Chapter 290: Treading the Void, Lotus Blooms at Every Step

Having made up her mind, Lin Meng immediately found a rock and sat cross-legged on it.

First, she would fully understand the void-stepping technique, then practice.

With prior experience practicing the lightness technique, the void-stepping technique posed no difficulty for Lin Meng; in less than an hour she fully grasped it, rose to her feet, and prepared to put it into practice.

Lin Meng relaxed her body, then focused her gaze, gathered her breath, and immediately stepped forward with one foot.

Her foot did not touch the ground, but was steadily caught in midair by a halo of light.

Lin Meng widened her eyes in surprise; her foot in midair felt as if stepping on flat ground, and the faint halo beneath her feet resembled an invisible staircase.

She lifted her breath and fully rose up; her whole body instantly left the ground.

Next came the second step, the third step…

She walked ten steps in a row, each step producing a halo of light, moving forward and upward, already lifting her four or five meters off the ground.

Seeing the scene of her legs suspended below, her line of sight was at the height of the tree branches, giving her a sense of looking out from a height; Lin Meng's emotions surged with excitement.

She had always believed that as a movement technique, it ought to grant speed and the ability to escape danger; otherwise learning it would be meaningless.

This void-stepping technique may seem unimpressive, but if truly mastered to perfection, it is in no way inferior to other movement techniques.

Lin Meng practiced intently for two hours, from the time of insect chirps and bird songs until late at night when even the insect calls dwindled, finally gaining some proficiency in the void-stepping technique.

Combining the lightness technique she had learned earlier, she now leapt upward, using the lightness technique to jump ten meters high, then employed the void-stepping technique to stand firm at that height, suspended in midair, walking back and forth with ease.

The drawback was that she lacked much senior experience to pass on, and in the modern environment there was hardly any need to practice martial cultivation, plus she had to conceal her identity as a cultivator, resulting in too few opportunities to apply her skills.

After practicing a while longer, Lin Meng felt she had enough, so she took out her comprehension of the wind-control technique.

Having gained insight into the wind-control technique, Lin Meng then headed home.

She remained confident in her practical abilities; practicing the wind-control technique later when it was windy would be just the same.

What she needed to do now was hurry and find a sword to begin practicing sword flight.

After returning home and getting some sleep, Lin Meng went straight to the small park, where elderly men and women practice swords every day.

Lin Meng casually approached an old woman, paid thirty yuan, and bought a longsword from her.

Back home, she could not wait to give it a try.

According to the book's instruction, the key to sword flight is manual control; one only needs to infuse spiritual energy into the longsword, and the flying sword will hover.

After that, how to soar through heaven and earth depends entirely on the cultivator's command of spiritual power.

Who would have thought that the instant spiritual energy was infused into the longsword, it shattered into pieces; had Lin Meng not dodged quickly, the broken blade might have injured her.

Seeing the mess all over the floor and the various furniture sliced by the shards, Lin Meng wished she could slap herself.

She was too impatient; foolishly she hadn't considered how an ordinary sword could possibly withstand an infusion of spiritual energy.

It seemed she would have to ask Ye Fan for a flying sword.

"Ye Fan, when you have a moment, please find me a flying sword; it doesn't need to be precious, an ordinary magical artifact will do."

Ye Fan had not heard Immortal Sister's voice in a long time; upon hearing it again he felt a sudden surge of longing, and unable to resist, he extended his divine sense into the divine talisman space, only to discover that Immortal Sister's Nascent Soul was not there, leaving him with a sense of loss.

But soon Ye Fan made a positive response.

"If Immortal Sister only needs an ordinary magical-artifact flying sword, I can help you find one right away, though its appearance might not be pleasing."

Immortal Sister likes beautiful things, but for now he is within the sect, and the magical-artifact flying swords he can exchange for are only the sect's standard entry-level flying swords.

Lin Meng had no objections and immediately replied:

"Yes, just an ordinary one; please hurry and get it for me, I have an urgent need."

Upon hearing there was an urgent need, Ye Fan immediately left his cave dwelling and soon exchanged for a pitch-black sword, storing it in his space.

"If Immortal Sister wants a better-looking, higher-quality flying sword, I will be eligible to exchange for a superior one once I advance to the inner sect."

"No rush, no rush; this ordinary flying sword will suffice for now; we can discuss the rest later."

Lin Meng had already taken out the flying sword; it felt substantial, completely different from an ordinary sword—after all, a magical artifact is just not the same.

Suddenly, Lin Meng thought of something and asked Ye Fan with concern:

"How are your preparations for the inner sect examination going? Do you have confidence?"

Ye Fan gave an honest report.

"Please rest assured, Immortal Sister; although this inner sect examination is somewhat difficult, the sect values my contribution of Foundation Establishment Pills, and has privately given me some medicinal pills; together with the cola and top-grade spirit rice you gave me, Immortal Sister, my strength has risen another level—I have reached mid‑Foundation Establishment, surpassing many inner‑sect disciples."

Lin Meng heard this and was slightly surprised; had he broken through again so quickly?

Foundation Establishment consists of four stages—early, middle, late, and perfection—and advancing from one stage to the next is as hard as climbing to heaven; even with excellent aptitude, it is difficult to improve without three to five years.

Who would have thought that Ye Fan, in less than a month, broke through from early Foundation Establishment to the middle stage.

His cultivation speed is simply unmatched.

"By the way, Immortal Sister, I have some quite good spirit tea I'd like to give you."

Saying this, Ye Fan sent an antiquated jade jar into his space; Lin Meng saw at once that the jar was fine, and promptly took it out from the space.

The jade jar was carved with a lifelike bamboo grove, and its rim bore intricate patterns that looked like a kind of rune.

She reached out to open it, but found the lid immovable; no matter how she twisted, it would not budge.

After a moment's thought, Lin Meng infused spiritual energy into it; instantly the runes began to turn, emitting a faint golden glow, and then the lid loosened.

Lin Meng clicked her tongue in wonder, then unscrewed the lid; a rich spiritual aroma rushed forth, eliciting another exclamation of amazement.

This spirit tea looks precious just at a glance; even before brewing, the aroma is so rich—if she were to steep a pot and drink it, wouldn't it also help her raise her cultivation?

After replacing the lid, Lin Meng saw the runes stir slightly, then sealed the jar completely, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad; you've shown thoughtfulness."

Ye Fan scratched his head there, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said:

"Immortal Sister likes it, that's good; it's just that, in terms of quality, this spirit tea simply cannot compare to the cola and top-grade spirit rice you gave me. I've drunk it a few times at Senior Brother Song's place and thought the taste decent, so I wanted to send you some. Although it won't raise my cultivation much, it is also spirit tea carefully cultivated by the Song family."

Ye Fan knew that the Song family certainly had plenty of better spirit tea than this.

But Senior Brother Song had said that those top‑grade spirit teas are produced in extremely small quantities and are far too valuable.

He could only find low-quality spirit tea from Senior Brother Song; the Immortal Sister could not dislike it and even praised him for his thoughtfulness—surely she was just comforting him.

The Immortal Sister has so many good things; how could she possibly think this low-quality spirit tea is good?