Chapter 135: A Single Big Move

“Unable to control your spiritual energy?”

Ye Yuan looked at his little grand-disciple in front of him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes—it was rare for her to have problems in cultivation.

“Mm.” Yun Jiao nodded, thought for a moment, and replied seriously, “Every time I try to use a spell, all the spiritual energy in my body surges out uncontrollably in an instant. And…” She glanced at the scorched wasteland outside the window. “The spells I cast don’t come out the same as everyone else’s.”

If other people’s were regular size, hers were on the scale of XXXXXL.

It wasn’t just the Summoning Thunder Technique—she could already guess that any spell she used would probably have the same problem: wildly magnified, expanding without limit.

“At first, I thought it was because I misunderstood the theory behind the spell,” Yun Jiao said, brows slightly furrowed. To confirm, she had reread all her textbooks several times, and even borrowed a pile of fundamental manuals on spiritual energy control from Hall Master Xu. But she hadn’t found any difference. “Ancestor Master, you’ve seen my analysis notes yourself. So I don’t think the problem lies in my understanding of spell theory. Could it be an issue with the fusion of the mystic meridian?”

“Let me see.”

Ye Yuan raised his hand and lightly tapped her forehead. Yun Jiao felt something sweep through her entire body, tracing the flow of her meridians.

“Your mystic meridian is fine.” After a moment, Ye Yuan withdrew his hand with a nod of satisfaction. “It’s already merged completely with your own meridians. No abnormalities.”

“Then why…” Her spells came out so differently from others’?

Ye Yuan pondered for a long moment before finally saying, “Perhaps because the mystic meridian has been within my body for too long. Under the influence of my own energy, it has become much broader than an ordinary one. It naturally requires far more spiritual energy. So when you cast a spell, it instinctively drains all the energy in your body.”

And the resulting spell’s power matches the amount of energy consumed.

“So you’re saying…” Yun Jiao’s face darkened, an ominous premonition rising in her chest. “It’s because I don’t have enough spiritual energy in my body to support the meridian’s full flow, so it drains me completely every time?”

“Exactly.” He nodded.

Yun Jiao’s face twitched. “So no matter how much spiritual energy I draw in, I’ll only ever be able to use one spell before I’m empty again?”

Then what’s the point of having this meridian?!

“You could say that,” Ye Yuan admitted calmly.

“…”

She had a few choice words that were absolutely not fit to say to her ancestor master. What use was a technique this powerful if it could only be used once?!

Noticing the way her mood plummeted, Ye Yuan added gently, “Don’t worry. Once your cultivation improves and your power fully aligns with the mystic meridian, you’ll be able to control it freely. That issue will naturally disappear.”

“Really?” Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up, a tiny spark of hope returning. “At what stage of cultivation would that happen?”

“It won’t take too long…” Ye Yuan thought for a moment, then replied, “Once you’ve refined your mortal body with spiritual energy and shed your mortal shell, it should be fine.”

“You mean…”

“When you achieve an immortal body.”

Yun Jiao: “…”

MMP!

A long silence.

“Ancestor Master.”

“Mm?”

“I have another question.”

“Ask.”

“If I wanted to drop out right now, what procedures would I need to complete?”

“…”

—————————

It took nearly a full month for Wen Qing and Yuan Jiang to completely restore Han Shu’s soul. From a fragile remnant that looked like it could vanish at any moment, he had become a stable spirit once more, successfully re-entering his ghostly body. However, his cultivation and his memories were both gone—meaning they still had no idea what had truly happened in the Netherworld.

“Although his soul has reformed, it’s still extremely fragile. He’ll need extensive nurturing before he can start cultivating again.” Wen Qing sighed deeply, brows furrowed, and looked a bit embarrassed as he turned to Yun Jiao. “Little Martial Niece, the formation you set up in the cellar works wonderfully for nourishing spirits. Could you share the formation diagram with me? I plan to find another place rich in yin energy to help him recover.”

That formation was remarkable—it automatically drew in yin energy from the surroundings and concentrated it in the cellar. But unlike a typical Yin Gathering Array, it didn’t attract wandering ghosts—only pure yin energy. And according to Xi Teng and Han Shu, simply staying inside caused the yin energy to flow into their bodies naturally, greatly speeding their recovery. Yet, the formation was composed of multiple overlapping layers. Neither Wen Qing nor Yuan Jiang specialized in formations; they had studied it for days and still couldn’t figure out how it worked.

“Sure,” Yun Jiao agreed without hesitation.

Wen Qing blinked in surprise, not expecting her to agree so readily. He was touched—his little martial niece was truly gracious, just like someone from their sect should be. “Then I’ll thank you on Han Shu’s behalf.”

“No need to thank me,” Yun Jiao said matter-of-factly. “You two have spent quite a bit here anyway. Consider the formation diagram a complimentary gift. It’s nothing special, really—very simple once you see it!”

“Sim… simple?”

Are you kidding me?!

(⊙_⊙)

“It really is,” the old man chimed in, nodding seriously. “You see, the girl based it on a basic Spirit Gathering Array. She just stacked on five or six additional formations, that’s all. Compared to her usual work, this one’s considered very simple.”

Five or six additional formations?!

Wen Qing, who had spent days studying it: “…”

Yuan Jiang, who had also studied it: “…”

Why did it feel like they’d just been personally insulted?

○|￣|_

Maybe it wasn’t too late to go back and study under their master again.

Meanwhile, Yun Jiao still looked perfectly serious, the picture of a scholarly prodigy. Changing the topic, she asked, “Regarding the Netherworld matter—what do you two plan to do next?”

At her words, both men’s faces darkened. They had been so focused on restoring Han Shu’s soul that they hadn’t had time to think about the Netherworld. But it was obvious that things there had gone completely off the rails—possibly even out of control. The last incident in West City had already dragged the mortal realm into the mess.

Han Shu had been one of the Seven Nether Lords, ruling over a vast ghostly domain—second only to the King of the Underworld himself. For someone like him to be replaced so quietly meant the enemy was anything but ordinary.

The mysterious dead gu master, the soul-stealing fiend Chi Xiao—all of it pointed to the Netherworld. And that “master” they kept mentioning… was it the false Han Shu, or someone else entirely? They still had no clue.

“As for the imposter who pretended to be Han Shu,” Yuan Jiang said, his tone heavy, “I’ve already sent word to the upper realm, asking our disciples to investigate.” He turned his hand and produced a small slip of paper. “But the results… were not encouraging.”

Yun Jiao froze for a moment, taking the note from him and unfolding it. The old man leaned over curiously for a look—

and immediately his eyes went wide.

“Missing?!”

(End of Chapter)