Feng Xi was stunned.
The Golden Maned Suanni had made such a ruckus and only got three Ziqiao Linglong Fruits.
Yet Xiao Baidao had given her ten?
Feng Xi's eyes reddened.
She was genuinely moved by this master.
"Master, I'm fine. In the Scripture Pavilion I might've obtained…"
She had originally wanted to say she had gained a fortuitous encounter in the Scripture Pavilion, but some kind of force seemed to bind her, she simply couldn't say it.
She took out paper and brush, but her hand shook like a chicken claw, she couldn't write it either.
Seeing this, Xiao Baidao nearly burst into tears!
It's over!
His little disciple seemed to have turned dull-witted from the damage to her divine sense!
Feng Xi could only give up on telling the truth and instead asked, "Master, how many spirit stones can one Ziqiao Linglong Fruit sell for on the market?"
Xiao Baidao didn't know why she was asking, but still replied, "Two hundred thousand lower-grade spirit stones."
Even though she had already mentally prepared herself, the price still startled Feng Xi.
No wonder Xuantian Sect was counting on this batch of Ziqiao Linglong Fruits to patch the deficit, they were indeed valuable.
She could imagine the pressure Xiao Baidao would face once word got out that he'd given her ten fruits.
"Master, I'll find a way to earn money and fill this hole."
Although she said it with complete seriousness, Xiao Baidao assumed she was just talking nonsense.
What could a girl with almost no cultivation do to earn money?
Not to mention a giant sum of two million spirit stones!
To be honest, Xiao Baidao had hesitated. After all, he and Feng Xi had only interacted for a few days, there was a bond of master and disciple, but not yet a deep one.
But thinking of how the little girl depended on him, how she felt a sense of belonging to the sect, and especially how she had helped him resolve his mental knot and break through, the old man steeled himself.
He smiled and said, "Money is an external thing. You just need to focus on healing. Don't worry about the rest, your master will handle it."
Of course Feng Xi knew this was nonsense. The old man would rather ride his sword and drink the northwest wind than sit on a flying boat, let alone toss out two million.
In her previous life, Feng Xi had been an orphan and was indifferent toward feelings. But at this moment, she tucked this master firmly into her heart.
After comforting her for a bit and watching with his own eyes as she swallowed one Ziqiao Linglong Fruit, Xiao Baidao finally left.
The effect of the Ziqiao Linglong Fruit was immediate. Feng Xi's headache disappeared, her spirit lifted, and even the bruises on her face from being pelted by the ancient scrolls faded.
Carefully, she sent her divine sense into her sea of consciousness again and was surprised to find that most of the light points had dimmed, with only one shining brightly.
Sensing Feng Xi's divine sense, that one hopped over and turned into a jade slip.
To her surprise, she could actually read the writing upon it!
"When chaos first opened, turbid qi sank and clear qi rose, forming heaven and earth.
Cultivators absorb the qi of heaven and earth, wash the meridians, refine divine sense, and ultimately merge with the cosmos. This is Great Completion.
Spiritual roots are essential for cultivation. Five spiritual roots, five complete meridians, of superior aptitude.
Four spiritual roots, missing one meridian, next.
…
Single spiritual root, missing four meridians, inferior aptitude…"
Feng Xi wasn't too shocked. She'd read plenty of cultivation novels, many trash heroines rose up by relying on five spiritual roots.
But she had water and wood dual spiritual roots!
Otherwise, she wouldn't have competed for an inner disciple slot at Hunyuan Sect back then.
She read on.
"For those whose five meridians are incomplete, one may split the dantian, connecting with the qi of heaven and earth to complete the spiritual roots.
Once the roots are complete, cultivation proceeds with twice the effect for half the effort.
But the risk of splitting the dantian is immense, it must split yet not shatter.
The slightest misstep leads to eternal doom…"
Feng Xi: (✧◡✧)
Isn't my spiderweb-like dantian exactly the perfect split yet not shattered?!
She continued reading. What followed was the cultivation method after splitting the dantian. Although some parts were obscure, she had the original host's foundation. After careful pondering, she understood it.
Under normal circumstances, when cultivators train, they absorb spiritual qi into the dantian and draw upon it as needed.
But the method on the jade slip skipped the step of storing qi in the dantian, the qi absorbed during cultivation was used entirely to wash the meridians.
Given time, merely circulating the technique would allow the body to automatically absorb qi.
In other words, when others fought, they had to withdraw qi from the dantian, this "bank". She didn't, the qi outside was all hers to use at any time.
No limit!
No end!
Cultivators all had certain ultimate moves, but they consumed enormous spiritual qi and weren't used lightly.
She's different, she could open with an ultimate move, and keep using ultimate moves. It's an extravagance without limit!
Even if she couldn't beat her opponent, she could drag it out. When the other side ran out of qi, her chance would come!
Feng Xi couldn't help laughing out loud.
This time, she had really struck it rich!
As she said, gold would shine eventually. She, Feng Xi, was never someone mediocre!
Then she saw a line of small characters below:
"This cultivation method has a drawback: each session of training will cause slight pain in the dantian and divine sense."
Feng Xi didn't think much of it. It's only a little bit of pain, she could endure it.
At this moment, the jade slip turned back into a light point and gradually lost its glow.
Feng Xi faintly guessed that as her cultivation grew, those other dim light points would light up one by one, each jade slip recording an esoteric, untransmittable secret.
It was an immense fortune, and a deadly danger.
Possessing treasure invites trouble.
No one could be told.
Not that it mattered, even if she wanted to, she couldn't say it.
She immediately followed the jade slip's method to cultivate. She didn't dare be reckless, so she tried little by little, and then… fainted from the pain.
The fuck, this is "slight pain"?
I'm dying from pain, alright?!
But as long as she could cling to life, the pain could only be endured.
After resting a bit, she continued cultivating.
Even when the pain was excruciating, even when blood began to seep from her seven orifices again, she continued cultivating.
Unknowingly, dawn had broken.
Though she hadn't slept all night, Feng Xi felt no discomfort. On the contrary, there's a warm current within her.
She tidied herself briefly and went to pay respects to Xiao Baidao.
At the first quarter of the Mao hour, she arrived at his courtyard on the dot.
Xiao Baidao half-scolded, half-worried, "Your divine sense and dantian are both injured. You should rest quietly…"
Feng Xi beamed, "Master, after I ate the Ziqiao Linglong Fruit, I'm much better!
Look, I can even hop!"
She said it and bounced a few times like a rabbit.
Xiao Baidao: "..."
Alright then, the child was only twelve. A bit of childishness was also normal.
Still, seeing the healthy color in her face, he had to admit she'd indeed improved a lot.
After a few simple words, he shooed Feng Xi back to her courtyard to rest properly.
Feng Xi returned and entered the cycle of cultivate — faint — cultivate — faint…
Without realizing it, it's already evening. Feng Xi had just woken from another fainting spell when she heard someone outside shouting, "Feng Xi, get out here!"
The voice was unfamiliar, and the tone was nasty.