Chapter 037

Chapter 37: Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind

Wei Yun Xi sat with a book titled Landscape Veins of the Lofty Cosmos Realm in her hands. It described famous mountain ranges in the Lofty Cosmos Realm, their formation, and how their shapes influenced the flow of spiritual energy. There were also insights about geomancy, which fascinated her deeply. As she read, she quietly memorized the parts that intrigued her most.

Since reaching the fourth layer of Qi Refining, Wei Yun Xi had clearly noticed the growth of her divine sense. Now, her awareness could cover an area nearly equal to a cultivator at the early Foundation Establishment stage. This heightened sense had helped her immensely during the entrance trials, letting her avoid Wei Yun Qing’s schemes.

From her lessons at the clan school, she also learned the importance of being cautious with divine sense. While it was acceptable to survey surroundings, probing someone with higher cultivation was viewed as provocation, whereas lower-level cultivators wouldn’t notice at all.

Using her divine sense to read and memorize was far faster than ordinary studying. Thus, yesterday alone, she had finished two entire books.

Today, she remained focused on this particular volume, partly because it was genuinely interesting, but also because she recalled from the novel that Wei Yun Qing would soon stumble upon a hidden martial technique within the sect’s library. On the surface, it appeared unrelated to Wei Yun Xi, but she was certain that Wei Yun Qing had relied on her to find it. Sneaking a glance at Wei Yun Qing, who was also quietly reading, Wei Yun Xi already had an inkling of how it had happened.

[No wonder she’s insisted on tagging along with me to the library these past few days. Clearly, she’s plotting something bad, always choosing to read whatever I’ve read. It’s so obvious what she’s after.]

Still, Wei Yun Xi hadn’t yet discovered anything suspicious, so she wasn’t anxious. But willingly handing over such an opportunity? [Impossible!]

For the next five days, Wei Yun Xi routinely went to the library to read. Wei Yun Qing accompanied her patiently, but her efforts yielded nothing.

On the evening of the fifth day, just as Wei Yun Xi returned, Wei Yun Ying grabbed her hand and asked curiously, “Yun Xi, you’ve been at the library every day lately. Have you found anything interesting?”

Wei Yun Xi smiled warmly and replied, “Yes, plenty! I’ve read so many strange tales and even some popular novels. Today I read A Few Secrets Between Me and the Grand Righteous Sect’s Founder. It contained quite juicy gossip!”

Wei Yun Ying’s curiosity was instantly piqued, “Really? Then I must go take a look myself sometime, if only for relaxation.”

“Yes, please do! But it’s on the first floor, so it’s a bit messy.”

The two chatted cheerfully, neither deliberately excluding Wei Yun Qing, but Wei Yun Qing’s patience had finally run out. She couldn’t waste more time accompanying Wei Yun Xi; she needed to cultivate seriously. The matter of verifying the illusion would have to wait.

Unaware of Wei Yun Qing’s inner thoughts, Wei Yun Xi went to the library again the next day, surprised to see that Wei Yun Qing didn’t follow.

“Elder sister, aren’t you coming with me to the library today?” Wei Yun Xi asked innocently.

Wei Yun Qing hid her impatience behind a gentle smile, saying, “I’ve accompanied you long enough to confirm there’s no danger around you. Now I can finally cultivate without worry. Be careful on your own.”

“Alright, thank you, elder sister,” Wei Yun Xi replied sweetly, her eyes curved in innocent delight.

Once she arrived, Wei Yun Xi not only continued reading but also tidied up the shelves on the first floor to help other disciples find books more easily. The Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding the library was extremely pleased by this and praised her generously.

“You’re such a thoughtful little disciple. Go check under the shelf at the southwestern corner—there’s a very entertaining novel hidden there.”

“Thank you very much, senior uncle!” Wei Yun Xi saluted gratefully, then quickly went to the indicated spot. Reaching beneath the shelf, she pulled out an old leather-bound volume titled Xuan Qing’s Romantic Chronicles. The title alone suggested some risqué content.

Wei Yun Xi frowned, thinking: [Is the cultivation world so open-minded? Is this really something appropriate for a five-year-old?]

Yet curiosity won out. She opened the book and quickly realized her misunderstanding. It turned out to be the travel diary of a cultivator named Xuan Qing. Though it included romantic escapades for added appeal, the primary content was his journeys and experiences.

Wei Yun Xi understood immediately—someone had given it an eye-catching title to ensure wider readership. [It worked perfectly, didn’t it?]

She spent the entire day immersed in the diary, eventually placing it carefully back in its original hiding spot, knowing it was likely the guard cultivator’s personal treasure and unsuitable for display.

Heading to dinner, Wei Yun Xi ran into Wei Yun Ying and Wei Yun Qing, sitting apart and deliberately ignoring each other. Unconcerned, she fetched her meal and even bought an extra pack of spirit flour buns afterward.

Wei Yun Ying noticed and asked curiously, “Yun Xi, why buy so many buns?”

“For snacks,” Wei Yun Xi replied cheerfully. “I keep missing dinner because I’m engrossed in reading. If I store some buns, I won’t have to go hungry. Besides, I want to grow taller!”

“Good point,” Wei Yun Ying nodded. “Eating fasting pills all the time really kills my appetite.” She followed Wei Yun Xi’s example, buying ten spirit flour buns herself.

Wei Yun Qing, watching silently, hesitated before deciding to buy ten buns as well. She couldn’t afford unnecessary spending now.

Returning home, they found eldest sister Yun Ting already deep in cultivation, so they quietly retired to their own rooms.

Sitting cross-legged, Wei Yun Xi began to mentally organize everything she’d read that day, hoping to extract something useful. Suddenly, her eyes flew open wide in shock.

“How could this be?”

She abandoned her meditation immediately, taking paper and ink from her storage space. Swiftly, she began transcribing everything she recalled from Xuan Qing’s travel diary. Once finished, she carefully selected sentences that had seemed odd or disjointed, copying each onto another sheet.

Hours passed until moonlight spilled through her window. Wei Yun Xi connected the first character of each unusual sentence, then the second, and continued in this manner. Slowly, a hidden pattern emerged—a complete set of instructions for a movement technique named Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind. It seemed tailor-made for someone with her wind-element spiritual root.

This cultivation method was deliberately hidden within the scattered, seemingly random thoughts recorded in the diary, a secret legacy left by the author for future cultivators.

Wei Yun Xi had only discovered this because, while sorting the content mentally, she’d subconsciously grouped the strangely phrased lines. Realizing each first character formed a clear mnemonic, followed by the second characters, and so forth, she unraveled the full instructions for Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind.

Her heart leaped with excitement as she gazed at the moonlit paper, joy radiating from her eyes.