Shen Yuwei sat upright on the other side of the bamboo table, her hair like clouds, her sleeves lightly pressed against the edge of the table. Her eyes and brows were warm, as gentle as any ordinary lady from a noble house.
But Xu Ning knew very well that this gentleness was only a facade.
What was truly placed upon him was the silent scrutiny of a Golden Core Realm cultivator.
She hadn’t even released her spiritual pressure.
Yet the gaze of a high-ranking cultivator alone was enough to send chills down an ordinary mortal’s spine.
Even Lu Hanyi, whose aura had withered to this extent, still had a sword intent flickering in her eyes that could pierce through him with ease.
Xu Ning was silent for a moment, then said, “This junior does not know.”
Shen Yuwei was not surprised.
“Truly don’t know?”
“Truly don’t know.”
Xu Ning lowered his eyes. “Before this, this junior was just a mortal. I knew nothing of cultivation, so how could I be aware of my spiritual root?”
Shen Yuwei quietly watched him.
Xu Ning continued, “Besides, I have no way to control it. When I treated Immortal Lu’s injuries, I merely used mortal acupuncture techniques, which barely had some effect.”
These words were half true and half false.
He didn’t know the origin of the Azure Spiritual Root, and he truly didn’t understand cultivation.
The bamboo house fell silent for a moment.
Shen Yuwei suddenly said softly, “Extend your hand.”
Xu Ning looked up, his expression stiffening slightly.
His gaze subconsciously fell on her sleeve.
Earlier, on Cold Sword Peak, her old injury had flared up abruptly, and she had nearly collapsed into his arms.
If this wood-element spiritual energy within his body stirred up her old injuries again…
Xu Ning curled his fingers slightly, hesitating to extend his hand.
Noticing his expression, Shen Yuwei also thought of something. Her gaze paused briefly, then she shifted it half an inch away.
In that instant, a trace of faint embarrassment flickered across her brows.
She lifted her sleeve to cover a light cough, her voice still warm but a bit lower than before.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Shen Yuwei’s voice lowered slightly. “I’m just probing your spiritual root once more.”
As she spoke, she reached out her hand.
A slender wrist emerged from the wide sleeve, the bones delicate, her skin nearly translucent under the daylight.
Xu Ning hesitated for a moment, then finally handed his hand over.
Shen Yuwei pressed two fingers onto his wrist.
A faint coolness fell, and Xu Ning instinctively tensed his body.
The next moment, gentle spiritual energy seeped in through his pulse gate.
Shen Yuwei noticed his stiffness and lightly lowered her lashes.
“Relax a little.”
Hearing this, Xu Ning slowly exhaled, feeling that wisp of spiritual energy slowly travel along his meridians.
At first, everything was calm.
A mortal’s meridians were naturally more fragile than a cultivator’s, and Xu Ning’s were even more sluggish due to the years of vitality depletion.
Shen Yuwei carefully avoided the old injuries, examining his body thoroughly.
Until the spiritual energy approached his dantian.
Shen Yuwei’s fingertips suddenly paused.
She touched a patch of azure.
A mass of extremely dense wood-element vitality lay quietly dormant deep within Xu Ning’s dantian.
It was like a spring mountain just waking, where all things had not yet broken through the soil, yet beneath the earth, the sound of a tide had already gathered.
This wasn’t a spiritual root; it was practically a walking natural treasure.
Shen Yuwei’s heart trembled slightly.
The Taiwei Immortal Sect had stood for many years, and it had never lacked those with exceptional talent.
Even Lu Hanyi’s Heavenly Grade Water Spiritual Root was a rare gift among the younger generation.
But the azure intent within Xu Ning’s body was completely different.
There was no trace of threat—only the gentle sensation of rain moistening everything silently.
Especially the suppressed scorching fire within her own body, which was now stirred up again.
As if yearning.
Shen Yuwei withdrew her spiritual energy in time, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
Xu Ning noticed the subtle change in her expression and asked, “Immortal Shen?”
She looked at Xu Ning, surprise filling her eyes.
After pondering several times, Shen Yuwei said gravely, “Do not mention the spiritual root in your body to anyone.”
Xu Ning’s heart sank.
“Is it troublesome?”
“It is… strange.”
Shen Yuwei’s tone remained gentle. “The wood-element spiritual energy inside you is extremely special. If it were just an ordinary wood-type spiritual root, that would be one thing, but this spiritual energy is far too dense. Even I don’t know what effect it has.”
She looked at Xu Ning. “But if others find out, you will definitely be targeted.”
If it weren’t for the fact that the person before her had flesh and blood, and his meridians were identical to a human’s, she would almost have thought Xu Ning was some kind of spirit creature in human form.
Hearing Shen Yuwei’s warning, Xu Ning recalled the line the system had once given him.
[Refined into a Warm Jade Pill by the Taiwei Immortal Sect’s Alchemy Hall.]
His mood turned even colder.
These immortals really did intend to eat people.
Shen Yuwei seemed to guess what he was thinking and said softly, “The Taiwei Immortal Sect is a righteous sect, but even in a righteous sect, not everyone is selfless and desireless.”
“You currently have no means to protect yourself. The principle of ‘an innocent man may become a criminal if he possesses a jade’—I need not elaborate.”
Xu Ning nodded.
“This junior understands.”
Shen Yuwei looked at his overly calm demeanor and gained a bit more appreciation in her eyes.
Xu Ning was not old, but he handled things more steadily than she had imagined.
At his age, one should normally be unsettled by gains and losses, startled by fortune and misfortune.
Back then, when Han Yi’s injuries were hopeless and he was willing to sacrifice himself to save her, she knew he was grateful, loyal, and gentle-natured. That was why she could leave the sect with peace of mind to seek medicine.
She had originally thought that even if the two had no marital feelings, they could at least coexist peacefully.
Unexpectedly, in less than three years, they had come to this point of resentment.
Looking back now, she had only seen his gentleness back then, but underestimated how much grievance that gentleness had to endure.
Among this, naturally, she, as his master, bore the fault of negligence.
Shen Yuwei collected her thoughts and asked, “Now that you have a spiritual root, do you wish to cultivate?”
Xu Ning fell silent.
The wind outside the window brushed past the bamboo blinds, bringing with it a hint of magnolia fragrance.
Xu Ning said quietly, “Naturally, I do.”
Shen Yuwei said, “Then why are you unwilling to become my disciple?”
Xu Ning raised his eyes to look at her.
Seeing him silent, Shen Yuwei did not press, simply waiting.
The warm stove in the bamboo house circulated silently, faint spiritual light reflecting on the edge of her sleeve.
She sat there, gentle and quiet, like a pure and ethereal immortal in a painting.
After a long while, he asked, “Immortal Shen, what do you seek through cultivation?”
Shen Yuwei’s expression was slightly startled.
She seemed not to have expected him to ask that in return.
After a moment, she replied with a faint smile, “At first, I sought to escape the suffering of mortal sickness. Later, I sought to protect those I wanted to protect.”
“After that, I wanted to transcend worldly things and be free.”
Xu Ning nodded.
“That’s what I think too.”
Shen Yuwei looked at him, a dawning look in her eyes.
“You think being my disciple would mean not being free?”
Xu Ning did not avoid her gaze.
He nodded.
Shen Yuwei did not get angry.
She simply looked down at the bamboo grain on the table, then let out a soft laugh after a moment.
“You are quite honest.”
Xu Ning said, “This junior dares not deceive you.”
“Dare not?”
Shen Yuwei raised her eyes, half reproachful, half smiling. “I think you dare quite a bit.”
Xu Ning was momentarily speechless under her gaze.
She did not pursue the matter, only gently advised, “Xu Ning, do you know that true freedom has never existed in this world?”
“Mortals are constrained by food and clothing; cultivators are constrained by resources. Disciples have sect rules, and even an Nascent Soul Senior cannot bypass the sect’s laws.”
“I understand that you don’t want to be trapped anymore.”
Xu Ning’s lashes stirred slightly.
Shen Yuwei continued with a faint smile, “But having no identity does not mean freedom.”
“You now have a spiritual root, but you don’t understand cultivation, you don’t know how to conceal your aura, and even less how to hide your uniqueness.”
“Allowing this spiritual energy to leak out will sooner or later get you noticed.”
She tapped the table surface with her fingertip, as if tapping on his heart.
Xu Ning was silent.
He knew Shen Yuwei was speaking the truth.
If such a thing couldn’t be hidden, it would eventually become trouble.
But he still felt very awkward staying here.
Shen Yuwei saw the struggle in his eyes and did not push further.
“You don’t have to give me an answer right away.”
Xu Ning looked up.
Shen Yuwei said gently, “Whether it’s becoming my disciple or just staying temporarily, you can think about it some more.”
“You just left Cold Sword Peak, so it’s only natural for you to be on guard.”
“I also have no intention of forcing you to agree.”
At this point, she also found it a bit amusing.
A Golden Core Realm cultivator offering to take a disciple—across the entire Southern Domain, countless people would be rushing to accept.
Yet when it came to Xu Ning, it felt like she was forcing him.
These words made Xu Ning pause, and he cupped his hands apologetically.
“This junior has been rude.”
Shen Yuwei smiled.
“However, I do have a favor to ask.”
The string in Xu Ning’s heart, which had just relaxed, slowly tightened again.
He asked, “What is it?”
Shen Yuwei did not answer immediately.
She raised her hand and pressed below her heart, the warmth and smile in her brows fading slightly.
“Naturally, help me heal my injuries.”
[Detected new cause and effect: Shen Yuwei’s old injury has flared up, source unknown.]
[If left unattended, in three days the host will be exposed to the sect’s high-level personnel.]
[Solution: Help Shen Yuwei treat her injuries and regulate her meridians.]
[Cause-and-effect reward: Aura Concealment Technique.]
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