I have a panel that reduces proficiency.

Chapter 66 Minor Concealment Technique (Mastery)

Inside the Jade Cloud Palace, Chaolu sat cross-legged, her hands forming a mudra in front of her dantian.

A year has passed, and the childishness in her eyes has faded by about 30%. She has a face exactly like the sunset, but she possesses a calm and aloof charm that the sunset lacks.

With his eyes closed, as he breathed, a faint shimmering light seemed to flow around him, making his azure Taoist robe appear even more elegant and otherworldly, like spring water condensing into mist.

After a long while, she slowly calmed her mind, the faint, watery light around her quietly receding into her body, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

That concludes today's lesson.

An aged voice rang out from the prayer mat opposite.

Chaolu opened her eyes and looked at the old woman in front of her.

The old woman had snow-white hair, a withered face, and a hunched back. Her cloudy eyes gazed at the morning dew, a faint trace of contentment in them.

"Yes, Master."

Morning Dew respectfully responded.

No sooner had she finished speaking than the old woman suddenly began to cough violently, each cough causing her to hunch forward slightly.

Chaolu quickly stood up and rushed forward to support the old woman's arm, gently stroking her back with one hand, saying, "Master, your cough is worse today than yesterday. I'll go and ask my uncle from the pharmacy to come and take a look at you."

"No need."

The old woman stopped coughing, waved her hand, and a faint smile appeared on her withered face. She said, "It's just that my three flowers are about to wither, my five elements are waning, and my life force is about to end. Why bother others any further?"

Upon hearing this, Chaolu's eyes reddened slightly, and she said, "Master, please don't say such things. This disciple has not yet established her foundation, and there is still much for her to learn from you."

A glint of light flashed in the old woman's eyes. Her withered hand landed on Chaolu's head and gently stroked it.

"Silly child, my foundation in this life is shallow, and I have no hope of reaching the Golden Core stage. But as long as I have this breath, I will steadily guide you to the Foundation Establishment stage. I hope that in the next life, you will come to guide me."

Chaolu knelt before the old woman, kowtowed deeply, and said, "This disciple will never fail my master."

Deep within the Five Yin Cave, no sunlight is visible; only the dim phosphorescence seeping from the rock walls casts eerie shadows among the damp, cold stalagmites.

"Such a strong Daoist will, such a deep obsession. Such a mindset makes him the best inheritor of the 'Five Yin Heavenly Demon Summoning Secret Mantra'."

-

Sunset knelt on the cold, damp stone ground, hands on the ground, breathing heavily, sweat dripping down her forehead.

Around her, several senior brothers and sisters lay sprawled on the ground, their faces pale, their fates unknown.

"I—I will never become your successor, I will never fall into the demonic path."

The voice laughed, as if it had heard something extremely amusing.

"The righteous path? The demonic path? You seem to know the difference quite well. Little girl, tell me—what good deeds did your parents accumulate by spending their lives gathering herbs and saving lives? When they died, did a single righteous cultivator lend a helping hand?"

"That's not the right way—"

—

"Was it your parents being dragged out of the house after they died, or your sister having her fingers broken and kneeling in the snow begging for mercy?"

""

"Shut up!"

"Shut up? Little girl, you're scared. Because you know every word I say is true. Your parents spent their lives saving people, but in the end, they couldn't even save their own lives. Your sister knelt in the snow, her hand bones broken by someone's trampling. Where was the righteous path then? Where was the justice? Tell me."

"That's—that's because we weren't strong enough—it has nothing to do with the righteous path. The righteous path isn't what you're describing; the righteous path is..."

The evening glow trembled, its ten fingers digging tightly into the mud.

"The right way is that even after your parents die, the landlord still collects his rent, still steps on your sister, and still kicks you in the chest. The right way is that no one cares, no one questions, because everything is in accordance with the rules."

"You're talking nonsense! My sister said that once we enter Mount Luofu, once we become stronger—"

""

"So what if you've become stronger? Your sister is now a true disciple of the Jade Cloud Dao Palace, a position that most people on Mount Luofu can only dream of. But when you took revenge on that landlord, did you use your fists? No, now that your sister is a true disciple, countless people are eager to avenge her. You didn't lift a finger, yet the landlord still lost his business, his land deeds were dug up, and even his Qi Refining Level 3 cultivation was crippled on some pretext. The reason is that he broke the rules and offended a true disciple of Mount Luofu. This is the rule of the righteous path. You sisters have gone from being eaten by the rules to being eaten by the rules."

"That's enough—"

"In this world, it's never been the righteous path that devours people, nor the demonic path; it's people devouring people. The righteous path merely covers up the devouring with rules and dignity, making you, the devoured, believe you've lost honorably and willingly. Like your landlord, when he devoured you, what rule did he use? It was paying back debts, it was a contract as solid as a mountain. See how upright and honorable it all seemed? But you want to use the righteous path to sue him? It's useless. He devours you with a clear conscience, with a perfectly justified and comfortable attitude. When your sister becomes a true disciple, things will be reversed. Your sister won't even need to utter a word; someone will still skin him alive for you."

Break his bones. That's where rules are most useful—they're a knife; whoever stands tallest can grasp the handle and point it in their desired direction.

"Enough—stop talking!"

"Think carefully about what you've seen on Mount Luofu this past year. How those elders sitting high up taught you to endure hardship, to persevere, and to climb the ranks step by step according to the rules. Oh right, you didn't experience any of that. After all, your sister is now a true disciple, and you can quickly climb to the inner sect thanks to her. You too have reaped the rewards of your hard work, but the one who suffered wasn't you, but the senior brothers and sisters around you who didn't have a true disciple."

"I—I'm not—"

"No? That's not up to you."

Suddenly, the cave was filled with a strong yin energy, and countless streams of dark black mist gushed out from the cracks in the rock wall, surging and spreading along the ground like black snakes crawling on the stone surface.

One of the wisps of mist entered the mouth and nose of a female disciple who was lying on the ground.

The female disciple's body twitched violently, and then she was lifted up by an invisible force—before she was fully seated, her eyes snapped open, burning with two eerie green phosphorescent lights.

The voice asked, "You entered the outer sect five years earlier than Wanxia, ​​gathered herbs before her, and cultivated before her, yet she is destined to enter the inner sect first. Tell her, why?"

Senior Sister Liu stared intently at the sunset and said, "Sunset Glow, do you know? I've been stuck at the first level of Qi Refining for a full five years! And you? Only one year! You've only been in Luofu Mountain for a year, and you've already reached the threshold of the second level of Qi Refining! How so! Just because of the pills your sister brings you from the Jade Cloud Palace every month? I only eat one meal a day, saving spirit stones to exchange for a Qi Gathering Pill, saving it up for three months before I could finally swallow it. But you? You eat it every day, take it every night. You always say you rely on yourself—do you know how ridiculous that is? You're already standing so high, yet you still bend down and tell us you have to rely on yourself. You've never relied on yourself! You rely on your sister! You have your current cultivation level because of your sister, and you were able to enter the inner sect first because of your sister!"

Looking at Senior Sister Liu's distorted face, Wanxia's eyes welled up with tears as she said, "No—Senior Sister Liu, it's not like that. You're not usually like this. When I first entered the outer sect, I didn't know anything. You taught me how to distinguish the age of herbs. When I came back late from gathering herbs, you saved food for me. And my sister didn't give me any pills."

"No? How laughable! Even now, you're still lying. Do you know that if it weren't for your sister being a true disciple, who would be willing to take care of you? You think I'm genuinely kind to you? I was just gambling, betting that when your sister helps you in the future, you'll also lend me a hand. And what about you? You keep saying you're relying on yourself. It's laughable that even your chance to 'rely on yourself' was given to you by your sister! Without your sister, you're nothing!"

Wanxia was trembling all over, tears welled up in her eyes, and finally burst out, blurring the ferocious face of Senior Sister Liu.

However, the next moment, that face suddenly drooped down.

The green light in Senior Sister Liu's eyes went out, and she collapsed back to the ground.

The yin energy rose again, swirling in another direction.

The tall, thin senior brother Zhou suddenly straightened up, his eyes also gleaming with a ghostly green as he stared straight at the sunset.

The voice asked, "You and Wanxia were both at the outer gate, patrolling the mountain together and doing missions together. Tell her how you both feel about her?"

Senior Brother Zhou said, "Junior Sister Wanxia, ​​you always say you want to rely on yourself. Rely on yourself? Do you know how envious we are of you behind your back? We're all going crazy with envy. Your sister is a true disciple—a true disciple! You don't have to do anything; you'll be accepted into the inner sect sooner or later. But what about us? We have nothing. We don't have the pills your sister sends every month, nor the overt and covert care from our senior uncles and aunts. Do you know that every extra day you practice, every extra herb you gather, feels like a knife being slashed right before our eyes?" "Look at you, even with a true master as an older sister, you work so hard. Why don't you good-for-nothings work hard too? But we don't have a sister like you! We work hard, we really work hard. Your hard work is just icing on the cake. Do you understand? You won't understand, you never will. All the hardships and suffering you endure in this outer sect are ultimately your own choice. You could have chosen not to. You could have waited peacefully to be introduced into the inner sect, but you insisted on choosing this path, to show everyone, 'Look, I made it on my own!'"

The sunset bowed its head, tears sliding down its nose and into the corners of its mouth, salty and bitter.

She remembered that snowy night a year ago.

Her older sister shoved the "Minor Concealing Breath Technique" into her hands. That was when they had just started to earn enough spirit stones, but even so, half a year had passed.

They barely managed to gather enough people to go to Luofu Mountain for the assessment.

She remembered her saying that her older sister was smarter than her, and that her older sister should go first.

Chaolu shook her head and stuffed the spirit stone bag back into her hand.

"You go first."

"What about my sister? What happened to her?"

"Sister, let's think of another way."

Wanxia raised her head, wiped away her tears, looked at Senior Brother Zhou, and said, "You're wrong, Senior Brother Zhou. I don't deny that I do have a good older sister. But my sister isn't what you all say. She never gave me any pills—she gave me the opportunities that should have been hers. You say that my uncles and aunts take care of me because of my sister—maybe, but is that something I can control? If they want to take care of me, I'll accept it. What they think in their hearts is their business. You say I risked my life..." "It's icing on the cake—Senior Brother Zhou, have you seen that scree slope on the West Cliff? I was chased for three whole miles there by a crimson python, and finally hid behind a waterfall, soaking in icy water for half the night before I survived. Have you seen the scar on my back that hasn't faded yet? I risked my life no less than you. You said I could have chosen not to—but my sister gave me her spot. Later, she was chosen by Master Suyuan and had her own opportunity, but I took her path, so I must walk this path for her."

"You—you ultimately—are all thanks to your sister!"

The green light in Senior Brother Zhou's eyes struggled violently for a few moments, then suddenly went out like a candle flickering in the wind. He fell backward, his head hitting the stone ground hard with a dull thud.

The voice paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Good, very good. I have been in this Five Yin Cave for countless years and have seen countless so-called people with firm Dao hearts. Most of them went completely insane before they even survived the first round of the Bewitching Heart Curse. You are the first person who can speak so clearly to me."

"But one"

"Although I am trapped here, my ears are not closed. The depths of this Five Yin Cave are connected to the earth's veins, and the turbid air within occasionally carries news from the outside. I just suddenly remembered something—your sister, wasn't she favored by Venerable Su Yuan?"

"Master Suyuan, the most senior Water-based True Person of the Jade Cloud Dao Palace, has been stuck at the peak of Foundation Establishment for countless years, her lifespan nearing its end and her life force about to extinguish. Tell me, why would she choose this exact moment to accept a disciple with a water-based spiritual root?"

"Heh, it all boils down to those two words—body snatching."

Mount Luofu.

Wangxia Outer Courtyard.

Outside, snow was falling heavily, while inside, the stove was warm and cozy.

Fang Shi sat cross-legged on the mat, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

Over the past year, although his cultivation level has been constantly eroded by the influence of the Dao in this world, his proficiency in the "Yuanyun Technique" has been slowly increasing amidst ups and downs, thanks to the panel.

[Yuanyun Technique Proficiency +1]

【Yuanyun Technique (Proficient): 183/200】

As usual, Xuanzhu huddled beside him, her whole body wrapped in that large Taoist robe, the hem of the robe overlapping with the corner of his clothes, only half of her face showing as she pressed against his leg.

Suddenly—

[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]

【————】

[Minor Concealment Technique Proficiency +1]

[Minor Concealment Technique (Proficient): 200/200]

[Minor Concealment Technique Level Up: Proficient → Master (↑)]

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