Chapter 351 - A Stable Fold and the Eastern Road

Chapter 351: Chapter 351 - A Stable Fold and the Eastern Road

Lu Canghai spent some time reviewing the method before beginning.

He asked about the return flow connecting reinforcement to compression, then had Su Bai trace how the pressure affected its movement.

Several questions required Su Bai to open his notebook and explain the changes he had made during the night.

By the time his master set the jade slip down, both of them had turned their full attention to the first fold.

"I will begin with the strengthening circulation," Lu Canghai said. "Watch the junction beneath the main return route. If the pressure response changes, tell me immediately."

Su Bai nodded and extended his spiritual sense with his master’s permission.

Qi moved through Lu Canghai’s meridians at a measured pace. The reinforcement method spread its influence around the Dantian before the compression sequence gradually joined it.

Su Bai observed the point where the two flows met, following the change in pressure as the Qi began to condense.

Inside his own body, that portion had passed with almost nothing to resist it.

Here, the response was clear.

The returning circulation tightened slightly as the load increased, restricting the flow that would deepen the compression.

Lu Canghai maintained the method and allowed the reinforcing portion to continue. After several breaths, the strain eased, and the circulation gradually admitted another small increase. Su Bai leaned forward without realizing it, watching the relationship he had spent the night trying to create.

His master remained still.

The first problem appeared when Lu Canghai changed his breathing and drew in another portion of ambient Qi.

A small hesitation passed through the shared junction, briefly favoring compression before the reinforcement caught up.

Lu Canghai stopped deepening the fold at once and maintained the earlier stable circulation.

Su Bai had already found the source.

"The returning branch is joining too close to the intake route," he said. "I accounted for a steady flow, but a sudden increase affects it."

Lu Canghai opened his eyes and nodded.

"I felt it."

Su Bai adjusted the passage in the jade slip while explaining the new route. His master examined the alteration, then resumed from the initial strengthening circulation.

This time, changes in intake passed through without disturbing the order between the two processes. The pressure response remained steady as Lu Canghai guided more Qi into the forming fold.

Morning advanced while they worked.

A second adjustment made it easier for the practitioner to stop the technique without leaving the reinforcing circulation unsettled.

Su Bai recorded the change immediately, then asked his master to pause and resume several times.

Lu Canghai complied with growing patience, following the method slowly enough for every movement to remain clear.

The same stable response appeared after each interruption.

By the time sunlight filled the courtyard, the first fold had begun to settle.

Lu Canghai drew additional Qi from the surroundings and refined it through his own method.

The denser reserve remained stable within his Dantian, supported by the continuing reinforcement.

Su Bai checked for the fine disturbances that might indicate hidden strain, while his master examined the foundation from within. Neither hurried to deepen the compression.

Eventually, Lu Canghai allowed the intake to cease.

He maintained the completed circulation for a while longer before opening his eyes.

A slow breath escaped him, and his hand remained resting over his lower abdomen as though confirming something he had not expected to feel.

Then he laughed. The sound began softly and grew until he had to shake his head at himself.

Su Bai waited, smiling despite the tension he had only just realized he was carrying.

"The first fold is stable," Lu Canghai said. "The reserve is denser, and the reinforcement is continuing properly. I cannot feel any strain."

He looked down at the jade slip between them.

"You really brought it this far."

"Thanks to Master," Su Bai replied. "I would still be sitting here wondering whether it worked if you had not helped."

Lu Canghai waved a hand, although the movement lacked his usual dismissiveness.

His gaze returned briefly to the notebook, where the two corrections had already been added beneath a night’s worth of revisions.

There was relief in his expression, accompanied by the regret that had appeared when he first recognized the art.

Su Bai understood why neither feeling could easily displace the other.

"We should continue observing the first fold before anyone advances further," Lu Canghai said. "I will speak to the Sect Master. The elders can examine the later circulation while I maintain this stage."

Su Bai agreed readily.

The method now had a successful beginning in an ordinary Dantian, which was the confirmation he had needed before entrusting it to the sect.

Further use would give the elders time to examine what a few hours could never reveal. His own work had taken the art to this point. Radiant Sky Sect possessed enough experienced cultivators to help it develop properly from here.

"Master, I would like to contribute it to the sect."

Lu Canghai’s expression softened.

"I thought you might."

"There is another technique as well."

Su Bai retrieved a fresh jade slip and began recording the Cloudshift Dressing Art.

The process took far less time now that its circulation and final trigger were clear in his memory.

After checking the completed copy, he placed it beside the Nine-Fold Sea-Forging Art.

Lu Canghai looked from the two slips to his disciple.

"When did you make this one?"

"Before the Sea-Forging Art. Senior Sister Ji helped me test it yesterday."

His master sent his spiritual sense through the instructions. The robe exchange was simple enough for him to understand after the discussion they had just finished, but that seemed to make his expression even more difficult to describe.

He read the final trigger twice, then looked toward the practice robes Su Bai had left neatly arranged near his room. A faint crease appeared between his brows.

Lu Canghai held his gaze for a moment before carefully putting both jade slips away.

Less than two full days had passed since he gave that instruction. His disciple had used them to create a convenient dressing technique and return with a possible answer to a wound the sect had carried for decades.

The old man rubbed his forehead and decided the details of how Su Bai arranged his time could remain unexplained.

"The visitors have left," he said at last. "We settled the remaining arrangements, and those who needed to return to their factions have already departed."

Su Bai’s attention sharpened immediately.

"Then I can leave?"

Lu Canghai nodded.

"You may go."

The relief on Su Bai’s face made his master smile.

There had been a time when getting the boy to leave Clear Cloud Peak required persuasion, or the promise of something sufficiently unpleasant to attract his interest.

Now he had spent the entire waiting period preparing things and watching for the chance to investigate demonic activity outside the sect.

Lu Canghai studied him quietly while Su Bai gathered the notebook.

His disciple had found something he wanted to accomplish.

That brought its own worries, but Lu Canghai knew better than to confuse them with a reason to keep him here forever.

Su Bai had grown strong enough to make his own decisions, and he had repeatedly shown that he understood the value of returning alive.

The old man could offer advice, arrange support, and remain ready for whatever message eventually came back. He would have to let that be enough.

Su Bai finished storing his things, then paused.

"Master, could you also deliver something to Junior Sister Liu Meng?"

Another jade slip appeared in his hand.

Lu Canghai looked at it with immediate suspicion.

"This one was already prepared," Su Bai added. "It is called the Mountain-Suppressing Cauldron Art. I have not had the chance to give it to her."

His master accepted the slip and put it away without reading it. He had already examined enough of his disciple’s recent work to occupy the rest of the day.

Liu Meng would receive the art, the Sect Master would receive the other two techniques, and Lu Canghai could explain their origins after he had recovered the patience to discuss them.

Su Bai wisely allowed him that moment of peace.

He bowed properly before leaving.

"I will return once I have learned more about the demonic movements. If I find anything urgent, I will send word first."

"Keep your aura concealed and be careful who sees you," Lu Canghai said. "Your task is to find information. If someone beyond your ability appears, leave before you give him a reason to chase you."

Su Bai straightened with a small smile.

"I understand, Master."

Lu Canghai studied him once more, then raised a hand toward the courtyard entrance.

Su Bai bowed again and took the mountain path, leaving his master seated beside the stone table.

There was no need for an escort to draw attention to his departure. The quiet route Lu Canghai had used to send him out before remained familiar enough for him to follow alone.

The peaks gradually disappeared behind the trees.

The sect’s formation remained calm as he passed through the permitted way out. Only after the mountains began falling behind him did he retrieve Ning Shuang’s crude map.

His gaze followed the markings toward the first place she had mentioned.

A region known for its tea was a pleasant enough destination under ordinary circumstances.

Su Bai knew that the conversation waiting there would concern matters far less peaceful, assuming Ning Shuang was still following the route she had left him.

His fingers brushed the storage ring containing Shen Youran’s gift before he put the map away. This time, he would arrive with a fresh supply of Withered Weeds Ash.

He looked once toward the distant outlines of Radiant Sky Sect.

Then Su Bai continued toward the Eastern Region.