384: Chapter 394: I chatted with my teacher about everyday matters.

Lin Yu did not answer immediately this time.

He calculated quickly in his mind: he had already asked for a Cultivation Technique; if he asked for more, would it seem insatiably greedy?

But this thought was snuffed out after only a moment's turn.

Since this big shot had taken the initiative to ask, not accepting would instead seem pretentious. In the cultivation world, being too polite is treating someone like an outsider, and being an outsider means not wanting to touch Karma. Not wanting to touch Karma means harboring divided loyalties.

Besides, those things were indeed for the sake of extending his life. If his broken soul body wasn't supplemented soon, he would probably shiver the next time he encountered a thunderstorm.

He spoke with deliberation, his tone remaining flat:

“There are several Materials... useful to this Junior. But this Junior's status is lowly, making them difficult to obtain.”

Supreme Elder Hao Yuan nodded slightly: “List them.”

Lin Yu reached out and drew several lines of words in the air:

void stone powder, world origin sand (core Materials for activating the Lesser Void Spirit Guiding Formation)

soul nurturing wood marrow (to warm and nourish the soul body's Origin)

After writing these three items, he paused for a moment and added another sentence in a very light tone:

“These are all for extending life. Although that child's dao foundation has been recast, it also needs things like earth vein spiritual milk for nourishment. If there is any surplus, I ask Senior to...”

He did not say “please bestow them, Senior,” but merely stated the facts.

This was Lin Yu's art of speaking. When asking for things, one cannot say it directly; one must say “this thing is useful to me,” leaving the power of decision to the other party.

Supreme Elder Hao Yuan swept a glance at those lines of words and nodded: “These things, This Lord will have someone deliver.”

Lin Yu blanked for a moment. He hadn't expected it to be so easy.

void stone powder and world origin sand were one thing; although expensive, they could still be bought with Spirit Stones. But that soul nurturing wood marrow was a treasure with a price but no market, usually only growing deep within the heart of ten-thousand-year-old sunken wood. A single ounce was worth as much as a city.

This True Monarch had agreed as if he were agreeing to give away two pounds of cabbage.

He instinctively wanted to say “Thank you, Senior,” but the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

Supreme Elder Hao Yuan looked at him and suddenly smiled. The smile was very faint, yet it carried a realization that saw through the ways of the world:

“Do you feel that This Lord has given them too easily?”

Lin Yu did not speak. But silence was tacit agreement.

Supreme Elder Hao Yuan let out a soft sigh, his gaze passing through Lin Yu and casting toward that void of a night sky:

“This Lord has waited for a thousand years, waiting precisely for the chance to do something for an old friend.”

“If you sought nothing at all, This Lord instead would not know how to conduct himself.”

He paused, his tone returning to that calm and breezy manner:

“These external possessions, to This Lord, are but a simple effort. But if you do not accept them, This Lord's heart will not be at ease.”

Lin Yu understood.

This wasn't charity; it was intent. Or rather, this Body Integration powerhouse was buying peace of mind.

Not accepting would instead be a betrayal of this “old friend's friendship.”

He lowered his eyelids, cupped his hands in a deep salute, and said softly:

“Senior's generous gift has been noted by this Junior.”

Supreme Elder Hao Yuan nodded slightly, leaving only a final sentence:

“Within half a month, the items will be delivered. Be at ease.”

Before his voice had even faded, his figure had already thinned like washed ink, scattering into the night wind... The wind regained its shape.

That withered yellow pine needle swirled in the air as if pulled by an invisible thread, landing lightly on Su Ming's shoulder.

Su Ming snapped back to his senses and instinctively reached out to catch it—his fingertips touched the texture of fabric; the leaf was already lying quietly in the hollow of his shoulder.

This grab caught nothing but air.

This moment's sense of displacement made his heart pound wildly. It was like walking on level ground and suddenly stepping into thin air on a missing stair step.

The night wind poured back into his eardrums, the low hum of the Mountain-protecting Formation rang out again, and the distant sounds of insects and pine waves flooded in instantly, filling the dead vacuum from just now. The world was vivid to the point of being glaring.

Su Ming panted heavily, his daoist robe already soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his back with a bone-chilling cold.

He looked around blankly. Star Gazing Cliff was still Star Gazing Cliff, the old pine was still upright, and the distant sea of clouds was still churning.

Nothing had changed.

But he knew something had changed. In that exact moment just now, in that flash when his consciousness was blurred, some extremely terrifying existence had come and then left.

He looked down at his left hand.

The xuantian ring was still dusty and gray, resting quietly against the base of his finger without any spiritual light overflowing, as ordinary as a common iron ring.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, Lin Yu's voice rang out lazily, carrying a trace of imperceptible fatigue: “What are you dazed for? Brush off the leaf and go back to sleep.”

Su Ming's fingers moved stiffly, brushing away the pine needle.

“Master...” Su Ming's voice was a bit dry, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time, “Just now... did something happen?”

There was a breath of silence within the ring.

“What thing? What could have happened?” Lin Yu's voice was still casual. “You just successfully reached Foundation Establishment; your Divine Soul is unstable, plus the wind on this cliff top is strong, blowing your brain into a bit of a daze and producing hallucinations. A normal phenomenon.”

Su Ming did not move.

He stood by the cliff's edge, his gaze fixed deathly on that old pine tree three zhang away.

There was nothing there.

But he remembered—in that final moment before his consciousness blurred just now, someone seemed to be standing there. A person wearing a gray robe, looking even more ordinary than an old man from the mortal world.

“Master.” Su Ming withdrew his gaze, his voice low. “Although this Disciple's cultivation is lowly, I am no fool.”

“In that moment just now, the wind stopped, the sound vanished, and even this Disciple's heartbeat... seemed to have stopped.”

Su Ming raised his hand and pressed it against his chest. It was beating violently now, but that feeling of suffocation, as if his heart were being squeezed by a giant invisible hand, still left a lingering fear.

“That kind of feeling was no hallucination.”

Lin Yu sighed within the ring.

This kid was becoming harder and harder to fool. Being too smart sometimes isn't a good thing; it's easy to overthink, and overthinking makes it easy to lose hair.

“Fine then.” Lin Yu's voice became a bit more serious. “An old man did indeed pass by just now.”

Su Ming's pupils shrank: “Who was it?”

“The Grand Elder, Supreme Elder Hao Yuan.”

As soon as these four words came out, Su Ming's legs visibly softened.

Even if he didn't know who Supreme Elder Hao Yuan was, the weight of the title “Grand Elder” was enough to crush the entire Cloud Hidden Sect. That was a powerhouse of the legendary Body Integration Stage, a true pillar of this world, a living legend.

“He... what did he come for?” Su Ming's voice trembled slightly.

“Nothing major.” Lin Yu's tone was relaxed, as if he were talking about an old man from next door coming over to borrow a leek. “He just came to see if you were the person he was looking for, and incidentally chatted with me about some family matters.”

Su Ming: “...”

Chatting about family matters?

A Body Integration Stage powerhouse chatting about family matters with a remnant soul?