Chapter 500: Shen Mizhi's Realization

At the break of dawn, the sky was dim and murky.

On Tie Feng Mountain, within a large clearing surrounded by dense forest, tower structures built of blue bricks stood silently in the gloom like strange bunkers...

Amidst the falling yellow leaves, the entire Tower Forest was as quiet as a graveyard.

As the sky gradually brightened, the towers, which had only been silhouettes in the dim light, revealed their weathered true faces covered in dry moss, looking like sturdy, aged old men.

Yet, the entire Tower Forest remained soundless, without a single figure in sight; the flying withered leaves only made it appear more desolate.

Before long, the sound of a Copper Chime suddenly rang out in the Tower Forest, and it rang three times in succession. The sound was crisp and melodious, drifting through the empty, desolate Tower Forest like some sort of ritual.

After the Copper Chime sounded, the previously deathly silent Tower Forest seemed to come back to life like a corpse, stretching its body and emitting chaotic noises.

The tightly shut tower doors opened with a creaking sound, and individual figures walked out from the enclosed, dim tower structures.

These people were men and women, old and young, with varying expressions.

Some faced the radiance of the rising sun, their eyes filled with joy and encouragement. Others had dim expressions and numb faces, their bodies merely walking out of the towers stiffly.

There were also those who looked at the crowd, seemingly trying to encourage themselves, muttering something under their breath.

The group of people who had entered the Tower Forest this year had already been here for over half a year; seeing that in another two months, a full year would have passed. The fates of these people had also begun to diverge.

A very small number of people had already achieved True Qi Realm Great Perfection and walked out of the Tower Forest. There were others who, although still imprisoned, were filled with hope and confidence that they would eventually walk out of the Tower Forest. Of course, there were also others who spent every day in doubt and misery, struggling to keep themselves from collapsing.

Among this group, three people had already hanged themselves in the Tower Forest. And all three of these people were men.

Xiao Yu walked out of the dim tower structure; after a night of practicing Qi, her thin, pretty face could not hide her fatigue. She sighed and stepped onto the withered leaves covering the ground, followed by the sound of the leaves crunching under her feet, at which point a voice sounded behind her.

"Sister Xiao!"

Hearing the voice, Xiao Yu turned her head, and the light of the early sun happened to shine on her bleak smile.

Xiao Yu smiled as she watched Shen Mizhi run over. Shen Mizhi took Xiao Yu's arm, and the two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the clearing in front of the Tower Forest.

Perhaps it was Shen Mizhi's smile and words that infected Xiao Yu; Xiao Yu's complexion clearly had more vitality than before.

The two walked to the clearing in front of the Tower Forest, chatted for a few more moments, and then parted ways.

During the hours from morning until noon, they were allowed to spar with each other in the clearing.

As for who sparred with whom, it could only be determined after a period of adjustment and mutual agreement.

When they first entered the Tower Forest, Xiao Yu naturally sparred in a group with Shen Mizhi, but after only two months, Xiao Yu clearly could not keep up with Shen Mizhi's progress, and she would often be defeated after a few moves. If this continued for long, neither of them could fully display their techniques.

Later, they reluctantly continued for a while; Xiao Yu could clearly feel that Shen Mizhi was going easy on her, but even so, she still felt it was strenuous. After another ten days or so, Xiao Yu took the initiative to suggest changing sparring partners.

Just like that, the two began training separately.

Shen Mizhi and Xiao Yu each changed partners to adjust; having just entered the Tower Forest for two months, it was exactly the period of the first stage of differentiation, and many people were changing partners, so the two quickly found new training partners.

Subsequently, Shen Mizhi would change partners every month or two. But after more than half a year, Xiao Yu was still training with the same person.

This woman was named Su Bairong, a wealthy young lady from Shenyun Prefecture. At this moment, she was standing at the edge of the dense forest with a dull gaze. After Xiao Yu and Shen Mizhi parted, she looked toward the place where they usually sparred and saw Su Bairong at a glance. Xiao Yu walked over and called out, "Bairong!"

Su Bairong stood there blankly, as if she hadn't heard.

Xiao Yu shook her slightly and said, "Bairong, are you not feeling well?"

Su Bairong's eyes seemed unfocused; she turned her head and stared at Xiao Yu, seemingly recognizing her only after a while, and muttered, "Xiao Yu... Xiao Yu, have you ever been to Shenyun Prefecture?"

Xiao Yu's gaze flickered slightly, and she said, "I have."

Su Bairong said, "My home is at No. 6, Jia Room, East Shi Cui Jie." After Su Bairong finished speaking, she looked at Xiao Yu and smiled inexplicably.

Xiao Yu paused slightly; she did not understand why Su Bairong would suddenly talk to her about where her home was, and even tell her the house number in such detail.

At this time, the sound of weapons clashing had already erupted all around them. Xiao Yu saw the Instructor's cold gaze passing through the flickering crowd and looking toward their side.

Xiao Yu said, "Bairong, the Instructor is coming over. Let's start practicing."

As Xiao Yu spoke, she had already drawn her blade.

Su Bairong glanced at Xiao Yu's blade, suddenly smiled neurotically, and said, "Xiao Yu, let's practice well."

Xiao Yu nodded; she felt that Su Bairong seemed a bit strange today, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly was strange.

The two then began to feed moves to each other at the edge of the dense forest.

Today, Su Bairong's state seemed quite good; several times she put Xiao Yu in precarious situations, and it was only by a narrow margin that she managed to parry.

Xiao Yu said, "Bairong, you've made progress!"

"Is that so?" Su Bairong smiled and said, "Xiao Yu, you should work hard too!"

The two went back and forth; perhaps infected by Su Bairong, Xiao Yu also seemed to be in better form than usual, reigniting a glimmer of hope in her depressed and suppressed heart. "Perhaps I can..."

Three hours passed quickly.

This time, both of them were drenched in sweat. When the final Copper Chime sounded, they couldn't help but look at each other and smile; it had been a long time since they had practiced with such dedication.

After the sparring ended, it was time for the meal. Several burly laborers pushed single-wheeled wooden carts, bringing two carts filled with wooden buckets to the edge of the clearing in the dense forest. Then they lifted the buckets off the carts, opened the lids, and steaming hot air rose up.

The crowd in the clearing began to line up for food; this was their only meal of the day. The Pill for cultivation within the Tower Forest was provided in sufficient quantity, but as for meals, there was only one per day.

Xiao Yu took two steamed buns and a bowl of vegetables, sitting in front of a bluestone. Oil floated in the vegetable soup, and strips of lean and fatty meat sank to the bottom of the bowl; it was Chinese cabbage and vermicelli stewed with fatty meat, very rich in oil.

Just as she sat down, Shen Mizhi also walked over with a bowl. The two smiled and sat down to eat together.

Xiao Yu began to chat with Shen Mizhi while eating. Seeing that Shen Mizhi wasn't responding much, she turned her head to look at Shen Mizhi.

She saw Shen Mizhi sitting there, holding a steamed bun in a daze, her eyes flashing with deep contemplation.

Xiao Yu's expression froze; she wanted to call out to her, but suddenly stopped, lowered her head, and ate in silence.

Shen Mizhi was currently lost in thought about the morning's sparring. A certain key point was lingering in her mind; she believed that as long as she understood this point, her Sword moves could be further improved.

A flash of brilliance suddenly crossed Shen Mizhi's eyes; she reached out a finger, using her finger as a Sword, and gestured in mid-air. Just at this moment, the steamed bun in her hand dropped and rolled onto the ground.

Shen Mizhi woke up abruptly, seemingly only then realizing that she was squatting by the stone to eat.

Xiao Yu picked up the steamed bun that had rolled to her feet, carefully brushed off the withered leaf debris and dry dust, handed it to Shen Mizhi, and said, "You can't even eat a meal properly."

Shen Mizhi stuck out her tongue, took the bun, and smiled, "Sorry, Sister Xiao, I just spaced out."

Xiao Yu smiled, but then her eyes dimmed. During the time Shen Mizhi sparred with her, she would sometimes be like this, and often after such moments, the next day, her Sword technique would have a breakthrough. After several times, Xiao Yu could no longer keep up with her.

But seeing that nearly a year had passed, Xiao Yu had almost no major breakthroughs in her blade technique; a month ago, she had even consulted Shen Mizhi about this problem.

Shen Mizhi said that a breakthrough is when you suddenly understand.

You were originally just copying the gourd to draw the ladle, rigidly sticking to the Sword paths. But even if you copy them to look exactly the same, no matter how proficient you are, it is still someone else's thing.

Now you can suddenly comprehend why the person who created the move had to wield the Sword that way.

When you understand why they had to wield the Sword that way, you can make some subtle adjustments and improvements based on your own situation.

Once you reach this point, you begin Entering Micro.

As long as you can have one Small Enlightenment and enter Entering Micro, you will know how to practice.

Accumulating Small Enlightenments one by one, turning Small Enlightenment into Great Enlightenment, you can reach the Round and Harmonious realm in Sword moves, which is the Great Perfection of the True Qi Realm.

Shen Mizhi explained it very thoroughly, but more than half a year has passed, and Xiao Yu has not had even one Small Enlightenment; though she sometimes seems to have some realization, she has never broken through and has never once entered the state of instantaneous Entering Micro.

Let alone being able to stabilize in the realm of Entering Micro.

And Shen Mizhi had already reached Entering Micro several months ago.

Xiao Yu is very clear in her heart that her cultivation began to stagnate several months ago. But Shen Mizhi has been improving all along.

When the gap first started to widen, she still felt fierce in her heart, wanting to catch up.

After this half a year has passed, she has gradually understood that this thing called aptitude is sometimes very fatal. If you have it, you have it; if you don't, you don't. Even if you risk your life, it is useless.

Shen Mizhi saw Xiao Yu eating in silence there, and her heart trembled slightly.

She also knows that Xiao Yu's cultivation has stagnated; sometimes she would secretly watch Xiao Yu and Su Bairong sparring, and Shen Mizhi could see that for both Xiao Yu and Su Bairong, several months have passed, and there has been almost no progress in their blade techniques; both of them have clearly encountered some kind of bottleneck.

But Shen Mizhi has already told Xiao Yu everything she has learned along her cultivation path without holding anything back. As for whether Xiao Yu can break through the bottleneck that is stuck on her, it will have to depend on herself.

It is just that seeing nearly a year has passed, Shen Mizhi can feel that Xiao Yu's state is becoming more and more depressed. Regarding this point, other than keeping Xiao Yu company more, she really cannot think of any other way.

When that kid Ximen Kankan was around, he could often make Xiao Yu happy, and he also often mentioned Duan Rong in front of Xiao Yu, saying that he didn't know how Duan Rong was enjoying himself outside.

Every time Ximen Kankan spoke of Duan Rong, Shen Mizhi could see that Xiao Yu's eyes would flash with drive. It is just that she has not seen that kind of light in Xiao Yu's eyes for a long time.

After the two finished eating, they walked back to the Tower Forest.

After they returned to the tower this time, they were forbidden from leaving the tower; they had to keep circulating Qi to practice internal arts in the Tower Forest until the next morning before they could leave the tower again.

Cultivation in the Tower Forest is dull and tense. Of course, once inside the tower, no one manages you; there are also people who have given up on cultivation and fall fast asleep as soon as they enter the tower.

Xiao Yu walked to her own tower body and suddenly saw that not far away, Su Bairong had also walked to her own tower body; there were two towers between their tower bodies.

Su Bairong seemed to see Xiao Yu looking at her, and she also looked at Xiao Yu. Su Bairong's lips opened and closed, moving a bit, as if she had said something, and then she gave a neurotic smile.

Xiao Yu saw Su Bairong's lips move silently, and then a neurotic smile; for some reason, Xiao Yu's body suddenly turned cold. But when she focused her eyes and looked over again, Su Bairong had already slipped into the tower body and her figure was gone. At this time, the sound of the Copper Chime rang out in the Tower Forest again; after three sounds of the Copper Chime, there would be no more figures in the Tower Forest, and everyone had to return to their tower bodies.

Xiao Yu had no choice but to slip into the tower body; she sat cross-legged in the dim tower body, and in her mind was still the image of Su Bairong's lips opening and closing silently; for some reason, she felt that the image had an indescribable eeriness...

Xiao Yu forced herself to stop thinking about Su Bairong; she took a bottle of Pill from the inner wall of the tower, swallowed one, and then sank into refining it...

After the third Copper Chime outside, it was deathly silent again; after two Instructors finished a patrol, they each left.

From afternoon to dusk, and then to the dark of night, there was not a single human voice in the Tower Forest; only the sound of the wind rolling withered leaves whistled past, making the entire Tower Forest appear even more desolate, like a graveyard.

The next morning, when the first ray of dawn shone into the Tower Forest, along with the sound of the Copper Chime, the creaking sound of the tower doors also mixed in and rang out; only at this time did the Tower Forest suddenly surge with a sense of vitality, and one by one, figures walked out of the Tower Forest with stiff bodies, as if they were corpses crawling out of a graveyard.

Xiao Yu had just walked out of the tower door when suddenly a scream rang out behind her.

Xiao Yu turned her head abruptly; she had already heard someone calling Su Bairong's name; her heart skipped a beat, and a very bad premonition surged up in an instant.

She stumbled over to Su Bairong's tower body, where several people were already gathered.

The two-meter-high tower body was covered in moss and ferns; at this time, a person was staying on the tower spire. Her two legs were dangling in the air, she was lying obliquely on the surface of the tower body, and a Belt was wrapped around her neck, hanging on the tower spire.

Xiao Yu looked at that face; it was indeed Su Bairong; her eye sockets had already turned blue, and her hollow eyes were open without a sound, as if she were looking obliquely toward the distant sky...

Looking at Su Bairong's blue complexion, Xiao Yu knew that Su Bairong had been dead for at least several hours.

Yesterday, before walking into the Tower Forest, Su Bairong had suddenly stood at the door of the tower body, her lips silently saying something to her; at this time, looking at Su Bairong's corpse, Xiao Yu suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

Because that eerie image appeared in Xiao Yu's mind again, and she finally knew what Su Bairong's lips were saying as they opened and closed. Su Bairong said: I am going home.

Su Bairong's final neurotic smile seemed to appear before Xiao Yu's eyes again.

Xiao Yu stood there with her whole body feeling cold, and she couldn't help but shiver several times.

At this time, someone had already called the Instructor over. The two Instructors took Su Bairong's corpse down from the tower body. Both Instructors were shaking their heads and sighing, while the people around were all silent, just watching coldly.

Xiao Yu suddenly remembered that yesterday, before sparring, Su Bairong had strangely told her the house number of her home. Xiao Yu still remembered that she said it was Jia Room 6, East of Shi Cui Jie. At this time, she finally understood why Su Bairong had suddenly chatted about her home.

"So, she was going home!"

Xiao Yu stood there, watching the two Instructors cover Su Bairong's corpse with a white cloth, and her tears could not help but stream down.

(End of this chapter)