Chapter 568: Your Senior Brother Is About to Be Silenced!

On the Mediterranean Sea, aboard a luxury cruise ship.

The evening breeze blew gently. The cruise ship cut through the waves. Beside the pool on the deck, a piece of cheesecake sat quietly on the table; faintly visible on its surface were several worm-eaten holes.

Suddenly, the cheesecake trembled.

A plump little white worm wriggled, poking its head out from one of the worm-eaten holes. A faint light flashed in its dark green eyes, and immediately afterward, a screen of light appeared before its eyes.

[Anonymous User]: “Why wasn’t it Calamity who accepted the designated task?”

“…”

The task description was that vague—if Calamity accepted it, would she still be Calamity?

If she didn’t want to accept it, I couldn’t exactly force her, could I?

Still, in a situation like this, finding a scapegoat to probe the situation really is a brilliant move! I’ll try it next time too! Void thought.

Void: “That’s normal. Calamity has always been cautious. But don’t worry, although Calamity didn’t accept the task, she is guiding things from behind the scenes. In practice, it’s no different from her accepting it herself.”

After replying, Void waited for a while. Seeing that nothing unusual happened, it thought that perhaps that mysterious catastrophe-class psychic had tacitly approved of this arrangement. Then it wriggled its body and slowly sank down, disappearing into the cheesecake.

I’ll have a nice sleep first. Hopefully, when I wake up, I’ll be able to find the Divine Land over by Atlantis! Void thought.

————

Six o’clock sharp in the evening.

Fu Xinyi finished two straight hours of sword technique practice. After returning to her residence to wash up, she changed into a refreshing, cool gauze-woven Daoist robe, simply tied up her long golden hair, and arrived at Qinghui Hall.

Isn’t it just a training curriculum at the standard of a Class A Psychic? There’s nothing to be afraid of!

As long as I keep working hard and striving without giving up, there’s nothing I can’t conquer!

While cheering herself on, Fu Xinyi climbed the steps. She paused briefly before the main entrance, took out her phone to verify her identity information, and walked happily toward the depths of Qinghui Hall.

Watching her departing figure, the on-duty disciple at the main entrance frowned slightly.

“Senior Sister Fu doesn’t seem to be in very good shape today?”

Sensing the nearly tangible aura of dejection around Fu Xinyi, he had even suspected for a moment that she would break down crying in the very next instant.

————

After night fell, the vast palace of Qinghui Hall returned to silence beneath the curtain of darkness. Almost no disciples could be seen anywhere.

Taking the elevator to the fifth floor of Qinghui Hall, Fu Xinyi entered her identity information at the self-service borrowing machine and skillfully found the shelf where the book she wanted to read was located.

“Let me see, shelf number seventy-seven, code J103…”

After memorizing the number, Fu Xinyi turned around, passed through the floor-to-ceiling glass door beside the self-service borrowing machine, and walked deeper among the rows of bookshelves.

Bathed in the faint fragrance emitted by the sandalwood shelves, books, and bamboo slips, she soon found Principles of Classic High-Tier Spell Formations on shelf number seventy-seven.

Carefully taking the book down from the shelf, she went around the bookshelf and sat down in a seat by the window in the corner. She turned on the desk lamp, put on her glasses, arranged her stationery and water cup, then stretched, preparing to begin today’s cultivation journey.

Although Qingxiazi had suddenly informed Fu Xinyi that she would henceforth have to train according to the standards of a Class A Psychic, placing enormous pressure on her, she also understood that inner resistance could not solve difficulties.

When walking the road forward, even moving slowly was better than fearing hardship and hesitating without advancing!

According to the experience she had summarized over so many years of bitter training, when encountering difficulties in cultivation, the most effective way to keep going was to break the whole into parts, then start with the simplest among them.

This could both ensure that she was making progress and help her build confidence.

And spell formations were, in Fu Xinyi’s understanding, the simplest subject of cultivation.

The structure of spell formations had never been without traces to follow. Every incantation had its own specific symbolic meaning.

Theoretically speaking, when a psychic’s understanding of spell formations became profound to a certain degree, they could even break down existing complete incantations, then, according to the needs of the actual situation, rearrange and combine incantation segments with different symbolic meanings to temporarily construct an original spell formation.

Of course, Fu Xinyi considered herself to have no such talent. Temporarily constructing original spell formations was an ability possessed only by legendary-level geniuses.

However, even high-tier spell formations, as long as one understood the principles of their construction, could be brought up to a passing standard through rote memorization and repeated practice, enough for her to handle her upcoming spell formation training.

After all, according to the Great Pure Palace’s assessment standards, a Class A Psychic only needed to master three types of No. 80+ spell formations to be considered qualified.

According to Fu Xinyi’s plan, as long as she mastered five types of No. 80+ spell formations in advance, she would be able to free up more time to grind through the other cultivation subjects.

“…Jia Wood corresponds to Thunder. Thunder is the exhalation of yang qi; Jia Wood belongs to yang, hence its image is taken from thunder. Examining the monthly ordinances…”

Fu Xinyi silently read the text in the book. From time to time, she stopped to think, matching the spell formations she had studied with the explanations in the book. From time to time, she picked up her pen and wrote down two or three passages she temporarily could not fully understand, so that she could later consult relevant materials or ask her teachers.

Before she knew it, she had immersed herself in studying, until a series of faint rustling sounds entered her ears.

“Rustle… rustle…”

The sound came from among the distant bookshelves. It sounded like the noise of pages being turned. At first, when Fu Xinyi heard it, she paid it no mind, but after it continued for a while, a measure of suspicion gradually arose in her heart.

The page-turning sound came at a very fast frequency—once every one or two seconds. Every roughly three to five minutes, there would also be a faint sound of a book being taken out or put back, which did not seem like reading at all.

Fu Xinyi raised her head and looked in the direction the sound was coming from. She frowned slightly and began to ponder inwardly.

Strange. Who would come here to read this late?

Ever since the Great Pure Palace completed its reforms, very few disciples actually came to Qinghui Hall to read and study anymore.

From their own residences, the disciples could use electronic devices connected to the internal network to borrow any books within their access permissions.

Some popular books had even been made into explanatory videos in both animated and live-action versions.

Generally speaking, only disciples like Fu Xinyi, who had a special fondness for archives and paper books, would come here to read and study.

No, that isn’t reading at all!

After carefully listening to the faint movement for a while, Fu Xinyi sensed something unusual.

How could anyone read one page in one second and finish an entire book in three minutes?

Could it be those annoying guys again? Fu Xinyi thought.

In fact, this place had once been extremely lively. Under the leadership of several founders of the Great Pure Palace Fu Xinyi Fan Club, many disciples had come here almost every day to “accompany” her while she read.

It was just that the books here were truly somewhat difficult for ordinary disciples to understand. Over time, no one could keep persevering through such dry and dull hours.

Fu Xinyi stood up and tiptoed toward the direction from which the sound came.

————

At the same time, on the bus heading to Shizhou City.

After the Paper Cicada Immortal exploring Chili Hall self-destructed, Lu Yibei saw that the bus still had about twenty minutes before arriving at the station. After slightly adjusting her mental state, she turned her attention to the Paper Cicada Immortal exploring Qinghui Hall.

However.

On the Practical Differences Between Spell-Formation Scattering and Direct Shot, Advancement in Trajectory Control for Energy-Projectile Spell Formations, Amplification Methods Using Spirit Pattern and Spell-Formation Resonance…

What the fuck is all this?

Where are the Visualized Diagrams I wanted?

With her eyes tightly closed, she rapidly flipped through the books on the fifth floor of Qinghui Hall through the Paper Cicada Immortal’s vision, and could not help but let out such a sigh in her heart.

After experiencing over a thousand life-and-death battles with Qing Ji, the long-winded explanatory content in these books was already completely useless to her.

In a certain sense, Lu Yibei was like a high-end player who had skipped the beginner tutorial, started the game directly, and grown through being brutally killed by “monsters” again and again.

Her operation might seem somewhat outrageous to psychics from a formal background, but it was absolutely practical!

It was like—even if one did not know how to drive a tank, if one could lift a tank with one hand and swing it like a giant hammer, one’s killing power on the battlefield would still be equally astonishing.

Feeling disappointed with the fifth-floor collection of Qinghui Hall, she was about to control the Paper Cicada Immortal to put the book back and head for the higher floors. Just then, she heard approaching footsteps. She whipped around and saw a familiar face, surprised, and the Paper Cicada Immortal’s body stiffened slightly. Why is it her? What do I do? A once-in-a-century genius of the Great Pure Palace shouldn’t get blown to death, right? ————

Following the sound of pages turning, Fu Xinyi crept closer, the faint rustling from between the shelves growing clearer. Then, rounding a corner, she suddenly saw the Paper Cicada Immortal. A tiny paper figurine lay prone on an ancient tome spread open, larger than its own body, reading intently—a rather peculiar scene. Fu Xinyi: “???”

Why is there a Paper Cicada Immortal here? And this style of Paper Cicada Immortal—I’ve seen it somewhere before, haven’t I? Right! The senior I met in Tang City used this kind of Paper Cicada Immortal! At the same moment Fu Xinyi spotted the Paper Cicada Immortal, it also sensed her presence, turned around, and almost in sync with her, tilted its head. The next instant, seeing Fu Xinyi open her lips as if to call out, a sly grin suddenly appeared on the simply drawn face, and with a whoosh it shot up and stuck to her face with a smack. “Mmph, mmph—!”

Caught off guard, Fu Xinyi’s mouth was sealed; she fell to the ground, flailing her limbs. She looked like she’d been attacked by a face-hugging bug. After a brief panic, inspiration struck. She pulled a pen from her pocket and quickly wrote a line of small characters on the floor. [Grand-Shifu Granny, it’s me, Fu Xinyi—we’ve met!]

Seeing that line, the Paper Cicada Immortal, which had been about to self-detonate, paused. Fu Xinyi immediately wrote another line. [Please let me go first. I swear to the heavens I absolutely won’t shout!]

Lu Yibei hesitated for a moment, then the Paper Cicada Immortal jumped off Fu Xinyi’s face, snatched the pen from her hand, and wrote a line of wobbly small characters on her palm. [Find a place with no people, and we’ll talk in detail.]

Right place, right time. If she wanted answers to her doubts, what could be more convenient than directly asking Fu Xinyi, the local? Lu Yibei thought. After reading what the Paper Cicada Immortal wrote, Fu Xinyi hesitated, then nodded. She glanced around, cupped the Paper Cicada Immortal in both hands, carefully tucked it into her breast pocket, and hurried toward a secluded corner on the fifth floor of Qinghui Hall. Meanwhile, in the shadows, a pair of eyes quietly watched everything through a gap between the shelves…

————

A few minutes later, at Qiaoyuan Courtyard Annex. This was a room in the Class-A Courtyard. The lights were off; the faint glow of a phone in one corner outlined the contours of a young girl’s face. Her delicate features had no eyebrows or eyelashes; the bangs at her forehead had been shaved clean, giving her a faint resemblance to a shelled egg. Staring unblinkingly at the messages on her phone, she looked grave. 04: “I’m in Qinghui Hall. I saw Fu Xinyi meet up with that kind of Paper Cicada Immortal! I suspect the Paper Cicada Immortal that eavesdropped in your studio earlier was sent by Fu Xinyi. She’s monitoring you!”

04: “What do we do now? She heard your entire conversation before—we need to find a way to make her keep her mouth shut forever, right?”

Fu Xinyi? She can use a trick like the Paper Cicada Immortal too? The girl pondered briefly and typed a reply. 03: “No rush. Even if Fu Xinyi heard it, she probably doesn’t know much. Worst case, we can toss out those scapegoats to take the fall. What matters now is getting rid of Wu Yutang—he really knows too much.”

04: “Understood. The members over in Shizhou City have already locked onto Wu Yutang. He definitely won’t live through the night!”

————

Great Pure Palace, Qinghui Hall, fifth floor. In a secluded corner surrounded by bookshelves, a desk lamp was on. Fu Xinyi quietly watched the little figure on the desk, whose brows and eyes somewhat resembled Lu Yibei’s, her gaze full of wariness. Although her Shifu had already warned her that the person she met in Tang City—the Headmaster’s Senior Martial Sister in name—was very likely a fake, she had witnessed that senior’s methods and had seen with her own eyes how the elder fought three Class A opponents to the point of severe injury for the sake of innocent civilians in the mall. So she felt that even if this senior wasn’t the Headmaster’s Senior Martial Sister, she should still be a good person with deep ties to the Great Pure Palace. However…

“Senior, do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?” Fu Xinyi muttered after a pause. “After what happened at the mall, Junior Brother Lu thinks I did it. Now he’s telling everyone in the Great Pure Palace, and my Shifu is already preparing to train me by the standards for a Class A Psychic.”

Lu Yibei: “…” No, I didn’t misunderstand at all. Even if the Heavenly King himself showed up today, it was still your doing alone! She griped inwardly, then silently controlled the Paper Cicada Immortal; its short, stubby little hands picked up the pen on the desk and wrote a line in Fu Xinyi’s notebook. [No matter. Bear with it. I’ll speak to Zhang Huainan later and it’ll be fine! If needed, I can reluctantly give you a few pointers to aid your cultivation.]

Fu Xinyi: “…”

Is this senior actually a fake or not? If she were a fake, she shouldn’t be able to bypass the strict grand formation of Qinghui Hall and reach the fifth floor, right? And she wouldn’t speak of the Headmaster with such confidence, would she? Could Shifu have judged wrong? Confused by her own Shifu’s words and Lu Yibei’s conduct, Fu Xinyi stood there slack-jawed for a while, then as if remembering something, her eyes lit up slightly. “Right, Senior, I still don’t know who your master is, nor your title! This isn’t our first meeting—we should have a proper form of address, right?”

Lu Yibei: “…”

Why bring that up all of a sudden? She’s not doubting my identity, is she? In that case…

[Mastered under the former guest elder Qing Ji. You may call me Juejuezi.]

“Juejue…” The corner of Fu Xinyi’s mouth twitched slightly. She felt that title was definitely made up. Of course Lu Yibei made it up. Seeing Fu Xinyi’s dubious look, she hurriedly wrote again. [That’s right—”jue” as in absolute and unparalleled, Juejuezi. When you see Zhang Huainan, give him my regards. Tell him I’ll send him a five-colored scorpion next time, to relive the old days.]

That should convince you, right? If not, go ask Zhang Huainan—Qing Ji plus a five-colored scorpion—won’t that scare him! Lu Yibei thought. Absolute and unparalleled… is that what it means? What a domineering title! Fu Xinyi froze for a moment, and before she could say anything, she heard the soft scratch of a pen across paper again. [Let me ask you a few questions.]

Fu Xinyi paused, then nodded slightly. “Mm-hmm, please go ahead!”

[Do you know where our Great Pure Palace keeps its Visualized Diagrams? I haven’t been back in a long time. Things have changed so much. I remember this used to be just an ordinary library pavilion, yet now there’s so much more. Oh, and is that old persimmon tree by the back gate still there? The fruit on that tree was small but sweet. If you get the chance, you must try it. By the way, who is your Shifu—Bi Xuzi or Lingjizi? When I left the Great Pure Palace, they were about your age. I imagine by now they must be getting on in years, right?]

“It is, the persimmon tree is still there. It just stopped bearing fruit three years ago.”

The back gate of Qinghui Hall was already hidden, and even fewer people knew about the persimmon tree there. As for the Visualized Diagrams, with the advent of the Spirit Pattern they had become a relic of a bygone era. Even if a few remained in the Great Pure Palace, they were seldom mentioned. Coupled with the title of Zhang Huainan’s senior disciple she’d heard from the old ancestor, and the name Bi Xuzi she’d heard from Yi Sihan… Fu Xinyi was almost completely convinced of her identity. If she hadn’t lived in the Great Pure Palace for years, how would she know these things?

If outsiders wanted to learn these things, even if they managed to leave Great Pure Palace alive, they would still be left with psychological trauma.

“My Shifu is Qingxiazi. She entered the sect quite a bit later than the two martial uncles, so you may not have met her. As for the Visualized Diagram…” Fu Xinyi shook her head. “I’ve only heard of it and have never seen it. Perhaps it isn’t stored in Qinghui Hall, but on the Back Mountain instead! My senior sister often goes there; she might know.”

Lu Yibei: “…”

Had her suspicion been dispelled so quickly? Tsk. That was why young people still had to be wary of hauntings playing the emotional card!

[Then do you know where in Shizhou City the most psychics gather? This venerable one passed through Shizhou City a few days ago and wanted to sell some little trinkets, only to find that those old places could no longer be found.]

In Lu Yibei’s view, if she wanted to find clues about Hu Chuan, asking the solitary psychics in Shizhou City might be a good choice.

“Mm…” Fu Xinyi thought for a moment. “It should be over by Nightless Street Bar Alley, right? Quite a few psychics gather there.”

Lu Yibei noted down the address Fu Xinyi had given, then quickly wrote another line.

[Then do you know who Wu Yutang is?]

Seeing the new words, Fu Xinyi said in surprise, “Eh? That’s my senior brother! Why are you suddenly asking about him?”

Lu Yibei: “…”

Your senior brother is about to be silenced! Though I don’t know who wants him dead…

[I happened to hear that name by chance, so I asked casually. That kid may be in danger recently. You’d best notify your elders.]

After reading the words written by the Paper Cicada Immortal, Fu Xinyi’s expression changed slightly.

Senior brother was in danger? How could that be? During morning lessons today, he had still been perfectly fine!