Due to the limitations of this body’s spiritual roots, coupled with the special heart condition of Dongtian Peak disciples, Mu Qiuhan had already vaguely sensed during her previous cultivation session that progressing further would be somewhat difficult.
She had risked danger by rushing to the Demon Realm precisely to get her hands on those spiritual herbs sooner.
She had originally thought the day she would break through to the Void Refinement stage was still far off, but she hadn’t expected it to arrive so suddenly.
Amidst her surprise, however, another worry arose.
The commotion from the heavenly tribulation would surely be significant. If she chose to undergo it nearby, it would inevitably attract others’ attention.
However, finding another deserted and quiet place seemed rather difficult.
The demon army on the mountain ridge had not yet withdrawn.
Not only that, but they had also increased the number of troops searching.
From time to time, a squad of demon soldiers would pass by Jade Dragon Abyss, appearing in the water mirror.
Mu Qiuhan, of course, knew these people were looking for her.
Fortunately, the burial place Perfected Dao You had chosen was exceptionally well-hidden and protected by a formation.
Unless two Mahayana stage cultivators joined forces, the formation would not be easily broken.
Leng Yi hadn’t pursued her further since then, which was unlike his usual style.
Mu Qiuhan guessed that someone must have delayed him.
Currently, within the clan, there was perhaps only one person capable of doing this.
Therefore, she wasn’t worried that Leng Yi and Hua Ganglie would join forces to break the formation.
Thus, for the past half-month since regaining consciousness, she had been recuperating here quite peacefully.
But now, it seemed she could no longer continue as she wished.
During their previous fight, Leng Yi had already figured out her cultivation stage.
If this location was exposed because of the heavenly tribulation, the demons would undoubtedly try every means to get in.
Even though Mu Qiuhan didn’t think they could actually get in, if the demons disturbed Perfected Dao You’s eternal rest because of this, Shang Ningye would probably not want to see that.
After much thought, it seemed that undergoing the tribulation in the Dream Floating Life was the safer option.
She shared her thoughts with Shang Ningye and asked her to guard her again.
Shang Ningye fell silent after hearing this.
Mu Qiuhan noticed her hesitation and asked, somewhat puzzled, “Is there something wrong?”
Shang Ningye hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
She clearly knew this was the best option at present, but she really didn’t want Mu Qiuhan to go cultivate in the Dream Floating Life again.
As for the reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say it, because it was just a selfish desire of hers.
She had seen how, in recent days, Mu Qiuhan had gradually returned to her usual self around her; they had even grown closer than before.
For example, Mu Qiuhan would personally serve her tea and snacks, and sometimes, she would even feed them directly into her mouth.
Afraid of aggravating the wound on Shang Ningye’s chest, Mu Qiuhan would also help her comb her tangled black hair.
From the bottom of her heart, Shang Ningye didn’t want to face a Mu Qiuhan who was like a stranger again.
But she also knew that Mu Qiuhan’s idea was probably the most correct one.
Finally, she forced herself to stop thinking about these things.
“No need to ask me,” she said lightly. “You can decide for yourself.”
Mu Qiuhan saw that after Shang Ningye spoke, she looked extremely tired and lay back down on the couch, her back turned to Mu Qiuhan.
She felt a little worried.
Clearly, since yesterday, Shang Ningye had been able to stay off the couch for a full four hours.
Why was it that today, after just a short chat, her energy seemed even worse than before?
She went forward to check Shang Ningye’s pulse but found nothing abnormal.
This made her find it even stranger.
When she took out the little remaining injury medicine and offered it to Shang Ningye’s lips, only for Shang Ningye to turn her head away, Mu Qiuhan finally sensed that something was amiss.
Shang Ningye seemed more like she was unhappy.
But why?
Mu Qiuhan pondered. Perhaps Shang Ningye’s body hasn’t fully recovered, and she still feels weak these days.
Is she worried that if I encounter any problems during my cultivation, she won’t be able to handle it alone outside?
Or perhaps, she’s still ill and needs someone to look after her?
If that’s the case…
My cultivation has indeed progressed a bit too quickly recently. Using a secret technique from the Demonic Path to suppress my spiritual energy for now and undergoing the tribulation a little later wouldn’t be a bad thing.
So she changed her tune and said, “If it’s not convenient for you, I can go later.”
Shang Ningye glanced back at her, seemingly a little surprised that one could choose the time for a tribulation.
But she didn’t ask anything and silently turned back again.
Intuition told Mu Qiuhan that Shang Ningye was still angry.
She glanced inexplicably at the person on the couch, who had closed her eyes and was pretending to doze off.
But Shang Ningye showed no reaction.
Mu Qiuhan thought, Could it be that I misunderstood?
Was there something else making Shang Ningye unhappy?
What could it be?
She thought for a long time.
Could it be that when I mentioned I was about to break through to the Void Refinement stage, I seemed too excited, reminding Shang Ningye of her own cultivation, which has been stuck at the Nascent Soul stage, and that’s why she’s unhappy?
So she moved closer to the couch again and gently nudged Shang Ningye’s back.
“I know a recipe that can refine spiritual roots. When I’ve gathered the medicinal ingredients and concocted the spiritual medicine, I’ll give you a share.”
Shang Ningye indeed wasn’t asleep.
She turned back to look at Mu Qiuhan again, finding the start of this topic somewhat baffling.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond, so she could only remain silent.
To Mu Qiuhan, this meant that Shang Ningye didn’t seem any happier because of her offer.
This was something she had never encountered in her past experiences.
Having been a lord in the Demonic Path for many years, Mu Qiuhan had no experience pleasing others, nor would anyone dare to openly show displeasure or throw a tantrum at her.
For a moment, she felt somewhat at a loss.
Shang Ningye had saved her life, and she wanted Shang Ningye to be happy, but she didn’t know what to do.
Fortunately, Chuxue heard this and was very interested in the spiritual medicine Mu Qiuhan mentioned, which temporarily eased the somewhat strange atmosphere between the two of them.
“Is there really a recipe that can refine spiritual roots?”
“Mm,” Mu Qiuhan was about to continue when she heard Shang Ningye also speak up.
“There is indeed,” Shang Ningye said. “I’ve heard Master mention it before.”
Chuxue looked puzzled.
“Since you knew such a thing existed,” Chuxue asked Shang Ningye, “why didn’t you ask Grandmaster for the recipe? It could have saved you from these years of hardship.”
Shang Ningye coughed lightly.
“Master once said that the ingredients in that recipe are all heavenly treasures, extremely hard to find, so I didn’t ask further. Besides, I have no great ambitions. Being able to take human form was also thanks to Master’s grace. As for my current spiritual roots, they are perfectly fine for me.”
Mu Qiuhan smiled upon hearing this.
“You’re only half right about that.”
Seeing Shang Ningye finally look at her, a small flicker of pleasure passed through Mu Qiuhan’s heart.
“It’s true that those ingredients are all heavenly treasures. Those who can gather the spiritual medicines for the recipe are likely already paragons of the cultivation world and usually wouldn’t need to refine their spiritual roots.”
She looked Shang Ningye up and down until the other woman was about to get annoyed, then continued, “On the contrary, with your constitution, you’re already a highly sought-after prize. You’d be coveted by others wherever you go, so you need strong cultivation to protect yourself even more. In my opinion, this recipe seems tailor-made for you.”
Shang Ningye glared at her.
Seeing that Shang Ningye was willing to acknowledge her, Mu Qiuhan felt an inexplicable sense of relief, even when being glared at.
She took the opportunity to move forward and sat down beside Shang Ningye.
“I imagine in a few more years, the Immortal Sect will have another powerful expert who is both beautiful and kind-hearted. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?”
Hearing Mu Qiuhan praise her like this, the tips of Shang Ningye’s ears turned red.
She turned her head to the side. “We haven’t even seen a shadow of the spiritual herbs yet, how can you dare speak of the future?”
Mu Qiuhan raised an eyebrow at her words.
“Are you questioning this Lord’s abilities?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the two people and one beast in the room all froze simultaneously.
This was the first time they had so directly addressed Mu Qiuhan’s identity.
Mu Qiuhan knew in her heart that this person and beast had not mentioned this matter at all these days out of consideration for her feelings.
But the Immortal and Demon clans were at war, and they belonged to different factions. This had to be made clear; otherwise, misunderstandings would inevitably arise in the future.
There was no time like the present, so she might as well take this opportunity to lay everything bare at once.
She let out a deliberately sorrowful sigh.
“You’ve both seen it. I am now just a down-and-out lord, hunted by my own clan, all my cultivation gone. If I had any grudges with the Immortal Sect, they were all wiped clean when I died.”
“Since Heaven pitied me and let me live again, I will strive to live well. As for the two of you, I only want to regard you as my life saviors. What do you think?”
Mu Qiuhan’s intention in saying this was to show that she held no hostility towards this person and beast.
Any enmity between the Immortal and Demon clans should not involve Shang Ningye in any way, nor did it have anything to do with Chuxue.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Shang Ningye recalled the scene of Mu Qiuhan desperately cultivating earlier, nearly losing her life.
She looked at Mu Qiuhan with pity, gently took Mu Qiuhan’s hand beside her, and comforted her, “Don’t overthink it. Just treat this place as your home and live here peacefully. As for other matters, since neither of us can control them, let’s just resign ourselves to fate.”
Mu Qiuhan hadn’t originally intended to play the victim; the pride of a Demon Lord wouldn’t allow her to do so.
But those words just now had somehow slipped out so naturally, and the effect was surprisingly good.
She quickly glanced at the hands still holding hers and suddenly didn’t want to explain anything anymore.
Letting Shang Ningye think she was just a helpless person with nowhere to turn, unable to control anything, didn’t seem to have any downsides.
Because she needed to deliberately suppress her cultivation, Mu Qiuhan wasn’t as diligent as usual these past few days, seizing every free moment to cultivate.
As a result, she actually seemed somewhat idle.
So she focused all her surplus energy on Shang Ningye.
She found that young Golden-Edged Chonglou herb from before and spent half an afternoon concocting an antidote for Shang Ningye.
After Shang Ningye took the spirit pill, eighty to ninety percent of the remaining poison in her body was cleared.
The ghastly wound on her chest had also healed by more than half.
Since this Golden-Edged Chonglou herb was not yet mature, its medicinal efficacy was somewhat reduced.
Mu Qiuhan opened Shang Ningye’s collar and carefully examined the wound after the white cloth was removed.
She said, rather dissatisfied, “The potency of this spiritual herb is still a bit lacking. Wait for me to find a top-quality one, and I’ll completely cure the root of your ailment.”
She raised her head, just as she was about to ask Shang Ningye if she still felt any discomfort, when she saw Shang Ningye looking down, a faint pink blush spreading from her earlobes to her neck.
Mu Qiuhan suddenly realized her actions had been a bit too forward.
She quickly averted her gaze, no longer looking at Shang Ningye’s half-open collar.
Damn this lord got rizz