The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 10

Longyin Town was perpetually spring-like, though after the sun set, a cool breeze would often rise. That cold wind swept in through the opened carved door, causing an inexplicable chill.

A’Ling pulled the blanket tighter around herself and glared angrily at Shi Qingqian, who had just entered.

“Do you think you’re a ghost? You don’t even know how to knock!”

Shi Qingqian paused, not expecting A’Ling to have woken up so early. A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes.

She freed a hand and knocked on the already open door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The knocking silenced A’Ling. A’Ling took a deep breath. To a demonic cultivator, knocking before entering was a sign of politeness, a request for permission. But knocking after entering? That was blatant provocation.

Blood rushed to her head. A’Ling felt the spiritual energy that had just perfectly integrated within her body now surging wildly. A faint pain radiated from her heart meridian. She quickly adjusted her breath to stabilize her energy.

While adjusting her breath, A’Ling didn’t forget to vigilantly watch Shi Qingqian, to prevent her from trying to harm her further.

Seeing the tray Shi Qingqian was holding, a doubt arose in her heart: Where’s Aunt Sun? Why is Shi Qingqian bringing me food?

Seeing her breathing stabilize, Shi Qingqian walked towards her with the food. “She’s cooking in the kitchen.”

A’Ling watched Shi Qingqian walk directly in front of her. She skillfully took an empty bowl and placed the food from the tray onto the elevated table.

A’Ling glanced at it and immediately understood. “You want to poison me?!”

Shi Qingqian paused. Her fingers tightened slightly around the empty bowl. Without raising her head, her eyes lowered, focused only on the empty bowl in her hand. “It’s not poisoned.”

“Take it away!” A’Ling was fully on guard, as if sharp quills had bristled all over her. “Quickly, take it away! Who knows what you put in it?!”

“Even the Shadow Plague Snakes bred from the Demon Realm’s corpses aren’t as venomous as you! This plan didn’t work, so seeing me alive and well, what new evil have you cooked up?”

Shi Qingqian’s expression remained unchanged, though her gaze deepened slightly as she looked at A’Ling. “I’ve already told Elder Zeng about what happened this time. It was I who wronged you. Elder Zeng has already restored your classes.”

A’Ling was utterly shocked. Shi Qingqian had actually admitted to framing her.

But what was the point of saying all this now?!

“And then? You come to tell me this? What, do you want me to thank you for clearing my name?” A’Ling furrowed her brows, a wave of disgust washing over her.

Shi Qingqian, whose face was usually devoid of expressions, seemed to show a crack. Her brows furrowed. She stood there, saying nothing, only watching A’Ling with eyes that held such complex emotions A’Ling couldn’t decipher them.

But it didn’t stop A’Ling from feeling disgusted. “Don’t put on that act! You’re starting to look like the victim!”

A’Ling instantly realized: Shi Qingqian was starting another play. Luckily, she had already encountered this kind of drama in her previous life with Zhao Diqing.

They clearly made a mistake first, but after being discovered, they’d put on an act of “I’m so regretful, I know I was wrong.” At that point, if you didn’t forgive them, people would come to persuade you, saying things like, “Look, she knows she’s wrong, just forgive her.”

In the end, if the victim didn’t forgive, it would make them seem like they were in the wrong too.

Was this trick interesting? Why did everyone like to play it?

A’Ling suddenly remembered when she had just been reborn in the pit, and Shi Qingqian asked her if it was interesting. Indeed, it wasn’t interesting at all. A’Ling thought, not only was it not interesting, it was utterly disgusting.

She truly hated that her current cultivation couldn’t defeat Shi Qingqian; otherwise, she would really throw her out of the room.

“Scram.”

A’Ling was even too lazy to curse her. She had resigned herself to it; her skills simply weren’t good enough yet. From now on, she would never even spare Shi Qingqian a glance, focusing only on cultivation.

“Still not gone?! Take these things and scram!”

A’Ling’s recently calmed breathing, after seeing the other person not move for a long time, flared into anger again. But then she realized she had no way to deal with it.

The spiritual energy within her body expanded violently, like a heated Shadow Plague Snake’s gallbladder. Just as she felt she was about to explode, Shi Qingqian gave her a deep look and retreated.

A’Ling felt that Shi Qingqian might have deliberately come to provoke her, to make her spiritual energy go awry, or even cause her to deviate into the demonic path.

A’Ling felt she had found the truth. Otherwise, why would Shi Qingqian suddenly come to bring her food? Something as obvious as poisoning, she wouldn’t necessarily do.

She was different from Huo Zhen. Huo Zhen was ruthless and openly wicked. Shi Qingqian, indeed raised by him, was a bit more cunningly vicious; her wickedness lay hidden.

The more A’Ling thought about it, the more she felt this was the truth. Shi Qingqian must have realized she couldn’t kill her this time and started planning something new.

For example, by provoking her during her cultivation, to make her cultivate astray and fall into qi deviation.

She would definitely not let her have her way.

A’Ling repeatedly forced herself to calm her mind, silently reciting the spiritual energy gathering technique. The turbulent spiritual energy within her body was still violently expanding, yet it was like a sponge that had absorbed water, continuously absorbing the scattered energy within her body.

For the first time, A’Ling felt an unending stream of energy flowing towards her dantian. Not a mere wisp, not a strand, not a surge, but an unending stream of energy surging towards her.

The anger within her was also extinguished by this spiritual energy. A’Ling felt a sense of peace for the first time; she had actually entered a meditative state.

Her eyes closed, then opened, and a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

For the first time, she so clearly understood what cultivators meant when they said a hundred years in the mortal realm was but a snap of a finger for a cultivator.

In her previous life, she had been able to achieve Foundation Establishment because Huo Zhen had found a cultivator to guide her spiritual energy. She was like someone whose spiritual aperture was forcibly opened, and afterwards, she only felt confused.

But to guide spiritual energy into one’s body by oneself was this feeling. This feeling was truly wonderful, as if floating in warm spring water, light and free.

A’Ling also discovered that because of Foundation Establishment, she was no longer a mortal. Those injuries that would be fatal or very difficult for mortals to recover from had all healed, leaving only faint pink marks to show she had once been injured.

A’Ling casually found some clothes and put them on. After walking a few steps, she found her leg injury had also healed.

For mortals, serious injuries would take a hundred days to recover, but for cultivators, it only took a month.

A’Ling happily hopped twice. Not bad, her legs are still very sturdy.

After stepping out of her room again, A’Ling took a deep breath of the courtyard air. It felt so comfortable she wanted to cry. This was the kind of peace she had longed for in her previous life.

“A’Ling, you’re out! It really is today!” Sun Juhao heard the movement and poked her head out of the kitchen. After seeing it was A’Ling, although Qingqian had said it would be today, actually seeing A’Ling walk out well still made Sun Juhao both surprised and delighted.

Over the past month, Qingqian had even set up a barrier at that child A’Ling’s door, so she couldn’t even peek in.

Especially seeing how heavily A’Ling was injured at first, her heart was always worried that she wouldn’t make it. Now seeing her able to walk and seemingly without other problems, she finally felt relieved.

She was just a mortal, and she knew cultivators were different from them. But besides Huo Zhen’s assault, which showed her the power of cultivators, this was the first time she had directly experienced the difference between them.

She quickly ladled out the lily and honey date porridge from the pot, wiped her hands, and brushed away a tear, calling out to A’Ling outside the room: “Come quickly and eat something! Aren’t you going to Hongjian Academy today? Hurry up, don’t miss the time.”

A’Ling remembered. Shi Qingqian had said Elder Zeng canceled her suspension, and she could go and continue cultivating.

That’s great! It just so happened she had achieved Foundation Establishment. She should go to the academy to continue learning Core Formation techniques.

A’Ling had now achieved Foundation Establishment and was no longer easily hungry like mortals, but she still had cravings and ate all the food Sun Juhao prepared.

“Thank you, Aunt Sun. When I was injured, it was also thanks to you for bringing me food. It’s just the portions were a bit small, not enough to eat.”

This meal, she felt a bit stuffed.

Sun Juhao listened to her finish, wanting to speak but hesitating. But before she could resolve her dilemma, A’Ling bid farewell, eager to rush to the academy to cultivate.

A’Ling first went into the room to change into appropriate clothes and brought her unspent spiritual stones.

Stepping out of the room, A’Ling turned her head to look at the side door that had closed again. Although it connected the two residences, it could only be opened from Huo Zhen’s main residence side.

A’Ling walked towards the dark vermillion small door and kicked it forcefully. Because there was a barrier on the other side, the seemingly fragile door panel remained motionless no matter how A’Ling kicked it.

A’Ling didn’t expect to be able to kick it open now.

“Huo Zhen, you just wait.” A’Ling thought, ‘Now that I’ve achieved Foundation Establishment, I have patience, though not much. But to surpass Huo Zhen, I believe it won’t take too long.’

A’Ling glanced at the door, which was the same color as Huo Zhen’s Crimson Lotus Hellfire Whip. It disgusted her just as much as seeing Huo Zhen himself.

He rarely came to this side of the residence, and when he did, nothing good happened.

A’Ling’s eyes darted. She returned to the courtyard, kicked the Jujube tree, reached out and caught a fallen fruit, and crushed it bare-handed.

Wet, red juice seeped from the cracks. A’Ling returned to the small door. With quick strokes, she drew and wrote with the Jujube fruit’s red juice, completing it in one go.

Seeing the finished product, A’Ling was very satisfied. She smilingly threw away the juiceless Jujube fruit. Red juice remained on her hands, which she casually wiped on herself.

Her lotus-root colored blouse instantly had several marks that looked like bloodstains.

A’Ling didn’t care at all. She smiled and exited.

When she saw the carriage waiting at the entrance, and that detestable person in the carriage, her good mood was like eating a delicious peach only to suddenly find half a worm inside.

The carriage window was wide open. As soon as A’Ling stepped out, Shi Qingqian noticed her out of the corner of her eye.

She turned sideways and looked at A’Ling. Indeed, she had achieved Foundation Establishment.

As early as on Kaiyao Mountain, when A’Ling carried her down, she had already sensed a wisp of spiritual energy accumulating in her inner force. Foundation Establishment was just a matter of time.

But she didn’t expect it to be so fast, nor was A’Ling as foolish as she seemed. Shi Qingqian retracted her gaze and pursed her lips.

A’Ling felt goosebumps all over. What a sinister expression.

She had seen Shi Qingqian’s meaningful look after assessing her. She must have realized I achieved Foundation Establishment and was secretly planning new ways to harm me.

A’Ling felt her cultivation must definitely speed up. She touched the money pouch hanging from her waist. Unfortunately, this small amount of spiritual stones couldn’t buy good materials for alchemy. She still needed to find a way to get some spiritual stones from Huo Zhen first.

“Miss A’Ling, please get in the carriage,” the coachman said impatiently. “Miss Qingqian has been waiting for you to go to the academy together.” He couldn’t help but urge her, seeing A’Ling step out but not get into the carriage promptly.

Alarm bells went off in A’Ling’s mind. Sure enough, Shi Qingqian really was trying to harm her.

“To hell with Huo Zhen’s ancestors! This old one and young one are truly like lingering ghosts!”

After fiercely cursing, she turned and ran. She would not give Shi Qingqian another chance to harm her.

After running a few steps, she heard Aunt Sun’s shriek from inside the residence.

She couldn’t even revel in her masterpiece having shocked Aunt Sun. She glanced at the carriage following behind and quickened her pace.

Before her strength could defeat Shi Qingqian, she was determined that if she couldn’t win, she could at least hide.

She, A’Ling, was flexible and adaptable, even if she was a bit disheveled now.

After running a good distance, she looked back. The Huo family’s carriage was still slowly following.

A’Ling felt a wave of frustration. “You’re treating me like a mouse to play with, aren’t you? Your methods of torment are endless!”

Shi Qingqian, this shameless thing! She could clearly already learn sword control, yet she still rode in a carriage. And for such a person, the cultivators in the academy still praised her for her noble character.

Pah! Even the maggots in the Demon Realm are nobler than her.