"Senior."
When they arrived before the Library Pavilion, the two respectfully paid their respects.
The old woman did not move at all, not even blinking once. She merely stared at the book in her hands.
Then a weathered yet ethereal voice drifted over.
"Shui Yue has already told me. Go in yourself. You need not be so formal when you come here in the future."
She addressed Shui Yue directly by name without the slightest reservation. She must have been an elder expert of the previous generation.
After becoming a familiar face to the old senior at the Library Pavilion, Wen Min brought Xiao Xuan to what would be his residence from then on.
Looking-Moon Terrace was one of the "Six Sights of Qingyun." It was said that on nights when the moon shone brightly, moonlight would slowly rise from the foot of the mountain and gradually climb onto Looking-Moon Terrace. The instant the moonlight fully illuminated the terrace, when the moon hung directly overhead, was its most beautiful moment.
At that very moment, the moon's clear radiance would suddenly pour down in dazzling splendor, reflecting off the smooth stones of Looking-Moon Terrace and illuminating the entire Xiaozhu Peak in an instant.
Anyone standing upon Looking-Moon Terrace at that moment would feel almost as though they stood within an immortal realm.
More than that, legend had it that on the full-moon night that appeared only once every sixty years, one would actually feel as though one were standing atop the bright moon itself. The thrill of that sensation was truly infinitely alluring.
Yet in the daylight, Looking-Moon Terrace was actually nothing more than a cliff hanging alone in midair.
Aside from its rear half being connected to the mountain, most of it jutted out high above the sky. Its beauty could not be seen; instead, it carried the air of a perilous tower.
His residence was a solitary bamboo building, truly solitary, for apart from his own bamboo building, there were no other structures nearby.
Before the bamboo building lay a broad stretch of open ground, level and firm, seemingly meant for training. Behind it stood sheer cliffs, meaning the bamboo building had been built against the mountain.
Looking up at the seemingly precarious Looking-Moon Terrace overhead, the bamboo building appeared even more fraught with danger.
Beyond the open ground grew sparse flowers, grass, and trees. This was also one of the rare places on Xiaozhu Peak without Tear Bamboo.
Those plants did not grow luxuriantly; some were even short and withered. The Tear Bamboo surrounding the area had long since drained the soil of its nutrients. For these plants to grow here, someone in the past must have carefully tended them.
"Junior Brother, you'll live here from now on."
"Does Senior Sister Wen Min have any other instructions?"
"Uh... there's nothing else, really. But this bamboo house has been unoccupied for a long time.
Since it isn't convenient for you, I'll help you tidy it up."
Seeing Li Qingyun look as though he were about to send her away, Wen Min gritted her teeth inwardly. If she left, could this fellow even clean the room himself?
Wouldn't Master give her a thorough scolding then?
"Then I'll trouble you, Senior Sister!"
By the time they had finished cleaning, Wen Min departed, and it was already dusk.
He went straight to the front of the bamboo house and gazed toward the Tear Bamboo Forest beneath the evening clouds. There was less emerald green and more brilliant red. If one stepped into those clouds, one might think one had entered some gentle, bewildering mist.
Calming his mind and casting aside all trivial matters, Xiao Xuan silently circulated his cultivation method. Unfortunately...
Day after day, Xiao Xuan spent practically every day in the Library Pavilion.
The first floor was manageable, but the floors above it were beyond his ability—at least for now.
Fortunately, Wen Min came every day to carry out her master's orders.
Xiaozhu Peak possessed far more books than Dazhu Peak.
It took him a month and a half just to finish the first floor.
"Senior Sister Lu? You came to the Library Pavilion to read as well?"
Not long after Xiao Xuan arrived on the second floor for the first time, Lu Xueqi came in too and began searching for a book.
Upon hearing him, Lu Xueqi looked at Xiao Xuan in his wheelchair. Beneath her frost-cold exterior, a trace of sympathy stirred.
"Junior Brother, I heard that you have already finished all the books on the First Tower. Your speed here is truly admirable."
Xiao Xuan smiled. "You flatter me, Senior Sister. I merely skimmed through them.
After finishing, I still need time to digest them."
"What Junior Brother says is true. Is cultivation not the same?
Have you not begun cultivating the Taiji Xuanqing Dao yet?
Why can I not sense even the slightest spiritual energy fluctuation within you?"
Xiao Xuan looked embarrassed. "Ahem, I have cultivated it, but I have yet to see any results. Please forgive my inadequacy, Senior Sister."
"Do not lose heart. Persist!"
Lu Xueqi was sparing with words, yet she often came to Looking-Moon Terrace to practice her swordsmanship. Over time, though they spoke little, they still exchanged a few words now and then.
Time passed, and half a year later, Xiao Xuan finally drew the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into his body and completed a Greater Circulation. Breathing as one with heaven and earth, he comprehended the mysteries of Creation.
By the time he had finished every book in the Xiaozhu Peak Library Pavilion and spent another year digesting what he had learned, he had not only guided spiritual energy through thirty-six consecutive Greater Circulations within his body, but also stabilized his own meridians.
After visiting the other peaks one by one, three years had already passed.
Over those years, he had opened his Lower Dantian, refined the spiritual energy he had drawn into his body, transformed qi into primordial essence, and cultivated Taiji Primordial Qi.
Moreover, he could now manipulate external objects. At the very least, he no longer needed anyone else to move his wheelchair.
He did not know why, but after overcoming the first level's obstacle, his later cultivation had progressed much faster than when he was at the first level of the Yuqing Realm.
Even Tian Buyi expressed surprise when he reached Object Manipulation. This disciple, whom no one had ever thought highly of, had truly given him a pleasant surprise.
Was that speed fast? Compared to the true geniuses of the Qingyun Sect, it was far too slow.
But compared to the many disciples of Dazhu Peak, it was definitely not slow.
Song Daren, who had cultivated for a hundred years, was still only at the sixth level of Yuqing.
Du Bishu and the others had cultivated for decades, yet they had only reached Object Manipulation not long ago.
No one besides himself knew that Xiao Xuan's Object Manipulation did not rely solely on Yuan Qi.
Apart from Yuan Qi, as long as he wished it and focused intently, he could manipulate external objects.
This was likely related to the mysterious soul described in the books he had read over the years.
As his soul became capable of manipulating certain external objects, he somehow came to understand that cultivation at the soul level should be called the Mortal Realm.
Moreover, as he could manipulate objects with his soul, the power of his attacks through music was not weak either.
Given his own circumstances, this led him to seek a method of long-range attack.
After searching through the library pavilions of all seven Qingyun peaks, he finally found a copy of the Mystic Sound Art. Yet he directly called it the Mysterious Sound Divine Technique, revealing no small ambition.
"Eighth, the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is about to begin.
Your achievements over these years have made even your master proud.
There are few of us on Dazhu Peak to begin with. This time, the tournament rules have been changed, and each peak may send nine people.
You fellow disciples make exactly nine, but your legs are inconvenient. As your master, I must ask your opinion—do you wish to participate?"
So the eve of the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament has arrived without my noticing. It has been more than five years since I came to Dazhu Peak, yet I still know nothing about myself.
Deep within my heart, an even stronger sense of danger constantly kept him vigilant, urging him to recover his lost memories and learn who he truly was.
Those of today do not see the moon of ancient days, yet today's moon once shone upon the ancients. In this world of immortals, time flies by. Five years are no more than the flick of a finger.
"Master, you know that I do not enjoy lively occasions. I will not participate."
Before you continue