Chapter 648

Long after they had walked far away, Xue Shao suddenly turned and asked her: "What do you mean, 'no wonder'?"

"Huh?" Pan Yun blinked in surprise, then snapped back to herself; she glanced quickly behind before whispering: "No wonder Mao Li Xiulang is a bit foolish—having children too early leads to problems."

Xue Shao fell silent.

Seeing he said nothing, Pan Yun blinked: "What did you think it was?"

Xue Shao: "I thought they weren't biological father and son."

Pan Yun: "Your thoughts are filthy."

Xue Shao's temple twitched, but he said nothing.

Seeing Tao Ji and the other two were listless, Pan Yun knew their Qi was depleted and their energy overtaxed; she said: "Why don't you stay at Yifan Temple to cultivate? I think the spiritual energy here is the strongest nearby."

Master Xuanmiao said: "Take them back and set up a Spirit Gathering array for them. Tomorrow, bring Tao Yanbai and Miao Zhen."

This was clearly planning to take turns harvesting.

Pan Yun pitied her junior disciples; after thinking a moment, she said: "Third Master, shall I transmit some of my Qi to you?"

Tao Ji was tempted: "That wouldn't be wise—we're all weakest now, and you're the strongest among us. Last night, the Kikuchi clan came looking; tonight we must still be cautious. Your Qi should remain full."

Pan Yun: "Last night I only used four-tenths of my strength. Their greatest strength lies in concealment—once spotted, they're not hard to deal with."

Master Xuanmiao paused slightly: "How did you spot them?"

"Yes, yes, how?" Tao Ji urged.

Pan Yun's gaze swept over the two; after a moment's thought, she said: "It must be linked—linked to the spiritual energy."

She carefully recalled the details of last night, then said carefully: "Spiritual energy permeates the air, and people can avoid many things—but they cannot avoid air."

Master Xuanmiao fell into thought.

"Our invisibility technique hides us within trees, water, or surrounding objects—it deceives the eyes and senses through surface illusion. But these things all have their own rhythms of breathing and movement, just extremely slow. When we learned invisibility, we were only told to slow or hold our breath—but true ultimate invisibility means aligning your breathing and bodily rhythm perfectly with the thing you hide within." Pan Yun said: "The Japanese shinobi have always practiced the latter."

Master Xuanmiao: "Last night, that man wasn't hidden in a tree, nor in water, stone, or earth—he concealed himself within the air itself, yet we saw nothing and felt no magical or spiritual energy fluctuation."

"Because he didn't use magic—pure skill," Pan Yun said, her admiration evident: "I don't know how they train, but they can make themselves into air—their breathing, their rhythms, infinitely approximate air."

Master Xuanmiao murmured: "Infinitely approximate, not become air—so that's how you found him?"

Pan Yun: "If he could become air, I'd have to act."

Master Xuanmiao frowned: "Act? What would you do?"

Pan Yun's eyes sparkled with an excitement Master Xuanmiao couldn't understand: "Sister, the Reagent Reorganization Technique—do you realize how monumental this discovery is? Once we comprehend this, we could achieve spatial transmission—like instantly returning from Japan to Great Ming, or even moving from this world to another. If Japan produces such a person, I'd worship him as a god!"

Then study him from outside to inside, and from inside to outside.

If I had such a subject to study, I'd give up two-thirds of my cultivation time—I don't even have to achieve immortality…

Master Xuanmiao looked at her smiling face with clear disgust.

Xue Shao handed her a handkerchief; Pan Yun took it blankly: "Why?"

Xue Shao: "Wipe your drool."

Pan Yun: … Was she really that obvious?

But this also indirectly proved that last night's man was still far from becoming air—and had much to learn.

Pan Yun taught Master Xuanmiao how to sense anomalies in the air and precisely locate hidden individuals.

Then, the Mao Li clan's samurai and shinobi hiding nearby were all pulled out by Pan Yun for Master Xuanmiao to practice on.

The samurai and shinobi: …

The samurai were fine, but the shinobi nearly drew their swords and performed seppuku—this was their very livelihood, yet Pan Yun had pinpointed each one with a single finger.

Yoshikawa Hiroya rushed out to stop them, preventing a tragedy.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurriedly shooed Pan Yun away, terrified she'd drive all the Mao Li shinobi to suicide.

Knowing full well that training a single shinobi was extremely costly—they were raised from childhood.

Raising one shinobi could support three samurai, and the shinobi gathered here were the Mao Li clan's finest—if they truly committed seppuku, the Mao Li clan would suffer devastating losses.

But now Pan Yun understood clearly; returning to Master Xuanmiao's quarters, she said: "In raw combat power, the Mao Li clan is far inferior to the Kikuchi clan."

Master Xuanmiao nodded.

Pan Yun: "Taking refuge with them can only block part of the pursuit—they can't stop top-tier shinobi assassinations."

Master Xuanmiao: "As long as they block part of it, that's enough. The rest I'll handle—they can't defeat me."

"In open combat, naturally they can't," Pan Yun's gaze settled on Master Xuanmiao: "But in assassination, they're experts—so how did you get hurt?"

Master Xuanmiao said nothing.

Pan Yun asked again: "Sister, won't you come with me? With me around…"

"You only have two hands—how many people can you protect?" Master Xuanmiao said: "You're going to Iwami Province to stir up trouble. If I go with you, you drag the Kikuchi clan into it."

"Dragging such a large tail behind you—do you think you can still catch the Ouchi clan off guard? When both clans unite, what use will your rumors be?" Master Xuanmiao said: "Since you've decided to stir the waters and find allies in the chaos, you must see it through."

Master Xuanmiao said coldly: "Don't worry—I won't die. Even if outnumbered, I can still escape."

Pan Yun began pulling things out: "I drew many talismans before we left…"

But as she pulled them out, she paused.

Master Xuanmiao was also highly skilled in talisman arts—her talismans were no worse than Pan Yun's.

Pan Yun hesitated.

Master Xuanmiao reached out and took the talismans from her hand, counted them, then nodded: "We're short on talismans—thank you."

Seeing Miao Zhen immediately rummaged through her space: "Fourth Uncle, I have some too!"

Wang Cong sighed: "Isn't the priority restoring Fourth Uncle's cultivation?"

He pulled out the miraculous medicine his father had prepared for him: "Only my medicine remains—Fourth Uncle…"

Master Xuanmiao didn't take it; she frowned at Pan Yun: "Did you use your medicine? Who did you give it to? Or did someone injure you?"

Pan Yun coughed softly and whispered: "I took one myself, gave one to Master Hu, and one to Mu Ang's son, Mu Xi."

Tao Ji said in surprise: "He's not dead yet?"

Pan Yun said cheerfully: "Not dead, I dragged him back. Third Senior Brother, although I'm not as good as you at treating illnesses, when it comes to these strange and bizarre ailments, I actually have more experience than you."

Tao Ji: "... Most of his five viscera and six bowels were gnawed away by bugs. How did you save him?"

"I let him form a symbiosis with the bugs."

Tao Ji's face was full of mixed feelings — was this a blessing or a curse?

Forming a symbiosis with bugs — just thinking about it sounded painful.

Pan Yun, however, thought it was fine: "He can't feel pain right now. At most, food has no taste, and he has trouble waking up when he sleeps. His energy is no different from a living person's. I think it's pretty good."

She shoved Wang Cong's medicine bottle at Master Xuanmiao: "Senior Sister, hurry and take it. I could smell the blood on you from far away — your lips have gone white."

Master Xuanmiao took the bottle, opened it, saw there was only one pill left, closed it, and tossed it back to Wang Cong.

Wang Cong hurried to try to persuade her, but Master Xuanmiao said irritably: "Don't keep passing it back and forth. If I don't take this pill now, I won't die, but if you lose this pill, you'll die when you run into danger."

Master Xuanmiao turned her head and glared at Pan Yun: "Eldest Senior Brother must have calculated it, so he gave you the most medicine. Why did you only take a little? Who attacked you?"

Pan Yun opened her mouth, then thought — Master Xuanmiao had specifically gone and overturned the Five Grains Sect for her sake, and was even thinking of going to the grasslands to hunt down the Screeching Eagle Sect. She felt she couldn't tell the truth, otherwise, once she returned from the Japanese lands, she'd definitely go off to the grasslands to kill, kill, kill again. She quickly said: "I just got a little hurt fighting some people~demons. Hadn't I just gotten the medicine then? I didn't know the effect, and on a whim I took a tiny taste. Really, I wasn't seriously hurt."

Master Xuanmiao: "What about the people and demons you fought?"

"Dead!" Pan Yun said immediately: "I'm such a grudge-holding person — how could I let them leave alive?"

Master Xuanmiao stared at her fixedly.

Pan Yun tried hard not to blink, looking back at her with an earnest face.

After staring at her for a long while, Master Xuanmiao seemed to believe her, and finally shifted her gaze.

Pan Yun had probably stared too long, her eyes too wide — the moment she relaxed, tears immediately welled up, her eyes stinging unbearably.

Master Xuanmiao's face was full of disgust, then she started shooing people away.

Pan Yun then had Xue Shao and Wang Cong take the people back first.

Once the people had gone, Master Xuanmiao frowned at her: "Why are you staying?"

Pan Yun sat down cross-legged across from her, smiled, and said: "Senior Sister, I don't have medicine, and my medical skill can't compare to Third Senior Brother's, but my primeval force is abundant. Let me transmit some primeval force to you."

Tao Ji, who had previously been unwilling to let Pan Yun expend primeval force, immediately nodded: "That's good, that's good."

Master Xuanmiao glanced at him.

Tao Ji immediately went quiet.

Pan Yun took her hand: "Senior Sister, recovering primeval force is as simple for me as sitting in meditation for a few cycles. It's not as complicated as you think."

Master Xuanmiao thought of how Pan Yun entering samadhi was as easy as drinking water, and deep samadhi as easy as eating — just open her mouth and it was done — so she stopped refusing.

Pan Yun transmitted twenty percent of her primeval force to her.

Although it was only twenty percent, it still restored the majority of Master Xuanmiao's primeval force.

She circulated the primeval force through two minor cycles within her body, and it was thoroughly absorbed as her own. Her withered meridians were nourished, color returned to her lips, and her complexion no longer looked so pale.

Tao Ji had been propping his chin up watching from the side, and seeing Master Xuanmiao improve, his tears nearly came out.

Pan Yun opened her eyes, saw Master Xuanmiao had not yet emerged from samadhi, withdrew her hand, and stood up quietly and carefully.

Tao Ji immediately followed her, carefully backing out of the room.

He gently closed the door, exhaled a breath, and finally relaxed in front of Pan Yun: "Lucky you came~~"

Pan Yun couldn't help but laugh: "Third Senior Brother, you've been scared out of your wits this whole time, haven't you?"

"A mere band of Japanese pirates wouldn't amount to that. We've been through situations more dangerous than this before," Tao Ji sighed: "It's just that perhaps because we're in a foreign land, although it's not as dangerous as before, my heart feels empty and forlorn."

Pan Yun was slightly stunned: "Do Senior Brother and Senior Sister feel this way too? I thought you'd feel that no matter where you were buried after death, it would be the same."

"It is all the same, but that's in China," Tao Ji said: "No matter where I die, I feel it's all the same. But dying in a foreign country, especially in the Japanese lands..."

He furrowed his brow, very unhappy.

Pan Yun patted his shoulder to show understanding.

Tao Ji swatted her hand away and said earnestly: "Junior Sister, your Fourth Senior Sister is already like this — just spare us some worry, will you?"

Pan Yun immediately became indignant: "Why don't you tell Fourth Senior Sister to spare some worry?"

Tao Ji said matter-of-factly: "She's already an adult, her personality has long since set, there's nothing to be changed. But you're still young — you can change."

Pan Yun's face turned solemn: "I can't change either."

Tao Ji looked at her with a sorrowful face: "You even brought Cong'er and the others here. Right now I don't even know how worried Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother must be..."

Pan Yun: "Don't worry. I brought them out, and I'll definitely bring them back safely."

This time it was Tao Ji's turn to pat her shoulder. He sighed, turned, and was about to head back inside.

Pan Yun grabbed him in one swift motion, and stuffed the primeval-force-restoring medicine and wound medicine from her spatial storage into his arms all at once: "Take them and use them."

Tao Ji wanted to refuse, but she had already bounced off into the distance, walking away happily. He hurriedly called out: "At least leave some for yourself."

Pan Yun waved without looking back: "I'm going back to find Miao He to refine medicine!"

Apart from the pills, they had also prepared a lot of medicinal ingredients, all piled up at Miao He and Tao Yanbai's place.

Moreover, besides what they had brought themselves, there was also what the Wu Lin Alliance and the Celestial Master Mansion had prepared for them.

Pan Yun returned to the inn and said to them: "Let's refine medicine. We'll be staying here for three days. Refine all the wound medicine and primeval-force-restoring medicine we can. After this, we won't have time to stop."

Primeval force and internal force share the same origin, both belonging to power, both being force refined from essence. So medicine that replenishes primeval force can also replenish internal force.

It just needs a slight adjustment to the ratio.

This was something Tao Yanbai and Miao He were both familiar with, and even Wang Cong could recite the prescription backwards.

Public and private matters were kept separate.

Their own medicinal ingredients were refined as they pleased. The portions given by the Wu Lin Alliance and the Jianghu Alliance were divided into two parts — one part was refined to be distributed to everyone.

Pan Yun herself had become a grand master of medicine refining. Every day, the moment she opened her eyes, she would go assign the medicines, then go to the kitchen to stoke the fire and refine medicine. At noon, she'd go to the Ichihata Temple across the way to find Master Xuanmiao, transmit some primeval force to her, and along the way take Wang Cong and Seeing Miao Zhen, or Tao Yanbai and Miao He, down to treat Mao Li Nobuyuki.

Perhaps because he now had the four of them as help, Tao Ji finally had a chance to catch his breath, and his primeval force recovered rapidly.

By the third day, he was already full of vigor, no longer needing Wang Cong and the others to help. He could apply the needles to Mao Li himself; after a full set of needlework, aside from a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, his face was neither flushed nor his breath short.

Not only Pan Yun and Wang Cong, but Miao He also noticed, and exclaimed joyfully, "Master, your cultivation has advanced!"

Tao Ji couldn't help the corners of his mouth turn up, and said, "Yes, this time I pushed my elemental force to its limit, and after cultivating I found I'd improved quite a bit. I've now reached the Fifth Watch. Your Fourth Uncle-Master is even more impressive—she's touched the threshold of the First Marquis again."

Several pairs of eyes lit up, all excited: "Really?"

Tao Ji pressed down a smile and nodded: "Really."

Pan Yun spun around in circles, delighted: "Looks like the Wa country is bringing us good fortune!" (End of chapter)