Chapter 163

He remembered this cave.

To conceal the massive cave behind, they deliberately placed the stone bed in front—who would ever tap on such a spot, let alone strike it while practicing martial arts?

And who would dare practice fist techniques inside Sīguò Cliff?

Do you have so much energy in your Upper Dantian that you want to feed more to Sīguò Cliff?

Cheng Lingzi silently watched Pan Yun.

Pan Yun smiled nervously at him.

Cheng Lingzi sighed—what could he possibly do?

"Let it break, then."

Pan Yun pondered, "So the cliff's array isn't engraved on the stone walls? At least, mine isn't."

Cheng Lingzi glanced at her. "You're clever, using me for elimination."

"Brother, my array knowledge is high, and I'm genuinely interested in this array—won't you consider teaching it to me?"

Cheng Lingzi: "Promise to come to the summit and guard with me for twenty years, and I'll teach you."

After a moment's silence, Pan Yun asked, "Will this promise still hold ten years from now?"

Cheng Lingzi frowned, curious. "You're young now, the perfect time to learn—if you promise to guard with me for twenty years, you'll be in your prime afterward. Why extend it to ten years later?"

That wouldn't be worth it.

Pan Yun said, "I have a major task ahead."

If she were alone, she'd sprint down the mountain to find her senior brother and accept Cheng Lingzi's offer—but she still has her father and brothers to consider.

She must rescue them from Datong before she can fully follow her own interests.

Cheng Lingzi raised an eyebrow but didn't ask what her task was. After a brief thought, he said, "Fine. Ten years from now, come find me. If you promise to guard Sīguò Cliff with me for twenty years, I'll teach you its array."

Pan Yun's eyes lit up. She held out her palm. "Deal!"

Cheng Lingzi slapped her palm. "Deal."

Having made the pact, Cheng Lingzi finally peered into the hole she'd smashed open, shaking his head. "You've got guts. Be careful—you might fall in. There's a great demon down there. If you fall, it'll swallow you whole. Even if I rushed down, I doubt I could save you."

Pan Yun asked, "What kind of great demon?"

"Don't ask. Just know it's a great demon."

Pan Yun: "Then this hole…"

"Leave it," Cheng Lingzi waved. "Just don't mind how ugly and terrifying it looks."

"What's terrifying about a black hole?"

Cheng Lingzi lowered his voice. "Don't you feel it? That something monstrous crawls out of the darkness, slowly inching toward your bed…"

Pan Yun looked baffled. "You've always said only physical strength can be used inside the cliff—no Qi or internal force. I don't believe anything can crawl up from below."

Cheng Lingzi: "You trust me, then."

Pan Yun grinned at him. "I trust you completely."

Cheng Lingzi smiled faintly and turned to leave.

But as he reached the summit, he saw Zhang Weiyi and Xue Hua waiting off to the side.

He frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Zhang Weiyi glanced at Xue Hua.

Xue Hua stepped forward and bowed. "Brother, something from below needs to be delivered to Sister Pan Yun."

Cheng Lingzi raised an eyebrow. "When did someone confined in Sīguò Cliff start receiving deliveries from below?"

Xue Hua flushed, whispering, "It's the elders' order."

Cheng Lingzi snorted. "What is it?"

Xue Hua immediately brought forward a sealed wooden barrel.

Cheng Lingzi stepped forward, sniffed, and raised an eyebrow. "Body-strengthening herbs. Didn't Pan Yun offend Zhang Ziwang and the others? How did they agree to send her these herbs?"

Zhang Weiyi and Xue Hua lowered their heads, silent. They dared not speak of the elders' affairs.

Cheng Lingzi didn't need their explanation—he figured it out himself. "From what Pan Yun said, Wang Feiyin of Mount Sanqing is here too. Has Zhang Liuzhen's condition relapsed? You're here because you need something from them…"

Their faces turned redder.

Cheng Lingzi thought for a moment, then reached out and took the barrel. "Fine. I'll deliver it to her."

The two widened their eyes in surprise—he'd agreed so easily.

Everyone knew Cheng Lingzi was infamous for his lack of mercy, second only to Lin Jingle. They expected a long struggle—hence why the Yuanzhu had sent them both up.

Especially Xue Hua—he'd been sent because his uncle Xue Taixu had a decent relationship with Cheng Lingzi.

Seeing them still standing, Cheng Lingzi raised an eyebrow. "What? Do you want to watch me carry it into the cave?"

"No, no, no!" Zhang Weiyi hurriedly said. "Master Wang only said if you accept it, that's enough. Of all the Academy, he trusts you the most." Cheng Lingzi's lips curled. "He has good judgment."

Cheng Lingzi waved them off and carried the barrel to Pan Yun. "Your senior brother really knows how to calculate—just sitting in confinement, ahem, in Sīguò Cliff, and he's already planning your training."

Pan Yun asked, "Does soaking in body-strengthening herbs work better inside Sīguò Cliff?"

Otherwise, why would her senior brother break rules on someone else's territory just to send her a barrel of herbs?

Cheng Lingzi smiled at her. "Try it and see."

Fine, she'd try.

After Cheng Lingzi left, Pan Yun patted the barrel all over, finally finding a line of characters in one corner.

It instructed her to dissolve the herbal paste with one pot of water, then soak, and keep another pot of boiling water ready.

This batch of body-strengthening herbs was specially prepared: soak for four ke, adding hot water every ke to activate the potency.

Since she couldn't use Qi or internal force inside the cave, boiling water was the best activator.

!. Read

After obtaining the formula, Pan Yun boiled water and cleaned two natural pools, then transferred all the water from the large wooden tub into the pools, leaving one large wooden tub empty.

She poured the boiling water into the body-forging medicinal broth, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

The thick medicinal scent clung to her nostrils—just like at the foot of the mountain, there was no sensation at first. She thought she'd have to wait longer for the medicine to take effect, when suddenly the medicinal power surged into her body, pushing and shoving.

Pan Yun felt her skin pores being forced open, and the medicinal power forcing its way into her meridians.

The medicinal power was far more intense than what she'd soaked in on Mount Sanqing. To her astonishment, her Yuan force and Nei force offered not the slightest resistance—they immediately accepted the incoming medicinal power…

This was completely different from any previous medicinal bath she'd taken.

After a moment's thought, Pan Yun realized it wasn't the formula's doing—it was the Sighing Cliff's effect.

Previously, whenever she soaked in medicinal broth, her internal Yuan force would instinctively resist the incoming medicinal power, causing some loss of potency.

But here, her body's energy seemed to welcome the medicinal power.

Thus, the medicinal power transformed her body to its optimal degree—but… it hurt more.

Pan Yun cried out in pain, then clenched her teeth, enduring the agony while still trying to guide the medicinal power through her body. Eventually, the pain became so intense she forgot to guide it altogether—letting the power roam freely, knowing it would eventually reach every spot needing forging.

Her expression twisted uncontrollably from pain; in the end, she lay blank-faced against the edge of the tub, mechanically lifting the kettle from the nearby stove to add more boiling water after Pan Xiaohei announced the time.

The medicinal power, having calmed, was reignited and surged back into her body.

This cycle repeated three times. When the four ke passed, Pan Yun was no longer the Pan Yun of yesterday.

She sat in the tub, gathering her thoughts. As the medicinal power weakened, the pain lessened.

And pain was a threshold that could shift—gradually rising to its peak, then falling again.

So now, she didn't hurt at all!

Pan Yun smiled. Pan Xiaohei stepped back in alarm. "Y-you—you're insane?"

Pan Yun clenched her fist and held it before her eyes. "I just feel absurdly strong right now."

"Ha—" Pan Yun threw a punch—no Yuan force, no Nei force—but still produced fist qi.

Pan Xiaohei stared, dumbfounded.

Pan Yun threw back her head and laughed loudly. "Too bad I can't soak in this broth every three days—if I could, by the time I leave, I might even forge a Diamond-Immortal Body!"

Funny enough, Wang Tianyi thought the same thing.

So he rummaged through his pockets, exchanged all the money they'd brought—except what they'd paid Dai Yong for the medicine—for body-forging herbs. He instructed Master Xuanmiao: "Watch over her. Have someone deliver a tub of medicine up to her every three days."

"The Sighing Cliff lets her absorb medicinal power at maximum efficiency. Three days apart—if she trains properly—by the time she leaves the mountain, even if she doesn't forge a Diamond-Immortal Body, ordinary swords and knives won't kill her."

Master Xuanmiao: "... Brother, you spent all our money on herbs. How will you get back to Huishan?"

"Pfft, we Daoist Priests cultivate in simplicity—we walk on two legs. As for food, I'll just swing by the Academy's dining hall later. But you two…"

Wang Tianyi paused. "As abbot, I can't favor one over another. This opportunity is rare, so I used all the money on Little Sister's herbs. That leaves a gap in the medicinal supplies for Miao Zhen and Miao He. You and Third Brother hurry out and earn money to fill that gap. Let anyone suffer, but never let the children suffer."

Nearby, Tao Ji said: "Big Brother, I thought you'd feel sorry for me and Sister—turns out you just want us to plug the gap."

Wang Tianyi gave him a smack on the head. "How old are you? Still competing with your disciple? When you trained, did I ever miss you a single day's medicine? Go, go quickly! Xuanmiao will watch over them—you go down the mountain and earn money."

Wang Tianyi cursed the Zhang family again. "If they hadn't acted so recklessly, I'd never have distrusted them so much. I'd have to leave someone behind just to watch the body-forging broth being brewed. Otherwise, Xuanmiao and you could've gone down together to earn money—double the income in a single day."

Tao Ji rubbed his forehead. "Big Brother, there's a shortage of Daoist physicians nearby, but plenty of talisman masters and spirit-catchers. Sister probably won't make much money."

Even Master Xuanmiao turned to look at him, fingers tracing the hilt of her sword. "Third Brother, my ways of earning money aren't limited to drawing talismans or fortune-telling."

Wang Tianyi sighed. "I'm just worried about you. If you go down alone, I'm always afraid someone will ambush you, knock you out, and kill you quietly."

Miao He was also afraid. She hurried to say: "Great Master, maybe Fourth Uncle should accompany Father to earn money? We'll brew the medicine for Little Uncle and deliver it to the summit with Brother Zhang and the others."

(End of Chapter)