Early in the morning, a thin mist shrouded both banks of the Qinglan River. A breeze swept past, revealing a shirtless young man practicing his martial arts forms.
It was Ji Yuan.
"This set of Surging Wave Palms is a superior martial art passed down within our Ji Clan. When practiced to the highest realm, it can touch the realm of the Divine Ability Realm. It emphasizes subduing the rigid with the soft, requiring tough tendons and bones, and continuous palm momentum. After reaching Innate Mortal Shedding, your True Qi will grow powerful, with each strike surpassing the last, like roaring river waves where the back waves drive the front ones, each wave stronger than the one before."
Ji Qingzhu stood to the side with her right hand behind her back, speaking slowly. From time to time, she reached out with her left hand to tap Ji Yuan on various parts of his body to correct his shortcomings.
Ji Yuan gritted his teeth and remained silent. Every time his older sister corrected his posture, a surge of vital energy would rush into his body, flowing silently through his meridians and acupuncture points. A trace of warmth slowly permeated his bones and muscles, easing his fatigue.
"Water has no constant shape; combining motion with stillness is the right path. Once the river mist clears, go practice your stance work. I will bring food over at noon, so you don't need to be distracted." With these instructions, Ji Qingzhu left, leaving Ji Yuan alone to practice by the Qinglan River.
She still needed to prepare cultivation resources for her little brother. Relying solely on this kind of blind, grueling hard work alone could never lead to a sudden, rapid breakthrough in a short time.
"Little Yu'er, take these two prescriptions and go fill them. Remember to get herbs of sufficient age, and have the apothecary decoct them according to the instructions on the paper." Returning to the pavilion, Ji Qingzhu casually wrote out a medicinal formula and handed it to Chi Mengli.
"Eldest Miss, what kind of recipe is this?" Chi Mengli asked, tilting her little head.
"Just a Foundation Establishment formula. I obtained it from the mountain academy, and it will remain in the family from now on, though it only works for cultivators in the Body Refining Realm. Get some extra herbs, you can still use them yourself," Ji Qingzhu said.
Foundation Establishment medicinal liquid had the effect of consolidating the foundation and nurturing vitality. Taken internally and applied externally, it could strengthen the tendons and bones, making the viscera and blood more active, but this was still not enough.
It wasn't as if the Ji Clan lacked similar formulas; when had Ji Yuan ever been short of his share?
Ji Qingzhu knew very well that what would truly allow her younger brother to improve rapidly was his own perseverance and endurance through nine rounds of Blood Marrow refinement.
"Only by enduring bitterness and solitude while trapped in the lowest valley can one welcome the opportunity to recover and soar straight into the sky."
At noon, Ji Qingzhu fed Ji Yuan a Water Origin Pill as his meal.
For cultivators, once they reached the realm of Mortal Shedding, they could no longer subsist solely on ordinary secular food. Mortal fare could only fill the stomach; consuming it for long periods would gradually accumulate impurities in the physical body, accelerating aging. Not only would it be difficult for cultivation to make even an inch of progress, but aspiring to the Divine Ability Realm would also become utterly hopeless!
Therefore, a cultivator's food generally consisted of various spiritual treasures and spiritual rice, or refined medicinal pills. Pills were the essence of Qi and blood, containing fewer impurities and superior nutrition. If one wanted to quickly improve their cultivation, how could they manage without taking pills?
"What medicine is this?" Ji Yuan asked. He felt as though his entire body was being nourished after swallowing the pill, and he no longer felt hungry.
"A Water Origin Pill, most suitable for those who cultivate water-attribute techniques. You need to constantly strengthen your physical body and bolster your Qi and blood to break the curse on your body. Relying solely on ordinary methods won't work," Ji Qingzhu explained.
"Can it really break the curse?!" Ji Yuan's eyes lit up at those words. If he didn't have that curse, he would have broken through the Mortal Shedding Realm long ago, and might have even caught up with his older sister.
"You have to trust me!" Ji Qingzhu flicked him on the forehead.
"Then I'll definitely succeed this time when I refine my blood, right?" Ji Yuan asked, full of longing.
Ji Qingzhu couldn't help raising a hand to cough lightly, a guilty look on her face.
"Good sister, you aren't lying to me, are you?" Ji Yuan keenly detected the strange look on his sister's face, and his complexion turned pale in an instant.
"Ahem, kid, you have to believe that human effort can achieve anything. As the saying goes, nine is the ultimate number. Your little issue will be completely sorted out after at most nine times..." Ji Qingzhu turned her head aside and muttered.
"Heh... Heh heh heh..."
Ji Yuan's eyes were lifeless. Nine times of Blood Marrow refinement? That was practically no different from killing him.
A gloomy aura hung over the young man, making Ji Qingzhu's eyelids twitch wildly. Don't cause trouble, little brother, you need to pull yourself together; your older sister is still waiting for you to carry her to success in the future!
"Sigh, I know this is very hard for you, but you must believe in me! Think of Xue'er; if you don't surpass Mortal Shedding, how can you win her back from among countless young talents? Think of Father; how much gossip has he had to endure these past few years because of you? And think of me—didn't you always used to say you wanted to catch up to your sister and protect me?"
"As heaven maintains its vigor through movement, a gentleman should unceasingly strive for self-improvement!"
"If you remain listless and depressed like this, no one can save you!"
Ji Qingzhu pulled Ji Yuan into her arms. Staring into the young man's dark pupils with their foreheads pressed tightly together, she spoke earnestly.
"Sister, don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that it didn't sink in right away. What's nine rounds of Blood Marrow refinement, anyway? Ancient sages even had their cultivation completely destroyed, only to defy the heavens and live out a second life on their deathbeds. What is this compared to that!"
Ji Yuan was left somewhat amused and exasperated. The blows of the past two years had long since forged his resolute determination, but his sister's heartfelt words of sincerity still moved him deeply.
This was the bond of blood and kinship! Therefore, even for his sister's sake, he had to forge ahead and never let himself become a laughingstock to her!
"Good! That's my good brother!"
Ji Qingzhu praised him loudly, heavily patted Ji Yuan on the shoulder, and grabbed him to begin the afternoon's special training.
She sat cross-legged on a huge river boulder, her delicate hand waving. A streak of pale blue Innate True Qi burst forth from her palm like a long whip, snapping against Ji Yuan's back with a loud crack and instantly leaving a shocking bruise.
Cold sweat poured down Ji Yuan's body, his teeth clenched tightly. He couldn't help drawing a sharp breath as a burning pain pierced straight into his viscera. The agonizing pain caused his frame to tremble slightly.
Fortunately, the intense pain was followed by a trace of water-like, cooling moisture. His Skin and Flesh, Tendon and Fascia, Bone, Viscera, and even his Blood Marrow grew more vital than usual, quietly reinforcing his body.
This trace of cool, water-like moisture was the Water Origin Essence that Ji Qingzhu had extracted from the Qinglan River using her Innate Divine Ability. It was countless times better than the Water Origin Pill—truly flawless, pure to the extreme, something even Divine Ability Realm experts could not achieve.
"Again!"
As the pain on his back gradually receded, Ji Yuan's delicate face was filled with persistence, his eyes written with firm resolve as he shouted through clenched teeth.
A gratified smile appeared on Ji Qingzhu's face. She nodded slightly and, as he wished, delivered another heavy blow.
By the banks of the Qinglan River, the young man still stood as unyielding as a green pine.
"When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first exhausts their mind and will, and labors their tendons and bones... Little Yuan, you must remember the sensation of this whip striking into your flesh; in the future, it will continue to whip you toward cultivation!" Ji Qingzhu said calmly.
For her, this was also a form of cultivation. After all, she had not yet reached the Divine Ability Realm, and mobilizing her Innate Divine Ability was no easy feat. Every whip strike consumed a vast amount of energy, yet at the same time, a trace of Water Origin Essence remained within her own body.
She hadn't dared to unleash her Innate Divine Ability at Ligu Shan Academy, but returning home meant there were no such restrictions. Besides, the bottom of the Qinglan River also hid quite a significant secret; the opportunity for her to step into the Divine Ability realm should lie right here!