23: Yunni Peak Fang Lingyao

Lin Feng looked up, the fawning and panic on his face instantly receding. His gaze fixed intently on the spiritual light that had not yet completely dissipated from the woman's fingertips:

“Senior Sister, please forgive me. This Disciple did not intend to offend.

This Disciple was Cultivating the Silk Winding Hand here just now, but I could not grasp the method. The spiritual threads I condensed were scattered and weak, difficult to maintain.

It was only after my mind was exhausted that I lost control and fell into the water.

Just now, seeing Senior Sister make a move, your spiritual power was condensed like silk, precisely controlled, and operated as you wished, far from the empty description in the Jade Slip.

This Disciple dares to implore Senior Sister, for the sake of our shared discipleship, to give this Disciple some guidance.

This Disciple is willing to accept any punishment, only asking that Senior Sister can resolve my confusion.”

The woman's attention was indeed diverted by his words.

The anger in her eyes receded slightly: “Silk Winding Hand? You, an Outer Sect Disciple who just advanced, actually chose to Cultivate this method? Do you know that this method is easy to learn but difficult to master, and it most tests Divine Sense micro-control and patience?”

“This Disciple knows its difficulty,” Lin Feng saw her attitude soften, his heart settled slightly, and he immediately struck while the iron was hot,

“Precisely because it is difficult, this Disciple has practiced day and night, yet I am always stuck at the entry barrier. The threads are easy to scatter, and I cannot control them precisely.

Just now, seeing Senior Sister handle it with such ease, I realized my gap is as vast as heaven and earth.”

The woman looked at his sincere eyes, then glanced at the crooked spiritual thread marks on the shore, confirming that he had indeed put in hard work here.

Although her nature was cold, she was quite focused on the path of Cultivation. Seeing someone, especially an Outer Sect Disciple, choose and diligently study an obscure technique like the Silk Winding Hand, she felt a rare sense of camaraderie and a hint of a desire to offer guidance.

The frost on her face eased slightly, her tone still flat: “Seeing that you truly put in effort, I will tell you. Watch carefully.”

She slightly raised her slender finger, and a faint blue spiritual thread, as thin as a wisp of smoke, silently extended from her fingertip, dancing in the air, stable without the slightest tremor.

“The Silk Winding Hand is not a technique of brute force restraint; its core lies in winding and sensing.

Spiritual power needs to be extremely restrained, yet Divine Sense must be extremely outward, perceiving all subtle changes in the surroundings like a spiderweb, only then can it adapt to the situation and be all-pervasive.”

As she spoke, the spiritual thread at her fingertip demonstrated, sometimes taut as a needle, sometimes winding into a ring, changing as she willed.

Lin Feng held his breath and focused, his eyes fixed on the spiritual thread, and the heaven-stealing vine in his Sea of Consciousness trembled slightly.

“You try it. Don't seek to imitate the form, first feel that continuous, dense intention,” the woman said indifferently.

Lin Feng obeyed, calming his mind. He no longer tried to forcefully condense thick spiritual threads, instead slowly spreading out his Divine Sense.

The next moment, several pale white spiritual threads, thinner than before but exceptionally stable, extended from his fingertips. Although far less agile than the woman's, they no longer dispersed.

Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the woman's eyes.

‘This child... actually possesses such Comprehension Ability? I only demonstrated once and pointed out the key, yet he was able to immediately grasp the essential points and condense such stable spiritual threads? This is definitely beyond what an ordinary Outer Sect Disciple can achieve.’

She suppressed the surprise in her heart, her tone unchanged: “Hmm, the direction is correct. But spreading out Divine Sense is not passive perception; it requires active weaving, like an extension of your arm. Watch again.”

The spiritual thread at her fingertip changed again. This time, instead of dancing, it suddenly split into more than a dozen finer threads, like a miniature net, precisely sweeping over several fallen leaves of different shapes on the shore, gently rolling them up. The force of each thread was just right, not damaging the leaves in the slightest.

This extremely subtle control had already surpassed the basic scope of the Silk Winding Hand, imbued with her personal deep understanding.

Lin Feng's eyes shone brightly, and he tried again.

Although he was far from being able to split them into more than a dozen threads, those few spiritual threads, under his control, clumsily but determinedly tried to entwine and lightly touch a small blade of grass on the shore, once, twice... Although he repeatedly failed, each attempt was more methodical than the last, and his progress was visible to the naked eye.

The woman watched silently, the surprise in her heart having already transformed into a hint of appreciation and curiosity.

‘Such Comprehension Ability and learning speed... would make him an outstanding talent even among Inner Sect Disciples. To be buried in the Outer Sect? When did such a person appear in the Outer Sect?’

She had originally only offered casual guidance, but now she genuinely felt a desire to nurture talent.

Seeing Lin Feng frown after another failure, she couldn't help but speak again: “Don't just use your hands; you must use your heart, use your spirit.”

She then gave a few more pointers on deeper applications.

Lin Feng listened, completely engrossed. When he tried again, the spiritual threads indeed became a bit more agile.

A moment later, Lin Feng recovered from his immersed state and sincerely bowed again: “Many thanks for Senior Sister's meticulous guidance. I still do not know Senior Sister's esteemed name. If there is an Opportunity in the future, this Disciple will surely repay you.”

The woman looked at him, her eyes completely different now. After a slight pause, she said: “My name is Fang Lingyao, an Inner Sect Disciple of Yunni Peak.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister Fang.”

“Your Comprehension Ability is indeed good.” Her tone had softened considerably. “That's enough, let's stop here for today. If you encounter any further difficulties in Cultivation... you may come to Yunni Peak to find me, but do not be so rash again.”

“This Disciple will remember!” Lin Feng's heart stirred.

He then tried to inquire about the Shadow Evasion Technique, but Fang Lingyao said she had not delved into it and warned him not to be overly ambitious.

After speaking, she said no more, her figure flickered, and she vanished into the depths of the mountain forest.

Lin Feng stood in the pool, gazing in the direction she disappeared, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, the distant Fang Lingyao, as she lightly glided through the forest, couldn't help but have Lin Feng's image flash through her mind again.

‘Lin Feng... I've remembered you.’ She smiled softly, then sped away.

Silence returned to the side of the pool, with only the roar of the waterfall remaining.

Lin Feng knew that Talismans were life-saving Sharp Weapons and dared not delay. He immediately used most of the Spirit Stone savings from Chen Qing to exchange for a stack of medium-grade Talisman paper and a portion of Sharp Gold Sand Ink.

He secluded himself in a quiet place for the entire day, holding his brush and focusing his mind, wholeheartedly drawing according to the insights he had gained from Qin Yang and his own Comprehension Ability.

By sunset, he had successfully produced over a dozen Talismans, all imbued with spiritual light and warm to the touch, far superior to his previous inferior products.

Especially that Shocking Thunder Talisman; Qin Yang had previously said that this Talisman was extremely powerful and should not be used lightly.

The Spirit Stones in his Storage Pouch were basically spent, and his previous contribution points had also been used up to exchange for two Cultivation Techniques. He had no choice but to head towards the bustling Shang Gong Hall.

As soon as he stood firm, he heard a commotion and complaints from ahead.

“Damn it! It's gone again. I was only fifty contribution points short of exchanging for that Azure Edge Sword.” A burly Disciple pounded his chest, his face filled with unwillingness.

A tall, thin Disciple next to him patted his shoulder and gestured with his mouth:

“Save it, Wang Meng. Look at that ‘Guard Procurement Team’ mission, it just came out and was instantly taken by those few people from ‘Heavenly Spring Peak’.

They have a team and are very quick; how could it be our turn, us lone cultivators?”

Another seemingly clever Disciple leaned over:

“Not just that, I heard that the job of ‘Guarding the Sword Tempering Furnace’ was already internally reserved by Senior Brother Liu of the Artifact Refining Pavilion for his cousin. It's just listed as a formality. Without connections, don't even think about it.”

“Then collecting lightning-struck stones at ‘Thunderfall Slope’ should work, right?” the Disciple named Wang Meng said unwillingly.