14

Bai li yue exhaled a breath of hot air. Her eyes shined bright, belying her excitement.

'I finally broke through to the 8th layer. I can finally cast the spirit gathering array without using up all my energy. Time to give it a try!'

She had thought long and hard about her situation. The spiritual energy in the sect was thin. The cave in the natural array had accustomed her to a level of richness of spiritual energy. For her to properly cultivate, the deficiency needed to be remedied.

'My cultivation speed is already slower than the norm. If i am to remain like this, then i'll have a full head of grey hair by the time i breakthrough to the king realm.'

She could casted the array right now, but it was certain to cause unneeded chaos. The thin spiritual energy rushing toward her courtyard would draw attention to her. She had to come up with a solution. Over the months, she'd found her solution. It lay in the forest near the sect. All she had to do was create the spirit gathering array and transfer it to her courtyard.

She packed lunch to eat during her journey and strolled out of the sect. Yang bo jian was on duty as usual when she passed by. He bowed respectfully and asked when she planned to return. 

He had been curious in the beginning as to her identity and status. He had noticed the subtle changes in the sect which meant that her arrival had brought an end to their problems. Strangely, after months of expecting an official announcement of the return of an ancestor, nothing had been mentioned. If anything, she had faded into the background. The first elder had summoned him and swore him to secrecy, so his mouth was sealed, but he couldn't help but wonder. 

Won't the other sects laugh at us if they found out that our ancestor is parading as a member of the chores division? Who knows what the elders are thinking? I'd better mind my own business.

Bai li yue nodded and answered the polite man's question. She remembered when she had first arrived to the sect. She had only gone into town a couple of times. Unfortunately, she still hadn't had the chance to visit yangyang city. This was also her first time going into the bamboo sect forest. She arrived at the outskirts after an hour of walking. 

She found a cluster of bamboo trees and sat underneath it to catch her breath. She had intended to cast only one array, but she had changed her mind on her walk. The distance of the transfer might lead to a degradation of the quality of the energy. She didn't want to leave and have to return, so she figured casting two arrays would be a better solution. 

She entered and found a patch of land in a secluded part of the forest surrounded by thick clusters of trees. 

Good. It feels easier to cast now. 

The diagram disappeared into the ground. She worried about the flow of spiritual energy drawing attention so she cast a cloaking array over the area. She felt the flow of energy around her disappear.

If i was better at this, i could control the strength of the array. There would be no need for a cloaking array then. She found another area and repeated the same action. 

She rested and had lunch while she listened to the ravens cawing in the trees. She was still at the outskirts and wasn't worried about savage beasts appearing.

She reviewed the linking array in her mind before getting up. This will be her first time casting it, but she wasn't too worried about failing. She flashed onto a tree midway between the two arrays. The linking array comprised a rune signifying merge. Once completed, the linking array divided itself into tiny runes and formed a chain between the two arrays. 

She jumped down from the tree and began walking back to the sect. The sun was falling when she saw the gates of the sect. Tang bo jian was still on duty. He greeted her again when she returned. She was used to his politeness and didn't pay it much attention apart from a friendly nod. She gave him the rest of her lunch before leaving quickly when his thanks became too exuberant.

What's wrong with this guy? It's only food. If he was any more grateful, he would start calling me grandfather.

She read through the inheritance till late in the night before putting it away. The sect was quiet now that night had fallen. 

It is time.

She had waited this late because the array would cause some disturbance in the area. At least, at this time of the night, there would be fewer people paying attention. 

She first had to cast a cloaking array like the one in the forest. When she finished there were only a few hours left till dawn.

Work faster.

She was casting a spirit containment array in the courtyard. It was different from the spirit gathering array in that it could hold spiritual energy in a place for days, weeks, months or years depending on the realm of the caster.

Mine will only last for about a month. After that i would have to cast another one. It's worth it though, since i will be able to cultivate faster. 

She drew the three interlocking circles and added the three runes signifying the same thing: stand. She completed it with a final circle into which she injected her spiritual energy. 

There was no time to rest. Dawn was approaching fast. She had already calculated the midway point between the spirit gathering arrays and the spirit containment array. Of course she could cast the transfer array from her courtyard, but it meant that the array wouldn't be stable. 

The place she chose was to the back of the sect. This linking array was more complex than the first one. It had to establish a link and provide direction to the flow of energy. 

Qi Rong fei was exhausted. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept. A year ago, he was in the cultivation city in the chu kingdom listening to a sermon by the famous sword sage Tian hu. He had spent all his hard earned money to pay for a seat but he was forced to leave after only half an hour. His communication bead trembled. Sect leader had given him one of the only two communication beads left in the sect. He would never contact him, unless it was to alert him about a sect catastrophe. 

As second elder of the sect, he couldn't sit when his beloved sect was facing imminent doom. He had left the cultivation city that same day, but the chu kingdom was too big, too far away for him to arrive in a short time. 

He had stopped in a few places on his way back to ask for news about the sect, but no one knew anything. Whoever said no news was good news deserved to be flogged. Not knowing anything caused him to worry more than anything. It had led him to this state. He hadn't even stopped in yangyang city to rest when he arrived. He just wanted to reach the sect. 

Just a few more miles and he will arrive. Je had as yet to see any signs of fighting, but it didn't make him any less concerned. He had just raised his head when he noticed a shooting light heading towards the sect. It was bright in the darkness. With no time to gauge his level of exhaustion he sped after it. 

The guard standing in front of the gates didn't register in his mind and neither did the peaceful silence of his surroundings. He was intent on stopping the enemy attack from landing. 

He landed on a tree at the back of the sect and scanned the area where the light disappeared. Fortunately he caught a glimpse of a figure leaving the area. The figure was a young woman wearing sect robes and strolled through the sect. She looked at the sky and yawned before stepping into the courtyard. He marked the location of the courtyard and raced to the sect leader's courtyard. On the way, he saw a group of students going about their duties. 

Everything looks so peaceful. Hold on! why does it look so peaceful? the communication bead is never activated unless there is a sect wide catastrophe. What is going on? 

He sped up. He had to meet the sect leader and get answers.