Stealing Luck from the Heavenly Dao's Favorite

Wei Yunxi read through the chant she had decoded, committing it to memory. Once she had it down, she burned the paper and stored away the writing tools in her storage space before returning to her seated meditation.

She couldn't suppress the upward curve of her lips. This must be the technique Wei Yunqing had been coveting all along. Yet in the end, it had landed in her hands. There was no way she would foolishly hand it over.

This technique was highly compatible with cultivators who possessed a Wind Spiritual Root. Once trained to the Mahayana stage, it allowed one to instantly manifest a thousand illusions to confuse enemies. These illusions could even be used as clones. Wind, after all, had no fixed form and could be fast or slow. That was why it was named Thousand Shadows Riding the Wind.

Wei Yunxi decided then and there that she would cultivate this technique. It was a perfect fit for her and would become a powerful asset. While cultivators with a Wood Spiritual Root could technically train in it too, their results would never compare to those with Wind affinity.

She took a deep breath, feeling as though things were finally moving in a good direction. At the very least, she wouldn't have to hand over this technique to Wei Yunqing.

Meanwhile, inside her own room, Wei Yunqing was struggling to settle her mind during cultivation. A voice in her heart kept urging her to find Wei Yunxi. In the end, she couldn't bear it any longer and knocked on the barrier around Wei Yunxi's quarters.

Wei Yunxi immediately sensed the disturbance. A sweep of her spiritual sense revealed Wei Yunqing standing outside, her face tight with impatience. Wei Yunxi quickly withdrew her divine sense and ignored her completely. It wasn't as if anything stored in her mind could be stolen.

Wei Yunqing stood outside for a long while, waiting. But when it became clear that Wei Yunxi wouldn't open the door, she left in frustration and returned to her room, face full of simmering anger.

The next morning, Wei Yunqing blocked Wei Yunxi's path with a question.

"Why didn't you open the door for me?"

Wei Yunxi looked at her like she was being ridiculous. "When didn't I open the door for you? What door are you talking about?"

"Last night."

"I was cultivating last night. I didn't hear anyone at the barrier. Besides, what were you doing looking for me that late? You can just tell me now."

Her question was so direct that Wei Yunqing was left speechless. What could she say? That she had panicked and suddenly wanted to see her?

Just then, Wei Yunting and Wei Yunying came out of their rooms. Noticing the tension between the two sisters, they walked over.

As the eldest, Wei Yunting was the first to speak. "What's going on?"

Wei Yunxi quickly recounted how Wei Yunqing had questioned her, then turned back with a calm expression.

"Well, Sister, what exactly did you need from me?"

Wei Yunqing took a deep breath. "I just wanted to ask if you're still going to the library."

"That's it? You could've asked me that now instead of disturbing my cultivation last night."

Wei Yunxi flipped the conversation around, then waved it off generously.

"Never mind. I won't hold a grudge. Starting today, I won't be going to the library anymore. The second floor requires spirit stones or contribution points to access. I don't have many spirit stones, and I haven't earned any contribution points yet, so I'll join you all at the Cultivation Hall instead."

Wei Yunqing choked a little at that, then said, "I was just worried that if you went to the library alone, you might run into trouble. If something happened, there'd be no one nearby. But this works too. We can train together."

Wei Yunxi rolled her eyes inwardly. She was done arguing and simply followed Wei Yunting and Wei Yunying to the Cultivation Hall. It would be her first time cultivating there.

Along the way, Wei Yunting offered some advice.

"The Cultivation Hall is made up of individual chambers. You can choose whichever you like. Each session is two hours long. The door won't open before then, and only when your time is up will it remind you to leave."

"Also, new disciples are allowed to train for free only during their first year. After that, any extra time you want beyond the daily two hours will require payment in spirit stones or contribution points. So make the most of it."

"Don't worry, Eldest Sister. I'll be careful not to waste it."

Wei Yunxi nodded quickly.

"The Cultivation Hall is built over a low-grade spirit vein. The spiritual energy there is richer than our living quarters. If you can, try to train there as much as possible."

Wei Yunting gave one more reminder, her gaze lingering a bit longer on Wei Yunqing. With her dual spiritual roots, Wei Yunqing had the best talent among them, yet she still hadn't broken through to the second layer of Qi Refining. Even Wei Yunting was beginning to worry for her.

Wei Yunqing looked a little awkward. She admitted to herself that she had been distracted. Chasing after that illusory opportunity had caused her to neglect her cultivation. So she quickly made a promise.

"Don't worry, Eldest Sister. I'm already at the threshold of the second layer. I'll be breaking through soon."

"Good."

The four of them chatted as they walked. Soon, they arrived at the Cultivation Hall. After the gatekeeper verified their identity tokens and registered them, each received a numbered token and went into their respective chambers.

The first thing Wei Yunxi did when she entered was activate the barrier. Then she collapsed unceremoniously onto the cushion. Finally, she had shaken off Wei Yunqing's clingy presence.

She might have seemed calm while dealing with Wei Yunqing lately, but she had always kept a sliver of her attention on her. Who knew what kind of trouble Wei Yunqing might stir up? If not for the need to study up on the world of cultivation, she wouldn't have bothered with the library in the first place and let Wei Yunqing tag along like some persistent leech.

Still, the effort had been worth it. Not only had she filled in her knowledge gaps, she had also discovered a high-tier Wind-based cultivation technique. That gain alone made it all worthwhile and further confirmed for her that this world was real—not just some fabricated novel.

With her heart at ease and her mood lifted, Wei Yunxi finally relaxed. And the moment she did, sleep came for her. Within minutes, she was softly snoring.

As her chest rose and fell, the spiritual energy within the chamber began to gather around her. It slowly flowed toward her body, swirling into a miniature vortex centered on her. The energy entered her meridians, followed the prescribed pathways, and finally settled into her dantian.

By the time she woke up refreshed from her nap, she realized that her outward cultivation level had already advanced to the second layer of Qi Refining. A quick check with her spiritual sense revealed something even more surprising—her true cultivation had reached the fifth layer.

"Wait, I can level up in my sleep?"

This was an incredible surprise.

Her enhanced cultivation also meant her spiritual sense had grown slightly. With that, she entered the wooden tablet space once more, logging in after quite some time.

Everything inside was just as she'd left it. The glowing screen showed a familiar message.

Fleeting Cloud has come online.

[Tribal Warrior]: "Xiao Yunyan, you're back?"

[Fleeting Cloud]: "Yes. I had to take an entry examination and then started sect training. So I haven't had much time to log in."

[Ethereal Grace]: "The chat's been too quiet lately. How's your cultivation going?"

[Fleeting Cloud]: "Hehe, I'm still a little shrimp, but I was lucky enough to find a Wind-based technique yesterday. It suits me really well."

[Survival is the Ultimate Truth]: "Congrats! I have dual abilities, Space and Wind. If that technique is as great as you say, I'd like to trade for it."

Seeing that message, Wei Yunxi hesitated slightly. She typed back a cautious response.

"What do you have to offer in exchange?"