Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 68

If Lin Mianmian had known earlier that updating her disciple plate would require testing her spiritual root again, then even if she could not immediately lay out the matter of her internal core and ability power to Yuan Zhaoyang in full detail, she would still have thought of a way to ask Senior Sister to help smooth things over.
But now… the arrow was already on the string. There was no reason not to release it.
“Little Junior Sister?”
“Mianmian?”
Lin Mianmian’s thoughts were in chaos, and she hesitated without stepping forward. The old man and Yuan Zhaoyang called out at the same time.
She could not drag this out any longer…
Seeing that Senior Sister Yuan’s face was full of comfort and encouragement, while the old man’s face already showed some doubt, Lin Mianmian had no choice but to brace herself. She stepped forward twice, stood by the desk, and reached out her hand.
Her palm covered the small stone. Very soon, with the stone as the center, a pattern gradually lit up on the desk. It was very similar to the one in Yingxian City.
Only, Lin Mianmian’s mood now was much more nervous than it had been then. The ignorant were fearless. Those who knew had too many worries.
The pattern formed. The light screen in the air slowly appeared. Lin Mianmian felt as if the palm covering the stone had gradually begun to sweat.
At that moment, a faint thread of energy came from the stone. It followed the palm holding the stone, traveled along her arm, then turned downward and made a circuit at her dantian.
It did not go upward. It did not pass through the internal core.
Right. The spiritual root test in Yingxian City had also been like this…
A trace of luck rose in Lin Mianmian’s heart. The hand gripping the stone could not help tightening.
The energy returned along the original path and left her body.
On the light screen, the green dots still formed the words “human race” and “wood.”
Human race, single wood spiritual root…
It was exactly the same as in Yingxian City. The heavy stone in Lin Mianmian’s heart fell a little more.
Lin Mianmian lightly let out a breath. All right. Next, it would begin showing her aptitude, which was so weak it was almost nothing…
Yuan Zhaoyang, standing only two steps away, naturally did not miss Lin Mianmian’s small action. But concern led to confusion. That breath of slight relaxation, in Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes, became a sigh…
Was Mianmian so nervous earlier, and sighing now, because she cared too much about her not-so-good spiritual root aptitude?
Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart tightened. Looking again at Lin Mianmian’s pressed lips and still half-tense body, she regretted her own carelessness.
If only she were truly a person of the Five Elements Sect. Then when they accepted disciples in Yingxian City, she could have directly entered Lin Mianmian’s detailed disciple information and spared her this round of trouble. Lin Mianmian would not need to suffer another test by someone else now.
After all, someone paid to handle matters and one of their own received rather different treatment.
Lin Mianmian did not know her small movement had made Yuan Zhaoyang think so much. She also could not imagine that this senior sister, whom she still felt somewhat unfamiliar with, was already paying such close attention to her. All of her attention was on the cylindrical light screen.
The green dots forming “human race” and “wood” gradually scattered. At the same time, a layer of green appeared at the bottom of the light screen. Then, like green water gathering, it grew more and more, rising until it filled about one third of the screen before stopping.
This…
Lin Mianmian stared at that patch of green in shock. Was this her spiritual root aptitude? Wasn’t her spiritual root aptitude only supposed to be one vertical green line, only as long as her little finger and a third as thick?
How… how was there so much? It had already reached about thirty percent of the screen…
What was wrong?
Lin Mianmian could not help turning to look at Yuan Zhaoyang.
Lin Mianmian was not the only one shocked in this room. From the moment that layer of green appeared, Yuan Zhaoyang had also been a little stunned. But that did not stop her from quickly giving Lin Mianmian a reassuring look.
“Shh.”
Yuan Zhaoyang’s voice sounded in Lin Mianmian’s heart. Lin Mianmian looked at Yuan Zhaoyang’s lips, which had not moved at all, and knew the other person had used voice transmission.
It was clearly only one syllable, with no further explanation. But looking at Yuan Zhaoyang’s calm and steady appearance, Lin Mianmian somehow felt much more at ease.
Wait. Wasn’t she a person of the Five Elements Sect… Why did Lin Mianmian naturally treat her as being on her own side…
Before Lin Mianmian could think more or farther, the old man looked at the green color in the light screen, which had already risen and stabilized. He turned and took something like a thin wooden stick, measured along the edge of the light screen, and nodded.
“Human race, single wood spiritual root, aptitude thirty-two percent.”
Why did he not ask how her spiritual root aptitude had suddenly gone from a tiny blade of grass to such a large patch of green?
But no matter why, it seemed she could already see the light of passing this trial…
“Surprise!”
Just as Lin Mianmian and Yuan Zhaoyang both tightened their nerves, waiting for the old man’s next action, a familiar voice sounded outside the door.
The three people in the room all looked over together.
A snow-white little bunny was standing outside the door. One paw had already stepped firmly on the threshold.
Seeing the three of them look over, the little bunny raised her other front paw and waved. “Isn’t this a surprise? Am I not very fast and clever? Huh… Mianmian, your spir…”
Bad!
Lin Mianmian heard A-Bai’s mouth running loose and about to go off track. Her vision darkened. It was over.
However, her vision really did darken, but it was not quite over.
“Mmph…” Before A-Bai could finish marveling at the patch of spiritual root aptitude that had somehow grown out of Lin Mianmian, Yuan Zhaoyang picked her up and covered her mouth. Before A-Bai could even struggle, her back grew heavy. In an instant, she could not even make muffled sounds anymore.
Yuan Zhaoyang put A-Bai, whose back was covered in talismans, back on the ground and let out a breath.
“Senior Sister Yuan…” The old man looked at the rabbit hanging over the threshold, limp and soundless, with shock all over his face.
“It is fine. Continue.” Yuan Zhaoyang calmly walked back to the desk.
It did not look… like it was fine.
But some things were not things he should manage.
The old man looked one last time at the rabbit, who seemed to have already breathed her last, then picked up Lin Mianmian’s earlier jade plate. He rolled it in a box that held who knew what, then took it out and waved it through the light screen.
“All right, Little Junior Sister. You can let go.”
As the old man spoke, he took the jade plate and went to the shelves a few rows back to start working on something.
Lin Mianmian let go. The light screen scattered, and the pattern on the desk dimmed too.
That was it?
Lin Mianmian looked at Yuan Zhaoyang again. Yuan Zhaoyang shook her head very slightly.
Lin Mianmian glanced at the old man’s back and closed her mouth tightly.
The room was quiet. Only the sound of the old man working could be heard.
Very soon, the old man returned to the desk and handed Lin Mianmian a jade plate that was much smaller and more delicate than the original one.
“Little Junior Sister, keep this well. This is your disciple plate. Inside the sect, whether using teleportation arrays, receiving sect benefits, accepting and handing in tasks, or handling other miscellaneous matters, you will need it. Carry it with you and do not lose it.”
Lin Mianmian nodded solemnly and accepted it. “Many thanks, Senior Brother Du.”
Even after leaving the room, Lin Mianmian still felt a little dazed. The matter of updating her disciple plate had actually passed with surprise but no danger, just like that?
“Let us go. We will register your residence, then collect your things.” Yuan Zhaoyang carried the little basket holding A-Bai and pointed at another building not far away.
“A-Bai…” Lin Mianmian looked at the little bunny lying on her back in the basket like a stuffed toy, four paws in the air. She felt somewhat unable to bear it.
Yuan Zhaoyang glanced at the basket and casually took a few sheets of white paper from her storage bag to cover A-Bai’s belly. “All right. Let us finish the matters quickly. We will talk with her after we go back.”
All right…
If A-Bai were allowed to return to normal now, she and Senior Sister Yuan would probably start fighting on the spot here.
Although Lin Mianmian cared very much whether the little calico had safely stayed with Tian Xiaoyu, she should indeed endure a little longer and wait.
Leaving aside how her spiritual root aptitude had suddenly improved so much, when Lin Mianmian had been in Clear Heart Hall, she had already thought it through. Rather than make some strange eye-catching choice, it was better to return properly to her old work of farming.
In the outer valley, the most proper and suitable residences for a wood spiritual root were the ones with spiritual fields.
She smoothly chose a residence, received the storage bag and supplies issued by the sect, as well as this month’s cultivation resources, and then the two people and one rabbit left All Affairs Hall.
Although she had not had time to look at the sect tasks related to ingredients, clearly, this was not the time to care about those things. All Affairs Hall would not run away. She could come another day.
The new residence was much larger than the previous one. Not only was the courtyard larger, but there were also more rooms: a kitchen, a bedroom, a storage room, and several empty rooms that could be arranged however she liked.
Because there were many spiritual fields between the houses, each household was quite far from the others. The house seemed independent and quiet.
Yuan Zhaoyang clearly did not relax her guard just because this house was far from other people’s. After entering the courtyard, she did not immediately undo the talismans on A-Bai. Instead, she put down the basket and took out an array plate.
Lin Mianmian carried the basket to the table. She could not help poking the furry little white rabbit ear. Seeing Yuan Zhaoyang’s serious and focused face, she even made her breathing much lighter, not daring to disturb her.
Senior Sister Yuan… really looked very reliable…
Lin Mianmian closed her mouth tightly, locking away a bellyful of questions, then poked the rabbit ear in the basket again.
“Done.” Yuan Zhaoyang was glad that she had prepared a set of array plates for Lin Mianmian from the start. Now she only needed to add spirit stones and use them directly, which truly saved time.
Yuan Zhaoyang straightened the last array plate, walked to the table, and undid the talismans sealing the little bunny.
In an instant, a white shadow shot out. A huffy little white rabbit stood steadily on the table and pointed angrily.
“What are you two doing! The first thing I did after flying for a whole day was come find you! Do you have any conscience left? I am such a cute little bunny! How could you bear to treat me like this!”
“It happened suddenly. At the time, you were about to let something slip.” Yuan Zhaoyang explained, then took the blame on her own. “Also, the only one who sealed you was me. Where did this ‘you two’ come from?”
“You were the one who sealed me, but she poked my ear while I could not move!” The little white rabbit angrily pointed at Lin Mianmian. “Twice!”
The little bunny tried hard to arrange her paw into the number two, then failed somewhat awkwardly. But it did not matter. This did not stop her from continuing to glare at the two of them.
“…” Lin Mianmian awkwardly shifted her gaze away, but happened to meet Yuan Zhaoyang’s eyes.
“You poked her ear.” Yuan Zhaoyang’s lips moved slightly as she quietly spoke six words.
Wait… Saying condemning words with such a blank face was really frightening…
Lin Mianmian silently shrank back a little. The limp, unable-to-move, soft, white little bunny really had been adorable…
Lin Mianmian did not make a sound, and Yuan Zhaoyang did not look away either.
Here it came! Again! That gaze of looking at an unfaithful heartbreaker!
Lin Mianmian silently rubbed the fingers that had touched the bunny and felt a little scared.
“Hey! Are you two done? I am still here! Don’t you have anything to say to this little cutie who worked hard all day, came home, and got ambushed at the door?” A-Bai’s fur bristled. “Look at me, hey!”
“Say what?” Yuan Zhaoyang looked at A-Bai. “You did not miss anything. It is just as you saw. Her spiritual root aptitude somehow became thirty-two percent.”
“Somehow became thirty-two percent?” A-Bai repeated and looked at Lin Mianmian.
Lin Mianmian nodded. She truly did not know what had happened.
Although her internal core’s ability power had recovered a little, it was really only one or two thousandths at most… and that little stone had not tested upward. As expected, the change should still be at the spiritual root in her dantian…
But what had happened?
“Why?” A-Bai looked blank.
Silence fell.
The two people and one rabbit looked at one another.
In the end, Lin Mianmian could not hold back and spoke first. “A-Bai, is Rice Ball all right? Has she adjusted? Tian Xiaoyu agreed to take her in, right? How are Tian Xiaoyu and the young Qiao family man? Where will Rice Ball live in the future? Did you clearly tell Tian Xiaoyu all the care notes? Did you leave Rice Ball’s usual things with her? Did she have anything she wanted you to tell me? Oh, how is Fried Dough?”
“Is now the time to talk about this?” A-Bai was still deep in Lin Mianmian’s changed spiritual root. Then Yuan Zhaoyang glared at her without showing it.
“Fine, all fine. Tian Xiaoyu is preparing to marry into the Qiao family this autumn. The Qiao family no longer runs a noodle stall. They opened a small restaurant, and business is very good. Tian Xiaoyu really likes Fried Dough… and Rice Ball. She said she would definitely take good care of it… them. I gave her all the things and explained the care notes too. I also told the Tian family and Qiao family in passing that they had better treat the cats well, or the consequences would be very serious. They all said yes, absolutely. Tian Xiaoyu told me to tell you, do not worry, she will treat your cat well. Oh, the cat is adjusting well too.”
Lin Mianmian stared at the little rabbit’s three-petal mouth and pricked up her ears to listen carefully, afraid of missing even one word.
A-Bai finished in a few words. Lin Mianmian waited, and seeing that A-Bai did not seem about to continue, asked with disappointment all over her face, “That’s all?”
“That’s all.” The little white rabbit spread her paws.
All right.
Everything was good. That was enough…
Yuan Zhaoyang stood quietly to the side, taking in the little girl’s expectation, worry, relief, and loss.
What a… foolish girl…
“So what exactly happened to your spiritual root aptitude? Even heavenly treasures that can raise spiritual root aptitude cannot do something like this in such a short time… This is not raising. This is swelling after being soaked!” A-Bai still could not understand. “Could it be that because it looked a bit like a little grass before, it means it could still grow bigger? Then in the future, could you grow into a perfect ten-tenths spiritual root aptitude? Mianmian, are you going against heaven?”
Lin Mianmian: “…”
“Could it be that bottle of water?” Yuan Zhaoyang carefully thought over what had happened since Lin Mianmian came to the Five Elements Sect twice, then proposed the most likely idea.
“Water? Drink it and draw spiritual energy into the body?” A-Bai froze for a moment. “You mean that water, aside from letting someone immediately draw spiritual energy into the body, can also grow spiritual roots?”
“Back then, we drew spiritual energy into our bodies immediately, but Mianmian took more than half a day. Was it because our spiritual root aptitudes were decent at the time, so the effect showed right away, while Mianmian’s… needed time for her spiritual root to grow before she successfully drew spiritual energy into her body?” Yuan Zhaoyang compared the three of their situations as she spoke.
It actually sounded very reasonable. The person and rabbit both deeply agreed.
“So. Is it possible that our spiritual roots also grew when we did not know it?” A-Bai looked shocked. “No way. I always thought I was born with good aptitude…”
Yuan Zhaoyang nodded. “It is possible. But before we drank it, we never tested our spiritual roots, so it is hard to say whether they grew.”
Before, Yuan Zhaoyang and A-Bai had already drawn spiritual energy into their bodies and no longer needed that bottle of water, so Lin Mianmian had drunk it.
If it was water that could let a person immediately draw spiritual energy into their body, then it was certainly precious. But if it was water that could raise a person’s spiritual root aptitude by more than thirty percent all at once… it was so precious that Lin Mianmian probably would never have a chance to repay it.
“Mianmian, do not think too much. These are all guesses. Whether it was or not, that was only something A-Bai and I could no longer use. You being able to use it was your own chance.” Yuan Zhaoyang saw Lin Mianmian’s unease at a glance and advised her gently, then gave A-Bai a look.
The little bunny nodded. “Yes. Besides, that water was not mine. It was Yuan Zhaoyang’s. I only benefited from it too.”
Yuan Zhaoyang: “…”
So that was what my hint told you to say?
“Thank you, Senior Sister Yuan…” Lin Mianmian locked onto the creditor.
Wait. What was with that look of being unable to repay her?
“No need, no need. It is a guess, only a guess. It may not be because of that. Maybe your spiritual root was originally able to slowly grow on its own…” Yuan Zhaoyang could not bear it and waved her hands again and again.
“It should be because of it.” After locking onto the creditor, Lin Mianmian suddenly felt less panicked and began analyzing with order. “At first, no matter how hard I tried, I could not draw spiritual energy into my body. After drinking it, I could feel that I did not instantly draw spiritual energy into my body like A-Bai said. Instead, when I cultivated later, I successfully sensed spiritual energy in the air. Then I slowly drew spiritual energy into my body using the method in the cultivation booklet.”
“That means at that time, my spiritual root should have been changed, and only then could I sense spiritual energy. After all, before that, I could not sense it at all.”
It actually sounded very reasonable. The cat and rabbit both deeply agreed.
“No matter what, your spiritual root becoming thirty-two percent is a good thing.” Yuan Zhaoyang advised her. “Do not think too much about the reason. Anyway, there is no way to verify it now.”
The little bunny raised a paw in agreement. “Although thirty-two percent counts as lower-middle aptitude, as long as pills assist you, and since you have a single spiritual root, your cultivation may not be worse than someone with medium aptitude.”
“Indeed, compared with my original aptitude, it is much better.” Lin Mianmian, who had another secret in her heart, felt this unexpected joy was already enough to make her extremely satisfied. So she looked at Yuan Zhaoyang again and saluted. “I will work hard to cultivate. When I achieve something, I will definitely work hard to repay Senior Sister Yuan’s great kindness and virtue.”
“How can it count as great kindness and virtue?” Senior Sister Yuan saw Lin Mianmian’s action and was both anxious and embarrassed. She had deceived Lin Mianmian like that before. How could she deserve such a salute?
Then she looked at the little girl’s serious face, carrying admiration, and only felt her ears heat. In an instant, that heat seemed about to attack her cheeks too. If she did not retreat now, was she supposed to wait until her face reddened before leaving?
Yuan Zhaoyang backed up two steps. “Let us stop here today. I will go first. Rest early. A-Bai will tell you the other matters.”
After the string of words popped out like firecrackers, Yuan Zhaoyang turned, stepped onto the jade flake, and vanished into the air.
“What other matters? Hey! What matters!” A-Bai raised a rabbit paw. However… the sky was already empty, with no response at all.
Very good! I will remember you, stinky cat!
Lin Mianmian looked at the little white rabbit, who seemed very irritable, and put on a friendly face. “So the little calico really adjusted very well? When I am not there, will she look for me? Also…”
“…” The little white rabbit floated into the air on a small piece of ice and pressed one little paw against Lin Mianmian’s lips.
The stinky cat had already left! Why did the topic still have to be about that stinky cat!
There was a saying: in the middle of the night… do not talk about cats.
Just as A-Bai used her little paw to seal Lin Mianmian’s mouth and prepared to complain straight into Lin Mianmian’s face, that familiar voice came from the air.