LABMY CH111.1

If not for this year, Jian Yuanbai would have probably, though regretful, still handed over that Body Refining Manual, but now, he hesitated. He hesitated greatly.

He hesitated to the point that he directly used his Great Ascension Stage strength and vanished before Mu Jingzhuo’s eyes.

Mu Jingzhuo was stunned, blinking blankly as he looked at the now empty room. If he hadn’t been sure that his master had just been standing in front of him, he would have doubted whether he had found the wrong person.

“Master?”

Jian Yuanbai soon realized he had done something foolish. Before Mu Jingzhuo could leave, he coughed lightly and reappeared, speaking as if nothing had happened:
“Just now, you said you’ve already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, and that spiritual energy can no longer be retained in your body through the restriction, right?”

Mu Jingzhuo nodded, “After reaching Foundation Establishment High Stage, no matter how I meditate or cultivate, the spiritual energy feels just like it did a few years ago. I can sense it, but I can’t make it remain in my body.”

Jian Yuanbai said, “Try again now. Let me take a look.”

Without thinking much, Mu Jingzhuo crossed his legs, formed strange hand seals, and began cultivating in front of Jian Yuanbai.

However, Jian Yuanbai wasn’t actually observing him at all. He already knew Mu Jingzhuo’s condition perfectly well. His body craved spiritual energy more than his dantian, and the meridians in his limbs were even more dominant. Before the spiritual energy could reach his dantian, it would be absorbed by the meridians around his body.

The restriction he left in Mu Jingzhuo’s body could only support cultivation up to the Golden Core Stage. If he strengthened the restriction further, it would cause irreversible damage to Mu Jingzhuo’s dantian.

Asking him to cultivate was merely an excuse for Jian Yuanbai to buy some time to think.

After waiting for a long time without hearing a word from his master, Mu Jingzhuo opened his eyes. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he looked up at Jian Yuanbai from below, “Master?”

This posture, when done by the fair and delicate “Little Spoon”, looked quite adorable. But Jian Yuanbai couldn’t respond, because the moment he answered, in less than a year, this cute little Spoon would turn into a towering, muscular man calling him “Master” with a fierce expression.

If Jian Yuanbai had known this day would come, he would never have mentioned that damn Body Refining Manual back then.

Looking at this cute little disciple, Jian Yuanbai felt exhaustion for the first time. One wrong step, and he’d be stuck hugging a hard, muscular “Little Spoon.”

At this moment, he desperately wanted to know:
If he hadn’t shown up back then, what kind of opportunity would Mu Jingzhuo have encountered?

Was this Body Refining Manual truly unavoidable?

He struggled internally, but on the surface, he remained calm and said,
“You’ve just returned from the Qingyun Fudi, rest for a while. I’ll teach you the Body Refining Manual later.”

Unexpectedly, Mu Jingzhuo’s face lit up with excitement and eagerness, “Master, I don’t need rest.”

“My experience in the Qingyun Fudi has given me great insight. I feel that I might be able to use this momentum to break through to the Golden Core Stage in one go.”

“Besides, in the Qingyun Fudi, I’ve become much more proficient with Ghostly Phantom Step. I can now leave behind a faint blue afterimage when I move. If I reach the Golden Core Stage, I—”

He paused, glanced cautiously at Jian Yuanbai, and explained with a forced smile, “Ghostly Phantom Step was taught to me by a senior I met earlier. Would Master like to see it?”

Jian Yuanbai had no interest in watching, but still said, “Show me.”

Mu Jingzhuo stepped forward, performing strange and unpredictable movements. His figure seemed to fade as he swiftly circled the room, leaving behind traces of faint, ghostly blue shadows.

After finishing, Mu Jingzhuo looked at Jian Yuanbai with sparkling eyes, filled with excitement and a subtle desire for approval.
“Master, what do you think?”

Jian Yuanbai nodded, “This Ghostly Phantom Step, with its eerie blue afterimages, truly lives up to its name. You’ve learned it well. With this, even against a Golden Core Stage cultivator, you might have a chance to win.”

“If it’s against a mid to late-stage Golden Core, winning would be difficult, but escaping would be easy.”

Hearing this, Mu Jingzhuo smiled brightly, his eyes curving with joy.
“So, I really don’t need rest, right, Master?”

Jian Yuanbai didn’t expect him to circle back to this topic again. Without thinking, he replied in a deep tone,
“No, you need to rest.”

“Cultivation is a long-term path. Rushing it will only lead to failure.”

Mu Jingzhuo tugged at Jian Yuanbai’s sleeve, full of trust, “If Master doesn’t believe me, you can check my condition. I really feel like I don’t need rest right now.”

“It’s this inability to absorb spiritual energy during cultivation that’s driving me crazy.”

Jian Yuanbai looked at him deeply, patted his shoulder, and said,
“Your current state is not suitable.”

“The Body Refining Manual is not an ordinary technique. You need to be at your peak, with full focus and confidence, before you can begin cultivating it.”

After speaking, Jian Yuanbai once again vanished from the room, leaving behind a confused Mu Jingzhuo.

“What part of my condition is unsuitable?”

Mu Jingzhuo glanced at himself, feeling perfectly fine. But since his master said he wasn’t ready, he had no choice but to return to his room.

What Mu Jingzhuo didn’t know was that…
The one who lacked energy wasn’t him.

It was Jian Yuanbai.

Forget ten percent of his energy, Jian Yuanbai couldn’t even muster one percent, no… not even half a percent.

At this moment, Mu Jingzhuo resided within Wuwang Peak, the core of Wangyun Sect’s territory.

Wuwang Peak wasn’t just a single mountain but a vast range of towering peaks collectively known as Wuwang Peak. The highest peak in the range, where Mu Jingzhuo currently lived, was the main peak and also where the sect master resided.

Outsiders were not allowed to enter this area easily. However, as the only disciple of the sect master, Mu Jingzhuo naturally had the right to stay here.

Jian Yuanbai left too quickly. Mu Jingzhuo didn’t even have the chance to stop him. After waiting in the main hall for a while and realizing that his master wasn’t returning, he could only leave.

Though he was told to rest, Mu Jingzhuo knew nothing about the Wangyun Sect and had no idea where to go. Aside from staying in his room, he would sit at the peak and watch the endless clouds.

In an ordinary sect, he could have found people in the sect master’s hall. But in the Wangyun Sect, Jian Yuanbai often roamed the world, and the sect already had a complete system in place.

The sect master was more like a symbol of strength and a good luck charm.

Mu Jingzhuo originally had other matters to discuss with Jian Yuanbai. Besides the Body Tempering Technique, he also wanted his master to help deliver a letter home. However, now neither task was accomplished. The Body Tempering Technique was something only his master could help with, but as for delivering the letter, surely there were others in Wangyun Sect who could handle it, right?

Fortunately, on the main peak, although outsiders were not allowed to enter, young servants would come daily to deliver food. Mu Jingzhuo stopped the little boy who came today and asked, “Do you know how to send a letter home from Wangyun Sect?”

With his current Foundation Establishment cultivation, he naturally couldn’t send messages through the air. If he wanted to contact his family, he could only hope that Wangyun Sect wasn’t heartless enough to sever all connections between its disciples and their families.

The little boy thought for a moment and said, “If you want to send a letter, you can find Elder Yan. You just need to pay some spirit stones to send the letter home. If you want the letter delivered within the same day, you’ll need to pay more spirit stones.”

Mu Jingzhuo asked, “Where can I find Elder Yan?”

The little boy answered everything he knew without holding back. In addition to telling him Elder Yan’s residence, he also mentioned some of the elder’s strange habits.

After learning Elder Yan’s whereabouts, Mu Jingzhuo didn’t go directly to him. Instead, he returned to his room and opened a clean sheet of paper.

His disappearance in Qingyun Fudi for a year had likely reached his father’s ears. Now that he had returned from Qingyun Fudi, he naturally had to send word to his family for their peace of mind.

He briefly recounted his experiences since leaving home and what happened in Qingyun Fudi, intentionally downplaying the dangers. A year’s worth of experiences was condensed into just a few lines.

Before writing “Wishing Father good health,” Mu Jingzhuo’s pen paused for a moment.

Without much hesitation, he picked up the pen again and added another reason for writing this letter — besides assuring his safety, he also had something to ask.

After finishing the letter, he ended it with: “Your son is well. Wishing Father peace.”

With the letter ready to be sent, Mu Jingzhuo now had to find Elder Yan.

According to the little boy, Elder Yan lived at the foot of Wuwang Peak. The reason he lived there, despite being an elder, was that he had a strange temperament and couldn’t be bothered to climb the mountain.

In the eyes of others, elders with some power and status wouldn’t live at the foot of the mountain like a gatekeeper. Many people had tried to persuade him otherwise, but Elder Yan simply said that he was too busy delivering letters every day to bother climbing such a tall mountain.

Recalling how the little boy vividly imitated Elder Yan’s expression when he said this, Mu Jingzhuo couldn’t help but find it strange.

After all, for those with high cultivation levels, delivering messages was just a matter of casting a spell with a hand seal. It was done in an instant.

Yet, in Elder Yan’s words, it sounded as if he had to personally visit each household to deliver the letters.

Since Mu Jingzhuo hadn’t cultivated today, he had plenty of time. He didn’t take the light airship that disciples used to ascend and descend the mountain but instead walked slowly to the foot of the peak. Along the way, disciples of the Wangyun Sect kept greeting him with respect.

This experience felt novel and slightly awkward for Mu Jingzhuo.

He was clearly the newest disciple in the Wangyun Sect, but because his master’s seniority was so high, he had suddenly become the martial uncle of these senior brothers and sisters who had joined the sect before him.

Hearing one respectful “Martial Uncle” after another, from disciples who sounded much older than him, Mu Jingzhuo quickened his pace and hurried toward the foot of the mountain.

According to the little boy, the thatched cottage ahead was Elder Yan’s residence.

Mu Jingzhuo didn’t dare to enter the thatched cottage without permission. He raised his voice and called out a few times, only to see a bird in the courtyard with bright red feathers on its head and unusually long claws tilting its head to look at him.

Mu Jingzhuo could tell it was some kind of demonic beast, but with his current strength, he couldn’t discern much. He cupped his hands and said toward the cottage, “Is Elder Yan here?”

No one responded.

Mu Jingzhuo fumbled around and took out a small fruit, offering it to the demonic beast. “Little Red, Little Red, can you help me call your master?”

This was also what the little boy had told him. If he couldn’t find Elder Yan, he could offer a berry to the demonic beast raised by Elder Yan, and it would always manage to find him.

The long-clawed demonic beast flapped its wings, snatched the fruit from Mu Jingzhuo’s hand with its beak, and gave him a long look as if sizing him up before walking away.

Mu Jingzhuo had already spent over an hour coming down the mountain. If possible, he didn’t want to make a second trip. He could only wait at the door of the thatched cottage, hoping the little boy’s method worked.

Fortunately, he didn’t wait long before he heard a creaking sound as the door behind him opened. Mu Jingzhuo turned to see a man in white robes stepping out of the thatched cottage.

A red, ribbon-like strand hung from his shoulder, just like the demonic beast raised by Elder Yan, as the little boy had described.

“Like master, like beast,” Mu Jingzhuo thought to himself before bowing and asking, “Are you Elder Yan?”

“I am,” Elder Yan replied indifferently. “Here to send a letter?”

Mu Jingzhuo nodded. “Yes.”

“Taishi Mountain City, the Mu family. Can you deliver it within a day?” Mu Jingzhuo asked.

It had been a year since he entered Qingyun Fudi. Too much could change in a year, and he just wanted to get the letter home as soon as possible.

To send a letter through someone else, he needed to provide the exact location and the recipient’s name. Ideally, he should also provide an item carrying the recipient’s aura. If none of these were available, just giving a location was fine, but there was no guarantee the letter would reach the right person.

There were countless letters lost in this process.

However, according to the little boy, Elder Yan’s deliveries never missed the target, suggesting he had some unique skills.

Elder Yan glanced at him and said, “The Mu family? You’re the sect master’s new disciple?”

Mu Jingzhuo had only been in Wangyun Sect for two days, and his disciple initiation ceremony was still being prepared. Yet, everyone already knew that the sect master’s new disciple had arrived.

It was no surprise Elder Yan guessed it was him.

Mu Jingzhuo nodded and said, “I just arrived at Wangyun Sect and haven’t had the chance to greet you, Elder. Please forgive me.”

“Give me the letter. No need for spirit stones. You can leave now,” Elder Yan said bluntly, ignoring Mu Jingzhuo’s polite apology.

Elder Yan’s attitude wasn’t exactly friendly, but he waived the spirit stone fee and impatiently shooed Mu Jingzhuo away when he tried to pay.

After Mu Jingzhuo left, Elder Yan glanced at the letter in his hand, then returned to the thatched cottage without casting any spell or incantation.

After half a stick of incense, a red-feathered demonic bird flew out of the cottage, flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.

The bird looked increasingly dejected as it flew.

“I told them… I don’t want to deliver letters. I hate delivering letters. Yet, everyone insists on making me do it.”