Cultivators had a rather loose concept of time.
When they were still mortals, a single day often felt extremely long.
But once they truly stepped onto the immortal path, especially as their cultivation increased and their realm continued to rise, a single session of closed-door cultivation could easily last several months.
For great experts at the Void Condensation or Great Vehicle realm, it was common for seclusion to last years, or even decades.
Luo Shuiling was no exception.
Her current realm had already reached the late Dao Integration stage, and she was touching upon the threshold of the Soul Division realm.
She only needed a single stroke of fortune to break through Dao Integration and step into Soul Division.
Once she entered the Soul Division realm, she would officially become a major powerhouse in the cultivation world of the Tian Ling Continent.
After all, a Soul Division realm cultivator could even hold the position of Hall Master within the mighty Proud Sword Sect.
Outside the sect, such strength would qualify one as an ancestor-level figure in a mid-tier sect.
Therefore, in Luo Shuiling’s mind, she had simply sat in meditation for a short while, circulating her spiritual power through her meridians for a few cycles, yet an entire afternoon had already passed.
Luo Shuiling opened her beautiful eyes and looked out the window.
The sun had already sunk low, with only the last stubborn rays still illuminating the horizon.
It was now early September.
The lingering heat of summer had not yet faded, but the sun had already set and the moon had quietly risen.
By the looks of it, it was already the hour of Xu.
It wasn’t that she had forgotten about infusing spirit into Yun Hao and opening his meridians.
Rather, she hadn’t expected that simply circulating her spiritual power for a few cycles would cause time to slip away until evening.
Her perception of time had become somewhat blurred.
Luo Shuiling gazed out the window and saw Yun Hao standing straight and tall beneath the sweet osmanthus tree covered in blooming flowers.
It looked like he had been waiting for a long time—perhaps since the hour of Wei.
She shook her head lightly, stretched her slender arms, and rose from her meditation cushion.
Luo Shuiling straightened her slightly wrinkled dress, let out a small yawn with her red lips parted, then opened the door and walked outside.
She had guessed correctly.
After finishing reading the Qi Refining section of the Wind Shadow Art at noon, Yun Hao had come to wait beneath the sweet osmanthus tree early.
To Luo Shuiling, spirit infusion might be a trivial matter not worth much attention, but to Yun Hao, this was the first step in opening his path of cultivation.
Naturally, he treated it with utmost importance and anticipation.
He had arrived as early as the hour of Wei and stood beneath the tree under the scorching sun.
He had actually considered sitting on the stone stool by the table to wait, but he felt it would be improper to sit before his senior sister arrived.
After thinking it over repeatedly, he decided to stand and wait for her.
It shouldn’t take too long.
He never expected he would end up standing there the entire afternoon.
While he didn’t faint, being exposed to the blazing sun for so long still left him exhausted.
After a while, Luo Shuiling slowly walked up to Yun Hao and sat down on the stone stool.
Upon seeing her arrive, Yun Hao forced himself to perk up again and gave her a respectful greeting.
Luo Shuiling glanced at him but said nothing. Instead, she picked up a fallen sweet osmanthus petal from the stone table with her jade-like hand, gently rubbing it between her fingers. Only after some time did she deliberately ask,
“I said I would infuse spirit into you this afternoon. Why didn’t you call for me?”
Yun Hao was caught off guard. After a moment, he looked at Luo Shuiling with a somewhat nervous expression.
“Senior Sister would naturally remember to infuse spirit into me. If you were late, it must have been because something important came up. It would have been improper for me to disturb you.”
“What if I never came at all? Would you have kept waiting forever?”
With that, Luo Shuiling shifted her beautiful eyes from the petal in her hand and stared directly at Yun Hao, as if trying to see through his deepest thoughts.
Being stared at by Luo Shuiling, even without her releasing the pressure of a Dao Integration cultivator, Yun Hao felt as though he was being seen through completely.
He answered involuntarily,
“If Senior Sister didn’t come, I would keep waiting until you did.”
Luo Shuiling withdrew her gaze.
As a Dao Integration realm cultivator, she could naturally tell whether Yun Hao’s words were true or false.
She hadn’t intended to be late, but she wanted to hear his attitude toward the matter.
The result left her very satisfied.
Yun Hao still held respect for her and would not easily become dissatisfied over such a small thing.
Luo Shuiling felt it was about time.
Although spirit infusion was simple, it would still take quite a while—roughly an hour.
“Turn around and sit cross-legged on the ground.”
Following Luo Shuiling’s instructions, Yun Hao walked to an open spot ahead and sat down cross-legged.
Luo Shuiling followed closely behind.
Once Yun Hao was seated with his back to her, she used her spiritual power to gather the fallen sweet osmanthus petals on the ground into a natural floral mat and sat down on it.
Yun Hao’s body tensed slightly.
He could feel Luo Shuiling placing her jade hand on his back from behind.
“Relax. If you keep your body this tense, your meridians will reject my spiritual power.”
Yun Hao tried his best to relax.
He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, and his muscles went soft as the tension left them.
Watching Yun Hao’s reaction from behind, Luo Shuiling felt a trace of amusement in her heart.
Has he never been in contact with girls before? He’s so tense.
She suddenly remembered that Yun Hao had lived as a servant in the prince’s mansion before and had nearly become a slave just days ago.
He probably never had enough to eat, let alone the chance to experience romance.
Oh, right—Yun Hao hadn’t eaten for a full day now, or two days if counting yesterday.
The effects of the Fasting Pill should have worn off. After finishing the spirit infusion, she would give him a few more.
After thinking these things through, Luo Shuiling stopped letting her mind wander and focused entirely on infusing spirit into Yun Hao.
However, as the process deepened, her expression grew increasingly strange.
So hot!
This was the feeling Luo Shuiling had as she gradually sank her consciousness deeper into Yun Hao’s meridians.
It felt as though something inside her body was about to melt.
Her Ice Jade Physique began to stir violently.
Although touching Yun Hao’s body had caused her physique to react before, this time the reaction was clearly excessive.
Cold spiritual power slowly leaked out from Luo Shuiling’s body.
With all her attention focused on Yun Hao, she could no longer suppress her overly restless Ice Jade Physique.
She could only let her spiritual power scatter freely.
Under the influence of her spiritual power, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop dozens of degrees.
Even the sweet osmanthus tree became covered in a thin layer of ice crystals.
Luo Shuiling looked up and observed Yun Hao in front of her.
Despite the drastic temperature change, he seemed completely unaffected.
Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly.
She noticed that her Ice Jade Physique’s spiritual power seemed to consciously avoid Yun Hao, circling around him instead of touching him.
As the spirit infusion continued, Luo Shuiling’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and her expression became more and more peculiar.
A faint blush appeared on her fair face, making her look like a ripe peach that made one want to take a bite.
Luo Shuiling felt that her body was acting very strangely.
At some point, waves of tingling numbness began to spread from her lower abdomen.
It felt strange, yet not unpleasant.
The deeper she went into Yun Hao’s meridians, the stronger this sensation became.
What started as a light, itchy numbness had turned into wave after wave of tingling pleasure, growing more and more intense.
Under this surging impulse, it felt as though something was about to flow out.
Even her head was becoming dizzy.
She began to feel uncomfortable.
Her originally dignified sitting posture became somewhat undignified.
The neatly arranged hair on her head had become slightly disheveled, with a few strands sticking to the corner of her red lips.
Her neat dress was now messy, and her legs felt weak, as if all strength had been drained from them, barely able to support her body.
Even her undergarments… seemed to have become wet.
Yun Hao also sensed that something was wrong with Luo Shuiling behind him, but he knew this was a critical moment for the spirit infusion and didn’t dare speak for fear of disturbing her.
So hot… So hot…
Luo Shuiling felt as though she were soaking in a jar of warm, fine wine, her entire body on the verge of melting.
“Haah… Mmm!”
“Senior Sister… Are you alright?”
Yun Hao finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.
He looked forward with a face full of worry.
He wanted to turn around to check on his senior sister but didn’t dare, afraid it would ruin the final stage of the spirit infusion.
“It’s… nothing. Focus and don’t mind me.”
The moment Yun Hao spoke, Luo Shuiling suddenly regained her clarity.
Her entire beautiful face flushed bright red.
The shame made her want to throw Yun Hao far away immediately.
How could I make such a lewd sound?!
Overwhelmed by intense shame, Luo Shuiling’s legs tensed tightly, and her jade hands unconsciously pushed forward with force.
She forcefully suppressed the strange sensations in her body and sped up the spirit infusion.
She wouldn’t be able to endure it much longer if this continued.
Finally, under Luo Shuiling’s full effort, the spirit infusion was completed after a few more moments.
Feeling that it was over, Yun Hao wanted to stand up immediately to check on his senior sister.
But just as he moved, an irresistible force pressed him back down firmly.
Before he could anxiously speak, Luo Shuiling’s somewhat strange voice sounded beside his ear.
“I’m fine. Don’t get up yet. Stay seated and carefully sense the changes in your body.”
Luo Shuiling quickly stopped Yun Hao.
She couldn’t let anyone see her current appearance.
Seeing that Yun Hao obediently remained seated, she breathed a sigh of relief.
After resting for a moment and feeling strength return to her legs, she stood up and looked at Yun Hao with a complicated expression.
“I’ll head back first. Carefully feel your meridians. If everything is fine, you can return to your room and rest.”
After speaking, Luo Shuiling slowly walked back toward her elegant pavilion.
Her legs were still a little weak, so she couldn’t walk too fast.
Yun Hao acknowledged her instructions.
Then, sensing that his senior sister was about to leave, he couldn’t help but ask,
“Senior Sister, are you really okay?”
“…..I’m fine.”
Yun Hao felt that his senior sister’s footsteps behind him quickened a little.
His heart was filled with gratitude.
Even while enduring physical discomfort, Senior Sister had still insisted on infusing spirit into him and guiding him onto the immortal path.
If he ever achieved anything in the future, he must never forget this kindness and would definitely repay her.