The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 66

A’Ling’s heart was churning with towering waves. She turned her head to look at the person beside her. The figure beside her, hidden in the black mist, and their cold, almost gloomy eyes, instantly froze the towering waves in A’Ling’s heart. A’Ling even began to wonder if the Shi Qingqian she once knew was truly her, or if the Shi Qingqian in her current form was the real one.
She vaguely retracted her gaze, then suddenly remembered something and quickly looked at the wall that could resurrect the mutated Sword Dragon. Only then did she realize that the demon cave below had been forcibly expanded by more than double. The walls were gone, stretching out dozens of yards further.
In the profound silence, A’Ling seemed to hear her own heart pounding like a war drum. She hurriedly checked the barrier she had set up, her eyes trembling intensely. Thankfully, thankfully, A’Ling let out a heavy breath. Her barrier was perfectly intact. In the entire cave, only that one section of wall remained unharmed.
Inside the secret chamber, the commotion outside earlier had been earth-shattering, causing the entire chamber to tremble along with it. Lan Fushang was also violently shaken, falling to the ground. She ignored the dirty water on her face and scrambled on all fours towards the entrance of the secret chamber.
“A’Ling, A’Ling, are you alright? A’Ling, answer me!” Lan Fushang staggered to her feet, pounding on the door and shouting outwards. With such a huge commotion just now, something must have gone wrong. Lan Fushang’s heart clenched fiercely. She disregarded A’Ling’s instructions and wanted to open the door to see how A’Ling was.
Just then, Lan Fushang suddenly heard a muffled cough behind her. She quickly looked back. Gu Jingyang had woken up at some point and was now staring at her with open eyes. She hurried to Gu Jingyang’s side, and after a quick examination, found no new problems, which finally put her mind at ease. It’s good that the recent tremor didn’t injure her heart meridian. She always felt an oppressive aura assailing her just now, but she couldn’t say what it was.
After opening her eyes, Gu Jingyang slowly twisted her neck. Her movements were sluggish, and her gaze also held a certain slowness. She looked around and asked, “Where’s A’Ling?”
Lan Fushang’s face was conflicted. Thinking of the enormous commotion earlier, her expression couldn’t help but falter. After some thought, she decided not to hide it and quickly recounted how A’Ling had gone out alone to face the mutated Sword Dragon. Gu Jingyang turned pale with shock upon hearing this. How could A’Ling be alone? She struggled, trying to get up and go find A’Ling.
Outside the secret chamber, A’Ling heard Lan Fushang’s shouts as soon as she could hear sounds again. Seeing that the barrier was fine, and hearing Lan Fushang’s voice, she could confirm that everything inside was alright. A’Ling’s heart relaxed slightly. She wanted to respond, to tell Lan Fushang not to worry, but when she opened her mouth, she found her throat seemed blocked by a lump of gravel. She managed to force out a single, hoarse sound. She gave up on calling out to Lan Fushang and turned to look at the person beside her, wanting Shi Qingqian to put her down.
Before she could speak, Shi Qingqian began to descend with her. A’Ling wondered why this person was so sensible this time. But soon, A’Ling noticed something was off. It wasn’t Shi Qingqian carrying her down, but rather the black mist beneath their feet gradually dissipating, causing them to slowly drift downwards. She abruptly looked up at Shi Qingqian, just about to ask what was happening, when she saw the person in front of her losing color as they fell.
A’Ling: ????
What in the world? What kind of play is this?
The black mist around Shi Qingqian gradually faded. Her pure black robes also lightened like ink stains spreading out, slowly fading until, in the end, her entire black attire turned back into the white robes she usually wore. A’Ling felt as if she was watching a magic trick. But at the moment, she was in no mood for magic tricks. She coughed forcefully, clearing the obstruction in her throat. She needed to ask Shi Qingqian what exactly had just happened.
When the black mist beneath their feet completely vanished, they were only a foot above the ground, and both landed safely. A’Ling was about to question Shi Qingqian when the person in front of her suddenly seemed to lose their backbone, their body going limp as they toppled sideways. It happened too suddenly. A’Ling instinctively reached out to support her, forgetting that she herself was already at her limit. Both of them fell to the ground. Fortunately, Shi Qingqian served as a human shield, preventing A’Ling from getting seriously hurt.
She pushed herself up from Shi Qingqian’s body with trembling hands. “No, what act are you putting on now?” A’Ling hissed in pain, clutching her throbbing wrist as she questioned Shi Qingqian.
Just then, the entire demon cave suddenly lit up. A’Ling, still clutching her wrist, looked up at the cave ceiling. The fiery particles of sand there had completely returned to their original dusty form, drifting down in a flurry. A’Ling quickly formed a protective shield, covering both herself and Shi Qingqian, thus avoiding being showered in dust. The person lying on the ground had their eyes tightly shut, as if completely unresponsive to this. A’Ling noticed that the illumination talismans she had stuck to the cave ceiling were now properly lit again.
Gazing at the quiet, suddenly illuminated, expansive demon cave, everything that had just happened felt like a dream. Now that the dream was over, everything had returned to normal. A’Ling pinched herself hard, then realized she was being foolish. She was already aching all over, so why would she need to pinch herself again? She could cry from her own stupidity. A’Ling clutched her arm and gasped, veins throbbing on her forehead from the pain. She was probably so startled by that bizarre scene earlier that her mind was a bit muddled.
A’Ling looked down at the culprit on the ground. Her face was even more terrifyingly pale than when she had just appeared from the void. She looked as if her internal energy had been completely drained and her spiritual energy exhausted, leaving her almost lifeless. A’Ling gently nudged her. “What’s wrong? Wake up. Get up. Weren’t you very powerful just now? Why do you suddenly look like you’re about to die?”
A’Ling pushed twice, but the person on the ground still had her eyes tightly shut, showing no sign of waking up. Her breathing was very faint. If A’Ling hadn’t been so close, she wouldn’t have been able to discern the rise and fall of her chest. “Hey, I’m serious, wake up quickly and explain to me what just happened!” A’Ling said, somewhat angrily, to the person on the ground. As she spoke, she wanted to slap the person in front of her, but seeing their pathetic, near-death appearance, her extended palm changed to a poke with her finger when it reached Shi Qingqian’s face: “Hey, wake up!”
“A’Ling, A’Ling, how are you?” The person on the ground didn’t respond to A’Ling, but A’Ling heard shouts from not far away. A’Ling looked up. The door to the secret chamber had opened at some point, and Lan Fushang ran out from inside, her face full of worry.
“A’Ling, sob, A’Ling, are you alright?” When Lan Fushang saw A’Ling conscious and half-lying on the ground, the tears she had been holding back in her eyes once again broke free. It’s good she’s not dead. As long as she’s not dead, she will pour all she has, even risking her own life, to heal her!
She staggered and rushed to A’Ling’s front, then plopped down to her knees with a thud. A’Ling raised her eyebrows. Why do they all like kneeling before her, one after another? With such a loud thud, don’t their knees hurt? Lan Fushang felt no pain in her knees at all. With a worried expression, she carefully held A’Ling’s arms, giving her a quick check. Thankfully, thankfully, her limbs were intact. A’Ling looked at her relieved expression, finding it both amusing and exasperating. Medical cultivators truly assess people differently; they first check if the body is intact.
“I’m fine. Come, give me a hand and help the one on the ground up.” A’Ling lowered her head to look at Shi Qingqian, who was still unresponsive on the ground. She thought that regardless of the reason, Shi Qingqian had indeed suddenly appeared and saved her at her most desperate moment. Only after A’Ling’s reminder did Lan Fushang notice there was another familiar person lying on the ground.
“Shi Qingqian?” Lan Fushang exclaimed in surprise. “Why is she here?”
“Good question, I don’t know either.” A’Ling raised her eyebrows, looking at the person on the ground. “Let’s bring her into the secret chamber first.” Who knows if a third mutated Sword Dragon will appear in this demon cave. To be safe, it’s better to go to the secret chamber first.
Lan Fushang nodded quickly. Inside the secret chamber, Gu Jingyang was still waiting. She had just managed to persuade her to stay inside and let her come out first to check. This time, Gu Jingyang had also injured her leg, making walking inconvenient. When Lan Fushang persuaded her, she had to mention her injured leg, saying that if there was danger outside the secret chamber, her leg would become a burden to A’Ling. She knew these words were hurtful, and Gu Jingyang indeed stopped moving after hearing them, but what she said was also the truth.
Lan Fushang got up from the ground, first helped A’Ling up, then together with A’Ling, helped Shi Qingqian up and supported her towards the secret chamber. Shi Qingqian, with her head lowered, furrowed her brow and tried her best to gather a trace of internal energy to lighten the pressure she was putting on A’Ling.
When all three entered the secret chamber and the door closed again, the recessed rock wall beside the secret chamber door suddenly exploded outwards from within. Amidst the swirling dust, Xing Yanchu stumbled out, clutching his chest.
As early as when Gu Jingyang and A’Ling were fighting the first mutated Sword Dragon, and Xing Yanchu was sent flying to this spot by the debris stirred up by the mutated Sword Dragon, he quickly dug a hole and hid inside while no one was paying attention. He activated a protective shield for himself, then piled the earth back, concealing his hiding spot perfectly. By pure coincidence, his hiding place was right beside the secret chamber that had appeared later. And it happened to be within the protective barrier A’Ling had set up. Thus, as if blessed by the Goddess of Luck, he managed to evade this crisis.
Being able to see the light of day again, Xing Yanchu exclaimed that his ancestors had blessed him. He half-knelt on the ground and gulped down large breaths. Just now, inside the wall, although there was a tiny crack, he still found it increasingly difficult to breathe. He had been worried he wouldn’t be able to hold out and would have to run out to his death. He couldn’t see the situation outside from within the wall, only relying on sounds to judge A’Ling and the others’ circumstances. Listening further, it became clear that A’Ling and the others were in dire straits. Gu Jingyang had already fallen, leaving only A’Ling. Just when he thought A’Ling was also about to collapse, he suddenly heard no sound. A thick wave of demonic energy seeped from the earth into his protective shield.
A great demon appeared!
He really couldn’t hold it in any longer. He seemed to have caught a faint sound of A’Ling just now, and it sounded like she was fine, which was why he burst out of the ground. Xing Yanchu looked around. The demon cave was empty, twice as large as when they first entered, and devoid of people. He seemed to have only heard A’Ling’s voice just now. What does that mean? Is A’Ling a demon? Was that demonic energy hers? Xing Yanchu instantly felt this conjecture was very reasonable. No wonder A’Ling had changed so much in just half a year; it turned out she had fallen into the demonic path!
Xing Yanchu sat stunned to the side, looking at the tightly shut secret chamber door. If A’Ling had fallen into the demonic path, what should he do? Should he tell Gu Jingyang and the others? They probably wouldn’t believe him. And he didn’t know how A’Ling was concealing her demonic energy. Furthermore, Xing Yanchu felt that given Gu Jingyang’s relationship with A’Ling, even if they knew A’Ling had fallen into the demonic path, they would likely conceal it for her. Gu Jingyang and the others would definitely cover for A’Ling.
No, Xing Yanchu thought to himself. He had to pretend not to know and report it to the sect elders when they returned. He needed to get the sect elders to help A’Ling remove the demonic energy from her body, so A’Ling might be able to return to her former self. Although the former A’Ling was rebellious, she was still decent to him. They could even curse Shi Qingqian together and cause trouble for her. Unlike now, A’Ling treated him like a stranger. No, worse than a stranger. Every time she saw him, it was as if she had a grudge against him.
Inside the secret chamber, A’Ling had no idea there had been someone else outside just now. She had long forgotten about Xing Yanchu, assuming he had already died at the mutated Sword Dragon’s hands.
Upon seeing the now-conscious Gu Jingyang in the secret chamber, all other thoughts vanished from A’Ling’s mind. Seeing that Gu Jingyang seemed about to get up, she hurriedly placed Shi Qingqian on the bed and urged Gu Jingyang not to move. “You should also lie down properly. Don’t move around too much and pull on your wounds.” After A’Ling finished speaking, she also couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed straight down beside Shi Qingqian. On one bed, from left to right, lay Gu Jingyang, Shi Qingqian, and A’Ling, three people horizontally. A’Ling was grateful. Thankfully, the bed Lan Fushang brought was big enough.
Gu Jingyang had already sat up from the bed. Seeing that A’Ling could still speak properly, the tiny bit of worry still lingering in her heart finally eased. After murmuring “A’Ling,” she sniffed hard and turned her head away, not wanting A’Ling to see the moisture in her eyes. After Gu Jingyang shifted her gaze from A’Ling, she looked at the person on the bed. Just now, A’Ling and Lan Fushang had helped someone in. That person’s head was bowed, so she couldn’t see their face. Only when the person was placed on the bed and their face revealed did she realize with a start that it was Shi Qingqian.
“What’s going on? Why is Qingqian here?” A’Ling lay on the bed, allowing Lan Fushang to examine her injuries. Hearing Gu Jingyang’s question, she replied weakly, “You’ll have to ask her.” This ‘her’ naturally referred to Shi Qingqian.
Gu Jingyang grew even more puzzled after hearing this. She glanced at the unconscious person beside her, frowning deeply. How could Qingqian be on Zhuoling Mountain? “You should lie down quickly. You’re also injured, so don’t worry about others,” A’Ling said earnestly.
Gu Jingyang glanced at the bed, which wasn’t actually very large. If they weren’t lying horizontally, it probably wouldn’t fit three people. And with three people lying on one bed, somehow, Gu Jingyang felt a bit awkward. She sat upright, pushed herself up with the edge of the bed, and stood up, clearing a space that also made it convenient for Lan Fushang to examine Shi Qingqian’s injuries. Lan Fushang said nothing. She simply took out a lounge chair, placed it by the side, and helped Gu Jingyang sit down. Three people on one bed was indeed a bit crowded.
Lan Fushang wanted to first tend to A’Ling’s terrible wounds, which were too gruesome to look at for long. A’Ling waved her hand. She was already numb with pain. She turned her head to look at the still-unconscious Shi Qingqian beside her and said sarcastically, “Tend to this one who’s about to die first. I’m fine.” Lan Fushang’s eyes were full of heartache, mixed with a hint of reproach as she looked at A’Ling. She clearly meant well, wanting her to prioritize Shi Qingqian, but her words were so easily misunderstood by those who didn’t know her.
She listened to A’Ling and first examined Shi Qingqian. After a thorough check, she relaxed. “She’s fine. Her internal injuries aren’t severe; she’s just exhausted her spiritual energy and needs some time to recover.” As Lan Fushang spoke, Shi Qingqian seemed to stir, her eyelids fluttering slightly. A’Ling abruptly let out a sigh of relief after hearing this. It’s good she won’t die. She was still waiting for her to wake up and explain what had happened.
After checking Shi Qingqian, Lan Fushang returned to A’Ling’s side and meticulously examined her. She found that not only were there these external injuries, but A’Ling’s internal energy was also greatly depleted. She channeled some true qi into A’Ling to protect her heart meridian. She then fed A’Ling some recovery pills. Next, she would have to tend to A’Ling’s external wounds. The moment she saw A’Ling’s wrist with bone exposed earlier, her heart trembled uncontrollably with pain. Gu Jingyang felt the same. She couldn’t even ask if A’Ling was ‘alright’. How could she be alright? From the moment A’Ling entered, Gu Jingyang wanted to cry. A’Ling looked as battered as if she had been dragged out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. There was hardly a single intact spot on her body…
Lan Fushang also suppressed the waves of heartache. She needed to remove A’Ling’s clothes to properly tend to her wounds, but as soon as she extended her hand, A’Ling gripped it.
“What are you doing?” A’Ling asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lan Fushang explained, “All the wounds on your body need to be properly treated and medicated.”
A’Ling felt a wave of awkwardness. “You don’t need to take off my clothes for that, do you…?”
Lan Fushang chuckled softly. “Do you want me to bandage you through your clothes? Be good, A’Ling, these wounds need immediate attention. Look, these few spots are still bleeding.” Lan Fushang merely thought A’Ling was being a bit childish. She had seen children who were reluctant to have their wounds treated before. A’Ling looked down at her body. Indeed, there were still a few spots bleeding.
“Alright, I’ll take them off myself.” A’Ling released Lan Fushang’s hand, feeling no particular embarrassment. Just as she was about to start undressing, she suddenly noticed the person beside her stir. She turned to look and saw Shi Qingqian, who had just been facing her, suddenly turn her head away to look at the other side. She propped herself up, glanced over while undressing, and saw that the person still wasn’t awake.
On the other side, the instant A’Ling began to undress, Gu Jingyang also lowered her head, focusing intently on the Cosmos Pearl in her hand. A’Ling glanced at her. She’s quite considerate, she thought. She hadn’t thought much of it initially, but Shi Qingqian’s unconscious turning of her head had reminded her. Lan Fushang was a medical cultivator and her chosen future Dao companion, so there was nothing wrong with her looking. As for others, it was better not to.
A’Ling raised an eyebrow at Lan Fushang, and with a deliberately pinched voice, said, “Fushang, now that you’ve seen my body, you’ll have to take responsibility for me in the future.”
Lan Fushang chuckled. “Alright, from now on, all your injuries will be my responsibility.”
A’Ling smiled along. “You said it, for life, alright?”
Lan Fushang nodded. “Mm, not just for one lifetime. If there are future lives, as many as it takes.”
A’Ling burst out laughing upon hearing this. She knew it! Pursuing a Dao companion wasn’t that difficult. Taking responsibility for healing her for life, by approximation, wasn’t that just taking responsibility for her for life? Though she said that, A’Ling still left herself a light bandeau. Primarily, she hadn’t sustained any injuries there.
On the other side, Shi Qingqian, lying on her side with her head turned away, suddenly had her face darken upon hearing A’Ling and Lan Fushang’s conversation. Gu Jingyang’s hand, clutching the Cosmos Pearl, also tightened abruptly.
Suddenly, a light flashed from within the Cosmos Pearl. She had unconsciously activated the pearl’s secret key. On the dark cave wall of the secret chamber, a familiar face slowly appeared. Shi Qingqian’s face, tinged with black energy, showed surprise and bewilderment.
Lan Fushang looked at the suddenly appearing image, her hand pausing in treating the wounds. She exclaimed in surprise, “Is that Shi Qingqian?”
A’Ling also tilted her head back, looking at the strange image projected from the Cosmos Pearl. Hearing what Lan Fushang said, she shook her head. “It’s not her.” Although the person in the image was extremely similar to Shi Qingqian, their temperaments were completely different. Moreover, Shi Qingqian had a delicate, small red mole at the corner of her left eye, which the person in the image did not possess.