Chapter 40: Tracer (Part 4)

In the final practice, Xu Qianyu and Gao Fengxing sparred from one end of the training ground to the other. Xu Qianyu blocked with her sword, and the two blades clashed, producing a continuous buzzing sound. The tall man staggered back a few steps but managed to steady himself.
Gao Fengxing put down his sword. “You’ve improved.”
Xu Qianyu was taken aback herself. She clearly remembered that at the beginning, her master only needed to draw half his sword to send her flying far away. At that time, she thought his sword was far superior to hers.

Gao Fengxing continued, “A punch has its wind, a sword has its momentum. If you can bring out the sword’s momentum, even if you’re holding a wooden stick and your opponent has a legendary sword, you could cut through iron like mud.”
Xu Qianyu understood. “Thank you, Master.”
“Still calling me Master?” Gao Fengxing looked at her with a hint of irritation. His eyes, which weren’t particularly fierce when they weren’t glaring, appeared somewhat gentler. “You’ve graduated. Once you leave this training ground, we’ll be equals; you should call me Senior Brother.”
Xu Qianyu lowered her head, contemplating. Everyone else was already at the level of a master, while she was just a novice.
Gao Fengxing crossed his arms again. “Who taught you your internal energy? Why is your progress so slow? Most of this batch of disciples has already established their foundation. With a solid foundation, you’ll be free from illness and fatigue, and you won’t tire so easily. If you have time to bully others, you should focus on your internal training and not let it hold you back.”
Xu Qianyu felt quite annoyed. When had she been bullying others every day? Besides, it wasn’t like she wasn’t training.

She meditated daily according to Wuzhen’s method and had the system help her recite five pages of the heart method, yet she still couldn’t expand her spiritual pool. Who knew where all her internal energy was going?
At first, she hadn’t paid much attention, but when she saw others steadily progressing, she realized her speed in expanding the spiritual pool had slowed. However, internal energy cultivation emphasizes consistency; if she wanted to change her methods, she would have to start over. After much thought, Xu Qianyu decided to continue trusting Wuzhen.
She had gone over the course in the dream shadow cylinder many times. Everything needs comparison; only with the old master’s dream shadow cylinder to compare could she appreciate how clear and concise Wuzhen’s teachings were. Unfortunately, she only had one dream shadow cylinder, which only covered the foundational stage for disciples.

She finished her training but still hadn’t established her foundation.
She always felt that Wuzhen had exceptional skills and must have some hidden functions she hadn’t discovered, so she gazed at the illusion she had seen thousands of times, reluctantly murmuring, “Is there really nothing left?”
The system couldn’t help but respond, “There really isn’t. You’ve drained him dry.”
The illusion of the youth meditating in the air silently opened his eyes for a moment, then patiently closed them again.
Xu Qianyu was very disappointed, her mouth curling down. “How could he be so easily drained?”

The illusion: “…”

The system suggested, “How about we visit Wuzhen’s pavilion and see his physical body? There might be unexpected rewards, like another dream shadow cylinder.”
Xu Qianyu smirked. “You just want to trick me into pursuing Xie Yuzhen.”
She cruelly yanked her blanket and turned off the lights to sleep.
The system felt exposed and disappointed but thought there was still hope. Xu Qianyu’s tone this time wasn’t as resistant as before; perhaps her strong desire to improve her internal energy would make her consider its ridiculous suggestion.
Currently, among the three targets to pursue, her relationship with her senior brother was progressing steadily; Ruan Zhuqing’s whereabouts were still unknown. Although Xie Yuzhen was only one-third of a soul within Wuzhen’s body and likely muddled, increasing his favorability couldn’t hurt.
Otherwise, when would it ever get to go home?
Xu Qianyu’s half-blooming lotus, inserted in a bottle, attracted a bee, which buzzed around it. The system, annoyed by the disturbance, gritted its teeth and rushed toward the bee.

The next morning, as Xu Qianyu was combing her hair, she indeed said, “I can go visit Wuzhen.”
Last night, she had dreamt of Wuzhen personally guiding her to establish her foundation and woke up feeling regretful that it had only been a dream.
What if she really could find another dream shadow cylinder?
The system responded excitedly, “Great! Look at that table; I’ve already prepared some props for you.”
The prop was a bowl of flower dew contained in a jade bowl.
The system added, “The flowers are Xie Yuzhen’s favorite peach blossoms, the water is morning dew, and I added some sweet honey—a standard gift for the heroine. Lu You cured Xie Yuzhen with this. Hurry and give it to him before she does!”
Xu Qianyu picked up the bowl and froze; she clearly remembered that this bowl was empty last night. She had planned to use it for the flower petals for her facial mask.
“How did you do it?” 

System: “I have my ways.”
How did it do it? It had transformed into a little bee last night and must have made over two thousand trips back and forth.
After returning, it began to regret writing the Koi article.
After all, behind every koi, there could be two thousand little bees that had worked themselves to death.
But strangely, in the past, it could not stray too far from Xu Qianyu, or it would weaken and disappear. However, after several days of hard work in reciting and writing, its power had not only diminished but had increased, allowing it to fly beyond several courtyards.
Xu Qianyu was quite clever; she picked up the bowl, took a look, and couldn’t help but laugh, her laughter almost irritating: “You really have it hard. Why didn’t you wake me?”
But Keyun suddenly yelled, “Go on, you!”

Uncle Master Wuzhen lived in the southern corner of Penglai, surrounded by peach trees. The blossoms were withering, yet the branches were thick and intertwined, having grown wild due to neglect, almost forming a fence.
Xu Qianyu struggled to push through the thicket and stepped onto the carpet of dried, fallen petals, noticing that the pavilion’s doors and windows were tightly shut, as if forgotten by the world, giving a sense of being in another time.
The first time she met Xie Yuzhen in a dream was here. It had been drizzling that day, but today the weather was clear.
While she was lost in thought, a pebble flew out of the broken window and struck her forehead. Fortunately, Xu Qianyu dodged, and the pebble brushed past her temple.
Xu Qianyu was first startled, seeing half a bowl of flower dew spill from her hands, and couldn’t help but get angry. Carefully setting down the bowl, she picked up a stone from the base of the wall and threw it back.

Another pebble shot out from the hole, and Xu Qianyu grabbed a larger one to throw back.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the window frame shattered, and several holes appeared in the white paper.
Seeing the two fighting, the system nearly cried: “Don’t fight!!”
Inside, there was silence.
Xu Qianyu also dropped the stone, picked up the bowl, and with a gloomy expression said, “Keyun, the flower dew you worked so hard to make, do you see him as human?”
After saying this, she turned to leave: “No need to send me off.”
“Don’t!”The system pleaded, “I’m fine; don’t mind me. I can make ten more bowls! Quickly go inside!”
Xu Qianyu paused her steps, and unexpectedly, the door behind Wuzhen creaked open.
But inside, it was still silent.

Xu Qianyu turned around, skeptically pushed the door open, and entered the room.
Due to the white paper covering the windows, the pavilion was dark, desolate, and filled with the faint scent of incense.
Xu Qianyu was very familiar with the layout inside; she didn’t need to see clearly. She moved easily to the edge of the bed, looking coldly down.
On the bed lay a person.

The light coming through the broken window illuminated the pale face of the youth on the bed. His eyes were tightly shut, and his lips lacked color, appearing almost lifeless. A section of his wrist slipped from his sleeve, his hand tightly gripping a pebble, the knuckles turning white from the pressure.
His lower body was covered in a black robe embroidered with golden threads, which merged into a swirling black mist. The black mist coiled around him like a dragon, binding him to the bed, leaving him unable to move.

Xu Qianyu was startled by this sight, realizing that the black mist was demonic energy. She drew her sword and slashed at the demonic energy.
When the demonic energy touched the tip of her sword, it seemed to be burned by fire and hurriedly fled and dissipated.
At that moment, the youth opened his eyes.
His pitch-black eyes were like a deep pool of dark ice, devoid of emotion, staring into the void.
Xu Qianyu stared at him for a while and said, “This doesn’t seem like Xie Yuzhen.”
Xie Yuzhen’s face had a kind of sinister glow that made his eyes appear beautiful and affectionate, unlike his current cold demeanor.

Having seen Wuzhen’s illusion for some time, she could discern that this was Wuzhen.
The system said, “After all, Xie Yuzhen only has one-third of his demonic soul within him; perhaps it is still sleeping, while Wuzhen still has a bit of his remnant soul.”
Xu Qianyu asked, “What should we do?”
The system replied, “Since we’re here, let’s just finish delivering it.”
Xu Qianyu set down the bowl and called out, “Disciple Xu Qianyu, here to visit my Uncle Master and bring you some flower dew.”

Wuzhen did not respond, clearly a body that had lost its mind.
Xu Qianyu was ready to leave.
She had thought it was Xie Yuzhen who was so reckless. However, with Wuzhen, she had no desire to intrude. Since the master was present, how could she look for some dream shadow tube in the room?
The pavilion was desolate, as if no one had stepped inside for years; even the leaves of the potted plants were wilted and falling.
Wuzhen had lost his mind but was still able to attack outsiders with stones; perhaps his last trace of consciousness didn’t want others to see him in this state.
But she barged in anyway.
Xu Qianyu stepped forward again and drove away the remnants of demonic energy from his robe. Although she knew the demonic soul had taken over his body and this wouldn’t do much, at least it could lessen his suffering a bit.
“Uncle Master, sorry to disturb you,” Xu Qianyu said to him. “I’ll fix this window this afternoon, I promise.”
She turned to leave, but suddenly a voice came from behind: “Feed me.”
Both Xu Qianyu and the system were startled.
“He can actually speak,” Xu Qianyu said in confusion. “He can throw stones but can’t drink the flower dew by himself. ”

The system urged, “Quick, feed him, ahhhhhh!”
Xu Qianyu turned back, sitting by the edge of the bed, looking complicatedly at the bowl. She thought to herself, in such a state, can he still drink the flower dew? Can he even taste it?
However, considering it was not to waste Keyun’s kindness, she picked up the bowl and, not very skillfully, poured the flower dew into the boy’s mouth.
Wuzhen couldn’t even roll his eyes; he stared straight at the ceiling; swallowing was also very difficult, to the point that Xu Qianyu carefully poured in a few spoonfuls, and the flower dew flowed from the corner of his mouth down into his collar.
“…” Xu Qianyu frowned, setting down the spoon, thinking that if one day she became like this, worse than death, then it would be better to die.
Thinking this way, she felt a bit sad.

The boy in the dream shadow tube spoke normally and could even knock on people with a book tube, yet in reality, he was now barely clinging to life, devoid of any spirit.
Lost in these thoughts, she took out the elixir (immortal pill) her senior brother had given her from her bosom. Not caring if it was useful or not, she tossed one into the flower dew and stirred it to dissolve.
The Wuzhen lashes fluttered slightly, and suddenly he looked at the ceiling and said, “Why waste…?”
Xu Qianyu took this as the ramblings of someone who had suffered a stroke and ignored it, continuing to diligently feed him the flower dew, though some dribbled out.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, Xu Qianyu forcefully set down the bowl and tore a strip from her own garment.

Just then, as she lowered her head, the boy’s lips suddenly parted slightly, and two shiny threads of something were spat from his mouth, transforming into a crystalline mist that swiftly entered under Xu Qianyu’s garment.

System: !!!

There was a pouch containing Xu Qianyu’s dream shadow tube. But it feared Xu Qianyu might be frightened and didn’t make a sound.
Immediately, the boy’s gaze grew completely desolate; he relaxed his hand, and the pebble rolled to the ground.
Xu Qianyu remained oblivious, folding the cloth strip to wipe the soup from his lips, then performing a cleaning spell to brush off his robe.
Xie Yuzhen’s old injuries flared up that day, causing him to cough. The pain was unbearable, making the boy’s expression gloomy.
He had spent several days using the Su Guang Mirror under his control, able to direct it to any corner of Penglai he wished to see, along with any person he wanted to view.
Today, he thought of the sharp sword that had injured him, recalling the young lady responsible for his downfall. In the mirror, Xu Qianyu’s figure gradually emerged.

He sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy and pulled the mirror from his pocket, just in time to see Xu Qianyu sitting at the edge of the bed, carefully… feeding someone.
Xie Yuzhen frozen. He had only seen the Shui family members serve her with such carefulness; he had served her in the same way but could never earn a smile or a look of satisfaction from her.
She was arrogant and domineering, proud and haughty, looking down on everyone, and he was no exception. He had once thought whoever could earn the young lady’s affection and care would surely attain the greatest joy in the world.
Today, that scene appeared vividly before him.
So, Xu Qianyu could take care of people. Her lashes remained motionless, her gaze focused; the young lady’s eyes were stunning, with pupils like jade, and this kind of concentration gave the illusion that all her fiery brilliance was devoted to the one she was looking at.
He instinctively looked at that person, only to unexpectedly see his own face.
No, that person was not him.

Years ago, Elder Wuzhen of Penglai had shattered his demonic soul, and the two had perished together; the Demon King had entwined itself with Wuzhen’s body, tearing his soul apart.
Wuzhen knew he could not protect himself, so he used his soul as a medium and performed the forbidden technique “Soul Nailing Technique,” using his own body as a cage to trap his demonic soul, subsequently plunging into the deep sea.
But Wuzhen’s soul had shattered and was too weak, only managing to capture a part; the remaining two pieces of the demonic soul escaped, scattering to the ends of the earth. One piece was him, Xiao Yi, the illusionist Xie Yuzhen. The other piece was lost and remains unknown.
Unless the demonic souls reunited and regained their full strength to completely kill Wuzhen, he dared not easily enter Wuzhen’s body to reclaim his own soul, fearing he would be trapped again.

At this moment, seeing this scene, he felt a strange sensation.
The person the young lady was caring for seemed to be him, and the one she looked at with such focus was also him; after all, within Wuzhen’s body, there was one-third of his demonic soul.
But awake, after all, was Wuzhen.
The two looked exactly alike. Why was she so disdainful toward him yet could show such warmth to Wuzhen?
Xie Yuzhen calmly put away the mirror, his fingers clenched tight.
Just then, Lu You called him from behind, and he turned around. Lu You asked if he felt any better.
Xie Yuzhen looked at her with a softened expression; his face was clearly pale with pain, but he smiled and said, “I’m fine.”
Lu You smiled back at him. In the original text, her smile was radiant and cute, like a ray of warm sunlight shining into the heart of the Demon King, which should maintain Xie Yuzhen’s good impression of her.
Recently, she had been too busy. Caring for animals was far more troublesome than planting spiritual herbs; they needed constant supervision, and she feared her golden finger would regress again. She did not dare to skip her daily tasks, resulting in her having no time to pursue Xie Yuzhen.
If her golden finger for planting spiritual herbs were still active, she could have grown medicinal plants to alleviate Xie Yuzhen’s pain. Unfortunately, she hadn’t exchanged it back because she spent her resources on re-acquiring the [Su Guang Mirror].

Before bed, she needed to check Xu Qianyu’s progress to feel at ease.
Though Xu Qianyu had arrived at the outer gate first, she had been busy every day and still hadn’t managed to establish a foundation; watching her was quite relieving. In the second round, she had even lost her talent for cultivation. If that were true, she wouldn’t know how Xu Qianyu could later challenge her.