Upon waking, Wen Qixue felt somewhat dazed. It had been a long time since he had slept so soundly. He reached out to massage his temples, attempting to clear his head, only to find his hands were small and chubby with baby fat.
Turning his head, he saw Su Xuanlin slumped over the edge of the bed, fast asleep and looking larger than usual.
Wen Qixue: “…”
At this moment, the memories returned. During the process of reshaping his body, the heavenly materials he had collected had conserved energy in certain areas to restore his original, pristine potential, resulting in his current infantile state. Even when he had first succeeded in reshaping his body, he had been even smaller than this; the current state was merely the result of his growing slightly after channeling a final surge of spiritual energy to draw Qi into his body.
The good news was that the reshaping was a success, and he would not remain in this state forever. The bad news was that until his physical body matured into adulthood, his cultivation speed might be slow.
However, for Wen Qixue, this was not such a dire development. After all, even with a successful reshaping, he would need time for his body and soul to become fully attuned. Furthermore… he was likely in Danxia Valley.
He circulated his spiritual energy. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the bed.
Wen Qixue appeared before an immensely vast expanse of ruins. Dragging clothes that were far too large for him, he marched forward on short legs, navigating the ruins with practiced familiarity. He pushed open the last remaining, precarious-looking door and stepped inside.
Outside lay ruins, but within was another world. In the center of a grand, gilded hall stood a massive compass, with several light-whirls orbiting its perimeter. Wen Qixue reached out, brushed aside the light-whirls, and passed through.
He stood before the compass, staring at the needle, and pondered for a long time. “Where is the storage hall?”
The formation disk was incredibly complex; even though it now recognized Wen Qixue as its master, he dared not manipulate it recklessly. In his younger years, when he was at the Golden Core stage, even if he got lost in this hall, he could have restarted the disk as the hall’s owner. But now… given his current reserves of spiritual energy after just drawing Qi into his body, he could not sustain a restart.
It would drain him until he was nothing but skin and bones.
A long while later, he moved, turning the compass needle to a specific mark.
The world spun. Wen Qixue was transported to another space.
He looked around. “Wrong transmission.”
It was no matter. Though not the storage hall, but the library, the distinction was minor. He would have to go there eventually anyway. He walked to the second floor with ease and entered a doorway. Inside were water-attribute cultivation techniques. He navigated past two bookshelves to reach a third, which, if one looked closely, shimmered with a faint blue luster.
Wen Qixue looked up at a jade slip on the fourth shelf: “…”
He had prepared that jade slip himself long ago it was the technique best suited for him. He just hadn’t anticipated that after reshaping his body, he would become such a small child, leaving him unable to reach the fourth shelf.
Wen Qixue sighed and used a wisp of spiritual energy to retrieve the slip from above. Being a child is extremely inconvenient. He needed to cultivate as quickly as possible and return to his adult form.
He took the slip, returned to the compass, and shifted the needle again to reach the storage hall. This time, he arrived at the correct destination. Standing before one of the cabinets, Wen Qixue let out a long sigh. He truly hadn’t expected to return here so soon. According to his original plan, this might have taken many years. Regardless, it was a stroke of fortune.
Wen Qixue opened one of the cabinet drawers, which held the resources he had stored during his Golden Core days. He withdrew a storage ring, thought for a moment, and retrieved a second. It was inappropriate for Su Xuanlin to carry only a storage bag; a storage ring would be much more convenient.
Next, he opened an adjacent cabinet filled with robes. He picked out a moon-white long robe, replacing the clothes he currently wore, which were so large they dragged on the floor. The moment the robe touched him, it resized to perfectly fit his current form.
Satisfied, Wen Qixue gathered his belongings, returned to the compass hall, pushed the door open, and stepped back into Danxia Valley.
He was met by the sight of Su Xuanlin, who was preparing to check under the bed.
Wen Qixue: “…” He observed Su Xuanlin’s movements. “What exactly are you doing?”
Su Xuanlin quietly withdrew his hand, feeling embarrassed. “Well… I thought you had fallen under the bed… My mother used to say that when I was very small, I loved crawling under the bed.”
Wen Qixue was speechless. “I merely went to organize the resources I now require.”
He took out a storage ring and handed it to Su Xuanlin. “Use this; it is more convenient than a bag and can be soul-bound.” Although Su Xuanlin’s cultivation was average making it easy for someone to break the binding if they truly wished it offered a layer of protection.
Su Xuanlin accepted the ring. “Xue-ge, this doesn’t seem right… storage rings are not cheap…”
Wen Qixue organized the items in his own ring as he replied: “If you do not use it, it will only go to waste. This is a ring I replaced a long time ago; it is completely empty.”
“It is worth perhaps twenty or thirty low-grade spiritual stones—it is not valuable.”
Hearing this, Su Xuanlin tucked the ring away. He then heard Wen Qixue ask: “Have the Danxia Valley elders or Xia Changxun been here?”
Su Xuanlin nodded. “While you were sleeping, Elder Yun came by once. He examined you and said that after the soul fusion, you would need to recuperate, hence your prolonged sleep. He left a jade token and asked me to message him once you woke up, but…”
He produced the token Yun Zhong had given him. “This token seems identical to the one Senior Brother Xia gave me, but I cannot use it.”
Wen Qixue took it, examined it, and remarked: “I cannot use it either.” He was now merely a Qi-Refining cultivator who had just drawn Qi into his body; he was no longer the Golden Core peak-stage puppet he had been, and indeed, he could not utilize such a token.
Su Xuanlin and Wen Qixue looked at each other.
Wen Qixue scrambled down from the bed on all fours: “Let us go outside. Someone should be around; Danxia Valley would not leave us here entirely alone.”
In the next instant, he was suspended in mid-air.
Su Xuanlin had scooped him up and even weighed him in his arms. “Let us go!”
“Xue-ge, you seem a little bigger than before; when I saw you like that earlier, I didn’t dare hold you.”
Wen Qixue, hands tucked into his sleeves, remained expressionless. “Is that so? That is quite good.”
Su Xuanlin had only taken two steps out with Wen Qixue when Xia Changxun approached. Seeing them, Xia Changxun hurried over: “Wen Daoist is awake? How are you? Is there any discomfort? Shall I ask Mingmo to examine you?”
Wen Qixue shook his head. “No, my current state is excellent. I only need to begin my cultivation again. Many thanks.”
Xia Changxun gave a bashful, sheepish smile: “It is nothing, merely my duty.”
“By the way, I heard Junior Brother Xuanlin needs to use the Spirit Analysis Disk. Shall I take you there?”
No one objected to Xia Changxun’s suggestion, though Wen Qixue offered a reminder: “Brother Xia, might you send a message to Elder Yun? He provided a messaging token, but neither Xuanlin nor I can use it, so we must rely on you.”
Xia Changxun sighed helplessly: “What is my Master doing! Fellow Daoist Wen, rest assured, I shall inform him.”
The Danxia Valley Spirit Analysis Disk was kept in the Outer Valley.
As he led them, Xia Changxun explained: “The canyon ahead marks the boundary between the Outer Valley and the Inner Valley. Once we cross it, we can take a beast carriage. Those with sufficient strength may travel by spirit-flight, but in the Inner Valley, flight is forbidden the Valley Master has placed restrictions.”
“Unless one reaches my master’s level, one cannot bypass them.”
After crossing the canyon, Xia Changxun summoned a carriage: “Come, let us take the carriage.”
Wen Qixue and Su Xuanlin did not stand on ceremony; they were already quite familiar with the vehicle. Su Xuanlin, however, noticed the spirit beasts pulling it: “Why are these not the same two as before?”
“Oh,” Xia Changxun explained, “these beasts are raised by specialists in the Valley. We borrow them when needed and return them afterward—it is much cheaper than buying them outside.” He patted the two deer. “So, no, these are not the same pair.”
Wen Qixue asked curiously, “Yet you swapped two in the span of two days.”
Xia Changxun: “…” He held up a palm to Wen Qixue. “It has been five days.”
Wen Qixue was stunned. He looked toward Su Xuanlin. Su Xuanlin nodded. “It has indeed been five days.”
Wen Qixue was incredulous: “Have I truly been asleep for five days?”
Xia Changxun drove the deer carriage as he replied: “That is normal. Fusing soul and flesh is an exhausting endeavor. Furthermore, as you have only just begun to draw Qi into your body, you do indeed need rest especially since you have transformed into a child due to the excessive energy consumption.”
“My Master specifically asked me to remind you not to fret even if your cultivation speed is slow; this is natural until you return to your adult form.”
Wen Qixue: “My gratitude to Elder Yun for the reminder.”
The two deer pulled the carriage with great speed, arriving at their destination in no time. Xia Changxun pointed to the Spirit-Analysis Workshop: “This is it.”
“Though the Spirit Analysis Disk is large, it is not a rare object. In fact, there is one inside that I forged myself!”