Chapter Sixteen: An Invitation

Just as Liang Yan was puzzling over the situation, another beam of purple light shot out from the spiritual spring, hurtling toward him. This time, Liang Yan was prepared and quickly dodged aside. However, to his surprise, the purple beam seemed almost sentient, swerving midair to pursue him again, and moving even faster than before. Liang Yan tried his best to evade, but ultimately, the beam caught up to him.

As the purple light entered his body, a chill as if falling into an icy abyss swept through him. Yet, this time, Liang Yan observed carefully and discovered that the light, as though guided by some force, traveled down his meridians and was ultimately absorbed by his dantian. More accurately, it was drawn into the Celestial Mechanism Pearl within his dantian.

After absorbing three beams of purple light in succession, the Celestial Mechanism Pearl began to tremble faintly. Moments later, it released a surge of exceptionally pure spiritual energy, which slowly spread throughout Liang Yan’s body.

Liang Yan was overjoyed. Though he still didn’t fully understand what had happened, he wouldn’t let such a rare opportunity slip by. He immediately sat cross-legged, circulating his energy to refine that pure spiritual power.

By dawn, the spiritual power within Liang Yan had become even purer. After a night of careful observation, he formed a hypothesis: these purple beams seemed to be attracted by the Celestial Mechanism Pearl, drawn out from the spiritual spring on their own. This was supported by the fact that Sun, Qian, and Li, who shared the cave, were completely unaffected by the purple light.

“There must be some profound secret within this spiritual spring,” Liang Yan mused to himself.

But that was as far as his thoughts went—he didn’t have the means to investigate further. Already, the spiritual energy and purple beams from the spring were a tremendous boon. Liang Yan was secretly delighted; as long as he continued cultivating this way, he might break through the bottleneck at the peak of the second layer of Qi Refining in just a few days and reach the third layer.

By now, the sky was growing pale. Liang Yan ended his cultivation and stood up, just as Sun, Qian, and Li did the same and walked over to him.

“It seems you had quite a fruitful night, Brother Liang,” Sun observed with some surprise.

It was true—their cultivation level was still low, akin to the highest martial artists in the secular world. They still needed to eat and sleep. After a night of cultivation, Sun felt physically fine, but mentally exhausted, his face drawn and weary as usual.

In contrast, Liang Yan looked spirited and full of energy, with not a trace of fatigue. He knew this was due to the nourishing effect of the purple light, but he could only nod vaguely in response.

Each keeping their own counsel, they refrained from probing further. After a brief search around the area, they returned to their quarters.

For several days, Liang Yan continued his routine—working and reading by day, cultivating with Sun, Qian, and Li in the mountain cave by night. One night, as he was circulating spiritual energy through his meridians, he sensed something unusual. When the energy reached the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, it slowed, as if meeting an invisible barrier.

Liang Yan immediately recognized this as the bottleneck of the second layer of Qi Refining—only by breaking through could he reach the third layer. He calmed his mind and repeatedly gathered his spiritual energy, sending wave after wave towards the Baihui point.

Driven by a frenzied recitation of his nameless cultivation mantra, the pure spiritual energy condensed into a slender stream, charging along his meridians toward the barrier.

He lost track of time until, suddenly, there was a faint muffled sound. In the silent, spacious cave, it was as if a breeze had sprung from nowhere. Sun, Qian, and Li opened their eyes and glanced at him suspiciously, but seeing no obvious disturbance, they resumed their meditation.

Only Liang Yan knew that he had just succeeded in breaking through, advancing smoothly to the third layer of Qi Refining. At the same moment, he had quietly urged the Celestial Mechanism Pearl to conceal his aura, so that nearly no fluctuation escaped. Even Sun, Qian, and Li, who were close by, only vaguely sensed something but found nothing unusual.

Feeling the noticeably increased reservoir of pure spiritual power within him, Liang Yan was overjoyed, yet he did not relax, continuing to consolidate his newly attained realm.

When he opened his eyes again, daylight was flooding the cave. Glancing around, he saw that Sun, Qian, and Li were already gone. Clearly, they had waited for him in vain but, not wanting to disturb his cultivation, had left on their own.

“Judging by the time, it’s about time to report to Wang Yuan,” Liang Yan murmured. Still, he planned to return to his quarters for a quick wash first. Having broken through to the third layer of Qi Refining the night before, his body had unconsciously expelled some impurities, leaving him feeling sticky and uncomfortable.

It was well-known that each breakthrough during Qi Refining improved the mortal body, cleansing the meridians and expelling innate impurities, making the physique more suited for cultivation.

Liang Yan walked back toward his quarters. Before long, he arrived at the thatched cottage in Apricot Grove, only to find someone standing in the courtyard—a man in a moon-white robe, sword at his waist, a scholar’s cap on his head, exuding a carefree elegance.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned, smiling warmly at Liang Yan. “Brother Liang, I’ve been waiting for you.”

Liang Yan was puzzled and immediately on guard. After all, he had spent the whole night away; who knew when this person had arrived? The spiritual spring was a great boon to his cultivation, and he couldn’t afford to leave any clues.

Suppressing his thoughts, Liang Yan bowed and said, “Greetings, Senior Brother Zhuo.” Then, feigning confusion, he added, “Senior Brother Zhuo, you are one of the top outer sect disciples. I am but a humble servant disciple—how could I deserve the honor of your visit?”

Zhuo Bufan’s smile was like a spring breeze. He replied lightly, “Not at all. Your talent in formations is truly exceptional—rare in the world. Though I was born into the Pill Vein, I am quite passionate about formations myself. That’s why I’m here, hoping you might give me some guidance.”

Liang Yan felt a bit embarrassed by such praise. “It’s just a minor skill, Senior Brother. When your divine sword is drawn, such tricks are useless before you.”

Zhuo Bufan’s expression became serious. “Don’t belittle yourself, Brother. There are many paths to the Dao, each with its own wonders. Our sect’s founder, Master Yixing, was famed for both chess and formations. He entered the Dao through formations and established the Yixing Pavilion, a legacy that has endured for a millennium.”

Liang Yan blushed slightly. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I will remember your words.”

Zhuo Bufan’s demeanor softened, and he smiled again. “Actually, I came today to ask you to set up a formation for me.”

“What? You need me to arrange a formation for you?”

“Indeed,” Zhuo Bufan nodded. “I have been trying to refine a certain pill, but it is extremely difficult to succeed. The main problem is that the spiritual power of the ingredients scatters during the process, resulting in failed pills.”

Liang Yan’s mind flashed. “Senior Brother, are you thinking of a Spiritual Gathering Formation?”

Zhuo Bufan looked at him approvingly. “Exactly! I’d like your help to arrange such a formation during my pill refining, to concentrate the ingredients’ spiritual energy and increase the chances of success.”

He looked a bit embarrassed. “I’ve tried to study formations for this myself, but I just can’t grasp the essentials. To be honest, I need these pills desperately, but I haven’t produced a single one so far. If you can help me succeed, I will reward you generously.”

As he spoke, he opened his right hand, revealing three immaculate, snow-white pills, each with cloud-like patterns.

“Spirit-Gathering Pills!” Liang Yan drew a sharp breath.

These were rare and precious for cultivators in the Qi Refining stage, improving one’s physique and increasing the speed of spiritual energy absorption. For someone like Liang Yan, whose spiritual roots were mixed and who absorbed energy slowly, they were especially valuable.

Originally, even a servant disciple could receive one of these pills every six months to aid their cultivation. Unfortunately, the resources for Liang Yan and his group had all been appropriated by Wang Yuan. Now, Zhuo Bufan was offering three at once—the temptation was immense.

Suppressing his excitement, Liang Yan replied, “I’m not very skilled; I’m afraid I might let you down, Senior Brother.”

“No matter. Just do your best. As they say, ‘Man proposes, Heaven disposes.’ Success or failure is up to fate.”

Liang Yan nodded, then hesitated. “But as a servant disciple, I still have duties—perhaps I’ll need to finish my chores before…”

Before he could finish, Zhuo Bufan interrupted, “No need to worry about that. I’ve already spoken to Wang Yuan. From now on, whenever I’m refining pills, you’re exempt from your chores that day—just come help me.”

Liang Yan hadn’t expected him to wield such influence, able to direct even the servant overseers. Then he recalled talk among some zither path disciples—Zhuo Bufan apparently had an uncle among the inner court elders. No wonder he enjoyed special privileges.

With his doubts settled, Liang Yan said, “Since you’ve invited me so sincerely, Senior Brother, it would be rude to refuse. Shall we set out right away?”

“Haha! You’re straightforward indeed, Brother Liang. Come, let’s go to Emerald Bamboo Peak.” With that, Zhuo Bufan formed a hand seal, and a sword flew out, hovering steadily at chest height between them. He pulled Liang Yan onto the sword, and together they soared towards the peak.

Though it was forbidden for lower-ranked disciples to fly freely through the sect grounds—out of respect for the sect—traveling close to the ground was permitted for convenience, given the vastness of the mountain valleys.

Riding the sword, they quickly arrived at the foot of Emerald Bamboo Peak, where the outer disciples of the Pill Vein usually cultivated. As one of the top-ranked outer disciples, Zhuo Bufan had a private cave dwelling near the summit.

Jumping down from the flying sword, Liang Yan could hardly conceal his excitement. He had always longed to follow the sword cultivation path, and this first flight was a thrill.

Zhuo Bufan noticed his expression and smiled faintly, withdrawing his sword. Together, they climbed the mountain path.

True to its name, both sides of the path were lined with tall green bamboo. A gentle breeze set the bamboo forest swaying, and a mysterious melody seemed to float through the air, like the music of the heavens.

“It’s said that this Emerald Bamboo Forest was planted by the founder himself, and that it holds the mysteries of the Dao of sound. Those with fate might glean methods here to temper the soul and nourish the mind.”

“Is that so? I confess my ignorance,” Liang Yan replied with a rueful smile.

“Haha, it’s just a legend. In my ten years here, I’ve never heard of anyone having such luck. I’m just sharing an interesting story, don’t take it too seriously.”

Both men laughed, chatting amiably as they soon reached Zhuo Bufan’s cave dwelling. Zhuo Bufan cast a spell to open the gate and led Liang Yan inside.