Missing Thoughts Literature

23: Chapter 23 (1/2)

With only half the Breath Soil, she couldn't control it from absorbing everything.

What it most wanted to absorb was the Five Elements Qi.

Lady Su had obtained and then lost the Breath Soil after reaching the Thirteenth Realm. Her situation was different from Yu Sui's, who had possessed half of it before she had even begun cultivating.

With her own strength and Soul Light Core, Lady Su could still suppress the Breath Soil as it constantly absorbed Five Elements Qi, allowing her to use Nine Schools Techniques. Besides, she was an Agricultural School Disciple, and the Nine Schools Techniques she cultivated were highly compatible with a treasure like the Breath Soil.

Yu Sui had nothing.

Even after she gained three hundred Five Elements Light Cores more than a decade later, the more Five Elements Light Cores she acquired, the more Five Elements Qi gathered inside her. The damaged Breath Soil sensed the growing amount of Five Elements Qi and began to stir, competing with her for it.

Whenever Yu Sui connected to her Light Cores and drew on the Five Elements Qi, the Breath Soil would snatch it up first, tugging against her. The Five Elements Light Cores didn't want to send their power toward the Breath Soil, and a struggle would begin.

The strange fire merely watched from the sidelines. Hidden in the deepest reaches of Yu Sui's consciousness, its power was enough to destroy everything, so even the Breath Soil dared not approach it.

Having too many elements inside her could be a bad thing.

Now that she knew the Breath Soil was the problem, it would be easier to find a solution.

The question was how to keep the Breath Soil from fighting her for the Five Elements Qi.

As for killing Lady Su and reclaiming the complete Breath Soil, she could forget about that for now. It would take too much time and effort, and the risk was high. Her chance of success was one percent. Using the strange fire to kill Lady Su had a one hundred percent chance of success, but Yu Sui wasn't confident she would survive after her identity as the World Destroyer was exposed and the Six Nations hunted her down.

As for the second solution...

Just ask Sage Chang Gen!

Yu Sui rolled out of bed, called out to Zhongli Que, and hurried outside.

Next door, Li Jinshuang heard the commotion from Yu Sui's room. Her eyes snapped open, and she glanced toward the wall, hesitation in her gaze. In the end, she left it alone and closed her eyes again.

Yu Sui slipped out of the dormitory in the dark and ran toward the Taoist Saint Hall. Along the way, she met teachers on patrol, who all looked at her in confusion and asked, "Where are you rushing off to?"

"To the Saint Hall." She stopped and answered.

The teachers looked even more puzzled. "Is it that urgent? Why not use Wind Riding Technique?"

Yu Sui waved a hand. "That's what I'm going to learn!"

Watching her run off, the teachers couldn't help sighing. Old Man Chang had finally taken on a normal disciple—sweet, obedient, diligent, and eager to learn.

Yu Sui ran all the way to the Taoist Saint Hall, drenched in sweat. The cool night breeze slipped in through her collar and brushed her skin, but its refreshing touch vanished in moments.

She wiped her sweat, sniffed, steadied her breathing, and hurried into the Saint Hall Main Hall.

She was the only one there tonight.

Sage Chang Gen wasn't there either.

Yu Sui looked at the portrait, its ink unchanged, then rubbed her face to wake herself up.

She took out her Listening Wind Ruler, wanting to ask where Mei Chengyu's master had gone. But the two of them weren't friends on the Listening Wind Ruler. She could send him a message, but the trouble that would follow wasn't worth it.

Yu Sui waited patiently in the hall.

Standing alone in the hall tonight, she could see the golden, resplendent statues of the Sages gazing down benevolently. Candle flames floated upward, making everything below shimmer with light.

The insect calls and wind outside were shut out. In the silence, Yu Sui could hear the blood still coursing through her veins after her frantic run, along with her breathing and heartbeat. Suddenly, it seemed she had entered a world beyond words.

An unknown force enveloped her. It was like the first time she had seen the National Academy's Communication Array. Yu Sui could feel the Saint Hall Main Hall in her sight becoming clearer than ever before—so clear that she could even catch the wind sweeping past the portraits.

Her dark pupils seemed lit by flames. A faint, reddish gold glimmer surfaced, making them look magnificent.

The world before Yu Sui's eyes changed dramatically. She saw a sight she had never noticed before: the Five Elements Qi flowing between heaven and earth.

It was impossible to describe—formless and shapeless, soundless and colorless, yet she could "see" it.

It existed in the candle flames above, as well as in the ceiling, doors, windows, and stone statues. In Yu Sui's eyes, they connected to form a web, marking every point where Five Elements Qi gathered. These were the places in the Saint Hall Main Hall protected by incantations.

As Yu Sui focused, a voice intruded into her mind:

"Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye."

She came back to herself. The surging power faded, and ink swirled across the portrait before her.

"Master?" Yu Sui ventured softly, her five fingers curling inside her sleeve.

At the same time, someone approached the Saint Hall. Mei Chengyu had completed his trial and hurried back in the middle of the night to ask his master about cultivation. But when he reached the entrance, an invisible force stopped him.

Mei Chengyu stood at the doorway, unable to enter. "?"

Inside the hall:

"It seems you still haven't realized how powerful the strength you possess is." Sage Chang Gen's consciousness spoke to Yu Sui. In her mind, she automatically supplied his voice. "Nine Schools Techniques are the techniques of the hundred schools. Anyone who enters the Nine Schools can cultivate them."

"There are two kinds of techniques. One is Heavenly Secrets Technique, the superior Nine Schools Techniques that can be acquired through talent, insight, and cultivation."

For the first time, Yu Sui felt as if someone were watching her as she stood in the Saint Hall Main Hall. But the gaze was not hostile. It was gentle, even reassuring, so Yu Sui thought Sage Chang Gen was watching over her.

"The other kind is called Mystic Technique. These are wondrous arts that the gifted possess from birth. They cannot be acquired through cultivation. Each is unique in the world, yet they can be stolen."

Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Yu Sui's forehead.

She really did have a lot of things inside her!

Precious things, troublesome things, things with tremendous destructive power—things that were always bringing her danger while giving her strength.

Having a strange fire meant she could be killed.

Having Breath Soil meant she could be killed.

Having a Mystic Technique meant she could be killed.

Mei Chengyu gave the Saint Hall's open door a perfunctory knock and said with a dark expression, "Master, what do you mean by this?"

Sage Chang Gen didn't answer him.

Mei Chengyu thought it over. Had Yu Sui once again run off to cultivate in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? He took out his Listening Wind Ruler to ask her, then quickly remembered that he wasn't friends with Yu Sui on it.

All he could do was wait.

Inside the hall:

Yu Sui spread her hands. "Master, I can't even draw on the Five Elements Qi. How could I possibly have such a powerful Mystic Technique?"

She had come tonight to talk about the Breath Soil, but she hadn't expected to be caught completely off guard.

Sage Chang Gen said, "Mystic Techniques don't require Five Elements Qi."

Yu Sui: "..." That really was impressive.

"Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye can see through all illusions and armor, foresee the future, divine, capture the Five Elements Qi, and perceive what ordinary people cannot."

"You just saw every incantation ward concealed throughout the Saint Hall."

"In the decades you've lived, you must have seen many things even more difficult to detect than concealed incantation wards."

As Sage Chang Gen shared this with her, Yu Sui fell silent.

Her master was right.

When she first saw the National Academy's Communication Array, and when she first closed her eyes and drew the three Core Number Mountains in her mind, she had been able to memorize every Character Incantation that made them work. She had known then that something was wrong, that some force was naturally guiding her.

Yu Sui knew there was something special about her, but she hadn't known what to call it.

Now she knew.

Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye.

It sounded like something remarkable, something powerful.

"Master, how many Mystic Techniques are there in this world?" Yu Sui asked softly.

Sage Chang Gen replied, "Ninety-seven have been recorded."

More than she had expected.

At least that made it "cheaper" than the Breath Soil, the only one of its kind in the world. Surely fewer people would try to kill her for Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye than for the Breath Soil.

Yu Sui had just opened her mouth when Sage Chang Gen said, "The Heavenly Eye ranks among the top ten Mystic Techniques."

"Th-that's impressive," Yu Sui stammered. "Master, do you want the Heavenly Eye too?"

Sage Chang Gen said, "No."

Yu Sui asked again, "But isn't it very useful?"

Sage Chang Gen replied, "I'm dead. Any Mystic Technique would be useless to me."

Yu Sui: "..."

In the voice her mind automatically supplied, her master should have said this calmly and steadily—with a hint of playfulness and disdain.

"Mystic Techniques are personal arts. I can't teach you the knowledge related to them; you can only explore them on your own," Sage Chang Gen continued. "You must have come here tonight with another question."

Yu Sui's hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, relaxed slightly. She asked, "Master, will you tell anyone that I have Divine Mechanism · Heavenly Eye?"

Sage Chang Gen replied, "I won't."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have stopped his eldest disciple outside.

"Thank you, Master," Yu Sui said sincerely.

"I figured out something about why my Light Cores couldn't draw out the Five Elements Power tonight. Half of the Agricultural School's treasured Breath Soil is inside me. It has been with me since I was little, growing alongside me. A Medical School Practitioner once said this half of the Breath Soil absorbs everything it can sense. I think that's where the problem lies."

Yu Sui paused, then asked earnestly, "The Breath Soil is absorbing the Five Elements Power from my Light Cores, so I can't cultivate Nine Schools Techniques. Do you have a solution?"

Sage Chang Gen answered almost without thinking. "Simple. Take back the other half of the Breath Soil."

Yu Sui raised a hand, feeling a little troubled. "The other half is with my mother. I can't beat her."

In the past, Yu Sui had never had a clear idea of how powerful Lady Su was. Thinking about it now, she realized Lady Su was ruthless. Even while suppressing half the Breath Soil and still recovering from old injuries, she had been able to drive off the Thirteenth Realm experts who had come to Mount Luo.

No wonder Nangong Ming refused to let such a high-quality tool go.

Sage Chang Gen said, "Also simple. Seal the power belonging to the Breath Soil's lineage."

Yu Sui froze. It hadn't occurred to her. "Seal it?"

"But after it is sealed, you won't be able to cultivate any Nine Schools Techniques close to the Breath Soil's nature until you obtain the complete Breath Soil. For example, any of the Kun Gen Sheng Techniques," Sage Chang Gen said. "Are you willing?"

Was she willing?

Yu Sui thought it over. Who knew how many years it would take before she could kill Lady Su and get the Breath Soil?

How could she take back the other half without getting stronger?

How could she get stronger without drawing on the Five Elements Power and learning Nine Schools Techniques?

She didn't have many chances, and she didn't have much time.

Between a foolish, untalented daughter and the Thirteenth Realm expert Lady Su, Nangong Ming wasn't stupid. He would definitely choose Lady Su. When the time came, Nangong Ming would make Yu Sui return her half of the Breath Soil to Lady Su.

For all these years, Yu Sui's life or death had depended on a single thought from Nangong Ming and Lady Su.

Before they noticed, before they grew wary, she had to learn as much as she could.

Yu Sui said, "I'm willing."

A Bagua diagram sprang up beneath her feet and spun rapidly.

But Yu Sui didn't look at it. She gazed at the portrait and said, "Master, did you know all along that I had the Breath Soil?"

Sage Chang Gen didn't conceal the truth. He answered readily, "Yes."

Yu Sui asked again, "Did you also know what was wrong with my cultivation?"

Sage Chang Gen replied, "Yes."

Yu Sui was puzzled. "But you never said anything."

Sage Chang Gen said, "Some things you need to discover for yourself. If others interfere, you'll become slow to catch on."

"Your future will be harder than your senior brother's. Before then, you'll gain something, and you'll lose something."@Yu Sui was still confused, and she didn't dare ask whether her master also knew about the strange fire inside her. She didn't need him to tell her about the future; she already thought it would be difficult.

From the first day she had arrived in this world until now, every step had been hard.

@The spinning Bagua slowed. When the Kun Character pointed toward Yu Sui, it quietly disappeared. The Bagua spun again, and when the Gen Character pointed toward her, it disappeared too.

Sage Chang Gen sealed the Breath Soil. Yu Sui closed her eyes and reconnected with the Five Elements Light Cores. When she sent a message to the cores asking for the Five Elements Power, three hundred of them responded, lending her their strength.

As Mei Chengyu waited outside the Saint Hall, fiddling with his Listening Wind Ruler, he suddenly sensed a fluctuation in the Five Elements Qi. He looked thoughtfully toward the Saint Hall Main Hall.

As if he had guessed what was happening, he gave a lazy smile.

Looks like his junior martial sister, who never slept through the night, wouldn't be working herself to death anytime soon.