Volume Five: Down and Out Gazing Northward at the Cloud Monument Chapter Twenty: The Heavenly Silkworm

Lan Sheng was filled with terror, sweat dripping from his forehead into his eyes. The stinging sensation finally pulled him out of his state of panic.

"For these past few months, the spiritual imprint of the Master had remained dim within my sea of consciousness, only beginning to emit a faint light a few days ago. I even told you all then that I was confident I could make contact with the Master," Lan Sheng explained to the group while rubbing his eyes.

Seeing his chapped lips, Lin Bo hurried to a bucket in the corner of the cell, scooped up a ladle of water, and brought it to him.

Realizing his throat was parched, Lan Sheng drank the water greedily. After wiping his mouth, he nodded in gratitude to Lin Bo.

"Don't thank me! Keep going!" Lin Bo urged, waving the ladle.

"I have been trying to communicate with the Master's spiritual consciousness for days, but I received no response until just now. Suddenly, the Master's consciousness became incredibly panicked—I could feel that agitation myself. Yet, no matter how I tried to soothe or comfort him, it was useless. Afterward, I felt my own mind becoming restless, as if inner demons were about to break through my mental restraints and seize my thoughts. That was when I immediately withdrew from my sea of consciousness. And that is the state you see me in now."

Lan Sheng spread his hands, signaling the end of his account.

"The Master must be in grave trouble. He has always faced even the fiercest storms with a smile, but this time..." Zhuo Yun’s face clouded with worry as she began to twist the silk handkerchief in her hands.

Su Xin snatched the handkerchief away and threw it aside, snapping harshly, "Useless girl, you only know how to fidget with that cloth when things go wrong."

Her outburst moved Zhuo Yun to tears. "I am just anxious and worried for the Master! But my cultivation is low; I can serve tea and water, but what can I do in a crisis like this?"

Qin Ying strode over, dragged Su Xin into a corner, and scolded, "You have a broken leg—why don't you focus on resting? Don't come crying to me if it heals crooked."

Su Xin seemed to enjoy being dragged, replying dismissively, "I dared to berate that old dog Song Xiang to his face; what does a crooked leg matter?"

Qin Ying’s eyes softened with pity, remembering how Su Xin had stood alone for justice, decrying Song Xiang for seizing power and taking advantage of their plight. Song Xiang, feeling no shame, had ordered his lackeys to shatter Su Xin’s legs with celestial fire staves. They had heard her screams from the dungeon.

Qin Ying touched the large scab on Su Xin's forehead. Su Xin swatted her hand away. "I don't need your pity. Once I've healed, I'll settle the score with those bastards."

Qin Ying wanted to retort but swallowed her words.

Lin Bo roared in frustration, "We still can't reach him! We've been trapped in this hellhole for ten days; we can't leave, and we can't find him. It’s driving me mad!" He slammed his fist against the stone wall, but it remained unmoved.

Lan Sheng, having rested, opened his eyes and said firmly, "I believe he will return. And when he does, blood will be repaid with blood. The warriors of the Cloud Palace did not die in vain."

Ten miles outside Guanyue City, Yan Mufeng respectfully presented a cup of wine to Zhuo Hua.

"Lord Yuan, are you certain you do not need my soldiers to escort you? The road ahead is filled with danger, and a mere hundred guards is hardly reassuring!"

"Mufeng, do not worry. My cultivation has mostly returned; I am capable of dealing with such small fry. Keep your elite Yan clansmen here to guard the borders against the dark, treacherous elements." Zhuo Hua took the cup and drained it in one gulp. "Until we meet again."

With that, Zhuo Hua turned back to the caravan. With a long whistle from Old Su, the carriages began to move eastward.

Inside the carriage, Zhuo Hua looked at the curious Su Mengling and asked, "This isn't your first time traveling, so why are you so happy?"

Su Mengling withdrew her gaze from the scenery, offering Zhuo Hua a sweet smile. Her large eyes turned into crescent moons, and dimples appeared on her pretty face. Zhuo Hua, confused, asked, "You smile at me but don't answer—why is that?"

Su Mengling chuckled, "Big brother, you really are a block of wood." She turned back to the scenery, still smiling.

Zhuo Hua’s lips curled slightly as he whispered, "The last time someone called me a block of wood was ten thousand years ago."

Without turning back, Su Mengling rested her head on her arms, looking at the melting snow of early spring. "It must have been that big sister, right?"

"Yes. Back then, she would bully me all day, yet she was always the one to drive away the fellow disciples who picked on me," Zhuo Hua said, his eyes closed, a faint smile on his lips.

"That big sister is so happy," Su Mengling said, filled with envy.

"Happy? How so?" Zhuo Hua tilted his head toward her, eyes still closed.

"Think about it! A man as formidable as you, having that helpless look on your face—it’s truly delightful. And the fact that only she could bully you, that no one else in the world gets to see that side of you... isn't that exclusive favor?" Su Mengling giggled behind her hand.

Zhuo Hua huffed and feigned annoyance. "You are all heartless."

Su Mengling pouted, "I can't enjoy that kind of happiness! You should focus on your cultivation; don't mind me, I'll just be jealous for a while."

Zhuo Hua, finding no way to win against the girl, retreated into his sea of consciousness.

The abyss of the whirlpool, once the size of a red bean, had grown to the size of a bowl. Such rapid change startled him. The urgent task was to find a way to control this expanding whirlpool so he could wield it at will.

He first conjured a vessel made of the hardest Aoshi stone to contain it. But as soon as the vessel neared the whirlpool, its immense gravitational force tore the stone into fine dust. These particles, capable of withstanding fatal blows from god-tier masters, were now caught in the suction, forming inward-collapsing spiral patterns.

Before long, the bowl-sized stone vessel had vanished without a trace.

Zhuo Hua broke into a cold sweat. "If even Aoshi stone cannot withstand this tearing force, what chance does a human have?"

He pondered, "If the hardest material cannot contain it, what if I used the most supple Celestial Silk?"

He conjured endless strands of the finest Celestial Silk. The threads seemed to possess a spirit of their own, dancing with his hands as he refined them, stretching them into a galaxy or gathering them into the shape of a golden sun. After dozens of cycles of tempering, he suddenly gathered the silk around the whirlpool and fused the ends with his internal energy.

At first, the silk deformed under the immense gravity, but then, miraculously, the stretched portions contracted. A strange scene appeared: a mass of pure white silk wrapped around the swirling abyss, pulsing like a beating heart.

Zhuo Hua nodded in satisfaction and carefully pushed this new "heart" into his abdomen. No one had ever attempted this before; he was the first. He moved with extreme caution, fearing a single mistake would ruin his work. Fortunately, the silk vessel held the whirlpool firmly in place once it submerged into his core.

In an instant, a powerful true energy flooded every corner of his body. His essence felt more abundant than ever, flowing like a never-ending spring.

"This method works! Now, I must find materials to forge a proper artifact," Zhuo Hua decided.

He withdrew from his sea of consciousness and opened his eyes. The light was intense, forcing him to shield his eyes. Su Mengling was asleep on the opposite couch. Seeing how soundly she slept, Zhuo Hua gently moved over and tucked the fur blanket around her.

He stepped out of the carriage to find that the snow had melted. He called out to Old Su, "Old Su, do you know where one might purchase top-grade Celestial Silk in the Xiqi Continent?"

Old Su frowned in thought before replying, "My Lord, if there is a place in Xiqi that sells such divine items, it would be in the largest city, Tian Shui City. It is a hub where travelers from the East always stop. We could check there first."