Over the next few days, Lin Zhixue led a routine and peaceful life.
Every morning, she rose early to meditate and cultivate. With Xiaoyu beside her guiding the spiritual energy, her efficiency was vastly higher than before.
After finishing breakfast, she went to the Gu manor to tend the herb field—weeding, loosening the soil, and checking the operation of the Spirit Gathering Formation, keeping the condition of every spirit herb firmly in mind.
Once her work was done, she collected her spirit stones, stopped by the market on the way back to purchase the spiritual materials needed for her cultivation, and returned home to continue meditating.
Day after day passed, and before she knew it, her cultivation had progressed from the fifth level of Qi Refining to the threshold of the sixth.
The night of her breakthrough was unremarkable.
She ran through a few circulation cycles as usual when the spiritual energy suddenly surged smoothly over an invisible threshold. Warmth flowed through all her limbs and bones, far easier than her previous breakthrough, without even breaking a sweat.
Ending her meditation, she opened her eyes and glanced down at her palms, sensing that the spiritual energy within her body had grown considerably denser than before.
Xiaoyu was far more excited than she was, floating in several loops around the roof beams while muttering, “Sixth level! Sixth level!” as if it were the one who had broken through.
...
During those same few days, cultivating the 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》 presented an entirely different scene.
Gu Yanqing had chosen this manual to practice first, enticed by its deeper body tempering effects.
The first two medicinal baths had been manageable. Tossing the medicinal ingredients into hot water stirred up a dark red broth; soaking in it brought a faint numbness, not unlike relaxing in a hot spring.
After stepping out of the tub, his muscles and bones felt limber, and his spiritual energy flowed through his muscles with greater ease. He had even thought this technique was nothing special.
The third time, however, the moment he submerged his body into the medicinal broth, a searing, stabbing pain shot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
It was as if red-hot needles were thrust simultaneously into every single meridian; from his toes to his scalp, not an inch of his body was spared from agony.
The medicinal potency bored through his skin, seeping along his meridians and into his marrow. Wherever it passed, the agony caused the veins on his forehead to bulge violently, his knuckles turning white as his fingers dug into the rim of the bathtub.
“Hiss—ah!”
A bloodcurdling cry penetrated the doors and windows, echoing across the rear courtyard.
Several passing handymen exchanged glances and silently quickened their pace.
No wonder it had just sat there with no one taking it.
A Mystic Middle-Grade technique had sat untouched for decades, likely because those who had tried it before couldn't endure the torment.
As effective as this body tempering method was, this kind of agony was not something just anyone could endure.
In the herb field, Lin Zhixue was crouching in front of a row of Dewdrop Grass, frowning.
The tips of several leaves had yellowed, and the soil around their roots had hardened into compact clumps, stiff and unyielding to the touch.
She turned over the topsoil to inspect it closely, then pinched a small clump between her fingertips and rubbed it, forming a judgment in her mind.
The soil was depleted.
This plot had been farmed for years without having its soil turned; the spiritual energy had been drained dry by successive generations of spirit herbs. No matter how much water or fertilizer was applied, it would only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause. The only solution was to replace the soil.
She stood up, brushed off her hands, and prepared to look for Gu Yanqing to report this.
Just as she approached the wing room in the rear courtyard, a scream erupted from inside, bringing her to a halt.
That was Gu Yanqing's voice.
Standing at the doorway, she felt torn between advancing and retreating.
There were no sounds of fighting, nor any fluctuations of spiritual energy. It sounded more like pure pain—the kind that was utterly unbearable.
Yet what could possibly hurt a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator to such an extent?
She cast a hesitant glance at the tightly shut door. Just as she was debating whether to knock and ask, Xiaoyu darted out from beside her shoulder.
“I'll check for you!”
Xiaoyu phased right through the door with smooth, fluid motions, utterly devoid of any self-awareness about peeping.
Inside, dense steam billowed.
Gu Yanqing was submerged in a large tub of dark red medicinal liquid, with only his shoulders and head exposed. His forehead was soaked in sweat, his face taut with strain, and the veins at his temples pulsed violently.
The medicinal potency continued to bore deep into his meridians. Relentless waves of searing pain crashed over him without end. Gritting his teeth, he braced himself against it, not even noticing someone phasing through the door.
Xiaoyu floated directly in front of the bathtub, looking him up and down.
Then, crossing its arms, the corners of its mouth slowly curled upward.
“Oho, quite a nice build.”
It tilted its head to take two more glances, huffed, and phased back out through the door.
Gu Yanqing's eyelid twitched.
In that split second, he had sensed something.
It was intuition—a subtle perception born from having tempered his body three times.
Something had entered, lingered before him for a moment, and left.
He could even roughly guess what that wall-passing entity was.
Yet all he could do was close his eyes, take a deep breath, and endure; even soaking in a medicinal bath was not safe from its interference.
Xiaoyu flew back before Lin Zhixue, its tone nonchalant.
“He's soaking in a medicinal bath, practicing a body cultivation technique. Looks like he won't be coming out anytime soon. You'll have to wait a bit.”
Lin Zhixue nodded. In no hurry, she returned to the herb field to continue inspecting the condition of the other spirit herbs.
...
After a while, the door to the wing room swung open, and Gu Yanqing walked out.
His hair was still damp, his collar slightly disheveled, and his face retained traces of lingering pain that hadn't entirely faded, yet his footing was steady.
“What's the matter?”
Lin Zhixue stood up and briefly explained the situation in the herb field.
The soil was spent; the surface fertility was depleted, and the deep-seated spiritual energy had been drained dry. Relying on fertilizer and watering wouldn't sustain it for long—they needed to fetch new soil from outside to replace it.
“Where do we get it?”
“There should be suitable soil on the mountain.”
Lin Zhixue had seen the humus soil along the edge of the dense forest on the shaded side of the mountain.
Soft and fertile, covered by fallen leaves year-round, its spiritual energy content was significantly higher than ordinary farming soil, making it very suitable for an herb field.
“I'll go with you tomorrow.”
With him agreeing so readily, Lin Zhixue was taken aback instead.
Subconsciously, she wanted to say, “I can go by myself,” but swallowed the words back down.
The memory of running into the jade-eyed wolf alone on the mountain was still fresh in her mind.
Although the wolf had fled for unknown reasons that time, it didn't mean she would be so lucky every time.
Still, if the two of them went together, what if they encountered some formidable demon beast...?
“What if we run into danger...?” she began hesitantly.
Gu Yanqing understood the unspoken half of her sentence.
He knew the demon beasts on that mountain far better than she did.
In the original novel, the strongest beast on this mountain was merely that jade-eyed wolf, mid Foundation Establishment at most.
Most of the demon beasts ranged between late Qi Refining and early Foundation Establishment; very few posed an actual threat.
With him at mid Foundation Establishment and Lin Zhixue at the sixth level of Qi Refining, as long as they didn't venture into the core area of the deep mountains, they basically wouldn't run into any major trouble.
Besides, he was eager to test the results of his body tempering.
Medicinal baths were not the only method of cultivating the 《Nine Revolutions Body Tempering Technique》; the manual made that crystal clear.
Clashing head-on in real combat, allowing the muscles to tear their old fibers during impact, and repairing them afterward with medicated diets and medicinal broths—hammering them repeatedly, growing stronger with every bout.
Simply put: taking beatings.
The medicinal baths tempered the resilience of sinew, bone, and skin, while real combat honed muscle reaction speed; only by combining the two could one truly grasp the basics.
If they ran into low-tier demon beasts up the mountain tomorrow, it would be the perfect chance to practice.
Without a second thought, he blurted out, “Don't worry, I'll protect you.”
Lin Zhixue's expression froze slightly.
She looked up at him, opening her mouth, yet not knowing how to respond.
In the end, she merely lowered her head and let out a soft “Mm.”
Xiaoyu poked its head out from beside Lin Zhixue's shoulder, resting its hands on its hips, its voice shrill and crisp.
“Protect Zhixue? Who do you think you are!?”
“Zhixue has me! She doesn't need your protection, hmph!”
The words had barely left Gu Yanqing's mouth before regret set in.
His head hadn't completely cleared after the medicinal bath—saying something like “I'll protect you,” were those words the former Gu Yanqing would ever utter?
Never mind Xiaoyu's complaints; he wanted to scoff at himself.
Fortunately, Lin Zhixue kept her head lowered without pressing the matter, merely offering that soft “Mm.”
Hurriedly fishing a pouch of spirit stones from his waist, he held it out, deliberately reverting to his usual casual tone.
“Today's wages. Tomorrow at chenshi, I'll wait for you at the entrance of your alley. Bring bags for the soil and be ready early.”
Lin Zhixue took the spirit stone pouch, put it away, nodded, and turned to walk out.
Xiaoyu floated behind her, turning back to give Gu Yanqing another huff, its little face practically screaming, “Don't try to get cozy with us!”
Leaving through the Gu manor's main gate, Lin Zhixue walked down the alley heading home, his words, “I'll protect you,” still echoing in her mind.
Naturally, she didn't believe it.
She could protect herself, not to mention having Xiaoyu.
Yet in all the time she had known Gu Yanqing, this was the first time she had ever heard him speak in such a tone.
It wasn't condescending charity.
It wasn't a cold command.
It was more like... she couldn't find the right words to describe it for the moment.
She simply turned it over in her mind silently, feeling that this person was truly growing less and less like the one she had originally known.
Rate on N.U.
