Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 164: The Mirror Lake Divine Reflection

Once the constables had removed the body and left the courtyard, Liang Qian instinctively looked over at the graceful Zheng Zhuxi, and felt a wave of relief.

A great reputation is never undeserved!

Fu Yangquan had clearly been at least third-rank Form Transfigured, yet Heroine Zheng had gravely wounded him in fewer than twenty exchanges!

No wonder she had been able to fight to the death against the fourth-rank Mortal Surpassed Xie Zi’an when she was still in the early stage of the Great Proliferation Realm.

It’s a good thing I read the situation fast and backed down immediately when they first visited, otherwise the weeds over my grave would be considerably tall by now...

This is what a true prodigy looks like!

Liang Qian drew his gaze away and put on a smile.

”Young Hero Ding, what would you like as compensation?”

Ding Songyan glanced around and whispered with a smile, ”Elder Liang, I’d like to look through the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection once. I don’t need the aperture forging or viscera installation sections.”

”That...” Liang Qian was completely baffled.

You can’t cultivate it, and you’re not a disciple of the Yin-Yang Order. What good would reading the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection do you?

Zheng Zhuxi looked toward her junior brother with an amused expression, curious to see what kind of excuse he would come up with this time.

”I came across a secret art, but I’ve had great difficulty cultivating it and have made no progress. It shares a few points in common with the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection, so I’d like to use it as a reference.” Ding Songyan had prepared this explanation months ago.

Secret arts were arts that required neither the Human Realm, Great Proliferation Realm, nor Dharma Realm as a prerequisite, and needed no aperture forging or viscera installation. They dealt only with the specific application of the soul, apertures, and true qi, and each one typically produced only a single effect.

That said, not just anyone could cultivate a secret art. Most were rooted in a cultivator’s primary art. Take the Brightnight Sect’s Northern Dipper Wayfinding, for instance. Without cultivating the Celestial Stars Scripture or the Candlelit Nocturne Sutra, and without the Four Symbols viscera installed, it simply could not be used.

A smaller number of secret arts involved only common, basic apertures with no particular requirements on true qi, and could be cultivated by many martial practitioners.

Liang Qian looked at Ding Songyan, then at Zheng Zhuxi, and reminded himself that neither of them had asked for the aperture forging or viscera installation sections. He steeled himself.

”Very well.

”I’ll go home and fetch it. Please wait here for a moment.”

Before leaving, Liang Qian called the maidservant over and instructed her not to breathe a word about Fu Yangquan, and to bring tea for Heroine Zheng and Young Hero Ding.

He relayed Marshal Yi’s instructions to the mute servant as well, in a stern tone.

Walking back to the main room side by side, Ding Songyan smiled at Zheng Zhuxi.

”Senior Sister, we were perfectly in sync just now. The moment I brought up He Luo, you guessed that Fu Yangquan might be Two-Faced and prepared yourself accordingly.”

”It’s not like I’m a fool,” Zheng Zhuxi replied, a hint of her dimples showing.

Then she saw Ding Songyan extend his right palm.

”What’s that for?” the young woman asked, puzzled.

Ding Songyan said with a smile, ”In my past-life wisdom there’s a celebratory gesture that involves slapping palms together. It’s something only two people who are quite close can do.”

Zheng Zhuxi didn’t quite understand, but extended her right palm all the same.

Junior Brother and I are on such good terms, that should count as close, shouldn’t it? And since he’s the one suggesting it, it seems he thinks the same...

Having taken the xun grass pill, the young woman’s palms were white with a rosy flush, the calluses from years of martial practice seemingly gone.

Ding Songyan smiled and pressed his right palm against his senior sister’s.

A crisp clap rang out.

”So it’s like that...” Zheng Zhuxi watched with curiosity in her eyes. ”It doesn’t seem particularly special. Why does it have to be two people who are quite close?”

”I don’t quite know either,” Ding Songyan said with a smile. ”Let’s just call it a little secret between the two of us.”

He turned to praising his senior sister’s performance in the fight just now, sparing no words of admiration, then fell into discussing the specific details with her. Zheng Zhuxi already had insights and lessons of her own to share, and her mood was excellent. The two of them talked with great enthusiasm, eventually drifting outward into a discussion of variations on certain sword techniques.

Only when Liang Qian returned did the two of them suddenly realize.

Nearly three quarters of an hour had slipped by...

”We are a branch of the Houshan School. The Mirror Lake Divine Reflection only goes up to the Great Proliferation volume. One must first sense the void qi before seeking out the main branch to receive the remaining arts. Sadly, no one from my grandmaster’s generation down to mine has ever managed it.” Liang Qian handed a rather worn, deep-blue-covered volume to Ding Songyan, who had risen to receive it.

”Which province and prefecture is the Houshan School in?” Ding Songyan took the manual and asked casually.

”The Houshan School is entirely a secret transmission, with no public mountain gate. There is only one liaison each in Flame Capital, Heavenly Capital, Yu Capital, and Central Capital.” Liang Qian gave a brief explanation without revealing who the liaisons were.

Yu Capital was the capital of New Yu, and Central Capital was the capital of the Feng Kingdom.

The Houshan School hides in plain sight... Ding Songyan pointed toward the westwing.

”Elder Liang, may I borrow your space for a while? I’ll return the manual as soon as I’m done.”

Seeing that Young Hero Ding did not intend to take the manual away and hadn’t asked for paper or brush, Liang Qian was pleasantly surprised and had no reason to refuse.

Once her junior brother had entered the westwing, Zheng Zhuxi estimated the distance, pushed the wooden door shut for him, took a stool, and sat about 60 cm from the entrance, taking up a guarding posture with her sword held across her arms.

Liang Qian didn’t dare interrupt, and retreated to the eastwing to have the pretty maidservant massage his back.

Inside the westwing, Ding Songyan, who had not used the Celestial Heart imprint for the past two months, set about cultivating the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection with practiced ease.

Within a little more than an hour, all the apertures throughout his body had completed their transformation, and the Mirror Lake True Qi that resembled a mirror or ice circulated without ceasing.

Ding Songyan’s sea of consciousness had also changed. Part of it had condensed into a still, icy lake, the frozen surface like a mirror that clearly reflected the thoughts of those nearby.

Having no time to test the effects just yet, Ding Songyan already had white markings appearing on his cheeks and cheekbones. He carefully observed and felt the state of his apertures and viscera, conducting a thorough examination to confirm the art held no hidden dangers.

Only after that did he use the Celestial Heart Art to let his body commit the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection to memory.

This time, it cost a full five years of his lifespan.

When Ding Songyan opened his eyes again, his complexion had gone considerably pale.

The ice lake in his sea of consciousness remained, and his senior sister’s voice echoed in his mind.

I wonder how much longer Junior Brother will take...

This will cost him another five or six years of his lifespan, won’t it? I should look for more lifespan-extending items in the future...

I need to stay about 3.85 meters away from him. I am generally open and upright, speaking my mind plainly, but every now and then I do say unkind things about him in my head. I can’t let him overhear that...

Hmm, is Senior Sister not keeping the 3.85 meters distance? Wait, she is—it’s that my Mirror Lake Divine Reflection has about an additional 12 cm more coverage than Liang Qian’s or Fu Yangquan’s, and Senior Sister is right on the edge... Could this be because of the progress I’ve made lately in the early sections of the Mystical Pass True-Nature Preservation Art, which has strengthened the soul somewhat? Hard to say. I’ll see how things develop as the Mystical Pass True-Nature Preservation Art advances further... Ding Songyan was pleasantly surprised.

He had not used the Celestial Heart imprint or the Celestial Heart Art in cultivating the Mystical Pass True-Nature Preservation Art, instead progressing step by step so he could feel everything carefully through Manifesting the Way and its Virtue, catching and correcting problems as they arose. Still, there was genuine reason to treat it as a secondary cultivation. It was relatively straightforward and involved few apertures. Ding Songyan reckoned he should be able to complete the Great Proliferation Chapter by August or September.

The Dharma Realm section that came after was closely tied to arts like empowerment, soul seizure, and reincarnation, making it difficult to separate. For now, Ding Songyan had no intention of touching it.

Setting aside his surprise, Ding Songyan dispersed the Mirror Lake True Qi, returned to his normal appearance, and did not linger over Zheng Zhuxi’s inner voice.

Concealing his physical anomalies, he opened the westwing door and stepped out.

It was already late at night.

”Here’s me passing it back to its rightful owner.” Ding Songyan returned the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection with both hands.

Liang Qian gave it a brief inspection, set his mind at ease, and respectfully saw Heroine Zheng and Young Hero Ding on their way.

Walking along the still-lively streets hung with colored lanterns, Ding Songyan spoke up.

”Roughly five years of lifespan lost.”

”I was just about to ask.” Zheng Zhuxi felt a flash of pleasure at their shared understanding, then her expression shifted slightly. ”Junior Brother, you’re not using the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection right now, are you?”

”No.” Ding Songyan laughed softly. ”Senior Sister, it may be because I’ve been studying the Mystical Pass True-Nature Preservation Art alongside it, but my Mirror Lake Divine Reflection can currently hear thoughts with an additional 12 cm range.”

Zheng Zhuxi paused and thought back to their earlier proximity.

”Then just now, I was...”

”I didn’t want to hear either,” Ding Songyan teased her. ”But I am rather curious: what sort of unkind things do you occasionally say about me in your head?”

Her mind seemed to explode, and she felt wave after wave of heat rise to her cheeks.

She was a little flustered and annoyed, but she also knew her junior brother hadn’t done it on purpose. It was purely accidental, and he had honestly told her the current range of the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection.

But pretending nothing had happened was beyond her.

Feeling a little aggrieved, she couldn’t help quickening her pace, trying to leave her junior brother behind.

Looking at his senior sister’s face, red as the evening glow, Ding Songyan couldn’t help thinking in admiration.

A young woman’s blush really is dazzling...

Never mind why she’s blushing for now.

He quickened his pace and caught up.

After teasing someone, you naturally had to smooth things over.

At the same time, he had to tell his senior sister that many of the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection’s apertures fell outside the Celestial Stars Chart’s framework, meaning she would not be able to add it as a secondary cultivation once she had mastered the Lesser Limitless Art.

Over the following days, the two practiced martial arts, and also visited the entertainment halls to watch plays and listen to storytellers, guided Xu Chang’an and Yang Shiduo in their training, and strolled through the market outside Dangkang Temple to buy small trinkets.

It was only after Tao Wenshu sent word of approval and Xing Chang formally submitted the memorial to advance the joint effort to improve military techniques and battle formation coordination that the two wrapped up their trip, set out early one morning, and arrived at the sect gate by noon.

Zheng Zhuxi took one look and found several disciples crouching at the boundary markers watching ants, a number of sect members sitting, standing, or gazing into the distance along the shore of Alpine Lake, and more figures scattered through the mountain forest...

The girl’s lips moved silently for a moment before she burst into quiet laughter.

”Senior Sister, I’m not using the Mirror Lake Divine Reflection, but I know what you want to say,” Ding Songyan said with a quiet laugh.

Zheng Zhuxi turned her head to look at him, eyes bright, making no effort to hide her curiosity.

Ding Songyan cleared his throat.

”When did the Brightnight Sect end up like this?”

......

Five Mounds Mountain. Yuhua Peak.

Su Qingli, dressed in plain white, finished reading the letter in her hand and began toying with the small bundle of bright yellow wintersweet blossoms.

She grumbled to her maidservant Yuyao, ”That Ding Songyan waited several whole months to write back to me! If he’d said he was waiting for spring to arrive so the gesture would match the poem ’The south has nothing to offer; aside from a brief gift of spring’s sprig,’ I wouldn’t say a word. But he didn’t mention it at all, and he didn’t explain why he was months late. I’m going to wait several months before writing back to him!”

Before Yuyao could respond, Su Qingli was already talking to herself.

”Oh well, I’m not that petty. Given how vivid and exciting his account of the Yuejiang Prefecture trip was, I’ll write back in the coming days after all.

”I’ve already thought of which poem to use.”

The maidservant Yuyao looked at her mistress and said hesitantly, ”But didn’t you just say you wanted to ask around about Imperial Daughter Sect matters for Ding Songyan? With that sort of delay, it could easily be two or three more months.”

”Oh, right.” Su Qingli blinked.