Chapter 13: Molting SpellThat night, Ye Sheng didn’t sleep very well. His thoughts kept him tossing and turning, but he finally managed to get into cultivation mode by meditating.

Early the next morning, the chirping of the birds jolted Ye Sheng awake. He opened his eyes and saw that he was still in the same room he’d gone to bed in. He breathed a sigh of relief, but also laughed awkwardly at himself. He found his jittery behavior rather silly.

After transmigrating, Ye Sheng had remained tense. He’d never really relaxed for even one moment. Now he felt a little tired, but he was filled with much determination as well.

He pushed the door open to go outside, and his mood improved enormously when he saw the lovely mountains and the water with the sun shining on it, which resembled a painting. He looked toward the forest and saw the young lady in white who he’d met yesterday practicing her swordplay. Her moves were elegant, and her sword technique moved lightly and deftly in the gentle breeze, while also carrying tremendous power. She had just caused a huge rock to explode in two, and she made it look as easy as if she was just slicing tofu.

Ye Sheng exclaimed to himself, “I didn’t expect this Fox Spirit to be so powerful.”

Ye Sheng had never seen anyone so powerful with a sword before. Even Ye Qing, the one who everyone called a genius, was nowhere near Ling’er’s level.

Ling’er’s level of cultivation was definitely way above Ye Qing’s. If Ye Qing was at Acquired Level Sixth Stage, then she must be closer to the highest stage of the Acquired Level?

Thinking about this, Ye Sheng couldn’t help but feel afraid. If Third Madam hadn’t gotten to him in time the night before, he would definitely have died.

“You’ve been watching me for so long, don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me?” Just as Ye Sheng was thinking all these random thoughts, Ling’er put her sword away and walked over to Ye Sheng. She put her shockingly gorgeous face, which didn’t even need makeup to be beautiful, close to Ye Sheng’s.

Ye Sheng immediately took several steps back and said, “Miss Ling’er, you’re like a fairy, while I’m just an ordinary commoner. How could I possibly have such thoughts?”

“According to folk legends, don’t fairies always end up marrying ordinary scholarly folks like you?” asked Ling’er with a cheeky smile.

“Those are just the scholars’ fantasies,” replied Ye Sheng flatly.

“Oh, that’s also true. After all, all these books about how fairies fall in love with scholars are written by scholars. Otherwise, why don’t we ever read about fairies falling for butchers or martial artists? They always end up with scholars who aren’t good for anything.” Ling’er nodded her head satisfactorily.

Ye Sheng asked, “Miss Ling’er, where’s the nun?”

Ling’er replied, “She’s praying in the main hall.”

“Why have I never seen that particular Buddha that she’s praying to in the main hall?” asked Ye Sheng curiously.

Ling’er walked past Ye Sheng, carrying a faint fragrance. She said, “The statue in the main hall isn’t some random person. That’s your Third Brother.”

Ye Sheng looked at Ling’er in shock. “Third Brother is already dead. She’s doing this because…?”

Ling’er nodded and replied, “In Taoism, there’s a way for incense fire to become a deity. As long as there’s a fragment of the spirit left along with sufficient karma, you can create a physical body.”

Ye Sheng said, “You would need a lot of incense to do this. Where are you going to find so much incense in this secluded forest?”

Ling’er sat down on the chair in the courtyard and sighed. “You don’t say. But the fragment of your Third Brother’s spirit is simply too weak and can’t go too far from Xianyang. But Xianyang is your father’s territory, so if we start sending out huge amounts of incense fire, he will sense it immediately. So my aunt has to work hard to pray fervently every single day so as to nourish his remaining spirit. Once his spirit is stronger and more stable, we can bring him out of Xianyang and go somewhere farther away to gather believers and accumulate incense fire.”

Ye Sheng finally understood what was going on, and he nodded. “So after more than ten years, she has still not been successful in doing that yet?”

“We’re almost there. If you hadn’t come just now, Ling’er and I would have left in a few months. After more than a decade, your Third Brother’s spirit has stabilized,” said the nun as she came walking over.

Ye Sheng and Ling’er immediately stood up to greet her.

The nun’s mature face remained neutral as she said, “Ling’er, help us to prepare breakfast.”

Ling’er obediently nodded and ran off to get busy.

The courtyard was empty. Only Ye Sheng and the nun were still there.

“Since you’re trying to learn martial arts secretly in Ye Manor where everyone is constantly scheming against each other, you won’t be able to hide it for long,” said the nun.

Ye Sheng’s expression sank. He was also worried about this. The structure of the people working within Ye Manor was so complicated, and there were countless highly skilled martial artists there. Before coming here, he had only been at Acquired Level First Stage and his Qi wasn’t at a discernible level. As long as he didn’t move his Qi about, nobody would be able to tell that he was attempting to learn martial arts. But as his cultivation level increased, others would be able to tell with just one look.

“Auntie, please save me,” said Ye Sheng very sincerely, as he stood up and bowed deeply.

“I guess you could call me your aunt. I didn’t know your mother well, but we shared the same fate. Plus, we were both the only ones standing after our families had been destroyed, and we were both fighting alone. I’ve sadly lost my beloved son, while she has passed away so young. I can allow you to call me Auntie,” sighed the nun quietly.

“Sit down, I will teach you a spell for concealment. Once you’ve learned this spell, then, as long as you don’t display any moves, I guarantee that nobody in Ye Manor will discover that you know martial arts,” said the nun with great confidence.

“Thank you so much, Auntie,” said Ye Sheng gratefully.

BOOM!

The nun stretched one hand out and pressed a slim finger against the spot between Ye Sheng’s eyebrows. A huge amount of knowledge flowed directly into his brain, and Ye Sheng staggered backward from the impact. It was so strong that he had to hold onto the table to keep his balance.

“Molting Spell!”

This was a spell that peeled a layer from another body to hide the body’s true self. This technique couldn’t be used for attacking, but it was great for confusing others.

Once he’d used this technique to cover up his true self, he could hide from everyone within Ye Manor.

As long as Ye Sheng did not display any attacking techniques, not even Lord Ye would notice.

But, of course, if Lord Ye used his Qi to physically check Ye Sheng, this technique couldn’t prevent detection. But Ye Sheng hardly ever saw Lord Ye, so what were the chances of that happening?

“You shall stay here with me for the next few days and train. Very few people in this world know this Molting Spell, so if you manage to learn it, it will be very helpful in the future,” the nun instructed Ye Sheng.

“Thank you for your help, Auntie,” Ye Sheng bowed with genuine gratitude.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’m helping you for my own selfish reasons. Lord Ye doesn’t allow you to practice martial arts, but I’m going to make sure you succeed in doing so, so that it serves as a slap in his face. Remember, when you’re in Ye Manor, you must continue to endure whatever comes your way. Once you’re allowed to leave the house, then you’ll be like a dragon that breaks free from its shackles. I’m sure you won’t disappoint anybody within Ye Manor,” said the nun with a cold smile.

“I understand.” Ye Sheng looked determined, and he was even more confident of the future now.

As long as he could be permitted to leave the manor, he would definitely soar to great heights.

“The Molting Spell isn’t a difficult technique. See if you can understand it over the next few days. If you can’t, then I’ll have to forcibly cast it on you, but doing that will damage your inner energy,” said the nun.

Ye Sheng smiled confidently and replied, “I’m sure I’ll be able to.”

He might not be the most talented guy, but it didn’t matter. He had a little Earth in his dantian that had 1.4 billion people on it to help him cultivate. He was sure that there had to be super-geniuses among these 1.4 billion Earthlings.

Just then, Ling’er came over with breakfast. The plain porridge and vegetables wasn’t considered sumptuous, but it was a heartwarming meal. Ye Sheng and the two ladies ate breakfast while chatting away merrily.

After breakfast, Ye Sheng walked into the forest and sat down on a large rock to close his eyes and begin cultivation.

Ye Sheng focused his consciousness onto his dantian, Earth, and his booming voice resounded once more.

“I’m passing on a technique.”

With these few words, thousands of rocks came smashing down on Earth with the Molting Spell engraved on each rock.

This time round, many people hurriedly took down this technique and ran off to give it a shot.

After the last two rounds, the Earthlings were no longer strangers to cultivation. The Molting Spell wasn’t considered difficult. Compared to the Reincarnation Seal, it was way easier.