Chapter 048: Words Appear in the Celestial Tome

At this moment, Lingyu was utterly exhausted. Yet she had sustained almost no injuries; it was only that her true energy was nearly depleted, leaving her barely able to continue. Fortunately, the wolf pack was spent as well—most were wounded, some had broken legs, and as they pursued her, the distance between them grew ever greater, until they lagged far behind.

By mid-morning, the howls of wolves faded from her ears, and the foul, bloody stench in the air dissipated. Lingyu dared not stop recklessly, but pressed onward until a low peak appeared before her. This little mountain rose only a few dozen yards, with a small cave about ten yards above the ground. The cave entrance was flanked by two large stones, forming a natural barrier.

What a perfect place! Lingyu’s eyes shone. Ten yards was not very high, but enough to deter most wild beasts from climbing. With the rocks blocking the entrance, even if enemies attacked, she could defend from within.

She wasted no time, summoned the last vestiges of her true energy, and performed a lightness technique to slowly scale the slope. Cautiously squeezing into the cave, she surveyed her surroundings. The cave was a few yards wide, elongated in shape. At the far end, a fissure ran across the ceiling about the length of a person, letting daylight spill in. Thin rivulets of water trickled down the stone walls.

After her inspection, Lingyu was delighted. Water, a door, and light—this was truly a perfect hiding place! Before rejoining the others, she could safely shelter here from the wolves.

With that thought, she immediately set up her treasured formation at the entrance, placing her remaining spirit talismans atop it. Once she confirmed the array could be activated at any moment and there were no threats nearby, Lingyu collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

After running all night, she had not only exhausted her true energy, but her physical strength was also at its limit.

She sat motionless for nearly half an hour, gradually regaining her breath. Then she took out a vial, poured out a Vitality Pill, swallowed it, and sat cross-legged to restore her true energy.

This meditation lasted most of the day. When she awoke, fully replenished, dusk had already arrived.

“At last, the danger has passed.” Lingyu murmured to herself. With her current energy and a secure place to stay, even if the wolves returned, she would have the strength to fight back.

She exhaled deeply, stood, and stretched her limbs.

Very well—only a few minor injuries, nothing serious.

Peering out of the cave, she looked around. It was quiet; only a few wild rabbits and squirrels darted by. Apparently, this was not the territory of any demon beasts and should be quite safe.

Lingyu relaxed, fetched some water from the stone wall, and carefully cleansed herself. With the addition of a Purification Spell, she soon tidied herself completely. Her current clothes were soaked in wolf blood and torn from branches during her flight; they were beyond repair. She tossed them aside and took a fresh set from her storage pouch.

After tidying up, she once again presented the image of a handsome youth.

What should she do next? Wait here for the others to find her, or go back to search for them?

Lingyu hesitated, glanced at the sky, and decided to wait. Night was approaching; being alone in the forest was especially perilous. Yet, why hadn’t the others arrived? She’d rested here most of the day—however slow they might be, they should have found her by now. Could something have happened? It was unlikely the wolves had attacked them; after she slew the lead wolf with a single strike, the pack chased her half the night, making it improbable they returned to harass the others. It seemed something else had hindered them.

She considered for a moment, took out a signal talisman, intending to contact them. Yet, to her surprise, the talisman failed to activate.

Lingyu’s expression grew serious. This meant the distance was too great; the signal talisman could not sense their presence. Where could they possibly be?

Soon, the golden crow set in the west and the jade hare rose in the east—night fell once more, and Zhang Qingshu and the others were still nowhere to be seen.

Worry was useless; Lingyu simply sat to cultivate. During her practice, she again entered that mysterious state—surrounded by roaming blue specks, with many more streaming from the dense forest, rushing into her and merging with her meridians.

With every breath, the blue points surged toward her. At first, they were mere specks, then clusters of blue light, until finally a blue mist enveloped her.

Lingyu greedily inhaled, striving to absorb every blue speck into her body.

Of course, this was impossible—her capacity at the Qi Refining stage was limited, and once she reached a certain threshold, she could not quicken the pace.

Yet, she could distinctly feel her internal spiritual energy swelling rapidly. Only by exerting her utmost to circulate true energy could she assimilate the influx, merging it with her own essence.

Time flew by in cultivation. When she opened her eyes, it was the hour of the Tiger; dawn was near.

Lingyu rose and stretched, feeling wonderfully refreshed. She hadn’t expected the forest’s spiritual energy to be so dense—a single night’s cultivation here surpassed several days elsewhere, even more effective than taking pills. No wonder the wolf pack had turned into demon beasts—

At this thought, Lingyu paused. Something was wrong. Aside from the lead wolf, the others’ strength was ordinary. With such rich spiritual energy, even reaching the eighth or ninth stage of Qi Refining would be easy. Moreover, she had observed yesterday that there were no demon beasts nearby, only common animals.

Why, then, was the spiritual energy here so concentrated? The Ruanyuan Mountains were considered a top spiritual land, yet their energy was much thinner by comparison…

Lingyu tapped her head, feeling as though her mind was muddled. Something was odd—by logic, the Xiluo Forest shouldn’t have such powerful spiritual energy. Otherwise, the three major Daoist temples would have relocated here long ago, rather than let wild beasts rule the land.

“I can’t figure it out…” she muttered, opened her storage pouch, took out a luminous pearl for light, then ate some dry rations. She rummaged through another pouch and drew out the immortal book.

“Huh! What’s happened?!” Lingyu was stunned by the book’s appearance.

The immortal book now bore no trace of age. Its cover was pale gold, with subtle cloud patterns shifting beneath the surface. The pages, tinged with brown, were thick and weighty—clearly no ordinary item. Most strikingly, five characters appeared on the cover: The Cloud Canon of Profound Truth. These words were inscribed in runic script, bold and steady as a mountain.

“So this book is called The Cloud Canon of Profound Truth.” Cloud Canon, in the Daoist tradition, refers to a chest of scriptures. Profound Truth—Dao can penetrate the mysteries, and its meaning seeks truth itself. Lingyu mused, stroking her chin. Such grand ambition, naming it directly after the Dao—why not call it The Daoist Treasury?

Despite these thoughts, her curiosity was piqued as she eagerly opened the inner pages.

“There are words!” Lingyu cheered. Turning further, her excitement faded, “Only one page…” She tilted her head in thought. “Maybe I haven’t fed it enough?” Perhaps the book required spiritual essence to reveal its contents, and the amount determined how much it showed.

This was her speculation, and it would take evidence to confirm. Lingyu set the idea aside for now and began to read the immortal book in earnest.

Unexpectedly, the first page contained the Purple Cloud Heart Sutra of the Primordial Essence.

Lingyu was perplexed. The Purple Cloud Heart Sutra of the Primordial Essence was merely a mid-tier technique; at Xuanyuan Temple, it was the standard method taught to new female disciples. Upon reaching the fifth level of Qi Refining and becoming an elite disciple, one could choose another technique. Upon becoming an elite or advancing to the Three Halls as a master, advanced techniques became available. Lingyu, focused on sword cultivation, practiced the Heart Sutra only as a supplement and had never exchanged it for another.

Such a mysterious immortal book, and its contents turned out to be the Purple Cloud Heart Sutra? Lingyu felt it was absurd—as if a precious tome from the highest library turned out to be nothing more than a primer.

She shook her head and read on, but the more she saw, the more serious her expression became.

This was not the Purple Cloud Heart Sutra at all. Though the names matched, the contents were worlds apart!

Lingyu took out the Heart Sutra from another pouch and compared them closely. After a long while, she fell silent.

The two Heart Sutras shared much of the phrasing, but their substance differed greatly. The version issued by Xuanyuan Temple used abstruse language, shrouded in clouds and mist, requiring deep study to grasp its meaning. The immortal book’s version, however, was straightforward and easy to follow. Yet for depth and brilliance, the immortal book’s was far superior, its realm vastly higher. The temple’s version, aside from cultivation methods, was filled with lengthy treatises on the Dao’s meaning, its existence and manifestations, yet left the reader confused. The immortal book, by contrast, scarcely mentioned the Dao, but was simple, practical, and thought-provoking. The difference in quality was clear at a glance.

Lingyu had never seen an advanced technique, but she had read many Daoist classics; it was obvious that the immortal book’s Heart Sutra adhered more closely to the true principle of the Dao. The Dao is formless and nameless, and each person’s understanding differs—language cannot capture it. Attempting to summarize the Dao in lengthy discourse is futile; no matter how much is written, it can only express part of one’s own insight.

“An immortal book is truly an immortal book.” This Heart Sutra convinced Lingyu that the Cloud Canon of Profound Truth was indeed such a tome. “Hmm… It seems I need to collect more spiritual essence to see what else it contains.”

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