It was midnight, and Yun Kui Mountain was silent.
A dark shadow slipped out of Guan Yun Courtyard, secretly scaled the wall, and, like a martial arts master, moved over eaves and walked on walls, leaving no sound.
He was somewhat thin and not very tall.
But looking at his face under the moonlight, it was handsome to the point of being delicate, with exquisite features and a high nose bridge—truly a distinguished young man.
It was just that his actions were a bit... full of stealth.
He first arrived at Qi Yun Courtyard, hanging upside down from the eaves, and found that the living room light was still on, while Yi Xuan in the inner room was already asleep, clutching a doll.
The girl in the living room, whose light was on, was still reading.
Through the window, he threw a small stone that hit the light switch.
With a whoosh, the room went dark, and the girl was a bit bewildered, picking up her book for self-defense.
"Who's there?"
"Go to bed early, or you won't grow tall."
"Hmm..."
Yi Jiang knew whose voice it was; she was quite touched. Was her Senior Apprentice Brother specially here to care for her? Senior Apprentice Brother is so good... But then, she suddenly realized a problem.
Why was her Senior Apprentice Brother sneaking around in the middle of the night? And she couldn't detect him at all. It seemed she needed to remember to close the windows from now on.
Soon, the living room fell silent.
Yi Jiang tiptoed onto the bed, hesitated for a moment, and finally took off her outer clothes, leaving only her undergarments... Surely, Senior Apprentice Brother wouldn't keep watching, right?
The bedroom window was closed, so it should be fine.
Yun Ming lay on the rooftop, replacing the tiles, politely no longer looking. The little girl was quite cautious... "I'm not watching anymore, go to bed early..."
His voice was faint, carrying a hint of teasing and mockery, yet it reached Yi Jiang's ears perfectly.
This was the ancient method of 'sound into a line,' which Yun Ming easily deduced the principle of after reaching the Second Realm.
Learning by doing.
In the bedroom, Yi Jiang suddenly hid under the covers, even burying her head.
She didn't dare to speak loudly, afraid of waking her younger sister.
But, Senior Apprentice Brother was really naughty... teasing her again.
"Stupid Senior Apprentice Brother, bad Senior Apprentice Brother..."
She only dared to mumble softly, and suddenly remembered her younger sister's rebellious words from earlier: what if one day she became stronger than her Senior Apprentice Brother?
Hmph hmph... Yun Ming, of course, didn't know what the little girl was thinking in her heart, otherwise he would have dragged her up in the middle of the night for a good lecture.
He let out a sigh, feeling pleased.
There shouldn't be anyone more competitive than him on Yun Kui Mountain.
So ambitious at such a young age.
What would she become when she grew up!?
Oppose internal competition, education must start from childhood... Even if Yi Jiang doesn't become strong enough to succeed as the Sect Master according to the game's progression, so what? Isn't he still here... He is already in the Yun Zhuan Realm, his Talisman Creation Art is complete, and he has entered the second stage.
Condensing Images: understanding the principles of all things by observing them, and condensing the images of all things for his own use.
It is the stage of transforming spiritual energy from virtual to real.
Next, he needs to gather some spiritual energy. Although Aether can be used during combat, for condensing his own images, he still needs spiritual energy to condense his innate image in his Sea of Consciousness.
The problem is how to gather spiritual energy?
This is already the Age of Dharma Decline; recently, during his cultivation, he could also feel the thinness of spiritual energy between heaven and earth, unless he could directly restore Aether back into spiritual energy... He pondered deeply, and couldn't help but recall the phenomenon of spiritual energy feedback when he was treating Launess and Ling'er.
What exactly was the principle behind it? Perhaps he needed to try more.
When he was with those two little ones, spiritual energy gathered a bit faster.
Although their strength was still weak, and there was also a little fellow who loved to freeload and couldn't help much, even a mosquito's leg is still meat... A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, "My good Apprentice, come into your Master's bowl—"
His next plan: healing the sick, saving people, and getting Apprentices to cultivate... He continued to move over eaves and walk on walls on the rooftop, and soon arrived at Xuan Mingzi's bedroom. He was still hanging upside down from the eaves, looking into the window. The old man was indeed still awake.
"Master, the night is long and I have no intention of sleeping. Are you waiting for your Apprentice?"
Xuan Mingzi was startled.
Don't you know that scaring people to death is a thing?
Why don't you use the main entrance, but insist on sneaking around like a thief on the roof beams? Who taught you this, I wonder.
I'm furious!
He raised his hand to reach behind him, but then remembered that the Qing Ming Sword was no longer there, so he had no handy tool.
His face was not very pleasant; he picked up a slipper and threw it at Yun Ming.
Yun Ming wasn't foolish; he caught it directly.
"Still daring to dodge? Get down here for your Master!"
Xuan Mingzi was furious, throwing another slipper, which was again caught.
"I'm going to..."
This was the wind-up for a big move.
"Cough cough... Master, don't be angry, I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere."
Yun Ming nimbly jumped in, respectfully put the shoes back on his Master's feet, and then picked up a dark red crystal on the table... When he arrived, he had already noticed something unusual. This crystal seemed to be pulling in the surrounding Aether, and even looking at it for too long felt like it would swallow one's consciousness.
What was Master doing with such a dangerous thing?
He must not fall into the demonic path and believe in the The Prime Master... Xuan Mingzi snatched it back without a word, ignoring his Apprentice's confused gaze, and spoke to himself.
"Do you know how much trouble you caused your Martial Uncle this time?"
"I naturally know."
"You know a..."
The swear word was ultimately held back.
Xuan Mingzi looked at his Apprentice with a complex expression. Since Bai Xian didn't say some things, then he couldn't say them either.
Aetheric Undead will die if it leaves the Void; this is why humanity has survived for thousands of years.
But some strong individuals, even if corrupted and turned into monsters, can still survive in the outside world. This is a secret closely guarded by many factions.
Otherwise, once ordinary residents found out, it would likely cause widespread chaos, with everyone fearing for their lives.
So, it's quite ironic that the strong are instead subject to supervision.
After all, no one wants to one day personally kill their loved ones, or be killed by those monsters who were once their loved ones. Thus, this became an unwritten rule, with various factions supervising each other.
And Bai Xian was naturally such a strong individual.
Especially since she had lived for an unknown number of years... The authorities had always kept her registered and conducted regular checks on her.
Bai Xian was without thoughts or desires; although she had recovered a lot in recent years, she was still easily influenced by that mass of chaotic thoughts. Once she showed any abnormality, she would be hunted down by everyone.
Presumably, many people would be interested in Bai Xian's remains.
Therefore, it was said that a great disaster was almost caused.
And this was also the reason why Xuan Mingzi strictly controlled Yun Ming and prevented him from standing out. Being too strong and too talented in this world was not a good thing.
A genius, before growing up, is nothing more than a weakling.
Once he displayed his strength, he would inevitably be subject to official supervision, and at the same time, he would be coveted by many factions.
Why did he cultivate so quickly, yet not seem to be affected by Aether's erosion?
Even if this could be explained by spiritual energy and talent, no one would believe it.
So Xuan Mingzi was stalling, but now he couldn't stall anymore, and Yun Ming had also grown up... He could only reveal everything, but still concealed the part about Bai Xian.
But even with the concealment, Yun Ming could see the perilous situation of his Martial Uncle... "The next inspection is three years from now, still early, but your Master thought it best to make plans early, so I made a special trip down the mountain..."
"This spirit crystal is what I obtained from the Hoshimi Family. At that time, I will forge a magical artifact for your Martial Uncle to temporarily trap that mass of chaotic thoughts, replacing his Sea of Consciousness."
"But don't blame yourself too much. This sword was originally meant to be passed down to you; this was bound to happen sooner or later. While your Master is still alive and still has some influence, it's not a bad thing..."
He said all he could, but silence spoke louder than words.