"You couldn’t use them?"
"I couldn’t," Xiao Fang repeated. "Any technique below the Profound Realm will have little to no effect against them. And learning the one Profound-level Illusory technique I do have in my possession will take at least a month if not longer to learn."
The technique he had in mind was the 4th level of the [ Illusory Body ] technique — [ Illusory Veil ] (Chapter 439). It was a powerful technique, but not too useful for direct combat. It allowed him to alter every physical aspect of himself under a perfect illusion: height, build, age, voice, even gender. It was a technique designed not for battle, but for infiltration, deception, and escape.
The Heavenly Fate thod simply outclassed the Illusory Body thod in every way. There was a reason the Heavenly Fate thod was revered as the most powerful cultivation art in the country, while the Illusory Body thod was seen as one of the weakest of the major sects. If he couldn’t fight them, at the very least he should have an ability that would give him the ability to hide.
"So you need a profound realm technique, but the one Profound realm technique you do have would take you at least a month to learn..." Xun Wei thought for a mont, then asked, "What about your Dual Cultivation thod?"
Xiao Fang’s gaze flicked toward her. "What about it?"
"Didn’t your mother give you the Dual Cultivation manual recently?" she pressed. "There must be an easier technique you can learn and use."
The last ti Xiao Fang had looked through the manual, he’d only studied the Core Realm techniques — anything higher had been beyond his reach at the ti. That was where he learned the Core realm technique: [ Familiar ].
But now... things were different. Since dual Cultivating with the Matriarch, his Dual Cultivation thod advanced to the Profound Realm, there were bound to be new, stronger techniques available to him now.
Bringing out the Dual Cultivation Manual, Xun Wei watched as he flipped through the pages. Once he was nearly at the end, he landed on a page that said 2 words:
’Profound Realm.’
Sothing about the calligraphy, or the way it was written, sent a chill down Xun Wei’s back.
"Well?" she said, leaning closer. "Go on then. Let’s see what it’s got."
Xiao Fang turned the page slowly.
Each technique he read was more complex than the last — so seed to defy logic, requiring impossible control over Qi, spirit, and body alike. Most of the techniques he saw however, had a long list of prerequisite techniques he’d need to learn first. Xiao Fang frankly didn’t have the ti to go through them.
He let out a quiet breath.
"Profound Realm techniques are no joke."
As difficult as the techniques were, nothing really stood out to give him an advantage against a Heavenly Fate disciple. Continuing to the final few pages of the Manual, Xiao Fang finally reached the Divine Realm techniques.
There, Xiao Fang saw a technique he recognized.
Technique Na: [ Thousand Veil Art ] (Chapter 413)
Similar to Xiao Fang’s [ Naked Sword Art ], the [ Thousand Veil Art ] was a deviated path of the original Dual Cultivation thod — one that evolved into its own discipline over ti, but a few of his techniques beca incorporated into the main Dual Cultivation art over ti.
From what Xiao Fang could rember, it was said to have been created by a forr Patriarch of the Dual Cultivation Sect more than five centuries ago. And before one could learn the Divine Realm technique [ Thousand Veil Art ], one first had to master two prerequisite techniques:
[ Subtle Suggestion ], a Core Realm art that allows one to subtly influence another’s thoughts.
[ mory Fracture ], a Profound Realm technique capable of distorting or erasing fragnts of mory altogether.
Yin Fei had once told him that the [ Thousand Veil Art ] was the most difficult technique in the entire manual — a feat so complex that only two cultivators in recorded history had ever fully mastered it: its creator... and Xiao Fang’s grandfather.
’So why then...’ Xiao Fang thought, his brow furrowing as he felt the faint stirrings of resonance in his Qi.
’...why do I feel like I can learn it? Why does it feel as if... I learned it before?’
Xun Wei gave Xiao Fang a little nudge. "Did you find sothing?"
"There’s a technique I want to attempt. Can I borrow the Jade Phoenix Hairpin for a little while?"
Without hesitation, she reached into her pouch and placed the ornant in his hand.
"Here."
He nodded, then closed his eye after putting it in his hair. His breathing slowed, his Qi stirred, and with the practice thod in mind, comprehension followed.
The room grew strangely still — even the muffled sounds of the inn seed distant, blurred.
Xun Wei watched quietly.
She had seen Xiao Fang practice techniques countless tis, but this felt different. It wasn’t forceful, nor aggressive. Just... silent. Precise and focused. This was the only way to practice techniques involving the mind.
After a few minutes, he exhaled lightly and opened his eye. His expression hadn’t changed, yet sothing about him felt off — subtle, but unmistakable.
A line from the practice thod still echoing in his mind.
[ ’If you can stir the heart, you can influence the mind.’ ]
A subtle scent perated his body, cold, yet floral. A single breath would invoke the body to take a deeper breath in. Xun Wei unconsciously did just that. The mont she did, her eyes dilated and lost their shine.
"Xun Wei," he said gently.
Her body reacted before her mind did — posture straightening, breath catching, gaze fixed.
There was no pressure, no killing intent, just a suggestion. Soft, calm, and impossible to ignore.
"Cut ."
A faint shimr flickered through the room — so subtle it could’ve been imagined.
Then steel glead.
To the naked eye, Xun Wei hadn’t moved at all... yet Xiao Fang’s hand was already raised, two fingers lightly pinching the edge of her sword only inches away from his neck.
The air hung still.
A heartbeat later, Xun Wei blinked — her mind snapping back into awareness as if waking from a dream. Her eyes widened when she realized her blade was poised against him.
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