Yun City, though merely a mortal city, how could it lack something extraordinary given that it was the birthplace and stronghold of the "Protagonist"?
Ji Qingzhu happened to know the secret of Yun City. After all, in a sense, she was the one who had arranged this plotline.
"My lady, it's hot, hot, hot, hot, hot~~~!!"
Chi Mengli pouted with a wronged expression. Though she cried out that it was burning hot, her smooth, bare body dared not struggle in the slightest. Crouching halfway inside a wooden bathtub, she looked up at her young lady with tear-filled eyes.
Ji Qingzhu lowered her gaze and let out a soft laugh. Stretching out her arms, her snow-white wrists emerged from her sleeves. With slender, fair hands, she pressed the little maid directly down into the water.
"Stop fussing, just think of it as taking a bath."
A little boiling water was nothing. When that little fellow went to soak in a medicinal bath with a body full of aches and pains, that was truly intense—she wondered if that kid would cry from the pain.
"There's also the oral medicine. Be a good girl and drink it for me."
She spoke the gentlest words, yet they carried an unyielding tone that brooked no refusal. Chi Mengli had no choice but to obey obediently."Finished, oh so bitter, crow~" Chi Mengli couldn't help sticking out her delicate pink tongue to complain.
"You girl, how are you even more spoiled than me? I think Steward Chi has been too good to you. From now on, following me, you'll need a good tempering," Ji Qingzhu said with a faint smile, using her Qi force to dry the water droplets on her hands, then picking up a candied fruit and stuffing it into the little girl's mouth.
Chi Mengli was the only granddaughter of the Ji Clan's old steward. The old steward's son had been the Ji father's attendant back in the day, losing his life while protecting the Ji father during a mission, and so his daughter had become her personal maid.Though called a maid, this girl's status within the Ji Clan was by no means lower than that of the young masters and misses of the collateral branches. It was only before him that she acted truly like a maid—a maid who belonged solely to him.The crimson medicinal liquid submerged the young girl's delicate body, gradually releasing a gentle surge of energy that quietly seeped through her tender skin into her frame, ceaselessly infusing her with vitality and strengthening her tendons and bones.In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
Subjected to daily whipping and training, Ji Yuan quickly stepped back into the Skin and Flesh stage of Body Refining.
In his room that day, Ji Qingzhu fed him a Scarlet Spirit Pill and a Ginseng Spirit Pill, which instantly sent the little brother tumbling to the floor in agony.
"The Scarlet Spirit Pill repels water-attribute energy, while the Ginseng Spirit Pill is a potent restorative meant to protect your heart meridian. By harnessing the clashing forces of water and fire, we can rouse the primordial qi hidden deep within your body, helping you rapidly break through the Tendon and Fascia and Bone stages."
"You must understand that after your three failed attempts at blood refinement, that essence of Blood Marrow did not simply dissipate; rather, it fused into all the bones and joints of your body, laying down an even better foundation for you."
"That is why you kept fluctuating between the Qi Nourishing Realm at the start of Body Refining and the Qi Nourishing Realm on the verge of breaking through Mortal Shedding. My talk of nine blood refinements was by no means idle chatter. Your constitution is special; only after your qi and blood have undergone nine refinements and nine surges can you break through!"
This time, Ji Qingzhu did not help Ji Yuan alleviate the pain, but merely looked on with an expressionless, indifferent gaze.
She could only accelerate his growth somewhat and keep him from straying onto crooked paths, but cultivation had always depended upon the individual. If she protected him at every turn, even a Child of Destiny would likely be spoiled into uselessness by her hands—not to mention that her own strength was currently far from sufficient.
Dropping a parting line that she would check on him again by evening, Ji Qingzhu walked out.
Carrying the Thousand-Refined Sharp Gold Sword, the finest sword the family possessed, she came to the river beach where she usually trained Ji Yuan. A black-awning boat was moored by the shore.Chi MengCarp was leaning over a low table, resting her chin on her small hands as she gazed toward the bank. The moment she caught sight of Ji Qingzhu, she jumped up with joy.
"Thud!!"
That was the sound of a head colliding with the roof of the boat.
Chi Mengli immediately cradled her head and squatted down. She felt deeply wronged, but she dared not voice it, lest the eldest miss scold her as a little fool again. She was clearly not the least bit foolish, hmph!Ji Qingzhu shook her head helplessly, using her spiritual power to make the bump on her head disappear.
"Take me to the Flood Dragon Fall."
Ten-odd miles downstream from Yun City, the Qinglan River plunges a hundred zhang here, transforming into a massive waterfall known as the "Flood Dragon Fall." Legend has it that a flood dragon once fell to its doom right here.
Ji Qingzhu knew very well that while the legend could not be taken literally, it was not entirely without foundation.
"Here is fine. You go back first and don't wait for me," Ji Qingzhu instructed. Cradling the Spirit Artifact longsword in her arms, she leaped ashore.
The Flood Dragon Fall was one of the scenic sights of Yun City, and plenty of sightseers visited on ordinary days. Ji Qingzhu wore a white gauze bamboo hat to conceal her features and carried a longsword, dressed like a chivalrous heroine of the martial world, so no one came to bother her.
Standing beneath the waterfall and observing it closely, she saw the Qinglan River flow smoothly up to this point before turning abruptly majestic, plunging from the sky like a flood dragon and kicking up countless mists of water!
Ji Qingzhu sought out a deserted cliffside, activated her Innate Divine Ability, and used her will to communicate with the dim and distant Heavenly Dao. Her spirit merged with the great momentum of the mountains and rivers, and in that instant, she seemed to dissolve right where she stood, transforming into the endless, surging thousands of miles of the Qinglan River, and yet also like an ancient dragon-flood coursing through heaven and earth, and then her head was cut off right here?!
"Hiss—"
She snapped awake with a start, drawing in a sharp breath as she instinctively reached up to touch her neck.
It was her first time using her Innate Divine Ability at full strength. She had not expected it to trigger the water vein's divine charm of the Qinglan River, and she had inexplicably experienced the sensation of being "beheaded" for a moment. Fortunately, at the very last second, she had caught a trace of hidden aura emanating from beneath the Flood Dragon Fall.
"I need to plan this carefully. With people all about during the day, it looks like I'll have to investigate the riverbed by night," Ji Qingzhu's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
That night, birds returned to their nests and the moon was bright with sparse stars.
Ji Qingzhu walked across the waves, aided by the Wave-Treading Boots on her feet—a reward she had received for retaining her position as top student for three consecutive years while at Liwu Mountain Academy.
Dharma artifacts were one tier lower than Spirit Artifacts. Infused with Dharma Power by supernatural experts, they were essentially consumable items; once the Dharma Power inside was used up, they lost their miraculous properties.
Spirit Artifacts, on the other hand, possessed their own sentience and contained internal array formations. Even without anyone wielding them, they could slowly and independently recover their Dharma Power, and even supernatural experts had to expend great effort and care to forge one.
Yet Ji Qingzhu was able to use her Innate Divine Ability to forcibly channel external spiritual qi into Dharma artifacts for use, so she cared little about consumption.
The power that cultivators refined for their own use by utilizing spiritual qi was called Dharma Power, and naturally, one could drive Dharma artifacts directly using spiritual qi.
"Plain Moon Robe!"
With a thought, a thin shield of Dharma Power enveloped her entire body. Exercising her vigorous qi to scatter the water of the waterfall, she executed the Overlapping Wave Palm technique. With a single strike carrying seven hidden layers of force, she directly blasted the roaring current apart!
Ji Qingzhu first searched behind the waterfall, but found nothing. This place had been inspected hundreds and thousands of years ago, so she figured there was nothing to be gained.
"It seems I have no choice but to dive into the water."
She took a deep breath and plunged to the bottom of the river.
Scoured by the waterfall for tens of millions of years, the area below had formed a bottomless pool. Ji Qingzhu drew the family's sharp metal Spirit Artifact sword, her Dharma Power circulating and wrapping around her as she rapidly approached.
"With a Spirit Artifact in my hand, even if there are supernatural fierce beasts lurking at the bottom of the water, they can't do anything to me. I'll go take a look. Once I get the treasures left behind by the ancient sages, the trials of the early stages won't be worth mentioning!"
That's right, there was a treasure abandoned by sages beneath the Qinglan River. According to her plans from her past life, after Yun City suffered a devastating calamity and was destroyed, Ji Yuan would fall into this place and obtain boundless good fortune, thus beginning his rapid rise and magnificent life.