The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 59

“A’Ling, run separately!”
“Okay!”
Running separately was better than being wiped out together. Hearing Zhao Diqing’s shout and seeing her gradually run off, A’Ling sharply turned and dashed deeper into the dense forest.
The fierce wind behind her also seemed to suddenly make a sharp turn, sweeping across a patch of bushes and slender trees.
A’Ling glanced back. The monstrous beast had followed her turn, its eyes blazing crimson as it chased after her.
This was bad. A’Ling felt as though the monstrous beast behind her had been greatly provoked; the rage in its eyes seemed ready to burn her alive.
This monstrous beast was likely allied with the leopard-cormorant beast from the cave, perhaps its mate. It must be here for revenge.
A’Ling inwardly thought it was unfair; she hadn’t been the one who killed the leopard-cormorant beast. She ran for her life. Although the dense forest hindered the monstrous beast’s speed, it also caused A’Ling to stumble and fall several times.
The sharp roars behind her grew closer, sounding increasingly enraged. It was probably also frustrated by the crisscrossing trees blocking its path.
A’Ling heard a loud crash behind her. She looked back to see the berserk monstrous beast had actually used its knife-sharp maw to forcibly cleave open a path.
“Ah—” A’Ling, due to looking back, didn’t notice a green vine suddenly stretched across her path and was tripped, sending her sprawling several meters forward.
A’Ling ignored the pain, immediately rolled, and channeled her magic arts to attack the monstrous beast that was already close by.
That was close; she was almost swallowed whole. The instant the monstrous beast was repelled, A’Ling scrambled to her feet, but before she could fully stand, a sharp pain erupted from her back.
In that instant, A’Ling’s vision went completely black. She stumbled forward two steps before collapsing heavily to the ground.
As A’Ling fell, enduring the bone-splitting pain in her back, she twisted her head to look. The monstrous beast, enraged after being injured at close range by A’Ling moments ago, furiously swatted away the trees obstructing it.
Sections of wood flew towards A’Ling. She simultaneously channeled her magic arts for defense and tried to get up to continue running.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
A’Ling watched helplessly as the monstrous beast stopped its enraged rampage, its one bleeding eye fixed on her as it lunged forward.
In that instant, a fierce wind swept through. A’Ling looked at the strikingly red beast eye amidst the swirling sand and threw out all the talismans she had on her.
However, the monstrous beast seemed to be in a bloodthirsty frenzy, as if it wouldn’t rest until A’Ling was dead. It completely disregarded its own injuries and lunged towards A’Ling.
In the nick of time, a black figure flashed past like lightning, and a mournful cry echoed amidst the sand-laden gale.
A pitch-black fierce beast, appearing from nowhere, as if a divine being had descended, actually rammed the monstrous beast away.
A’Ling, with one foot already in the gates of hell, was inexplicably dragged back.
Before she could even figure out what had happened, she felt a dizzying sensation, and found herself running wildly.
No, it wasn’t her running wildly; she had been saved by a fierce beast of unknown kind, and it was carrying her while running wildly.
The howling wind whistled past her ears. Trees on both sides rushed backward. As they crossed a horizontally growing tree, A’Ling was nearly thrown off by the sudden jolt.
A’Ling’s actions were quicker than her thoughts; she grabbed onto the neck of the fierce beast beneath her, not knowing what it was.
Suddenly, her hand felt a raised bump. A’Ling’s eyes widened.
She stared in disbelief at the completely black fierce beast beneath her. She forcefully traced the scar on its neck.
The wound extended from the tip of its chin deep into its neck.
“Ugly Dog, is that you?”
A’Ling’s heart felt as if it had been suddenly seized. Her wide eyes stung from the wind.
The fierce beast beneath her didn’t respond to A’Ling. It carried A’Ling and ran for its life, leaping over various obstacles, running ceaselessly forward.
A’Ling hunched down, clinging tightly to the fierce beast beneath her. The sharp roar from behind swept over them once more; the monstrous beast was catching up again.
This time, its speed was faster than before. The fierce beast beneath her was so fast that the scenery on both sides became a blur to A’Ling, but the monstrous beast, which had been a few breaths slower, was gradually closing in.
Soon, A’Ling could even hear its heavy breathing and angry snarls from behind.
A’Ling’s heart was suspended high, bouncing up and down with the jolts, filled with alarm.
“Ah!” A’Ling felt a strong gust of wind from behind her. She looked back to see the monstrous beast behind them swatting down a paw, striking the tail of the beast beneath her heavily.
That pitch-black tail instantly broke off a section, falling into the dense forest with the swiftly retreating wind.
A’Ling’s eyes instantly reddened. Her heart ached as if a piece of it had also been cleaved off.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
A’Ling held onto the fierce beast’s neck with one hand, freeing the other. She summoned her iron sword, abruptly controlling it to fly out. The iron sword soared towards the monstrous beast’s eye, accumulating power.
The monstrous beast tilted its head to dodge, slowing down by a fraction, but in the next instant, it cleaved A’Ling’s iron sword in two.
The fierce beast beneath her, apart from a momentary tremor when its tail broke, didn’t slow down its speed at all afterward.
A’Ling didn’t know if the fierce beast beneath her was her Ugly Dog, but regardless, it had saved her life.
“Why don’t you let me down and run by yourself?” A’Ling shouted loudly at the fierce beast beneath her.
If the fierce beast beneath her wasn’t carrying her, it would surely be able to escape. She couldn’t let it be killed by the monstrous beast too.
But no matter what A’Ling shouted, the fierce beast beneath her seemed deaf, simply charging forward relentlessly.
The monstrous beast behind them also seemed determined to challenge them, lowering its head and chasing after them.
In the dense forest, besides the howling wind, there was only the rustling sound of the fierce beast moving through, a rapid and dense sound, startling countless birds into flight.
A’Ling clung tightly to the fierce beast’s neck. Her flowing hair blew completely backward, and A’Ling felt as if her entire face was being pulled upward by an invisible hand.
The wind lashed into her eyes, stinging painfully.
Just as A’Ling was worrying about how long the fierce beast beneath her could last, she suddenly sensed a different aura; a salty, damp smell diffused in the wind.
Her heart suddenly felt a sensation of weightlessness.
“Ah—”
A’Ling’s scream rose in pitch as she plummeted downwards.
‘Splash!’ ‘Splash!’ Two loud sounds of falling into water.
The moment A’Ling hit the water, she felt a sudden loss of sound, as if the surrounding clamor had abruptly quieted. She sharply opened her eyes.
In the clear river water, the black fierce beast was rapidly shrinking.
The fierce beast, originally the size of a lion or tiger, in the blink of an eye, actually transformed into the size of a dog.
It had its eyes closed, seemingly having lost all strength. Its limbs were motionless, and its entire body was floating on its back, sinking downwards.
A’Ling felt a pang in her heart. She waved her arms, swam over, and grabbed its front limb, pulling it upwards.
With a ‘splash’, A’Ling’s seemingly suppressed hearing instantly returned to normal.
She heard angry roars coming from above. Looking up, the monstrous beast that had been chasing them was on the cliff edge above, furiously roaring down at them.
A’Ling’s muscles tensed instantly. She hugged the dog in her arms tightly, to prevent the other party from chasing them again, as that thing had wings and could fly!
But after waiting for a while, she saw that the monstrous beast was merely roaring in anger, showing no signs of chasing them.
A’Ling didn’t know why it had given up the chase, but seeing that the monstrous beast was temporarily inactive, she remained wary while quickly checking on the Ugly Dog in her arms.
It had completely returned to its original size; it was indeed her Ugly Dog.
“Wake up, ugly thing, don’t scare me!” A’Ling pressed hard on the Ugly Dog’s body, patting its back.
After patting it a dozen times, the dog in her arms suddenly coughed up a mouthful of water and opened its eyes.
As Shi Qingqian opened her eyes, she saw a pair of eyes extremely close to hers. The light in them seemed brighter than the surrounding water’s gleam.
She slightly closed her eyes, a wave of relief washing over her. With so much energy, it seemed she wasn’t injured.
When she was carrying her and escaping just now, she didn’t dare to stop for a moment, nor did she dare to look back. She could only run for her life. The mutated leopard-cormorant beast had clearly entered a state of frenzy.
If they had been caught, neither of them would have survived.
Shi Qingqian sighed. Originally, when she saw A’Ling take a different path and run off alone in one direction, a surge of irritation welled up in her. She thought, Why bother saving such an idiot? It would serve her right and teach her a lesson.
But when she went back and saw the idiot’s life hanging by a thread, her heart pounded wildly, and her actions were faster than her thoughts.
Forget it, this is the last time. Shi Qingqian inwardly vowed, Next time, she absolutely wouldn’t care if this idiot lived or died.
A’Ling saw the Ugly Dog open its eyes, glance at her, and then close them again. A wave of nervousness swept over her: “Ugly thing, are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?”
She checked all over, seeing some fresh blood still seeping from the broken tail. She quickly channeled some spiritual energy to stop the bleeding, planning to apply medicine once they returned.
After a full body check, confirming that Ugly Dog’s only injury was its tail, and its current fatigued appearance was just from losing strength, A’Ling finally let out a slight sigh of relief.
Her thoughts, previously frozen by anxiety, finally began to flow again.
“I can’t believe it was really you! How did you do it? How did you get so big just now?”
A’Ling thought of the scene she had just witnessed, her eyes sparkling. Her mind raced with conjectures: Could her Ugly Dog really be some ancient divine beast, one that could transform?
Shi Qingqian felt weary. She lifted her eyelids, glanced at A’Ling, and then nudged A’Ling’s hand with her muzzle.
A’Ling looked at it suspiciously. She opened her hand, and in the next instant, saw something sparkling emerge from its mouth. Two pieces of what looked like shattered ice appeared in her palm.
Holding the Ugly Dog with one arm to stay afloat, she used her other hand to pick up the two ice crystals and examine them under the sunlight. These two broken pieces of ice crystal, put together, were precisely the one she had taken from the demonic cave earlier.
“You bit it open?” A’Ling asked Ugly Dog.
Shi Qingqian nodded.
A’Ling gradually furrowed her brow, guessing, “Is it this thing that made you grow so large?”
Shi Qingqian nodded again.
Moonlight Ice Crystals, besides allowing low-level cultivators to break through, could also temporarily increase the strength of Mutated Beasts.
Her current form was merely a manifestation of her Nascent Soul’s spiritual projection, not an actual Mutated Beast. This item didn’t have a very significant effect on her; it could only temporarily make her stronger.
How exactly it strengthened her varied from person to person. Shi Qingqian only found out after biting the ice crystal and absorbing the Moonlight Pure Marrow within that she grew larger; her strength only manifested in her physical size.
A’Ling saw the dog nod, and looking at the item in her hand, she was utterly astonished. She couldn’t believe this ice crystal was so useful.
Smiling, she hugged the dog in her arms, causing splashes of water to ripple outwards.
“This is great! I’ll find more of these ice crystals in the future, so you can be my mount!”
A’Ling smiled radiantly. The feeling of being carried by the Ugly Dog at full speed just now, if not for the monstrous beast chasing them and her life hanging by a thread, the sensation would have been absolutely amazing.
Shi Qingqian’s brow twitched. The wave of speechlessness that swept over her was even worse than the exhaustion she felt from losing her strength.
What is this idiot thinking? Does she think Moonlight Ice Crystals grow on trees? And even with this thing, she wants me to be her mount?
Shi Qingqian’s brow twitched violently. Not a chance!
If this idiot hadn’t been about to die right before her eyes just now, she absolutely wouldn’t have bothered with her!
From now on, they’re even. She needed to return to her true body as soon as possible!
Shi Qingqian looked up at the mutated leopard-cormorant beast still roaring incessantly on the cliff. This thing indeed couldn’t leave this mountain area.
Someone was raising them, and also confining them.
That person even used Moonlight Ice Crystals. She wondered what their purpose was.
Shi Qingqian felt this matter was not simple.
But her mind was really struggling to function now, and her limbs were extremely sore and weak. This body had only just recovered from its injuries and couldn’t endure much more strain.
On the other side, A’Ling was immersed in the dual happiness of surviving a near-death experience and discovering how to make Ugly Dog grow larger. Her smile deepened, and her laughter grew louder.
“This is great, Ugly Dog! From now on, you’re not just an ordinary ugly dog! Are you happy? I’m so happy, hahahahaha.”
“I’ve struck gold! Hahahahaha! Ugly Dog, you should smile too. Today was so thrilling, and we both survived!”
A’Ling finished speaking, then remembered Ugly Dog couldn’t smile, but it didn’t matter.
A’Ling’s eyes sparkled. She held up the silent, emotionless Ugly Dog high: “If you can’t smile, we can just bark loudly instead, like this: Woof woof woof woof.”
Whether it was happy or sad events, A’Ling felt that letting it out made her feel better. Her heart was still beating abnormally, as if her blood was still racing through her veins.
“Thank you for saving me! Today was really exciting! Woof woof woof woof woof woof! You bark too, don’t hold it all in, or you’ll get dog-sickness.”
“Come on, let’s bark together, like this: Woof woof woof woof.”
A’Ling looked at the monstrous beast still fiercely unwilling to leave the cliff, lifted Ugly Dog, and let out a clear series of barks towards it: “Woof woof woof woof.”
Her arrogant demeanor, leveraging the dog’s presence, completely belied how desperate she had been just moments ago.
Shi Qingqian didn’t want to join in the silliness. She gave a vigorous splash forward, plunging into the water, and quickly swam towards the side, wanting to get further away from the idiot.
A’Ling was even more amused: “Really not going to bark? It really feels better when you let it out, you know.”
As she spoke, she shouted a vigorous ‘Ahhh!’ towards the sky. After shouting, a wave of exhaustion hit her, and she lay on her back on the water, letting her body drift with the current.
How nice, still alive. A’Ling slowly closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on her face. So comfortable.
Shi Qingqian stopped after putting some distance between herself and A’Ling. She turned her head to see the idiot floating serenely on the water, as comfortable as if they weren’t escaping for their lives but napping on a bed at home.
This person’s heart is truly unusually big.
Shi Qingqian narrowed her eyes, looking at the person whose eyes were crinkling with a smile in the sunlight. She let out a soft laugh, but her heart truly felt a sense of relief, a genuine relaxation of surviving a calamity.
She glanced at the cliff that was growing further and further away, and opened her mouth.
“You shouted! I heard you!” A’Ling suddenly opened her eyes, smiling brightly, and stretched her neck to look at Ugly Dog. “See? Doesn’t it feel much better to shout it out?”
Shi Qingqian twisted her head away awkwardly. No, she hadn’t. This idiot’s brain was no good, and neither were her ears.
A’Ling saw it didn’t respond to her, seeming almost shy. She found it amusing. What a strange dog.
Just as she was about to say something, suddenly, the water flow began to accelerate. She lifted her head and looked forward.
“Ah—”
Ahead, the river ended in a drop-off. A’Ling plummeted down with the waterfall, a wave of weightlessness washing over her. She abruptly closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, silence enveloped her. A’Ling looked at the deeply sleeping Ugly Dog before her; the stitched wound on its eyelid had mostly healed.
She abruptly widened her eyes, looking at everything before her.
It took her a while to realize that this was her cave dwelling; she had just been dreaming.
She had dreamt of her previous life. She and her Ugly Dog had encountered danger, and this Ugly Dog had saved her.
A’Ling slowly reached out and touched the small Ugly Dog beside her pillow. She didn’t know when it had climbed onto the bed.
Recalling the dream that had abruptly ended, she remembered that after returning from the demonic cave, she had inquired everywhere about where to find such peculiar ice crystals.
But before she could find any, the dog had run off.
She had clearly seen it run into Shi Qingqian’s cave dwelling, but Shi Qingqian claimed she hadn’t seen it.
A’Ling gently stroked the scar on Ugly Dog’s eyelid. In her previous life, it hadn’t had this injury. This time, their meeting had been earlier, and Ugly Dog’s attitude towards her seemed somewhat different.
Then this time, will it abandon her like in her previous life?
“Please don’t leave me, okay? This time, I’ll definitely find you the ice crystal…”
As A’Ling spoke, her eyelids grew heavy, and sleepiness swept over her once more.
When her breathing became long and steady once more, Shi Qingqian abruptly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were clear, without a trace of drowsiness, only the complex emotions within them made her dark gaze seem somewhat obscure.
A’Ling hopes she won’t leave…
Shi Qingqian’s momentary surprise was followed by a tremendous pang in her heart. What she wanted wasn’t for her not to leave, but for this Mutated Beast she had manifested not to leave.
She sighed softly. She couldn’t not leave. The three-month period was almost up. If she couldn’t return to her true body, she would never be able to go back.
Moreover, Shi Qingqian was greatly annoyed by her current form, in which she could do nothing. She had originally intended to return immediately once her injuries healed, but now…
Shi Qingqian glanced at the quietly sleeping A’Ling. When she wasn’t speaking and being annoying, she was actually quite cute.
Fine, I’ll stay for a few more days. Shi Qingqian made her decision.
However, she regretted it very soon.
On the day they were to depart for Zhuoling Mountain, Gu Jingyang came to look for A’Ling. Just now, her phoenix-feather message and the stone-mirror projection had gone unanswered by A’Ling. She had no idea what A’Ling was busy with.
She somewhat missed the past. Although A’Ling often just used a four-word phrase to perfunctorily reply, at least there was always a response to her messages, unlike now where she was always unreachable.
Arriving at A’Ling’s cave dwelling, seeing the tightly shut door, Gu Jingyang’s brow twitched. Could she still be sleeping?
What’s wrong with this person? She’s already reached Core Formation, yet she sleeps even more than before.
Gu Jingyang called out a few times towards the inside, then heard a clattering sound. A’Ling, her hair disheveled, came to open the door.
“A’Ling, what’s with this act?”
Gu Jingyang asked, looking at A’Ling, who was disheveled, her hair loose, and clinging tightly to a dog without letting go.
A’Ling felt a surge of frustration in her heart and forcefully slapped the dog in her arms.
“It’s all because of this ugly thing! I’m about to leave, and it insists on following me. I’ve told it I’m not going out to play.”
A’Ling was fuming. Just a few days ago, this dog was understanding, intelligent, and seemed to grasp human speech; it understood whatever she told it.
Today, she told it she would be away for some time and to stay at home and not run around, but it acted as if it couldn’t understand human speech and insisted on following her.
She tried to send it back several times without success. When she tried to lock it up, it darted around like a startled cat.
A’Ling forcefully flung the hair that had fallen near her mouth back. She had finally managed to catch this dog.
“I told you, you can’t go. You don’t know how dangerous that demonic cave is. Don’t lose the life you just regained.”
A’Ling wasn’t scaring it. In her previous life, she had almost died there. This time, no matter what, she wouldn’t take this dog with her. Although it had saved her last time, there was also an element of luck involved.
Good luck isn’t always present.
Gu Jingyang understood: A’Ling was going out, and her dog insisted on following.
Sigh, dogs are just that clingy.
Gu Jingyang had now completely accepted the fact that this strange, ugly thing A’Ling picked up was a dog.
She wanted to reach out and pet the dog in A’Ling’s arms, which looked quite aggrieved, but the dog tilted its head away, avoiding her hand.
Gu Jingyang awkwardly withdrew her hand, which had met with nothing. She had been quite busy this past month, only visiting A’Ling once or twice, and each time she felt that this dog didn’t seem to like her much.
She didn’t know what she had done to offend this dog.
“A’Ling, how is it that I recall you saying before that you’d let this dog go once its injuries healed? Didn’t its injuries heal a few days ago? Are you planning to keep raising it now?” Gu Jingyang asked teasingly, rubbing her empty hand.
A’Ling raised an eyebrow, knowing Gu Jingyang was teasing her. She pretended not to understand.
“I did let it go! It just wouldn’t leave on its own.”
A’Ling was speaking the truth. That day, after checking with Apothecary Mu Ling, who said Ugly Dog was completely recovered, she had indeed let it go.
It was its own choice to follow her back.
This time, she wasn’t forcing it to stay!
A’Ling’s lips curved upward. It’s just that this dog has become too clingy now, which is also a type of annoyance.
A’Ling thought of her previous life: she had poured her heart and soul into this Ugly Dog, but it had mostly ignored her.
In this life, she started ignoring it, but it began wagging its tail and showing affection. Of course, that’s a slight exaggeration.
It still didn’t wag its tail, but it no longer ignored people like before. On the contrary, these past few days, wherever A’Ling went, it would follow.
When she meditated and cultivated, it would sit quietly by her side; when she refined pills and artifacts, it would watch quietly from the side; not to mention eating and sleeping, it was practically always right in front of her.
Even when A’Ling didn’t want to bother with it and found it troublesome, it wouldn’t leave.
A’Ling now seriously suspected that its eagerness to cling to Shi Qingqian in the past was because it enjoyed fawning over someone who was cold to it.
But regardless, the dog’s injuries had just healed, and she still didn’t want to take it with her to Zhuoling Mountain. She had no idea what the situation with the mutated monstrous beasts there was, and she didn’t have any Moonlight Ice Crystals on hand now.
“Gu Jingyang, a favor.”
A’Ling pressed Ugly Dog onto the bed, asking Gu Jingyang to cast a spell to temporarily immobilize it.
Gu Jingyang pulled a helpless smile. She had never cast a spell to immobilize a dog before.
“For how long?” Gu Jingyang asked.
A’Ling thought for a moment: “A quarter of an hour should be enough.”
Gu Jingyang complied, forming a hand seal and casting a spell to immobilize A’Ling’s dog. However, this spell was meant for humans, so she wasn’t entirely sure if it would last a full quarter of an hour on a dog.
A’Ling, seeing the dog motionless, let out a sigh of relief. She quickly tidied herself up and left the door with Gu Jingyang.
After leaving, A’Ling was still uneasy and placed a protective barrier over her cave dwelling.
“Your setup is so grand, it doesn’t look like you’re locking up a dog, but rather imprisoning a person. Is this barrier really necessary?” Gu Jingyang asked with a laugh.
“Better safe than sorry. I don’t know who that scumbag who hurt the dog was. What if they find out the dog is here and come to abuse it again!” A’Ling said with a serious expression.
Gu Jingyang nodded: “Should I add another barrier for you?”
Every word of their conversation reached Shi Qingqian’s ears. Her eyes blazed with anxiety. She might be able to break through A’Ling’s barrier, but if Gu Jingyang added another layer, she really wouldn’t be able to get out.
A’Ling thought for a moment: “Never mind. Your cultivation level is high. If you add another barrier, passersby might truly think I’m hiding some treasure inside and am guarding against people so heavily.”
Shi Qingqian squeezed her eyes shut tightly, then let out a heavy breath. Thank goodness!
“Let’s go find Fushang. She knows that this trip is far and will take several days, so she’s prepared a lot of things. I hear there’s plenty to eat.”
Gu Jingyang had come to A’Ling also to discuss this: “A’Ling, you need to be careful. Be cautious with anything Lan Fushang gives you; don’t just thoughtlessly put it in your mouth.”
Otherwise, she’s worried that Mutated Beasts won’t harm them, but they’ll be taken down by their own teammate first.
A’Ling nodded very seriously: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely wait until you’ve eaten it and are fine before I do. By the way, was that shortbread last time okay?”
Gu Jingyang heard her mention the shortbread from last time, took a deep breath, and gritted her teeth: “It was fine!”
What could be wrong with it? It was just invigorating shortbread, and it was quite effective.
Last time, after she returned from A’Ling’s place, she ate one. The taste, well, let’s not talk about it; it was like chewing raw mint.
As for its effect, it was truly outstanding. From that day until now, she hadn’t closed her eyes once.
She still needed to ask Lan Fushang later if there were any side effects after such a potent effect. She hoped that after this sleepless, energetic state wore off, she wouldn’t have to sleep for three days and three nights straight.
If she fell asleep in the demonic cave, that would be a problem.