Chapter 80: The Division of Spiritual Power

Gu Weiyu rode the paper crane and carefully surveyed the surroundings before finally choosing a residence nestled among lush green bamboo.

“Master, I noticed that bamboo grove not far from here. May I live there in the future?”

After making her decision, Gu Weiyu returned to Carefree Abode and addressed Master Yuling.

“Very well. I’ll inform the Administration Hall. For the next couple of days, you can stay in the east wing of Carefree Abode. Once your new home is ready, you can move in.” Yuling nodded to show her understanding. “By the way, if you have any specific requests, Hongyi, you can speak directly to the steward in charge of building your residence.”

Such a pleasant surprise! Gu Weiyu quickly agreed.

“And take off that mask while you’re in the sect. It’s quite unsightly,” Yuling added calmly. “With me here, no one in Ten Thousand Swords Sect can harm you.”

Gu Weiyu’s hand, just about to put the mask back on, paused. She quietly stowed the human-skin mask into her storage space. Unless absolutely necessary, no one wished to make themselves hideous, to become an outcast in the eyes of others.

The next day, a steward from the Administration Hall arrived at Misty Peak with a group of over ten disciples in the Qi Refining stage.

Master Yuling had no patience for such affairs and entrusted the entire matter of Gu Weiyu’s new residence to her.

“Uncle Lu, my master said you can just speak to me about anything,” Gu Weiyu said politely, her smile bright.

Steward Lu stared in astonishment at the dainty, lovely girl before him, utterly speechless for a long moment. Just yesterday, he’d heard that Master Yuling’s first disciple, Lian Hongyi, was a disfigured girl. This… the difference was staggering.

Noticing Steward Lu’s gaze fixed on her right cheek, Gu Weiyu immediately understood but feigned ignorance. “Uncle Lu, is something the matter?”

Snapping out of it, Steward Lu scratched his head awkwardly. “No, no. Junior Sister Lian, you flatter me. Just call me Senior Brother.”

What a joke! Her master was a full-fledged Core Formation cultivator; if he dared call himself her uncle, wouldn’t that put him on equal footing with Master Yuling? He wouldn’t dare even with ten times the courage!

“Oh, Senior Brother Lu, I’d like to build a two-story bamboo house in that grove over there…” Gu Weiyu promptly corrected herself, pointing to the stretch of bamboo not far away and beginning to describe her vision for the residence.

As she described it, the image in her mind gradually overlapped with that of Emerald Bamboo Courtyard.

Indeed, after hearing her master say she could design her residence to her liking, she’d planned to recreate an Emerald Bamboo Courtyard right here on Misty Peak.

Steward Lu listened attentively to all her requests and patted his chest in reassurance. “Junior Sister, just wait. Old Lu guarantees your new home will be finished within three days!”

According to Gu Weiyu’s requests, there was nothing difficult about constructing this courtyard—it could all be sourced locally.

“Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Lu,” Gu Weiyu said sweetly.

Steward Lu waved to the group behind him. “Come on, let’s get to work!”

Gu Weiyu followed them to the edge of the bamboo grove, curious to see how cultivators built houses. What she witnessed amazed her.

Thick bamboo, wider than a rice bowl, fell in an instant under metal and wind spells. Other disciples used earth spells to loosen soil and dig out the foundations, while those with wood affinity evenly split the felled bamboo into strips and planks with practiced ease.

So spiritual power and magic could be used like this?

A spark of wonder flashed through Gu Weiyu’s eyes. She realized that though these tasks seemed simple, they all required precise control over every ounce of spiritual energy.

Especially the process of splitting bamboo with spells—it demanded exceptional precision!

“Senior Brother Lu, may I help with splitting the bamboo?” she asked brightly as she approached him.

“Of course, but be careful,” he replied, not at all opposed. With so much bamboo around, it didn’t matter if a few were wasted. As far as he was concerned, as a beginner, Gu Weiyu was just here to “practice” on the bamboo.

Gu Weiyu nodded and eagerly walked over to the disciple splitting bamboo. “Senior Brother, you’re amazing!”

The disciple, flattered, waved his hand quickly. “My name is Han Shi. Just call me Stone!”

Gu Weiyu nodded, not rushing in right away, but instead standing by to observe closely.

“For those of us with wood spiritual roots, splitting bamboo is actually quite easy,” Han Shi explained softly, seeing her interest. “Once you understand the internal structure of each stalk, you just use wood spiritual power to sever the joints, and the bamboo comes apart on its own…”

Gu Weiyu listened with great interest, watching for another quarter of an hour before she couldn’t wait any longer. “Let me try!”

She picked up a bamboo stalk and used her spiritual sense to study its interior. To her amazement, bamboo truly seemed naturally segmented; all she had to do was use her power to cut the connections between the sections.

Holding the stalk, she began delicately severing the tiny links with her wood affinity.

Crack—

Crack—

A series of cracking sounds followed, and in her hands, the bamboo split perfectly into even strips.

Steward Lu and Han Shi, who had been watching inconspicuously, were stunned speechless.

Especially Han Shi—he remembered how clumsy he’d been on his first try, wasting almost ten stalks before succeeding. Yet Gu Weiyu had managed it in a single attempt, and perfectly, at that!

Was this the difference between genius and the ordinary?

Looking at the pile of bamboo strips at her feet, Gu Weiyu’s face lit up in a brilliant smile. Splitting bamboo really was easy—much simpler than refining spiritual liquid for alchemy!

She eagerly picked up another stalk and continued, quickly accumulating a pile of neatly split strips at her side.

“Junior Sister, that’s enough, that’s enough…” Han Shi turned and, catching sight of her growing pile, quickly called out.

Gu Weiyu stopped, still a bit reluctant, finding the task unexpectedly enjoyable.

Steward Lu finally noticed and came over. “Junior Sister, you did an excellent job splitting that bamboo.”

Gu Weiyu beamed. “Senior Brother Lu, is there anything else I can help with?”

Just as Steward Lu was about to answer, a paper crane fluttered out from the bamboo grove and circled above Gu Weiyu’s head.

Gu Weiyu touched the paper crane with her finger and a voice rang out from within, “Hongyi, come see me at once.”

She looked at Steward Lu. “Senior Brother Lu…”

“Master Yuling is calling for you. Go on, Junior Sister. We’ve got everything handled here—don’t worry about a thing!” Steward Lu said considerately.

Gu Weiyu nodded and turned toward Carefree Abode, not far away.

She wondered silently to herself: Why was her master summoning her so suddenly? Was it about alchemy? Or perhaps something to do with her hidden thunder spiritual root?