The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 52

When Shi Qingqian pulled her ear from A’Ling’s mouth, the wet ear was so red it looked like it could bleed at any moment.
Her other ear, which hadn’t been assaulted, was no better, crimson like cinnabar.
Shi Qingqian looked at the glistening corner of A’Ling’s mouth, then reached out to wipe the ear that had just been sucked. It was covered in A’Ling’s saliva.
The perpetrator, her eyes gleaming as if she’d seen a human delicacy, kept nuzzling her, tugging at her clothes to climb onto her shoulder and neck, her target clear: Shi Qingqian’s ears.
Shi Qingqian tossed the bundled Gu Jingyang and Lan Fushang onto the ground, finally freeing a hand to protect her ears.
She was in a hurry to send the person in her arms back to the next room. She withdrew the ropes binding Gu Jingyang and Lan Fushang, intending to leave.
Lan Fushang felt like she had just sprouted from the ground and hit an obstacle. She raised her hands and forcefully pushed the person on her: “Don’t block me, go away, go away! I’m going to bloom, I’m so happy, I’m finally going to bloom!”
“Tell me more.”
Shi Qingqian’s foot, about to step out the door, abruptly paused. She looked at the person in her arms in surprise.
Seeing that A’Ling was still as unclear-headed as before, constantly trying to nibble on her, with only smacking sounds from her mouth and no actual words spoken.
Yet, she had clearly heard A’Ling’s voice just now.
Shi Qingqian turned to look. A small bird flew from a wooden shelf in the corner of the room and landed on Lan Fushang’s shoulder, who was now sitting cross-legged.
After successfully sitting up, Lan Fushang smiled even more happily: “It’s a success! I’ve bloomed! I’m a sunflower, what kind of flower blooms? If it’s a pink flower, just like this, bloom, bloom!”
As she spoke, she spread her hands outwards, as if mimicking a blooming flower.
The small bird on her shoulder tilted its head and clearly uttered two words: “Continue.”
Lan Fushang, on the ground, seemed encouraged, and her movements became more exaggerated.
“Oh no, my petals! Go away, you little fox, don’t nibble on my petals!”
Shi Qingqian raised an eyebrow, a rare look of confusion on her face. She saw Gu Jingyang, who had been lying on the ground, also sitting up, braiding Lan Fushang’s hair…
“Yangyang, be good. Only when your hair is braided can you go play with mommy.” Gu Jingyang on the ground smiled with a benevolent expression, her hands grasping Lan Fushang’s loose hair, wrapping it around, seemingly braiding it.
“This is just too much.”
Shi Qingqian saw clearly: it was indeed the bird on Lan Fushang’s shoulder speaking.
“Oh no, don’t pull out my petals! My petals have the most beautiful color in the world, they are rainbow black!”
“Yangyang, why is your head so hot? Are you sick?”
“Indeed.”
Shi Qingqian quickly covered A’Ling’s mouth, which had already pressed against the tip of her ear. Her gaze, as she turned to A’Ling, revealed deep confusion. The bird’s voice was identical to A’Ling’s.
If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought it was Lan Fushang, Gu Jingyang, and A’Ling speaking.
Moreover, the four sentences the bird answered with were very familiar to her. No, visually familiar.
Weren’t these the exact same four sentences from that letter she saw before, identical, not a single word different?
A’Ling’s mouth was covered. She looked at the rabbit head right in front of her but couldn’t eat it, frantically trying to nuzzle her body, which was entangled by a large piece of seaweed.
Shi Qingqian was being nuzzled haphazardly by A’Ling, her outer robe half-slipped from her shoulder. Having no other choice, Shi Qingqian turned, pressing A’Ling’s feet against the door panel, leaving them suspended in the air.
A’Ling thrashed her legs wildly, wanting to pull off the huge seaweed wrapped around her. But the more she struggled, the tighter the seaweed bound her. She closed her eyes tightly, thinking, It’s fine, I’ll just turn into seaweed too.
Shi Qingqian listened for a while longer, confirming her guess. The bird indeed only knew those four sentences. No matter what Lan Fushang and Gu Jingyang said, it would repeatedly answer with those four sentences.
Shi Qingqian felt as if she finally understood why A’Ling’s room had so many letters, and why the questions and answers on that specific paper seemed logical, yet the replier sounded unusually cold.
She took a deep look at the rabbit-bird on Lan Fushang’s shoulder, whose conversation had once again reached the phrase “This is just too much.”
Shi Qingqian realized it. This was a rabbit-bird that could mimic human speech. Its only unique trait was that it could perfectly imitate A’Ling’s voice.
Shi Qingqian pressed her lips together, a hint of a smile appearing in her eyes. She stopped listening to the bird’s perfunctory replies, opened the door, carried A’Ling to the next room, and placed her on the bed.
When A’Ling opened her eyes again, she was startled. She hadn’t successfully turned into seaweed. Not only that, her fragrant roasted rabbit head had turned into a furry rabbit’s head.
Heavens, the roasted rabbit head has become a spirit!
A’Ling nervously swallowed the saliva that had welled up from her anxiety, then bellowed, raising her hands level: “With A’Ling’s rise, spirits disperse! All demons, manifest! Roasted rabbit head spirit, show your true form!”
As she spoke, she slapped a palm towards the rabbit head.
Unfortunately, she didn’t succeed.
Just a fist’s distance from the erect rabbit ear, A’Ling’s hand was seized.
A’Ling looked at the soft rabbit paw holding her hand. It was furry, white like a ball of snow, yet warm.
A’Ling blinked, then extended her other hand, carefully brushing aside the fur on the paw.
Just as she had thought, beneath the white rabbit fur was fragrant roasted rabbit meat. She abruptly lowered her head and bit down.
Her action was utterly sudden. One moment she was gently stroking her hand, the next she bit down. Shi Qingqian hadn’t anticipated it at all.
A dull ache spread from her hand. Shi Qingqian furrowed her brows. It wasn’t excruciatingly painful, but A’Ling’s teeth gnawing gently at her skin was truly bizarre.
Shi Qingqian felt a tingling numbness on her hand, and even her scalp began to tingle. She forcefully pulled her hand from A’Ling’s mouth.
On it was a row of wet, red teeth marks, though the skin wasn’t broken.
A’Ling smacked her lips, a triumphant smile on her face. A roasted rabbit spirit trying to trick her? She had long since smelled the scent of rabbit meat on her.
Another wave of saliva secreted from between her teeth. A’Ling looked at the rabbit with its erect ears and red-rimmed eyes. The best part of a roasted rabbit, she thought, was the head.
She lunged forward, wanting to hug the rabbit head in front of her.
This time, Shi Qingqian reacted quickly enough. When A’Ling pounced, she dodged back, but she forgot that A’Ling was pouncing from the bed.
Seeing A’Ling about to fall off the bed, Shi Qingqian lunged forward again, pouncing back to the bedside and catching the person who was about to fall face-first onto the ground.
Her ear warmed. Shi Qingqian’s movements stiffened. Her ear had been bitten by A’Ling again.
A wet, tingling sensation. Shi Qingqian’s brow twitched violently, her whole body felt as if an electric current had passed through it.
She threw the person in her arms back onto the bed, covering her ear. Her expression was stunned, the light in her eyes flickering like candlelight, bright then dim.
My ear just got licked…
Realizing this, Shi Qingqian stiffened her neck to look at A’Ling, who was smiling happily on the bed.
A’Ling’s smile showed all her teeth. See? I told you, rabbit head is the best! First a lick of the skin, then a hard bite, so fragrant!
Seeing the excitement in A’Ling’s eyes and the mischievous smirk on her lips, and seeing that she was about to pounce on her again, Shi Qingqian quickly retreated, opened the door, and ran out.
A’Ling: ?
My roasted rabbit flew away.
The next day, A’Ling woke up with an aching body from her beautiful dream of eating roasted rabbit. She forcefully opened her eyes, which felt half-glued shut, and struggled to discern her surroundings.
Wasn’t she in the sea? How did she swim into a room? And it looks a bit familiar.
Her mind was a complete blur. A’Ling couldn’t for the life of her recall how she had escaped the seaweed’s embrace and swum from the sea into this waterless room.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
A’Ling rubbed her head, her limbs weak, and struggled to get out of bed.
From the bed to the door, a visible distance, yet A’Ling felt as if she had walked for a very long time. She seemed unable to walk in a straight line, stumbling and weaving, even bumping into the wall several times.
With great effort, she reached the door and opened it, only to see a pale-faced Gu Jingyang, whose limbs also seemed to lack strength.
A’Ling was very confused: “What’s wrong with you? What are you doing here so early?”
Gu Jingyang leaned against the doorframe with one hand, pointing to the sky with the other, her voice hoarse: “It’s not early. Look at the sky.”
A’Ling looked up and saw the sun high in the sky: “Wow, it’s noon! How could I have slept for so long?”
Gu Jingyang saw her state and knew she wasn’t fully awake yet: “We were poisoned yesterday, do you remember?”
A’Ling looked at Gu Jingyang in surprise, not understanding what she was saying.
She pressed her hands to her head forcefully, even using her inner cultivation energy, and only then did her muddled mind become slightly clearer.
After struggling to think for a while, she finally recalled the last moment she was fully conscious.
“It was an illusion, mushrooms!” A’Ling clutched her throbbing head, finally remembering what happened yesterday.
They had eaten Lan Fushang’s poisonous mushrooms and experienced illusions.
“Where’s Fushang? Is she alright?” A’Ling grew nervous, seeing only Gu Jingyang at the door.
Gu Jingyang felt a wave of embarrassment remembering how she woke up. She had actually braided all of Lan Fushang’s hair into pigtails.
Many of them were even intertwined. The first thing she did after waking up was to undo all those braids.
“She’s fine, she’s blooming in her room.”
A’Ling nodded: “Blooming is good, blooming is better than growing mushrooms.”
Gu Jingyang’s temple twitched. She could tell that this person in front of her wasn’t fully awake either.
“Right, how did we get back?” A’Ling asked, holding her head.
Just as I thought, Gu Jingyang mused. She had come to ask that very question: “I wanted to ask you that.”
A’Ling patted her forehead: “Wait, let me think… Hmm, I was brought back by a rabbit. What about you?”
This time, Gu Jingyang’s lips twitched. I should probably ask someone else.
Just then, the door of a room across the way slowly opened, and Shi Qingqian walked out.
When Gu Jingyang saw her unchanged expression, she knew what had happened.
“Qingqian, was it you who brought us back yesterday?” Gu Jingyang turned and asked.
Shi Qingqian nodded: “How are you feeling?”
Gu Jingyang’s hand was still supporting the doorframe, her face pale, and her voice somewhat weak: “It’s fine. It might take a few days to recover.”
Fortunately, she hadn’t seen any more illusions. Lan Fushang, A’Ling, and Shi Qingqian all looked normal when she woke up.
The moment A’Ling saw Shi Qingqian, her mouth, wide open in surprise, wouldn’t close. She actually saw a pair of fluffy, snow-white rabbit ears on Shi Qingqian’s head, one standing upright, the other drooping.
What’s going on?
Wait a minute, could yesterday’s rabbit have been Shi Qingqian?
A’Ling’s head throbbed with a dull ache. She grabbed Gu Jingyang, who was weakly propping herself up at the doorway, pulled her inside, and slammed the door shut with a clang.
“What’s wrong, A’Ling?” Gu Jingyang’s limbs were weak, and she almost fell from being pulled like that.
A’Ling blinked, then swallowed hard. She seemed to recall some scenes from last night. She opened her mouth, unsure how to speak.
Should she say she gnawed on Shi Qingqian as if she were a roasted rabbit?
“Let’s move, quickly! It’s too terrifying.”
Gu Jingyang looked at her confusedly, but they indeed needed to report to the Warm Tower Cave Abode today. She nodded: “Alright.”
A’Ling had nothing much to pack, only putting away the Moon-Silk Vines that Lan Fushang had used to decorate her room.
Within Warm Tower Mountain, there were many naturally formed spiritual caves, filled with abundant spiritual energy. Disciples who joined the cave abode could freely choose an unoccupied spiritual cave as their dwelling.
A’Ling and Gu Jingyang chose two adjacent spiritual caves.
The master of Warm Tower Cave Abode, Heng Qingyi, had a gentle disposition, and the spiritual arts cultivators under her weren’t fond of trouble. A’Ling quickly became familiar with them in just a few days.
Moreover, she and Gu Jingyang were disciples of the Abode Master, making them directly on par with the elders in seniority. Newcomers had to address them as ‘junior.’
A’Ling wasn’t quite used to being respected like this.
However, for this past month, she rarely left her dwelling, fearing she might make a fool of herself.
During the day, it was fine; A’Ling didn’t notice anything amiss. But once night fell, seeing the two moons in the sky, A’Ling knew her illusions hadn’t fully disappeared.
Lan Fushang’s mushrooms were truly potent.
Shi Qingqian had visited Gu Jingyang several times this month. Every time A’Ling saw her, she could see that pair of rabbit ears, which made her heart pound with fear.
She had spent a month trying to recall everything from that night but couldn’t. She wasn’t sure if she had done anything else besides gnawing on Shi Qingqian as if she were a roasted rabbit.
Hopefully not, otherwise, with Shi Qingqian’s personality, she might just retaliate.
This past month, Lan Fushang had visited their cave abode several times, each time anxiously offering them calming and detoxifying pills. This time, she even brought dozens of different kinds of pills.
“A’Ling, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I caused you all to be poisoned. I’m going to bloom!”
“These are some new detoxifying pills I developed. Try them, I’ve already tested them, and they’re very effective. I’m going to bloom!”
“Please give Gu Jingyang her portion. You don’t need it this time, but it might be useful next time. I’m going to bloom!”
A’Ling looked at the bamboo basket of pills in her hand, her lips twitching. She was very skeptical of Lan Fushang’s words.
After all, Lan Fushang claimed the pills were very effective after she took them, yet she still ended every sentence with “I’m going to bloom!”
Lan Fushang didn’t seem to notice it herself, and A’Ling didn’t know whether she should remind her.
Seeing Lan Fushang looking so guilty she was almost in tears, A’Ling decided not to say anything. She accepted all the pills.
“Thank you, and I don’t blame you. Maybe I didn’t roast it thoroughly enough, don’t worry, I’m fine, Gu Jingyang is fine too. I’ll pass these pills on for you.”
Although A’Ling said this every time they met, Lan Fushang still felt immensely guilty. This time was entirely her fault; if Shi Qingqian hadn’t been alright, who knew what might have happened to the three of them.
“Alright, then you two rest well. I won’t disturb you. I’m going to bloom!”
A’Ling’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Then she suddenly felt very fortunate that her only lingering symptom was seeing rabbit ears on Shi Qingqian. If she were like Lan Fushang, shouting “I’m going to bloom!” with every sentence, people would laugh their teeth off.
Fortunately, Lan Fushang was not very sociable in her daily life. A’Ling had already reminded her that it was best not to talk to people recently.
This time, A’Ling thought for a moment and decided she still needed to offer some more advice.
She earnestly said: “Fushang, you must cultivate diligently and study pharmacology and medicine more thoroughly. Don’t worry, I still believe in you. Also, don’t eat random mushrooms anymore.”
Lan Fushang nodded seriously in agreement, deeply moved. A’Ling is so good. I originally thought she would be angry, but I didn’t expect A’Ling to be so gentle after we met, her smile completely unforced.
A’Ling actually wanted to force a smile, but who could help but laugh when someone earnestly shouted “I’m going to bloom!” in front of them?
The previous two times, Gu Jingyang had laughed until tears came out, and had to pretend they were from coughing.
This time, she claimed to be in secluded cultivation, but A’Ling wondered if it was because she was afraid of laughing too loudly.
A’Ling took Lan Fushang’s pills to find Gu Jingyang, who happened to have just come out of secluded cultivation and was looking for her.
“A’Ling, I’ve broken through! I’ve finally reached the Nascent Soul realm!” Gu Jingyang excitedly shared the good news with A’Ling.
A’Ling: “Huh?”
Gu Jingyang excitedly told A’Ling about her experiences over the past month. After eating the poisonous mushrooms, she had seen her younger self.
In the illusion, her childhood self grew up little by little, and she also broke through her cultivation stagnation bottleneck, entering a new stage.
After hearing this, A’Ling was very envious. They both ate poisonous mushrooms, so why did Gu Jingyang see her younger self, while she only saw a roasted rabbit head?!
Why do Lan Fushang’s mushrooms have different effects? This is so unfair.
“Oh, right, A’Ling. I just broke through, and the spiritual energy in my body is a bit chaotic. I need to go into secluded cultivation for a month to integrate the spiritual energy within my body. Be careful yourself this month, and it’s best not to leave the cave abode.”
After saying this, Gu Jingyang thought for a moment and added another instruction: “If anything happens, go find Qingqian. Don’t be impulsive, and don’t put yourself in danger.”
A’Ling glared at Gu Jingyang. Her tone was so earnest, even more cautious than when she advised Lan Fushang.
If others don’t provoke her, she won’t go looking for trouble. And why would she go find Shi Qingqian? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?
“You go into secluded cultivation properly. I also plan to go into secluded cultivation for a month to see if I can break through.”
A’Ling thought to herself, Since these poisonous mushrooms helped Gu Jingyang break through, maybe they can help me advance too.
Returning from Gu Jingyang’s cave abode to her own, A’Ling closed her doors to visitors and focused on cultivation. Unfortunately, a month passed in the blink of an eye, and she still hadn’t managed to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
But there was also good news: she finally stopped seeing two moons.
A’Ling gazed at the single, normal moon and let out a heavy sigh. If she could just stop seeing those rabbit ears on Shi Qingqian’s head, her illusions would have completely vanished.
For this, she even made a special trip to the Heavenly Peace Cave Abode, wanting to secretly take a peek.
Unfortunately, it was bad timing; Shi Qingqian had also gone into secluded cultivation.
Why did she suddenly go into secluded cultivation too? A’Ling thought. Could she be breaking through as well?
No way, if she advances further, she’ll reach the Soul Transformation realm. That’s the same realm as the Peak Master, that would be too heaven-defying!
A’Ling immediately dismissed this idea. It’s impossible.
If breaking through from Golden Core and Nascent Soul to Soul Transformation realm were so easy, there wouldn’t be so few Soul Transformation masters in Mystic Crane Mountain that you could count them on two hands.
A’Ling’s trip was in vain. After returning, she no longer wanted to go into secluded cultivation. Calculating the days, Gu Jingyang would be coming out in the next day or two anyway.
When night fell, A’Ling habitually glanced at the moon. Although she hadn’t seen two moons yesterday, she was still a little uneasy.
She never expected that this glance would actually surprise her more than seeing two moons.
In the deep blue sky, a full moon hung high, with no stars or floating clouds around it.
If it weren’t for the bright moon emitting an eerie red glow, it would have been a normal night.
The day before, the moonlight was still pure and bright, like soft gauze, cool as water.
Today, the moonlight had actually turned a dark red.
A’Ling initially thought she had seen wrong. She blinked hard several times before confirming it was indeed a dark red, like congealed blood.
It wasn’t A’Ling’s first time seeing such an eerie moon. She had seen it once in her previous life.
But calculating the years, she shouldn’t have seen this scene for another eighteen years.
How did she see this red moon now?
The reason A’Ling remembered this date so clearly was because in her previous life, on a day when the moonlight was eerily reddish like this, she found her mount.
Before that, she had never seen such an ugly dog on Mystic Crane Mountain; to call it a dog was almost an insult to dogs.
When she found it, it didn’t even have fur. It was only because she fed it well and cared for it that it barely grew to resemble a dog.
A’Ling didn’t know if its appearance was related to the red moon, but after that, she truly never saw another dog as ugly as it.
A’Ling gazed at the eerie red moon, debating whether she should go to the place where she found it in her previous life.
Two thoughts battled in her mind. One said, Go take a look. What if it really is related to the red moon, and it’s injured the same way it was in my previous life? If no one saves it, it will die.
Another little voice in her mind cursed her: Why bother with it? You were so good to it in your previous life, and it still disappeared without a trace.
The two little voices argued in her mind. After much deliberation, she decided to go check.
If that ugly creature truly appeared, she would save it one more time. After all, in her previous life, that dog had saved her twice.
But this time, she decided to only save it and not raise it again.
After making up her mind, A’Ling flew on her sword towards the end of Goose Head River.
After Shi Qingqian triggered the barrier enchantment of Qiongdian Peak, Qiongdian Peak trembled, and the clear moon wept blood.
The blood-stained moonlight, like sharp blades, left her nowhere to hide or conceal herself. In an instant, the mutated moonlight stripped away a layer of her skin.
She plummeted straight down from Qiongdian Peak in the red moonlight, in so much pain she almost fainted. She exerted all her cultivation to protect her Nascent Soul from dissipating.
She had sent a Nascent Soul clone to Qiongdian Peak; her true body was still in secluded cultivation at Heavenly Peace Cave Abode.
If her divine soul fragmented and her Nascent Soul couldn’t return to her true body, then her true body would die within three months.
The moment she landed, she could no longer maintain her human form. After sensing someone approaching, Shi Qingqian exhausted her last bit of inner cultivation to transform into a Mutated Beast, intending to hide. Yet, amidst the strong scent of blood, she suddenly caught a familiar scent.
She pushed open her already splitting eyelids with all her might, and through a mist of blood, she clearly saw that familiar face.
A single glance made her decide not to hide.
She let out a desperate whimper with all her remaining strength, then allowed herself to sink into the abyss.