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Tan Yun’s cultivation was half a step into the Soul Formation stage. If she wanted to know whether Sui An had been possessed1, all she needed to do was perform a soul search. But if a soul was suddenly invaded by an unfamiliar power, the lightest outcome would be amnesia, the most severe, becoming a simpleton.
If her soul were searched, the matter of her rebirth would also be exposed. She could only hope that Tan Yun was merely suspicious and not yet ruthless enough to search her soul.
Only heavy breathing remained in the silent room.
“Is that so?” After applying the medicine, Tan Yun turned and placed the porcelain bottle on the table, her back tall and slender. “Then how about fish soup instead?”
“Alright.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
Sui An took out a fresh set of clothes and draped them on, covering the crisscrossing wounds on her back.
Tan Yun remained silent, not turning around.
Just listening to the rustling sound of her dressing was enough to make one’s imagination run wild, as if it were a grinding torment repeating over and over by one’s ear. In just a moment, the clothes were on, and the sound ceased abruptly.
“Since you want to learn alchemy, I will go ask Senior Brother Kong Yue to guide your training. Remember, you absolutely must not bring shame to my name, do you understand?” Tan Yun still did not turn back when she spoke.
[Host, learning alchemy techniques from others can help you avoid many detours. The System only assists the Host in raising the grade of the pills; the specific methods of alchemy still require consulting with seniors. With the addition of the System’s data comparison and improvements, it will help the Host become the strongest alchemist.]
“Thank you, Shizun,” Sui An quickly agreed.
“You should rest well tonight.”
Seeing that Tan Yun was finally willing to leave, joy overflowed from Sui An’s words. “Take care, Shizun. I won’t see you out.”
Tan Yun paused in her steps, shook her head, and left.
Sui An got up. The moment she closed the door, she couldn’t resist peeking through the crack. After confirming the person was gone, she then sat on the edge of her bed with her books and began to read.
She closed her eyes and, following the instructions of the Heart-Purifying Art, calmed her mind and entered a meditative state. Soon, her breathing became steady. Spiritual energy circulated, concentrating on the wounds on her back, alleviating the pain. She felt the comforting sensation of the spiritual energy, like a gentle caress on her back.
Her Fire spiritual root burned steadily, though it was somewhat blackened by many impurities. And while her Wood spiritual root had absorbed enough spiritual energy, it was thin and weak, like a child compared to the Fire root. To cultivate the Wood root to be as large as the Fire root, Sui An would have to train continuously.
Sui An opened her eyes. “Tenth level of Qi Refinement.”
Unexpectedly, this whipping was completely different from her near-death experience in her previous life. Perhaps because it was only five lashes this time, it wasn’t fatal, but it had coincidentally allowed her to break through the ninth level. The world said that immortal cultivation was a battle against the heavens for one’s destiny; naturally, one had to live with their head on the line2, ready to die at any moment. To become a master among men, how many lives must one’s hands be stained with?
[Host, find an opportunity to compete with Yuan Nuannuan in the future. A cultivator can only continuously break through their own limits in dangerous situations.]
Sui An pouted. “If you just said to have Yuan Nuannuan whip me again, I’d understand it faster.”
[Then please, Host, when you have time, go find Yuan Nuannuan for a whipping. Try five or six lashes.]
Sui An wanted to whip the system, but she didn’t know how. She gave a perfunctory reply and closed her eyes to continue cultivating the Wood Spirit Art.
The Wood Spirit Art was a recovery-type technique. Sui An tried to mobilize the spiritual energy from her Wood root to circulate over her back, but she found the energy from this root was very difficult to move. Every time she drew out a little bit, she felt a twinge of pain.
Sui An opened her eyes. “System, why do I feel like this Wood spiritual root isn’t my own? My whole body hurts a bit when I circulate its energy.”
[System is performing a physical examination. Examination failed. The System cannot detect the spiritual roots inside the Host’s body, but the Host’s body is very healthy.]
Sui An was discouraged. “Fine.”
She closed her eyes again and mobilized the spiritual energy from her Wood root. This time, she was extremely careful, no longer impatient. She moved just a little bit. The wood spiritual energy roamed over her back, and soon the external wounds were healed and scabbed over. It felt so comfortable that Sui An let out a sigh.
Faint runes flickered on her Wood spiritual root, very weak. Sui An didn’t notice this subtle change. She only felt the Wood root suddenly reverse itself, sucking back the wood spiritual energy she had just painstakingly drawn out. The pain made her whimper.
“What’s happening?” Sui An felt very uncomfortable, as if her whole body was being twisted, unable to move freely. “System, I can’t possibly dual-refine if it hurts this much!”
[The System does not know either. Perhaps this technique is not suitable for you. The System suggests the Host can go ask Tan Yun. After all, she is the female lead with heaven-defying luck; she should be able to help the Host.]
“But…” Sui An didn’t think Tan Yun would definitely help her. “Forget it, I’ll go ask!”
By now, the sky outside was already brightening. Unknowingly, she had cultivated for the entire night.
Sui An straightened up, feeling much better. Only then did she get out of bed and head towards the Left Hall.
As she neared the courtyard wall, she saw leaves fluttering in the air, and the sound of a sword’s whistle reached her ears, like a roaring thunderclap, shaking her soul.
Sui An slowed her steps.
A graceful purple figure held a wine jug in one hand and a cold sword in the other. The courtyard full of fallen leaves danced, rising and falling, following the sword qi of Tan Yun. Each strike was crisp, clean, and efficient.
But Tan Yun’s furrowed brow was not as bold as her sword. It was a hesitation born of tender affection, making one want to smooth away her worries.
“Shizun.”
Tan Yun stopped, and the fallen leaves showered down.
The green leaves were instantly split in two, mixing with the other fallen leaves, making it impossible to tell which half belonged to whom.
“Come in.” Tan Yun sheathed her sword, touched the wine jug to her thin lips, and tilted her head back to drink.
“Shizun, too much wine is bad for you.” Sui An only knew that she drank daily to ward off the cold, but one shouldn’t drink too much Jade Flame Wine in a single day, as it could burn the stomach.
In truth, what Tan Yun did wasn’t of great concern to Sui An. It was just that she couldn’t bear to see the woman’s worried frown right now and was casually looking for an excuse to distract her.
“What’s this? You no longer resent me for yesterday’s punishment?” Tan Yun capped the wine jug and put it away in her storage ring.
“I don’t resent you.”
A very faint, light smile appeared on Tan Yun’s face. If one wasn’t paying attention, it would be hard to notice. Having spent so much time with her, Sui An could naturally feel that she was smiling, and seemed to be in a good mood.
“I have already spoken with Senior Brother Kong Yue. You can go to the Pill Pavilion to learn from him at any time.”
“Thank you, Shizun… but I…”
Tan Yun’s eyes narrowed. “What, you don’t want to learn anymore?”
“No.” Sui An placed the Wood Spirit Art on the stone table. “It’s just that when I was cultivating last night, my whole body hurt as soon as I mobilized my wood spiritual energy. I don’t know if it’s because the technique isn’t suitable for me?”
Hearing this, Tan Yun’s eyes flickered.
Sui An saw her remain silent for a long time without answering, which made her think something was wrong with her body, and she began to feel uneasy.
“I can only say you don’t have the talent for dual refinement. You might as well practice your sword peacefully.” Tan Yun’s expression was indifferent, negating her with a single sentence.
Sui An bit her lower lip, slightly unwilling to accept it.
She should have known long ago that Tan Yun was this kind of person. Why couldn’t she ever learn her lesson, coming here only to be humiliated?
“I will practice my sword, and I won’t fall behind in alchemy either.” Sui An hurriedly bowed. “An’er was rash today and shouldn’t have disturbed Shizun’s sword practice. I will go back and figure out a solution myself.”
Watching her departing back, Tan Yun’s expression was weary. She muttered to herself, “I thought she was just acting on a whim, but I never expected her to be so persistent. What should I do?”
The fallen leaves in the courtyard were as tangled and indistinguishable as Tan Yun herself. Her thoughts were unknown, and she was difficult to understand and differentiate.
…
Sui An angrily picked up a branch from the ground. Seeing a flowerbed in her path, she began to whip it as if the flowers were Tan Yun, relentlessly destroying the beautiful blossoms3.
[Host can first absorb spiritual energy for the Wood root and break through the Qi Refinement stage. Then the Host can go to the Library Pavilion again, look through the ancient records, and see if there is anyone with the same situation as the Host.]
“That’s the only way,” Sui An said, tossing the branch aside.
“Junior Sister An!”
Sui An looked up. Miaomu was approaching on her sword.
Her clothes swayed in the wind, her hair floated gracefully, and she had a radiant smile. In an instant, she was beside Sui An, bringing a gust of fresh air that blew away some of the annoyance in her heart.
“What delicious treats did Senior Sister bring me this time?”
Miaomu smiled. “Your nose is really sharp.”
She handed Sui An the food, which was wrapped tightly in oil paper, from behind her back. “Muzi Chicken, roasted with spirit wood. It’s still hot.”
“Thank you, Senior Sister.” Sui An took it, her mood neither good nor bad. In the past, when she was angry, eating something would make her feel a little better. But now, it seemed that many things had changed.
The oil paper was still very hot to the touch. It was clear that Miaomu had used a lot of spiritual energy to protect it on the way here to preserve the texture of the Muzi Chicken.
“Junior Sister, you don’t need to be so polite with me.” Miaomu then handed her a storage pouch. “These are your spirit stones for this month.”
Sui An blinked. She had almost forgotten that today was the day to receive her monthly allowance. If Miaomu hadn’t brought it, she wouldn’t have remembered.
[Host will need to refine pills in the future and will need to buy medicinal herbs. There will be many places to spend money later on.]
Sui An took the storage pouch. “Thank you, Senior Sister. From now on, I will go get my spirit stones myself each month. You don’t need to go to all the trouble of delivering them.”
Miaomu smiled faintly. “Alright. Then I shall take my leave.”
“Why don’t you eat with me, Senior Sister?” Sui An was taken aback, not expecting Miaomu to leave so soon after arriving.
“I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay long.”
“Well… alright then!”
Miaomu bowed and left on her sword.
Sui An opened the oil paper. The Muzi Chicken had a crispy layer of oil on its skin. She gently tore off a piece of meat.
It was fragrant and sweet without being greasy, but she didn’t feel the same joy she used to when eating delicious food. Sui An sighed softly. She returned to her room and was stunned to find a pitch-black, grimy book lying on her clean and tidy bed.
She placed the Muzi Chicken on the table and went to the bedside, looking around. She didn’t find anything unusual. “Someone was in my room.”
[The System has scanned the room. There is nothing abnormal. Perhaps that person just delivered the book and left.]
Sui An picked up the book and looked at it. The cover was too dirty to tell what it was. She flipped open a page. The writing in the front was somewhat blurry. She could only make out the last few lines: “…a Wood spiritual root of some kind is closest to nature and needs to rely on the essence of the sun and moon to aid its cultivation… This is a cultivation technique for the Wood spiritual root!”
[Perhaps the female lead secretly delivered it.]
“Impossible, it definitely wasn’t her.” But Sui An had just asked Tan Yun, and a new technique had been delivered right after. Besides Tan Yun, Sui An couldn’t think of anyone else who would send her a technique so quickly.
[The Host should ask the female lead again.]
“I’m not going.” She wasn’t going to ask for humiliation.
Regardless of whether Tan Yun had given her this book or not, Sui An would only receive a negative answer in the end.
It was just that this technique looked very strange. She herself found it difficult to decide whether to cultivate it or not.
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Reika’s Notes:
- This text was translated by RudeGirl, and given to BC Novels to publish.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!
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Glossary
Soul Formation Stage (化神期, huàshén qī): A very high stage of cultivation, significantly above Golden Core. Cultivators at this level possess immense power, including abilities like soul searching.
Storage Pouch (储物袋, chǔwù dài): A less powerful or lower-grade version of a storage ring, but serving the same function of holding items in a pocket dimension.
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- Possessed (夺舍, duóshè): A common concept in Xianxia/Xuanhuan. It refers to the act of a spirit or soul forcibly taking over another person’s body, usually after its own body has been destroyed. This is a great fear and taboo among cultivators.
- Live with their head on the line (将脑袋提在裤腰带上, jiāng nǎodai tí zài kùyāodài shang): A vivid Chinese idiom that literally means “to carry one’s head on one’s belt.” It describes living a life of constant, mortal danger, where one could lose their life at any moment.
- Relentlessly destroying the beautiful blossoms (辣手摧花, làshǒu cuīhuā): A Chinese idiom. Literally, it means “to use a cruel hand to destroy flowers.” It is often used figuratively to describe the mistreatment or harming of a beautiful young woman, but here it’s used in its literal sense to describe Sui An taking out her anger on the flowers.
okay, I’m starting to warm up to the FL. Gives me tsundere vibes.