Chapter 60: Yue Mingxi’s Shock

The next morning.

After his conversation with Dong Zhuang, Qin Yue spent the entire night cultivating within a spirit-gathering array, consuming a vast number of spirit stones. Now, as he slowly opened his eyes, a startling brilliance flashed within them.

A formidable sword intent radiated from his body, his aura sharp and imposing.

The final technique he practiced had been the seventh form of the Falling Leaf Sword Sutra. In his spiritual world, he had rehearsed it repeatedly, and now he had nearly mastered it.

By his reckoning, his cultivation level had broken through to the fourteenth layer of the Veil of Illusions.

With each step forward, his strength, reflexes, spiritual power, divine sense, and perception all surged dramatically.

But the consumption of energy increased just as rapidly.

Normally, a cultivator at the fifth or sixth layer of the Cavernous Microcosm, even using a spirit-gathering array, would expend at most a fifth of what he had.

Of course, two-thirds of the spirit stones Qin Yue used were absorbed by the bronze disk, which also greatly aided the giant rat’s recovery.

If not for this, he would never have been able to reconstruct Tianluo Sect’s heart method and sword sutra, nor attain the seventh form of the Falling Leaf Sword Sutra.

Qin Yue did not know how long he would remain at the Veil of Illusions level, nor how many layers he could ultimately reach.

But now, understanding that the higher he rose the better, he was in no hurry to let the core within him take shape.

At present, all the abilities of the Cavernous Microcosm were already his, and those beyond it, he possessed as well.

Leaving his room, he entered the practice area—his personal domain, where no one else dared intrude without a summons.

Qin Yue stretched his body, his spine arching like a great dragon, veins coursing with surging spiritual power. Beginning from the first form, he practiced the Falling Leaf Sword Sutra in reality.

Even without channeling any spiritual power, the momentum was astonishing.

In movement, he was swift as a startled rabbit; in stillness, calm as a maiden. As he turned and leaped, his body floated like a gently descending leaf.

His sword flashed with light, sometimes swift as thunder, sometimes unpredictable, sinister, and fierce.

The Falling Leaf Sword Sutra alone was already formidable. With his ever-more-proficient mastery of the “divine class” Netherstep technique, it was like a tiger gaining wings.

After finishing the sequence, Qin Yue sheathed his sword and composed himself, gathering spiritual power to perform the Rending Claw in the air—a technique he could now unleash after reaching the fourteenth layer of the Veil of Illusions.

He also infused it with insights gained from the inscriptions on the cauldron.

As torrents of spiritual power roared through him, focusing in his hands, the instant he unleashed them—the training room echoed with a dreadful hum.

Before him, the very air was torn open by his claw, leaving a visible gash and warping the space itself.

Such spatial distortion could easily devastate an opponent.

“I wonder, if I landed this claw on someone at the Dao realm, could I crush their head?”

He left the practice room and entered the lavishly decorated bathing chamber.

Here a natural hot spring had been redirected by Zhaoyang Sect’s skilled craftsmen to flow directly above the spiritual vein, forming a pool large enough for a dozen people. Beside it were several smaller pools.

Qin Yue tossed the medicinal herbs Wei Jie, his “junior brother,” had given him into one of the small pools, channeled his spiritual power, and quickly brought the already warm water to a boil.

Once the medicine had fully dissolved and the temperature cooled a bit—though still around fifty or sixty degrees—he undressed and plunged in.

“Hiss!”

The heat made him bare his teeth in pain.

The skin previously masked by Linhuang grass juice turned bright red at once.

Potent medicinal energy seeped into his body through every pore. Ignoring his discomfort, Qin Yue began circulating the reconstructed body-forging technique.

The discomfort soon faded, his twisted expression smoothing out.

Whenever the water grew “cool,” Qin Yue reheated it himself, soaking for over an hour until he resembled a cooked shrimp, his whole body flushed red.

He could clearly sense his physical strength had increased significantly.

Wei Jie, though he grumbled about losing the “junior brother” status, had actually found him top-tier body-forging herbs.

When Qin Yue finally emerged from seclusion, the sun was already high, and he discovered someone had been waiting for him in the reception area for quite some time.

The visitor was a young man in his twenties, idly chatting with Xu Liang, who was hosting him.

Xu Liang was courteous and attentive, while the other man seemed somewhat reserved.

Upon seeing Qin Yue, his demeanor changed at once, rising to bow respectfully. “Greetings, Elder Qin. I am Chai Shanze, the personal disciple of Vice Sect Master Yue. My master has instructed me to invite you to see him…”

Qin Yue replied politely, “Sorry to keep you waiting. Since the Vice Sect Master requests my presence, let’s go now.”

He glanced at Xu Liang. “If Tang Qingxuan, Young Master Ling, or the others come by, let them know where I’ve gone.”

Xu Liang nodded. “Understood, Elder. I’ll make a note of it.”

…

Though Yue Mingxi was Vice Sect Master of Zhaoyang, he did not reside within the palace complex.

Instead, his abode was a hundred miles from Qin Yue’s cave, atop a great mountain, at the “winding place” of the sect’s largest spiritual vein, where the energy was so abundant that even the local flora and fauna thrived in extraordinary ways.

Sacred white cranes soared overhead, resplendent tigers lounged lazily by mountain pools, too indifferent even to glance at passing white rabbits.

Rare birds and exotic beasts, the air suffused with a celestial tranquility.

Their flying boat landed outside a large thatched hut, where Yue Mingxi greeted them with a radiant smile.

“Mr. Qin, I must apologize for summoning you so urgently.”

Qin Yue smiled. “Vice Sect Master, there’s no need for such courtesy. As a guest elder of the sect, I am bound to respect your summons.”

“Haha, Mr. Qin, you flatter me. It’s not a command—there’s simply a matter I’d like your help with.”

Yue Mingxi ushered him inside. The furnishings were simple: a table, a chair, and a bed. Most striking was an enormous bookshelf lined with ancient tomes.

On the windowsill stood two luxuriant potted trees, exuding vigorous life energy—clearly medicinal plants at their peak.

Qin Yue inquired, “What would you have me do, Vice Sect Master?”

Yue Mingxi smiled. “No rush. Please, try this tea first. It’s a treasure—a sapling of the Enlightenment Tea Tree I once obtained from the Immortal Sect. Though not as potent as the original, it calms the mind and focuses the spirit.”

Qin Yue took a seat and sipped. Instantly, a sense of comfort washed over him, his spirit sharpened in an instant.

“Excellent tea!” he praised.

Yue Mingxi sighed. “Indeed, but this tree seems ill these past two years. I’ve consulted many experts; all insist it’s fine, brimming with life energy, yet it weakens day by day…”

“How long ago did you bring it back?” Qin Yue asked.

“About thirty years. It was just a sapling then. I hired specialists to tend it, used the best soil and fertilizer I could find…” Yue Mingxi’s face was troubled.

The environment, soil, and fertilizer had not changed; for over twenty years, all was well. But in the past two years, things had suddenly declined, leaving him at a loss.

Last night, when Qin Yue revived that ancient flowering tree before everyone’s eyes, breathing new life into it, Yue Mingxi had wanted to speak up but refrained in public.

Today he could not resist. He summoned Qin Yue both in hopes the young guest elder could help, and to use the opportunity to deepen their relationship.

He had naturally heard tales of the Bamboo Garden, but that was centuries ago. He did not believe Zhaoyang Sect was responsible; it was just a smear by the demonic sects.

“Then, might the Vice Sect Master show me the tree?” Qin Yue smiled. This was precisely the opportunity he sought.

The more such matters arose, the better—especially if those seeking his aid held positions like Yue Mingxi’s.

Yue Mingxi looked a little embarrassed. “Shall we finish our tea first?”

Qin Yue smiled, drained his cup in one gulp. “All done.”

Yue Mingxi stroked his beard and laughed. “You are indeed an extraordinary man, Mr. Qin!”

He led Qin Yue up a small path behind the mountain, neither using any cultivation nor spiritual techniques, but climbing as mortals would.

After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the path opened onto a broad, level expanse.

Qin Yue’s first impression was: the spiritual energy here was overwhelming.

Spiritual veins were invisible, but like rivers, they had bends and formed lakes.

If the thatched hut below was at a “bend” of the vein, this medicinal garden was a “lake”—a vast pool of concentrated energy formed entirely by spiritual essence.

“No wonder they call this the greatest sect under heaven!” Qin Yue’s praise was heartfelt.

Any other sect would never turn such a place into a medicine garden. It would surely be reserved for core disciples to cultivate—or even only for the highest elders.

Yet here in Zhaoyang Sect, it was merely the medicine garden of the Vice Sect Master.

“Haha, the spiritual veins of Zhaoyang are indeed top tier,” Yue Mingxi replied with a laugh, then sighed. “But even in such a place, this Enlightenment Tea Tree has fallen ill…”

Qin Yue waved a hand. “No need to worry, Vice Sect Master. Let me take a look around before I make any judgment.”

Yue Mingxi bowed. “I leave it to you, sir.”

He stood by as Qin Yue, his expression composed, slowly entered the great medicinal garden.

Qin Yue struggled to contain his inner shock—

“That’s a peak-tier Cavernous Microcosm spirit herb; that’s a Dao realm treasure herb, its grade almost matching those legendary plants of the Beast Valley.”

“Good heavens, this treasure herb contains a powerful spatial attribute—such things are exceedingly rare.”

“This one may only be technique-level, but the life energy it holds is simply vast!”

As he walked, he covertly siphoned the abundant life force from these precious plants, channeling most of it as spiritual power into the bronze disk.

It had to be grand medicine—the effect far surpassed that of spirit stones!

The giant rat residing within the bronze disk’s world was healing at a visible rate.

Qin Yue was delighted, though he kept his face calm.

Yue Mingxi, still waiting at the garden’s edge, watched as Qin Yue strolled leisurely among the herbs. At first, he thought nothing of it, but soon his eyes widened.

At first, he suspected it was his imagination, but after Qin Yue passed, the herbs and treasures seemed to glow with new vitality.

Then he realized—this was no illusion!

“Could it be… Mr. Qin possesses the legendary Immortal Spirit Physique, naturally attuned to plants and trees, as spoken of in the Immortal Sects?”