Chapter 82: The Illusion of the Jade Fragment

“Big Brother, I want to cultivate as well.”

“Oh?”

Li Mu held the preliminary cultivation method, the Jade Green Technique, a method for female cultivators, also following the path of harmony. Li Mu did not want to rush, nor did he wish to deviate, but he was unsure if Li Ying felt the same.

He slipped the second dark ring onto Li Ying’s finger. The multicolored stone rings—Li Mu possessed many and had prepared them intentionally, as everyone needed one.

After explaining the cultivation method to Li Ying, she nodded in understanding.

Given her knowledge, and having often overheard discussions about cultivation, she believed that as soon as she obtained a method, she could eagerly begin her practice and would succeed with ease.

For Li Ying’s first attempt at cultivation, Li Mu only reminded her, “Don’t force yourself. Take it in gently.” He worried that if Li Ying attempted cultivation for too long or became distracted, she might harm her fragile meridians.

“I know, you all have said this so many times already,” Li Ying pouted, closed her eyes, and soon entered a deep meditative state.

Li Mu smiled, set up a silencing array beside her, and placed a barrier to prevent disturbances before quietly leaving. This moment had been long awaited, and now that it was here, Li Mu was even more nervous than Li Ying herself. He wanted to stay and watch over her, yet feared his presence might distract her.

Shen Bingxue stood by the stone wall. When she saw Li Mu approaching, she said cheerfully, “Shopkeeper Li, look at this.”

In her hand, amid the vines on the wall, three bright red fruits hung from a long tendril.

“Spirit fruit! I doubt you’ve seen one before. Second-grade scarlet pomegranate; it should be of high quality. Your little sister and the others, as they’re building their spirit roots, can use it.”

Li Mu nodded and smiled lightly. “It’s an excellent item.”

Yet, he had no intention of letting his sister use such a spirit fruit for her spirit root formation—he had already prepared a moonflower in the spirit tower for that purpose.

Shen Bingxue thought he would be overjoyed, but Li Mu only smiled, which left her feeling somewhat bored. The words she had wanted to say could not continue, leaving a vague oppression in her heart that was difficult to express.

“Pharmacist Shen, have you discovered anything?” Li Mu asked, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and just raised the question.

Pharmacist Shen was somewhat annoyed, raised her chin, and lazily ignored him. Instead, she pressed several spots in the hollow ground. “Here, here, and here—these are all the spirit herbs I wanted. Be careful and don’t damage them.”

Li Mu nodded. “Once they’re mature, I’ll help you harvest and store them to avoid any accidents.”

“Hah, I doubt you’ll store them properly,” Shen Bingxue retorted, feeling cross, and turned away—not toward the entrance, but wandering aimlessly within the hollow.

Li Mu thought for a moment, then approached her. “Pharmacist Shen, you don’t cultivate? You’re just going to spend the whole day here?”

“I don’t feel like it. The spiritual energy here is about the same as elsewhere. Wandering around is more pleasant.” Shen Bingxue’s tone was still somewhat displeased, shaking her head.

Li Mu handed her a second dark ring. “If you do want to cultivate here, you must wear this.”

Shen Bingxue took the ring with a puzzled look, her eyes flickering. “What’s it for?”

It was a ring forged from multicolored stone. Several people had worked on it together, and Li Mu had long since given them out. Just now, seeing Shen Bingxue seriously introduce the spirit fruit yet not take one herself, Li Mu’s trust in her grew a little.

With some confusion, Shen Bingxue slipped the ring onto her finger and immediately sensed its effect: the spiritual energy within was incredibly pure, completely different from what she felt directly.

“A multicolored stone ring? How could such a small thing be so effective? Is it top-grade?”

She spoke without pause, her heart full of doubt.

Of course—a large, top-grade multicolored stone was needed to forge a single ring; how could its effect be lacking? But Li Mu only smiled and said no more. “It’s for your use. I hope you can refine your meridians soon, Pharmacist Shen.”

A whirlwind of emotions rose in Shen Bingxue’s heart. Top-grade multicolored stone was perhaps worth a few spirit crystals, but it was still very difficult to obtain. Such a gift was truly precious.

“You’re giving it to me? Is it yours?”

“We’re all using them,” Li Mu said, nodding toward Sun Qi nearby. “Everyone has one.”

“Oh.” Shen Bingxue didn’t ask why he had so many top-grade multicolored stones, but she suddenly felt a tinge of disappointment.

Li Mu approached the place where the monkey was confined. By now, the red in the monkey’s eyes was nearly gone, and it looked at Li Mu with a calmer demeanor.

“But its expression seems a bit odd. Almost as though it sees me as one of its own?” Li Mu observed, immediately noticing something unusual.

He had no way of knowing that the spirit beast blood he’d once ingested had come from this very monkey—indeed, the monkey king. Such coincidences are natural; only spirit beasts of the same kind who submit willingly can give their blood as an offering.

Now, the monkey sensed Li Mu’s aura as akin to its own king and thus regarded him as such.

Hearing the monkey’s whimpering, Li Mu couldn’t tell what it meant and waved his hand. “Never mind, I’ll check again when the redness in your eyes is completely gone.”

A sudden shriek echoed from the cave. Li Mu recognized his sister’s voice, his heart clenched, and he rushed inside.

Behind the barrier, Li Ying sat dumbfounded. In front of her, at some unknown moment, an old man, nearly translucent like flowing water, had appeared, sternly gazing at her.

“An apparition? Where did it come from?” Li Mu used his spiritual sense to probe. The old man was not real—just an image, with no threat to Li Ying.

Li Ying whispered, “I was just cultivating, then took out the jade slip Grandpa gave me to see what was inside, and suddenly another grandpa appeared…”

Only then did Li Mu recall—when he first met the bushy-browed old man, Li Ying had obtained a green jade slip that already recognized its master. Li Mu had tried to probe it then but was repelled by a powerful force. Now, with Li Ying having succeeded in cultivation, she retrieved it herself.

Shen Bingxue whispered, “Spirit Imprint Technique.”

Li Mu nodded.

The Spirit Imprint Technique is a method only cultivators in the Spirit Infant stage can perform: placing a trace of their soul into a jade slip or other spiritual object, for passing down messages across generations. It is most often used to transmit supreme techniques, secret arts, or the location of hidden treasures within great sects.

Ordinary jade slips can hold spiritual energy for perhaps a hundred years before it dissipates, but with the Spirit Imprint Technique, the message can last thousands of years. The apparition before them seemed to have been left by someone long since departed.

For an ordinary green jade slip to contain such a technique revealed the value and importance of the message within—it was beyond price.

An item left behind by a Spirit Infant stage cultivator could hardly be ordinary.

Li Ying shrieked again. “He’s teaching me directly!”

Li Mu and Shen Bingxue exchanged glances and shook their heads—they could hear nothing and sense no spiritual fluctuations.

“Listen carefully,” Li Mu said seriously.

Li Ying focused her mind. The apparition nodded slightly, clearly satisfied with her ability.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the apparition faded, leaving not a single trace.

With a pop, the green jade slip shattered into powder.

“Ying’er?”

Seeing his little sister in a daze, Li Mu’s heart went out to her.

Li Ying shook her head, returning to herself. “Big Brother, he imparted a cultivation method to me—an extremely profound one, and said only I could practice it. But should I learn it?”

“Did he make any other demands?” Li Mu was somewhat anxious. He had heard many stories of inheriting techniques that also brought heavy burdens, and he did not want his sister to be weighed down by such things.

“No, he only told me to practice it diligently, that it would be very useful.” Li Ying thought for a moment and nodded seriously. “I’ve read many books and can judge the quality of a method. This definitely isn’t some evil art. If he wanted me to do something wrong, I would refuse to practice it.”

Seeing the determination in his sister’s expression, Li Mu did not object.

“Then give it a try.”

Li Ying’s talent and fortune seemed to surpass his own, and he had no reason to refuse. Only, it was somewhat strange—the apparition was not the bushy-browed old man from before.