The cloud boat soared high in the sky as rain began to fall in the dead of night. The restrictions on the vessel activated, glowing with a misty, faint light that sealed out the rain. Only the pitter-patter of raindrops echoed from above, without a trace of dampness creeping inside.
Shi Yu sat cross-legged on a prayer mat inside her room with a spirit stone lamp placed before her. Her eyes were tightly shut, her hands forming seals in front of her chest as she silently recited her technique. Guiding her Qi and regulating her breathing, she focused entirely on refining the Dragon Bamboo Fruit without a single stray thought.
The serene quiet brought by the rain allowed her to completely ignore the outside world’s disturbances and changes, concentrating solely on her cultivation. She failed to notice even the faint, rustling sounds that occurred during the night.
Only after fully refining the Dragon Bamboo Fruit into her own spiritual energy did Shi Yu stop her cultivation.
By then, the rain had long since ceased. She stood up and stepped outside her room, greeted by a breathtaking view of the post-rain landscape—a hidden rainbow fading into the horizon while crimson leaves reflected like fiery pomegranate blossoms across the mountains.
“It’s already evening?” This round of cultivation had taken her an entire day.
After walking around the deck and chatting for a while with the elder piloting the cloud boat, Shi Yu looked around, but Qingzhou was nowhere to be seen.
The cloud boat was only so large, and Qingzhou had never been one to chat with others. Where could he have gone?
Recalling the faint rustling noise she had vaguely heard during her cultivation last night, Shi Yu frowned slightly. She made another circuit around the boat, knocking on every door to ask if anyone had seen Qingzhou, but everyone gave the same answer—they hadn't seen him.
Finally, she found President Song and asked, “President, have you seen Qingzhou?”
President Song glanced at her. “That kid follows you everywhere like a shadow. Why are you asking me?”
Frowning, Shi Yu realized President Song hadn't seen him either. She asked, “Did the cloud boat stop at all last night?”
President Song shook his head. “Several elders took turns steering the cloud boat overnight. It didn't stop once.”
The cloud boat had been flying high in the sky the entire time without landing once. How could a living person just disappear?
Leaning over the window frame, Shi Yu looked down. The cloud boat was hundreds of feet up in the air, floating above a vast stretch of verdant mountain forests. She murmured softly, “Could he have... jumped?”
President Song raised an eyebrow. “Jumped from this height? That kid hasn't reached the Foundation Establishment Realm yet and can't command an escape light. He'd fall to his death on the spot.”
Shi Yu touched the life scale beneath her eye.
There was no unusual reaction from it, meaning Qingzhou was currently alive and well.
Taking her leave of President Song, Shi Yu returned to her room, now certain that Qingzhou had indeed jumped off the cloud boat.
He possesses a Water-attribute Spiritual Meridian and has a natural affinity for water. It rained all night yesterday... He likely used the rain to make his descent from the cloud boat, Shi Yu speculated privately.
The innate divine abilities Qingzhou possessed didn't seem limited to just one or two; even she didn't fully understand them all.
Looking into the outer room, she saw meticulously prepared meals neatly laid out. Her gaze softened as she picked up the cold food and began to eat.
The fact that he had taken the time to prepare food showed he hadn't left in a hurry. He likely had his own plans.
Although Qingzhou had given her his life scale, Shi Yu had never intended to restrict his freedom as his master. Though his sudden departure worried her, she wouldn't stop him.
“You could have at least said goodbye before leaving,” she murmured with a slight shake of her head, sighing softly.
After finishing her meal, Shi Yu attempted to refine the Heart-Clearing Pill once more. Whenever her spiritual energy and spiritual sense were spent, she immediately drank Life Spring water and consumed Dragon Bamboo Fruit to cultivate. Through this repeated cycle of depletion and recovery, her cultivation speed noticeably accelerated.
...
The group spent the next half month peacefully aboard the cloud boat. By now, the vessel had long left Hengze Prefecture behind, traveling past seven or eight prefecture cities.
With the exchange conference approaching, Shi Yu dared not waste time. She remained tireless on the cloud boat, either mulling over and digesting the new alchemy insights gained from the Legacy of Subtle Wonders, or alternating continuously between alchemy and cultivation.
Along the way, she used the spirit-measuring ruler to check her current spiritual meridian aptitude.
Nurtured without pause by the Life Spring water every day, her newly formed spiritual meridian had gradually grown sturdier and thicker. Though its luster was not yet bright or pure, it had finally shed its former dim, wispy appearance.
A red line climbed slowly from the base of the spirit-measuring ruler, crossing notch after notch before finally settling at Low-grade Nine-fractions.
Spiritual meridian aptitude wasn't everything. Perseverance, comprehension, and natural talent were all vital factors determining how far a cultivator could go on their path. Yet, it was undeniably the most direct indicator of a cultivator's overall potential.
It wasn't merely a difference in cultivation speed; the superior the spiritual meridian, the higher the affinity for five-element spiritual energy, making comprehending the fundamental five elements far easier than for ordinary people.
Shi Yu's Low-grade Nine-fractions Spiritual Meridian was still far from exceptional, but at least it wouldn't drag her down too much.
Moreover, as long as the Life Spring water kept flowing, her spiritual meridian would continue to grow.
Before long, this spirit-measuring ruler, which could only test low-grade spiritual meridians, would become obsolete, requiring her to replace it with a higher-grade ruler.
Early one morning, Shi Yu had just finished practicing the 《Soul Tempering Art》. After taking a moment to recover her bearings and gulping down two mouthfuls of Life Spring water to soothe the agonizing tremors deep within her soul, she was about to resume cultivating her technique when the life scale beneath her eye suddenly grew scalding hot.
“What's going on...?” When her fingers touched the life scale, the scorching heat nearly burned her fingertips.
Shi Yu took out a mirror and saw the life scale under her eye emerging from beneath her skin. The silver scale flickered with light, pulsing rapidly as if breathing heavily.
She abruptly stood up. “Did something happen to Qingzhou?”
Her heart skipped a beat, her usually calm mind momentarily thrown into disarray.
Immediately following that, an extraordinarily pure surge of spiritual energy erupted from the life scale, gushing violently into her limbs and bones.
The flickering scale gradually settled down, conveying a gentle sense of reassurance from within.
Taking a deep breath, Shi Yu decisively sat down cross-legged and circulated her technique, guiding the surge of spiritual energy into her dantian. The spiritual energy compressed within her dantian, gradually forming swirling Qi cyclones that revolved endlessly around her Yellow Sprout Dao Foundation.
Her cultivation surged drastically alongside it. In just a brief moment, Shi Yu, who had entered the seventh layer of the Qi Refining Realm less than two months ago, suddenly found her cultivation rapidly approaching the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm.
By the time she fully absorbed the pure spiritual energy from the life scale, she was merely a single step away from the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm. Once she stabilized her foundation, breaking through would be as natural as water flowing into a channel.
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Shi Yu opened her eyes with a wry smile, finally understanding why Qingzhou had left.
The life scale possessed a feedback effect; whenever Qingzhou raised his cultivation, she would reap a portion of the benefits as well.
“He must have taken my words to heart when I said my cultivation was too low to handle refining Tier-3 pills. That's why he silently left without a word, heading into the mountain ranges to seek ways to raise his cultivation.”
He possessed the bloodline of a spirit beast, and spirit beasts grew fastest through fierce slaughter—whether by devouring the flesh and blood of the defeated, competing for mature natural treasures in sacred mountains and great rivers, or braving perilous, malevolent lands to seek opportunities... None of these paths were easy.
When Qingzhou left, his cultivation was only at the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Realm. Now, he was likely well past the sixth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, given how vast the spiritual energy transmitted through the life scale was.
Shi Yu couldn't fathom what he had gone through to achieve such a massive leap in such a short amount of time.
Whatever it was, it certainly hadn't been easy.
She touched the life scale; it had now returned to tranquility, vanishing once more beneath her skin.
Shi Yu gazed out the window and murmured softly, “Stay safe, Qingzhou.”
The life scale brightened for a brief moment, as if in response.
End of Volume 2
Rate on N.U.
