Chương 122: Chapter 121: Moon Fish

Yang settled on the meditation platform when he got back and let his thoughts settle. Physique. The word kept coming up. Was it actually a special physique? He was not sure it was. It made sense as a conclusion, given that his body appeared to generate an altered form of qi. But Yang knew he was more than a simple soul. The bead that had attached itself to him in the void after his death was special.

It had saved him, remade him and somehow had altered him in ways that went beyond anything a special physique would typically explain. His body's strangeness was not the source. It was a symptom. That was what felt right. The beast core absorption, the altered qi, the way he had been able to absorb energy from the crystal formations in the Cardwright World even without a physical cultivation base there, these all pointed to something at a deeper level than his physical constitution.

His soul had been altered by the bead. His body was simply the nearest downstream effect. He had no way to actually prove this. But this theory felt the most right to him. He thought about the Spirit Spiral plants Senior Brother Lin Yi had noticed, he had found that the qi was different and from there he made a hypothesis, which Yangs admitance of eating beast cores to strengthen himself confirmed for Senior Brother Lin Yi the likely possibility of Yang having a special physique.

The Spirit Spiral Plant absorbed qi from the spirit water Yang made using his own qi. If the change was visible in the Spirit Spiral plant, then it likely existed in the others too, the Blue Jade and the Spirit Grass, just not as obviously because they absorbed less qi. He wondered what would happen if he kept cultivating plants over time. Whether his altered qi would eventually produce something unrecognisable from the original strain. That was a question for another time. Back to his soul.

He wasn't comfortable sharing about it with anyone. Maybe if Li San had been here he could have shared it with him but he himself wouldn't have more knowledge than Yang. Maybe one day he would be close enough with someone else to share his deepest secrets, someone who may be able to help guide him, but for now, he had no such person. Even if he shared his secrets with Senior Brother Lin Yi, he doubted even he could be of much help in this case.

Senior Brother Lin Yi himself was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. From what he has read, most cultivators did not begin seriously engaging with soul cultivation until the Nascent Soul realm, and even then, it was most of the time a peripheral technique to help them along and a way to preserve their nascent soul in case of death. This did not necessarily translate to having extensive knowledge of the soul itself.

The knowledge Yang needed was not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator was likely to carry. The more immediate question was Senior Brother Xiao Zhan. Senior Brother Lin Yi had noticed the altered qi because of the Spirit Spiral plants. But Senior Brother Xiao Zhan had noticed something just by looking at Yang at Senior Brother Jiang Zhen Hao's banquet.

Senior Brother Lin Yi was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, while Senior Brother Xiao Zhan was sitting amongst elders without holding an elder's title himself, which said something about where he actually stood in the sect hierarchy. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

He arranged for Yang to get the sponsorship, which came from Lingyun Peak, whose peak master was said to be the strongest amongst the peak masters, stronger than the sect master himself. As a disciple of such a master, Senior Brother Xiao Zhan was bound to have access to more esoteric knowledge and treasures. Which of them was he using to examine Yang? Yang ran through his list of secrets. His rebirth. The web of light in his Sea of Consciousness. The second world door bud. His beast-core-enhanced constitution.

His ability to move between worlds. His apparently altered qi. Which of these had Senior Brother Xiao Zhan noticed? And which was he looking into? He had stared at Yang for the entire duration of the competition without any apparent concern about being noticed doing it. Senior Brother Xiao Zhan was not unaware that Yang knew he was being watched. He simply did not consider it a problem.

That was either the behaviour of someone very confident in their position or someone who wanted Yang to know he was being observed. Possibly both. What did he want? Yang forcibly set these thoughts aside. before he drove himself insane going around in circles He had no information to work with and no way to get more until the other party allowed it.

Spending time thinking about a senior who liked to play at being the architect behind the scenes, like the cliche mastermind of some second-rate novel, was exactly the kind of thing that would eat his cultivation hours without producing anything useful. He took a deep breath, assumed the cultivation position, and began the Heavenly Diversion. He would move to talisman practice after a few rounds. He was already behind on cultivation speed due to the heavenly diversion's demands on his qi.

He could not afford to spend his available hours on things way beyond his control. The next morning, Yang woke at dawn, watered the plants, completed his morning routine, and made his way to the food hall for breakfast. Something was different before he even reached the serving line, and then he saw it. One of the dishes was glowing. As though someone had put a pale light at the bottom of the soup bowl. He stood for a moment looking at it.

"Junior Brother," said the senior brother serving that station, noticing his expression, "it is moon fish. An inner sect disciple came back from a journey and brought along hundreds of catties back to the sect." Yang placed his tray forward as the Senior Brother placed a full bowl of soup on his tray.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. It looks wonderful." The senior brother beamed as Yang moved along the line for side dishes and steamed buns. He spotted Ye Xuan while looking for an empty seat. Ye Xuan's eyes found him at the same moment and he grinned and waved Yang over. Yang made his way to the table and settled into an empty seat, greeting the other disciples around them. There were a number of inner sect disciples in the food hall today as well, which was not unusual but he has never seen so many at the same time.

Probably drawn here by the moon fish.

"Brother Ye Xuan, congratulations on reaching the second stage of Qi Condensation," Yang said. He had felt the difference in Ye Xuan as soon as he got close and was genuinely happy for him. Ye Xuan beamed.

"Thank you, Brother Yang. It has been a while though, where did you disappear to? I have been keeping an eye out for you."

"I have been rather busy," Yang said.

"I recently received a sponsorship to take part in the talisman events of the inner sect competition and I have barely had time for anything else." Ye Xuan blinked. Then his expression shifted into his usual wide enthusiasm.

"I go into closed cultivation for a few days and suddenly so much happens. This is a great opportunity." He pointed at Yang.

"I will be there to watch. Just tell me which events."

"The defence, offence and skill judgement talisman events in the foundation division."

"Three?" Ye Xuan looked briefly startled, then recovered.

"Brother Yang, that is exciting. I cannot wait to see you show off." Yang smiled and they both ate. After his first spoonful of the soup he did not feel much, but when he ate the fish itself he felt it clearly, a clean distinct pulse of qi entering with the flesh. He looked up and saw Ye Xuan was watching him with a smile.

"Good, isn't it?"

"It is. I have never had this before."

"It is not common in this region. Whoever brought it back came from somewhere far out." Ye Xuan paused "I have not managed to find out who yet." Yang looked at him.

"You do not already know their name, date of birth, and full life story?"

"Give me the day," Ye Xuan said, and they both laughed. Yang finished his meal and stood.

"Brother Ye Xuan, I have to get back to talisman practice."

"Go, go." Ye Xuan waved him off.

"I am rooting for you to win."

"Don't joke Ye Xuan, I will be happy not to be first out," Yang said, and made his way toward the exit. The sky had more traffic than usual on his walk back, likely inner sect disciples making their way back up after breakfast. Yang watched them pass overhead and kept walking. He was close enough to see his cave residence when the formation gave him a faint alert. Someone was at the entrance.

Due to almost similar circumstance he wondered briefly why it had not done the same the first time Senior Brother Lin Yi arrived, then realised, Senior Brother Lin Yi had likely arrived just before him that day, and Yang had come up behind him before he could touch the formation edge. He quickened his pace slightly as he came around the last turn and got close enough to make out the figure standing in front of his cave.