Chapter 40: Senior Brother, It's Your Junior Sister

He casually pulled over a woven rush mat and sat down, gesturing for Pan Yun to sit as well.

Right there in the morning mist, he explained to her what they practiced. "Primordial breath. There is primordial breath between heaven and earth, and there is also primordial breath within the human body. To practice Dao, to cultivate the body, to cultivate the spirit—apart from drawing upon the primordial breath of heaven and earth, and the vital essence transformed from the food that enters the body, one must also refine the primordial breath within one's own body.

"Every cultivation technique has a different method for refining this breath, but the Kunyuan Technique has particularly strict requirements. In the latter half of the form, the primordial breath of heaven and earth absorbed into the body must be combined with the primordial breath within, circulated through the microcosmic celestial orbit, and then stored in the elixir field. It is completely transformed into the true breath within your elixir field. Because this true breath is blended with the refined primordial breath of your own body, your control over it is much greater.

"Then, guiding the true breath of the elixir field to circulate throughout the entire body and performing the celestial orbit exercise can not only strengthen the meridians, but also utilize it to fortify the viscera."

Wang Feiyin sighed with emotion, "This technique strengthens both the internal meridians and the external physical body. When you eventually achieve mastery, your body will be like a wall of bronze and an iron rampart, internal and external as one. To kill you would require a tremendous amount of effort. Cough, cough. Of course, we practitioners of the Dao are very benevolent and generally do not engage in such lawless and rebellious acts."

Pan Yun pondered, engraving his words one by one into her heart.

Seeing that she was listening intently, Wang Feiyin smiled slightly and elaborated further, "Yet the technique you currently practice fails to combine the internal and external primordial breaths. The pathway of the latter half of the technique's execution has also been altered, to the extent that much of the breath you absorb dissipates before it ever reaches the elixir field.

"Some of this breath scatters into the limbs and bones, while some escapes outward. Although the breath scattered into the limbs and bones can nourish and strengthen the physique to a certain extent, it falls far short of the orderly nourishment and training provided by wielding the true breath you have already refined."

Pan Yun understood. The biggest problem with the technique she currently possessed was its low utilization rate, coupled with an insufficient degree of internal cultivation.

Wang Feiyin looked at her and said, "I can see that your cultivation has already made some progress, but your stature is inadequate, and your internal organs are all weak—even slightly inferior to those of an ordinary person. For the most part, this is still due to the technique. Therefore, you should change it as soon as possible, train your body properly first, and only then proceed further."

At this, Pan Yun felt compelled to voice a grievance on behalf of the technique. Her gaze drifted toward the black cat crouching to one side, and she let out a silent huff in her heart.

If not for the realm spirit, she would have been able to strengthen her body relying solely on the leaked spiritual qi, not to mention that her physique would naturally improve once her cultivation achieved success.

Pan Yun offered no explanation. Instead, she accepted the half-volume of the technique, bowed respectfully, and said, "Thank you, Daoist Master. Pan Yun will surely practice diligently and correct the technique."

Stroke his beard, Wang Feiyin smiled genially and said, "Good, good. Come ask me if you have any questions. This technique is harder to practice than any other, and it is also rather domineering. One can tell a thing or two just from the true breath you exhaled and inhaled yesterday."

Pan Yun's opening posture was correct; this part was for attracting and absorbing the true breath. But after entering the body, only a tiny fraction followed the correct meridian pathways, and the subsequent portion of the technique went astray.

The more Wang Feiyin thought about it, the more bizarre it felt. "Could it be that you, child, were targeted by some unscrupulous wicked practitioner who knew you had good talent and used you to test a new technique?"

Otherwise, who could be so vicious as to deliberately alter just the latter half of the form?

Pan Yun opened her mouth, unable to speak. She suspected that too many texts from her past life had been lost, leaving behind perhaps only a single move or half a form, and that predecessors had tried their best to supplement the second half. While it might not be ideal, at least everyone could manage to practice it.

Alas, thinking of those predecessors in her past life, they were quite pitiful as well. In those days, they had to fight wars, cope with a violently changing natural environment, and deal with suddenly appearing demons and ghosts. Being able to piece together this half-set of techniques was already quite an achievement.

"Forget about that former teacher of yours. I'll find you a new master," Wang Feiyin introduced enthusiastically. "I have a second junior martial brother. He is kind-hearted, of a gentle disposition, and both erudite and highly talented. How about I accept you as his junior disciple on his behalf?"

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun immediately gathered her wits, sat up straight, and said with a solemn expression, "Senior Brother, I had a dream last night. I dreamed of the Mountain God Pangong, and he wants to take me as his personal direct disciple."

Wang Feiyin was completely dumbfounded. "What?"

"It's true! Not only did I dream of the Mountain God Pangong, but I also dreamed of the Primordial Lord of Lingbao. He also wanted to take me as a disciple, but unfortunately, he said his true form cannot linger for long in the mortal world, so in the end he yielded me to Pangong, allowing Pangong to take me as his personal direct disciple."

Wang Feiyin: ......

He opened his mouth several times, wanting to speak, but not knowing what to say, and could only shut his mouth again.

Pan Yun looked at him with eager eyes and called out, "Senior Brother?"

Wang Feiyin weakly raised a hand and said, "Don't—don't call me Senior Brother. Allow me to think about this."

After pondering for a moment, he tried to persuade Pan Yun earnestly, "You are so young, and you belong to the same generation as Miaozhen and Miaohe. Wouldn't it be wonderful to keep each other company? Plus, there are so many teachers and elders to take care of you."

With a stern expression, Pan Yun said, "Senior Brother, I am already eight years old. Because I have been frail since childhood, I am exceptionally understanding and empathetic. Among my three siblings at home, we are especially affectionate and harmonious. I will take good care of my two junior fellow apprentices, Miaozhen and Miaohe. I am already grown up and do not need the senior brothers and sisters to take special care of me. And I will certainly treat my senior brothers and senior sisters with the same sibling affection as I do my brothers at home."

Pan Yun nodded earnestly at Wang Feiyin. "I am very understanding, Senior Brother, truly!"

The demand you are making right now is not very understanding at all.

Seeing that he was not too thrilled, Pan Yun said, "Does Senior Brother not believe that I dreamed of Pangong?"

Wang Feiyin smiled without a word.

Pan Yun sighed and said, "I know it sounds far-fetched, but it really happened. The Primordial Lord of Lingbao even liked me a lot and specially bestowed upon me a divine ability as a witness for me and my master."

Goodness gracious, in the span of a single sentence, she went from Pangong to a master?

Seeing her looking at him with pleading eyes, Wang Feiyin had no choice but to humor her, taking the initiative to ask, "What divine ability did the Primordial Lord of Lingbao give you?"

Pan Yun immediately replied, "The Language of All Things!"

"What?"

"It's communicating with all things. As long as it is a sentient being, whether livestock or plant, I can commune with it. The Primordial Lord of Lingbao said this divine ability is called the Language of All Things."

Wang Feiyin was quite certain that the Primordial Lord of Lingbao possessed no such divine ability. Even if he could communicate with all things, it would not be called by that name.

This name was most likely something she had made up herself.

However, even if it wasn't a blessing from the Primordial Lord of Lingbao, it didn't necessarily mean she lacked this divine ability, so......

Half-doubting, Wang Feiyin stood up and said, "Then let us go test your divine ability."

Pan Yun immediately stood up. "How shall we test it, Senior Brother? Shall we use my cat? I'll have it meow, and then I will tell you what it is saying."

Wang Feiyin nodded. "Alright, give it a try."

Pan Yun tapped the black cat with the tip of her toe, making it get up from where it lay on the ground. "Come, say hello to Senior Brother."

"Meow—you idiot, he doesn't believe you at all."

With her smile unchanged, Pan Yun translated for Wang Feiyin, "It said it likes Mount Sanqing very much and wants to stay here to practice the Dao. What it likes the most is the kind and harmonious Eldest Senior Brother."

Wang Feiyin: "Just a few meows, and it said all that?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Of course! It is very talkative; sometimes even I find it noisy."

Feeling that he should not follow her rhythm, Wang Feiyin took the initiative to say, "Let's find some other animals."

Yet their Sanqing Temple didn't even raise a chicken, and finding animals proved impossible. So Wang Feiyin led her toward the peak of the mountain, where the terrain was flatter, the trees were dense, and the ground was covered with a relatively soft layer of fallen leaves and humus.

As they walked, Wang Feiyin explained, "Mount Sanqing is mostly granite; the entire mountain is hard rock. Trees grow between the mountain rocks, and over time, there are fallen leaves and soil. Through tens of millions of years, this has resulted in the greenery covering the mountains.

"There are more plants up here, so birds and beasts often forage here."

Familiar with the path, Wang Feiyin led her upward. Startled, a pheasant flapped its wings and tried to escape through the bushes, only to be caught by Wang Feiyin with one hand.

The pheasant squawked and cackled frantically.

Wang Feiyin looked expectantly at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun: "...... It's calling for its mother. 'Mom, save me! Save me!'"

Wang Feiyin fell silent. He couldn't very well say she was wrong, so he let it go.

Cackling and scolding all the while, the pheasant flew off awkwardly, flapping its wings.

Pan Yun: "It's cursing you, Eldest Senior Brother."

"That part didn't need to be translated."

Pan Yun smoothly changed the subject. "Senior Brother, do you want to test other animals?"

"No need." Wang Feiyin had also come to his senses. Whether she could commune with all things or not, he did not know, because he could not.

At most, he could tell that her divine sense had attached itself to the black cat and run over to eavesdrop last night.

That was a human soul and spirit, which was why he could detect it; as for animals, he wasn't quite as familiar.

Therefore, how could he verify whether the translations she gave were true?

The two of them stared at each other with wide eyes. Wang Feiyin asked, "Must you be the disciple of the Mountain God Pangong?"

Pan Yun nodded repeatedly. "Mainly, I want to be Eldest Senior Brother's junior sister."

"If you take Yin Song as your master, I will be your martial uncle. The teachings and guidance will be the same."

Pan Yun shook her head, looking at Wang Feiyin with starry eyes. "Eldest Senior Brother, Master really did take me as a disciple. If you don't believe me, ask His Elder Holiness in your dream tonight."

A martial niece was hardly as close as a junior sister, wasn't there a whole layer between them?

Wang Feiyin: "Fine then. I shall accept a disciple on behalf of the master, and take you as the fifth disciple of our master."

Pan Yun happily acknowledged and called out, "Eldest Senior Brother!"

With a headache, Wang Feiyin waved his hand dismissively and led her back.

In the kitchen, cooking smoke curled upward and steam rose. As soon as they entered the courtyard, the young man who had been following Tao Ji had already set up the long table and was holding a stack of bowls and chopsticks. Seeing the two of them, he immediately greeted them warmly, "Eldest Senior Uncle, Little Junior Sister, breakfast is ready."

The young man set down the bowls and chopsticks, cupped his fists in salute, and said, "Junior Sister, this Daoist is Tao Yanbai. I am your Third Senior Brother."

Wang Feiyin said, "Don't talk nonsense. This is your Little Junior Aunt."

"Ah?" The young man stared blankly.

Hearing this from inside the kitchen, Tao Ji rushed out brandishing a wooden ladle, glaring with grief and indignation as he asked, "What? What did you just say, Eldest Senior Brother?"

Xuanmiao and the others also walked over from various directions.

Wang Feiyin said, "You came just in time, everyone is here. Then let me formally make an introduction. This is the fifth disciple I am accepting on behalf of our master, your Little Junior Aunt, Pan Yun.

"Third, Fourth, this is your Junior Sister. She is young, so you must take good care of her in the future."

Tao Ji twitched his lips and said, "Senior Brother, I know she has great talent, but...... there's no need to take her as a junior sister, right? You could have taken her as your own disciple!"

Wang Feiyin replied, "I am not suited to be a teacher to others."