The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 15

Gu Jingyang smiled and handed A’Ling a Universe pouch. A’Ling didn’t understand why, but hesitated before taking it.
Gu Jingyang recited an opening incantation, and the seal on the Universe pouch slowly loosened. “‘Open it and take a look.'”
A’Ling was confused, but she complied, opening the Universe pouch and looking inside.
Inside was a vast, deep space. It was at least a superior-grade Universe pouch. The space was large enough to hold at least a white-tusked elephant.
And now, it was densely piled layer upon layer with spiritual stones!
Sparkling brilliantly, like a river of stars under the moonlight, they dazzled her eyes.
A’Ling rubbed her eyes and looked up from the Universe pouch in astonishment, her gaze trembling as she asked in disbelief: “‘How many spiritual stones are these?'”
Gu Jingyang smiled, holding up one finger.
A’Ling: “‘Ten thousand?'”
Gu Jingyang shook her upright finger.
A’Ling: “‘A hundred thousand?!!!'”
Gu Jingyang found A’Ling’s astonished expression incredibly amusing. She nodded: “‘A hundred thousand spiritual stones, for you.'”
A’Ling’s eyes widened, and she pointed at herself in disbelief: “‘For me?'”
Gu Jingyang seeing her astonishment was not a joke, slowly put away her smile, looking at her suspiciously: “‘Did you not listen to the Phoenix Feather messages I sent you?'”
She had clearly told her beforehand that she had something for her. But to give A’Ling a surprise, she had refrained from saying what it was.
A’Ling thought of the pile of ‘feathers’ she had swept into the corner, and immediately closed her astonished mouth, feeling a tiny bit guilty, but she couldn’t be blamed for it.
“‘I did listen, but after hearing the turtles fight, I got sleepy. And this morning I was rushing to the academy, so I didn’t get a chance to listen to the rest.'”
Gu Jingyang narrowed her eyes, suspicion flickering within them, as if trying to discern if her words were true.
A’Ling quickly added an explanation: “‘I just finished Foundation Establishment, so I still need a lot of sleep.'”
Gu Jingyang reluctantly accepted this explanation: “‘Alright then, next time, remember to listen to my Phoenix Feather messages promptly. They’re all important matters.'”
A’Ling’s mouth twitched. She really wanted to ask if turtle fights were also important, but thinking that if Gu Jingyang launched into an explanation, she wouldn’t know how much she’d have to listen to, she quickly stopped that thought and just nodded vigorously.
Such ‘important matters,’ Gu Jingyang hadn’t actually mentioned in her Phoenix Feather messages. She was just teasing A’Ling. Seeing her nod seriously, Gu Jingyang’s smile deepened, and in a great mood, she began to explain about the spiritual stones.
Last night, her father had already told her everything.
Gu Hongjue was worried about complications, so last night he took people to the Profound Dark Flow Mountain, as A’Ling had mentioned, and successfully found the Haocang Stone.
Gu Hongjue was very happy, and that morning, he gave Gu Jingyang this bag of spiritual stones, as compensation, asking her to hand it over to A’Ling along with the Universe pouch.
A’Ling listened, her eyes growing brighter. After confirming that this bag of spiritual stones belonged to her, she looked at the sparkling spiritual stones again, her eyes shining brilliantly.
This surprise was truly unexpected, mainly because it came so quickly.
This feeling of sudden wealth was a first in both her lives. A’Ling even felt a little dizzy and lightheaded. Perhaps she had just been dazzled by the spiritual stones. No wonder mortals were often blinded by money; who wouldn’t be captivated by this?
Anyway, A’Ling was captivated. Even looking at Gu Jingyang, she felt that if this chatty girl buried her with Phoenix Feather messages, she’d have to praise her for burying her well.
And Gu Jingyang’s father, she really hadn’t expected Gu Hongjue to be so generous. He would surely achieve great things in the future.
Although the value she created for Gu Hongjue was certainly far more than this, in the end, she had only provided a piece of information.
To know that the best Hongjian Academy only cost a thousand spiritual stones a year for tuition, her hundred thousand spiritual stones were enough for a hundred years of study!
Pah pah pah, A’Ling quickly discarded that thought in her mind. She certainly wouldn’t waste a hundred years here until her death.
Gu Jingyang told A’Ling the original incantation for this superior-grade Universe pouch, telling her to think of a new one and change it. That way, even if someone stole it, they wouldn’t be able to open it easily.
A’Ling decided to change it to: ‘Shi Qingqian, scram!’ once she got back.
Gu Jingyang had given the item and said what needed to be said, so she dispelled the barrier in the room and urged A’Ling to put it away quickly, as she had other matters and couldn’t delay.
A’Ling wanted to say, ‘If you have things to do, go ahead,’ as she still wanted to quietly revel for a while longer. But before she could speak, Gu Jingyang pulled her along.
Once outside, Gu Jingyang walked faster and faster.
A’Ling glanced at the sky. It was indeed almost time for class. She hadn’t expected Gu Jingyang to still be such a good student who couldn’t be late for class. So she had no choice but to quicken her pace as well.
Suddenly, Gu Jingyang, who was walking ahead, abruptly stopped. A’Ling, unprepared, almost bumped into her.
A’Ling saw they had just arrived at the spiritual energy arena.
Gu Jingyang excitedly pulled A’Ling a bit to the left, and smiling, pulled out a Cosmos Pearl: “‘We almost didn’t make it! Look, the Chaotic Stone Bell is already half-polished!'”
A’Ling followed her gaze towards the sky, then retracted her own. She was utterly speechless: “‘You rushed over just to see this?'”
Gu Jingyang nodded naturally: “‘Yes! It’s so beautiful! Look, the wind is strong today, tsk tsk tsk, truly immortal-like and ethereal.'”
A’Ling looked up. Shi Qingqian was clad in white, her hair appearing as if coated with light under the faint sunlight. The wind today seemed to favor her, making her hair fly, her sleeves flutter, and her ribbons dance, all in a carefree yet graceful manner.
Her face still held that detached, unworldly expression, making her seem even less like a mortal.
A’Ling glanced and then looked away. Her gaze turned towards the Chaotic Stone Bell, which shone with the light of heavy history. She thought it was better to look at the bell. That hanging ghost wears white every day, like she’s in mourning, bringing terrible luck. Just one more look is unbearable.
A’Ling retracted her gaze and looked at Gu Jingyang’s outfit: a light pink hundred-flower dress paired with an apricot-colored shawl. The fiercely blooming peach blossoms on the skirt made one feel as if they were basking in the spring light of March. Her mood lightened a bit; young girls should wear such vibrant, lively colors.
If you wear white in the Demon Realm, you’ll be beaten into a colorful pulp sooner or later. The reasons would be readily available: ‘Because you’re trying to act high and mighty.’
“‘You look better. Don’t learn from her. You can watch at your leisure. I’m leaving first.'”
A’Ling’s sudden compliment caught Gu Jingyang off guard, allowing A’Ling to slip away.
Gu Jingyang looked at A’Ling’s retreating back with a strange expression. Why did A’Ling’s tone of complimenting sound so much like her great-grandmother?
That phrase, ‘You look better. Don’t learn from her,’ sounded like an elder complimenting a junior. It carried the wisdom of someone who had seen through the world after enduring much.
Confused, she retracted her gaze and turned to look at the sky. She found that Shi Qingqian had stopped her movements, her gaze no longer on the Chaotic Stone Bell. Gu Jingyang followed her gaze: it was in the direction A’Ling had left.
Gu Jingyang immediately cast aside her previous confusion and quietly raised her Cosmos Pearl, aiming it at Shi Qingqian’s face.
This expression, she had never seen on Shi Qingqian’s face before.
If an emotion could be a color, she felt that Shi Qingqian’s face at this moment could open a dye shop.
A’Ling left the spiritual energy arena, her steps light, immersed in the joy of sudden wealth. Everything she saw seemed exceptionally bright.
The floor tiles under the corridor seemed to glow, the tree leaves in the courtyard seemed to glow too, and even the people she met on the path seemed to carry a layer of light.
That light was the same as the one sparkling on the spiritual stones she had seen in the Universe pouch.
Now, everything A’Ling saw reminded her of her hundred thousand spiritual stones.
This was a hundred thousand, not ten thousand, not one thousand! This time, she would buy, buy, buy, and buy to her heart’s content.
Her Wandering Amethyst Gold Whip, once she gathered all the materials, she could begin refining it. In this life, she and her Little Wandering Whip could meet early. How wonderful.
A’Ling planned as she walked, arriving at the entrance of the teaching hall. The teaching hall was particularly lively today, everyone seeming to discuss the afternoon competition between Gu Jingyang and Shi Qingqian.
“‘Shi Qingqian was injured last month, so will Gu Jingyang win this time?'”
“‘What are you saying? Shi Qingqian will definitely win. Her injury healed long ago. I just don’t know if she’ll choose me after she wins.'”
“‘Yeah, I really hope Shi Qingqian chooses me! We’d definitely win if we fought the Ferocious Beast together!'”
“‘If we win, we’ll get the Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill! That’s personally concocted by Apothecary Yang Xia, you can’t buy it with money! Taking it can accelerate Core Formation!'”
A’Ling’s steps paused. Hearing about the Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill, she finally remembered the purpose of this competition.
This monthly competition itself wasn’t much. It was just sparring between the Core Formation cultivators in Class C. The crucial part was the following event.
The winner could prioritize choosing teammates among the Class B new students, and form a ten-person team to fight the Ferocious Beast.
The winning team would receive the reward prepared by Elder Zeng—the Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill. Every member of the winning team would receive one.
This Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill, in the outer sect, was only concocted by Apothecary Yang Xia. It was the best spiritual medicine for assisting Core Formation, and also one that couldn’t be bought with money.
Unless you had a status like Elder Zeng’s, otherwise, you wouldn’t even get to see Apothecary Yang Xia.
A’Ling was strongly moved. She remembered that fighting the already captured Ferocious Beast was a practical method devised by Elder Zeng. Therefore, it required teamwork and had many rules. Simply put, everyone needed to participate. Whether they won or not didn’t depend on individuals, but on the team.
A’Ling’s heart bloomed with joy. In her previous life, she had fought Ferocious Beasts; she had experience! Good news was truly coming one after another today.
A’Ling decided to find Gu Jingyang again during lunch break to cheer her on. No matter what, she had to win against Shi Qingqian this time, then choose A’Ling as a teammate, and together they would win the Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill.
The people in the teaching hall were worried that Shi Qingqian wouldn’t choose them. It was said that there were over a hundred new students who had advanced to Class B this time, and Shi Qingqian and Gu Jingyang could only choose ten each.
The Qi-Gathering Primordial Pill also had the effect of enhancing cultivation for those already in Core Formation. To win, they would definitely choose new students with higher cultivation levels.
Those who were worried were presumably those with lower cultivation, feeling somewhat hopeless and looking dejected. Seeing A’Ling enter, they felt a sense of kinship.
A’Ling’s cultivation level was also primary. And she had a grudge with Shi Qingqian, so it was even more unlikely she would be chosen.
Some with higher cultivation levels comforted them: “‘Our class master used to teach Shi Qingqian, so she’ll definitely choose more new students from our class. Our class doesn’t have many new students this time, less than ten in total. Look, excluding this one and the one in the corner, there’s still a lot of hope.'”
A’Ling didn’t need to think twice to know that ‘this one’ they excluded was her. She also happened to walk to the corner and saw the other person they excluded.
Next to her seat in the corner, a new desk had appeared. And sitting behind the desk was an old acquaintance.
She hadn’t expected Zhao Diqing to have also reached Foundation Establishment. Though, it seemed she had indeed reached Foundation Establishment around this time in her previous life.