but it didn’t matter much, as mother-in-law would go easy on her.

The top spun back and forth under their whips, like a game of kickball on earth.

To whip the top, they had to bend over, which made their backs sore after a while. Xu Qianyu would then straighten up and start flicking her whip up into the tree.

Although she couldn’t pick loquats as skillfully with the whip as a mother-in-law, she could still pull down a few branches with loquats attached, catch them in her hands, and eat a few in the courtyard to quench her thirst.

The loquats nourished by spiritual energy were richer in color, plump, and sweet. Xu Qianyu carefully peeled one with her fingers; she wasn’t used to doing this at home, so she did it rather slowly.

Just as she finally peeled one and was about to pop it into her mouth, a sudden “caw” sounded from above.

Feathers fluttered as a large creature flapped down from the sky, landing gracefully at the edge of the barrier.

This secluded courtyard wasn’t far from Mengdu, the spiritual crane habitat, so hearing the cries of cranes was common for Xu Qianyu. Although many spiritual cranes flew above her, it was the first time one had landed so close.

Recognizing the crane that had brought her here, Xu Qianyu felt curious and walked over.
The crane bent its neck down, its eyes like black beans gazing affectionately at her.

Unfortunately, with the barrier between them, she couldn’t reach out to touch its feathers, so she asked,

“Did you come to see me?”

Before she finished speaking, the crane suddenly extended its long beak. Xu Qianyu felt her hand go light and, looking down, saw that the loquat she had just peeled had been snatched by the crane.

“You!” Xu Qianyu’s face changed, but the crane quickly withdrew its neck. Blocked by the barrier, all she could do was pat the barrier helplessly, watching as it swallowed the fruit.

After a moment, the crane’s beak opened slightly, and several clean fruit seeds rolled out.
Loquat peels are bitter, and even the spirit crane knew that; it just didn’t know how to peel them.

Now, finally tasting something purely sweet, the spirit crane flapped its wings in satisfaction, gave another “caw,” and strutted as if to fly off.

Xu Qianyu’s expression was extremely dark, yet she held back from cursing. Instead, she bent down and picked another loquat from the basket, glaring at the spirit crane as she quickly peeled it in her hands.

In no time, she had another one peeled, and seeing that it looked full and plump, she was quite satisfied. She extended her hand and, with a half-smile, said, “Well, since you’re already here, how about another?”
Hearing this, the spirit crane turned back, lowering its neck.

Since Xu Qianyu was standing a bit farther from the restriction barrier this time, the crane couldn’t reach with just its beak, so it extended half its long neck and snapped at the loquat.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Qianyu made her move, grabbing the crane by the neck. Realizing it was trapped, the spirit crane struggled, flapping its wings, but her grip was strong.

Despite losing several feathers, it couldn’t pull its neck free and was forced to stay in an awkward, bent posture.
A wooden sword’s blade pressed against its neck and even ground down threateningly. The spirit crane stopped flapping its wings, becoming quiet.

Xu Qianyu said coldly, “You dare ask me to peel for you?”
Its eyes, like small, black beads, were sincere and shiny. After a moment, its beak opened slightly, and a round loquat fell out. The crane closed its beak.

Seeing the dusty loquat, Xu Qianyu grew angrier. “I peeled that for you, and you dare spit it out. Eat it back up!”
The spirit crane shuddered slightly, lowered its beak, picked up the loquat, and tilted its head back, swallowing it whole, pit and all.

Xu Qianyu said, “Good. You’ve eaten two of my fruits now, so you owe me two favors.”
“What did I say when I left? If you behave, I’ll feed you something tasty; if not, I’ll pluck all your feathers and make a duster.”

The spirit crane gave a small shudder and let out a faint “caw.”

“Think of a way to repay me yourself.”

After delivering her stern words, Xu Qianyu released it. The crane, suddenly freed, immediately yanked its head out of the barrier, flapped its wings, and flew off in a hasty tumble, leaving a few feathers floating down.

Xu Qianyu, still trapped within the barrier, watched it fly away, fuming helplessly.

Is this what it’s like for a tiger to be bullied by dogs after leaving its territory?
Yet, moments later, she heard a “caw” overhead. A flash of white appeared as the spirit crane wobbled back, stretching its neck and dropping something toward the barrier.

The item rolled to Xu Qianyu’s feet—a black, cylindrical object. It was wet, with bits of sand and seaweed sticking to it, as if the crane had fished it from the sea.

Xu Qianyu, holding a handkerchief for protection, picked it up with distaste. The cylinder looked like a small kaleidoscope, small but heavy, yet when she shook it, it was solid. There was a small hole at the top, but peering inside revealed only darkness; twisting it did nothing.

“What is this?” Seeing her look up, the crane recoiled in fear, scratching at the ground with its claws before flapping its wings and fleeing without a word.

“…”

Xu Qianyu wiped the cylinder clean and took it to mother-in-law. Mother-in-law examined it for a while and shook her head, unable to discern what it was, let alone how to open it.

At worst, the thing might just be some shipwreck debris, a piece of ocean junk.
Xu Qianyu was annoyed, leaving it on the table, where she soon forgot about it.

These past few days, mother-in-law had been busy with various matters, leaving early and only a spinning top in the courtyard.

Practicing alone, Xu Qianyu used her left hand to whip, drawing eight hundred “twists” in the air, then used her left hand to spin the top, swapping to her right to deftly stop it, and repeating the process. Playing by herself, she quickly exhausted her energy. By nightfall, she was drained, climbing into bed in a fog.

As she removed her clothes, her eyes were half closed, murmuring a cultivation mantra unconsciously.
When she reached the line “Finding stillness within movement,” an image of the spinning top from earlier flashed in her mind, followed by the whip’s tip gently tapping the side of the spinning top.

Striking a spinning top, with its need for “anticipation,” indeed felt harder than striking something still. But after practice, it became clear that they weren’t all that different.

Xu Qianyu forgot whether she was sitting or lying down. Her mind was a swirl of images, yet she was intensely focused, as if entering a surreal, half-dreaming state.

Then came faint sounds, intermittent, that seemed to disturb her focus.

As she identified it as a human voice—a man’s voice—Xu Qianyu felt a chill, snapping awake instantly, her back breaking into a cold sweat.

Once her arms moved, she reached back to feel her clothes.
Had she finished changing before bed?

Luckily, she was still dressed and sat upright, no embarrassment in her posture. But the bad news was, as her vision returned fully, she saw a familiar face in her room, startling her: “Xiao Yi?”

The system’s voice sounded in her mind: “Don’t be afraid; it doesn’t seem to be a living person!”

Xu Qianyu felt even more terrified, edging closer to the figure.

He hovered in the air of her room, eyes shut, dressed in a black Taoist robe embroidered with peach blossoms, seemingly meditating.

His robe fluttered gently, his figure outlined by a faint white glow. He was indeed not alive, appearing to be a phantom.

Glancing sideways, she noticed the black cylinder on the table was also faintly glowing, its light outshining the dim lamps nearby.

“Is this phantom from inside that cylinder?”
The system replied, “It seems so.”

Xu Qianyu looked again at the youth who closely resembled Xie Yuzhen, and he suddenly opened his eyes. His dark gaze was intense and stern, like a heavy iron blade drawn from its sheath, freezing her in place.

Fortunately, he didn’t appear to be looking at her. Theoretically, a phantom shouldn’t be able to see her. In a flat, emotionless tone, he said, “Inner Strength, Section Three.”

Xu Qianyu stared at him for a long time, realizing that this wasn’t truly Xie Yuzhen.

The system also observed with her for a moment before confirming, “This is definitely an image of Uncle Master Wuzhen.

This must be something he left behind… perhaps a teaching projection? You’ve lucked out, Xiao Qian.”
Indeed, Wuzhen was giving a lecture, and the voice she had heard while half asleep was probably from this projection.

It even seemed to cover the inner power techniques that Xu Qianyu was missing.
However, Xu Qianyu didn’t share the system’s excitement.

She remembered that Uncle Master Wuzhen practiced the art of cultivation while she was a sword cultivator. Their paths were different—could inner power techniques even work interchangeably?
Besides, why was he starting from the third section? Where were the first and second sections?
Xu Qianyu thought about that incomplete Heart Method Three she couldn’t understand. She hugged her blanket and leaned against the wall, uninterested in listening.

Wuzhen said, “Alright then, let’s first review the content of the first and second sections.”

Xu Qianyu: ?

She sat up straight away immediately.
Curiosity was her nature. Regardless of the cultivation path, if it started from the beginning and didn’t set up too many barriers, she wouldn’t mind learning a bit in her free time.
The first and second sections explained what exactly law cultivation entailed. So-called “law” encompassed two things: spells and formations. Spells included techniques like transformation, cleansing, wall-passing, and ground-sinking. Simpler spells could be used with just a chant, while more complex ones depended on the practitioner’s spiritual root.

For example, an earth-aligned practitioner naturally knew ground-sinking techniques, while practitioners with other roots needed to strengthen their inner power through rigorous practice.

Law cultivation, though seemingly easy to start, allowed even outer disciples of all talents to use simple spells proficiently. But if studied deeply, it held great potential. From simple twin-fish teleportation arrays like Xu Binglai’s to powerful battle arrays capable of defeating thousands, all fell under the scope of “law.”
Wuzhen, sparing his words, summarized it in just a few sentences before returning to the third section. “Disciples, practice your meditation.”
With that, he closed his eyes. Sitting upright with his hands resting on his knees, he demonstrated a perfect meditation posture.

The first step was to guide energy into the body. Xu Qianyu was already familiar with this and remained lying on her bed, watching him.
However, Wuzhen suddenly opened his eyes, his black gaze sternly fixed ahead. “Sit up properly.”
Xu Qianyu thought, I’m not getting up. What can you do about it?
Wuzhen’s voice repeated, flat and calm, “Sit up properly.”
“Sit up properly.”
“Sit up properly.”
“…” Xu Qianyu started to panic.

Why was the image stuck on that phrase? She looked around, and except for her, no one else was in the room.
“He can’t actually see me, right? ”She couldn’t help but ask.

The system, feeling like it was whispering in class, answered nervously, “I don’t know either.”

Before he could say it for the seventh time, Xu Qianyu slipped off the bed and obediently assumed a standard meditation posture on the floor.

As expected, Wuzhen closed his eyes again. “Second step: sink into the spiritual pool.”
Xu Qianyu was baffled. She had no idea how to do this.

Her mind racing, she guessed it might be a similar process to guiding energy into the body. She sat there, pretending to “sink into the spiritual pool.”

Unexpectedly, Wuzhen opened his eyes, turned, picked up a “book” by his side, rolled it into a cylinder, and thrust it out of the frame.

Before she realized what was happening, the rolled-up book hit her squarely on the head. “Sink into the spiritual pool.”
Xu Qianyu’s eyes went wide.

An ancient wonder—this projection could hit people!
Before she could say a word, Wuzhen struck her again with the book. “Why are you distracted?”
Another hit. “Hurry up.”

Apparently, Uncle Master Wuzhen was a master of spell techniques, and with her lacking any cultivation level, it probably wasn’t difficult for him to set up this mechanism that could detect her state and thoughts.

As she pieced this together, she had already been hit six or seven times. She got angry and shouted at the projection, “I don’t know how!”

The projection seemed startled by her boldness in admitting her ignorance and paused, no longer hitting her.

After a moment, Wuzhen returned to his seat, closed his eyes, and continued, “Third step: observe the spiritual veins.”

Xu Qianyu closed her eyes nervously. Though things had quieted down, she didn’t feel entirely at ease.
Feeling a little wronged, she thought, It’s not that I don’t want to learn—no one has ever taught me here! Finally, I get some guidance, and it either doesn’t make sense or starts from the third chapter. I’m left guessing, only half-understanding.

Wuzhen didn’t speak for a while, and the room fell into silence.
Her chaotic thoughts eventually settled, and her breathing became steady, filling her with a pure sense of drowsiness. To stay awake, she tried to focus on the scene from earlier in the day.

Thinking of the loquat tree, its outline gradually appeared in the darkness, though the background was pitch-black and devoid of other features—just a single loquat tree.

Golden lines seemed to flow through the trunk like veins, pulsing with a faint glow.

Curious, she moved closer, seeing the golden lines streaming within as if they were carrying luminous material.

Looking up, she noticed golden dots descending from above, entering the branches in a line, with others scattered out like fireflies, drifting into the darkness.

It reminded her of when she guided energy into her body.
This tree was guiding energy into itself.

As she thought this, a spinning top appeared.
Unlike the tree formed by golden lines, the spinning top looked just as it always did. Seeing it, Xu Qianyu’s hands itched, and she instinctively wanted to whip it.

Imagining this, the loquat tree’s branches curled like arms, swinging as if to strike the top.
Meanwhile, the golden dots no longer flowed into the tree but instead continued to drift away like before.

She thought whimsically that because the spiritual pool was limited, excess energy would seep out of the body after guiding it in. But wasn’t that wasteful?

“Since it was going to come out anyway, why not convert it into spiritual energy while spinning the top and draw it out along the whip? That way, it wouldn’t go to waste, right?

She watched as the golden river within the tree trunk, about to overflow, adjusted its flow according to her thoughts. When she wanted it to flow faster, it did; when she wanted it to slow down, it did.

Like aiming at a target before shooting a marble, she repeatedly adjusted, hoping it would flow out smoothly along the two branches when the whip lashed out.

However, she hadn’t yet mastered the technique. The branch swung out but missed the top, and the spiritual energy dissipated elsewhere
Suddenly, she was thrown out of the scene entirely.

Xu Qianyu opened her eyes, breathing heavily, and found herself back in her cramped little room. The room felt dim because the ethereal projection had already vanished.

Looking to the side, she noticed that the black cylinder was no longer glowing.
Without checking it further, Xu Qianyu collapsed exhausted onto her bed, still immersed in the scene she had just witnessed.

Was that… What they called ‘observing the spiritual veins’?