Vol. 1 - Chapter 17 - The Soul-Entrancing Technique

After confirming that Ren Zhongping had indeed left, Ji Yaoge turned around and went inside. Bai Yan, in a bad mood, stomped loudly. Before he even stepped in, Ji Yaoge’s voice came from inside, "Bring the peaches in."

Bai Yan kicked the basket in frustration but still resignedly picked it up.

The cave was still empty, with only four bare walls. Ji Yaoge sat at the table, having already poured a cup of water. Bai Yan slammed the basket of peaches onto the table and snatched the water from her hand, gulping it down. Ji Yaoge watched him with amusement, pulled out a peach from the basket, cut a cross on the tip with her nail, and began peeling it.

"Aren't you afraid it might be poisoned?" Bai Yan gave her a sideways glance.

The peaches were large and fragrant, covered in dewy sweat, looking very enticing. Ji Yaoge peeled half the skin and brought it to her mouth, but before she could take a bite, Bai Yan knocked it out of her hand and caught it for himself. He took a big bite without hesitation, making a satisfied sound, peach juice dripping from his lips. He licked it off with his tongue, looking at her with a smile.

"Aren’t you afraid of poison?" Ji Yaoge raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph." He sat down unceremoniously, throwing the basket back onto the ground. "Ren Zhongping is highly suspicious. He had no good intentions showing up outside your cave in the middle of the night, even using charm techniques on you. Aren’t you afraid of what might happen? How dare you meet him alone?"

He kept talking, the scent of peaches wafting from his mouth, and his lips glistening.

Ji Yaoge rubbed her nose and looked away. "If he comes to my door, how can I not see him?"

"I'm afraid you’ll lose your life if you do." Bai Yan finished the peach in two bites and threw the pit outside the cave door. "I secretly investigated. The day you got injured, it was Ren Zhongping who used an excuse to lure you out of the mountain gate. But he holds a high position, and the junior sisters who knew were too scared to speak up, so he managed to cover it up."

If she had known this earlier, Ji Yaoge might have been very happy, but now, she was very calm. "I know."

"You know?" Bai Yan had worked hard to find out, hoping for some praise, but all he got was a light response. "How do you know?"

"How do you know?" Ji Yaoge retorted.

"I…" Bai Yan wanted to boast but remembered his methods weren’t exactly honorable, so he shut up immediately.

"A knowledgeable junior sister?" Ji Yaoge could imagine Bai Yan’s methods. Just using his face and his mouth, nothing more.

Bai Yan snorted, not explaining, and said, "If you know, why don’t you stay away from him? He’s practicing some dark arts, who knows where he got them. No, I need to report this to Madam."

"Don’t go!" Ji Yaoge hurriedly pulled him back. "Who would believe us without evidence? If we make a big fuss, we’re no match for him. If it comes to a fight, we’ll have a hard time protecting ourselves."

Hearing this, Bai Yan calmed down, held her hand, and said, "Then we’ll think of another way."

Ji Yaoge discreetly withdrew her hand. "I’ll think of another way, but you should stop getting involved. This matter has nothing to do with you, so don’t investigate further."

Because it involved Xiao Wuheng, a major demon, the fewer people who knew, the better. Ji Yaoge couldn’t let Bai Yan know, nor did she want him to get into danger.

This was a kind intention, but Bai Yan’s face darkened. "My senior sister’s matters are my matters. How can I sit idly by?"

"This is too dangerous," Ji Yaoge advised.

"All the more reason for me to be involved. My cultivation is better than yours, Senior Sister." Bai Yan’s stubbornness flared up, making him hard to deal with. "I can protect you. I know the people in the sect better than you, and I’m more popular. With me, it’s like adding wings to a tiger…"

Ji Yaoge’s head ached from his ranting. She stood up and pushed him out of the cave. "Go, go, go. Stop talking. I need to cultivate."

The cave door slammed shut. Bai Yan was pushed outside, glaring at the closed door. "One moment cold, one moment warm, one moment good, one moment bad. Senior Sister, you’re really fickle, heartless…"

Yes, he could no longer figure out this Senior Sister.

————

Reciting the "Three Pure Lotus Mantra," Ji Yaoge automatically blocked out Bai Yan’s voice, calming her uneasy emotions.

Ren Zhongping’s words still echoed in her ears. Since he was the one who took "Ji Yaoge’s" soul, he naturally knew that the current Ji Yaoge was not the original. Baili Qing wasn’t going to let her go and had already sent someone to find her. If Ren Zhongping revealed this, her identity would be exposed.

But it seemed Ren Zhongping hadn’t told them yet and had come to her instead, seemingly to use this to threaten her. What did he want from her?

Or rather, what did the person behind him want?

She had thought finding the murderer of the original owner would allow her to avoid danger for a while, but it had led to an even more terrifying person. Now, one side was the unconfirmed Xiao Wuheng, the other was the relentless Baili Qing. With her low cultivation, just thinking about it gave her a headache.

However, since Ren Zhongping gave her three days, she shouldn’t have any trouble before the dance trial.

For now, the plan was to pass the dance trial in three days.

With this decision made, Ji Yaoge focused on the Twelve Celestial-Demon Dance.

————

Ji Yaoge had exceptional comprehension and two hundred years of cultivation experience. The advanced footwork of the Wuxiang Sword Sect was far more complex than the Twelve Celestial-Demon Dance. By the evening of the second day, except for the final Twelve Celestial-Demon Forms, she could perform the entire dance smoothly.

The person in the light column leaped into the air, bending and extending her arms, once again attempting the Twelve Celestial-Demon Forms. Unfortunately, not even the dust on the ground stirred, let alone any illusions.

Ji Yaoge landed dejectedly. Leaning against the wall, Ye Long, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, just crossed her arms and watched her. Seeing her still trying to grasp the Twelve Celestial-Demon Forms, Ye Long finally spoke.

"Stop trying. If you master the Twelve Celestial-Demon Forms in three days, you’d be a monster."

Interrupted, Ji Yaoge stopped. "How will I know if I don’t try?"

"You’ve already exceeded my expectations by mastering the dance to this extent in two days. I’ve been practicing for over a hundred years and haven’t seen a disciple learn this fast." Ye Long slowly stood up, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "I didn’t expect that even though your physical aptitude is poor, your comprehension is high. It’s a pity."

In the entire Chi Xiu Palace, she was the fastest to master this dance, but even she took five days to reach Ji Yaoge’s level. Ji Yaoge was more than twice as fast.

"Sit down. I’ll teach you the Celestial-Demon Dance’s mental technique. Without it, you can’t succeed in creating the Twelve Celestial-Demon Forms." Ye Long said as she flew to the bottom of the light column and sat cross-legged, holding a tiny porcelain bottle in her palm. "This is the marrow bee venom. Do you trust me?"

"Marrow bee?" Ji Yaoge stared at the porcelain bottle. "The venom that can drive a person mad with just one drop?"

Ye Long nodded. "Marrow bee venom doesn’t attack the bloodstream, only the five senses and consciousness. It heightens the senses a hundredfold. For cultivators, whose sensitivity is already greater than ordinary people, the venom amplifies all sensations beyond bearable limits, causing hallucinations, delusions, and insanity. It’s a terrifying toxin, but also a potent medicine. A tiny amount can make a cultivator’s consciousness more sensitive, allowing them to perceive external changes, whether in aura or subtle emotions. Now, you need to practice sensing emotions, both yours and others’. Only when you can perceive them can you integrate them into the Celestial-Demon Dance. Otherwise, no matter how beautifully you dance, you’ll be a soulless puppet."

While speaking, she picked up a silver needle, dipped it lightly into the bottle, and gestured towards Ji Yaoge.

The needle tip glowed faintly blue, catching Ji Yaoge’s eye. Without hesitation, she nodded and turned around.

A slight prickling sensation hit the back of her neck as Ye Long inserted the needle.

In an instant, Ye Long’s cold voice seemed to echo in an empty space. "The Celestial-Demon Dance has two entry levels: knowing oneself and knowing others. Knowing oneself means capturing your own emotions; knowing others means capturing others’ emotions. Once you grasp your emotions, you can project them into the dance and convey them to the audience. Once you grasp others’ emotions, you can use your power to control their feelings. This is the simplest level, but emotions can’t be materialized. They’re harder to capture than aura."

As the marrow bee venom spread, Ji Yaoge’s senses became infinitely heightened. Ye Long’s voice seemed to reach her primordial spirit directly. Besides her voice, every tiny sound in the room—the rubbing of hands, the rustling of clothes, the swaying of hair, even the sound of insects in the walls—was crystal clear.

"Though marrow bee venom can sharpen your senses, whether you can perceive elusive emotions depends on your comprehension. Your level isn’t high enough, so I’ll set up an aura field around you to let you temporarily experience the wonders of a higher realm. Sensing your own emotions is easier, but capturing external emotions is difficult. The walls of this practice room are engraved with thirty-six images of various emotions. You must find the image of joy among them by the day after tomorrow. Then you’ll understand what it means to integrate emotions into the dance, and Yue Xiao’s trial won’t be a problem."

While speaking, Ye Long used her palm to push herself out of the formation, rapidly forming seals with her hands to create a dense aura field around Ji Yaoge.

"I have important matters to attend to these two days and won’t return. Cultivate in my cave. I’ll leave this bottle of marrow bee venom for you. No more than two needles a day. I’ll personally be at the dance hall the day after tomorrow. Don’t be nervous."

Watching Ji Yaoge enveloped in blue light, Ye Long wiped the sweat from her brow and stood up. Ji Yaoge, eyes closed and unable to speak, nodded slightly. The cave door opened and closed, and Ye Long was gone, leaving Ji Yaoge alone in the vast cave.

Ji Yaoge suddenly opened her eyes.

Her clear eyes shone with a captivating light, not belonging to the low-cultivation Ji Yaoge, but to the former Bai Yun.

A prodigious talent who reached the Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years in the Wan Hua cultivation world. Thanks to the aura field left by Ye Long, she briefly returned to her former power. Her vision, mind, and primordial spirit were all incomparable. Even her senses were vastly different.

She took a deep breath and began to understand her emotions. What is joy? Reaching the Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years was joy. What is anger? Being robbed of her body by Baili Qing was anger. What is sorrow? Losing a century’s worth of cultivation in a day was sorrow. What is happiness? Her senior brother helping her step onto her first flying sword was happiness… Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, all derived from human emotions. One’s life, whether mortal or immortal, is filled with these experiences, not necessarily extreme but flowing from the heart. She recalled her past emotions, storing each one in her heart.

Slowly, she closed her eyes again.

Two hundred years of memories revisited in one night, with countless emotions filling her heart, only to dissipate, leaving clarity.

Knowing oneself is understanding emotions. Next, knowing others.

External emotions are even more complex. Though her senses were heightened and she had her former power, she was disturbed by various sounds, making it much harder to capture external emotions. She needed to understand these emotions and learn to find her target amidst the chaos.

With heightened senses, every sound around her was clear, and the images on the wall seemed to spin rapidly. Laughter, crying, sighing, cursing, murmuring—all sounds entered her ears. She opened her eyes, but the images on the wall were still, their expressions unchanged.

The path of cultivation has no shortcuts. She decided to capture each emotion one by one. Starting with laughter, she compared it to her own emotions but found it wasn’t joy or happiness. The crying wasn’t sorrow or pain either. Time passed, and she still couldn’t grasp the essence.

Her storage bag vibrated slightly. It was the jade slip of the "Enchanting Bone Technique," seemingly responding to her cultivation.

Ji Yaoge paused her practice and took out the jade slip. Before she could probe it with her spiritual sense, a voice echoed in her primordial spirit—

"Emotions cannot be judged by appearances. You’ve experienced too few desires. Open your spiritual eye and let the myriad beings’ spiritual bones aid your cultivation."

With that short phrase, silence returned.

Without further thought, the cinnabar mark on her forehead glowed, and countless points of light rushed towards her. With Ye Long’s aura field, her cultivation level briefly returned to the Nascent Soul stage, rapidly expanding her absorption range. Spiritual bones from the cave door and the sky hole flew towards her, merging into her forehead.

Her spiritual sense was at its peak, and countless spiritual bones, carrying the emotions of living beings, flooded in, suffocating her. She felt like she was drowning in a sea of emotions, each one different, and she could only understand them one by one.

Laughter might not be joy; it could be enlightenment after great sorrow. Likewise, crying might not be sorrow; it could be the initial joy of life.

The myriad beings, myriad emotions, myriad hearts—emotions are contradictory and cannot be seen with the eyes, only felt with the heart.

The image of crying was the joy Ye Long wanted her to find.

Ji Yaoge, eyes closed, smiled slightly but didn’t stop her cultivation. Using the last bit of Ye Long’s aura field, she aimed to advance.

Knowing oneself and others, and then integrating emotions.

Controlling others’ emotions.

Ye Long’s aura field dissipated at dawn on the third day. The blue light dispersed, and the marrow bee venom’s effects faded. Ji Yaoge’s world returned to calm. She slowly opened her eyes and leaped into the air in the light column.

The Twelve Celestial-Demon Dance, a soul-entrancing dance.

The figure in the formation shifted endlessly before finally stopping.

The sun was high; the three days were up.

Ji Yaoge adjusted her clothes and headed out. At the cave entrance, she turned around.

In her clear eyes, countless images flashed briefly, and her lips curved into a faint, enigmatic smile.

If Ye Long were here, she would be shocked.

The thirty-six expressions on the stone walls had all turned to crying, without exception.

Thirty-six statues, crying, joyful.

All under her control.