Chapter 9

It turned out that this world was based on the Five Elements. The Five Elements were divided into Yin and Yang. The Yang Five Elements were also called Pure Qi. Pure Qi was restrained, clean, and cultivating with it was relatively slow and arduous. The Yin Five Elements had another name: Devil Qi. Devil Qi was domineering and powerful in attack, but it easily influenced a person’s mind and nature.

The Righteous Path cultivation relied on the Yang Five Elements—Pure Qi cleansed the body. The Devil Path was much more complicated. Some Devil Cultivators attached themselves to the Yin Five Elements from the very start. Others were plagued by Heart Devils and thus Fallen into Devilhood.

But no matter the reason one became a Devil Cultivator, as long as one cultivated the Devil Path, one could not escape the influence of Devil Qi. The higher the cultivation, the more people died by their own hands. This was also why, even though cultivation on the Devil Path was fast, simple, and aggressively powerful, the True Martial Continent was still predominantly Righteous.

Liang Yiman explained it just once, and Li Jiangying understood her meaning. She even intuitively grasped those basic terms. After listening, Li Jiangying had only one thought in her heart: None of us have it easy.

If she didn’t cultivate, she would still be eroded by Devil Qi. Better to cultivate and turn that Devil Qi into her own power.

Besides, Heaven never bars one’s way. This thought flashed quickly through Li Jiangying’s mind.

“If Miss Jiangying wants to cultivate, having Her Highness guard nearby for protection would be the most prudent. Please wait a few more days. Once Cui Yu returns with the medicine and Her Highness’s injuries improve, then begin cultivating,” Liang Yiman said.

As the most normal person Li Jiangying had encountered so far, Liang Yiman’s words carried considerable weight. Li Jiangying decided to accept her suggestion.

But before cultivating, she could determine her cultivation direction. Checking her physique, determining her elemental affinity, learning general knowledge—none could be omitted.

Everyone in this world possessed all Five Elements within them, but due to different constitutions, they had affinities. Choosing the cultivation that suited one best would yield twice the result with half the effort.

Don’t be fooled by the Moon Shadow Devil Palace’s current decline—its foundations were in no way inferior to other Devil Palaces. Liang Yiman decided to take Li Jiangying to see the Moon Shadow Devil Palace’s Scripture Pavilion.

She walked ahead, leading the way. Li Jiangying half-carried, half-dragged Li Yueying.

Halfway there, Li Jiangying couldn’t carry her anymore. She let go of her hands and coaxed gently, “Yueying, get off me first.”

Li Yueying shook her head like a rattle-drum, clinging to Li Jiangying’s neck and refusing to let go.

This little madwoman was ridiculously heavy. Li Jiangying’s neck was nearly getting broken. She tried to pry her off, but lacked the strength.

After several back-and-forth attempts, Li Jiangying couldn’t hold back anymore and roared: “Let go!”

Li Yueying: “Wuw…”

Li Jiangying kept her face cold. “Let go! Or I don’t want you anymore!”

Wronged, Li Yueying loosened her grip and slid out of Li Jiangying’s arms. Grabbing onto Li Jiangying’s sleeve, she mumbled in a small voice, “Jiangying… I let go…”

“Oh.”

“Then…” A hint of eager anticipation flickered in Li Yueying’s eyes. “Praise me.”

Li Jiangying: “Heh heh, in your dreams!”

She had finally realized that the blame for her irritable temper couldn’t be fully pushed onto the Devil Qi. This Li Yueying was here specifically to test her patience!

The so-called Scripture Pavilion was a three-story building, tall and imposing, built upon a base of massive stones. Pushing the door open, an ancient, heavy aura hit her face—how many years had it been since this was last opened? The air inside was thick and stale.

The moment the door opened, a slight breeze blew in, kicking up dust. Slivers of sunlight streamed through the window lattices, illuminating the dancing motes. Covering her nose, Liang Yiman cast a Wind Spell. Whoosh! It swept the interior clean in an instant.

She led Li Jiangying to the depths of the first floor, bypassing the bookshelves. Deep inside stood a thick stone wall. Its center had been hollowed out, a space large enough for a full-grown, burly man to stand in.

Liang Yiman said proudly, “This was designed by the Myriad Devils Ancestor. Embedded with a Devil Stone, when a person walks inside, it can measure their Five Element affinities.” So saying, she took out a Devil Stone and fitted it into a groove on the wall. A hazy glow flickered, and the entire stone wall seemed to have been waxed, gleaming.

Li Jiangying was about to step inside when Li Yueying tugged at her, causing her to pause.

“Let go.”

Reluctantly, Li Yueying released her and crouched down, secretly grabbing the hem of her skirt.

Li Jiangying pretended not to see.

She walked into the hollow in the stone wall, giving her skirt a fierce tug to pull the fabric from the little madwoman’s grasp. The wall was only about two people thick. She walked straight through. Then, she heard clicking and clattering sounds from the stone wall. Suddenly, the walls around the central hollow space erupted with a brilliant, blazing light of fire! Explosive and surging, tongues of fire lashed out, burning all the way up to the ceiling before slowly dissipating.

Li Jiangying was stunned speechless by this scene, straight out of a movie special effect. She unconsciously looked towards Liang Yiman and Li Yueying. Her gaze swept past Liang Yiman’s shocked, slightly panicked expression, and then she was immediately pounced on by the little madwoman.

Catching her off guard, Li Yueying tackled Jiangying to the ground. Wagging her long tail, she cupped Li Jiangying’s face in her hands and looked her over with a face full of worry.

“What are you doing?” Her face squished by the hands, Li Jiangying asked indistinctly, simultaneously trying to push her away.

Tears welled in Li Yueying’s eyes. “Jiangying is injured!”

Li Jiangying: “I am???”

Crying, Li Yueying scooped up a lock of Li Jiangying’s hair. “Look, it’s all singed!”

Li Jiangying: “…”

Using both coercion and bribery, Li Jiangying finally pried Li Yueying off her. Panting heavily, too tired to stand, she simply sat cross-legged on the ground. One hand was raised for Li Yueying to rub her cheek against; the other was propped on her knee. With a weathered air, she asked, “So? The fire appearing… does that mean I have an affinity for the Fire Element?”

By now, Liang Yiman had composed herself. She nodded, a slightly awkward smile on her face. “Indeed. Not only is it a Fire Element Body, but Miss Jiangying’s physique is exceptionally pure—rare in this world. To this day, no second person this humble one has ever seen can match Miss Jiangying’s talent.”

It sounded incredibly impressive. Could this be the ‘golden finger’ cheat skill every transmigrator was supposed to have?!

Li Jiangying suppressed her inner excitement, but didn’t ignore Liang Yiman’s earlier odd reaction. “If that’s the case, what is Miss Liang worried about?”

Liang Yiman’s eyes were full of complex emotion. “Miss Jiangying’s talent is unmatched. It’s a pity, though, that it’s Fire Element.”

“What’s wrong with Fire Element?”

Liang Yiman felt sorry for her. “Miss Jiangying doesn’t know this, but the Devil Domain is located at the southern end of the True Martial Continent. It’s summer here year-round, no spring, autumn, or winter. This isn’t purely due to geography; it’s also why the world’s Fire Element is unbalanced.”

An imbalance in the Fire Element meant that whether it was Yang Fire or Yin Fire, any Fire Element spiritual Qi was abnormally violent and explosive beyond reason.

For thousands of years, there have been almost no top-tier masters of the Fire Element, especially among Devil Cultivators. Because Devil Qi from the Fire Element, even more explosive than regular Devil Qi, was practically a death sentence to cultivate.

Thus, even if their bodies leaned towards the Fire Element, cultivators would try their utmost to cultivate the other four elements. Some with excellent Fire Element physiques but who feared death would even deliberately cultivate the Water Element spiritual Qi to counter their innate constitution.

“If only Miss Jiangying’s physical nature were just a little less pure… there would be choices,” Liang Yiman pronounced her death sentence. “But with talent like this, the only path you can walk is that of the Fire Element.”

When a specialization was pushed to the extreme, there was no choice left.

First, she was told she had a golden finger gifted from heaven, then she opened it only to find that golden finger was poisonous… In just a few minutes, a massive rise followed by a massive fall, Li Jiangying clutched her overwhelmed little heart and slowly lay down on the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Yueying dove beside her. Tilting her head in puzzlement, she asked, “Why is Jiangying unhappy?”

Li Jiangying: “Am I unhappy?”

“Yes.” The little madwoman reached out a finger and traced the contours of Li Jiangying’s face. Her fingers were icy cold. Before, Li Jiangying had just assumed she was cold from wearing too few clothes. Now, she realized it was a trait of the cold-blooded creature itself.

The little madwoman said seriously, “Jiangying is unhappy, so I’m unhappy too.”

A heaviness in her chest, Li Jiangying grabbed the hand that was wreaking havoc on her face and said in a low voice, “Be good, don’t move around. I just feel like a clown.”

“Jiangying is not ugly,” Li Yueying said, obediently no longer fidgeting. She pressed her face against Li Jiangying’s chest, closing her eyes peacefully and blissfully to listen to her heartbeat.

She didn’t understand anything. Ruffled, Li Jiangying found it both infuriating and amusing. Strangely, her dejected, gloomy mood actually improved a little.

Liang Yiman also offered comfort from the side. “It’s not impossible if you want to cultivate. As long as Miss Jiangying doesn’t delve too deep, restrains herself, and lives peacefully for a few centuries, it’s not out of the question.”

But… could a weak little tonic pill truly live peacefully until she died?