"Crack—"
The sound of the jade bottle shattering was exceptionally crisp in the stone chamber. Cang Dongqing opened her eyes, a faint golden light swirling within her pupils.
She slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and the lingering scent of the foundation establishment pill in the chamber was instantly swept away.
"It’s done! Half a day earlier than expected." A wisp of golden sword qi condensed at her fingertips, easily carving deep marks into the stone wall. Feeling the surging spiritual energy within her body, Cang Dongqing’s lips curled into a proud arc.
A fifteen-year-old at the Foundation Establishment stage—she was a unique existence in the entire cultivation world. Even her genius eldest senior brother had only succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment at sixteen. She had beaten his record by a full half-year.
The dew drops condensed on the stone wall reflected her image—a young girl dressed in white as pure as snow. Even though she had not yet had her coming-of-age ceremony, one could already see her future peerless beauty.
Looking at the shattered jade bottle, Cang Dongqing mused inwardly that the foundation establishment pill was indeed extraordinary. It had not only allowed her to break through in one go but also widened her meridians by more than thirty percent.
Taking out her personal jade slip, Cang Dongqing wrote swiftly: "Fifteen years and eight months old, successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment in the cave dwelling." The tip of her brush paused for a moment before she added: "Without the help of external forces."
The sharp sound of the jade slip closing echoed clearly in the chamber.
She naturally would not leave behind evidence of having consumed a pill. After all, the Sword Heart Sect valued one's foundation above all else. However, on second thought, wasn't being able to obtain a foundation establishment pill in such a secret realm a part of her strength too?
Even if she used a foundation establishment pill, what could others do to her? In the end, didn't one still have to let their strength speak for itself? As long as her power increased, who would care whether she had used a pill or not?
Standing up and brushing away non-existent dust from her clothes, Cang Dongqing strolled out of the stone chamber. This ancient cultivator's cave dwelling was simpler than she had imagined. The so-called tests were nothing more than shallow illusion arrays. Perhaps she could find more things further ahead. With that thought, she began to head deeper inside.
The stone corridor was deep and dark, but Cang Dongqing's pace carried a hint of agitation. She hadn't expected that after walking for half an incense burner's time, she would find nothing else. Logically, there should be deeper opportunities here.
"Is this all?" She swung her sword to split open a stone door, only to find another ordinary stone room behind it. After breaking into three rooms in a row, Cang Dongqing's expression grew increasingly unsightly.
Finally, she stopped at the end of the corridor, the tip of her sword trembling slightly against the wall.
Clearly, she had successfully reached Foundation Establishment, so why did her heart feel empty? It was as if... as if she had missed something far more important.
But now, she could no longer advance...
"Forget it."
She sheathed her long sword and sat cross-legged in the center of the final stone room.
Since she couldn't find any other opportunities, she would absorb all the spiritual energy here to stabilize her cultivation. She needed to prevent her foundation from becoming unstable due to the pill-assisted breakthrough.
She circulated her mental technique, and a spiritual energy cyclone gradually formed around her.
...
While Cang Dongqing was in secluded meditation to consolidate her cultivation, inside the inheritance secret realm.
When the morning light filtered through the bamboo curtains, Li Nanzhu had already been sitting by the window, completing three cosmic orbits.
Her dantian felt slightly warm; she sensed she was just one step away from the Foundation Establishment stage. Her eyelashes fluttered, and just as she was about to end her cultivation, she saw Suisui climbing in through the window, carefully holding a ceramic jar with its bone claws.
"This is..." Li Nanzhu lifted the lid, and a dense medicinal fragrance wafted toward her.
Suisui puffed out its ribcage proudly, its soul fire dancing joyfully. Three celadon-colored pills lay quietly at the bottom of the jar, their surfaces still carrying fresh fragrance.
"Stole these from Master again?" Li Nanzhu laughed and poked the little skeleton's ribs, but Suisui shook its head and pointed its bone claw outside the door.
On the open ground outside the bamboo building, Xiao Yan was sitting cross-legged.
Seven alchemy furnaces of various shapes floated before him, each burning with a different colored flame. The most eye-catching was the jasper furnace in the center, which was wrapped in green vines that looked like living creatures.
"The seventh style of the Qingming Alchemy Art." Sensing her gaze, Xiao Yan spoke without turning his head. "Watch closely."
He formed hand seals, and all seven alchemy furnaces opened simultaneously.
Dazzling spiritual herbs flew out from his sleeves, tracing rainbow-colored arcs in the morning light. Li Nanzhu suddenly realized that the trajectories of the herbs falling into the furnaces corresponded exactly to the positions of the Big Dipper in the sky.
"Using the stars as a guide, borrowing vitality from the flora." Xiao Yan’s voice suddenly became a bit excited. "This is a method I created myself! It's one of a kind in the entire cultivation world!"
Suisui had climbed onto her shoulder at some point, its bone claws tightly gripping a stray lock of her hair.
The Qingming Seal felt searingly hot, and the scene before Li Nanzhu changed abruptly. She saw the spiritual energy flowing inside each herb, the law patterns dancing in the alchemy fire, and even the green Dao rhyme swirling around Xiao Yan. Was this the world as Xiao Yan saw it?
Before she could examine it further, a soft "poof" sound rang out.
A puff of green smoke suddenly erupted from the central furnace. Xiao Yan coughed disheveledly as the seven furnaces clattered to the ground.
"A mistake, a mistake!" He scrambled to save the pills. "I haven't practiced this move in too long..."
Li Nanzhu burst out laughing, and the profound state from moments ago instantly dissipated. She stepped forward to help pick up the rolling pills, but someone... no, some bones were faster than her. Suisui directly stuffed them into its mouth and ate them with a series of clacks.
"As expected, the little skeleton has the best taste!"
Xiao Yan picked Suisui up. "It knows that even if my furnace explodes, what I refine is still good stuff!"
Suisui tilted its head, not understanding what Xiao Yan meant, its entire focus on the pills in its mouth.
"Master..." Li Nanzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The water mirror..."
"I remember, of course. Don't worry." Xiao Yan pointed to a small table in the yard. "Eat something first."
Only then did Li Nanzhu notice that several exquisite pastries and a pot of steaming spiritual tea had been laid out on the table.
Seeing this, Suisui immediately squirmed out of Xiao Yan's arms, nimbly grabbed a piece of osmanthus cake, and stuffed it into its mouth, its soul fire jumping happily.
"Fill your stomach first." Xiao Yan conjured a green jade comb and skillfully began to tie up Li Nanzhu’s loose hair. "In a moment, I'll show you something good."
Li Nanzhu sat down obediently, but she was thinking: why did it feel like everyone except her knew how to tie beautiful hair buns? Even now, she only seemed to know how to tie a ponytail. Thinking this, she asked the question aloud.
Xiao Yan’s movements paused slightly. Li Nanzhu noticed his facial muscles twitch as if he were recalling some unpleasant memory.
"Little girl, don't ask so many questions. Just eat!"
Li Nanzhu raised an eyebrow. It seemed her master had a rather unpleasant memory regarding this.
While thinking, she took a bite of a lotus pastry. The crust melted in her mouth, and the lotus-seed filling was sweet but not cloying. It was more delicious than any pastry she had ever eaten, making her eyes light up.
"Master, this is..."
"Qinghe pastry." The tip of Xiao Yan’s fan pointed at the plate. "Made with lotus flowers carrying morning dew." He suddenly lowered his voice. "I also added a special medicinal ingredient..."
Suisui suddenly clattered loudly, its bone claw pointing at its chest—its soul fire was turning from blue to light purple.
"Is this... purple spirit grass?" Li Nanzhu said with some uncertainty. Immediately after, she felt a cool sensation rush to her mind. The fatigue from practicing all night vanished like a receding tide, and her divine sense became clearer than ever. Even the veins of the bamboo leaves outside the window were distinctly visible, confirming her suspicion.
"Clever! As expected of my disciple! It seems yesterday’s reading wasn't for nothing!" Xiao Yan nodded with satisfaction.
Li Nanzhu touched the crumbs on her fingertips, a ripple of doubt appearing in her eyes. "Master, how did you know I..."
"It's because some little dummy practiced all night, and the dark circles under her eyes couldn't be hidden." Xiao Yan tapped her forehead with his fan. "I specifically added three grams of spirit-awakening flower."
Suisui curiously poked its own skull, its soul fire flickering as if wondering why a skeleton had no divine sense to enhance.
Li Nanzhu took another bite of the Qinghe pastry. With her enhanced divine sense, even the sound of the crust breaking was exceptionally clear.
"The water mirror can only be maintained for half a breath's time." Xiao Yan’s fan tip tapped the air. "Who shall we watch today?"
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