Chapter 57: Guidance

On the seventh day of the month, she sought guidance in the Stone Forest.

This place lay behind Mount Luoyun, shrouded year-round in a thin veil of mist. Silence reigned, broken only by the wind’s faint whimper as it threaded through the gaps between stones.

Bai Yuening arrived at the appointed hour, finding Elder Luoyun standing quietly beneath a colossal gray-white rock, shaped like an unsheathed sword. Her robes were simple, her slender form seeming to melt into the cold stone and mist around her, her presence ethereal and elusive.

“Master.” Bai Yuening stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Elder Luoyun nodded slightly, her gaze cool and serene as it fell upon her disciple. She did not speak, merely waited in silence.

Taking a deep breath to quell the invisible pressure that always accompanied her master’s icy demeanor, Bai Yuening voiced her confusion directly:

“Master, I have been cultivating the ‘Radiant Sword Manual,’ yet I cannot grasp the essence of the ‘Shadow Transformation’ technique.

“The manual instructs that the body follows the sword, the mind moves the blade, and illusions are split to confound the enemy.

“But when I attempt it, the illusions feel stagnant, the sword slow, and my spiritual power often sticks when it flows through the Lung Meridian.”

She described her bottleneck clearly, with no unnecessary words.

Elder Luoyun listened in silence. When Bai Yuening finished, she finally spoke: “Radiance is not driven by force, but guided by intent.”

She raised a hand; no spiritual energy gathered at her fingertips, but she casually traced a line through the air.

In that instant, Bai Yuening seemed to see several blurred shadows of her master’s finger appear at once—indistinguishable from reality—only to merge again, as if it had all been a trick of the eye.

“Intention precedes the sword; the body follows the mind. You strive for speed, obsessed with form, so both body and spirit are hindered.”

Elder Luoyun withdrew her hand, her voice calm: “Forget the sword moves. Forget the illusions.”

“Hold only one thought—break through.”

Forget the sword moves? Hold only one thought?

Bai Yuening was startled, unconsciously repeating those words in her heart.

She had always fretted over how to quicken her movements, how to make the illusions more convincing, never considering the need to ‘forget.’

“Why does your master speak in riddles?” Ye Ming’s voice, tinged with confusion and criticism, echoed in her mind. “If you forget everything, what’s left to practice? But... that move just now—she barely used any force, yet it felt faster than your sword.”

Bai Yuening ignored Ye Ming’s complaints. Her mind was entirely immersed in Elder Luoyun’s few words and that stunning gesture.

Within her consciousness, the Radiant Sword Manual began to flow, passages once obscure seeming to loosen.

Intention before sword... body moves with mind... forget form, retain intent...

She instinctively pressed her fingers together to form a sword and, guided by a sudden insight, gave a gentle thrust.

This time, she did not deliberately channel spiritual energy through the stuck meridian, nor did she try to split an illusion.

Her mind held only a single, simple thought.

Pierce the falling bamboo leaf before her.

The movement was still awkward, not even a proper sword technique.

Yet, at the moment her intention focused, a faint sound of air splitting rose from her fingertips, faster than any practice before!

Even the flow of spiritual power within her became smoother, the obstruction in her meridian less pronounced, though not gone.

So this was it!

It wasn’t a lack of spiritual power or blocked meridians. Her “intent” had been shackled by the sword techniques themselves.

By chasing perfection in form, she had lost the “spirit” of the manual—the pursuit of ultimate speed and transformation.

Elder Luoyun watched her disciple’s sudden insight and the improved thrust, a faint hint of satisfaction flickering in her cold gaze, almost imperceptible.

“Thank you for your guidance, Master!” Bai Yuening bowed again, her gratitude sincere.

Elder Luoyun responded with a soft “Mm,” acknowledging her thanks.

Her eyes then shifted, almost absentmindedly, to the sword Bai Yuening always carried.

It was wrapped in gray cloth, only the dark hilt and a small segment of the ancient, unadorned blade exposed.

Her gaze lingered on the hilt for a fleeting moment.

Bai Yuening tensed instinctively, and Ye Ming fell silent.

“Did she notice something?” Ye Ming asked anxiously.

Elder Luoyun’s gaze was calm, with no hint of inquiry or curiosity—she regarded it as a common object.

She asked nothing, said nothing, as if it were just a disciple’s ordinary artifact.

Her glance lasted only a brief instant before moving on.

“If you have doubts in your practice, follow your heart. Go now.”

With those words, she closed her eyes again, her aura blending with the cold, silent Stone Forest, as if her spirit had drifted beyond this world.

The intent to dismiss was clear.

Suppressing her lingering doubt, Bai Yuening bowed respectfully. “Your disciple takes her leave.”

She turned and left the Stone Forest, her steps lighter than when she had arrived, but Elder Luoyun’s final glance replayed endlessly in her mind.

Was it accidental, or had her master noticed something?

If so, why not ask?

This master was even more unfathomable than she had imagined.

“Hey, do you think your master actually noticed me?” Ye Ming couldn’t hold back, muttering in her mind.

“Her look gave me chills—not threatening, but as if she saw through something.”

“I don’t know,” Bai Yuening replied inwardly. “But since she didn’t say anything, we’ll carry on as usual.”

“True... anyway, she doesn’t seem hostile,” Ye Ming grumbled, soon growing excited again. “Your master’s a woman of few words, but she’s got real skill. If you keep practicing what she said, maybe that sword manual will finally shine.”

Without needing his encouragement, Bai Yuening was already eager to put her newfound insight into practice.

She hurried back to her small courtyard, closed the door tightly, and, without even resting, drew her Frostflow sword.

Clearing her mind of distractions, she recalled Elder Luoyun’s finger, its intent leading the light, the pure thought of “breaking through.”

Her wrist flicked, the sword darted forth.

She did not force speed, nor try to split illusions; her heart held only one thought.

Fast, faster, break through the old limits!

The sword flashed. Its speed seemed unchanged, but Bai Yuening sensed that her inner spiritual power, especially in the Lung Meridian, flowed smoother than before!

Even the recovery after each move quickened slightly.

There was hope!

Her eyes brightened, and she immersed herself in the practice once more, thrust after thrust, seeking the state where mind guided sword, body and spirit united.

Ye Ming, for once, did not interrupt, quietly observing the subtle but real change in her swordplay.

As the sun set, golden rays filtered through the window lattice, stretching the shadow of the girl practicing her sword.

The sword’s light danced—still immature, yet with an ineffable hint of liveliness.

On the path of cultivation, a master’s single gesture outweighs months of toil.

Bai Yuening sheathed her sword, feeling her spiritual power increased and her understanding of the Radiant Sword Manual deepened.

She looked toward Mount Luoyun.

This registered master might offer her no wealth or resources, but with just a few words of guidance, their value was beyond measure.