The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 34

Splendor Gold Street, usually quiet in the eastern part of the city, was especially lively today.
From one end of the street to the other, every two meters, an old woman dressed in Gu Manor servant attire was sweeping the green brick and stone slabs. Passersby understood the situation at a glance: the master of Gu Manor had returned. Gu Jiangxue, the demon hunter who had been away for years subduing demons and devils, had been gone longer than usual this time. Many who had received her kindness were deeply worried for her, so upon hearing the news of her safe return, everyone was delighted.
Soon, the clean Splendor Gold Street was filled with common folk eager to see Gu Jiangxue.
The Gu Manor’s usually tightly shut black lacquered eight-panel main gate was now wide open. On the eight-tiered ruyi marble steps, Gu Hongjue stretched his neck to look at the street entrance, just like the common folk beside him. In the past, he had always ordered Splendor Gold Street to be cleaned whenever Gu Jiangxue returned home, so now, when the common folk saw the Gu family’s actions, they knew what it meant. Looking at the larger crowd this time compared to before, Gu Hongjue felt genuine pride for his wife. How fortunate he was to have met such an ambitious, passionate, and courageous woman. For years, she had traveled far and wide, upholding justice on behalf of the heavens, subduing countless demonic beasts and devils. She was a true heroic figure.
Although her ambition meant she spent little time with him and Jingyang over the years, both he and Jingyang were proud to have such a wife/mother. However, it had been nearly a year since they last parted, and his and Jingyang’s longing had indeed grown day by day, intensifying with each passing day. He had received a letter an hour ago stating his wife would arrive this morning. It was still dark then, but he quickly got up to make arrangements, hoping his wife would feel completely at ease upon her arrival. Having been married for decades, he knew his wife’s temperament very well. Until he actually saw her, anything could change regarding the promised arrival time. He waited alone at the gate, not telling Jingyang about Jiangxue’s early return.
Before long, a very unremarkable and simple carriage turned onto the bustling Splendor Gold Street. A moment later, amidst many eagerly craning necks, the carriage stopped at the main entrance of the Gu family manor.
Gu Jiangxue, wearing a gray headscarf, a diagonally fastened cloak, and two golden and silver gourds—one large, one small—hanging from her waist, in the most common demon hunter attire, stepped out of the carriage. Gu Hongjue excitedly sent someone to call Gu Jingyang, while also eagerly stepping forward to help Gu Jiangxue down, holding her hand.
“Jiangxue, you’re finally back.”
Gu Hongjue looked at his wife’s heroic face, which had remained unchanged for decades. Seeing that the weariness in her eyes was deeper than before, he knew this mission must have been extremely perilous. “It’s good you’re back, truly good. Come, go home and rest properly. I’ve already ordered the kitchen to prepare many of your favorite dishes.”
Gu Jiangxue looked at her husband, whom she hadn’t seen in a year. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, but his concern as deep as ever, her heart warmed slightly, and the tension that had gripped her nerves throughout her journey suddenly eased. She first thanked the common folk who had come to welcome her home, then assured them of her safety and urged them to return home quickly, before finally reaching out to hold her long-unseen husband’s hand.
“You’ve worked hard,” Gu Jiangxue said with a grateful smile, linking her arm through Gu Hongjue’s. She had left the entire Gu family’s extensive affairs in Gu Hongjue’s hands, and she knew the hardships involved. But she had her dreams, and she didn’t want to give them up.
The two walked hand-in-hand inside, amidst the cheers of the common folk.
In the Gu Manor’s back garden, Gu Jingyang had been researching magical techniques all night in her room, currently practicing her self-created ‘Snow Blossom’ technique, when a young maid rushed in to report that her mother had returned.
“Mother’s back?”
Gu Jingyang was overjoyed. Just days before, her mother’s letter had mentioned delays on the journey, and that her original return date would be postponed. Happily, she put down what she was holding and, without waiting to comb her hair or change clothes, dashed towards Cuiyu Hall in her inner garments.
Cuiyu Hall was the main courtyard in the Gu family’s inner residence, with a roof covered in azure glazed tiles, the color of the sky. Several women in blue-gray martial robes stood silently under the curved corridors on either side. Gu Jingyang greeted them one by one with a smile. These were all her mother’s disciples, and she noticed a few new faces. Since the disciples were all back, it seemed her mother had truly returned.
Gu Jingyang ran in, smiling, and saw her mother smiling back at her from the arhat bed in the main hall. “Mother, welcome home! Did you bring Jingyang any new and interesting trinkets this time?”
Just like before, Gu Jingyang didn’t express how much she missed her, but instead acted like a child asking her mother for a gift. How could Gu Jiangxue not know her daughter was acting this way to make her feel less guilty? She was always so considerate of those around her.
“Of course there’s something for you. Here, your gift.”
Gu Jiangxue smiled and handed Gu Jingyang a brocade pouch with auspicious cloud patterns. Gu Jingyang, like a child who had received a gift, opened the brocade pouch right in front of Gu Jiangxue and peered inside.
“I’m going to get jealous! Jingyang always gets a gift, but I never do. This time, not only Jingyang has one, but even her little friend does. And I still have nothing.”
Gu Hongjue just then walked in from the inner bathroom. He had been worried and personally checked if the hot water temperature was suitable. When he came out, he saw his wife giving their daughter a gift. He already knew what the gift was and deliberately spoke in a teasing, jealous tone. Hearing Gu Hongjue say that, Gu Jingyang became even more curious about what her mother had brought her, and what her father meant by her friend also receiving something. She opened the brocade pouch and took out its contents: a seven-inch long handle connected to a palm-sized round surface. The material seemed to be some kind of stone, hard and cold, and a rouge-colored round bead was embedded in the handle.
It looked like two mirrors made of gray-veined stone. But although it looked like a mirror, it couldn’t reflect anyone’s face clearly. “What is this?” Gu Jingyang asked, looking at her mother in confusion.
Gu Jiangxue smiled, took one of the stone mirrors, and rotated the rouge-colored bead on its handle. At the same time, the bead on the stone mirror in Gu Jingyang’s hand began to flash with crimson light, on and off. Gu Jingyang, puzzled, pointed with her finger for her mother to see, as if asking what was happening. Gu Jiangxue’s slender fingers reached across the space between them and directly touched the flashing light, also rotating the bead on it. With just that, the items in both their hands simultaneously emitted a silvery mist. When Gu Jingyang looked again, the stone objects in their hands had transformed, appearing like actual ‘mirrors’.
But they were also different. Gu Jingyang found that her mother’s smiling face appeared in the mirror in her hand. “From now on, you can use these stone mirrors to transmit images and chat with your little friend at night. It’s much more convenient than your Phoenix Feather.”
Not only did her mother’s voice sound beside her, but it also came clearly from within the ‘mirror’. Gu Jingyang’s eyes lit up; it was such a wondrous item! From now on, she could not only hear A’Ling’s voice but also see A’Ling’s appearance. This was truly a divine artifact. Gu Jingyang caressed the rouge-colored bead on it, immediately wanting to send the item to A’Ling.
Although Gu Jiangxue was often away, she would correspond with Gu Jingyang whenever she had time, so how could she not understand Gu Jingyang’s thoughts? “Go on, invite your little friend to dine here. It’ll be good for me to meet her too,” Gu Jiangxue said with a loving smile, handing the item in her hand to Gu Jingyang. For so many years, Jingyang had never lacked friends, including Shi Qingqian, who could be considered Jingyang’s rival. Jingyang got along well with them all, but in all these years, only A’Ling from the Huo family had prompted Jingyang to specifically write a letter saying she had met a special person. She was also curious: what kind of girl could have earned Jingyang’s favor?
Hearing her mother say this, Gu Jingyang was even happier. She had already planned to invite A’Ling to their home after her mother returned, and A’Ling had agreed before. Seeing that her mother was travel-worn and needed to freshen up, and also realizing she herself was disheveled and not wearing an outer garment, she quickly excused herself. She wanted to immediately send a message to A’Ling with her Phoenix Feather, but just realized she wasn’t wearing her outer garment, and her Phoenix Feather was by her bedside, not with her.

On Kaiyao Mountain, A’Ling’s entire body tensed up. It was only when the person in front of her turned around and she saw the situation clearly that her taut muscles relaxed slightly. The damp, tingling sensation on her leg just now startled her so much that she thought Shi Qingqian had gone mad and was licking her. She couldn’t be blamed; the sensation indeed felt a bit similar. Moreover, Shi Qingqian had a past record of inexplicably sucking on her fingers. Who knew if she was practicing some perverse cultivation technique? Seeing Shi Qingqian holding a green gel-like ointment in one hand and a bone-regeneration brush in the other, A’Ling knew she had misunderstood.
But upon seeing the green ointment, A’Ling felt another kind of panic. “What are you doing? What are you going to do to my leg, you treacherous scoundrel? Don’t tell me you’re trying to drug me while my leg is injured?!” The more A’Ling spoke, the more she felt this was the most likely possibility, and she tried with all her might to pull her legs back from Shi Qingqian’s lap.
Shi Qingqian held her legs still and handed the ointment in her hand to A’Ling: “This is Nine Revolutions Bone Regeneration Paste.” The implication was for her to check it herself. Seeing A’Ling take it, Shi Qingqian continued to channel spiritual energy into A’Ling’s leg bones. Shi Qingqian lowered her head, looking at the exposed bones of the leg before her. The gloom in her eyes was darker than the sky before a torrential storm. This was her ‘nightmare’. Except for her childhood, she rarely dreamt. But after A’Ling was injured by Huo Zhen that time, she had dreamt countless times of that stubborn face, as if it was about to cry, yet no tears were in its eyes. Her legs were broken, yet she crawled alone through the blood. That helpless pair of legs and the trail of blood dragged behind—that image reappeared in Shi Qingqian’s mind once more. Her heart was seized violently, her breathing low and rapid. Several times, while witnessing such a scene, her eyes felt dry and sore. She hadn’t cried in a long time, but just now, upon seeing these legs, devoid of flesh and broken-boned, her eyes felt a little dry and misty again. Her previous mistake was already irredeemable. This time, she would see who dared to harm A’Ling like this.
A’Ling carefully examined the ointment Shi Qingqian had given her and found it to be high-grade Nine Revolutions Bone Regeneration Paste, which had miraculous effects on bone injuries. She also checked that no poison had been added, which slightly eased her mind. But she couldn’t completely relax. She had just personally witnessed Shi Qingqian tearing the Nine Revolutions Lotus Platform Net with her bare hands. With such formidable strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to administer an undetectable poison. Furthermore, although A’Ling was a medical cultivator in her previous life, her strength was truly lacking, and her ability to detect poison was merely average. She wasn’t entirely confident in her own examination results.
“Let go of my leg, I don’t need your help.” A’Ling saw Shi Qingqian channeling spiritual energy into her injured leg and felt both shocked and uncomfortable. In that moment, Shi Qingqian’s sudden appearance to save her, which she couldn’t refuse, had already made her feel stifled. Now, seeing Shi Qingqian preparing to treat her injuries, she felt truly annoyed.
“Don’t move.” After channeling spiritual energy, Shi Qingqian produced something else, looking like gauze but much thicker, like tofu yet resilient. As Shi Qingqian moved, it slowly wrapped around A’Ling’s leg, feeling cool and refreshing. A’Ling had at least been a medical cultivator in her previous life, so why was she suddenly so ignorant that she couldn’t recognize the things Shi Qingqian produced? But no matter what, she didn’t want Shi Qingqian to treat her wounds.
However, no matter how A’Ling struggled, refused, or even cursed loudly, Shi Qingqian acted as if she hadn’t heard, forcefully and decisively holding A’Ling still and completing the task at hand. Once she finished, A’Ling saw that her leg seemed to be covered in a thick protective layer, hiding the gruesome wound. She tried to move her leg; although it was still broken and immobile, it no longer hurt at all. A’Ling was suddenly speechless. If she hadn’t known about Shi Qingqian’s past experiences, she would have calmly accepted all this, considering it what Shi Qingqian owed her. But after learning of those events, A’Ling suddenly felt a little guilty. But thinking about it, it wasn’t her who asked Shi Qingqian to save her, nor was it her who asked Shi Qingqian to treat her. The awkwardness in A’Ling’s heart made her unable to say thank you.
“How did you get here? Where’s Gu Jingyang?” A’Ling suddenly remembered: she had clearly sent a message with her Phoenix Feather to Gu Jingyang, so why was Shi Qingqian here instead?
After Shi Qingqian finished treating A’Ling’s injury, her heart, which had been surging like a tide, finally calmed somewhat. But upon hearing A’Ling’s question, her thoughts stirred a little. She frowned, looking at A’Ling, and remained silent. A’Ling raised an eyebrow. What did she mean? What was Shi Qingqian looking at her like that for? “Did she send you?” A’Ling guessed that Gu Jingyang must have been held up by something, so she entrusted Shi Qingqian. Shi Qingqian’s brow furrowed even tighter. A’Ling’s confusion deepened. Neither of them spoke again, an unspoken understanding between them.
As the two were in a standoff, no one noticed a slight ripple in a barrier behind a large rock not far from them. The man within the barrier desperately held back the woman. Although he knew the people outside couldn’t hear their voices, he still guiltily lowered his tone. “Don’t move! What are you doing? If you go out now, won’t you expose your identities?!” Although the two had disguised themselves, cultivators with higher cultivation levels would likely see through them at a glance. Just now, he had seen Shi Qingqian lead someone through the Nine Revolutions Lotus Platform Net and out of the Armored Beast’s pit. Her cultivation was terrifyingly high. Shi Qingqian must have deliberately hidden some of her strength at the academy. He had thought she was just a slightly more outstanding Core Formation student. He never imagined she was already so powerful. He pursed his lips, looking at the agitated woman beside him. No wonder she was also involved in this matter. So, there was this connection. He had thought she was just like him, simply unable to stand A’Ling’s arrogant demeanor.
The woman stared intently at the two not far outside, watching as Shi Qingqian finished treating A’Ling’s injuries before finally letting go of her leg. She saw Shi Qingqian stand up, then squat in front of A’Ling, looking as if she was about to pick her up! The woman’s hands clenched tightly. She wished she could rush out and flay A’Ling, who was on the ground.

At the Gu family manor, the first thing Gu Jingyang did upon returning to her room was to grab the Phoenix Feather by her bedside, only to find it flashing. She hadn’t expected such telepathic connection with A’Ling; just as she thought of finding A’Ling, A’Ling had already sent a message. Gu Jingyang smiled, put down what was in her hand, and while putting on her outer garment, tapped her Phoenix Feather to receive the message. A’Ling’s anxious and panicked voice instantly rang out in the room.
[Gu Jingyang, help! I’m on Kaiyao Mountain, quickly come and save me!]
Gu Jingyang had just put one arm into her sleeve when she heard the message. The smile on her face instantly froze and vanished. In just a second, Gu Jingyang quickly put on her clothes and drew her Moonfall Sword. Without even having time to say a word to her mother, Gu Jingyang, her face taut, flew on her sword, bursting through her room door and heading straight for Kaiyao Mountain.
On Kaiyao Mountain, A’Ling saw Shi Qingqian extend her hands and immediately crossed her arms tightly, pressing down the goosebumps that were eagerly popping up on them. The anger in her heart could no longer be restrained. “You’re deliberately trying to disgust me, aren’t you? You know I don’t want to be saved by you, yet you insist on saving me. Now what are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re going to carry me down the mountain.” A’Ling felt a wave of nausea just thinking about it.
Shi Qingqian, who had been silent all this time, enveloped in a low pressure aura, finally spoke. “Your leg is injured.” The implication was that A’Ling couldn’t walk.
A’Ling raised an eyebrow: “None of your business!”
“What, are you going to crawl yourself?”
A’Ling frowned. She seemed to have said something similar before. Shi Qingqian’s question sounded so uncomfortable, and although Shi Qingqian’s face showed no hint of mockery, the words felt truly awkward. Besides, she would rather choose to crawl.
As if seeing through her thoughts, Shi Qingqian pointed to the path down the mountain: “It’s a bit far.”
A’Ling unconsciously followed the direction of her hand to look down the mountain, her mouth twitching. Indeed, crawling would take some effort. “But at most, she would slowly—”
“Ah——”
Shi Qingqian closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, she grasped A’Ling’s sweaty hand, their palms meeting. Following an upward motion, she directly scooped A’Ling into her arms in a bridal carry. A’Ling was still contemplating slowly crawling down at most, but Shi Qingqian’s movements were so fast, she didn’t even have time to refuse. But the momentary warmth of their skin touching made her so uncomfortable that she decided to scratch Shi Qingqian’s face if it meant forcing her to put her down.
But before she could reach out, her body was suddenly lowered again. Everything happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that A’Ling didn’t even have time to utter the first sound of a curse before it was over. In a blink, she went from lying on the ground to lying in mid-air. Yes, she was lying about a meter off the ground in mid-air. She lay flat, looking up at Shi Qingqian’s sharp, unyielding jawline, feeling a surge of astonishment. What the heck?
A’Ling turned her head, straining to twist her neck and glance under her bottom. Under my bottom, there are only swords… A’Ling stiffly looked up at Shi Qingqian’s hand, which hung by her side. That gesture of two fingers held together—what else could it be but wielding a sword? A’Ling: ……. Is this even remotely acceptable?! She was laid out straight on a pile of swords. Her neck stiff, she jerkily looked down, as if still disbelieving. The swords beneath her weren’t haphazardly placed either. One long sword supported her spine, while the remaining long swords lay horizontally to support her. All the swords formed a shape resembling a central vertical beam with horizontal supports, carrying her like a stretcher… She looked like a corpse, lying stiffly…
It’s deliberate, Shi Qingqian is absolutely doing this on purpose! So, she’s been waiting here to humiliate me! “Put me down, you rotten ghost dog, you sinister, malicious, perverted lunatic! Is your brain full of nothing but schemes, with no normal human grey matter left?! What kind of sword-wielding is this? Are you transporting a corpse? Hurry up and put me down!” A’Ling propped herself up, trying to get up, but her hand, which Shi Qingqian had forcibly wrapped tightly, felt no burning pain but was completely useless. This dog definitely did it on purpose. A’Ling closed her eyes, not daring to imagine herself being transported down the mountain like this. What was the difference between this and a hunter carrying a dead wild boar down the mountain as a trophy? Ahhhhh, she’s not really a shameless dead pig! “Put me down!” A’Ling snapped in humiliation and anger, her eyes wide and round.
But Shi Qingqian, beside her, didn’t spare her a glance, looking straight ahead, only presenting A’Ling with a strong, indifferent profile. Shi Qingqian had never tried to wield all her swords simultaneously before. She dared not show the slightest slack. The method she had just thought of on the spur of the moment made her worry that any distraction might cause A’Ling to fall, which would worsen her injuries. She had to get A’Ling to Apothecary Yang Xia as quickly as possible. A’Ling’s broken bone had only just been set the last time. Breaking it twice in such a short period was not good. She would have to be careful in the future. Thinking of this, Shi Qingqian felt a slight ache in her heart. It was her fault. This mistake seemed irreparable, and things were only getting worse.
“I’m talking to you, can you hear me? Are your ears just for decoration?! Answer me, where are you taking me, ah——” A’Ling’s stream of curses hadn’t finished when she suddenly plunged downwards. Her first reaction was that Shi Qingqian indeed wanted to drop her to her death. But soon, she noticed something was wrong. As she fell, she saw Shi Qingqian falling with her, her face showing a rare expression of shock and panic. The moment Shi Qingqian’s feet met empty air, she knew something was wrong. She wanted to wield her sword to support A’Ling again, but found that the spiritual energy within her body was completely stagnant, and she couldn’t use any of her magical techniques. They kept falling. The deeper they went, the darker it became. The hole beneath them seemed bottomless. Shi Qingqian immediately lunged towards A’Ling.
A’Ling hadn’t expected to fall into an ambush twice in such a short time, and both times by falling into a pit. They had been falling for an unknown number of breaths, yet still hadn’t reached the bottom. How deep was this pit? If they hit the ground, they’d be smashed to smithereens. She had already discovered that the spiritual energy in her body was unusable, and even her Little Wandering couldn’t be roused, as if hypnotized. No, this won’t do. If I fall like this, I’ll really be pulverized. The wind whistled upwards in her ears, but A’Ling, like an uncontrolled falling stone, plunged straight down. Just as she was at her wit’s end, she suddenly felt a warmth on her wrist—someone had grabbed her.
Great! A’Ling quickly grabbed the person’s arm with a reverse grip, flipped, and pinned them underneath her. Caught a meat shield. Shi Qingqian, that treacherous scoundrel, actually grabbed her in the dark, probably intending to use her as a meat shield too. Fortunately, A’Ling was relieved, fortunately her mind worked fast. Too bad Shi Qingqian’s body didn’t have much flesh. In such a deep pit, she wondered if this meat shield could protect her. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath, awaiting the massive impact of hitting the ground.