The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 75

The tent was made from a waterproof fabric specially treated from the vines of a plant found in Mystic Crane Mountain. It was not only lightweight but also carried a faint plant fragrance. However, due to the limited extensibility of the plant material, the space inside such tents was generally not large.
After A’Ling sat up, the small space felt a bit crowded. The two were very close, so much so that when A’Ling had just spoken, she saw her breath cause the wisps of hair near Shi Qingqian’s temples to gently sway.
Shi Qingqian looked down at the suddenly awakened A’Ling. Though A’Ling wore a bewildered expression, light gradually filled her dark eyes, indicating she was fully awake. Just now, after she heard the shouts and broke through the barrier to enter, she had called out several times but A’Ling remained asleep. She had originally intended to use spiritual energy to cleanse A’Ling’s dream and bring her to full consciousness.
Facing A’Ling’s question, Shi Qingqian answered truthfully. “I heard you call my name just now, so I came in.”
The bewilderment on A’Ling’s face deepened. “I called you?” As she spoke, she glanced at the tent, noticing an issue. “This barrier?”
Shi Qingqian nodded. “When I entered just now, I broke your barrier, so I set up a new one.”
A’Ling’s bewildered face gradually showed displeasure. She had set up the barrier precisely because she didn’t want others to enter. Yet, this person was quite something; after breaking in, she even set up a new barrier herself. What was the difference between this and picking a lock to enter someone’s home, then replacing it with a new one?
Shi Qingqian noticed A’Ling’s displeasure and immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, I thought something had happened to you just now.” As for setting up a new barrier after entering, it was solely out of concern for A’Ling’s safety.
A’Ling frowned, looking at this person who suddenly seemed to be feeling wronged. Remembering the situation in her dream, she realized she had probably cried out while dreaming, allowing this person to hear her.
A’Ling temporarily set this matter aside. She had a more, a particularly important matter to verify.
“Do you have the ability or some method to go directly to the demon realm?” A’Ling looked into Shi Qingqian’s eyes and asked seriously, her face still showing a hint of urgency.
Shi Qingqian was a little confused, not knowing why A’Ling would suddenly ask this question. She seemed anxious, the light in her eyes flickering, as if she desperately needed a definite answer. Although Shi Qingqian had not yet been to the demon realm, she knew that the demon realm’s barrier was truly nothing to her. And she indeed knew how to go directly to the demon realm, even though she hadn’t used that method yet.
But seeing A’Ling’s anxious look, Shi Qingqian nodded. “Yes.”
A’Ling’s heart tightened. As expected. She pressed on, “Can you go directly from anywhere?”
Shi Qingqian’s expression changed slightly, a hint of confusion quickly flashing in her eyes. “You want to go?”
A’Ling nodded vigorously. “Yes, I want to go. If I want to go right now, do you have a way?”
Shi Qingqian paused slightly, glancing at the barrier she had set up outside, then at the anxious look on A’Ling’s face. She didn’t ask for the reason, nor did she ask what A’Ling intended to do in the demon realm. Her empty hand flipped, palm facing up, as she silently recited a demonic spell. Gradually, black mist rose from her palm, soon enveloping Shi Qingqian’s entire hand.
Seeing this, A’Ling couldn’t help but swallow. Her empty hand instinctively grabbed onto something, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on Shi Qingqian’s mist-wreathed hand.
Shi Qingqian simply waved her bare hand, and the void immediately tore open with a rift. Suddenly, a dark, eerie crack appeared in the tent, as if an invisible hand were tearing the seam further open on both sides.
“Can one reach the demon realm by going through here?” That narrow crack quickly expanded into a half-person-high ‘door’. A’Ling could crawl through it in just a few steps.
Shi Qingqian softly hummed in affirmation. “Shall we go now?”
A’Ling couldn’t quite describe the feeling in her heart. It was as if her suspended heart had finally landed, only to discover a pit beneath her feet, sending her plummeting further down. Hearing Shi Qingqian’s affirmative answer, and seeing this ‘door’ that was identical to the one in her dream, A’Ling was certain. The mystery of how she had gone to the demon realm in her previous life, which she could never recall, was now solved.
She looked up at Shi Qingqian. “It was really you!”
It was actually her! It was Shi Qingqian who sent her to the demon realm!
A’Ling annoyingly wanted to pull at her hair, but realized that what her hand had instinctively grabbed was Shi Qingqian’s. When she abruptly let go, she realized her other hand was still held in Shi Qingqian’s palm. Unconsciously, that hand had been warmed to a fervent heat. A’Ling reacted, abruptly pulling her hand away. As the back of her hand brushed Shi Qingqian’s warm palm, A’Ling suddenly felt a little hot. An unspeakable awkwardness and stiffness surged into her heart, causing A’Ling to very deliberately tuck her hands behind her back.
She truly never would have thought it would be Shi Qingqian, that it was she who had brought her out of the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff… In her previous life, she had always thought it was because she had lost her sanity after falling into the demonic path that she forgot how she had escaped that dreadful place!
A’Ling gazed at the ‘door’ that had torn open the void in the tent, her eyes trembling. Why? Why would Shi Qingqian jump into the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff for her? That was a place where cultivators had only a slim chance of survival! And didn’t Shi Qingqian want her to die painfully?
No, that’s not right. A’Ling thought of what she had heard in that ‘dream’. She abruptly looked at Shi Qingqian.
Shi Qingqian didn’t know what A’Ling meant by “it was really you.” She looked down at her suddenly empty hand; the warmth that had been in her palm had just dissipated. So human body temperature could warm each other. Her hand had originally been quite cold; it had only gradually warmed up after holding A’Ling’s. Now that A’Ling had withdrawn her hand, a residual warmth still lingered in her palm. She raised her head, just in time to see A’Ling also looking at her, her eyes flickering with astonishment, as if she had encountered something utterly unbelievable.
Shi Qingqian glanced at the ‘door’ beside them, where demonic energy surged. Although there was a barrier outside, if this ‘door’ lingered for too long, there was still a risk of exposure.
“Still going?” Shi Qingqian spoke, breaking the silence in the tent.
A’Ling hadn’t fully recovered from her shock. Hearing this, she instinctively replied, “Go where?”
Shi Qingqian pointed to the ‘door’ beside them.
A’Ling came back to her senses and quickly shook her head. “No, I won’t go. You, um, close it. Oh no, put it away.” She was a bit incoherent, mainly because she didn’t know if this ‘door’ that had torn open the void could be closed just by her words, or if there was some other way to make it disappear.
Shi Qingqian didn’t ask A’Ling why she suddenly didn’t want to go anymore. It was as casual as opening a door and then closing it. She watched as Shi Qingqian gathered her palm, loosely clenching her fist. The black mist in her palm vanished, and then the ‘door’ also dissipated in the void.
“Is this technique something only you can do?” A’Ling suddenly thought of this question. Previously, even when she was in the Divine Demon Realm, she couldn’t perform such a powerful technique. To exit the demon realm, she still had to go through the Evernight Forest and painstakingly eliminate those fierce beasts.
“If Elder Zeng is telling the truth, then only I should be able to do it,” Shi Qingqian said truthfully. All her knowledge regarding demonic matters had been imparted by Elder Zeng or Apothecary Yang Xia. This spell of tearing the void to return to the demon realm, according to him, was an ability only the Demon Lord possessed. Because for the Demon Lord, returning to the demon realm was akin to returning to her own territory.
“Elder Zeng?” A’Ling was surprised. Why would Elder Zeng know this? Suddenly, she realized, “Is Elder Zeng a demon?”
Shi Qingqian nodded. Not only was he a demon, but he was also a demon with whom she had signed the [Demon Lord’s Eternal Covenant]. Ever since she used the [Demon soul Crimson Phoenix Art] in the mutated Sword Dragon Demon Cave, everyone on that list had become her ‘servants’.
The shock A’Ling received today truly made her suspect she was now in a new dream. Soon she thought of Apothecary Yang Xia. “So Apothecary Yang Xia is also a demon?”
Shi Qingqian nodded, confirming A’Ling’s guess.
A’Ling took a deep breath. She truly hadn’t seen it at all. How did they suppress their demonic energy? How could they hide it so well? She had never possessed such an ability before. She really wanted to ask for clarification, but A’Ling knew that asking these questions would easily expose why she knew so much about demonic matters. Currently, she was still just a very ordinary cultivator, who had not fallen into the demonic path.
Thinking of falling into the demonic path, A’Ling stared straight at the person in front of her. In her previous life, she had always believed it was because of Shi Qingqian that she fell into the demonic path, enduring the pain of demonic cultivation day and night. In her previous life, she was finally convicted, her fate sealed by Shi Qingqian’s pronouncement: ‘Fault deserves punishment.’ Whenever those four words came to mind, A’Ling would grind her teeth in hatred; in the demon realm, she had wanted to kill Shi Qingqian every single moment. She felt that her rapid advancement in demonic cultivation was precisely due to her hatred for Shi Qingqian. She had even thought that as long as she could reach the Immortal-Demon Realm and become the unrivaled Demon Lord, she would lead her forces back to Mystic Crane Mountain and make Shi Qingqian experience this kind of pain as well.
A’Ling looked at the person in front of her, at the concern on her face. For some reason, she found herself superimposing this face with the final scene from her dream. Simply because the person in front of her had an extremely similar final gaze to the person in her dream — both held emotions she couldn’t understand, and a tenderness that could be felt without even needing to see.
A’Ling slightly turned her head away. “You back then—” The words reached her lips, then abruptly stopped. A’Ling scoffed at herself for being muddle-headed; that was a matter from her previous life. How could she expect the current Shi Qingqian to know?
But A’Ling was truly curious.
A’Ling thought for a moment, then looked back at Shi Qingqian. “I want to ask you a question.”
Shi Qingqian saw her serious expression, and her brow subtly twitched. For some reason, she instinctively felt this question was very important, important enough to seemingly change the relationship between them. She straightened her face and said, “Ask away.”
A’Ling saw her suddenly become serious and was a bit unsure how to begin. She thought for a moment, then slightly altered the events from her dream, fabricating a new story.
“Let’s hypothesize, just hypothesize,” A’Ling first emphasized, before continuing. “Suppose, in this mission to deal with mutated demonic beasts, we went together. When we reached the demon’s cave, at the critical moment of your fight with the beast, I took out the Spirit Suppressing Incense— you know that thing, right? It can hinder your cultivation. You were severely injured because of it. If such a thing happened, how would you punish me?”
“Punishment?” Shi Qingqian blurted out, a hint of confusion in her tone. Why would she punish A’Ling?
“Yes, punishment, penalty, or retaliation, whatever you call it. How would you deal with me?” A’Ling didn’t know if asking a question from her previous life to a person in this life would yield the answer she wanted. But now she had no other choice. Could she really go back to her previous life and question Shi Qingqian from that life?
Shi Qingqian didn’t know why A’Ling would make such a hypothesis. She looked at A’Ling’s serious expression and thought carefully. But it seemed she wouldn’t punish A’Ling at all; A’Ling’s actions were all because Shi Qingqian had hurt her first. Whatever A’Ling did, Shi Qingqian was willing to endure, as long as A’Ling could forgive her. She wanted to say she wouldn’t impose any punishment, but seeing A’Ling’s stubborn gaze, it seemed A’Ling genuinely wanted a penalty.
Shi Qingqian thought deeply and seriously again. If such a thing truly happened, and for some reason she had no choice but to impose a penalty… “Face the wall and reflect on your mistakes, confined to your cultivation cave.” Shi Qingqian thought, the situation where she had to punish must be when she couldn’t protect her. At such a time, perhaps confining her would be safer, and then she could resolve the external factors that forced her hand.
“It wasn’t you…” After A’Ling heard Shi Qingqian’s answer, the last shred of resistance in her heart also vanished. This answer was the same as what she had heard in her dream. A’Ling’s eyes trembled as she looked at Shi Qingqian, muttering, “It really wasn’t you…”
The person she had hated for an entire lifetime in her previous life… now, after dying and being reborn, she realized she had hated the wrong person. How ridiculously foolish she was. She had even, because of her hatred for Shi Qingqian, plotted against her, ultimately causing herself to explode and die. She truly had been killed by her own foolishness. A’Ling’s eyes gradually reddened. If she could cry, she would probably weep bitterly over her past foolishness right now.
“What’s wrong?” Shi Qingqian looked at the person in front of her who seemed greatly shaken. Not long ago, she had said ‘it was really you,’ and now ‘it wasn’t you.’ What exactly ‘was’ or ‘wasn’t’ her?
A’Ling shook her head, unable to speak. She had already confirmed that what happened just now was not a dream; she truly didn’t know for what reason she had seen what transpired after she was thrown into the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff in her previous life. Shi Qingqian had indeed jumped into the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff to save her. She found her and safely brought her to the demon realm. It was Shi Qingqian who saved her… Just like now, this person appearing before her was also because she came to save her.
Wait. A’Ling thought of the situation in her previous life, when Shi Qingqian searched for her in the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff; she hadn’t known A’Ling’s exact location. Shi Qingqian in this life didn’t possess the cultivation of her previous life, so how could she so easily and accurately find her location in this life?
“This time you came to save me, you knew something had happened to me, and you also knew where it had happened, right?” A’Ling hesitated for just a moment, then chose to ask directly. She had always felt that Shi Qingqian wouldn’t tell her the truth, but now she vaguely felt that her previous understanding was all wrong.
Shi Qingqian’s sudden and accurate appearance this time meant she hadn’t intended to hide it from A’Ling anyway. Even if A’Ling was slow to consider this matter, Gu Jingyang would definitely be able to spot the anomaly.
“Yes, I knew where you were, and I knew something had happened to you.”
A’Ling hadn’t expected Shi Qingqian to be so direct. “How did you know?”
Shi Qingqian seemed to have been waiting for this question. The moment A’Ling asked, she extended her hand for her to see. A’Ling saw a stream of black mist slowly rise from the pad of Shi Qingqian’s index finger, followed by a faint black mist from her palm. Upon closer inspection, though both were black mist, the two types differed slightly in form and color.
“What is this?” A’Ling didn’t understand why Shi Qingqian was showing her this.
Shi Qingqian pointed to the black mist on her index finger. “This is your demonic energy.”
“Mine?” A’Ling was greatly astonished. “How do I have demonic energy? And inside your body?”
Shi Qingqian flipped her palm, then closed her hand, and the mist dissipated. She told A’Ling about how, back then in the Huo family residence, A’Ling had almost fallen into the demonic path while disciplining Huo Zhen.
A’Ling was dumbfounded. “So at that time, when you bit my finger, you transferred the demonic energy from my body into yours?” She had actually been reborn and almost fallen into the demonic path again. A’Ling clutched her chest, feeling a surge of lingering fear.
Shi Qingqian nodded. “Apothecary Yang Xia also couldn’t draw your demonic energy out of my body, so for now, it’s sealed within me. I can sense your location based on your demonic energy inside my body.”
A’Ling had never expected this to be the reason Shi Qingqian knew where she was. “Why would I have demonic energy in my body?” A’Ling was very puzzled. The moment she was reborn, she had immediately checked for demonic energy within her, and not a single trace remained.
“Accurately speaking, it’s not inside your body.” Shi Qingqian thought for a moment, then also told A’Ling about how Jin Siliu had given her the Tearless Key.
A’Ling was speechless and amused after hearing this. The shocks of today, as expected, came one after another, non-stop. “You mean, Jin Siliu gave me something that was originally meant for you? That thing belonged to your mother, it’s a demonic item, inherently carrying demonic energy?”
Shi Qingqian thought for a moment. Simply put, it was indeed like that. She gently nodded.
Alright, now A’Ling completely understood why she had heard a gentle voice calling her ‘child’ in the Heaven-Bearing Sorrowful Prison Cliff. In her previous life, she had already felt that the demonic energy was protecting her. This time, seeing with her own eyes the demonic energy enveloping her like a cicada’s cocoon, she was even more certain that it was protecting her. Otherwise, she might not have been able to hold on until Shi Qingqian came to save her.
Now Shi Qingqian told her that this item should have been hers, but Jin Siliu, out of a momentary selfishness, had given it to her instead. In her previous life, she had even blamed Shi Qingqian for stealing too many things from her, hated that Shi Qingqian lived an easy life in the Huo family while she had to wander aimlessly, and resented that Jin Siliu always prioritized Shi Qingqian.
Now, at this moment, she realized all her resentment, blame, and hatred were nothing but a joke. It was she who had stolen Shi Qingqian’s things. Shi Qingqian had lived a miserable life in the Huo family, confined alone in the embroidery tower for five years. And Jin Siliu, at some point in the past, had chosen her over her master’s entrustment.
“How do I return this thing to you?” A’Ling asked, enduring the dull ache in her heart.
Shi Qingqian didn’t react for a moment. “Hm?”
A’Ling’s throat felt as if it was choked with gravel, only with great effort could she produce a strained voice. “This Tearless Key, how do I return it to you?” She had to return the item to Shi Qingqian as quickly as possible.
Shi Qingqian looked at A’Ling in front of her, who now knew the truth and whose eyes were slightly lowered. For a moment, she couldn’t discern the emotions in A’Ling’s eyes, but hearing her stiff, dry, and somewhat choked voice, she knew A’Ling’s mood was definitely not good. She seemed to be trembling slightly all over. Shi Qingqian knew that with the Tearless Key inside her, A’Ling wouldn’t cry, but because of this, Shi Qingqian’s heart ached with pain. Perhaps crying it out would make her feel better. Shi Qingqian glanced at A’Ling’s trembling eyes, her gaze falling on A’Ling’s lips, which were trembling slightly like her eyelashes.
However, if that item were to be removed, now was not a good time. At least, that’s what Shi Qingqian thought.
“I haven’t found a method yet.” Shi Qingqian quickly made a decision, not intending to retrieve the Tearless Key at this moment. She knew that if she told A’Ling how to retrieve it now, A’Ling wouldn’t refuse, but she didn’t want to do such a thing to A’Ling under these circumstances.
A’Ling heard that Shi Qingqian didn’t know how to retrieve it and nodded helplessly. “Okay, if you find out how to take it back, come find me.”
After saying this, A’Ling seemed to have exhausted all her spiritual energy, falling heavily back onto the pillow. She buried her face in the pillow and said in a muffled voice, “I need to sleep a bit more. You should go out.” Although she still had many questions she wanted to ask, she was also afraid of learning more ‘surprises’; she had received enough shock for one day. Her mind was very, very confused now; she needed to sort things out properly. The key was that she now completely didn’t know what attitude to take towards Shi Qingqian. She had been ‘occupying’ Shi Qingqian’s things, yet she had targeted her again and again, feeling that Shi Qingqian had wronged her.
A’Ling felt Shi Qingqian was still looking at her. She pulled the blanket over her head, covering her entire body, like a turtle retreating into its shell, seeking to escape reality for a while.
It was the first time Shi Qingqian had heard A’Ling use such a gentle tone to tell her to leave. Generally, A’Ling would tell her to ‘scram’ or ‘get out’; nine out of ten times their conversations were filled with animosity. This was also one of their rare peaceful conversations. She gazed deeply at A’Ling’s humped blanket, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes. Although she still had doubts about A’Ling’s two statements — ‘it was really you’ and ‘it wasn’t you’ — she didn’t plan to ask about it now.
“Okay.”
After Shi Qingqian left the tent, she saw that the sky was already showing streaks of dawn white; it was almost daybreak. She looked back at the tent she had placed a barrier on, then thought for a moment and added another layer of illusion. This way, when A’Ling looked out from inside, it would still seem like deep night, allowing her to sleep more peacefully.
After Shi Qingqian finished all this, she only then noticed a gaze behind her. She frowned and turned her head.
Lan Fushang stood frozen in place, her face full of surprise. She had seen that it was getting late and planned to get up to make breakfast for everyone, just as she saw Shi Qingqian emerge from A’Ling’s tent. When she saw Shi Qingqian walking towards her expressionlessly, Lan Fushang nervously swallowed. “Morning,” she stammered, “You… why did you come out of A’Ling’s tent?” She worriedly tilted her head, looking towards A’Ling’s tent behind Shi Qingqian. The barrier on the tent was still there, so how had Shi Qingqian gotten in?
Shi Qingqian looked at the person in front of her, remembering what she had heard when she was injured and transformed into a mutated beast. A’Ling actually wanted to find this person to be her Dao Companion. Shi Qingqian looked her up and down condescendingly, coming to a conclusion: No. Shi Qingqian thought of the change in A’Ling’s attitude today, and it was as if dawn light peeking through the clouds had fallen into her eyes. Since she wants to find a Dao Companion, why not me? She was better in every way than the person in front of her.
She looked down at the person in front of her. “Give me the things.”
“Huh?” Lan Fushang was surprised. “What things?” Wasn’t she asking Shi Qingqian why she had come out of A’Ling’s tent? What was she supposed to give her?
“The breakfast ingredients,” Shi Qingqian said, then pointed to A’Ling’s tent again. “Quiet down, A’Ling just went to sleep.”
Before Lan Fushang could say anything, Shi Qingqian continued, “A’Ling called me in.”
“Oh, oh.” Lan Fushang nodded, lowering her voice. A’Ling really was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted; it must have been her soft heart last night that made her let Shi Qingqian squeeze in with her. She looked at Shi Qingqian’s expression and felt that her spirits today seemed exceptionally good.
“Is there something happy happening?” Lan Fushang blurted out. After asking, she felt a little regret; Shi Qingqian didn’t seem to like her much and probably didn’t want to chat too much with her.
To her surprise, Shi Qingqian actually replied. “Mm, I figured something out.” Her gaze looked at Lan Fushang, as if waiting for her to continue asking. Lan Fushang didn’t disappoint her and continued to ask, “What is it?” What could make someone so happy after figuring it out? She was a little curious too.
“I want A’Ling to be my Dao Companion.”
Since A’Ling had the intention of finding a Dao Companion, Shi Qingqian thought, then why couldn’t it be me? Lan Fushang never would have thought that so early in the morning, she would hear such a shocking piece of news. She didn’t know what to say. But Shi Qingqian, contrary to her usual self, even asked another question. “What are your thoughts?”
Lan Fushang awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. What thoughts am I supposed to have about this? Shouldn’t she be asking A’Ling, why ask me? But seeing Shi Qingqian’s insistent look, she thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, “It’s… it’s pretty good, I suppose.”