“Senior Sister Qing Luo, why are you joking like that?” Lu Li waved his hand, but Qing Luo took a step forward and closed the door to their shared residence behind her.
“I’m not joking, Junior Brother.” As Qing Luo spoke, Lu Li could even feel her faint breath.
“I’m serious…”
“But Senior Sister, shouldn’t something like this develop over time?” Lu Li stepped back, only to find himself against the wall.
Qing Luo pressed her hand against the wall, placing the other on his shoulder.
“I know, but you’re far too talented, Junior Brother. Reaching the Second Layer of Qi Refining in just one day. That’s why Senior Sister Jiang is so taken with you.” Qing Luo sighed, glanced at Lu Li’s face, then seemed to abandon something, shook her head, and took a step back instead.
“Junior Brother, you were born in Hundred Immortals Town, so you must know about the Beast Calamity that erupted before, right?” Qing Luo walked slowly to the main hall and sat down in a chair.
“I joined the Yin Yang Sect the year before the Beast Calamity. In my first year as a disciple, the Beast Calamity completely destroyed my home.”
The lamp’s flame was as small as a bean.
Qing Luo, rare for her, rested her head on the table, a look of sorrow on her face.
“When I was young, I wanted to cultivate and take revenge, but the demon beasts had passed through. Who could I take revenge on?” Qing Luo sighed.
“Besides, I was too young and my cultivation too shallow to go down the mountain. So I just kept cultivating.”
“I have a Lower Grade Spirit Root. Though it’s much better than so-called Miscellaneous Grade or Mortal Grade, after seven years, I’ve only reached the Seventh Layer. Whether I can even reach Foundation Establishment is uncertain.” Qing Luo looked at Lu Li, who was now sitting beside her.
“So, Senior Sister here has two paths before her.”
“One: train bitterly within the Yin Yang Sect and attempt to reach Foundation Establishment. Or: after reaching the Thirteenth Layer of Qi Refining, go out and train, searching for fortuitous encounters.” Qing Luo looked at Lu Li.
“Of course, there are a few other paths.”
“Find a husband who is also a cultivator and cultivate together.” Qing Luo continued. “And then there’s one more…”
“Find an ideal husband, settle down, and raise children.” Lu Li had been born in Hundred Immortals Town and had seen too many women like that.
Not everyone can ascend the great path of immortal cultivation. Not everyone has countless fortuitous encounters. Not everyone is blessed with fortune.
Some cultivators with Miscellaneous or Mortal Grade Spirit Roots, if they are still stuck at the Qi Refining stage by age thirty-five, then the sect will stop providing them with pills and resources, leaving them to find their own way out.
Most of those cultivators return to Hundred Immortals Town, back to their families.
“Still, I was too impatient. Junior Brother and I have only known each other for a day, yet I spout such words because of my own troubles.” Qing Luo smiled wryly.
“Sorry, Junior Brother.”
“It’s fine, Senior Sister Qing Luo.” Lu Li could understand.
His own parents had died in the Beast Tide. Joining the immortal sect, he also sought to gain skills and make a bet on whether he could rise above the rest.
“Let’s not talk about such serious things.” Qing Luo wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and revealed her usual hearty smile.
“Speaking of which, Junior Brother Lu, after the ruckus we caused in the dining hall today, the junior sisters who want to court you tomorrow will probably be lining up.”
“Because of my cultivation level, right?” Lu Li felt the abundant flow of Qi in two of his meridians.
“But that’s not affection. It’s just an exchange of interests.”
“That’s how it is with these big families.” Qing Luo waved her hand, evaporating the dampness on her fingertips.
“For example, Senior Sister Jiang. She was actually a man at first. Because cultivating in a female body makes the techniques progress faster, she converted to a female body.”
“In the Beast Tide back then, Senior Sister Jiang’s family also suffered heavy losses. Now, without a Foundation Establishment cultivator to guard the family, it’s already in jeopardy.” Qing Luo sighed.
“If she could marry Junior Brother Lu… or marry herself to Junior Brother Lu to protect the family, she would definitely be willing.”
“Everyone has their own troubles.” Lu Li looked at the candle flame slowly melting on the table.
“Then, Senior Sister Qing Luo, I’ll go back to cultivating.”
“So diligent… Keep it up, Junior Brother Lu. Ask me if you don’t understand.” Qing Luo gave a faint smile and watched Lu Li enter his room.
The candle flame burned slowly until it went out with a faint crackling sound.
The main hall returned to darkness.
“How I envy Junior Brother Lu…”
But that faint voice, along with the night wind, disappeared into the darkness.
Back in his room, Lu Li heard the wind sound like a sigh.
He was dazed for a moment, then sat cross-legged again, preparing to break through to the most difficult Third Layer.
The Third Layer had a full forty-five acupoints. Most Qi Refining cultivators got stuck at this hurdle.
If the Qi breakthrough went poorly, the meridians would be damaged.
Taking medicine to recuperate would take another ten or fifteen days.
And since one couldn’t cultivate every day, two years would pass just like that.
But the warnings in the books seemed not to apply to Lu Li.
As long as he breathed as usual, the free-floating energy between heaven and earth would obediently enter his body, then gently flow into the acupoints, filling that meridian.
When Lu Li opened his eyes again, dawn had broken, and a faint cry came from afar.
“I just effortlessly entered the Third Layer of Qi Refining.” Such rapid cultivation put Lu Li’s mind at ease.
The Yin Yang Sect had so many female disciples because cultivating in a female body could increase speed by up to thirty percent.
‘If I converted to a female body… wouldn’t that be icing on the cake?’ Lost in such random thoughts, Lu Li walked out of his room and saw Qing Luo asleep, leaning against the table.
“Senior Sister Qing Luo…” Seeing this scene, Lu Li stopped his wild thoughts.
He quietly found a robe in the room and draped it over her.
‘I’ll go to the dining hall. If Senior Sister Qing Luo doesn’t come, I’ll bring her breakfast.’ Just as Lu Li stepped out of the courtyard, he noticed a woman standing outside.
It was Jiang Yuebai from last night.
But her appearance was clearly different from before.
If yesterday she had looked tired and wore only a plain green robe, today she looked completely renewed.
She even wore the ruqun of an ordinary female disciple, draped in a light gauze.
“…Senior Sister Jiang?” Lu Li looked up at Jiang Yuebai, who occasionally frowned, occasionally smiled wryly, and occasionally blushed.
“Why are you here?”
“Ah… Junior Brother Lu!” Jiang Yuebai’s voice had become much more shrill.
“I thought you would wake up a little later.”
“No, I just woke up.” Lu Li examined Jiang Yuebai as she was now. “So, Senior Sister, what advice do you have?”
“I heard that Junior Brother Lu just joined the sect. Although you must have seen all kinds of things in the Yin Yang Sect, there might be something I missed.” Jiang Yuebai’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she smiled sweetly.
“So I thought I could give you a more detailed explanation.”
“It should… be fine.” While Lu Li was thinking, Jiang Yuebai came to his side, pursed her lips slightly, and said, “I hope Junior Brother doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind.” Only then did Lu Li notice that Jiang Yuebai’s face was lightly dusted with powder, her lips touched with crimson, and her hair was adorned with some ornaments.
She had the air of a proper young lady.
No, that’s not right.
Lu Li looked at Jiang Yuebai, who was now both dignified and bashful at his side.
Qing Luo’s words echoed in his mind.
She used to be a man.
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