Chapter 11: Casual Conversation

Luo Shuiling quickened her steps and returned to the elegant pavilion.

She gently closed the door behind her.

She looked out the window and saw that Yun Hao had already returned to his wooden hut.

Only then did her legs go weak, and she collapsed onto the bedding.

What was that feeling just now?

It felt as if a ball of fire was burning inside her lower abdomen, tingling and numbing, leaving her entire body without any strength.

She felt the slight dampness in her undergarments.

The shame she had barely suppressed surged back into her heart.

Her originally snow-white pretty face flushed red again, as if blood was about to drip from it.

Luo Shuiling circulated her Ice Jade Physique, hoping to suppress those strange thoughts in her head through cultivation.

The surrounding spiritual power slowly surged toward her.

Under the enhancement of the Ice Jade Physique, it flowed along her meridians into her qi sea.

After a while, Luo Shuiling calmed down.

She recalled the various strange reactions when she had infused spiritual power into Yun Hao.

It was not as if she had never infused spiritual power into others before.

Every three years during the Proud Sword Sect’s disciple recruitment assembly, she would infuse spiritual power into those disciples with better aptitude at her master’s request.

Each time it took about an hour and nothing unexpected had ever happened.

But this time, infusing Yun Hao had caused such an unexpected situation.

There could not be any problem with her.

The only explanation for this situation was that Yun Hao’s body was special.

Luo Shuiling circulated her spiritual power as she pondered.

Gradually, she discovered that her spiritual power seemed to circulate faster.

Her Ice Jade Physique was also more stable than usual.

Yet the cold energy it produced was even more chilling.

Luo Shuiling carefully sensed the changes in her body.

The corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upward slightly.

This must be your effect, Yun Hao.

She thought this and recalled Yun Hao’s attitude toward her and his complete obedience.

Her mood became even more pleasant.

After this spiritual infusion, she felt even more confident about the sect assembly in two years.

As long as she stabilized her immortal foundation during these two years, once she secured the position of the sect’s holy maiden, she could peacefully seek immortal opportunities to make up for her own deficiencies.

Suddenly, Luo Shuiling remembered that she had not yet given Yun Hao the fasting pill.

She flipped her jade-like hand, and a bottle of fasting pills appeared from her qi sea in her palm.

After hesitating for a moment, Luo Shuiling decided to deliver it to him tomorrow morning.

And clothes. Ever since he left the Yuan Sheng Empire, he has been wearing that same set of white clothes. He probably needs a change and wash.

She thought this and slowly immersed herself in cultivation.

……..

Yun Hao returned to his room.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and felt unusually refreshed.

All the fatigue throughout his body had completely dissipated with Senior Sister’s spiritual infusion.

Even that embarrassing empty-stomach sensation had vanished.

Yun Hao picked up the Wind Shadow Art placed at the head of his bed and opened the first page for the Qi Refining stage.

Following what was written, he guided the spiritual power along his meridians toward his dantian.

He then filled his dantian to open up the most important qi sea for a cultivator.

He carefully sensed the surrounding environment, keenly capturing the spiritual qi scattered in the air.

Yesterday he had not had much of a direct impression of the Proud Sword Sect.

At most, he had felt that it truly was a place for cultivators.

Massive islands floated in the sky by some unknown mighty force.

Many disciples flew through the air on their swords as they hurried along.

Floating clouds from the mountain ranges would drift past him and scatter with a single grasp.

But that had only been a visual sensation.

After Senior Sister infused him with spiritual power tonight, he clearly felt that there were many different things in the air.

They were very viscous, as if they were about to condense into water.

Yet being immersed in them did not feel uncomfortable.

He had a strange intuition that he and these things in the air were of the same origin.

They were meant to exist here.

Yun Hao slowly sensed the spiritual qi and guided it to enter his meridians through the pores of his body.

Yun Hao could feel that the surrounding spiritual qi seemed especially lively.

One after another, they eagerly rushed toward him, pressing against his body as they slowly entered his meridians.

Once inside his meridians, the originally active spiritual qi immediately quieted down.

It was as if they understood that the person before them was still very weak and his meridians were fragile, unable to withstand such commotion.

Thus they followed Yun Hao’s guidance in an orderly fashion, slowly filling his dantian bit by bit.

Time passed this way, and the long night slipped away unnoticed.

In the distant sky a streak of fish-belly white appeared, beautiful with the dawn glow.

After a night of guidance, Yun Hao’s dantian was now fully filled with spiritual qi.

He was just one step away from nurturing his qi sea.

He continued to guide the spiritual qi.

At a certain moment, pop!

Yun Hao’s body emitted a soft sound as his qi sea was formed.

Yun Hao had entered the Qi Refining stage!

With this pop!, after a night of inhaling and refining qi, Yun Hao had finally stepped into the Qi Refining stage.

Although he was among the weakest batch of cultivators, this officially marked his entry onto the immortal path.

From now on, immortals and mortals were separate.

He was no longer that frail child who could be bullied by anyone at will.

Yun Hao stared blankly at his own body, feeling the sparse yet condensed spiritual power in his qi sea.

He raised his hand toward a nearby piece of rotten wood, imagining himself grasping it.

The rotten wood slowly lifted with the spiritual power Yun Hao released externally.

It floated in the air for a moment before being sent to a distance.

Yun Hao watched the rotten wood he was controlling.

His fingers curled slightly, and the wood seemed unable to withstand the pressure.

Bang!

It exploded into wood chips in the air.

He looked at the fragments of wood chips on the ground and finally confirmed that he truly could cultivate as an immortal.

Not only could he cultivate as an immortal, but he had now stepped into the Qi Refining stage that Senior Brother Song Yang had mentioned.

He was now a cultivator.

“It looks like you have already formed your qi sea and entered the Qi Refining stage.”

Luo Shuiling stood behind Yun Hao at some unknown time.

Yun Hao turned around at the sound of her voice.

He saw Luo Shuiling gazing at him calmly and quickly bowed in greeting.

“All thanks to Senior Sister’s spiritual infusion yesterday. That is why I was able to form my qi sea so smoothly.”

Luo Shuiling looked at the wood chips covering the floor and said to Yun Hao,

“Come out first.”

She walked out ahead of him.

Yun Hao followed two steps behind her.

The two of them slowly walked to the stone table beneath the osmanthus tree.

Luo Shuiling sat down first and said,

“Sit.”

Yun Hao felt a little nervous, but he slowly sat down as well.

A pot of tea and two teacups were already on the stone table.

Luo Shuiling poured herself a cup of tea, then filled the other cup and placed it in front of Yun Hao.

Yun Hao felt both flattered and uneasy.

He thought these tasks should be done by him for Senior Sister.

How could Senior Sister be the one pouring tea for him?

“Senior Sister, I can do it myself.”

Luo Shuiling did not answer Yun Hao’s words.

Instead she spoke of something else.

“You have more talent than I imagined. In one night, with no guidance, you completed the formation of your qi sea on your own. Not bad.”

Yun Hao listened to Luo Shuiling’s praise without becoming conceited.

Instead he looked at her with sincere eyes and said,

“All thanks to Senior Sister’s spiritual infusion yesterday. Otherwise, I could not have done it on my own.”

Luo Shuiling saw the sincerity in Yun Hao’s eyes and the flash of admiration.

A trace of pleasure rose in her heart.

She thought, Let him think whatever he wants.

Since he believed it was her achievement, she would not be polite about it.

She now needed to engrave her image deeply in Yun Hao’s heart.

She wanted to cultivate this pure youth into a pet that belonged only to her.

He could assist her cultivation in normal times and entertain her when she was bored.

Watching him wag his tail at her, hoping for the slightest bit of attention from her and becoming happy for a long time afterward, gave her a rather pleasant sense of control.

Thus Luo Shuiling chatted casually with Yun Hao for a while longer.

Most of the conversation was about what to pay attention to in the Qi Refining stage and how he must not slack off but cultivate diligently if he wished to have any hope on the immortal path.

During their idle chat, Luo Shuiling also gave Yun Hao several sets of clothes.

Most were simple white and black, with one set in white and cyan.

She also gave him a sect token.

Yun Hao looked at it and saw that it appeared to be an inner sect disciple token.

She told him that from now on he could address her as Senior Sister and that he was now a disciple of the Proud Sword Sect.

She additionally explained how to use the sect token to activate the transportation arrays and travel to every corner of the sect.

Yun Hao was deeply moved by such care from Luo Shuiling.

Then he recalled that Senior Sister had seemed unwell yesterday when she infused him with spiritual power and asked,

“Senior Sister, your body did not seem well yesterday. Have you recovered today?”

Luo Shuiling listened to Yun Hao’s words and recalled the tingling sensation in her lower abdomen from yesterday.

A trace of unnatural color flashed across her face.

“It is nothing. My spiritual power was simply boiling inside me yesterday. I am fine today.”

Yun Hao felt relieved when Luo Shuiling said this.

Afterward Luo Shuiling chatted idly with Yun Hao a little longer before flying off on her sword.

As the personal disciple of the sect master, she naturally had matters to attend to on ordinary days, unlike others who could remain idle.

Yun Hao watched the departing Luo Shuiling with an expression of admiration on his face.

When would he reach such a realm?

Then he looked at the teacup in front of him and thought of Luo Shuiling’s pretty face.

A trace of shyness rose in his heart, and his face flushed slightly.

Senior Sister was so beautiful today.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Although she appeared cold on the surface, she was very gentle inside and took care of him at every moment.

Just a few days ago Senior Sister and he had still been strangers.

Looking at the tea he had sipped from, Yun Hao felt that perhaps he could do something for Senior Sister.