Chapter 309: If a Seal Isn

"Xiao Feng, practicing morning exercises again?"

In the morning, Feng Xue was routinely training in the courtyard when Bai Yi shuffled in from the alley entrance, waving from afar.

Seeing this, Feng Xue slowly ended his stance and vibrated his qi to call out:

"You've arrived at a perfect time—I was just about to look for you!"

Hearing this, Bai Yi thought it must be about yesterday's Japanese cultivator and wasn't surprised; she said:

"'Senior' is too formal—I'm surnamed Bai, the younger ones call me Bai Yi; if you don't mind, you can call me that too. I've found the Wu Xiu cultivation technique you asked for—take a look and see if it suits you. If it's not enough, I'll go find more."

"You'd better be truly 'searching' this time." Feng Xue recalled her behavior during their first meeting and silently grumbled, but still ended his cultivation early and led Bai Yi into the house.

But as soon as they entered, Bai Yi nearly lost her composure: right in the center of the living room, a rope hung from the ceiling, tied around a frozen corpse like a cocoon.

If that were all, it might've been bearable—but the man's body was covered in incomprehensible ghostly scribbles, and the residual qi made it clear this wasn't just for show.

"What's going on? Are you keeping a corpse? I've never heard of anyone keeping a corpse in a yang residence! And he's still alive, isn't he?"

Bai Yi's mind brimmed with questions, but Feng Xue, as if expecting this, explained:

"This Japanese xuan cultivator is why I sought you out—he sent people to attack me multiple times yesterday, but that's not the point. Though I'm not certain if it's connected to the events the night before last, his mental sea has some irregularities I can't decipher. If you know any cultivators skilled in this, take him back for them to examine; otherwise, I'll have to send him to the City God Temple…"

"His mental sea has issues?" Bai Yi had initially thought it was some trendy revenge tactic, but now, hearing Feng Xue, she grew serious—and pulled a thick stack of bound books from her Houtian Bag:

"Here are the Wu Xiu cultivation techniques you requested. Check them over."

"Got it!" Feng Xue took the books, linked with Xiao Lingdang, and began flipping through them one by one; Bai Yi then walked up to the frozen figure hanging in midair and began examining the alleged mental sea anomaly.

"This freezing technique is interesting—it puts the body into a pseudo-death state while preserving vital energy. Besides sealing, it can be used in emergencies to preserve life, or even during death-seclusion to discard the physical form and amplify spiritual perception. Truly ingenious."

Bai Yi first inspected the freezing condition, and her respect for Feng Xue's depth grew slightly.

Don't underestimate this kind of recognition—it's like a young man presenting a bizarre research result: if he's an ordinary person, you instinctively doubt him; but if he's a top student from the National University of Science and Technology, a disciple of some renowned academician, even if you don't understand it, you wonder if your own knowledge is lacking.

It was the same now: Bai Yi had already scanned the frozen figure with her spirit upon entering, finding nothing amiss. Without Feng Xue's prior warning, she might have thought, "Did this kid make a mistake?" But now, she began to suspect she'd missed something.

"Xiao Zhou, try spirit possession." Bai Yi formed a spirit-control hand seal; Xiao Zhou immediately crawled pitifully out of her sleeve and slammed into the frozen figure—then screamed in pain:

"Ow! Dry-mother! What is this thing?!"

"Didn't work?" Bai Yi now confirmed something was truly wrong; she circled the frozen figure several times and asked:

"What's the situation?"

"His mind is stuffed with something—by touch, it's not a seal, more like… something completely packed in. Hmm, my mental sea feels to me like a box filled with fluffy cotton—you can squeeze in easily—but his mental sea is like a box where the cotton's been crushed and jammed solid, so you can't even squeeze in."

Though there was a gap in strength, Xiao Zhou had been nurtured by Bai Yi for decades and possessed far greater experience than Mo Ying; after just one failed attempt, he had already sketched the frozen figure's condition accurately.

"Seal… I've heard the Japanese have a method to seal demons or phantom gods inside humans and drain their power—something called 'Jinchuriki,' right? Could this be that?"

Bai Yi pondered, but then felt something was off—if this were Jinchuriki, why hadn't it manifested during the fight with Feng Xue yesterday?

"Looks like we need to call a shaman." Bai Yi thought to herself, then spoke to Feng Xue, who was studying the Wu Xiu techniques:

"This guy's situation is strange—I'll send for someone else."

Though it sounded like a notice, Feng Xue understood it was a question; he immediately replied:

"You decide, Senior—I've no use for him. If you need him, take him away."

"Old-school wisdom: if a seal isn't broken, don't try to fix it. Your seal shows no signs of trouble—so don't tamper with it, or you might create new problems." Bai Yi offered this piece of advice, then immediately used a teleportation technique—not to move herself, but to send Xiao Zhou away.

Meanwhile, as Bai Yi studied the frozen figure, Feng Xue had flipped through the thirty-odd scrolls she brought. How honest cultivators in this world were—these weren't the basic textbooks bought from martial schools; they were complete manuals covering Foundation Skills, core principles, combat techniques, auxiliary pills, and more. And whether intentional or not, each of the thirty-odd scrolls had a distinct emphasis: some light and agile, others heavy and stable; even similar styles had unique techniques, avoiding the pitfall of dozens of books that looked different but were all the same routine.

Seeing this, Feng Xue didn't waste words:

"Senior, I've reviewed all these scrolls—I'm very satisfied. When do you want the Emperor's Dew? Shall I hand it over now, or…"

"No, I can't carry that stuff. Wait until we solve the frozen guy's problem, then I'll bring the little one over to refine it." Bai Yi waved her hand dismissively.

Feng Xue didn't mind; he gestured to Liu Yunxi to prepare tea and snacks for Bai Yi, then returned to studying the Wu Xiu techniques. Bai Yi, however, found this behavior puzzling.

But Bai Yi understood the principle of not speaking too deeply with shallow acquaintance; she didn't remind him not to distract himself, and silence fell for a moment—until a doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the person Bai Yi had summoned.

(End of Chapter)