During the period of being completely blind, Hú Xiùníng pondered what else she could do. Before she could think for long, footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by a knock.
“Enter.”
Hú Xiùníng looked towards where she remembered the door to be, only able to perceive a blurry shadow. She couldn't tell if it was a human or a ghost, just who it was.
“It’s me.”
As soon as the voice spoke, Hú Xiùníng relaxed. Bái Níngshuāng’s voice was cool and distinctive, easily recognizable.
“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you rest a bit longer?” she asked, her voice softening to an unusual gentleness.
“I’ve come to teach you how to use your divine sense.” Bái Níngshuāng looked at the purplish-red blood flowing from Hú Xiùníng’s eyes and couldn’t help but frown. She took a handkerchief from her sleeve and offered it to Hú Xiùníng, but then, sensing her action was a bit unnatural, shifted her hand and placed it on the bamboo table beside them.
Last time, Shuǐ Wénqǐ had taught her once, so Hú Xiùníng learned quickly this time. Bái Níngshuāng merely initiated, and Hú Xiùníng, following her senses, explored and extended her divine sense.
The moment the world became clear was an unprecedented feeling.
It was as if every blade of grass and every tree were right before her eyes, with nowhere to hide… Is this the function of divine sense?!
Hú Xiùníng felt a profound shock. She suddenly realized that during her blindness, she could perceive blurry objects, and perhaps it was also due to her extraordinary divine sense.
She looked at the person sitting by the window, eyes closed, resting. A moon-white gauze dress rippled in the wind, revealing a hem embroidered with silver-threaded Chinese lilies when its sleeves fluttered. Her black hair was loosely tied up with a silver hairpin, and a few stray strands fell to her porcelain-white neck, making her skin appear even fairer.
Her phoenix eyes were slightly upturned, with a small, light brown mole at the corner of each eye. As Hú Xiùníng secretly observed her, Bái Níngshuāng seemed to sense she was being watched and suddenly opened her eyes. Her gaze was like ink jade immersed in a cold pool, flowing with a detached sharpness.
“It’s you?” Bái Níngshuāng hid her sharp edge and spoke, her question tinged with certainty.
“It is,” Hú Xiùníng admitted.
Bái Níngshuāng nodded slightly, her long fingers lightly tapping the windowsill. Her nails were trimmed into a round, clean shape, gleaming with a pearlescent sheen.
A warbler flew across the courtyard. She merely glanced up briefly before retracting her gaze, uninterested. Her thick eyelashes cast two curved shadows beneath her eyes, truly like the dust-free celestial being described by mortals.
After a long moment, when Hú Xiùníng had practiced sufficiently, Bái Níngshuāng spoke, “Do you want to learn spells?”
“Yes!” Hú Xiùníng replied decisively.
Spells! Those fireballs, ice cones… countless spells. She had wanted to learn them for a long time but lacked the means. Now that she had a teacher, she naturally wanted to learn.
However, she couldn’t go empty-handed. Hú Xiùníng took a key to a Secret Realm, given by the Emperor, from her storage bag and offered it to Bái Níngshuāng.
“This is a key to a Secret Realm. I’ll use this in exchange, is that acceptable?”
Bái Níngshuāng didn't reply. She took out an identical key from her storage bag, proving with her action that it was not acceptable.
“What can I do for you?” Hú Xiùníng withdrew the key and asked directly.
She didn’t have many possessions, and even fewer things to give away.
Bái Níngshuāng’s eyes brightened, but her face remained one of icy frost. “You and I will establish a Sect together.”
“I’m merely at the Foundation Establishment stage… If you don’t mind, I will assist you wholeheartedly.” Hú Xiùníng agreed. She had planned to find a Sect after leaving anyway, and joining Bái Níngshuāng’s Sect meant she knew her background, killing two birds with one stone.
“I don’t mind. I’ll teach you.” Bái Níngshuāng tugged at the corner of her mouth, attempting to smile. However, her face seemed disobedient, and her attempt at a smile looked worse than not smiling at all.
Hú Xiùníng pondered, deciding to first understand the Sect’s foundation. “Besides us, how many others are there?”
“Zero.”
Hú Xiùníng: “……”
Bái Níngshuāng: “……”
They looked at each other in silence.
After a long while, Hú Xiùníng couldn’t help but ask with a hint of accusation in her voice, “Did you just come up with this idea?”
Bái Níngshuāng honestly shook her head. Under Hú Xiùníng’s gaze of surprised admiration, she said, “I thought of it while being chased. It’s been a week.”
“?”
Hú Xiùníng let out a deep breath and slowly smiled.
“Alright, that’s good. It’s challenging, and I like it. How do we establish a Sect?”
Bái Níngshuāng counted on her fingers: “First: requires at least five Golden Core stage cultivators and one Nascent Soul stage expert to oversee. Second: the Sect’s location. Third: a Sect-Protecting Treasure. Fourth: requires sufficient Spirit Stones, submitting ten High-grade Spirit Stones, cultivation resources, cultivation techniques, and so on.”
“Don’t you need to recruit disciples?” In her impression, the most important aspect of a Sect was its disciples. Disciples were the sparks of fire, the foundation of inheritance.
“Yes, but you can recruit after obtaining the license,” Bái Níngshuāng replied calmly, recalling the regulations for establishing a Sect she had casually read before.
“Oh—do you have any other friends who could be elders?” Hú Xiùníng began to consider her social circle, wondering if anyone could be roped in to fill the gaps.
“Shuǐ Wénqǐ,” Bái Níngshuāng said.
“Anyone else?”
Bái Níngshuāng shook her head. “No. They all have their own Sects.”
“Hmm, that’s a problem.” Hú Xiùníng thought of those few demons, but the consequences of revealing their identities after being exposed would be endless. She herself could use spiritual energy and could perhaps conceal herself for a while, so it was merely a fleeting thought.
“What spells do you know?” Bái Níngshuāng asked, looking up.
Hú Xiùníng gave an embarrassed smile, like a naughty puppy, “I don’t know any.”
Bái Níngshuāng’s expression didn’t change much, but her five-second pause and subsequent contemplation indicated her confusion.
As if disbelieving, she asked with a frown, “Qi Guiding Art?”
Hú Xiùníng shook her head. “No.”
“Impossible!” Bái Níngshuāng said sternly. “This spell guides the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth into the body; it’s the foundational spell for cultivation. How could you be at the Foundation Establishment stage without knowing it?”
Hú Xiùníng ran a hand through her hair. She also wanted to know how she reached the Foundation Establishment stage!
She had to use amnesia as an excuse.
Bái Níngshuāng stared at Hú Xiùníng’s face for a few seconds. Noticing that the weak spiritual energy within her was not being replenished, she suddenly understood. “Right, today we learn the Qi Guiding Art.”
Hú Xiùníng truly felt that amnesia was a foolproof excuse. Seeing Bái Níngshuāng sit up straight, she also sat up straight.
Then, she saw a Jade Slip float in front of her.
“Probe it with your divine sense,” Bái Níngshuāng instructed.
Cultivation technique Jade Slips are the most common way to store cultivation techniques in the Cultivation World. Those who haven't cultivated cannot access the contents of a Jade Slip.
Hú Xiùníng did as she was told. As soon as her divine sense probed into it, a massive amount of information rushed into her mind…
Then, the cultivation technique Jade Slip floated back to Bái Níngshuāng’s side, and she put it back into her storage bag.