Refining the Horizontal Bone

Given that Chu Zhe was experiencing a love tribulation, Yu Rong and the Sect Leader Li Xiangyan decided to resolve it as quickly as possible. The original plan, which involved waiting for Bai Yujun to refine the bone in her throat so she could speak before descending the mountain, was changed. Chu Zhe would lead three young disciples from Qingxu Palace to Chang'an to celebrate the Tang Emperor's birthday. Chunyang Palace, being the imperial sect of the Li Tang royal family, was expected to attend the Emperor's birthday celebration. The next Sect Leader personally attending would show great respect to the court.

The two great cultivators, considering an opportunity for Chu Zhe and Xu Ling to interact, specifically ordered them to travel leisurely and not use sword flight. Chu Zhe found the mission difficult to understand.

Xu Ling's eyes sparkled with joy. Yang Mu maintained his usual cold, indifferent expression. White Snake was very reluctant to go, preferring to stay in the sect where she could eat failed pills and medicinal dregs and secretly learn. However... Chang'an would surely be more fun.

The four of them wobbled out of the Chunyang Mountain gate.

Xu Ling chattered happily beside Chu Zhe. Yang Mu, having found a book written by a disciple somewhere, was engrossed in reading it. Bai Yujun glanced sideways and recognized the title: "Notes on Descending the Mountain for Travel."

Passing through a town, Bai Yujun, like Yang Mu, bought a few books and read them while refining the bone in her throat.

The four of them ambled along the road. Three wore Chunyang Taoist robes and carried sword cases on their backs. Bai Yujun was dressed in a white dress. As they passed, many people turned to look, respectfully making way. This showed the high status of Chunyang Palace in the Tang Kingdom. In the past, some people had impersonated Chunyang disciples to deceive and commit evil deeds. Their endings were miserable, as Chunyang Palace dealt with them swiftly and ruthlessly, like sweeping fallen leaves in an autumn wind. As Chunyang disciples gradually traveled the world, the common people also came to understand Chunyang's sect rules: anyone who acted recklessly would be punished for impersonation.

Chu Zhe was happy to travel with Bai Yujun, but the beautiful woman remained silent, engrossed in her book. He felt a bit shy about approaching her to strike up a conversation, so he could only chat with Xu Ling intermittently.

"Why have I never seen Junior Sister Bai before?"

"Junior Sister Bai? Oh, you mean Big White. You rarely come to Qingxu Palace and are always in seclusion, so of course you haven't seen her. My master brought her back from the mountains." Xu Ling was the type to answer any question when facing her dream lover.

"Is your hometown very far?"

"Very far, in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. It's been over five years."

Chu Zhe was a little puzzled. Five years was enough time for him to get to know everyone in Chunyang Palace, yet he had never seen Bai Yujun.

"Why didn't Uncle-Master Yu take her as a disciple?"

"It's normal. Yujun is a demon. My master would naturally not break sect rules by taking a demon as a disciple, even though she really wanted to. But, I think it doesn't really matter. Good demons can be accepted. Who can say that humans are definitely good? We have so many disciples who have betrayed our Chunyang Palace."

Xu Ling continued to chatter. When she turned around, she found her Senior Brother missing. Looking back, she saw him standing there, stunned and motionless for some reason.

"Senior Brother?"

Chu Zhe's eyes were vacant, as if struck by lightning.

"Demon?"

"Yes, Yujun is Big White. Oh, right, you don't know who Big White is. Big White is the white snake my master brought back from the Hundred Thousand Mountains. She only recently succeeded in her form transformation. The day she transformed, I found out that Big White was actually a girl."

"Form transformation... snake demon..."

In an instant, the image of the pure girl in Chu Zhe's heart became unstable. One moment she was a beauty, the next a white snake. It felt as if the sky had fallen.

He turned his head and saw Bai Yujun and Yang Mu walking past.

Bai Yujun tilted her head, looking curiously at her pale-faced Senior Brother. She wondered if he regretted giving away his sword and wanted it back. It didn't matter. If he wanted it, she would return it. Carrying it wrapped in white cloth on her back was quite inconvenient.

Yang Mu, who was diligently reading the travel manual, glanced at his Senior Brother with a puzzled expression, not understanding why he kept staring at Big White. Although her waist-length hair was beautiful, it wasn't enough to warrant such constant gazing.

"Senior Brother?" Xu Ling waved her hand in front of Chu Zhe's eyes.

"I'm fine."

Chu Zhe lowered his head and continued on his way, his face pale, his eyes vacant, his mind filled with the word "demon"...

Bai Yujun had been busy refining the bone in her throat. The method was to continuously use her inner demon spirit to impact the bone, grinding it away bit by bit until it disappeared. It wasn't difficult, but it was slow. She couldn't use too much force, or she might injure her throat. If she used too little force, it would have no effect. She hadn't stopped for the past two days and estimated she was close.

Night.

They found a dilapidated mountain god temple in the mountains to spend the night. A bonfire was lit in the center of the room, dispelling the dampness and making the ruined temple much drier.

Yang Mu took out a few flatbreads, heated them, and handed them to Xu Ling and Chu Zhe. Bai Yujun didn't eat those things. She sat alone in the dark corner of the ruined temple, away from the bonfire's light, continuously refining the bone in her throat. Snakes, after eating their fill, could go without food for ten days to half a month. She sat so far away because snakes disliked fire, and wild animals in the mountains also disliked fire.

To drive away insects, she had specifically sprinkled some realgar powder. Snakes disliked realgar, so she had to sit further away.

Feeling a bit tired from expending spiritual energy, she took out two failed pills and swallowed them like candy. Outside, frogs croaked in the ditch. Bai Yujun tried hard to resist the urge to go to the ditch and eat the frogs, but the thought of their taste still made her drool.

Bored, she could only look at the moon and space out. Being myopic, she couldn't see clearly, only the general outline. The moon in this world was very large.

Sitting by the entrance, she hugged her knees, rested her chin on them, and listened to the frog croaks while gazing at the moon.

Inside the ruined temple.

Chu Zhe looked at the thin, lonely figure by the entrance and felt a pang of heartache, especially remembering that she was just a snake demon, eating discarded failed pills and sitting far from everyone else. She was so pitiful...

Xu Ling and Yang Mu lay on their blankets, snoring soundly. For them, this trip was more like a vacation. Soon, they were fast asleep, snoring peacefully.

The bonfire gradually died down, leaving only embers. The mountain wind blew, causing the glowing red charcoal to flicker, illuminating Chu Zhe's face as he sat by the fire, lost in thought.

The night passed uneventfully.

Early the next morning, Bai Yujun went into the mountains and caught four pheasants. Yang Mu plucked and gutted them, skewered them on sticks, and roasted them over the fire.

The aroma made Xu Ling's mouth water.

After eating, they set off. As Chu Zhe walked past Bai Yujun from behind, he slipped a jade bottle into her hand and then walked ahead without looking back or saying a word.

Pills? Bai Yujun looked at Chu Zhe strangely. The jade bottle in her hand contained five high-quality Condensing Spirit Pills. Although they weren't advanced pills, for Bai Yujun, who had been eating medicinal dregs and failed pills for years, they were like abalone and bird's nest. She sighed, thinking how worthy he was as the Senior Brother of Chunyang Palace; even the things he casually threw out were so extraordinary.

She poured out a pill and swallowed it. Her powerful digestive system quickly broke it down and absorbed it...

The speed of refining the bone in her throat increased.

With the help of a few high-quality pills, the bone in her throat grew smaller and smaller. Finally, her throat felt loose, as if something stuck in it had disappeared. The bone in her throat had finally been refined!

Excited, Bai Yujun immediately tried to speak.

"Ah... Oh... Mmm mmm..."

The three people walking ahead turned back, looking inexplicably at Bai Yujun, who was constantly pinching her throat and making muffled sounds, as if she had something to say but couldn't express it.

"Big White, what's wrong?" Xu Ling asked nervously.

"Mmm mmm... Ah..."

Bai Yujun pointed to her throat, making incoherent noises and unable to speak. The bone in her throat had been refined, so why couldn't she speak human language yet? Had she used too much power and damaged her throat? That shouldn't be the case. Even if her throat was injured, spiritual energy would heal it. How could she become mute?