Chapter 9: Numbness

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Shen Qing’s martial uncle, Bai Fengjie, was a Sword Saint renowned throughout the world. Fifty years ago, his cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, just one step away from facing the tribulation.

Bai Fengjie traveled the world year-round and only occasionally returned to Zhengxi Sect. Because of this, his prolonged absence was not something the sect paid much attention to.

However, thirty years ago, sudden news came that Bai Fengjie had been trapped somewhere. At first, the sect leader refused to believe it, but after searching the entire world without finding a trace of him, they had no choice but to accept the truth.

Bai Fengjie was at the Nascent Soul stage—in the entire cultivation world, such experts were rare, if not countable on one hand. What kind of perilous place could be capable of restraining someone like him?

When the gathered elders learned that Bai Fengjie was trapped in Mingguang Palace, they looked at each other in silence, unable to speak.

The Palace Master of Mingguang Palace, Zhu Bichao, was also at the Nascent Soul stage, wielding a Phoenix Blade of unparalleled mastery, nearly invincible in battle.

Although Zhu Bichao was formidable and had overwhelming combat strength, if she had fought Bai Fengjie, he would not necessarily have lost. Even if he had lost, there was no way he would have been unable to escape, let alone be captured and trapped.

This matter was tied to an old story from long ago.

In their youth, while training outside their sects, Bai Fengjie and Zhu Bichao met. They were drawn to each other’s talent and appearance, quickly becoming a couple. Both were born with exceptional potential, possessed remarkable perception, and were naturally gifted—one could say they were a match made in heaven.

However, both had incredibly strong personalities, (白 (Bái) means “white” is often symbolized with detachment, coldness, or purity. While 朱 (Zhū) means “red” is commonly associated with passion, intensity, or stubbornness. This contrast reinforces their personality clash—Bai Fengjie is the aloof, independent one, while Zhu Bichao is the fiery, prideful one.)unwilling to compromise, constantly engaging in heated arguments over various matters.

After one particularly intense conflict, Bai Fengjie left without a single word. Zhu Bichao waited for several years before realizing—she had been abandoned!

As she waited, countless thoughts crossed her mind. She speculated that Bai Fengjie had no choice but to leave, perhaps due to an urgent crisis or even being trapped somewhere, which prevented him from sending her any word.

Unfortunately, the truth that eventually reached her was nothing like that—Bai Fengjie had been seen elsewhere, discussing Daoist principles and sparring with friends, living happily and carefree! (快活着呢 literally translates as "living happily and carefree!" In modern speech, "快活" can sound a bit cheeky, sometimes implying someone is having a hedonistic or carefree life. Meaning, it might come off as sarcasm, implying Bai Fengjie was not just enjoying himself but being inconsiderate.)

Bai Fengjie had simply run away because he couldn’t win an argument with Zhu Bichao.

Zhu Bichao had an extremely high sense of pride and would never lower herself to seek reconciliation. Thus, from that moment onward, the two completely severed ties and never interacted again.

Now, with the news that Bai Fengjie was trapped in Zhu Bichao’s hands, his elders could not help but deeply contemplate the reason behind it.

Now, having to retrieve Bai Fengjie from Zhu Bichao, the sect master and elders found the situation awkward. After all, this was a personal grudge—if they intervened, they risked either being too forceful or too lenient.

Although only news of Bai Fengjie being trapped had spread, and he had not sent out a plea for help, knowing that he was in deep trouble, his elders could not simply stand by and do nothing.

Beyond sect ties and moral obligations, Bai Fengjie was also the disciple with the highest chance of transcending the tribulation among those still alive. No matter what, they had to bring him back.

However, just thinking about dealing with Zhu Bichao gave the elders a headache.

In the mortal world, Mingguang Palace was praised for its benevolence and virtue, known as an esteemed immortal sect with a great reputation. However, those in the cultivation world saw much more beyond that surface.

Mingguang Palace was not only powerful but also incredibly wealthy. Moreover, it had countless marital ties with other sects in the cultivation world, making it a force that was difficult to provoke. As for its Palace Master, Zhu Bichao, she was known for her firm and domineering nature. Anyone who dared to offend her ended up beaten black and blue.

Because of the reckless actions Bai Fengjie had committed in his youth, the elders already felt they had little standing in front of Zhu Bichao and did not wish to bring trouble upon themselves.

However, considering Zhu Bichao's temper, Bai Fengjie would likely suffer greatly in her hands. Left with no choice, the sect leader braced himself and made a trip to Mingguang Palace.

Zhu Bichao did not deliberately embarrass the sect leader, but she firmly insisted that Bai Fengjie was not in her hands. The sect leader had no proof, nor could he resort to force, so he had no choice but to return empty-handed.

Later, they sought intermediaries to probe for information multiple times, yet they made no progress at all.

Direct negotiations and indirect approaches had all failed. Left with no other choice, the sect leader devised a new plan—under the pretense of an exchange program, they would send a disciple into Mingguang Palace’s inner sect. Once inside, this disciple would locate Bai Fengjie’s exact whereabouts and then find an opportunity to rescue him.

Shen Qing was the one specifically chosen for this difficult mission. 

It was made even more difficult because the disciple didn't have an ordinary identity.

She, or rather, he was a male cultivator in disguise. (This, with the previous sentence is not in the original. There's a gender specific text to refer to "she—她 tā" and "he—他 tā" but none verbally as they sound the same "tā".  Shen Qing had been referred to as "he" in the text  but I kept the word "she" in the earlier chapters. Also because the ML had no lengthy POV and seemed like a distant character from ZY's POV. It doesn't really make sense to use the word "he" immediately when SQ hasn't been properly introduced yet to MC's POV as a male.                                     Although  the synopsis already outed him, I think this fit well with the context. I'll still keep she for SQ in ZY POV but I'll finally use he in SQ POV later. 

But despite that, getting into Mingguang Palace’s inner sect was much easier than expected.

Although Zhu Bichao had a past grievance with Bai Fengjie, she had never taken it out on Zhengxi Sect. Furthermore, since this was an old affair, after Zhu Bichao became the palace master, those who knew of the incident had deliberately downplayed it. As a result, most people in the sect were unaware that such a thing had even happened.

This made Shen Qing’s task of inquiring about his Martial Uncle's whereabouts exceptionally difficult.

Shen Qing did not dare ask people directly and could only disguise his inquiries as a means of broadening his knowledge. This roundabout approach made  progress even slower.

The day before yesterday, he finally found an elderly female attendant who had retired. She had some vague knowledge of past events, but after speaking with her in detail, he was greatly disappointed—she knew even less than he did.

Although he was disappointed, Shen Qing did not show it on his face. Nor did he simply walk away in frustration for not achieving his intended goal. Instead, he remained seated, accompanying the elderly woman in conversation for the entire day.

The elderly often feel lonely, and the old female attendant was deeply grateful for his patient companionship. Before he left, she told him, "I am of humble status and only know trivial matters. If the young master is interested in the great events of Mingguang’s past, why not go to Shangshan Ruoshui and browse the historical records?"

Shen Qing was greatly surprised. "Mingguang Palace has historical records?"

He knew that mortal dynasties kept historical records, but he never expected that a cultivation sect like Mingguang would compile its own history.

The old woman grinned, revealing her nearly toothless mouth. "Hehe, surprised? More than a hundred years ago, the then master of Jianyun Hall, Cheng Shanshui, (her name is used for the library name: 上("善")若("水")—Shang"shan(善)" Ruo"shui(水).")  felt that as people passed away, the past would be lost with them. Occasionally, there were records, but they were vague and incomplete. So she decided to compile a history of the cultivation world."

Shen Qing was deeply moved and instantly felt a deep respect for Hall Master Cheng Shanshui.

Although the cultivation world was not vast, its traditions were numerous, and sects were countless, with no centralized authority. To compile a historical record in such an environment was an extraordinary ambition!

Seeing Shen Qing’s admiration, the old woman lifted her chin proudly. "I was among the first group to move with Hall Master Cheng to what is now Shangshan Ruoshui. I witnessed firsthand how that place grew from a small study pavilion into the grand structure it is today."

The old woman continued, "Since then, we at Mingguang have been compiling and summarizing past events, big and small. If you want to know anything, you can't go wrong by checking the historical records."

Shen Qing was delighted. While he might not find the exact location where his martial uncle was imprisoned, if he could locate records of Mingguang’s buildings and terrain, it would still be of great help.

Bidding farewell to the old woman, Shen Qing hurried straight to Shangshan Ruoshui without delay.

After learning the story behind Shangshan Ruoshui, standing before its massive structure, Shen Qing couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and reverence.

Cheng Shanshui had already passed away, but her will lived on. Within Shangshan Ruoshui, countless people continued her unfinished grand vision.

When he first arrived at Mingguang, he had visited this place out of personal interest, borrowing and reading some books that Zhengxi Sect did not have. However, he hadn’t noticed any historical records, so they were likely kept in a different study room.

With this in mind, he headed in another direction. Following a corridor, he indeed found another, much larger study room.

Just as he was about to enter, a woman at the entrance stopped him. "Wait a moment. To enter this study room, you need to check the rules first."

Only then did Shen Qing notice a wooden board on the wall, with a white sheet of paper attached to it. It read:

"Historical Records Study Room Guidelines: Reading inside—5 cloud tokens per day. Borrowing books—5 cloud tokens per day, with a deposit of 100 cloud tokens per book."

Shen Qing’s eyes widened. He had assumed that Mingguang’s internal currency would be of no use to him—who would have thought it would come into play here?

He could only smile wryly and wave to the woman at the entrance. "I’ll come back another day."

After experiencing emotional highs and lows, Shen Qing felt somewhat exhausted. When he returned to Graceful Moon Residence, Zhuang Yue and the others had already arrived. Zhong Yunyi and Dong Wan were in his room, seemingly engaged in a discussion. Shen Qing decided not to disturb them.

Since it wasn’t a tutoring night, Shen Qing assumed that Zhuang Yue wouldn’t come over. He changed into his practice clothes and sat in meditation on the low couch.

Before he could fully enter a meditative state, there was a soft knock on the door. Just by hearing the sound, Shen Qing could tell it was Zhuang Yue.

"Sorry to disturb your training again," Zhuang Yue said apologetically.

Ever since learning that Shen Qing trained every night, Zhuang Yue had made an effort to avoid disturbing him in the evenings. He even shortened their tutoring sessions to finish within an hour after dinner.

Since he had come at this hour, it was certain that he had something important to discuss.

"It’s fine, come in and talk," Shen Qing said, stepping aside to let him in.

This time, Zhuang Yue didn’t stop in the study area. Instead, he walked over to the low couch, his face full of confusion. "Today, when I was guiding spiritual energy into my body, I vaguely felt a warmth moving inside me. I’m not sure if I succeeded. Can you check? Something feels off."

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, then lifted his hand slightly. "Sit down on the low couch."

Zhuang Yue sat sideways on the low couch, awkwardly adjusting himself into a cross-legged posture. Meanwhile, Shen Qing sat opposite him, effortlessly settling into a perfect meditative position.

"Now, circulate your cultivation technique and try to guide spiritual energy into your body," Shen Qing instructed.

Zhuang Yue closed his eyes and followed the key principles of the foundation-building chapter, practicing breath control. After just a few attempts, he entered a meditative state.

A hint of surprise flashed through Shen Qing’s gaze. Entering meditation this quickly was extremely rare for a beginner. Most people required a long time to clear their minds and eliminate distractions when first practicing spiritual energy refinement.

With a serious expression, Shen Qing extended his hand and gently placed it on Zhuang Yue’s wrist. Immediately, he sensed a faint energy flowing through the meridians. It pulsed slightly, sending a tingling sensation to his fingertips.