Chapter 121 - 82: Magic Grotto Heaven, Xiaoyu’s Mirror Image

Chapter 121: Chapter 82: Magic Grotto Heaven, Xiaoyu’s Mirror Image

Evening. Inside a Bamboo House on Bamboo Forest Peak.

Li Yinsheng leaned back in his recliner, turned to the final page of the Array Book in his hand, closed it, and stored it back into his Qiankun Bag.

Day fifteen. The one hundredth Array Book was finally finished.

Although he had only memorized the contents of these one hundred books and had yet to comprehend them, the harvesting of Cultivation Fruits at the Huang Bamboo Temple would conclude today. If nothing unexpected occurred, this Cultivation Tribulation would also be settled along with it.

Li Yinsheng glanced at the golden characters in the Grotto Heaven.

[Current time available for Magic cultivation: 95 years, 6 months, and 13 days.]

With nearly a century of Magic cultivation time, if he kept letting the Chess Soul deduce them, he should be able to fully comprehend all one hundred books.

Over these past few days, aside from memorizing the one hundred Array Books, he had also completed the initial nourishment of the Celestial Cyan Sword. Although a mere few days of nourishment couldn’t enhance the Celestial Cyan Sword’s might by much, he had now thoroughly refined it into his Lifebound Treasure. He could easily grasp and wield the pure and rich Wood Qi within it.

Through his exchanges with Daoist Lang Gan over the past few days, he had also gained a considerable understanding of Wood Qi itself. It was then that he realized this Wood Qi would be quite useful in nurturing his junior sister. Supplemented by the endless vitality of Wood Qi, no matter how diligently his junior sister practiced, there would be no need to worry about her overdrawing her body. In the future, when he had her engage in relatively dangerous practical combat exercises where she might get injured, he could also rapidly heal her wounds.

Furthermore, Wood Qi of this level should also have certain benefits for his Martial Uncle’s body, shouldn’t it? Li Yinsheng didn’t expect the Celestial Cyan Sword’s Wood Qi to directly and completely restore his Martial Uncle’s Cultivation, but nourishing his body and recovering a portion of it would still be a good thing.

"I’ll give it a try on Martial Uncle after returning to the temple tomorrow," Li Yinsheng thought to himself.

He spread out his Divine Sense, letting it fall upon the Huang Bamboo Temple disciples on the mountain.

The final batch of Cultivation Fruits had been harvested. The disciples who had picked them were returning in succession. The few leading them, carrying Qiankun Bags filled with Cultivation Fruits, flew toward the peak to report back to Liang Qiwu. As the final bag of Cultivation Fruits was handed over to Liang Qiwu, the majestic tolling of Huang Zhong and Da Lv echoed in Li Yinsheng’s mind.

[This Cultivation Tribulation has ended. The Master of the Cave Heaven actively confronted the Cultivation Tribulation and resolved it, demonstrating outstanding performance and making remarkable contributions, turning it into a stepping stone on his cultivation path! The reward for this is 95 years, 6 months, and 13 days of Magic cultivation time. Please claim and practice it at your own discretion.]

Li Yinsheng’s vision shifted, and he appeared in the Grotto Heaven.

He looked around. The bright moon and Lotus Lake remained the same, and he was still standing on the White Jade Platform in the center of the lake. He was already incredibly familiar with the scenery in this Grotto Heaven, and he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Although he had previously practiced Magic in his spare time between cultivation sessions, those were merely brief attempts. After all, the time he could spend slacking off during cultivation was limited. This closed-door session in the Grotto Heaven was specifically meant for practicing Magic. However, this White Jade Platform was only the size of a pavilion; using such a small area to practice Magic was inevitably too cramped.

While it was true that he no longer needed a place to touch down, was he supposed to float in the air to practice his Techniques the whole time?

Just as he was frowning, writing emerged on the White Jade Platform.

[The Master of the Cave Heaven may independently choose the Magic they wish to practice and change it at any time.]

So that was it!

Li Yinsheng immediately understood, simultaneously marveling in his heart. "To think I can actually change the Magic I want to practice at any time. It seems this Grotto Heaven does have some user-friendly aspects after all."

As for which Magic to designate, there was no need to agonize over it. His junior sister’s Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword was still a long way from achieving one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights. Naturally, he had to master it himself first before he could teach her and accelerate her progress.

After mentally selecting the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, the White Jade Platform beneath his feet trembled slightly and began to expand rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the White Jade Platform expanded by an unknown number of times, transforming into something resembling an island floating in the center of the lake.

Li Yinsheng wasn’t too surprised by the White Jade Platform growing larger. What made his eyes widen was that, a few zhang away from him, the figure of Mu Xiaoyu materialized out of thin air!

Wearing a Xuanzhen Temple Daoist Robe, she stood motionless under the moonlight, staring blankly at Li Yinsheng in front of her.

"Junior Sister?" Li Yinsheng was stunned for a moment before realizing that the young girl before him was definitely not his junior sister. Setting aside the fact that Xiaoyu could never show such a vacant expression and gaze, this young girl—who looked exactly like his junior sister—remained motionless, yet she didn’t conceal her aura in the slightest. It was entirely on par with his own!

With a quick turn of his thoughts, Li Yinsheng figured it out. For a Magic meant for engaging enemies in Magical Combat like the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, having a sparring partner would undoubtedly make his cultivation speed much faster than practicing alone. Previously, when he had his junior sister practice the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, he had acted as her sparring partner quite often.

This unresponsive young girl who looked exactly like his junior sister was most likely the sparring partner provided by the Grotto Heaven. Because his junior sister was the Master of the Cave Heaven, the form this sparring partner took was her Mirror Image.

However, the aura and Cultivation of this junior sister’s Mirror Image seemed to match his own. Li Yinsheng tried suppressing his aura and Cultivation, and the aura of the Mirror Image immediately plummeted to match his, still remaining identical without the slightest discrepancy. The moment he stopped suppressing his Cultivation, the Mirror Image’s aura instantly recovered as well.

"It seems she really is a sparring partner..." Li Yinsheng stroked his chin, immediately growing serious.

With a Cultivation identical to his own, this Mirror Image of his junior sister was arguably the strongest opponent he had ever encountered in his life! But this was for the best. Only by sparring against an evenly matched opponent could he improve his Technique as quickly as possible. Once he practiced the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword to Great Success, he could go out and teach his junior sister to cultivate one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights as soon as possible!

However, this Mirror Image remained completely still. How was he supposed to get her to move and practice with him?

The moment this thought arose in Li Yinsheng’s mind, the Mirror Image of Mu Xiaoyu raised her hand, and an unadorned Long Sword appeared in her grasp. Simultaneously, a weight settled in his own hand as an identical Long Sword materialized, which he instinctively gripped.

Then, he saw the "junior sister" before him point her finger. One hundred and twenty-eight translucent, pale cyan Sword Lights appeared, each measuring forty or fifty zhang in length, surrounding him from all directions.

Li Yinsheng’s expression froze.

How could there be one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights? He had only mastered sixty-six Sword Lights! Their Cultivations were clearly the same, and their auras were the same, so why was the number of Sword Lights different?!

There was no time for him to think. In the blink of an eye, those one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights all rained down on him in the very center.

Li Yinsheng similarly swung out his own Sword Lights in defense. His sixty-six Sword Lights intertwined into a net, barely holding up a small safe zone amidst the falling bombardment. But the Mirror Image’s Sword Lights were not only nearly double his in number; the power of each individual Sword Light also far exceeded his own.

In just a moment, the defense he propped up with the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword was riddled with holes. No matter how he channeled his Sword Technique, it was difficult to resist this dual crushing suppression in both quantity and quality. As Li Yinsheng’s defense collapsed, the speed of the descending sky-full of Sword Lights increased by thirty percent, as if they were going to bury and tear him to shreds in the next second.

Li Yinsheng let go of his Long Sword, channeled his Qi Blood, and jolted his fists. With consecutive punches thrown, the sky-full of Sword Lights instantly dissipated entirely.

"Phew, good thing I’m a Body Cultivator," Li Yinsheng sighed in relief.

A line of Golden Characters emerged on the White Jade Platform.

[The Magic chosen for practice by the Master of the Cave Heaven this time is the "Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword." Please use the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword for combat. Repeatedly using combat methods outside of the designated Magic will prematurely terminate the Magic Grotto Heaven.]

Li Yinsheng was dumbfounded.

He could freely change the designated Magic, but once designated, did he absolutely have to use only that Magic during the practice session? While that sounded quite reasonable, under the condition of equal Cultivation, the opponent’s mastery of Magic was vastly superior to his! If he could only use the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, wouldn’t he just be stuck taking a beating until he raised his level to match hers?

Li Yinsheng wanted to complain, but there was nowhere to lodge a grievance.

To avoid being kicked out of the Grotto Heaven, he could only take a deep breath, retrieve his Long Sword, and once again face the one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights of his junior sister’s Mirror Image. The Sword Lights came whistling over like a torrential river. Standing before it, Li Yinsheng swung his sword to meet them.

In the blink of an eye, like a stream clashing head-on with a massive river, Li Yinsheng was completely submerged by the Mirror Image’s Sword Lights.

...

An unknown amount of time passed. Li Yinsheng had honed his Sword Lights to one hundred and twenty-seven. He could no longer remember how many injuries he had suffered. No matter how tough a Body Cultivator’s Physique was, facing the relentless siege of one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights from a Cultivator of the same level, it was impossible to emerge unscathed.

The good news was that within this Magic Grotto Heaven, his consumed Magical Power and Qi Blood would rapidly replenish, and any injuries he sustained would heal in the blink of an eye. The bad news was that the same applied to his junior sister’s Mirror Image opposite him.

The even worse news was that, just like the Cultivation Grotto Heaven, this Magic Grotto Heaven did not allow slacking off. Although he could pause the practice with a mere thought, if the pause lasted even slightly too long, the Grotto Heaven would warn him that it was about to end the session. He would then be forced to quickly resume letting the Mirror Image attack him.

After who knew how many years of sparring—or rather, being unilaterally beaten up—he felt as if he had gone completely numb to the pain. Only his proficiency with the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword advanced by leaps and bounds. Granted, his junior sister’s one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights made it difficult for him to resist, but experiencing them firsthand also provided him with an excellent frame of reference when practicing the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword.

Following agonizing firsthand experience and practice, his Sword Lights were finally nearing his junior sister’s! Since the power of each individual Sword Light would increase every time the total number doubled for the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword, there was still a sizable gap between one hundred and twenty-seven and one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights. However, he was at least no longer completely powerless to fight back like before.

Moreover, he could feel that he was very, very close to reaching the one hundred and twenty-eighth Sword Light!

The bitter times were finally over!

With a flash of Spiritual Light in his mind, Li Yinsheng let out a soft shout and executed his Sword Technique. Among the one hundred and twenty-seven Sword Lights surrounding him, one more was added. Immediately after, all the Sword Lights brightened by thirty percent!

The Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword had reached Great Success!

Looking across at the one hundred and twenty-eight Sword Lights beside his junior sister’s Mirror Image, Li Yinsheng exhaled a long breath of pent-up frustration, suddenly feeling a surge of heroic pride in his chest.

"After being unilaterally beaten up by you for so long, we can finally have a fair fight, Junior Sister!"

The Mirror Image of Mu Xiaoyu continued to stare blankly at Li Yinsheng, offering no response to his words. She merely flicked her Long Sword, and every Sword Light behind her split into two. Not only did the divided Sword Lights not grow dim, but they became even brighter, each one’s might stepping up to a whole new level!

Two hundred and fifty-six Sword Lights!

Li Yinsheng: "..."