The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 57

For eight years since A’Ling entered Mystic Crane Mountain, she had only truly felt joy on two days: the first, when she passed the assessment to enter, and today.
Perhaps it was because all the happy things had converged.
Her ugly dog was officially declared by Apothecary Mu Ling today to have completely recovered its health.
Thinking about the difficulties of the past month, if A’Ling could cry, she would probably be weeping tears of joy, eyes brimming with emotion.
Not only was it hard for her, but it was also hard for the ugly dog. With such severe injuries, A’Ling had initially worried it wouldn’t survive, but she hadn’t expected it to be so resilient.
Seeing it get better day by day, A’Ling’s heart filled with hope for life.
There was also an inexplicable power that made the spiritual energy in her body feel more abundant.
She hadn’t left her room for the past month. Besides meticulously caring for the ugly dog, she had also calmed her heart and devoted herself to cultivation, feeling that this month’s gains surpassed those of the previous few years combined.
Looking at the ugly dog nestled in her arms, its eyes closed, it still looked like it wasn’t interested in anything.
Even though Apothecary Mu Ling said it had recovered today, it didn’t show any signs of happiness.
For a month, it had been so quiet, indifferent to matters that didn’t concern it, and resigned to those that did. It had a world-weary look.
When A’Ling applied medicine to it, it showed no reaction. If not for some physiological tremors, A’Ling would have suspected it had lost its five senses.
Perhaps it had been too heavily injured by humans, causing this ugly dog to become wary of them.
A’Ling stroked the sparse black fur growing on the ugly dog’s head, thinking, It’s okay, I’ve always been good to it, it must be able to feel it.
This poor ugly dog had been confined to her small room every day for the past month; it must have felt quite stifled.
Originally, A’Ling had planned to take it out for a walk, but today she received a message from A Qing.
This is wonderful. Ever since A Qing entered the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode, they hadn’t been able to contact each other much. She had initially thought A Qing didn’t want to bother with her anymore, but now she realized her own heart had been narrow-minded.
A’Ling felt ashamed of her past gloomy thoughts.
Reading A Qing’s message, it said that their Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode was going to investigate a large demon’s lair and could bring a few new cultivators along to gain experience.
A Qing said that under her repeated requests, the elder leading the team had agreed, and A’Ling could go with them.
This is truly wonderful. Generally, such external missions for the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode wouldn’t involve cultivators without a sect, especially someone like her, a waste who had spent eight years idling in the Soaring Rainbow Tower without entering the inner sect, and was judged to have no potential for immortal cultivation.
A’Ling didn’t consider herself a waste. She felt she only lacked a breakthrough.
But after so long on Mystic Crane Mountain, besides finding the spiritual energy here more abundant than at Hongjian Academy, she didn’t feel much help otherwise.
Perhaps it was because she hadn’t entered a cave abode, and had no master to guide her cultivation.
The days she could only cultivate in the Soaring Rainbow Tower were truly dull and tedious. A’Ling could understand why Huo Zhen couldn’t stand it and decided to withdraw from the inner sect.
But she didn’t want to withdraw, nor did she plan to. She had to become strong, strong enough that Huo Zhen and the others wouldn’t dare look down on her.
And Shi Qingqian. A’Ling would always get enraged whenever she thought of her. She hadn’t expected that after entering Mystic Crane Mountain, Shi Qingqian’s shadow would be even larger than outside.
The inner sect disciples liked her even more than at Hongjian Academy.
The last time, she had merely questioned a few things and was beaten by her fanatical admirers.
Thinking of this, A’Ling still felt a faint ache in her face.
A’Ling rubbed the dog’s head in her arms. It was on that same day that she encountered this ugly dog and realized there were things in this world far more pitiful than her.
At least she still had the ability to save this ugly dog; she wasn’t completely useless.
“We can go out now. Are you happy?” A’Ling gently said to the dog in her arms, “Let’s go together and see that large demon.”
Shi Qingqian didn’t even lift an eyelid. This fool, she doesn’t even consider why those people from the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode would bring new cultivators along.
If it were a simple mission, there would be no need to bring new cultivators to share the spoils.
According to the cave abode’s common rules, treasures obtained from external missions are distributed among companions according to the elder leading the team, allowing each to gain some treasures.
If it were a more troublesome mission, what use would bringing new cultivators be? They would most likely be sent to their deaths.
This fool doesn’t know this, but how could her ‘friend’ who entered the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode not know?
Shi Qingqian lifted her eyelids and glanced at the fool who was still happily humming to herself. The cheerful tune on her lips had already been hummed three times.
Before, she only thought of her as a gloomy, perverse, arrogant fool, but now she completely understood that this was a complete and utter fool.
She wondered how this fool had managed to survive all these years.
Shi Qingqian couldn’t have imagined a month ago that she would have a day when she needed this fool to save her.
Nor could she have imagined that this fool actually saved her.
Shi Qingqian’s expression was complex. She had witnessed the hardship of this past month’s care, and it was her first time realizing that this trouble-making fool also had such a patient and gentle side.
Shi Qingqian’s innermost feelings stirred slightly.
A’Ling returned to her dwelling with the ugly dog and placed it on the bed. For the past month, they had slept together on the bed, making it convenient for A’Ling to observe the ugly dog at any time.
“Play by yourself for a bit. I need to prepare some things for going out.”
A’Ling thought, Besides some life-saving medicinal pills, I also need to bring some food, not just for myself, but for the dog too.
Shi Qingqian looked at A’Ling, who was excitedly humming a song and anticipating participating in the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode mission, her gaze complex.
“I’m so happy! This is my first time participating in a mission like this. I wonder what kind of large demon we’ll encounter.” A’Ling chattered to the ugly dog as she tidied up.
Shi Qingqian was already used to her ability to talk for a whole day without needing a response.
She lay on the bed, watching A’Ling muttering to herself, using a spell to cut a piece of cloth, wondering what kind of trick she was up to.
Shi Qingqian could already feel the spiritual power in her body gradually recovering. Today, Mu Ling also told her that her avatar’s nascent soul was almost repaired, and she should be able to return to her true body if she wished.
She looked at the fool still gleefully entertaining herself, seeing no way to stop her from going.
If she suddenly spoke, she didn’t know if this fool would mistake her for a monster. This person’s mind was always difficult to comprehend with normal human thought.
Shi Qingqian had seen the beast form her injured nascent soul had randomly transformed into at Mu Ling’s place. She truly couldn’t understand how this fool had mistaken her for a dog.
Today, she even told Mu Ling that she was a Sky-Dwelling Hyena, an ancient divine beast that had already gone extinct.
Regarding this name, Shi Qingqian knew exactly where it came from. She was present when A’Ling flipped through the ancient texts. A’Ling completely disregarded the divine beast’s habits and external descriptions, merely looking for a name that sounded powerful and choosing one she liked.
Oh no, there was also a prerequisite: it had to be extinct.
To let this fool go alone, she’d likely never return. Shi Qingqian thought, ‘Forget it. I won’t return to my true body for now. I’ll accompany this fool and see what those people from the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode are planning.’
Consider it repayment for this fool’s month of care.
Three days later, Shi Qingqian regretted this decision upon seeing what A’Ling pulled out. She wanted to return to her true body immediately.
“What’s wrong? This isn’t a dog leash, nor a dog chain. Don’t worry, come on, obediently put your paws in.” A’Ling took out the cloth bag she had been tinkering with for several days.
This was the best one she had made; the initial ones didn’t feel very comfortable.
For this cloth bag, she had added a layer of soft fleece to the holes where the ugly dog’s paws would go, so it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable being carried by its limbs.
Shi Qingqian’s temple twitched. She absolutely refused to be wrapped in a piece of cloth and carried by that fool. She struggled, trying to hide backward, firmly refusing to extend her legs.
A’Ling simply assumed it hadn’t seen such a thing before and was too timid to try. She grabbed the ugly dog’s legs and stuffed them into the four holes, then pulled the cloth bag up, cinching it and slinging it across her waist.
“The size is just right. See, this way you don’t have to walk yourself.”
A’Ling said, taking a few steps with the special cloth bag on her back, and patted the dog’s head. “Happy, right? I’m carrying you.”
Shi Qingqian, trapped in the cloth bag, couldn’t even evade A’Ling’s hand. Displeased, her entire body was enveloped in a chill.
But A’Ling was oblivious, happily walking two laps around the room, feeling that it was quite sturdy, so she wouldn’t worry about the ugly dog getting lost or being unable to walk.
“I really am too clever!” A’Ling exclaimed with satisfaction.
Shi Qingqian snorted coldly, scoffing inwardly, ‘You really are so self-important in your cleverness.’
Arriving at the meeting point with a dog on her back, A’Ling’s steps paused the moment she landed, as four or five gazes fixed on her.
Upon seeing her, Zhao Diqing said something to the people beside her, then left them and walked towards A’Ling with a smile.
“A’Ling, you’re finally here! We were just waiting for you.” Zhao Diqing spoke with a slight hint of reproach, but still smiling, she pulled A’Ling towards the crowd.
A’Ling raised an eyebrow. Hadn’t they said to gather at the scheduled time? She had arrived nearly an hour early, so how could these people be even earlier…?
“Hmph, a new cultivator is the last one to arrive. Quite the airs she puts on.” A sword cultivator in the crowd coldly glared at A’Ling, speaking very impolitely.
Zhou Li looked at A’Ling displeased. He was the elder leading this mission, and he hadn’t expected a new cultivator to make him wait so long. She was practically disrespecting him.
A’Ling furrowed her brow. She wasn’t late; these people had arrived early. How could that be her fault? Just as she was about to retort, Zhao Diqing grasped her hand.
She looked up to see Zhao Diqing subtly shaking her head at her, seemingly telling her to keep quiet.
Zhao Diqing looked at Zhou Li with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, Elder Zhou, it’s all my fault. I should have reminded A’Ling to come earlier. It’s my mistake.”
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly reddened, looking very self-reproachful and guilty.
Zhou Li glanced at her. Seeing her appearance, he momentarily found it difficult to say anything harsh. “Fine, let’s hurry up and depart.”
His tone softened considerably. After speaking to Zhao Diqing, his gaze shifted to A’Ling, and his attitude completely changed. His sword-like eyebrows furrowed, seemingly showing extreme disdain for A’Ling.
“As for you, follow us closely later. Don’t drag your feet. If you fall behind and something happens, no one will come to save you.”
After he finished speaking, he was the first to mount his sword and depart by sword flight.
A’Ling’s expression was displeased, but the person had already left, leaving her no chance to clarify.
“They were clearly early, so how can they blame me? I wasn’t even—” A’Ling’s words were cut off as Zhao Diqing covered her mouth.
“Shh, A’Ling, don’t say anything. That’s a cave abode elder. It’s not good to offend him. Blame me instead; I didn’t have time to notify you that they had all arrived.” Zhao Diqing spoke with much guilt. “I don’t know why they all arrived so early this time; I was also among the last ones to arrive.”
A’Ling frowned. “How can you blame yourself? You didn’t know they would arrive early. These people too, they have no sense of time. If they say a certain hour, it should be that hour. If they wanted to come early, they should have notified us beforehand. They have no plan themselves and then blame others. And they call themselves elders? I think they’re just old folks.”
After A’Ling finished, she comforted Zhao Diqing. “Don’t blame yourself either; this isn’t your fault.”
Zhao Diqing nodded, her eyes glistening with tears, seemingly very grateful for A’Ling’s understanding. “It’s good that you don’t blame me. Let’s hurry up and depart. I’ll take you with me.”
A’Ling nodded. Her sword flight skills were rather mediocre, and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Zhao Diqing had put in a lot of effort in this regard. A’Ling sighed inwardly. They had entered the inner sect together, but she didn’t know when their skill gap had started to widen so much.
Their relationship, too, was no longer as close as before.
A’Ling felt a pang of sadness. She had only ever had Zhao Diqing as a friend, and after entering Mystic Crane Mountain, she hadn’t made any new friends. Ever since Zhao Diqing went to the cave abode, she had been all alone in her daily life.
Her hand, hanging at her side, unconsciously grasped the dog’s head inside the sling bag, absentmindedly scratching its soft neck.
Shi Qingqian wanted to avoid the hand, but trapped in the bag, she had nowhere to hide. Helplessly, she lifted her eyelids and looked at the fool with the tense expression above her.
It was already rare for those people from the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode not to be late for a set time, so how could they be early? She looked at the person flying on their sword ahead. From the recent conversation, this person was acquainted with the fool.
If she was the one who notified them of the time, then it was almost certain that this person had relayed the wrong time, either unintentionally or deliberately.
Based on everything she had just observed, she leaned towards it being deliberate.
She had just seen that person lowering her head, seemingly sad, but from Shi Qingqian’s angle, she could clearly see the subtly upturned corner of her mouth.
This fool could actually consider such a person a friend; she truly was hopelessly foolish.
Upon reaching the destination, Zhou Li counted the people. Seeing that everyone was present, he began to explain the matters to pay attention to during this mission.
“Below is a new demon lair discovered by the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode. The specific type of demon is still unknown. Previously, two fellow disciples passed through here; one fell in and disappeared, while the other couldn’t find him and returned to report to the Abode Master. The Abode Master ordered us to come and investigate.”
“If we can eliminate the demonic beast and rescue our fellow disciple this time, besides the treasures obtainable from the large demon lair, the Abode Master will provide additional rewards.” As Zhou Li said this, everyone was somewhat pleased. They hadn’t expected this mission to have extra rewards.
But A’Ling felt that after Zhou Li finished speaking, everyone’s gaze towards her seemed to have changed. Sure enough, someone quickly began to speak to A’Ling with veiled sarcasm.
“You new cultivator are quite lucky, encountering such a richly rewarded mission. Don’t just stand by later, contributing nothing and getting rewarded for free.”
Another immediately followed up, “Exactly. Be self-aware. Do whatever you can, don’t think about getting something for nothing.”
Yet another person appraised her up and down, then looked at the cloth bag at her waist. “Do you think this is a fun trip? You even brought such an ugly thing.”
A’Ling could disregard their words about her as nonsense, but she absolutely would not allow them to mock her dog.
“Are you so good-looking? If I wanted to play, I wouldn’t play with you. I only like to play with good-looking things.” A’Ling smiled, even more sarcastically than the other person.
When it came to arguments, she rarely lost.
Sure enough, the other party immediately got angry upon hearing this. “Who are you calling an ugly thing?!”
A’Ling thought, How amusing. Just one sentence and they lost their composure. And they tried to be passive-aggressive? Clearly, they’ve never suffered a loss before.
Just as she was about to press on, Zhao Diqing stopped her again, looking at A’Ling with a pleading gaze.
A’Ling frowned in annoyance, but out of consideration for Zhao Diqing, she didn’t continue speaking.
However, the other party seemed to think A’Ling was scared and began to act aggressively.
“If you ask me, they shouldn’t have brought new cultivators. They’re only good with their mouths. Later, when they encounter a demonic beast, don’t just start crying for their parents, being completely useless.”
A’Ling smiled. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t even call out for you.” This was the truth; she would call for cats or dogs, but never for Huo Zhen or Lin Nianli.
A flicker of displeasure crossed Zhao Diqing’s eyes. She was very unhappy with A’Ling’s retaliation. A new cultivator without a sect, instead of being low-key, actually argued with a cave abode sword cultivator.
She even regretted her act of recommending this person.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have sought out A’Ling. After all, she was just bait, and there were plenty of other new cultivators to choose from.
Over there, Zhou Li was also somewhat displeased. Bringing a new cultivator was simply because they were unaware, and using them as bait would make things smoother. Besides, they wouldn’t be doing it for nothing; they would still get rewards after the mission.
It was Zhao Diqing who recommended her, saying she was eager to witness the prowess of the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode disciples and had always longed to participate in such missions.
He appraised A’Ling up and down. He had heard of this person before, not mainly because she was famous, but because the person she targeted was famous in the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode. Shi Qingqian was a personal disciple of Peak Master Ye Bingfeng, and it was widely rumored that she would be the next Peak Master.
He wasn’t entirely convinced. Shi Qingqian’s talent was good, but she was usually aloof and arrogant, not close to the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode. Such a person becoming a Peak Master might not be a good thing for the entire Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode.
Would she truly confront spiritual arts cultivators for the benefit of sword cultivators?
With her detached, otherworldly demeanor, she probably couldn’t do such a thing.
But within the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode, everyone preferred this kind of “white moonlight” figure. As far as he knew, not only the sword cultivator elders but even the Abode Masters of other cave abodes seemed to have developed a fondness for her.
There were also rumors that Venerable Cai Yun also liked Shi Qingqian, wanting to form a cultivation partnership with her.
Zhou Li glanced at A’Ling. People who disliked Shi Qingqian like her were a minority; he was also one of them.
Thinking of this, he found A’Ling slightly more palatable.
“Alright, stop arguing. The real business is important. A’Ling, you go down into the hole first.” Zhou Li directly stopped the verbal dispute between both sides and began to arrange for everyone to descend into the hole.
“What?”
A’Ling looked at Zhou Li in surprise. They didn’t even know what was in this hole, and a sword cultivator disciple had gone missing inside. This elder wasn’t going down first, but instead telling her, a new cultivator, to go? Wasn’t this clearly sending her to her death?
“This isn’t appropriate, is it? I’m a new cultivator, and my cultivation level isn’t high. I don’t know what the situation is down there. If something happens, can you guarantee my personal safety?”
Shi Qingqian lifted her eyelids and glanced at A’Ling. This fool surprisingly didn’t act foolish at a critical moment. Just now, she had worried this fool would agree.
She now completely understood why these sword cultivators brought a new cultivator: as expected, they were using her as bait.
Ever since she entered Mystic Crane Mountain, Shi Qingqian had grown utterly disgusted and annoyed by these immortal cultivators, who formed factions, harbored their own schemes, and would even kill each other over a bit of spiritual energy territory.
A group of people like this, yet they still deluded themselves into aspiring to become immortals. If immortals were all such despicable, scheming individuals, then the world would probably have long since been plunged into misery and devastation.
Shi Qingqian looked up at the sky. This was the inner sect of immortal cultivation under the management of Qiongdian Peak. Did that person not know the current situation of Mystic Crane Mountain?
If they knew but didn’t plan to intervene, could that person truly be called benevolent and compassionate to all? Did they truly deserve the title of ‘Saint Venerable’?
Shi Qingqian really wanted to ask her personally. Unfortunately, ever since she fell from Qiongdian Peak eighteen years ago, she had gathered strength to return, but still failed at the last hurdle, unable to even break through the barrier of that peak.
This time, she had originally thought she would have to endure another month of tearing physical pain, but she hadn’t expected to encounter this fool instead.
Shi Qingqian saw her tense expression, insisting on not going down first, and subtly sighed in relief. She wasn’t completely foolish yet.
Over there, Zhou Li saw that A’Ling actually dared to disobey his orders, and anger rose in his heart. “I am the elder in charge of this mission. If you don’t follow my arrangements, then go back. We don’t need you here.”
A’Ling coldly snorted, “Fine.” She turned and walked away, not lingering in the slightest.
Compared to rewards, she valued her life more. It was just a pity; she had originally wanted to take her dog to see the world.
Zhao Diqing was annoyed that A’Ling had suddenly become clever at this moment. She quickly took two steps, grabbed A’Ling’s hand, and persuaded her, “A’Ling, this is a rare opportunity! Who knows, there might be treasures from a large demon inside, which are excellent for boosting cultivation! Don’t you want to enter a cave abode as soon as possible?”
“I really hope to continue cultivating with you. I’m so lonely alone in the cave abode; I really miss our days together at the academy.”
“Besides, A’Ling, your participation this time was something I pleaded for. If you just leave like this, it will be hard for me to live in the cave abode later.”
“How about this, A’Ling? I’ll go down first, and you follow behind me.”
Zhao Diqing finished speaking in a hushed voice, then pulled A’Ling back towards Zhou Li. “I’m sorry, Elder. A’Ling was just a bit scared. She actually really wants to help us rescue our fellow disciple. How about this, I’ll go down first. I’ll go see what the situation is down there.”
As Zhao Diqing spoke, she resolutely walked to the entrance of the large demon’s lair, where a large black stone stood, reaching knee-height.
Beside the black stone, there was a narrow crack in the ground.
If one didn’t walk right up to it, it would be difficult to discover this narrow crack.
Presumably, it was due to this concealment that the passing fellow disciple accidentally fell in.
And because of the narrowness of the crack, only one person wide, only one person could descend at a time.
This was a situation the Sword Cultivator’s Cave abode already knew beforehand.
According to the sword cultivator who returned without finding anyone, after he jumped down, there was only an ordinary hole below, and he didn’t see anything.
This was the terrifying part: seeing nothing, yet the person simply disappeared, neither alive nor dead, their body gone.
This was also why the sword cultivators found a new cultivator to serve as bait this time. If there was a problem down below, the first person to jump down would be in the most danger.
Zhao Diqing arrived at the crack in the ground. Before descending, she looked back at A’Ling, her eyes red, and forced a smile.
“A’Ling, if anything happens to me, when the Crane Gate opens, remember to tell my mother after you leave. Also, please help me give her all the things I’ve accumulated. And A’Ling, remember to control your temper; think things through more often and don’t always act on impulse.”
Her tone was mournful as she spoke, sounding as if she were giving her last words.
After speaking, her eyes suddenly reddened, and as if afraid of tears falling, she hurriedly turned her head away.
A’Ling watched her retreating back, seeing her raise a hand to wipe her face, as if wiping away tears. Her heart tightened. With a swift stride, she pulled Zhao Diqing back.
“Forget it, I’ll go.”
Without waiting for her to say anything else, she jumped forward into the narrow crack in the ground.
As Shi Qingqian fell downward with her, she retracted her previous assessment of A’Ling in her mind.
This is simply a hopelessly foolish idiot!!!