Comprehending Myriad Techniques as Woodcutter

Chapter 164: Chapter 138: Black Celestial Book Progress

At her words, Xie Yuan whipped his head around, only to see the two-colored lotus flower floating silently above Mu Chaoyun’s hand.

The small courtyard was enveloped in a dim, mysterious light, sealing off the moonlight. It was as if the place had become a separate, illusory space.

A dream-like, black-and-white luminescence flickered, enveloping both Xie Yuan and Mu Chaoyun.

Xie Yuan gazed at the dream-like, two-colored lotus, which was missing a piece from one corner. Its Eight Trigrams base rotated slowly beneath it as the entire thing floated above Mu Chaoyun’s fair hand, a vision of exquisite beauty.

Before he could respond, Mu Chaoyun flicked her wrist, tossing the Eight Trigrams Lotus toward him in a gentle drift.

Startled, Xie Yuan hurriedly reached out. He guided it into his hands, where it surprisingly remained afloat.

Seeing this, the corners of Mu Chaoyun’s mouth curled up before she immediately smoothed her expression. She said nonchalantly,

"If this thing could be broken by being dropped, it would have been lost long ago. It wouldn’t be much of a supreme treasure from the Black Celestial Book."

His face flickering in the glow of the nearby Eight Trigrams Lotus, Xie Yuan said in surprise,

"Miss Mu, this treasure..."

"I know you’ve been interested. It’s not like I’m studying it constantly, so if you want to take a look, go ahead. Just not for too long,"

Mu Chaoyun said calmly.

"Then thank you, Miss Mu!"

A look of excitement crossed Xie Yuan’s face as he immediately lowered his head to gaze at the dream-like lotus.

’Taking in a homeless, twenty-six-year-old beautiful female Grandmaster... Good deeds really do get rewarded. The bonus prize has arrived!’

He stared at the lotus, for the first time closely observing this legendary treasure that had caused countless disputes.

The lotus floated silently, its base spinning continuously. As the mysterious light radiated outward, Xie Yuan slowly felt that the seemingly motionless petals were also constantly opening and closing. It was like a flower blooming and withering, then cycling through rebirth—an uncertain flux of creation and destruction.

It seemed to contain infinite transformations. Xie Yuan’s mind gradually tuned out his surroundings, becoming immersed in the endless mysteries of creation and destruction held within the lotus.

He felt as if he were once again seeing the visions from the day he activated the Black Celestial Book: a chaotic array of weapons, a sky filled with lotuses and a dark, heavy Eight Trigrams Plate, as well as frost and flames, the afterimages of fists and the wind from powerful kicks...

Suddenly, Xie Yuan felt an icy coolness on his forehead and jolted awake.

Mu Chaoyun retracted her slender hand. With a light gesture, she recalled the Eight Trigrams Lotus to her palm, where it vanished.

"I told you. You can’t stare at this thing for too long,"

she said softly, sizing up Xie Yuan.

"Any insights?"

To Xie Yuan, it had felt like only an instant, but the wine sitting beside him had cooled considerably. Clearly, some time had passed.

He felt an inexplicable mental fatigue. A layer of cold sweat had broken out on his back, completely soaking his undershirt.

’The original Black Celestial Book really is dangerous.’

Xie Yuan leaned back against his chair, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He said wearily,

"Just a jumble of chaos. I didn’t grasp anything."

"That’s normal. It was a stroke of luck that you comprehended anything last time, let alone two things. And one of them was the Celestial Concealment Skill... *That’s* the part that’s so baffling."

Mu Chaoyun said nonchalantly, her gaze wandering for a moment before she continued,

"Your mental energy is severely depleted right now. You need to rest. Wait until you’ve recovered, then you can try studying it again. Um, I’m going to ba—I’m going inside."

Perhaps sensing that her words sounded a bit awkward again, Mu Chaoyun hesitated.

But they’d had many similar conversations recently, so she didn’t waver, simply rising and entering the house, pulling the door closed behind her.

Xie Yuan watched Mu Chaoyun enter the house, one hand still on his forehead, his expression shifting slightly.

He’d always been curious about the Black Celestial Book, but it was Mu Chaoyun’s most sensitive subject. Although they had grown more familiar over the past few days, he had never dared to ask too much.

He never expected that she would proactively offer to let him study it...

’Does this mean that in Mu Chaoyun’s heart, she considers me one of her own now?’

Xie Yuan winced, rubbing his forehead to ease the faint, throbbing pain in his head.

’The mental drain was immense, and I didn’t grasp a thing. I guess you can’t get lucky every time.’

’The Black Celestial Book might be a supreme treasure, but it has the strict requirements to match. To truly gain something from it, you have to rely entirely on that mysterious and profound sort of insight.’

However, Xie Yuan hadn’t come away completely empty-handed.

[Black Celestial Book: (3/100)]

Seeing the progress number before him increase by two points, Xie Yuan broke into a grin. ’So this really does work.’

He didn’t need luck or a perfect opportunity. He didn’t need some illusory, fleeting moment of enlightenment. All he needed was to put in a little work.

He just wondered what kind of reward he would get once the progress bar was full.

The thought of that momentarily perfected saber technique and the unfathomably profound Celestial Concealment Skill made a warmth spread through Xie Yuan’s chest, filling him with anticipation.

...

「In the days that followed,」 Xie Yuan trained under Mu Chaoyun’s guidance, and his strength improved by leaps and bounds.

He had never progressed this quickly in his entire time training. His advancement through the Fourth Training was even faster than when he first started, leaving Xie Yuan quite excited.

The changes in his body were subtle, interacting with his daily improvements. Unaware of this at first, Xie Yuan attributed his rapid progress solely to the guidance of a Grandmaster like Mu Chaoyun—and he wasn’t wrong to give her credit.

He trained quietly in his small courtyard, telling no one of his breakthroughs, and his strength grew with each passing day. In all of Yunzhao County, other than Shen Longteng of the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm, no one was his match.

In addition to his training, Mu Chaoyun allowed him to study the Eight Trigrams Lotus for a little while each day. Having a consistent opportunity, the progress on his panel rose steadily.

[Black Celestial Book: (16/100)]

Xie Yuan was filled with anticipation. He just hoped Mu Chaoyun would stay for a while longer, at least long enough for him to max out this progress bar.

Her movements were clearly much smoother than when she had first arrived. He didn’t know how her injuries were healing, but since she never said anything, he never asked.

By now, Mu Chaoyun had been staying in the small courtyard for many days. She knew the furnishings inside and out so well she could picture them with her eyes closed, as familiar as her own home. And she basically acted like it, even taking to watering the flowers in the courtyard when the mood struck.

Xie Yuan watched Mu Chaoyun, clad in a white dress, using a watering can on a patch of flowers in a corner of the courtyard. She looked so serene and lovely, not at all like someone on the run.

’I’ve never found a good opportunity to ask her how she came by the Black Celestial Book... From the few snippets she’s let drop, I can tell it must be a Mu family heirloom. For her to have it out here, there are two possibilities. Either she stole the treasure and ran away, which would mean the people chasing her are from the Mu family. Or... the Mu family suffered a great catastrophe, and she was the only one who made it out...’

Xie Yuan mulled this over. He’d had his suspicions for a while. If it were the first scenario, his gut told him Mu Chaoyun wasn’t the type of person to do such a thing. Furthermore, her pursuers wouldn’t be some unaffiliated Grandmaster like Lu the Third. She would also want to get as far from the Beidu Mountain Range as possible, not linger here in Yunzhao, which was less than a hundred *li* from the foothills.

’Then it was most likely the second option... When he thought about her inexplicably lonely and forlorn aura, combined with the rumors of strange events on Beidu Mountain from before the new year, it was doubtful the Mu family of Beidu Mountain even existed anymore.’

’A Martial Dao family hidden deep in the mountains with a legacy spanning centuries, a great clan that boasted a Flying Dragon List Master and a young Grandmaster like Mu Chaoyun... How could such a family be wiped out overnight without a sound?’

As Xie Yuan was lost in thought, a knock suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

He glanced into the courtyard. Mu Chaoyun, seemingly paying no mind, was still tending to the flowers, but her figure was growing increasingly indistinct.

Anyone unfamiliar with the Celestial Concealment Skill would look right at the flower patch and see nothing at all.

Xie Yuan walked to the gate and opened it. Seeing a servant outside, he asked,

"What is it?"

"Master Xie, you have visitors. They say they’re from the Lin family’s estate—a brother and sister."

Xie Yuan froze. He instinctively glanced toward the flowerbed and saw that Mu Chaoyun had also paused for a moment.

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