In the end, Giang Úc came down the mountain with me. The flying ship was overloaded, rocking and swaying through the air. Giang Úc still wore the same cold expression.
Giang Miên, who had always been afraid of her older brother, was even more terrified now. She turned into a fox and curled up in my arms, pretending to be fast asleep. Thẩm Độ huddled at the stern, trying to make himself as small as possible.
As for me, I was the one suffering most. The flying ship wasn't small, but it was still cramped with three adults and a child aboard. After five or six hours in the air, my whole body was sore, and Giang Úc and I kept accidentally bumping into each other. I tried to sit up straight and avoid touching him, but there was so little room that it was difficult.
At last, Phượng Tích City came into view. I sighed in relief, held my aching back, and stumbled off the ship.
On my first night in Phượng Tích City, my back hurt so much I had to sleep on my stomach. In a hazy dream, I found myself in a massage parlor and called over a guy to work on my pressure points.
He asked, “Miss Thẩm, is this pressure to your liking?”
His warm hands rested on my back, gently massaging and pressing my acupoints. A soothing feeling spread through my whole body. I felt so good I let out a soft moan. “Mmm… what’s your number? I’ll call you again next time.”
The next morning, my backache had completely disappeared. Maybe it was thanks to a cultivator’s quick recovery. I didn’t think much of it and hurried to find Thẩm Độ, calling out excitedly, “Let’s go! We’re buying medicine!”
Phượng Tích City truly lived up to its reputation as a famous city of medicine. Rare spiritual herbs gathered there, and most of the ingredients needed for a Nascent Soul Pill could be found.
After spending a few days shopping, I took Giang Miên and Thẩm Độ out to explore the city. Giang Úc joined us now and then, but most of the time he preferred to go cultivate alone in a ravine outside Phượng Tích City.
One day, the three of us were happily enjoying triangular sugar cakes, syrup smeared all over our faces, when dark clouds suddenly churned in the southwestern sky and thunder roared.
“Look! Someone’s about to form a core!” Voices rang out all around us. Nine bolts of heavenly lightning struck in succession, their power astonishing.
Giang Miên chewed her sugar cake, eyes wide with surprise. “Purple tribulation lightning… a member of the demon race forming a core… could it be… my brother?”
I nodded. “Judging by the timing, he’s about due for a breakthrough.”
Giang Úc forming his core came as no surprise to me. His spiritual energy had been surging lately, a sign that he was about to break through his bottleneck. Nine bolts of heavenly lightning struck in quick succession. The dark clouds scattered, and a brilliant rainbow appeared beneath the blazing golden sun. Giang Úc had successfully formed his core.
Just as we were about to head back and congratulate him, the sky suddenly darkened again. Someone cried out in alarm, “This is bad! Why is there another one?!”
Thunder boomed, its force even greater than before, making everyone tremble with fear. I stared in disbelief at the eighteen bolts of tribulation lightning in the sky. Giang Úc… was he trying to break through two stages at once? And what was even more terrifying was… he actually did it!
Now I understood what it meant to be naturally gifted. I was still painstakingly refining Nascent Soul Pills, while he had already reached the Nascent Soul stage with ease. Good. Very good!
That night, I squatted on a wine table, rambling to the white fox sleeping beside me. “I’m not jealous at all, you know. So what if he reached the Nascent Soul stage? It’s no big deal. It’s not like nobody else can do it. Hmph, once I finish refining my Nascent Soul Pill, I’ll reach the Nascent Soul stage too. Believe me?”
The white fox burped, rolled over, and went back to sleep. I sighed and muttered, “I’m really not jealous. So what if he skipped two stages at once? I can do it too. I just prefer to be modest!”
Giang Úc pulled me down, his face icy, and frowned as he asked Thẩm Độ, “How much has she had to drink?”
Thẩm Độ pointed at the ground, where wine jars lay scattered everywhere.
“…” Giang Úc hoisted me onto his back, put Giang Miên in Thẩm Độ’s arms, and said coldly, “Come with me.”
Under the moonlight, our shadows stretched across the deserted road. I slurred, “Hey, your brother’s the one who works so hard, you know? I don’t like working hard. If I did, he’d faint!”
“It’s just… the Nascent Soul stage, right? I… I’ll get there… hic…”
“Waaah, how can your brother skip two stages at once? Now how am I supposed to use pills to help me cultivate…”
By the time the swallows returned, I had finally reached the Nascent Soul stage. As soon as I came out of seclusion, I went looking for Giang Úc, full of myself—but he was gone.
“My brother went to Lan Sơn.”
I rushed to Lan Sơn and arrived just in time to witness the final bolt of tribulation lightning before Giang Úc ascended to the Divine Transformation stage.
“Aaaah! Giang Úc! You’re such a cheater!” I was utterly despairing. Sometimes being human was exhausting. Being a demon would be so much easier—cultivation would be a breeze.
Since I hadn’t caused any trouble in a long time, Mộc Phong had begun looking at me with increasingly deep suspicion. I took the opportunity to drag Giang Úc and Giang Miên into seclusion with me. Afraid Thẩm Độ might get bullied if left outside, I brought him along too.
“The senior sister won’t even leave a child alone!”
“I knew it! That little medicine boy is so rosy-cheeked and pretty-toothed. Sure enough…”
“The senior sister still hasn’t mended her ways? No, I have to report this to the sect leader!”
“No wonder senior sister reached the Nascent Soul stage so quickly. Turns out she’s practicing demonic cultivation!”
I didn’t emerge from seclusion until six months later. During that time, I had completely purged the toxins that had built up in my body. Mộc Phong summoned me at once. Smiling broadly, he pushed a box of Life-Ending Pills toward me and said it was the last box. I raised an eyebrow.
“The last box?”
“That’s right, the last box. It’ll last you three months. Once you’ve taken them all, your body should be almost fully recovered.”
I almost laughed out loud. Fully recovered? More like back in Mother Earth’s arms.
“Once you’re feeling better, I’ll take you to the sacred grounds of the Phi Tinh Sect. You’re old enough to go there now.”
“The sacred grounds?”
Mộc Phong stroked his beard and smiled. “That’s right. It’s a place only the sect leader is allowed to enter.”
That night, I lifted the bed board and put the last box of Life-Ending Pills underneath it. Perfect—it filled the empty space just right. If I slept on top of the pills every day and let a little of their aura rub off on me, Mộc Phong wouldn’t suspect a thing.
I’d seen through this kind of pill. After taking it, there were no visible signs of poisoning. On the contrary, my face grew rosy, fresh as a newly blossomed peach flower. Who would ever guess what it really did? On the outside, I seemed to be getting noticeably healthier, but inside, the poison had spread through all my organs. And with the medicine muddling my mind, my behavior grew increasingly strange.
Mộc Phong, that old man, either wanted to ruin my body or drive a wedge between me and everyone else. That way, even if I died, people would only applaud and praise him. No one would suspect a thing. Everything was in the palm of his hand.
Surely, once I’d finished all the pills, it would be time for me to “unexpectedly” leave this world. I wanted to see what kind of trick he would pull.
With five days left until the three months were up, Mộc Phong led me to the sacred grounds of the Phi Tinh Sect. Standing behind me, he told me to push the door open. It was a great door made of dark iron, with a rare Kunlun divine beast, Bai Ze, serving as its handle. I pondered for a moment.
“Linh Nhi, what are you standing there for?” Mộc Phong urged from behind me.
Creak…” The door opened. Before I could step inside, Mộc Phong pushed past me and hurried in.
Only after reaching the sacred grounds did I understand why the sect was called the Phi Tinh Sect. Atop Kunlun Peak, stars glittered like rain. That door turned out to be a teleportation portal, leading straight to the Kunlun secret realm! The Phi Tinh Sect’s sacred grounds were none other than the Kunlun secret realm, on par with the Phong Yên secret realm.