The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 5

The teacher at Hongjian Academy was also a cultivator. After imparting insights into their cultivation method, they entered a meditative state.
The quiet classroom gradually filled with murmurs and low chatter. Though not loud, the sounds slowly infuriated A’Ling, who had consistently failed to absorb spiritual energy into her body.
“A’Ling, A’Ling—ah—”
When the annoying calls came from beside her ear, A’Ling didn’t even open her eyes. With a single palm, she slapped away the source of the sound.
So annoying, really. A’Ling hated that she had no demonic energy at all right now. If she did, she truly wished she could level this entire Hongjian Academy with a single palm.
She abruptly opened her eyes, a somber expression on her face as she looked to her side. The person she had just slapped away, as if nothing had happened, came close again.
“A’Ling, why did you hit me, ah—”
A’Ling irritably gave another slap: “Stay away from me.”
What is wrong with these people, talking this close? If this were in the Demon Realm, it would be equivalent to a provocation. They’d have long since been dismembered and had their skulls cracked open by demon lords.
It’s only because she’s a tiger fallen into the plains right now that these people dare speak to her this way.
“A’Ling, why did you hit me again?”
Xing Yanchu clutched his face, his eyes flickering with utter bewilderment. The teacher up front had entered cultivation to gather spiritual energy. Wasn’t this the time for them to chat?
Why was A’Ling so strange today? She looked as if she was seriously cultivating.
A’Ling squinted, looking at the person in front of her.
He looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, slouching on the ground. He had a face like carved jade and eyes like bright stars, wearing an ostentatious purple half-sleeve loose shirt. A similarly ostentatious purple soft gauze headband was tied across his forehead, giving him a dashing air.
However, his lazy, untamed appearance made this boy, who should have been full of youthful vigor at his age, appear dispirited.
A’Ling couldn’t remember who this was. Since I can’t remember, he probably isn’t anyone important.
“Don’t bother me.”
A’Ling said coldly, then closed her eyes again, intending to try once more to absorb spiritual energy.
Xing Yanchu wasn’t injured by A’Ling’s two slaps, but he felt as though A’Ling’s cold gaze had cut him like a knife.
“A’Ling, what’s wrong?” He was utterly bewildered. Yesterday they had been hanging out together. A’Ling had said she had something to do and went home early, so why did she act like she didn’t know him when they met again today?
Zhao Diqing, who was sitting in front, pricked up her ears and overheard their entire conversation. She felt greatly relieved in her heart. I knew it, she thought, I hadn’t done anything to provoke A’Ling. So why had A’Ling suddenly become so vicious towards me?
She shifted her position and moved closer to Xing Yanchu.
“A’Ling looked a bit unhappy as soon as she arrived at school today,” Zhao Diqing whispered, leaning her head closer to Xing Yanchu.
“Who provoked her? Tell me, and I’ll skin him alive.” A’Ling was the only peer Xing Yanchu got along with at Hongjian Academy. His familiarity with Zhao Diqing was also because of A’Ling.
Hearing that A’Ling was unhappy at the academy, he guessed that some idiot who didn’t know their place had provoked her again.
Because of the incident with the Huo family, A’Ling had been ostracized by the other students at the academy for a period when she first arrived.
Later, A’Ling dealt with a few loose-lipped students, and only then did these people dare not gossip in front of her. Xing Yanchu had also noticed A’Ling at that time, finding her very interesting, completely different from the stuck-up cultivators in the academy.
“Don’t be ridiculous, who could provoke her?” Zhao Diqing masked the disdain in her eyes. As expected, they’re both equally crude if they can be friends.
“Perhaps it was yesterday, A’Ling wanted to dig a pit to trap Shi Qingqian, but ended up falling into it herself—” Zhao Diqing hadn’t even finished her sentence. She wanted to say that A’Ling had brought this upon herself, and throwing tantrums at others now was truly excessive.
But as soon as Xing Yanchu heard Shi Qingqian’s name, he immediately jumped to a conclusion: “So it was Shi Qingqian who bullied A’Ling.”
Zhao Diqing: ???
“Do you not understand plain speech?” Zhao Diqing couldn’t even bother with politeness, bluntly stating, “A’Ling wanted to cause trouble for Shi Qingqian, but ended up harming herself instead.”
Xing Yanchu’s face darkened. “That Shi Qingqian is treacherous and devious. She must have bullied A’Ling first for A’Ling to retaliate. No, I have to go teach Shi Qingqian a good lesson.”
A’Ling was already unable to gather spiritual energy, and naturally hadn’t entered meditation, so their conversation completely entered her ears. She finally remembered who the young man beside her was.
For no other reason than this: the only person at Hongjian Academy who disliked Shi Qingqian, besides herself, was Xing Yanchu.
Xing Yanchu’s father was also a Core Formation stage cultivator. Like Huo Zhen, he wasn’t interested in cultivating to immortality. After withdrawing from the inner sect, he opened a casino in Longyin Town.
His business thrived even more than Huo Zhen’s. And because they had connections in the inner sect, the Xing family in the outer sect could run rampant, arrogant and overbearing, with no one daring to intervene.
Having been influenced since childhood, Xing Yanchu too possessed a domineering nature. His methods of bullying were considered malicious for his age. Up and down the academy, no one liked him except for his lackeys.
A’Ling didn’t like him either, but for some reason, he was very fond of pestering her.
In her previous life, because he was one of the rare people who disliked Shi Qingqian, A’Ling would join him in cursing Shi Qingqian a few times when she was indignant.
Truly pathetic, A’Ling thought. She lived her previous life truly foolishly, like a louse crawling in a gutter, unable to harm anyone, only capable of annoying the other party.
The crucial thing is, even this wasn’t enough to disgust her. A’Ling felt that to truly get under Shi Qingqian’s skin, there was only one way: to be stronger than her!
Thinking of the day she could trample Shi Qingqian underfoot, she felt the flow of spiritual energy within her body smooth out a bit. A’Ling once again attempted to absorb spiritual energy.
She succeeded!
A’Ling actually felt a wisp of spiritual energy lingering in her dantian without dissipating.
She was overjoyed beyond measure, no longer had any spare thought to pay attention to the people or events around her, focusing solely on gathering more spiritual energy.
Time spent cultivating always passed incredibly fast. A’Ling felt as though only a blink of an eye had passed when she heard the bell signaling the end of morning class.
After cultivating seriously for an entire morning, A’Ling was famished. The dining hall was easy enough to find; she just had to follow the flow of people.
A’Ling paid no mind to the subtle glances along the way, nor did she care about being alone. She collected her meal, found an empty table, calmly sat down, and leisurely began to eat.
While eating, she was still silently reciting the cultivation method she had learned that morning to deepen her memory. These were all fundamentals; the more solid the mastery, the stronger the foundation would be.
Just as she was about to finish eating, Zhao Diqing, who had been nowhere to be seen earlier, rushed over to her.
“A’Ling, why are you still eating here? Something’s happened, something serious has happened!” Zhao Diqing ran to A’Ling’s side, and after shouting this, she tried to pull A’Ling away.
A’Ling picked up a silver spoon from beside her and forcefully struck Zhao Diqing’s outstretched hand.
“Ow, that hurt like hell!” Zhao Diqing clutched her reddened hand, looking at A’Ling with red eyes. The resentment in her eyes hadn’t even had time to be hidden.
A’Ling threw the spoon to the side, as if disgusted by it being dirty, and simply lifted her bowl and drank the soup.
Zhao Diqing watched A’Ling injure her and not even glance at her. She felt not only angry but also wronged.
Yesterday they were fine, so why had she completely changed today, treating her with such hostility?
Zhao Diqing did indeed have an urgent matter to seek A’Ling about. She could only suppress the anger in her heart, carefully leaned closer, and whispered about the urgent matter.
“A’Ling, this is bad! Earlier, when Xing Yanchu heard you talk about falling into the pit, he thought it was Shi Qingqian’s fault. He went to cause trouble for Shi Qingqian! You quickly go see, tell him not to act so recklessly!”
Zhao Diqing’s heart was burning with anxiety. That kid Xing Yanchu’s methods were malicious, and she was worried Shi Qingqian would be at a disadvantage.
A’Ling finished her soup, leisurely wiped her mouth, picked up a small fork from beside her, and began to eat her after-meal fruit.
The fruits and vegetables at Hongjian Academy were all grown themselves, right in Four Clear Valley behind the academy. Spiritual energy was abundant there, and the fruits and vegetables grown were a true delicacy.
A’Ling often even thought of Hongjian Academy’s fruits and vegetables when she was in the Demon Realm.
“How can you still eat?” After Zhao Diqing learned of this, she searched everywhere but couldn’t find Shi Qingqian. She was too anxious to eat her meal, but she didn’t know where Xing Yanchu had taken her, so she could only come to find A’Ling.
A’Ling was close with Xing Yanchu, so she surely knew where he had taken her.
“Why wouldn’t I eat?” A’Ling said, putting another piece of white jade melon into her mouth. The clear, sweet juice burst between her teeth, and A’Ling squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
The Demon Realm simply isn’t as good as the cultivation world. In the Demon Realm, let alone fruits and melons, not even a single vegetable can be grown. Luckily, after she went to the Demon Realm in her previous life, she entered seclusion from grain, otherwise she’d have definitely starved to death.
“Xing Yanchu said he was going to bring people to teach Shi Qingqian a lesson, and he’s not going alone!”
A’Ling picked up an obsidian grape from the fruit plate and leisurely peeled its skin. “How does that concern me?” she said. By the time she finished speaking, the skin was peeled. A’Ling popped the grape into her mouth, feeling another wave of satisfaction.
This grape tastes really good, not sour or tart at all.
“Xing Yanchu said he was going to get revenge for you!” Zhao Diqing’s face turned ashen with anger.
A’Ling spit out the grape seed with a sigh of regret. If this grape were cultivated further, it would be perfect if it became seedless.
She looked up at Zhao Diqing. “Worried Shi Qingqian will get hurt?”
Zhao Diqing suddenly had her thoughts exposed, and her face suddenly flushed.
A’Ling sighed internally. How obvious her intentions were! She hadn’t even seen it in her previous life.
Zhao Diqing nervously glanced around. After a long moment, she said, “How could that be? I, I’m worried about you! If this blows up, you’ll also be in trouble.”
“You seem to think highly of Xing Yanchu. Can he even beat Shi Qingqian? What kind of trouble could he cause?” At most he’d be like her, trying to scheme against Shi Qingqian only to get taught a lesson himself.
Zhao Diqing quickly shook her head. “No, that’s not it at all. I just ran into one of Xing Yanchu’s lackeys. He said Xing Yanchu brought quite a few people, cultivators and even demonic cultivators, with very high cultivation levels. They wouldn’t need useless lackeys like them.”
That lackey thought Xing Yanchu was going to hunt demonic beasts. Only Zhao Diqing knew that after she said those things in the morning, Xing Yanchu had declared he was going to teach Shi Qingqian a lesson.
Zhao Diqing was filled with remorse. Her original intention in saying those words was to imply A’Ling was foolish and malicious, but why did that Xing Yanchu not understand plain speech?
A’Ling lifted her head to look at Zhao Diqing, who was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. If this was an act, then her acting would be truly divine.
This matter was probably true. Xing Yanchu had brought high-level cultivators to teach Shi Qingqian a lesson.
Thinking of this, A’Ling stood up.
Zhao Diqing’s face finally brightened with a smile. Just about to say ‘That’s great!’, she watched A’Ling walk towards the back of the dining hall.
After a while, she emerged with another meal.
A’Ling switched tables and continued eating.
Knowing Shi Qingqian was going to be beaten, A’Ling felt the food tasted even more delicious!
Zhao Diqing’s smile froze in place, uglier than crying. She was so angry she wanted to punch this unresponsive A’Ling, but she also knew she couldn’t win against her.
Shi Qingqian might also be in danger. Zhao Diqing couldn’t bother with being angry. She walked back to A’Ling’s side and emphasized again, “A’Ling, just think, if something happens to Shi Qingqian, will the Dean and the others spare you?”
A’Ling remained unmoved, lowering her head to continue eating.
Zhao Diqing’s heart sank to the bottom of the valley. Unable to rely on A’Ling, she could only figure out a solution herself.
A’Ling leisurely finished her meal, walked out of the dining hall, and looked up at the Chaotic Stone Bell above the academy. This bell was said to have been crafted from the leftover stones of the ancient goddess Nuwa’s sky-mending, refined for ten thousand years from the primordial chaos.
Mortals could not ring this bell; only spiritual energy could activate it. Its chime could instantly clear one’s consciousness. This academy’s bell had always been rung by outstanding students designated by the Dean.
The person who rang the bell this morning, if she wasn’t mistaken, was Shi Qingqian.
If the bell didn’t ring for the afternoon class, that would be a problem.
A’Ling pondered. If Xing Yanchu used her name to cause trouble for Shi Qingqian and seriously injured her, she would indeed be unable to escape responsibility, just as Zhao Diqing said.
She had resolved to cultivate diligently, so why was trouble finding its way to her one after another? Shi Qingqian is probably a calamity spirit reincarnated.
How annoying! She wasn’t going to save Shi Qingqian! A’Ling, as she made her way towards Kaiyao Mountain, furiously cursed Xing Yanchu.
Arriving at the half-mountain of Kaiyao Mountain, at the spacious beast-fighting arena, A’Ling was just in time to see Shi Qingqian sent flying by a golden-haired, red-eyed demonic cultivator’s palm strike.