Chapter 8

Having lain down comfortably, Liuli patted the straw mat. Her face, still carrying a touch of baby fat, beamed a radiant smile: “Come on, come on.”

Feng Xiwu could endure no more. She bent a finger and rapped her on the forehead: “Quiet.”

Liuli shrugged, pressing her lips together in a suppressed smile.

With prior experience, Feng Xiwu knew how utterly ignorant Liuli was about cultivation, yet her body still possessed its former foundation. Teaching Liuli was actually not that difficult.

Heavenly Martial Sect disciples all began by cultivating the most basic heart method. Upon entering the Inner Sect, their cultivation techniques were upgraded. After becoming a disciple under a specific peak, the techniques differed again. The Scripture Pavilion also held thousands of techniques. One only needed to exchange contribution points to review the books there and study independently.

Thus, one could say everyone cultivated differently.

But Feng Xiwu didn’t need to know what technique Liuli practiced now. Meridians, after long-term circulation of True Qi, would inevitably leave imprints and memories. And after cultivating a technique for a long time, even if one didn’t actively circulate qi for a moment, the True Qi within the body would still slowly flow along its original trajectory.

What she needed to do was guide Liuli’s body to circulate the technique according to the imprints left behind.

Having figured out the method, Feng Xiwu gracefully sat beside Liuli. She channeled True Qi into Liuli’s body, slowly guiding her…

As Liuli tried it, she suddenly understood. It wasn’t much different from healing injuries before, only the circulation path was more complex and required more mental focus to control. Beyond that, she also had to strive to absorb the spiritual energy floating freely in the air, discarding impurities and absorbing the essence…

As Liuli gradually entered a good state, Feng Xiwu withdrew her hand and quietly watched her close her eyes… while lying down.

This posture truly lacked any semblance of a cultivator’s bearing.

Feng Xiwu looked at her sprained ankle and instructed, “Circulate your qi to the injury to warm and nourish it.”

Liuli directed her True Qi downward. The originally hot and swollen injury was gradually covered by a cooling sensation. The wound slowly healed.

She was indeed very talented. Feng Xiwu said, “Cultivation should not be rushed. Today, focus solely on learning meditation and cultivation.”

“Yes!”

Liuli obediently circulated her qi, round and round. As she trained, she felt a comfortable warmth spreading throughout her body. She secretly opened her eyes to glance to the side, but was caught immediately.

Feng Xiwu met her half-closed eyes: “What are you looking at?”

“Checking if you’ve left.” Liuli hurriedly shut her eyes.

With her eyes closed, she couldn’t see anyone, but when Feng Xiwu said, “I’m not leaving for now,” Liuli felt reassured.

The young girl beside her had an increasingly steady aura, the spiritual energy in the air absorbed smoothly by her.

Feng Xiwu thought she had become absorbed in cultivation and quietly watched the sun sink in the west outside the window, preparing to call her when the time was right.

But unexpectedly, as Liuli lay there, she suddenly convulsed violently, opened her mouth: “Pfft—”

A mist of bright red blood sprayed out, startling Feng Xiwu.

She grabbed Liuli’s collar with one hand, pulling her upper body up, while her other hand had already pressed against Liuli’s chest.

Liuli opened her eyes weakly and listlessly, grasping Feng Xiwu’s hand in return. She said with her dying breath: “Perfected One, it seems my cultivation went wrong.”

“You did go wrong.”

“I’m about to die, aren’t I?” Liuli wiped the blood from the corner of her lips mournfully.

“…Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I threw up so much blood. Perfected One, seeing that I’m about to die, please fulfill my last wish and take me as your disciple!”

For a rare moment, a look of confusion appeared on Feng Xiwu’s face. “Liuli, why exactly are you so insistent on becoming my disciple?”

Liuli blurted out without thinking: “Because I like you.”

Feng Xiwu was stunned. Her thin, diamond-shaped lips even parted slightly involuntarily, revealing pearly white teeth.

Seeing her so surprised, Liuli only then realized the ambiguity of her words. She hurriedly explained: “Not that kind of like, that kind of like!”

Feng Xiwu sighed slightly and removed her hand from her. “You’re still young.”

Liuli wanted to cry but had no tears, her cheeks flushing red in anxiety. “I mean, my liking for you is just admiration. I really like you. It’s just, just… this ‘like’ isn’t romantic like! It’s very—pure!”

Feng Xiwu couldn’t help but curve her lips. She turned her head away and let out a soft laugh.

This sound pulled Liuli out of her panic.

Seeing her smile, Liuli wasn’t panicked anymore, but stunned.

Truly… beautiful.

Feng Xiwu turned back, no longer teasing her, and said, “I understand now.”

Liuli shook her head violently, shaking the image of the smiling beauty from her mind. She couldn’t help puffing out her cheeks and muttering, “What do you understand?”

“Liuli,” Feng Xiwu called her name, “since you want so much to enter my tutelage, I will give you a chance.”

“Really?!”

The good news came too fast, like a tornado, blowing Liuli into a daze. She asked impatiently: “What chance?”

“In the sect competition three months from now, if you can claim the top prize, I will take you as my disciple.”

At first glance, this requirement seemed incredibly difficult. However, in reality, the Heavenly Martial Sect’s competition was divided into three brackets. Qi Condensation was one bracket. Foundation Establishment’s first five stages were another. Foundation Establishment’s latter five stages were the third.

And Liuli right now was at Foundation Establishment Stage Four!

Liuli savored the feeling of her training over these past two days. Not only was she full of confidence, but she agreed in one breath: “Fine, you said it! With the azure heaven as witness and the thick earth as record, you cannot go back on your word!”

“Naturally.”

Feng Xiwu watched her exuberant expression, yet her gaze seemed to look through Liuli at something else.

After the excitement, Liuli slowly calmed down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blood on her hand and suddenly remembered she’d just coughed up blood.

Her expression instantly changed. She lay limply back down, soft and weak: “Shizun.”

Feng Xiwu: “?”

“A slip of the tongue, a slip of the tongue, Perfected One!” Liuli stuck out her tongue, then asked worriedly, “What happened to me just now?”

“That should be a question for you.” Feng Xiwu had long since probed her internal meridians and discovered that she had just circulated her qi in the wrong direction, causing two streams of True Qi to clash.

Fortunately, it wasn’t serious. Just coughing up a mouthful of blood looked frightening.

Liuli thought back for a moment, then said, “Just now… it seems… I fell asleep…”

Once her mind relaxed and her body loosened, feeling full of True Qi and extremely comfortable, Liuli accidentally… fell asleep. After falling asleep, her True Qi still circulated according to the owner’s will. But she inadvertently had a dream, dreaming that she was being hunted by the male lead for stealing Feng Xiwu as her Shizun. In her panic, leaping and crouching, she accidentally made a mistake.

“You, ah.” Feng Xiwu formed a hand seal for a Cleansing Spell. In an instant, the bloodstains and filth vanished.

Liuli knew she had no more pitiful act to sell. She wasn’t embarrassed either, just sat up cross-legged and said shamelessly, “Perfected One, I feel qi surging within my body. Clearly, I have a lot of True Qi, but I’m still a bit weak.”

Hearing this, Feng Xiwu immediately understood what was happening.

“This is a sign of an impending breakthrough,” Feng Xiwu said. “After several days of tempering, progress is normal. Don’t worry, just let your cultivation flow naturally.”

Liuli had an epiphany: “Understood!”

Breakthroughs in minor realms were unlike major realms. They usually posed no danger, but still couldn’t be taken lightly.

The moment of a cultivation breakthrough was crucial. It was best not to be disturbed during this time, lest an error in qi circulation injure oneself.

Liuli’s earlier mistake in circulation had no impact, which was truly a stroke of great fortune. Another time, there was no guarantee she would be so lucky.

Therefore, Feng Xiwu gave her a few instructions and told her to cultivate right here without returning.

With Feng Xiwu watching nearby, she could intervene promptly if Liuli encountered any problems.

After all, Liuli was currently a problem youth.

Only, at this moment, neither of them knew that Liuli’s earlier mishap in circulating her qi was not so simple.

Liuli, intending to show off in front of her intended Shizun, didn’t lie down anymore. She sat cross-legged in a proper posture, her expression serious. She formed the orchid fingers hand seal, intending to meditate and cultivate.

Feng Xiwu glanced at her little paws, wanting to say something but didn’t voice it.

Forget it. As long as she’s happy.

Knowing how unfamiliar Liuli was with cultivation and how prone to problems she was, Feng Xiwu had already prepared to keep vigil through the night on her behalf.

But unexpectedly, once the girl beside her entered a good state, she only felt entirely comfortable. All the pores on her body opened, wanting to absorb spiritual energy. Spiritual energy then flooded in endlessly.

In a short while, the True Qi within her meridians condensed.

Liuli opened her eyes. “Perfected One, did I succeed?!”

Feng Xiwu watched her silently for a moment, staring until Liuli’s heart was uneasy, suspecting she had messed up again. Only then did Feng Xiwu finally nod and say, “It’s done.”

Liuli immediately cheered.

She was still so unfamiliar with this place, with everything. She naturally had no idea what Feng Xiwu was thinking in her heart.

Feng Xiwu was thinking: When exactly did this terrifying talent appear in Liuli?

.

A thousand li away.

Inside a towering yet dilapidated ancient structure.

A mysterious woman draped in black gauze sat within the main hall. She quietly lifted her head, looking through the black gauze covering her face toward the reliefs carved on the ceiling above.

There, dozens of Ferocious Beasts surrounded a wildly blooming black lotus in the center.

As the woman watched, she suddenly let out an infatuated laugh. She tore the black gauze from her face, revealing a face that was both gorgeous and wickedly seductive.

Her tongue licked across lips as red as blood. The woman straightened, hands resting on the armrests of the throne. She looked at the few people kneeling and trembling in the great hall and said slowly:

“This Seat had a very, very long dream.”

“In that dream, there was a person.”

“He dared to use This Seat!”

The woman stood unhurriedly and walked downward. The long robe trailed on the ground behind her, her figure graceful and full of allure.

She was an incredibly beautiful and charming woman. Yet at this very moment, none of the several people before her dared to look her in the face, much less appreciate her beauty.

A chilling, gloomy cold followed the woman’s hand as it poured into the mind of the man kneeling on the ground. She pinched his chin, forcing him to look up at her.

She smiled and said, “What This Seat finds even more unforgettable… you all dared to betray me?”

The last few words were spoken with increasing gentleness, which instead made the man even more panicked, terrified that in the next second, his head would be separated from his body!

But unexpectedly, the woman did not act directly. Instead, she said, “But it doesn’t matter. I’ll give you a… chance for redemption.”