Chapter 22: Short-Term Goal

“Wait. If I think about it carefully, when it says ‘use a strand of heavenly lightning to temper the body,’ what it is really emphasizing should only be a trace of the ‘thunder qi’ contained within heavenly lightning, or perhaps part of the scattered essence of its energy, right?”

Qingyun stroked her chin as she once again turned over the wording of the cultivation method in her mind.

Recalling the various immortal cultivation settings she had read about in novels in her previous life, the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

A true, complete bolt of heavenly lightning was a force of what sort?

Purely violent, purely destructive.

Let alone a minor Qi Refining cultivator like herself—even those mighty beings capable of moving mountains and filling seas would not dare lightly receive the full strike of heavenly lightning with their bare bodies unless they specialized in such a path or possessed heaven-defying cultivation.

Those who truly dared to do such things were usually at least old monsters at the Nascent Soul stage or above, and even then they would have made every possible preparation beforehand.

“So what I need to find is only a trace of the energy of heavenly lightning?” Qingyun guessed inwardly, and relaxed a little.

If that was truly the case, then although the difficulty remained enormous, it was at least no longer an act of pure suicide.

Even if this world seemed to have no openly active immortal cultivators, heavenly lightning itself surely still existed.

The real problem was how to safely obtain “a trace” of thunder qi. That was still a question requiring long-term planning, and one she could only attempt after her strength had reached a sufficient level.

After that, she shifted her attention to the materials required for the medicinal bath.

“Thousand-Year Earth Ginseng,” “Tigerface Flower,” “Jade Beloved,” “Evil Vermilion Seed”...

One name was stranger than the last. She had never heard of any of them in her previous life, and even after spending more than ten years in this world, she had never once seen or heard of such medicinal materials in the Bai Residence dispensary.

It seemed likely that these were not common herbs of the mortal world, but rather “spiritual plants” or “semi-spiritual plants” that possessed a measure of spirituality, perhaps even things that only existed in certain special regions.

Fortunately, all of these medicinal materials were recorded in the 【Material Compendium】category of the system shop, complete with simple images and descriptions, so that she at least knew what they looked like and what their rough properties were.

However, when Qingyun saw the exchange prices marked beneath them, she felt darkness swim before her eyes and her chest tighten.

The cheapest, “Thousand-Year Earth Ginseng,” was priced at 800 Spirit Source.

“Tigerface Flower (ten years),” priced at 1,200 Spirit Source.

“Jade Beloved (leaf),” priced at 1,500 Spirit Source.

“Evil Vermilion Seed (three grains),” priced at 1,000 Spirit Source.

And these were only the most basic few primary materials required for a single medicinal bath.

According to the notes accompanying the formula in the cultivation method, once a batch of those ingredients had been boiled into medicinal soup, it could at most be used for soaking for half a month.

To complete the initial tempering of the first level of 《Heavenly Fiend Glazed Body》, one would need to soak continuously for at least two to three months, perhaps even longer, depending on one’s aptitude and absorption efficiency.

In other words, the medicinal bath ingredients alone would cost at least nearly twenty thousand Spirit Source!

And that was not even counting the possible auxiliary herbs, nor the price that might have to be paid in order to find “thunder qi.”

Looking at the pitiful 367 Spirit Source displayed on her panel, Qingyun felt a wave of helplessness surge through her and only wanted to cough up blood.

“This is not cultivation at all. This is plainly burning money! No—burning Spirit Source!”

Before this, she had thought that secretly absorbing a bit of essence from ordinary medicinal herbs in the dispensary was slow, but at least it was a stable source of Spirit Source.

Now it seemed that trying to rely on that method to gather enough resources to cultivate 《Heavenly Fiend Glazed Body》 was no different from a fool’s dream.

That tiny trickle of income was not even enough to fill the gaps between one’s teeth.

“It seems the bits and pieces I can absorb from the dispensary are truly no more than a drop in the bucket.” Qingyun sighed in resignation as she came to accept reality. “I will have to wait until my strength rises another level—at least until I have enough ability to protect myself and explore the outside world—before I can think of going out and finding higher-grade heavenly materials and earthly treasures that contain richer Spirit Source.”

The outside world was undoubtedly more dangerous, but it also meant more opportunities.

Inside the Bai Residence, resources were limited, and everywhere she turned she was constrained.

“No matter what, I will set this down as my short-term goal for now.”

After a brief spell of discouragement, Qingyun’s eyes sharpened and grew firm again.

She lightly clenched her fists, and her knuckles gave a faint crack.

The powerful bodily strength promised by 《Heavenly Fiend Glazed Body》 was too great a temptation. It was one of the key foundations for surviving in this world and even pursuing immortality. No matter how difficult it was, she would have to find a way to overcome it.

————

“Qingyun! Lunch is here!”

Just as Qingyun was silently setting her resolve in the courtyard, Huzi’s familiar honest shout came from outside the courtyard gate, breaking her chain of thought.

“Coming!” Qingyun called back loudly, quickly reining in her mind.

She lowered her head and glanced at her clothes, which had picked up dust and a little water while she had been testing spells and cleaning up the pool.

With a slight movement of thought, the faint spiritual power within her body circulated, and a 【Cleansing Art】silently took effect upon her person.

It was as though an invisible breeze had swept across her. The dirt and water stains on her clothes vanished in an instant, and even the thin layer of sweat on her body was whisked away, leaving her fresh and neat once more.

This was one of the main reasons she had exchanged for this cheapest of spells in the first place—convenience, especially when one needed to put oneself in order quickly.

She hurried to the courtyard entrance and pulled open the somewhat heavy wooden door.

Outside, Huzi stood there holding two stacked food boxes in his arms.

A month of delivering meals through rain or shine had made him so familiar with the path leading to this secluded courtyard that he could hardly have been more used to it.

The moment he saw Qingyun come out, his dark face immediately broke into that trademark honest grin, revealing a row of white teeth.

“Qingyun, here—this is for the Young Miss.” He handed over the larger and more delicately made food box from the top.

Qingyun reached out and accepted it. It was slightly heavy in her hand.

“Huzi, truly, you do not have to wait every time for me to come out and take it. That must be tiring. You can simply leave it on the stone platform by the door, and when the time comes, I will naturally come out and fetch it.”

Looking at the fine beads of sweat at the corners of his forehead, she could not help trying to persuade him once again. It was not the first time she had said so.

“Hehe, it is fine, Qingyun. I am not afraid of being tired.”

Huzi scratched his head, his smile still as simple and honest as ever. “In any case, I have to pass this way to deliver food to the other courtyards too. It is only a matter of convenience. And...”

His voice dropped a little, carrying a trace of embarrassment, as he handed over the smaller food box beneath.

“Here, this one is yours. The kitchen boiled eggs today, and I... I secretly took two extra for you. You are still growing, so you should eat a little more.”

Qingyun froze for a moment. She looked at the small food box being offered to her, then lifted her eyes to Huzi’s sincere gaze, which carried a trace of nervousness.

Something in her heart warmed slightly, though a more complicated feeling followed close behind.

She accepted the food box and said softly, “...Thank you, Huzi.”

“N-no need to thank me!”

The instant he heard her gratitude, Huzi’s smile brightened at once, his eyes curving into crescents as he looked both awkward and delighted.

It was as though he had just completed some very important task. He waved quickly to Qingyun.

“Th-then I’ll be off first! There’s still work to do this afternoon!”

The moment he finished speaking, he turned around and strode away briskly, his steps light and cheerful.

Standing in the doorway, Qingyun watched his somewhat hurried but unmistakably happy figure disappear around the bend in the corridor, then shook her head lightly.

This boy truly did have a simple and honest heart.

It was a pity...

Lowering her gaze to the two food boxes in her hands, one large and one small, she let her eyes settle upon the larger, more delicately made one. Slowly, her expression turned cold.

Carrying the food boxes back inside, Qingyun first laid out Yueli’s portion on the table, then opened her own.

Inside, besides the usual coarse rice and two vegetable dishes, there were indeed two shelled boiled eggs, white and smooth.

She did not pick up her chopsticks at once. Instead, she first turned her attention to Yueli’s meal.

Three dishes and one soup, together with rice—at a glance it looked much more plentiful than her own.

Qingyun gathered her mind and stilled her breath, and a faint glimmer, so slight that no ordinary person could ever notice it, quietly flashed through her eyes.

She circulated the thin spiritual power belonging to the first level of Qi Refining within her body and gathered it in her eyes.

This was one of the simplest and most basic applications of spiritual power, not a spell, but it allowed her to “see” certain traces of energy that ordinary people could not perceive.

Within the field of vision of her spiritual sight, that seemingly normal meal was faintly shrouded in an extremely thin layer of dull gray-black aura, one so subtle it nearly blended together with the rising steam of the food itself.

This aura was cold, murky, and carried an unpleasant stagnant heaviness.

It came from the very same source as the chill that eroded vitality which she had sensed from Yueli’s body that night a month earlier.

So it really is there every day...

Qingyun’s gaze turned thoroughly cold.

She picked up her own chopsticks and carefully took a small piece of meat and a few leaves of vegetables from Yueli’s dishes and soup, placing them onto an empty plate nearby.

Then she withdrew the spiritual power from her eyes and examined them with ordinary sight.

Whether by color, smell, or texture, they were entirely indistinguishable from normal food. Whoever had administered the poison had used a highly skillful method.

She then checked her own meal. Whether by naked eye or through spiritual power, it was completely clean, without the slightest abnormality.

“So it seems Huzi truly knows nothing.”

Qingyun understood at once.

The poisoner had obviously used the kitchen, or some even higher channel, to precisely mix the toxin into the food prepared specifically for Yueli.

Huzi was only one step in the chain of delivery. With his station and temperament, he could never have had access to something so hidden.

In silence, she wrapped the pieces of “contaminated” meat and vegetables in oiled paper, intending to find a chance to dispose of them later.

Then, just as usual, she carried Yueli’s meal to the doorway of the inner room and knocked.