By the time the sun started rising, I got off my bed and was about to leave my room before a foul stench assaulted my nose.
It didn't take me long to figure out where it came from… The Divine Body Refining Scripture also cleanses the body of its impurities.
My entire body was covered in black sticky goo, and my white robes were no longer white but black.
"Ah, it seems my body needs a good scrubbing in the waterfall because the water in the bathroom won't be enough."
'Taking a bath in the waterfall during winter, I'm going to catch a cold again this week.'
I quickly left the hut and rushed to the waterfall just a couple of metres away from the hut. But surprisingly, it wasn't cold when I left the house.
Usually I would be shivering, but now, all I felt was just a slight chill.
But then, I remembered, "Ah, I'm now a cultivator. So this cold is nothing at all. Hahaha!" I laughed joyously, took off my robes and jumped straight in the water.
After my quick bath, I quickly fed the chickens and watered the crops before going to Aunt Meiqi's room.
"Good morning, Aunt Meiqi!" I cried out the moment I entered her room without knocking.
But before I could say anything else, a sword stopped right on my neck. And a cold, bone-chilling voice said, "Who are you?"
"A-Aunt Meiqi, it's me, Rui." I said, trembling in fear.
"Do you think you can fool me? My Rui cannot talk, nor does he have golden eyes." she said, still maintaining her cold expression.
"Eh, golden eyes? That's true I don't have golden eyes." I said, confused. For a few moments, I forgot about the sword on my neck and quickly glanced at my reflection on the window.
"Ah! What happened to my precious black eyes!" I shouted, but before I could panic, a short memory surfaced in my mind. "Ah, those of my bloodline undergo a unique transformation the moment we start cultivation."
Aunt Meiqi was confused seeing me act all strange despite having a sword on my neck. She studied me carefully before saying, "R-Rui, is that really you?"
"Yes, my soul has finally healed completely and I can finally talk now." I said, smiling happily. Seeing that she was still hesitant, I started singing the lullaby she always sang for me before putting me to sleep.
Aunt Meiqi smiled in relief before falling down. Her skin was pale and she started coughing out blood. "T-that's good then. Now I can die in peace knowing you'll be fine without me."
I quickly rushed to pick her up, carefully placed on her bed before checking her condition. Seeing how she looked worse than she did last night, I started panicking.
But before I could say anything, I saw it. Her body, cultivation base and soul were killing each other. Just then, another shared knowledge flashed in my head, and I quickly understood what's going on.
"Haha, Aunt Meiqi, I'm pretty sure you won't be dying in my watch." I said, smiling before bringing my head close to her. "Do not resist, let it flow in your head."
When our foreheads touched and I closed my eyes before channelling small threads of Qi from my mind to her mind. This was the ancient dragon race technique, knowledge sharing.
What I just passed to my aunt was a Divine Grade cultivation technique my father stole from the Phoenix race.
"Divine Phoenix Soul Technique? Divine Grade? W-what is all this, little Rui?" Aunt Meiqi asked, her face turning even paler than before.
"Ah, you see, when my soul healed, I found out about my origins and this knowledge is my inheritance." I said, smiling.
"No, never mind that. What is this cultivation technique, and what is Divine Grade?" she asked again.
"Well, since you possess the Divine Phoenix Soul, which grows stronger as time goes on, while your body is still too weak. In short, your soul is destroying your body and cultivation base." I said.
Looking around the room, I quickly found a box with a strong Profound Qi licking out. I quickly took out the root inside and gave it to her. "This will do. It possesses a strong medicinal Qi. Just take a small bite before cultivating the technique I gave you, and you'll be completely healed in a few hours."
"Are you sure about all this, little Rui? This root was supposed to help you when you start cultivating, I don't deserve it."
"Your life is more important than my cultivation. There will be plenty of opportunities when we leave these woods, Aunt. You don't wanna leave me behind in this cruel world, right aunt?" I said, leaving the room before she could say anything else.
In the room, Meiqi hesitated for a few minutes trying to process everything that happened earlier. But she soon did as she was told and began cultivating after biting a small chunk of the root.
And like Rui said, she was completely healed in a few hours, and even better, her cultivation which has been stuck in the second level Heavenly Spirit Realm for the past 5 years suddenly rose to the fourth level Heavenly Spirit Realm.
Her strength had returned and her vitality was also stronger. She cried because she didn't have to leave Rui alone in this world anymore.