A few days later.
In the quiet room, no candles were lit. Only the moonlight filtering through the window dyed the interior in a cold, silvery white.
Bai Qingxue sat cross-legged on the stone dais, the last Spirit Gathering Pill placed before her.
However, she was in no hurry to take the pill. Instead, she closed her eyes to regulate her breathing for a moment, letting her state of mind become completely calm.
The sound of the wind outside, the rustling of the old plum tree's petals falling, the muffled thud of snow sliding off the distant peaks—one by one, all sounds faded away until only she remained in the world. Once her spiritual power began to flow slowly through her body, she finally placed the Spirit Gathering Pill into her mouth.
The moment the pill entered her stomach, a surge of warm medicinal power exploded. It was like molten iron pouring into her meridians, merging with her Mystic Frost spiritual power.
Bai Qingxue’s expression remained unchanged as she operated the techniques of the 《Mystic Frost Heavenly Heart Art》, circulating her spiritual power over and over.
She did not rush to guide the medicinal power to strike the barrier. Instead, she let the spiritual power complete thirty-six full cycles through her meridians. With each cycle, the medicinal power was ground down and assimilated further, transforming that scorching heat into a part of her Mystic Frost spiritual power.
As the cycles were completed, the medicinal power had fully integrated into her dantian, and the sphere of light within it grew bright to the extreme.
Bai Qingxue knew the time had come.
Immediately, she pressed all her spiritual power against that barrier.
The barrier felt like a layer of thin ice. Under the continuous pressure of her spiritual power, it suddenly shattered like an icy surface.
Bai Qingxue’s dantian expanded abruptly, its capacity nearly doubling.
Spiritual power surged into this new space like a tide, re-condensing into a brighter, more solid sphere of light.
The newborn spiritual power was purer than before, carrying a piercing chill as it slowly rotated within her dantian.
The fifth level of Qi Refining.
Bai Qingxue opened her eyes and let out a long breath. The breath condensed into a white streak in the air, lingering for a long time, far more condensed than it had been at the fourth level.
At the same time, the temperature in the quiet room dropped sharply.
White frost first formed on the edge of the stone dais, then spread to the stone walls and the door frame. The layer of frost crept at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if an invisible hand were scattering ice crystals throughout the room. The cold overflowed from the quiet room, flowing through the cracks of the door and windows into the courtyard.
The old plum tree trembled violently in the cold wind. The few remaining flowers on the branches were frozen stiff, their petal edges forming a thin shell of ice that shimmered silver-white under the moonlight.
Bai Qingxue looked down at her palm. Releasing her spiritual power, a cluster of fine ice crystals condensed at her fingertips. With a gentle flick, they shot out and nailed themselves into the wall with a soft "ting," sinking half an inch into the stone.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the courtyard gate.
This was followed by the sound of footsteps as someone pushed the gate open and entered.
Bai Qingxue rose and opened the door to the quiet room.
Under the moonlight, Liu Ningshuang stood in the courtyard, dressed in her frost-white Daoist robe.
Her gaze swept over the new ice shells on the old plum tree, then looked at the white mist seeping from the cracks of the quiet room's door, and finally landed on Bai Qingxue.
“You broke through?”
“The fifth level of Qi Refining,” Bai Qingxue nodded.
Liu Ningshuang said nothing more. She walked up to Bai Qingxue and reached out to take her wrist. A strand of spiritual sense entered the meridians, traveling through the dantian and the entire body to meticulously check the state of every passage. After a few heartbeats, she withdrew her spiritual sense.
“Good.” Liu Ningshuang released her hand, her tone flat, but there was a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
Bai Qingxue was silent for a moment before asking, “Can I continue to push for the sixth level?”
Liu Ningshuang glanced at her, seemingly judging if she was pushing herself too hard. After a moment, she shook her head. “Wait a few days to let it settle. It took you less than a month to go from the fourth level to the fifth; that is already very fast. Let the spiritual power circulate in your dantian for a while to stabilize your realm before considering the next step.”
Bai Qingxue nodded. “I understand.”
Liu Ningshuang paused before adding, “Breaking through too quickly can cause the expansion of the meridians to fall behind the growth rate of your spiritual power, which easily damages your foundation. Do not practice for too long over the next few days. Keep it to two or three hours a day and let your body adapt on its own for the rest of the time.”
“Yes.”
Liu Ningshuang said nothing more and turned to leave.
When she reached the courtyard gate, she stopped for a moment and looked at the old plum tree. “The plum tree in your courtyard has rarely bloomed over the years. Since you arrived, it has bloomed through the entire spring...”
Bai Qingxue didn't know why she suddenly mentioned this and did not respond.
Liu Ningshuang paused, her tone indifferent. “Cultivate well.”
With that, she pushed the gate open and left.
The courtyard gate closed, and moonlight fell upon Bai Qingxue once more.
She stood under the old plum tree, looking at the few remaining flowers encased in ice. The petals maintained their blooming posture within the ice, as if frozen in time. She reached out and lightly touched one; a cold sensation traveled through her fingertip, and the petal trembled slightly but did not fall.
Bai Qingxue withdrew her hand and returned to the quiet room. She sat cross-legged on the stone dais again, not rushing to continue her cultivation but closing her eyes to feel the newborn spiritual power within her.
The fifth level of Qi Refining. It was more than twice as strong as the fourth level.
But Liu Ningshuang was right. There was no rush.
...
At the same time, on Qingyun Peak.
Ye Qingyao sat cross-legged on her bed and slowly opened her eyes.
She looked down at her palms.
A pale green spiritual light lit up at her fingertips, brighter than before. Spiritual power flowed through her meridians as smoothly as a stream, no longer having the stuttering, uneven flow from before.
The third level of Qi Refining.
She had broken through.
However, there was not much joy on Ye Qingyao’s face.
She quietly watched her hands for a long time before slowly clenching them into fists. The spiritual light extinguished in her palms, and the quiet room fell back into darkness.
Ye Qingyao suddenly remembered the last time she had seen Bai Qingxue.
That person had stood outside the mountain gate, dressed in white, her expression as calm as ever. Even with bandages wrapped around her shoulder, she showed no sign of weakness.
Bai Qingxue had handed her a Spirit Gathering Pill and said, “Take this.”
Her tone had been flat, leaving no room for argument.
That Spirit Gathering Pill was currently tucked away in the deepest part of her storage bag. Ye Qingyao couldn't say why she had kept it until now.
Perhaps it was because every time she opened the storage bag and saw that pill, she would remember the hand that had handed it to her...
Ye Qingyao bit her lip, stood up, and walked to the window.
The moonlight outside was cold. In the distance, Xueji Peak was hidden in the night, its silhouette barely visible like a crouching giant beast.
She leaned on the windowsill, gazing in that direction. A thought flickered in her mind—she wanted to go to Sister Bai and tell her that she had also broken through.
To tell her: I haven't been lazy, I’ve been working hard.
To tell her: I’m one step closer to you.
But she held back.
Bai Qingxue was injured and needed rest.
Going there would only be a disturbance. And... what would she even say if she went?
Show off that she had broken through? That person wouldn't care about such things. In Bai Qingxue’s eyes, the third level and the second level of Qi Refining were probably no different—both were likely seen as "still having a long way to go."
Ye Qingyao leaned on the windowsill, her chin resting on her arms, her eyes fixed on the direction of Xueji Peak.
The moonlight fell on her face, making her profile appear somewhat pale. Her eyelashes were long and trembled slightly, as if she were holding something back.
After a long time, she withdrew her gaze and closed the window.
“I’ll definitely use it when I reach the peak of the third level of Qi Refining,” Ye Qingyao whispered softly.
But even as she said it, she felt she lacked conviction.
She wouldn't use it.
She knew it in her heart.
She couldn't bring herself to use this pill. Not because of its grade or its effects, but because it was the first thing Bai Qingxue had ever given her.
Ye Qingyao held the pill against her chest for a long time.
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