The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 30

That night, after the dark clouds dispersed, the bright moon hung in the sky. The moonlight was gentle like water, pure as silver, a soft, ethereal glow. The night wind brushed by, carrying wafts of flower fragrance, refreshing the heart. A’Ling looked at the pair of shadows on the bluestone slab path under the moonlight, suddenly stretching long, suddenly shrinking, like children at play. A’Ling’s state of mind was also like the night, light and free. She had originally prepared a stack of excuses to politely decline Gu Jingyang’s offer of shelter, but unexpectedly didn’t use a single one.
She glanced sideways at Gu Jingyang beside her, holding a lantern and humming a tune, as if out for a night stroll. She truly hadn’t expected that as soon as she arrived at the Gu family, this person would actually take her out to look at houses, appearing even more eager than she was. Along the way, A’Ling briefly explained that she had severed ties with the Huo family. She had expected Gu Jingyang, with her love for gossip, to definitely dig for details, but A’Ling wasn’t very keen on discussing her past state of mind and certain obsessions. Now that the ties were severed, she just wanted to freeze that memory and rarely revisit it.
However, she had once again misjudged Gu Jingyang. After listening, Gu Jingyang didn’t ask many questions. Instead, she earnestly began introducing the properties the Gu family had for sale. A’Ling picked one that sounded like she could afford it, and now the two of them were heading to the house.
Gu Jingyang seemed to be in a great mood. She didn’t tell her any more unreliable stories; instead, she hummed a tune all the way. But A’Ling couldn’t make out what she was humming. It sounded vaguely familiar but completely off-key. Thankfully, the melody was cheerful, making A’Ling feel even more relaxed. She hadn’t expected to actually give Huo Zhen a beating today, and then decisively sever ties with the Huo family. Everything seemed to be moving in an unknown but very good direction.
“You’ve gone the wrong way, where are you going?” Gu Jingyang had already stopped in front of a house. Seeing A’Ling still walking forward, lost in thought, she quickly spoke to remind her. A’Ling turned back and saw Gu Jingyang had stopped at some point. She awkwardly ran back a few steps: “Are we here already?” She looked up at the residence in front of her; from the outside, it looked quite simple and elegant.
A’Ling helped Gu Jingyang hold the lantern. Gu Jingyang took out a key and opened the door in the most traditional way. After entering the house and closing the door, she cast a spell, causing all the lights in the courtyard to illuminate simultaneously. The sudden light made A’Ling squint her eyes. After adapting to the light and seeing the situation in the courtyard, A’Ling instantly loved it.
The courtyard wasn’t large but had everything one could need, very similar in layout to the Huo family’s small residence. The main house faced north and south, with two wing rooms on the east and west sides. The south side, where they had just entered, was the main gate. On either side of the main gate were two more reversed houses, all connected by a vermillion carved winding corridor that linked the entire courtyard. From the main gate to the main house, a cruciform pebble path was laid. In the flowerbed in front of the main house, a tall Purple Orchid Tree was planted, vibrant with bell-shaped, apricot-yellow flowers with dark purple interiors. The quiet courtyard suddenly became lively.
“How is it? Are you satisfied with this house?” Gu Jingyang could tell from the smile on A’Ling’s face that she was definitely satisfied, but as a matter of procedure, she still had to ask. A’Ling nodded honestly. She was indeed very satisfied, even pleasantly surprised, not expecting to find a house she liked so quickly.
“How much is this house?” Although A’Ling felt that since Gu Jingyang brought her to see it, the price wouldn’t be something she couldn’t afford, she had just given Huo family 50,000 spirit stones, so her budget was indeed limited. Gu Jingyang didn’t waste words, directly taking out a thick ledger and quickly flipping through it: “Let me find it, which one was it again?” Although A’Ling knew the Gu family was large and wealthy, these properties, Gu Jingyang said, were all given to her by Gu Hongjue as private assets. A’Ling’s mouth twitched. Was her private property a bit too exaggerated?
“Found it. Let me see, twenty-eight thousand.” Gu Jingyang said, handing the ledger to A’Ling, pointing to a row of numbers, as if to prove she wasn’t misrepresenting the price, clearly written in black and white. A’Ling naturally believed her. Gu Jingyang wasn’t greedy for money; she was just a kind-hearted, off-key chatterbox. This location was on the eastern edge of the city, a bit remote, but the layout was spacious, and the house was new. This price was already very reasonable and fair. A’Ling smiled and pushed the ledger back, about to say she would take this one, when Gu Jingyang spoke with a smile: “Seeing that you sincerely want it, how about I round down the price for you?”
A’Ling this time truly burst out laughing, revealing all her teeth. Gu Jingyang saying this really made her sound like a real estate agent, except not sharp enough. Who would lower the price themselves before the buyer even haggled? Knowing it was out of kindness, A’Ling was about to thank her when she heard Gu Jingyang say, as if after some thought: “How about this, after rounding down, I’ll just charge you twenty thousand spirit stones.”
A’Ling’s mouth twitched, the amusement in her eyes very clear: “Is that how you ’round down’?” Gu Jingyang looked serious, glancing at A’Ling with a look of disdain: “That’s just how noble families do things.” Meaning, you poor commoner wouldn’t understand. A’Ling this time truly laughed so hard her gums showed: “Okay, then I thank you, noble family.” She knew this was Gu Jingyang’s kindness, and she wouldn’t take advantage of the Gu family for free. She happened to have a few pieces of information, which she would package and send to Gu Hongjue later.
After deciding to buy the house, A’Ling looked around, entering each room to see what she needed to buy. After a tour, A’Ling looked at Gu Jingyang with a complicated expression. “You noble families sell houses with furniture?” Not only was there furniture, but other things too, such as a desk with all the stationery needed for reading and writing. And then there was the high-quality pear blossom wood step-bed, not to mention brand new pillows and quilts. And the kitchen, not only was it fully equipped with utensils, but it even had food items. Everything was so complete that she could comfortably settle in tonight.
“Yes, that’s how noble families are, buy one, get one free. Hurry, sign these documents.” Gu Jingyang said righteously, while pulling out all the documents and deeds. A’Ling didn’t know if Gu Jingyang had specially arranged this for her, or if it was just a coincidence that it was already set up for sale. Regardless, it deeply touched her heart. She followed Gu Jingyang’s instructions, signed, and stamped her handprint, gave the twenty thousand spirit stones, and after the deed was transferred, Gu Jingyang breathed a sigh of relief. Without delay, she immediately said goodbye and went home.
As soon as Gu Jingyang arrived home, she indeed saw Gu Hongjue sprawled on the arhat bed, waiting for her. She quickly put down all her things and went to massage Gu Hongjue’s arm. Gu Hongjue was so tired his eyelids were too lazy to open. He had heard the commotion just now and knew it was his daughter, who specialized in causing trouble for her father.
“The house is given away?”
Gu Jingyang’s hand, massaging Gu Hongjue’s shoulder, paused, then gave a forceful pat: “Correction, it was sold, sold!” Saying this, she showed Gu Hongjue the twenty thousand spirit stones A’Ling had given her. Gu Hongjue only needed one glance, and his temple couldn’t help but twitch. He suddenly sat up from the arhat bed. “The two of us, late at night, cleaning and decorating, going back and forth emptying out the neighboring Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. The Spiritual energy your father consumed tonight is worth more than just these spirit stones, isn’t it?” Gu Hongjue had never expected that one day, he, a powerful cultivator from an outer sect cultivation family, would be flying back and forth on his sword with a Universe pouch full of furniture just to clean up someone else’s house. Time was tight, and he couldn’t call his servants. Among the entire Gu family, only he had the ability to set up a house in the span of a tea ceremony.
Gu Jingyang found today’s events very amusing. She decided she would tell her mother all about it later. As for her father, she knew he was just grumbling. She could coax him back to good spirits by making him his favorite Emerald Walnut Soup tomorrow morning. She patted Gu Hongjue’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Father, as a noble family, don’t worry about these little things. Mind your status.”

Inside the secret chamber of the Tranquil Shade Apothecary, Apothecary Yang Xia vigorously wiped the sweat from her forehead. A moment ago, beads of sweat had seeped into her eyes along her brow, but she hadn’t bothered to wipe them. Looking at Shi Qingqian, almost transparent on the Ice Jade Bed, Apothecary Yang Xia cursed fiercely: “Do you think I’m running a charity for noble families? It hasn’t been that long, and it’s happening again. I don’t have enough treasures to keep up with this rate of waste.” Apothecary Yang Xia said, indignantly throwing more than a dozen [Luo River Nymph Shattering Nails] she had taken from Shi Qingqian’s body into a transparent glass jar. The same kind of nails already filled half the jar. She had only obtained this one jar in total. At Shi Qingqian’s rate of depletion, it would probably be empty very soon. By then, even with all her medical skills, she wouldn’t be able to suppress the peculiar demonic energy in Shi Qingqian’s body.
She didn’t know what caused it this time, but Apothecary Yang Xia frowned deeply, looking at the dying Shi Qingqian on the Ice Jade Bed. This time, it was even more serious than the last! An hour ago, she had been refining pills peacefully when she suddenly felt a ripple in the barrier. Someone wanted to enter, and late at night, it usually meant trouble. Yang Xia originally didn’t want to let anyone in, but she felt a familiar aura. With a slight discernment, she recognized Shi Qingqian’s unique aura. At that moment, she knew something was wrong. It was easy for Qingqian to enter her barrier, so why would she need her to open it? Sure enough, as soon as she opened the barrier, someone fell from the sky. Qingqian had appeared out of thin air, such an unexpected entrance that she was momentarily stunned and didn’t have time to catch her. Qingqian then crushed all the pills she had just refined.
Apothecary Yang Xia’s heart ached. Just as she was about to scold her, she realized Shi Qingqian’s condition was very wrong. Although she seemed to have no external injuries, her whole body pulsed with a faint glow, like a lake flowing under the moonlight. Soon after, the light faded, and Qingqian herself became almost transparent, as if all her blood had been drained. Apothecary Yang Xia thought, This is bad, and quickly moved her into the secret chamber. After some treatment, she finally suppressed the rampant demonic energy in Shi Qingqian’s body. But this time was very different from the last. Besides Qingqian’s own demonic energy, Apothecary Yang Xia also discovered another type of demonic energy that did not belong to Qingqian.
Demons and demons are also different. At first glance, all demonic energy is black, but each demon’s demonic energy has its own distinct aura, just as flowers in the world have various different scents. It’s just that ordinary people can’t smell them; only fellow demons can perceive them. She didn’t know what had happened to Qingqian. Generally speaking, if a demon’s body contained another demon’s demonic energy, other than dual cultivation between demons, this situation would only occur if one demon tried to snatch another demon’s demonic power.
Qingqian dual cultivating with someone? Apothecary Yang Xia only had that thought for a moment before dismissing it. With her cold personality, who would she fancy? So, was it snatching another demon’s demonic power? This thought arose, but Apothecary Yang Xia dismissed it even faster. Qingqian’s demonic energy was the most unique and pure. If she were to snatch another’s demonic energy, it would be like a human fighting a pig for its slop. Apothecary Yang Xia imagined Qingqian fighting for pig slop and thought that dual cultivation might still be more reasonable.
So, who was the other party? When Apothecary Yang Xia had just sealed Shi Qingqian’s demonic energy, she also discovered that another type of demonic energy within Qingqian’s body was extremely unusual. She saw that Qingqian’s demonic energy could not control that peculiar demonic energy, nor could she extract it. It was still sealed within Qingqian’s body. Qingqian couldn’t control it, and she couldn’t suppress it. Yang Xia could only think of one person, and that person was already dead. Now, looking at the entire demon realm, who else could possess such powerful demonic energy? Could it be that in the past few hundred years they had been away from the demon realm, some incredible figure had emerged, and Qingqian had coincidentally encountered them?
Apothecary Yang Xia took out a small box from her personal Universe pouch and dissolved her long-treasured Seven Star Gathering Qi Pill in water, feeding it to Qingqian. This supreme-grade spirit pill for gathering qi was one that lessened with each consumption. Yang Xia had planned to save it for Qingqian when she entered the inner sect, to be taken at a critical moment. She hadn’t expected Qingqian to get herself into such a state while still in the outer sect. Her questions accumulated more and more. She had to stay by Qingqian’s side and ask her everything as soon as she woke up. If there truly was another formidable Great Demon in this world, they needed to be prepared.
Apothecary Yang Xia pulled a chair over and sat by Shi Qingqian’s side. Only then did she notice that Shi Qingqian seemed to be clutching a white object in her hand. She pried open Qingqian’s hand and took the item out. It was a small crumpled piece of paper, tightly clenched by Qingqian. Apothecary Yang Xia carefully smoothed out the paper. The only light in the secret chamber came from the luminous pearls embedded around the Ice Jade Bed, so the room wasn’t too bright, and the words on the paper weren’t large, making it a bit difficult to read. Apothecary Yang Xia squinted and quickly scanned it. This neat handwriting was clearly text converted by a Sound-Converting Bird. Looking at the line-by-line format, it seemed to be a conversation between two people.
Apothecary Yang Xia’s spirits instantly lifted. She felt that her previous speculation, though bizarre, might actually be true. Using a Sound-Converting Bird to record a conversation, besides young lovers wanting to record sweet nothings to re-read later, no one else would be so idle. Apothecary Yang Xia guiltily glanced at Shi Qingqian on the bed, finding that she was still unconscious, and breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t intentionally peeking; it was just that Qingqian was holding it in her hand, and she was worried about Qingqian’s safety, so she thought of checking.
Apothecary Yang Xia held the message paper in one hand, while her other palm ignited a cluster of golden spellfire, using its light to illuminate the words on the paper.
[Last time you mentioned Qingqian not speaking when she was little, I asked my father for the specific details, and what the Huo family did was truly inhumane.]
[Tell me in detail.]
[Originally, the Huo family invited a fate diviner who determined that Qingqian’s destiny clashed with her parents and would affect the Huo family’s fortune. So, the Huo couple locked Qingqian in the embroidered building. When Qingqian was little, she never saw anyone else except the maid who looked after her, and that maid only made sure she wasn’t hungry, ignoring everything else. That’s why Qingqian couldn’t speak even at age five.]
[Continue.]
[Later, when Qingqian was five, she jumped down from the embroidered building, and I saw her. My father said a few words, and because Xing Jianchi needed a hex cleared, they found that Qingqian’s eight characters matched. The Xing family and the Huo family verbally agreed to a marriage, and only then did the Huo couple release Qingqian and instruct people to look after and educate her.]
[That’s too much.]
[Fortunately, when Qingqian was ten, she was tested with a cultivation physique and was taken in by Elder Zeng into Hongjian Academy. That’s when the marriage fell through. Now that I think about it, Qingqian’s destiny at that time was actually yours, A’Ling. If it weren’t for Qingqian, it would have been you, A’Ling, who was confined to the embroidered building, never seeing the light of day, and possibly even forced to marry that profligate from the Xing family.]
[You’re right.]
Apothecary Yang Xia read it over several times, and then carefully checked the back of the letter for any other content. It didn’t seem to be a conversation between Qingqian and someone else. From the content, it was clearly two other people discussing Qingqian, talking about her childhood experiences. How did this letter end up in Qingqian’s hands? Did Qingqian’s demonic energy leak this time because of this paper? That shouldn’t be the case. Qingqian didn’t forget her childhood experiences; on the contrary, with her special physique, she could remember everything she wanted to remember. Could it be related to the two people speaking in this letter?
Apothecary Yang Xia carefully distinguished. The one telling the story should be someone who knew some inside information. The one responding should be the Huo family’s true young miss, Huo A’Ling. She wasn’t familiar with Huo A’Ling, but just looking at her replies, her words were very brief and perfunctory. She had heard before that A’Ling and Qingqian were very much at odds. But since she knew about Qingqian’s past, would her attitude be too cold? Of course, she also knew that these things weren’t caused by Huo A’Ling. This child was also pitiful. Alas, it was all that idiot Jin Siliu’s foolish doing. Just looking at these few lines, her heart ached terribly. Such a small child, locked up in a high embroidered building, with no one to talk to. Qingqian’s current cold personality was the Huo family’s doing. Forget an innocent child; even a powerful demon like herself, if confined day after day with no one to talk to, would go mad. Qingqian not going mad and growing into her current self must have been due to her mother’s protection.
Apothecary Yang Xia crumpled the message paper and put it back into Shi Qingqian’s hand. Looking at Qingqian’s face, paler than the jade bed, and thinking of the content of the letter, her heart throbbed with dull pain. That damned Huo Zhen, if he fell into her hands, she would definitely make him pay. First, give him a [Diarrhea Powder] to make him relieve himself for ten days to half a month, then a [Five Poisons Clearing Heat Paste] to make his mouth ache with sores for a year or so, and finally a [Cannot Scratch], to make his skin ulcerate and fall off in chunks if he scratched it.

At the Huo family mansion, the lights were bright tonight. Medical cultivators came wave after wave, all stating their inability to reattach Huo Zhen’s severed hand. To reattach the arm, only Apothecary Yang Xia of Tranquil Shade Apothecary likely had the ability. Lin Nianli immediately prepared a carriage to head to the back mountain of Hongjian Academy. However, the head of the medical hall in Longyin Town stopped her.
“Madam, please wait. Apothecary Yang Xia does not accept patients at night.”
Lin Nianli had lived in Longyin Town for many years; how could she not know Apothecary Yang Xia’s rule? But now, she couldn’t care less: “I’ll go personally to beg her. The Huo family will pay double, ten times, a hundred times the consultation fee, if necessary. I don’t believe she won’t give the Huo family this respect.” The medical hall head shook his head: “I advise Madam to think carefully. Old Master Huo’s injuries are now stable. With the aid of Spiritual energy, it won’t matter if you seek Apothecary Yang Xia tomorrow morning. If you rashly go to her at night and offend her, wouldn’t that be a greater loss?”
Lin Nianli’s steps halted, her thoughts hesitant.
“I’ll go! I don’t believe it! If I give her double the money, what kind of apothecary wouldn’t agree? If worst comes to worst, I’ll just tie her up and bring her here.” Huo Changsheng’s face was filled with anger. He couldn’t stand his mother’s indecisiveness. His father was in such a state, and she was still worrying about this and that. It was just an apothecary. He didn’t believe that with the Huo family’s money, they couldn’t hire her.
Seeing her son about to rush out, Lin Nianli calmed down: “Changsheng, don’t mess around. That Apothecary Yang Xia is no ordinary medical cultivator. Your father is fine now. You should go back to your room and rest. It’s getting late.” Lin Nianli half-coaxed him back to his room. Her son was just an ordinary mortal. Apothecary Yang Xia had been in Longyin Town for over a hundred years; her cultivation level was unknown. Changsheng would only suffer if he confronted her.
After sending away the useless medical cultivators, Lin Nianli returned to the room. Huo Zhen’s wounds had been bandaged and the bleeding stopped. Although the medical cultivators who came couldn’t reattach his severed hand, they did have some skill, and Huo Zhen’s complexion now looked much better. Lin Nianli looked at Huo Zhen, who had suffered so much, and her eyes reddened with heartache again: “What exactly happened? How could that wild girl A’Ling injure you so badly?”
Huo Zhen heard her mention A’Ling and recalled the spiritual artifact in her hand. The pain of the whip entering his body still made his scalp tingle whenever he thought of it. “That Wandering Amethyst Gold Whip that struck down your Azure Dragon Butterfly Tail, it’s a Grandmaster-grade spiritual artifact. And for some reason, it just happened to counter my Crimson Lotus Hellfire.”
Lin Nianli was greatly surprised: “Grandmaster-grade? And it counters Crimson Lotus Hellfire? How could that wretched girl have such a divine artifact?” Huo Zhen sneered: “It must have been given by that treacherous Gu family.”
Lin Nianli looked disbelieving. Such a fine spiritual artifact, why would Gu Hongjue not give it to his own daughter but instead give it to an unrelated young girl? “What good would that do him?”
“My dear, you don’t know. That treacherous Gu family used this spiritual artifact to curry favor with that debt collector!” Huo Zhen brought this up, and the anger in his heart couldn’t be suppressed: “Originally, I thought the Gu family couldn’t withstand this price increase and were deliberately holding out, refusing to buy goods from my Huo family. I waited for the Gu family to come begging me. It’s been a month, and I sent people to inquire, only to find out that the Gu family’s Three Purity True Fire Furnace is still selling well, completely unaffected.”
“The Gu family actually found Haocang Stone from another place. I investigated thoroughly and discovered that all the Gu family’s anomalies only occurred after that debt collector went to the Gu family.”
Lin Nianli was shocked: “I didn’t expect the Gu family to have such a scheme, killing two birds with one stone. They obtained the Haocang Stone mine and also let A’Ling injure you with a spiritual artifact. How vicious their intentions!” Huo Zhen’s face was twisted in rage. He had always said that Gu family’s smiling tiger was the truly ruthless one. He originally thought he could control him with Haocang Stone, but now he had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot. Who would the Huo family sell their Haocang Stone to now?
“Husband, in the future, stay away from that debt collector and that Shi Qingqian. Those two ingrates, neither of them is any good!”
Huo Zhen only agreed with the first half: “This time, we owe a lot to Qingqian.” If she hadn’t arrived in time, he feared he would have died by that debt collector’s hand. Lin Nianli recalled the intimate actions of the two she saw when she arrived at the adjacent courtyard. Her heart was uneasy, and she insisted that Huo Zhen be careful. “Shi Qingqian changed her surname when she learned the truth, which shows she’s not a grateful person. We still need to be wary of her.” Furthermore, when Shi Qingqian was little, they worried she would bring misfortune upon them and locked her in the embroidered building. Heaven knows if she still remembered and harbored resentment.
“This is all for Changsheng, that child. If he had aptitude or was willing to work hard, we wouldn’t have to go to such lengths.” Huo Zhen still hoped that once Shi Qingqian achieved cultivation, she would help Changsheng. He didn’t ask for anything else, just that Shi Qingqian could help extend Changsheng’s lifespan by a hundred years. Lin Nianli felt that both of these ingrates were probably unreliable. “For Changsheng’s matter, we’ll think of other ways. Husband, please don’t trouble yourself anymore. Rest well. I’ll infuse some more Spiritual energy into you. Then, first thing tomorrow morning, we’ll go find Apothecary Yang Xia and make sure she reattaches your hand.”
Huo Zhen nodded. He truly couldn’t hold on any longer. Before closing his eyes, he glanced at his severed hand, around which Lin Nianli had set a spiritual barrier with her Spiritual energy. All his hope now rested on Apothecary Yang Xia. He hoped she wouldn’t disappoint him; the Huo family still relied on him to support it, and he couldn’t afford to lose a hand.