Chapter 158: Discovery

Cave Jia-28 is about five meters wide; its depth is unknown, and inside it is pitch-black, with no visible end.

Pan Yun leaned on her waist and walked slowly inward; the deeper she went, the wider the cave became, now exceeding five meters.

She counted her steps; at the fifteenth step, the ceiling lowered, forcing even her short stature to bow slightly—adults would have to bend over completely to pass.

After bowing for four more steps, she entered another, much larger space, feeling a sudden sense of openness.

Only faint light entered from the cave entrance.

Pan Yun pulled out a fire starter, lit it, and barely illuminated the space—a large, irregularly circular chamber.

There was a stone platform, covered with straw; clearly, the previous occupant had slept there.

Not far from the platform, several stone stalactites hung down, beneath which lay a stone basin; Pan Yun immediately knew it had once dripped water, though she didn't know why it was now dry.

A shallow water channel ran from the basin's edge; Pan Yun held the fire starter and followed the channel until she reached a pool.

The pool, too, had formed from water seeping through the rock, and its bottom still held a thin layer of water.

Pan Yun leaned close with the fire starter, searched for a long time, and finally found a tiny crack high on the pool's side—clearly, this pool had an outlet.

She clicked her tongue in wonder, just as the fire starter burned out.

Pan Yun tucked away the burnt-out fire starter, pulled out another, lit it, then took out a candle, lit it, and walked around the cave, finally finding a protruding rock on one wall where she placed the candle.

"Lucky I brought an oil lamp—otherwise, burning candles alone would cost a fortune."

The cave lit up; Pan Yun began pulling out her belongings.

She rolled up the straw and other debris from the stone platform, wiped it clean, then laid down a mattress and bedding.

Outside, it was hot—after all, it was May.

But inside the cave, it was cool; she guessed she'd still need a blanket at night—the stone platform was cold and hard, so padding was necessary.

Pan Yun calmly arranged her sleeping spot, then took out the pillow she'd packed and placed it properly.

"Indeed, life's great matters are eating and sleeping—once your sleeping place is set, half your life is already complete."

"Meow—" Pan Xiaohei let out a sound, reminding her of its presence.

Pan Yun looked around but found no suitable spot to build it a nest, so she placed its bed at the foot of her bed. "You'll sleep with me."

Pan Xiaohei jumped onto her pillow, tapped the spot beside it, signaling her to put it there.

Pan Yun shook her head. "No, you know I toss and turn in my sleep—my hands move a lot. If you're there, you'll be flying off the bed by midnight."

"Meow, are you threatening me?"

"No," Pan Yun said with sincere expression. "I'm stating facts."

Pan Xiaohei stared at her, then they compromised—Pan Yun placed its bed in the center of the stone platform's inner side, right where her waist would rest.

After all, the platform was large enough for one person and one cat with plenty of room to spare.

After arranging her sleeping spot, Pan Yun turned to setting up her eating area.

She walked around leaning on her waist, then decided to separate sleeping and eating—she'd place meals and cultivation in the outer cave.

The outer cave had plenty of space too.

Pan Yun hung two insect-repelling herb pouches near her bed, then blew out the candle and dragged the bundled straw outside.

The outer cave didn't need candles—most of it was already bright.

Pan Yun quickly found one large stone and two smaller ones, perfectly arranged together; she suspected previous cave occupants had used them as table and chairs. Nearby lay several discarded pottery jars; she glanced at them and left them aside.

She liked only these three stones.

Pan Yun happily used them as table and stools.

She set out her stove nearby—this spot was well-lit, yet shielded from wind by a protruding rock; she placed the stove in the shadowed space beneath it, then sat sideways in the bright area—perfect.

Pan Yun busied herself until sunset, when darkness gradually fell, and only then did she pause to truly feel the difference of Siguai Cliff.

It was very quiet—even the sound of Pan Xiaohei walking was inaudible. No, not entirely quiet.

Pan Yun looked outside the cave—the river below churned violently, wind howling with a mournful wail.

In the dim night, the river's roar and the wind's lament were unmistakably clear.

Pan Yun lowered her voice, murmuring: "Listen—doesn't it sound like ghosts are about to appear? Waaah…"

Pan Yun suddenly turned and screamed "Waaah!"—Pan Xiaohei scrambled backward in panic, rolling twice before stopping.

Pan Xiaohei shrieked angrily, "Meow—"

"Pan Yun—you idiot!"

Pan Yun threw her head back and laughed heartily. "You're a spirit beast and you're scared of ghosts? Hahaha…"

Pan Xiaohei growled, "I'm not scared of ghosts—I'm scared of you… Pfft, I'm scared you'll turn stupid."

Pan Yun gripped her hips. "Relax—I won't turn stupid, no matter who else does."

Pan Yun took out the oil lamp, found a sheltered spot, hung it up, and lit it.

After finishing, she placed a wooden basin outside the outer cave, then released a large covered wooden barrel full of water.

She scooped water into the basin, washed her hands thoroughly, then placed two meditation cushions at the cave entrance, sat cross-legged with solemnity, opened her eyes to the dim sky outside, and smiled faintly. "Let's experience this place everyone fears—Siguai Cliff."

Pan Yun calmed her mind, half-closed her eyes, and her awareness sharpened—the wind's howl and the river's flow grew louder; she even heard faint insect chirps…

It seemed no different from the outside world—but when she activated her cultivation technique, she found not a single trace of spiritual energy in the air.

How could a place have zero spiritual energy?

Even in her past life, during the late Dharma Age before spiritual energy revived, it was nearly gone—but still, with careful meditation, she could detect faint traces lingering in the air.

Here, she searched long and hard—and found nothing.

Not finding it didn't trouble her; she simply circulated her internal yuan force repeatedly, refining her essence and qi into yuan force.

As her bodily awareness deepened and her inner vision grew clearer, she saw tiny threads of yuan force seeping out through her pores.

The rate was extremely slow; she wasn't surprised, just watched quietly.

After counting sixty breaths, she had her answer—if this rate held, over twelve hours here, the yuan force she lost would equal the force of one palm strike at thirty percent strength.

Not much.

But if she struck once daily with her palm, and her dantian received no replenishment, how many strikes could her yuan force sustain?

The thought sent chills down her spine. Indeed, some things are better left unexamined.

Pan Yun opened her eyes, glanced at her palm, then smiled faintly and re-entered meditation—this time, she carefully tracked the escaping yuan force, trying to follow its path—but found nothing.

The yuan force vanished instantly upon leaving her body.

Truly vanished—not a trace remained.

Pan Yun challenged it—she'd find where it went…

Pan Xiaohei at first watched with its head raised, then, seeing her motionless for so long, lay down to watch, then wandered around the cave, finally settling at her feet, then at the cave's very entrance, staring down at the rushing river below…

Pan Xiaohei suddenly sprang up at a sound.

A shadow flashed past the cave entrance—two swift whooshes—and a pottery jar landed at the mouth, followed by three steamed buns neatly stacked atop it.

"Huh?" The figure had already flown past, but with a sudden whoosh, it returned—standing on a sword, one foot forward, one back, it leaned close to stare at the tense Pan Xiaohei, then looked past it to Pan Yun. "Sitting still all night? Good, good—this is how one should do penance. Unlike other disciples who scream and wail the moment they arrive—so noisy."

"She's doing well—I'll give her an extra bun." With that, Cheng Lingzi pulled another bun from the bamboo basket behind him and tossed it—landing perfectly atop the stack.

He waved at the wide-eyed black cat, then whooshed off to the next cave to deliver more jars and buns.

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Pan Xiaohei stepped forward, peered over the cliff—and saw Cheng Lingzi riding a sword, speeding down the cliffside, hurling jars and buns into each cave in rapid succession.

Pan Xiaohei thought for a moment, turned, walked to the jar, pried off the topmost bun with its paw, grabbed it in its mouth, leapt onto the stone table, and began eating slowly.

"Tasty?" A soft voice sounded.

Pan Xiaohei froze, looked up—and saw Pan Yun awake, sitting cross-legged on the cushion, eyes fixed on it.

Pan Xiaohei instantly shed its guilt, calmly held the bun and ate, nodding. "Tasty."

Pan Yun didn't move, waited until it finished, then said: "Come help me up—my butt's stiff."

Pan Xiaohei stared. "During cultivation, qi flows freely—how can you get stiff?"

Pan Yun: "... fell asleep on my back."

Pan Xiaohei silently mocked her.

Pan Yun snapped: "I'm still a child—isn't sleeping normal? Come here now, or no lunch for you today."

She threatened: "Cheng Lingzi only brought three buns—he didn't account for yours. Do you have anything to eat?"

Pan Xiaohei rolled its eyes, jumped off the table, walked over, arched its back, and let her lean on it lightly.

Pan Yun needed only that slight support—once she had it, she shifted her hips, flipped over onto her knees, planted her hands on the ground, and groaned as she rose.

Pan Xiaohei grinned silently at her contorted face.

Pan Yun stood, legs numb, and wiggled her toes in place.

Pan Xiaohei: "You don't act nine—you act ninety."

"Shut up. Next time, pay attention—if my breath changes, I've fallen asleep in meditation. Wake me up and drag me back to bed."

Pan Xiaohei hadn't realized it had this duty. "If I weren't bound to stay near you, I'd never have come up this mountain."

"Too late," Pan Yun muttered. "You refused to sleep when I first asked."

Pan Xiaohei: "That wasn't sleep—that was sealing!"

Pan Yun: "Same thing."

She softened, walked over, gathered the buns and jar, took a bowl from her spiritual realm, placed the buns inside, opened the jar—inside was clear, cold water.

Pan Yun clicked her tongue. "Still raw water—don't you know drinking raw water is unhealthy?"

She pulled out a teapot, a teacup, glanced at the black cat, then took out another bowl, filling both with water.

Pan Xiaohei leapt onto the table, lowered its head, and drank from the bowl.

The girl and cat shared rare harmony, sipping slowly, finishing the water and buns—then Pan Xiaohei asked, "You meditated all night—what did you discover?"

"Isn't it amazing? I didn't find anything at all."

"If you didn't find anything, why did you ponder all night?"

Pan Yun sighed and said, "Have you ever played block games or match-three puzzles? Simple games, but never boring—I always have to finish them before I can stop."

"Last night, sitting in meditation seemed dull, but I just watched my spiritual power continuously leave my body and vanish—clearly no clues at all—but I couldn't look away..."

Pan Yun turned her slightly stiff neck and said, "If I hadn't been so exhausted my body couldn't hold out, I could've watched even longer."

Because it was truly fascinating.

They were like tendrils growing outside the body, constantly extending outward, until their tips vanished as if entering another space.

Pan Yun's eyes gleamed. "I really like the Reflection Cliff, but my cultivation base is too low—staying here too long truly damages my foundation."

Pan Xiaohei was about to speak when she added, "But it's not completely without a solution."

Pan Xiaohei couldn't help asking, "What solution?"

"Didn't Fourth Sister say that disciples refining spiritual power can endure longer than those refining internal force?"

Pan Xiaohei nodded. And then?

Pan Yun glanced at it and said, "Then I thought to test the rate at which internal force leaks out. I feel that whether it's spiritual power or internal force, the leakage rate is the same. The reason spiritual power cultivators last slightly longer is because they can convert spiritual power into internal force."

"And the volume when converting spiritual power into internal force is vastly different."

Pan Yun was eager to try. "I'll do it after I wake up from a nap."

Pan Xiaohei stared in astonishment as she cheerfully went to wash up, slowly performed the Eight Brocades at the cave entrance under the sun, then yawned and went to sleep.

Pan Xiaohei followed behind, incredulous. "You finished the Rising Sun technique—and now you want to sleep?"

"That's called what you lack triggers a reaction. I'm lacking sleep, so naturally I want to sleep."

The inner cave was cooler than the outer one; Pan Yun pulled back the quilt and lay down.

She sighed contentedly. "A bed is so much more comfortable—especially one with a mat laid over the stone floor of a cave."

No sooner had Pan Yun finished speaking than her breathing grew slow and steady—she fell asleep.

Pan Xiaohei still wanted to tell her that Cheng Lingzi, being highly cultivated, could ride a sword through the air.

Seeing her asleep, it leapt back into its nest and grumbled inwardly: It's not that I didn't tell you—I just didn't get the chance.

(End of Chapter)