Chapter 60: Postponed
Lu Yunxi returned to her relentless grind of monster-hunting. However, her routine had a new addition: every night before bed, she made a trip to the sect’s library.
The archives here were far more extensive than those in the provincial town she had visited previously, and the content was infinitely richer. She had long been curious about how the massive space portals used by the sects were possible, and she finally found her answer in the stacks.
“…Eons ago, the world was saturated with spiritual energy, and our ancestors learned to store this energy within their own bodies…”
Her expression shifted as she read the passage. As she had suspected, there were records of an era of immortal cultivation.
The sect’s methods for opening spatial portals had been handed down from that time. Once the world’s spiritual energy vanished, those techniques had gradually become obsolete. However, the sect’s predecessors, refusing to let the knowledge die, had devoted themselves to research and eventually developed a replacement.
Today’s space gates and teleportation arrays were the result of that labor. The various sects had learned to use internal force as a substitute for spiritual energy. While the effect was similar, internal force was far less efficient. In the age of immortals, a portal could be opened with a simple spell gesture; using internal force required incredibly complex operational routes. These precise methods were compiled into secret manuals for future generations to study.
Lu Yunxi looked at the thin volume titled Space Gate in her hands and sank into thought.
Though it was called a book, it was only a few pages long. She understood the mechanics quickly, but there was a catch: the technique had steep limitations. Only those at the “Master” level or higher possessed enough internal energy to serve as a medium for the portal. Anyone below that level simply didn’t have the reserves to keep a gate open.
The library also explained that the space gates connected to hidden realms—pockets of space left over from the era of cultivation. When that age ended, most of these realms collapsed, but a few endured. The great sects of the martial world occupied these remnants, using them as their secluded base camps.
Yanyu Palace was no different.
Lu Yunxi felt a pang of disappointment. Even though she had learned the technique, she couldn’t actually use it yet. Just as she was about to leave and get some sleep, she paused.
“Wait… what’s this?”
The next day.
Lu Yunxi began a new, peculiar routine. During the day, she sat in a chair, killing monsters and reading simultaneously.
Since shooting arrows required two hands, multitasking was impossible. Instead, she picked up her old wooden firewood stick. She sat beside the razor-clams, hammering them with one hand while holding a book in the other.
It was a dangerous way to train. If she hadn’t been fighting clams—which had practically no offensive capabilities—she would have been defeated long ago. Fortunately, the clams were entirely passive, allowing her to sit leisurely by the shore.
In just two days, she finished her current manual. She clapped her hands together, eyes sparkling with excitement. She had found a solution.
Mushroom Village.
“Village Chief, why have you called us all together so suddenly?” the villagers asked, gathered in the central square.
“Fellow villagers, I have incredible news!” The chief stood on the raised platform, his face flushed with a dark red glow. He looked so ecstatic that he appeared intoxicated.
The villagers exchanged worried glances.
“Chief, are you drunk?”
“Go home and sleep it off! Stop making a scene!”
“Who’s drunk?!” the chief barked, waving his hands impatiently. “I’m telling you, Xiaoxi has sent word! She’s found something that will benefit our entire village!”
He did a quick head count. “Is everyone here? Listen closely! This is a monumental event for Mushroom Village!”
Once the crowd settled, the chief continued. “You’ve all heard of the grand academies. People go there to learn martial arts, but it’s nearly impossible for us to get in. But our girl, Lu Yunxi, has sent us two martial arts manuals of our own!”
Before the villagers could even process the news, the chief raised his fist and shouted, “From this day forward, our village has its own path of cultivation!”
The square erupted into cheers as the realization set in.
“Chief, can we all learn it?” someone asked once the noise died down.
“Not exactly. The manual has its limits. Those who harbor true evil in their hearts cannot learn it,” the chief explained. “I will place the books in the ancestral hall. Everyone can go in to try and sense the energy. If you can feel it, the whole village will learn together!”
Many people didn’t take the warning about “evil” seriously. After all, how could a book tell a person’s heart?
However, the restriction was a technique Lu Yunxi had discovered in the sect’s archives. By using internal force to set a “restriction” on a manual, the book would become intangible to anyone with malicious intent. Even worse, if someone tried to destroy the text, the attack would rebound with double the force.
Fortunately, the people of Mushroom Village were simple and honest. No one triggered the ban. Lu Yunxi had set it up primarily as a safeguard, ensuring she wouldn’t be “struck by lightning” for sharing secrets with the wrong people.
A month later, the atmosphere in the village had transformed. Every household ate meat daily and shared wine in the evenings. Even if a god descended, they wouldn’t have traded their lives for anything else.
“It’s all thanks to Xiaoxi. If she hadn’t sent that manual, we wouldn’t be living like this.”
“We should send her a care package. We have plenty of meat now; let’s cure some for her. I heard honey tastes great when spread on smoked meat!”
“I’ll add some salted duck eggs. She always loved those.”
The women of the village went to work. Xiaoxi had been a true savior. With the new techniques, everyone felt safer. They no longer feared being robbed when they traveled into town. Seeing the women’s enthusiasm, the young men of the village began to hatch their own ideas…
Lu Yunxi had no idea the villagers were preparing a shipment for her. At that moment, she was standing in the Great Hall, listening to a high-ranking official address the gathered disciples.
She hadn’t been paying much attention until a single sentence cut through her boredom like a thunderclap.
“…The Inner Sect Grand Competition is hereby postponed.”
She jolted upright. Why so suddenly?
The man on the stage spoke with a cold, low voice. “Our continent is in grave danger. Every hand must be mobilized. Disciples below the Inner Sect level must remain within the safety of the sect’s barriers. Everyone at the Elite level and above must mobilize immediately to protect our borders!”
Lu Yunxi walked back to her room in a daze. Before she could even process the news, her master—the elder who usually spent his time hunting for snacks—appeared in her doorway.
For once, his tone was deadly serious. “Disciple, stay inside the sect. Do not go wandering. Danger is coming, and it’s coming fast.”
“Master, what kind of danger? Why is everyone so terrified?” she asked.
The master sighed. “It’s the Beast Tide. It happens every few years. The wild beasts become feral, losing all consciousness and charging in a maddened frenzy. It is a slaughter.”
He paused, then began frantically pulling items from his robes and piling them on her table. “All the elite disciples are being sent to the front. You inner disciples are the final line of defense. Put these on. Protect yourself!”
Lu Yunxi stared at the table, her breath catching. The entire surface was covered in Orange-quality equipment.
