A reunion of fellow disciples

Only Patriarch Baoxue's gaze shifted slightly after hearing the whole story. She seized upon the crucial point:

"You said the ancient stele on that Bixi's back had unusual writing?"

"Exactly."

Shen Hui nodded, then bent down and picked up a twig.

His memory was good. While chatting idly with the Bixi at the bottom of the valley, he had already committed the entire inscription to memory.

Now he traced it onto the sand with the twig, writing briskly, stroke by stroke.

After finishing the final stroke, he straightened up.

"Patriarch, take a look."

Patriarch Baoxue leaned down from her flying sword and studied it closely.

She looked for a long time, her brows drawing ever tighter, without saying a word.

"Well?" Shen Hui asked.

Patriarch Baoxue straightened up and said softly:

"These characters belong to none of the written traditions passed down to us. I do not recognize them either."

"Not a single one?"

"Not a single one."

Embracing Snow extended a finger, tracing the strokes twice in the air before stopping to examine one particular spot repeatedly.

"But their forms... resemble a variant of Cloud Script, or something even older."

Shen Hui was not surprised. He nodded and asked:

"Judging by its form, Patriarch, what do you think the inscription is most likely about?"

Patriarch Baoxue pondered for a moment, her gaze settling on the ancient characters in the sand as she slowly offered her conjecture:

"The characters form a continuous text, with a regular flow of rhythm and resonance. It does not look like an inscription recording events, nor a monument praising someone's virtues. Judging by its arrangement and cadence, it is most likely... a cultivation method?"

Shen Hui raised an eyebrow. "What led you to that conclusion, Patriarch?"

"Look at these characters."

Embracing Snow pointed to several