Chapter 42

Settling into stillness, Pan Yun slowly guided the spiritual energy entering her body to merge with her own primordial qi, following the Kunyuan Scripture's method, taking only a small segment—it indeed did not dissipate, but formed a ring that, after passing through the Niwan Palace, slowly descended along the meridians into her Upper Dantian.

The qi formed by the fusion of spiritual energy and primordial qi was considerably thicker; when it settled in the Upper Dantian, it left a thin layer of qi where her dantian had been empty.

Pan Yun grew excited and continued her cultivation…

Finally, she emerged from meditation because she was too hungry.

She opened her eyes to complete darkness; blinking, she adjusted to the dark and saw the hazy moonlight streaming through the window—only then did she realize she had practiced for half the day.

She quietly opened the door and crept toward the kitchen.

There was a faint light inside the kitchen.

She pushed the door open and discovered it was merely the smoldering embers left in the stove.

She lit a lamp, lifted the lid of the pot, and saw a stack of steam baskets inside—neatly arranged buns and vegetables atop, water below; because charcoal had been left smoldering in the stove, the food remained warm.

Beside it, Miao Zhen had left a note for her: the food had been kept specially for her.

Pan Yun was deeply moved—she actually remembered to save food for her.

The night was too silent, the sky holding only a lone moon; as Pan Yun finished eating and stepped out of the kitchen, she found herself unconsciously walking forward under the moonlight…

"Meow—" A piercing cat cry rang out; Pan Yun snapped back to awareness, looked down, and realized she stood at the edge of a cliff—beyond lay a pitch-black, bottomless abyss.

Cold sweat broke out on Pan Yun; she stepped back two paces, reached out, and caught the leaping black cat, her gaze alert as she scanned the surroundings.

"What is this? A ghost? Or a mountain spirit?"

A gentle breeze swept through the area; nothing answered Pan Yun's question, and she detected no anomaly at all.

Pan Yun stood still for a moment, decided not to engage with the thing, and turned decisively back to her room.

She placed the black cat on the pillow and said to it: "Well done—I'll reward you with extra spiritual energy tomorrow."

"Meow—I prefer merit."

"When we get a chance to leave the mountain, I'll go get some for you." Isn't it just doing good deeds?

She was a good person, and loved doing good deeds most of all.

Because Pan Xiaohei had saved her life, Pan Yun was especially gentle with it tonight; Pan Xiaohei perked up, proudly strolling around the room, finally choosing the top of a cabinet as its nest.

It had long stopped wanting to sleep beside Pan Yun, but dared not say so—now it finally dared.

Pan Yun opened the cabinet and found the cloth she had just received that day.

She quickly fashioned a simple bed for it, promising: "Tomorrow I'll find clean dry grass, dry it until it smells sweet, then lay soft cloth on top—you'll lie on it like a cloud."

"Meow—"

Just imagining it made Pan Xiaohei ecstatic.

Pan Yun picked it up, stood on a stool, placed it on top of the cabinet, and patted its head: "But tonight the bed is still hard, so you'll have to endure one more night—just keep watch on the door. If any evil spirits dare disturb me, scratch them to death."

Pan Xiaohei knew she wouldn't offer kindness without reason, and wasn't disappointed.

Pan Yun still felt uneasy in her heart; after thinking, she decided not to sleep at all, took out her two boxes of cinnabar, and began grinding and mixing.

But how could a child possibly stay awake all night?

Even with her intense interest, as midnight approached, her eyelids grew heavy, heavier still.

She slapped her own face, closed the cinnabar boxes, and hugged them to sleep.

She decided that tomorrow, after mixing the cinnabar, she'd first write ten or eight talismans to repel evil spirits—what ghost dared scare her?!

Pan Yun gradually sank into sleep; the black cat slept unknowingly beside her.

Pan Yun opened her eyes, clutching the cinnabar, and saw again the imposing figure of a warrior, smirking at her.

Pan Yun froze, instantly realizing she had fallen asleep—this was a dream.

So this was… she knew she was dreaming, yet couldn't wake up?

Pan Yun fell silent for a moment, no longer anxious, and finally studied the figure before her carefully.

If she dreamed of him once, it was merely day's thoughts, night's dreams; if she dreamed of him twice, it was interesting…

If she was in a dream, knew it was a dream, yet still couldn't wake—now that was truly interesting.

Pan Yun watched him cautiously; seeing he showed no intention to speak, she ventured: "Master?"

The figure raised one eyebrow.

Pan Yun gasped, "Are you truly my master, He?"

Pan Yun tried to bow, but realized she was clutching the cinnabar; she quickly set it down, then clasped her fists in salute: "Disciple Pan Yun pays homage to Master."

The figure said nothing, only the smirk at the corner of his mouth faded slightly. Pan Yun, heart pounding, whispered carefully: "Master, you know Elder Brother took on a new disciple—so you've come to give me a welcome gift?"

He: …

Before He could answer, Pan Yun waved her hands frantically: "Master, no need to be so courteous—I'm already overjoyed to be your disciple! You don't know, everyone along the way said Mount Sanqing's scenery is breathtaking, its spiritual energy abundant, clearly a land of boundless virtue—especially the village at its foot, long protected by the mountain god, whose reverence for you flows like an endless river, babbling on and on…"

Pan Yun lavished praise upon the mountain god until his expression softened.

She was weary, but dared not sigh; she kept her face filled with worshipful adoration and asked: "Master, did you come specifically to see me, or to teach me your cultivation method?"

He gave Pan Yun one deep look, then turned and left.

Pan Yun watched him transform into a great crane and fly away, speechless for a long while—Oh divine one, why won't you speak?!

The next day, Pan Yun appeared with dark circles under her eyes, and reverently burned incense for Sanqing, Ge Xianweng, and Li Shushu; only after inserting the incense did she realize—where was their master?

Their master, the mighty mountain god of Mount Sanqing, how could he have no tablet or statue?

Pan Yun was stunned, and turned immediately to find her senior brother practicing swordplay outside.

"Senior Brother—"

!. Read

Wang Feiyin's sword movements were calm and unhurried; he glanced at Pan Yun and continued practicing, saying between strokes: "Fifth Young Miss, have you practiced today? First follow Miao Zhen and the others in basic training—I'll teach you swordplay later."

"Cultivation can't be achieved overnight—this isn't urgent. What's urgent now is, Senior Brother, why doesn't our Sanqing Temple have a tablet for our Master?"

Wang Feiyin's sword veered off course, nearly stabbing into the ground.

He stabilized his stance, drew in a breath and exhaled, then asked after calming his qi: "How did you think of this?"

Pan Yun's face was solemn: "I dreamed of Master last night, and this morning I realized there's no tablet for him. Don't you think he's angry about it—that's why he visited me in a dream?"

Wang Feiyin looked at her seriously.

Pan Yun tilted her small face up, her expression even more serious than his.

Wang Feiyin explained: "Master's temple is down the mountain, where the surrounding villagers offer worship—so we never set up a separate tablet here."

"That won't do," Pan Yun said solemnly. "Besides the villagers' offerings, Master should also receive offerings from his disciples and their disciples. How can we neglect him just because he's capable and earns plenty?"

People never complain about too little money—why would a god complain about too much incense?

Wang Feiyin found no argument to oppose her; worse, he actually thought she made sense. Then why, all those years ago, had he never erected a stone statue or tablet for the mountain deity?

Oh, right—it was because of His appearance and another folk legend.

He said gently: "Master might not like showing His face."

"Impossible," Pan Yun said without hesitation. "Master is so handsome—why wouldn't he want to be seen?" She paused. "Well, some handsome men don't like being seen. Maybe Master doesn't talk much—he's just shy."

"Then we can carve a stone statue that captures His essence, not His exact form. As long as everyone knows this statue represents Master, the incense will reach Him directly, right?"

Seeing Wang Feiyin still lost in thought, Pan Yun grabbed his hand and led him to the back courtyard. Standing at the cliff's edge, she said: "Brother, last night Master nearly dragged me off this cliff to keep Him company—just because when I became His disciple, I bowed only to heaven and earth, never to His tablet."

Wang Feiyin's mouth dropped open. "Little sister, don't joke like this. Was it too dark? Did you lose your sense of direction and mistake this for the way back to your room…?"

Pan Yun pointed to the red lantern by the side gate. "That red lantern is useless—it doesn't even light up a foot of ground—but in the dark, it's still unmistakable. You can see it right after leaving the kitchen. I wouldn't mistake it for anything else."

"Last night was real. I just thought the moonlight was beautiful, then—whizz! —I was at the cliff's edge. If my beloved cat hadn't meowed, you'd be seeing my soul today, not me."

Wang Feiyin: …

Pan Yun concluded: "This is all because I never bowed to Master's tablet."

Wang Feiyin looked troubled. "Is there a chance Master is dissatisfied with you as a disciple…?"

"Impossible," Pan Yun said instantly. "I'm so talented—what master wouldn't want me?"

Wang Feiyin closed his mouth and waved her off. "Fine, go ahead. I'll handle this."

Pan Yun: "How will you handle it? Not making a tablet or statue for Master?"

Wang Feiyin didn't answer. He just told her to go play.

Pan Yun left, glancing back every few steps.

Wang Feiyin stood at the cliff's edge, lost in thought for a moment, then took one long look at the cliff before turning away.

Before noon, Wang Feiyin appeared wearing ritual robes, holding a sacred sword and a stack of talismans.

Tao Ji, just returning from the alchemy chamber, stared in shock. "Brother, what are you doing?"

Wang Feiyin waved him over. "You're just in time. I'm about to perform the altar rite—help me."

Tao Ji: "Why so sudden? Don't you need to prepare properly?"

"I've already had Pan Yun and the others prepare everything."

Pan Yun and the others stood silently, holding wildflowers (fresh blooms), newly drawn mountain spring water, vases, incense, and candles.

They didn't know these were for the rite—wouldn't this be too meager?

The lucky number for this chapter is any number ending in 3. Screenshot as proof—screenshot deadline ends before the next chapter updates.

(End of Chapter)