Chapter 156

Chapter 156: Prelude to the Water Melody (Laugh)

***

She herself didn’t particularly care, she had long passed the age of worrying about worldly opinions. Moreover, this was being done to save someone, so she wasn’t exactly opposed to it.

But what about her little disciple?

While contemplating, Xinlian occasionally raised her gourd to take a sip, her free hand unconsciously poking at Lin Muyu’s puffed-up cheeks. The soft texture helped ease her tense mood somewhat.

However… even if she resisted now, it seemed like it wouldn’t make any difference, would it?

A complex emotion flickered in Xinlian’s eyes.

She had actually known about the relationship between Su Wanqing and Lin Muyu for a long time.

After all, the first time she met Lin Muyu, she could sense her eldest disciple Su Wanqing’s distinctive aura on the child. Later, she had sensed the same aura on Su Wanqing as well.

This was one of the reasons she had agreed to take Lin Muyu as her disciple back then.

But from the looks of it now, her eldest disciple seemed to have missed her chance?

If possible, Xinlian would naturally prefer to give the opportunity to save Lin Muyu to Su Wanqing.

However, Su Wanqing’s cultivation was far inferior to her own. Even if she dual cultivated with Lin Muyu, it wouldn’t allow Lin Muyu’s cultivation to surge rapidly enough in a short time to resist the demonic energy, it simply couldn’t save the current Lin Muyu.

After much internal struggle, Xinlian finally made her decision.

She had lived for so long that she had long seen through life and death. Now her only wish was for her disciples to live peacefully and safely.

However, to maximize the effects of dual cultivation, it seemed she would need to first cultivate an appropriate dual cultivation technique?

Xinlian frowned, no longer hesitating. Her figure flashed as she instantly teleported to the sect’s Scripture Pavilion.

“Oh? It’s Xiao Lian? It’s been so long.”

As soon as she stepped into the Scripture Pavilion, a gentle voice came from behind the bookshelves.

Xinlian looked up to see Shu Mo sitting on a cushioned couch by the window, holding an ancient book in her hands, her face bearing a tender smile as she greeted her.

“Sister Shu Mo, it has been a while.”

Xinlian gripped her gourd, the corners of her mouth rarely showing a genuine smile.

In all of Qinglan Sect, aside from her disciples, only Shu Mo could make her drop some of her cold facade.

“I wonder what brings Xiao Lian to see me this time? What book are you looking for?”

Shu Mo set down her ancient text and walked to Xinlian’s side, carefully observing her with curiosity in her eyes.

“You rarely come to the Scripture Pavilion normally.”

“Can’t it be that I missed Sister Shu Mo and came especially to see you?”

Xinlian deliberately put on a stern face, pretending to be annoyed.

But Shu Mo only shook her head, her eyes full of understanding:

“If you had said that a few thousand years ago, I might have believed you. But the current you is no longer that little child who would cling to me~”

She raised an eyebrow, her gaze meaningful.

“So tell me, what’s the real reason?”

“Alright, nothing escapes Sister Shu Mo.”

Xinlian sighed helplessly, dropping the playful act and speaking seriously.

“I came this time to find a dual cultivation technique…”

Before she could finish, Shu Mo’s eyes widened suddenly, her voice rising several pitches:

“What?!”

Xinlian had already anticipated her reaction and simply looked at her calmly.

Shu Mo quickly realized her reaction was somewhat improper and hastily composed herself, smiling apologetically:

“Sorry, sorry, I was just too surprised… May I ask who Xiao Lian has taken a liking to? To be willing to cultivate a dual cultivation technique for them?”

“It’s not that I’ve taken a liking to anyone, it’s just to save someone.”

Xinlian explained in a calm tone, not hiding anything.

“Oh… I see.”

Shu Mo finally understood, smiling somewhat embarrassedly.

“I thought the person I watched grow up since childhood had finally bloomed, it really startled me just now.”

“Alright, Sister Shu Mo, stop teasing me. Please help me look for a dual cultivation technique suitable for me to use.”

Xinlian’s fingertips lightly traced through the light blue hair by her ear. Though she tried to maintain a calm tone, the slightly swaying hem of her skirt still betrayed her nervousness.

Shu Mo’s fingertip condensed an ethereal brush, the tip suspended in mid-air as she asked softly:

“To find a compatible technique, I need to know about the other person first. How old are they? What cultivation realm? And what attribute spirit root?”

She knew Xinlian’s details, so she was asking about the other person.

“18 years old, Foundation Establishment stage, single Wood Spirit Root, and has a special Yin-Merging Sacred Physique… she’s a girl.”

Xinlian stated each detail deliberately, sharing all the information she knew.

She especially emphasized the last three words, fearing Shu Mo might find the wrong technique following conventional thinking.

“What?”

Shu Mo’s hand holding the brush suddenly froze.

This combination of information seemed familiar, she vaguely remembered something.

Wasn’t this Lin Muyu who had come here to select techniques a few months ago?

Wasn’t she Xiao Lian’s young disciple?

So it’s her?

Shu Mo was originally the weapon spirit of the Scripture Pavilion and didn’t have those complex human ethical concerns. She didn’t find master-disciple dual cultivation improper at all. In fact, she thought that young girl had a pure heart and was indeed a good choice.

“Is there a problem?”

Though Xinlian remained calm on the surface, her rapidly beating heart exposed her nervousness.

Shu Mo was like an elder to her, having been the master of the Scripture Pavilion even before she arrived at Qinglan Sect.

Moreover, Shu Mo managed the entire sect’s disciple records, so she couldn’t possibly not know Lin Muyu’s identity. This moment of hesitation made her somewhat…

“No problem at all.”

Shu Mo snapped back to attention, her brush tip moving again, quickly sketching the image of a technique in the air.

“I didn’t know that girl had a Yin-Merging Sacred Physique. With her cooperation, your cultivation might even recover considerably.”

She pushed the technique toward Xinlian, saying with a smile:

“This one is most suitable for two people with a large cultivation gap. It greatly benefits the one with lower cultivation, and combined with her Yin-Merging Sacred Physique, you can nourish each other during cultivation, it’s a win-win situation.”

“Thank you!”

Xinlian received the technique, and her figure transformed into a light blue stream of light, instantly disappearing from the Scripture Pavilion.

“This child, even at this age, still so swift and decisive in her actions.”

Shu Mo shook her head helplessly, dismissing the ethereal brush. Her gaze fell on the direction where Xinlian had disappeared, a trace of amusement flashing in her eyes.

……

Jade Lotus Peak, inside Lin Muyu’s small house.

Inside the room, Xinlian sat at the bedside, holding the dual cultivation technique in her hands. Her expression appeared serious, but the faint redness at the tips of her ears betrayed her inner turmoil.

“So dual cultivation techniques can circulate spiritual energy in this way… The path of cultivation truly has myriad methods.”

Xinlian sighed softly, feeling as though she had truly opened her eyes for the first time today.

She looked up at Lin Muyu lying on the bed. The young girl’s brow was tightly furrowed, her small face pale, clearly not yet recovered from the pain of the Seed of Demonic Corruption’s earlier outbreak.

Xinlian moved gently, slowly leaning down, her voice soft:

“I hope you won’t blame your Master… This is the only way to save you.”

After speaking, she paused, then looked down at the technique again, murmuring to herself:

“The book says the first step of cultivation is to remove clothing so spiritual energy can flow without obstruction, right?”

As Xinlian removed both her own and Lin Muyu’s clothing, the actual practice began.

……

The following are the technique’s key principles:

Gently plucking, slowly twisting, wiping and picking, first playing Rainbow Garments, then Six Yao.

The thick strings rumble like rushing rain, the thin strings whisper like private words.

Rumbling and whispering intermingle, large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate.

……

“Mmm…”