135. A Year Like a Century

Lingyu stumbled out of the Mirror of Three Lives, dizzy and so exhausted that she couldn't summon the strength to move a single finger. Although the time spent in the third life had been short, it had been a constant struggle; the sheer fatigue was incomparable to the waiting she had endured in the second life.

"Not bad. You’ve grasped the Sword Intent. The time in the Mirror of Three Lives wasn't wasted," Wei Wu-yang’s voice sounded, carrying a faint smile and a weariness that matched her own.

Lingyu looked up, stunned. "Master, why are you..."

Before her, Wei Wu-yang looked spiritless, a far cry from the vibrant, energetic man he had been just days ago.

"Did you think this task was easy?" Wei Wu-yang snorted, flicking a finger to retract the dull, lusterless mirror into its jade bottle.

How much spiritual energy did it take to create a realistic world within a magical treasure? Lingyu didn't know. In fact, by the second life, the mirror’s own spiritual energy had already been exhausted. Even with the constant replenishment from the spirit-gathering array, it couldn't keep up. By the third life, Wei Wu-yang had been sustaining it entirely with his own true essence.

"Go and rest. We’ll talk about everything else tomorrow." Too drained to lecture her further, Wei Wu-yang waved a hand and closed his eyes to meditate and recover.

Lingyu forced herself to stand and bowed. "This disciple takes her leave."

Back in her room, Lingyu collapsed onto her bed. She was exhausted, yet profoundly excited. The Sword Intent—she had finally grasped it! Having cleared this hurdle, she was now a true Foundation Establishment sword cultivator.

Lingyu reveled in her success for a long time, but eventually, her weariness won out. She didn't even bother to meditate; she simply buried her face in her pillow and drifted off to sleep. While cultivators could technically forgo sleep once they reached a certain level of cultivation, it remained the most instinctive way to recover.

She slept until broad daylight. After freshening up, she went to see Wei Wu-yang.

His energy had returned. Seeing her enter, he gestured toward the tea stove without saying a word. Lingyu, acting with practiced familiarity, brewed the tea and served it. "Master, please have some tea."

Wei Wu-yang seemed pleased by her initiative. After taking a sip, he asked, "How do you feel?"

Lingyu asked with a mischievous grin, "Are you asking about the feeling of passing the trial of the Mirror of Three Lives, or the feeling of grasping the Sword Intent?"

"Look at how smug you are." Wei Wu-yang glanced at her and set down his cup. "It is perfectly normal for a Foundation Establishment sword cultivator to grasp Sword Intent. If you hadn't, I would have had to reconsider whether I made the right choice in taking you as my disciple!"

Lingyu remained solemn. "Master, a little encouragement goes a long way in building confidence."

"..." Wei Wu-yang snorted. "Thick-skinned."

Lingyu didn't mind. She had begun to understand her master’s character; in front of him, she could afford to be bold. Being timid would only annoy him.

After some idle chatter, Wei Wu-yang spoke again. "If you have questions, ask them quickly. I don't have much time."

Lingyu straightened her expression. "Master, if I hadn't passed the third life, would you really have watched me die in there?"

"Life and death happen in an instant. You either break through or your potential is ignited. Though you aren't from a grand family, your journey has been too smooth; this is exactly the experience you lacked." Wei Wu-yang’s tone was indifferent. "If you had been broken, it would only have proven that my judgment was flawed."

"..." A cold answer indeed. Lingyu believed that if she hadn't grasped the Sword Intent, he truly would have watched her die.

She didn't feel disappointed, though. A master-disciple relationship was not like that of a father and child; affection required cultivation. It hadn't been long since she became his apprentice, so there was no reason to expect him to be overly doting. Likewise, she felt the same toward him; only as their bond deepened would she feel genuine, heartfelt respect.

"Then, were the people I met in the mirror real?"

Wei Wu-yang answered with little interest. "Real, yet also false. They were conjured by the mirror, but they possessed real joys, angers, sorrows, and delights."

"Is this the power of a high-grade magical treasure? How miraculous!" Lingyu’s face was filled with envy.

Wei Wu-yang, however, showed no pleasure. "The mirror is still immature; it can only deceive someone like you. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless one day, it develops an artifact spirit." Wei Wu-yang couldn't be bothered to explain further. He glared at her. "Are you finished? You only focus on the trivial details! I asked for your own insights, and here you are, doing the opposite!"

Lingyu rubbed her nose but couldn't help asking, "Master, were the people in the third life the same as those in reality?"

A vein pulsed on Wei Wu-yang’s forehead. Finally losing his patience, he snapped, "Since you have nothing better to ask, then we shall continue!"

"Master..." Before Lingyu could finish, Wei Wu-yang had already summoned the Mirror of Three Lives and, with a flick of his finger, tossed her back in!

...

The consequences of offending one's master were severe, and the consequences of offending a petty-minded master were even worse.

Because she had asked one too many questions, Lingyu was put through the wringer. Wei Wu-yang threw her into the mirror, and as soon as she struggled out, he would wait no more than two days before throwing her back in. This cycle repeated again and again.

A year passed in this endless cycle of entering and exiting the mirror.

Lingyu felt as though that year had lasted a century. The Mirror of Three Lives distorted the senses; even if only a few days passed in reality, it could make one feel as though decades had gone by.

The first time, she hadn't spent long in the mirror—barely a month. The second time was agonizing; the mirror wiped her memories, making her believe she was a person of that world. She lived through a lifetime of sorrow and joy, and only upon the moment of her death did she emerge and regain her memories.

Throughout that year, she entered and exited the mirror a dozen times, playing all sorts of roles and living entirely different lives, whether as a cultivator or a commoner.

She had been a sheltered daughter of a wealthy family, an impoverished peasant girl, a wandering swordswoman of the martial arts world, and a female general on the battlefield. Some lives were entangled in grudges, some were filled with bullying, some weathered the storms of fate, and others were torn between loyalty and righteousness.

The life of a mortal might be brief, but its entanglements of resentment, friendship, and conflicting interests were far richer than those of a cultivator.

As for the lives of cultivators, she had experienced even more. She had been an obscure rogue cultivator, an ordinary sect disciple, a bullied member of a noble house, a seeker of immortality whose talent held her back, a genius whose talent shocked the world, a patient ascetic who rose to prominence after years of silence, and a demonic cultivator trapped within a dark sect.

Such experiences were heavy. After two or three times, Lingyu grew fearful and reluctant to enter again. However, Wei Wu-yang had found her weakness. He would toss out a pile of precious ores and tell her that these were materials to refine and upgrade her Kanli Sword. Every time she went in, she would earn one.

Qian Jiale had already taught her about the upgrading of spirit swords. A sword cultivator spent their entire life searching for materials to push their life-bound blade to its ultimate power.

The ores Wei Wu-yang offered were all treasures, each worth no less than a thousand spirit stones. In the end, Lingyu couldn't resist the temptation and agreed, filled with both grief and indignation.

A year later, Lingyu finally collected all the ores and swore she would never enter the Mirror of Three Lives again, even if it killed her.

Wei Wu-yang had had his fun, too. He was exhausted; since the mirror lacked sufficient spiritual energy, he had been using his own true essence to sustain it. He didn't insist further and finally let her go.

"Master, I feel like I've become very, very old. What should I do?" The day after she emerged from the mirror, Lingyu ran to see Wei Wu-yang, looking half-dead.

Wei Wu-yang remained calm. "What do you mean 'old'? I have lived for three hundred years and I don't feel old."

"Have you ever entered the Mirror of Three Lives?" Lingyu asked.

Wei Wu-yang’s hand paused as he held his teacup. He coughed and didn't answer. After a moment, he said, "Enough. You are simply unable to distinguish between reality and illusion for the time being. Don't hide away; go out and walk around more."

"Go out? Do you mean leaving the sect?"

"In your current state? You want to leave the sect?" Wei Wu-yang’s sidelong glance was full of disdain. "At least upgrade your sword to mid-grade first!"

Lingyu had developed a thick skin after being constantly belittled by him and felt no sting. "Oh, you mean go out of the cave dwelling and refine the sword first?"

Wei Wu-yang considered this. "Refining your sword is one thing, but you must not neglect other matters. Through the trials of the mirror, your Dao Heart is now solid, but after Foundation Establishment, you should have spent time stabilizing your realm, which you haven't done. Furthermore, your Qi Refining cultivation techniques are no longer suitable for you. Take my token and go to the Hall of Myriad Laws to choose a new one. After that, walk around the sect and make connections with your fellow disciples. This will help pull you back into reality and broaden your horizons."

Lingyu counted on her fingers—four tasks in total. "Yes, Master."

Wei Wu-yang tossed her the token. "Once you've chosen your technique, bring it back for me to see, and then I will go into seclusion."

"Master, you're going into seclusion? What will I do?" Lingyu was alarmed.

"Can you not cultivate without me?" Wei Wu-yang gave her that look of disdain again. "A master is not someone you rely on..."

"...but someone I serve!" Lingyu finished the sentence for him, earning a glare that was half-scolding, half-amused.

After leaving Wei Wu-yang’s cultivation chamber, Lingyu went straight to the Hall of Myriad Laws. Because she carried Wei Wu-yang’s token, the deacon of the hall immediately reported her arrival to Elder Fang Ruwei of the Hall of Wonderful Laws.

"Junior Sister Cheng, please follow me." Lingyu didn't have to wait long before a deacon was dispatched to escort her.

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Lingyu replied, cupping her hands in a salute.

The structure of the Hall of Myriad Laws was unlike any other hall. The one next to the Palace of Seeking the Dao, which housed techniques for ordinary Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples, was merely a branch office for the convenience of low-level disciples. The truly supreme techniques were stored elsewhere—within the mountain body beneath the main peak, the Taiyi Hall. Directly above it was the hub of the sect’s protective formation, making it the most heavily guarded place in the entire Taibai Sect.

Theoretically, there was one place even more secure: the sect treasury, which was controlled directly by the Sect Leader and known only to Nascent Soul cultivators.

Led by the deacon, Lingyu entered through a hidden passage and turned into a narrow corridor. At the end lay the domain of Elder Fang Ruwei.

The duties of the Elder of Wonderful Laws were distinct from other elders. While the Elder of Affairs managed business and the Elder of Herbs managed the gardens, the Elder of Wonderful Laws was a guardian. The vast collection of ancient texts was the foundation of the great sect and could not be compromised; it required someone to guard it permanently.

For this reason, the Elder of Wonderful Laws possessed the highest cultivation among all the elders. While others were at the early or mid-stages of Golden Core, she was at the peak of the Golden Core realm.

"Uncle-Master Fang, I have brought Junior Sister Cheng," the deacon announced, cutting off Lingyu’s thoughts.

A gentle, low, and elegant voice came from within. "Let her enter."