CHAPTER 35: SECT TEACHINGS

Mu Qinxue didn’t answer right away. Instead, she glanced over her shoulder, another flash of surprise in her eyes.

"You sensed that?" she asked.

When he nodded, she raised a brow.

"Then you’re more perceptive than I expected."

Before he could ask more, she raised her hand and gestured toward the path they’d just walked through. Her fingers traced through the air, briefly illuminating the space with soft glimmers of light—marking the contours of something unseen.

"That path is covered by a formation," she explained. "A very old one. It’s designed to disorient and mislead any who pass through without the correct resonance."

Tian Lei narrowed his eyes slightly. "So... it hides the house?"

"It doesn’t just hide," she corrected. "It bends. Distance, memory, perception—it twists them all. You could walk in a straight line and feel like you’ve circled back. Or think something is right in front of you when it’s ten steps to your left."

She turned, placing her hand on the door of the wooden house.

"But as long as you follow the one who knows the path, the formation won’t resist."

She pushed the door open.

"And now... you do."

Tian Lei stepped inside as she led him through the threshold, the sensation of the world shifting behind him as he entered. It was subtle—like walking from a dream into clarity.

Once inside, he turned to look at her, awe still lingering in his expression.

Mu Qinxue watched him quietly, her expression once again unreadable—like a painting veiled in mist.

"Don’t look at me with awe," she said softly, yet there was an edge in her voice. "It’s me who should be surprised by you..."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, something between surprise and calculating flickering behind them.

"No mortal should be able to sense what you sensed back there."

Her words hung in the air like thunder without sound.

"That formation..." she continued, voice lower now, almost a whisper, "is not some common warding array. It’s a high-level illusion domain—one that can entrap even me if I lose focus."

She folded her arms, gaze still fixed on him.

"For someone like you, someone whose cultivation is still in its infancy... sensing the truth through it should’ve been impossible."

Her tone cooled, and the pressure in the air subtly shifted.

After all, this was Mu Qinxue—an existence who could crush him with a mere flick of her sleeve. The fact that he had perceived what he should not... was not something she could easily overlook.

’Even if I didn’t show it,’ she thought, ’that moment... it unsettled me.’

Still, she said nothing more.

Instead, she turned away, the hem of her robes swirling like falling stardust, and walked deeper into the secluded wooden house.

"Anyway," she said, her tone lighter now, laced with a playful smirk, "I’m certain of it. You’re one in a million, a true prodigy. And—heh—you’re my disciple."

She turned slightly to glance at him over her shoulder, her eyes twinkling with a mixture of pride and mischief.

Tian Lei blinked. Just hearing her say that so casually almost made him lose his balance. His foot caught on a floorboard as he stepped into the threshold, and he nearly stumbled into a haze that enveloped the next room.

"Huh...? What is this room?" he asked, his steps slowing as his mind suddenly felt clearer, lighter—almost unnaturally focused.

Mu Qinxue, already a few paces ahead, gestured calmly to the quiet chamber glowing with a gentle silver light.

"This is the Enlightenment Room," she replied. "A space designed to still the mind and align the soul. In here, one can experience a clarity of thought rarely found outside of deep meditation."

She brushed a hand along a carved pillar etched with delicate sigils that shimmered faintly. "These kinds of formations—Mind-Calming Arrays—are found in many great sects across the continent. But only a few can truly refine them into something like this."

She let the silence hang as Tian Lei took another step forward, the mental fog lifting even further. His breath steadied. Thoughts stopped spiraling. It was like a lake inside his mind had become still—so still, he could see straight to the bottom.

"It’s my cultivation room," Mu Qinxue said, her voice softening with reverence. "This place is like a treasure passed down through the sect for generations. Only the Sect Master—and those approved by Sect master—are allowed to enter."

She turned, her gaze settling on him with rare seriousness.

"But I brought you here," she added, her tone firm yet calm, "because you... with that Flawless Jade Body... you are not just anyone. You deserve to be here."

Tian Lei looked at her silently for a moment, then lowered his gaze, feeling the gentle pressure of the room settle over him again. After a breath, he spoke up quietly, but with clear intent.

"Master... can you tell me exactly what this Flawless Jade Body is?"

Mu Qinxue’s expression didn’t change immediately. Instead, she walked toward him and sat down gracefully on the floor across from him, folding her legs beneath her with the poise of a noble swan.

She looked directly into his eyes.

"I thought you would ask that," she said, her voice smooth as silk as he settled in front of her, now sitting cross-legged across from her.

"The Flawless Jade Body," she began, "is one of the rarest and most powerful Cultivation physique-type constitutions in the cultivation world."

She paused, letting the words settle before continuing.

"It’s special—not because you’re born with it, but because it can only be acquired. Among the top ten most compatible physiques for cultivation, the Flawless Jade Body ranks tenth."

Tian Lei’s brows furrowed slightly, trying to process that.

Mu Qinxue lifted her hand, tracing a circle in the air as she explained further.

"Now that you’ve achieved it, one of your biggest advantages is immunity to ten thousand poisons."

"Ten thousand poison immunity?" Tian Lei asked, tilting his head. "I’ve heard of minor or lesser immunity... but what does ten thousand mean exactly?"