The Spiritual Pivot of Mortal Cultivation

After the side hall opened up a layer further into the medicine pool, Bai Xuanxin's cultivation method also became more intense.

During those days, he walked during the day and went to the pond at night. After returning to his room, he would repeatedly practice the newly acquired "root-rolling method" to correct the three most important structural features: shoulders, hips, and spine. The deeper he practiced, the more he realized that what he lacked most was not some ruthless move that could suddenly injure someone, but rather a few herbs that could suppress the aftereffects of the medicinal pool, protect the fascia and joints, and push his body a little further towards "ability to support."

It's not that they don't have them in the side pharmacy.

However, the medicinal properties seem a bit too strong.

Bai Xuanxin had tried it twice himself and knew that there was a slight difference. If it were just an ordinary disciple soaking in the medicinal pool to relieve the soreness in his muscles and bones, it would naturally be enough; but at his level, with his movements becoming faster and faster and his fighting style becoming more and more ruthless, the medicinal aura floating on the surface was not enough. In the end, what he lacked now was not "dispersion," but "sinking."

So on this day, he took the prescription from the side hall and went to Shenshou Valley.

This trip into the valley is perfectly legitimate.

I'm not going to see Han Li.

It wasn't to test Mo Juren.

It's not about gathering any rumors out of thin air.

He was just going to get his medicine.

Shenshou Valley is quieter than it was a few days ago.

The wind pressed in from the mountain pass, causing the half-dried grass roots on the medicine rack to tremble slightly. The medicine stoves in front of the house were still burning, but the white smoke did not rise straight up as usual. Instead, it was pressed down by the eaves and the mountain wind, and slowly drifted away along the eaves, medicine racks and stone walls, like a layer of white gauze that could not be dispersed, enveloping the valley.

As soon as Bai Xuanxin stepped into the valley, his nose twitched.

The smell of medicine was still unpleasant.

The dryness of the blazing grass, the hardness of the yangqi stone, the cold and damp aura emanating from certain cold and fishy medicinal herbs underneath, plus the slightly bitter yet not deadly burnt smell after being overcooked, layer upon layer, like several prescriptions that should not have been placed together, forcibly kneaded into a pot.

The smell is stronger and stickier than last time.

Bai Xuanxin knew exactly what was going on.

The pot of stuff in the valley not only didn't stop cooking, but it actually got even hotter.

He showed no sign of it on his face, simply following his usual route to pick up medicine, walking step by step toward the pharmacy. The medicine shelves along the way were still there, and the herbs drying in the sun had been replaced with a new batch from a few days ago, but there was no one else in the valley.

That's normal.

Divine Hand Valley was never a place for outsiders to come and go as they pleased. This was true when Mo Juren was there, and now that he has returned to the mountain, it's even less likely that he'll suddenly have extra servants or medicine boys to tend the furnace for him. In the end, all the miscellaneous tasks in the valley still fall on Han Li's shoulders.

Bai Xuanxin walked to the front of the pharmacy and, sure enough, spotted the gray-clad youth at a glance.

Han Li was squatting in front of a small medicine stove, adding fuel to the fire.

The fire wasn't big, but the smoke was extremely thick. Han Li lowered his head and fiddled with a few thin pieces of firewood under the stove. His movements were slow and deliberate, but a sense of tension was hidden between his shoulders and back, like a taut bowstring being pulled tightly, not daring to loosen its grip even an inch.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up.

"Senior Brother Bai."

The tone remained flat.

Bai Xuanxin handed over the medicine strip and simply said:

"The medicinal pool in the side hall has a strong aftereffect. The pharmacy is short of two herbs, so they asked me to come to the valley to get them. One and a half qian of Rejuvenating Grass and three liang of Agarwood Root Bark."

Han Li took the medicine slip, glanced at it, and nodded.

"The Rejuvenating Herb is on the medicine shelf outside. The Bone-Soothing Skin is in the medicine cabinet inside. Senior Brother Bai, please wait a moment."

After saying that, he got up and walked towards the medicine shelf outside.

Bai Xuanxin stood still, seemingly waiting casually for the medicine, but her gaze had already drifted away silently.

At first glance, it's still that old pine tree behind the house.

The last time he came, he had already recognized that spot as a bird's eye. Now, looking at it again, the pine tree appeared even heavier, its branches and leaves so dense they were almost black, pressing down far behind the stone house like a mass of old night that had accumulated for too long. Bai Xuanxin only glanced at it before knowing that the spot was still the first landing point.

This time, however, he wanted to see more than just whether someone was "present" or not.

Instead, it's about "how to get there".

The wind came from the northwest, first striking the old pine trees, then passing the medicine shelf, and finally brushing against the roof ridge and the smoke from the medicine under the eaves as it moved forward. Bai Xuanxin followed the path of the wind, her gaze naturally sweeping towards the top beam of the medicine shelf.

The wood at the corner of the beam was dark in color, and there were several faint old scratch marks along the edges, all of similar depth, which was far from being comparable to the random stomping and kicking of ordinary birds.

The second point confirms the claim.

Bai Xuanxin remained unmoved, outwardly still appearing as a disciple retrieving medicine. In front of the medicine shelf, Han Li was bending down, rummaging through the herbs, picking out several tendon-regenerating herbs one by one, his movements slow, clearly selecting them according to their age.

Just then, a gray shadow quietly slipped out from among the old pine trees.

It neither hovers nor flies.

Instead, it darted past in a very short and swift motion, using the wind to land diagonally on the crossbeam. After pausing for only a few breaths, the creature gently flapped its wings and flew towards the sloping eaves of the roof.

Old pine.

Crossbeam.

Sloping eaves.

The image in Bai Xuanxin's mind instantly transformed from dots into lines.

This bird definitely doesn't stay fixated on one spot.

It's viewed from a different perspective.

It is precisely because it changes points that gaps exist.

Bai Xuanxin's eyes turned slightly cold, but his posture relaxed a bit. He knew that if that beast was truly hovering above the valley, constantly watching the entire Divine Hand Valley, then his hidden path would be impossible to find. But as long as it used a few eyes to keep up the search, it would inevitably reveal a very short gap between its rises and falls.

The key question is just how long that line is.

At this moment, Han Li had already picked out the Rejuvenating Herb, put the medicine strip back on the table, and then turned around and went into the back pharmacy to find the Bone-Sinking Skin.

Bai Xuanxin did not follow them inside, but stood slightly off to the side of the furnace, watching the medicinal smoke under the eaves being pushed away by the wind.

The fire in the valley had been burning continuously for the past few days, resulting in exceptionally thick smoke. With such thick smoke, it was impossible for birds not to be affected. However, normally, even with smoke, if no one in the valley moved, the beasts could still use the higher ground to catch a glimpse, obscuring most of the area.

However, if it is evening when the fire is changed, firewood is added, or the stove is turned over, the smoke will suddenly rise, and people will move and block the view between the medicine shelves in front of the house. The view that was originally well covered will be disrupted.

Bai Xuanxin silently calculated in his heart, the light in his eyes gradually dimming.

Sure enough, the fire in the stove suddenly flared up a bit as more firewood was added, and white smoke billowed forward from under the eaves. At the same time, the gray shadow on the sloping eaves settled down and then seemed to tilt its head slightly for a very short time.

It was in that very moment.

Bai Xuanxin did not move quickly.

He didn't even show any intention of sneaking in. He just walked slowly towards the outside of the medicine shelf, like a customer who had been standing for a while and wanted to take a few steps to check the quality of the herbs on the shelf.

The first step is to achieve extreme flatness.

The second step is to slightly tuck in your shoulders and back.

The third step involved using the shadow of the medicine shelf to carefully attach himself to the narrow, inconspicuous gap between the wooden shelf and the corner of the wall.

These steps are all extremely slow.

It moved so slowly it didn't seem like a martial artist; instead, it was like a gray shadow drifting forward, enveloped in medicinal smoke.

He didn't cut straight in. Instead, he used the medicine rack itself to block the old pine tree's view. Then, following the smoke and the base of the wall, he took a half step to the side and quietly disappeared into a corner that he couldn't see clearly from outside the valley.

Once inside, it's only a short three or four steps.

However, they had already completely missed each other.

Bai Xuanxin's heart skipped a beat.

This place is indeed a good hiding spot.

The old pine tree was broken by the medicine rack, and the crossbeam had just risen and fallen. Looking back from the sloping eaves, I was momentarily dazzled by the smoke from the medicine and the white mist that suddenly rose in front of the house. If it were night, with an additional layer of dim light and shadows, this place would be enough to make one want to cut into half of it.

But—it's not enough.

Bai Xuanxin had barely paused for a moment when she instinctively felt a thin, light gaze pressing down on her from above.

fast.

It happened faster than he had expected.

That beast was extremely vigilant; the section on the roof ridge and eaves was probably even more dangerous than the one with the old pine tree. It wasn't that it wasn't disturbed by the medicinal smoke, but the disturbance wouldn't last long, and it would soon repair that section again.

Bai Xuanxin's heart tightened, and without lingering, he immediately retreated slowly along the original path.

This advance and retreat took only a few breaths.

No one spoke in the valley.

Han Li was still inside rummaging through the medicine.

The smoke from the medicine was still slowly rising from under the eaves.

It's as if nothing ever happened.

But Bai Xuanxin had already memorized those few breaths in her heart.

It's not written on paper.

Instead, it pressed down on him.

Where is that angle?

Which stone edge did you step on first?

How much should the shoulders be pulled back in the second step?

When the medicinal smoke is at its heaviest, which line is obscured?

How quickly will it be possible to catch up on the other side of the sloping eaves?

He had to memorize all of these things.

Because the night after that, it wasn't about "feeling it was okay," but about "not being even a step off."

A moment later, Han Li came out from inside, holding a small packet of bone-heavy skin.

He handed over the medicine packet and the tendon-restoring herb together, his expression unchanged from before, as if he hadn't noticed Bai Xuanxin's steps just now.

"One and a half qian of *Huijincao* and three liang of *Chengupi*."

Bai Xuanxin reached out and took it, then sniffed it and said, "The age is alright."

Han Li hummed in agreement and turned to collect the medicine slips.

Bai Xuanxin could have taken this opportunity to say a few more words to him, such as about the medicine furnace, the control of the fire, or whether the pressure in the valley had increased recently. But the words stuck in his throat, and he ultimately didn't continue.

This chapter shouldn't push further into Han Li's storyline.

He came today to buy medicine, but also to trample on birds.

The medicine has arrived, and half the route has been found. To linger any longer or say anything more would seem too greedy.

"Thank you for your trouble, Junior Brother Han." Bai Xuanxin put away the medicine and gave a slight bow.

Han Li simply nodded.

Both exchanges were very simple.

Bai Xuanxin turned and left the valley, only stopping after rounding a bend in the mountain.

A mountain breeze blew in, making the hem of his clothes clench, and the medicine packet in his hand still carried the lingering bitter smell of smoke from the valley. Bai Xuanxin stood by the rocks on the slope, his eyes half-closed, and went over the bird's three eye positions, two leaps and bounds, and that extremely short gap in its gaze from beginning to end.

The old pine tree was the first thing I noticed.

The crossbeam is a transit point.

The sloping eaves are for viewing later.

What that beast is most wary of is sudden change:

He suddenly stood up.

running quickly,

The cold glint of weapons

Lift the door and open the curtain.

However, if a person moves slowly along the wall, taking advantage of the chaos of the medicine shelf, shadows, and medicine smoke, it will briefly "empty" itself.

This breath was very short.

But that's enough for someone to get into the first layer.

Bai Xuanxin slowly opened her eyes, and the light that had been floating in her eyes had completely disappeared.

He figured out the way.

Getting in is just the first step.

Once inside, the toughest part is whether we can injure Mo Juren first, whether we can dismantle Qu Hun, and whether we can create an opening for Han Li to truly deliver a fatal blow.

Ultimately, all of this still depends on martial arts skills.

Relying on a deeper medicinal pool.

Relying on a more stable frame.

With my own body, can I truly support what needs to be supported that night?

Bai Xuanxin looked down at the two packets of medicine in her hand and suddenly chuckled very softly.

This trip was definitely worthwhile.

I got the medicine.

The bird's path is half clear.

The rest is to return to the Seven Mysteries Sect, repeatedly push this path into the later game, and while the sect is still willing to provide medicine, methods, and support, push the martial arts to the next level even faster.