The lingering fluctuations of spiritual power inside the cave abode gradually dissipated.
Chu Yunfei sat cross-legged for a while, smoothing out the surging spiritual power within him before rising and pushing the door open.
A pine-scented breeze brushed his face, and the thin mountain mist had yet to disperse.
He did not linger at his cave abode, instead following the inner sect's mountain path north toward the scripture pavilion.
The Azure Mystic Sect's scripture pavilion stood halfway up Heavenly Pillar Peak at the center of the sect, a three-story bluestone building rising amid clouds and mist, its upturned eaves lending it an ancient, imposing air.
Chu Yunfei stepped onto the stone stairs. Before he reached the entrance, he felt a faint sweep of divine sense pass over his entire body.
The scripture pavilion was quiet, its main doors half open. No disciples were on duty today; inside sat an old man with snow-white hair and beard, his eyes closed in a light doze.
This was the pavilion's guardian elder, Zhao Baimei.
His cultivation was unknown. He was said to be the oldest elder in the sect apart from the sect master, with such seniority that even the peak masters had to greet him as juniors.
He had an eccentric temperament, ignored sect affairs, and took no part in disputes. His sole preference was guarding this scripture pavilion, a duty he had kept for over sixty years.
Chu Yunfei approached the entrance and bowed respectfully.
"Disciple Chu Yunfei has come to borrow a martial technique."
Zhao Baimei did not open his eyes. His withered fingers tapped lightly against his knee.
"Token."
Chu Yunfei took out his inner sect disciple token and handed it over.
Now that he was an inner sect disciple, he no longer needed contribution points.
Zhao Baimei accepted the token and opened his eyes a sliver. His cloudy gaze lingered on the token for an instant before turning to Chu Yunfei.
"Have you condensed Qi?"
"This disciple has condensed Qi."
Zhao Baimei tossed the token back to Chu Yunfei, his voice hoarse and slow. "Remember, you may borrow only one. Return it within seven days. You must not pass it on to outsiders. Any damage will be punished severely, without exception."
"Yes."
Chu Yunfei caught the token and stepped into the scripture pavilion.
The first-floor hall was spacious and deserted. Two rows of long shelves stretched from the entrance to the far end, neatly displaying hundreds of cultivation manuals.
Light streamed through the high skylights onto yellowed volumes, dust drifting slowly within the shafts of light.
The first floor held Yellow Rank low-grade and middle-grade martial techniques for outer sect disciples to borrow.
Chu Yunfei did not stop, heading straight up to the second floor.
The second floor had a similar layout, but noticeably fewer shelves, with far fewer manuals on each row than downstairs.
The martial techniques here ranged from Yellow Rank high grade to Mystic Rank low grade and could only be borrowed by inner sect disciples.
Chu Yunfei walked slowly along the shelves, scanning the manuals one by one.
Sword techniques, saber techniques, palm techniques, fist techniques, movement techniques, footwork... there were many varieties, but their grades were generally low.
Everything of real value was locked away on the third floor.
Only legacy disciples and elders were qualified to enter the third floor. Chu Yunfei's current status was insufficient.
Back when he had held the requisite status, his father had refused to let him come, for reasons he did not know.
Now, he focused his attention on the movement technique manuals.
He currently had no shortage of offensive methods. He had already cultivated Heaven-Severing Slash to greater mastery, enough to handle opponents at his own level or even above it.
Movement techniques, however, had always been a weakness. His dodging and mobility in battle depended entirely on his body's reaction speed, and against an opponent at the Spirit Martial Realm or above, he could easily be restricted.
Chu Yunfei leafed through them one after another, his brows remaining faintly furrowed.
Just as he neared the end of the shelf, his fingers stopped on an old bamboo scroll.
Divine Movement Art, a Mystic Rank low-grade movement technique.
Chu Yunfei pulled out the bamboo scroll and extended his divine sense into it.
A moment later, his brows relaxed.
Though this movement technique was not particularly high in grade, it excelled in flexibility and variety, consumed very little spiritual power, and, once cultivated to a profound level, offered astonishing bursts of speed over short distances.
Most importantly, its circulation route did not conflict with his current cultivation method, allowing perfect compatibility.
Judging by his knowledge from his previous life, this movement technique was not among the very best of its grade, but it offered excellent value and suited his current stage extremely well.
Besides, he could find nothing better on the second floor.
Chu Yunfei tucked the bamboo scroll into his robes. As he passed Zhao Baimei on his way downstairs, the old man spoke, his eyes still closed, as though he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Seven days."
"Thank you, Elder."
Chu Yunfei cupped his hands in a bow, then turned and left.
Zhao Baimei opened his eyes a sliver and watched his retreating figure, some complex emotion stirring deep within his cloudy eyes.
"Chu Batian's son really is different. Even crippled, he can cultivate again..."
He murmured those words, then closed his eyes once more.
After returning to his cave abode, Chu Yunfei shut himself inside the stone chamber and began studying the Divine Movement Art.
Reaching the introductory stage would double his speed. Lesser mastery would allow him to create afterimages over short distances to confuse opponents, while greater mastery would let him flash across dozens of zhang at extreme speed. As for perfection, even Chu Yunfei did not know whether anyone had ever attained it.
Seated cross-legged on the stone bed, Chu Yunfei mentally simulated the Divine Movement Art's circulation route dozens of times. Only after confirming there were no oversights did he begin guiding his spiritual power along it.
His Eighth Level of Qi Condensation spiritual power flowed like streams into the meridians of his legs, following the Divine Movement Art's distinctive route.
At first, it moved slowly. He had to carefully regulate its force whenever it passed an acupoint; the slightest carelessness would send his spiritual power into disorder.
Fortunately, Chu Yunfei had practiced countless cultivation methods in his previous life, and his control over spiritual power was precise to the extreme.
On the first day, he cleared eight of the twelve auxiliary meridians in his legs.
On the second day, he opened all four remaining auxiliary meridians, and his spiritual power began circulating smoothly.
On the morning of the third day, as the first ray of dawn shone through the stone window into his cave abode, Chu Yunfei abruptly opened his eyes.
Spiritual power circulated rapidly through the meridians in his legs, and a sense of lightness rose from the soles of his feet, spreading throughout his body.
He stood and walked out of his cave abode.
The old pine's branches swayed gently in the morning breeze. Dew slipped from its needles, splashing into tiny droplets on the bluestone platform.
Chu Yunfei drew a deep breath and bent his knees slightly.
The next instant, his figure vanished from the spot like a wisp of smoke.
Whoosh.
Mountain wind howled past his ears. Trees and rocks on either side blurred into afterimages, racing backward.
The mountain path beneath his feet shrank rapidly in his vision. A hundred meters, a thousand meters, three thousand meters...
Fast.
Far too fast.
Experiencing this unprecedented speed, Chu Yunfei felt utterly exhilarated.
His Eighth Level of Qi Condensation spiritual power, combined with the Divine Movement Art's circulation route, had increased his movement speed to at least three times what it had been.
And this was merely the introductory stage.
Once he reached lesser mastery or greater mastery, he would be even faster.
He continued driving his spiritual power, his figure sweeping over ridges and through woods as he sped south.
The wind whipped around him, and the mountains rose and fell beneath his feet like waves.
He was immersed in the thrill of speed when the scenery ahead suddenly changed.
Without his noticing, the dense woods had thinned, giving way to an open valley.
At the far end of the valley lay an emerald pool, its surface still as a mirror. Jagged rocks and lush vegetation surrounded it, forming a secluded, tranquil scene.
Chu Yunfei halted, landing steadily on a rock.
He looked around, his brows furrowing slightly.
This place...
The back slopes of Emerald Cloud Peak.
He knew the Azure Mystic Sect's terrain well. Emerald Cloud Peak was a cultivation ground for legacy disciples, and its back slopes were a forbidden area where others seldom set foot.
He had been so absorbed in experiencing the Divine Movement Art's speed that a moment's inattention had brought him straight here.
Chu Yunfei was about to turn and leave when something suddenly caught the corner of his eye.
At the edge of the pool, amid the curling mist, there seemed to be a hazy figure.
He instinctively looked over.
The morning mist had not fully dispersed. Vapor rose from the pool, shrouding that figure like a layer of gauze.
At first, he could not see clearly, only faintly make out a slender silhouette.
Then a mountain breeze swept through, parting the morning mist for an instant.
Chu Yunfei's pupils abruptly contracted.
In the pool, a woman was bathing with her back to him.
Her ink-black hair floated across the water, spreading out like silk. Her jade-white shoulders and back rose above the surface, droplets sliding along the smooth lines of her shoulders and gleaming softly in the morning light.
Her waist was unbelievably slender, its contours narrowing from her shoulders and back before flaring below, forming a breathtaking curve.
The figure turned slightly sideways, seemingly scooping water in her hands to pour over her shoulder.
Chu Yunfei saw her profile clearly.
Holy shit, Yan Guining.
His breathing involuntarily caught.
It was not as though he had never seen beautiful women. Wen Jiao, Lin Wanyin, Tantai Liuli-which of them did not possess beauty capable of toppling cities and kingdoms?
But Yan Guining's kind of...
Chu Yunfei's gaze slid an inch lower beyond his control.
The water concealed her at precisely three inches below her collarbones, but in the instant that thin mist parted, certain contours still came clearly into view.
Full, pert, far beyond the impression they gave beneath her clothes.
Keeping her assets well hidden.
Chu Yunfei's heartbeat quickened, yet his legs seemed nailed to the spot.
Just then, however, an almost imperceptible fluctuation of spiritual power came from the pool.
Chu Yunfei's heart sank sharply.
Not good.
I've been discovered.