To Lin Mu, the Withered Spirit Daoist's story was certainly understandable. He could resonate with the desperation she had felt, as Lin Mu too had experienced the sa in the past.
Of course, the path he had chosen was vastly different from hers, but the source of the feeling was the sa. Perhaps if Lin Mu had been limited in worldview like her, he might have taken the sa option.
But now he knew the paths that needed to be taken, and he also had the best guidance one could ever ask for.
With Xukong by his side, he always had a helping hand lighting his way.
~HUU~
Lin Mu let out a breath as he filed the mories away.
"Such an essential part of her life, and yet such a small segnt of her mories," Lin Mu muttered, comparing the fragnts.
The river of mories was still flowing, and what he had seen so far was just the early life of the Withered Spirit Daoist. There were still many more things left to uncover, which Lin Mu needed more ti to sort through.
"Let's see what else is there… the chronology is a bit ssy here. The fragntation of the soul definitely caused this," Lin Mu reckoned.
~SHUA~
He resud his work, sifting through the mories to find a link that could allow him to progress further.
It took him several days, but he eventually compiled another set of mories ready for observation.
Imrsing himself in them, Lin Mu found himself once again within the mind of the Withered Spirit Daoist.
'Hmm… am I seeing things from her point of view now?' Lin Mu mused, noting that he couldn't actively "look" around as it felt like watching a fixed screen.
The scene only changed when the Withered Spirit Daoist moved her head. Lin Mu could hear everything she heard and even sense her thoughts, which played like a narration in the background.
He could even sll her surroundings, which were rather pungent at the mont.
The strong odor made Lin Mu wrinkle his nose as he wondered where they were.
"Is this an Alchemy Hall?" Lin Mu guessed, trying to identify the slls.
A short while later, the Withered Spirit Daoist moved and entered a specific room within the building.
Inside, a man dressed in black robes sat on a broad cushion.
Before him was a large alchemical cauldron burning with red-hot flas. A collection of herbs and flowers floated above it, controlled by the man's precise hand gestures.
"Withered Spirit Daoist… to what do I owe this pleasure?" the man asked without looking up.
He continued focusing on his task, deftly directing the herbs into the cauldron one by one.
"Senior Kunyan, have you obtained any new information?" she inquired.
"Hmm… if you're talking about your old rival… I certainly do," the man replied, dropping another flower into the cauldron. The herb burned into ash before releasing a dark green fluid, which he carefully extracted.
"Can you tell ?" the Withered Spirit Daoist pressed.
"You do realize that prying into the matters of another True Celestial is no simple task, and it could bring you a great deal of trouble?" Kunyan responded. "Since we're under the sa master, I'll be honest with you… you should let go of this obsession of yours."
"I still wish to know," she insisted.
Kunyan frowned slightly, sending the remaining herbs into the cauldron and sealing it with a heavy lid.
~DENG~
The lid clamped shut with a loud clang as the flas continued to heat the vessel.
"Very well. Celestial Pyung was seen at the Celestial Court's Realm Gate Departnt," Daoist Kunyan revealed.
"The Realm Gate Departnt?" The Withered Spirit Daoist's eyes narrowed. "Was he attempting to…"
"Yes, he sought permission to descend. I don't know if it's been granted yet, but since he's still here, it's likely that he has to wait longer," Daoist Kunyan explained.
"That's it. I can't wait any longer. I must speak to our liege," she declared, her voice laced with urgency.
"You're really going to pursue that crazy plan of yours?" Kunyan asked, his tone heavy with concern.
"There's no other choice. I can't let that man have the satisfaction of surpassing as a True Celestial," she replied. "I know for certain he'll co to mock soon. He's probably planning to descend just to proclaim to the sect that he succeeded where I failed."
The more Kunyan listened, the more exhausted his expression beca.
'She's far too consud by this rivalry,' he thought. 'I'll have to inform our liege to let her proceed. If we keep her here during this sensitive period, she might cause more harm than good. It's better for everyone if she's away.'
"Very well, do as you wish. I won't stop you," Kunyan said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.
"Good." The Withered Spirit Daoist turned and left the room.
Lin Mu expected the mory to shift at this point, but it remained fixed.
"Huh?" Lin Mu tilted his head. "Why hasn't this changed?"
He examined the source of the mory and discovered sothing unusual.
"This… isn't from the Withered Spirit Daoist's mories," Lin Mu realized.
"Ah, that one ca from the key of the Celestial Treasure," Xukong interjected. "Those mories were sealed before, but the death of the Withered Spirit Daoist unlocked them. I processed and integrated them for you at no extra cost," he added nonchalantly.
"I see…" Lin Mu murmured, surprised by the revelation.
Since the mory seed to align chronologically, Lin Mu decided to continue observing it.
In the mory, Daoist Kunyan took out a jade slip and activated a formation screen.
To Lin Mu's shock, the screen displayed a familiar face.
"Wait a second... Why's it him?" Lin Mu saw none other than Junior Brother Pyung or rather Celestial Pyung on it.
It was the very person Withered Spirit Daosit had just asked Daoist Kunyan to spy on. It was confusing as to why he was here and why this was part of the mory from the Key of the Celestial Treasure.
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