The teleportation talisman tore through space with terrifying force, sending both of them plummeting face-up through the air.
Jian Huan was below, with Shen Jizhi above her.
Her limbs were about to slip away from his body.
Gritting her teeth and using all her strength, Jian Huan's hands clutched desperately at Shen Jizhi's neck while her legs wrapped tightly around him, like a drowning person refusing to let go of their lifeline.
Her fingernails dug deeply into his swan-like neck, drawing several bloody scratches that bloomed red like winter plum blossoms.
With his neck being squeezed so tightly, Shen Jizhi couldn't help but cough, struggling to breathe.
They were falling rapidly, the wind whistling past them as Shen Jizhi forced his eyes open with difficulty.
Their surroundings transformed from endless darkness to bright sunlight - they must be nearing the ground.
Fighting through the choking sensation, he reached out his long arms to support Jian Huan's delicate back, then used his waist to twist their bodies, flipping their positions.
As a Qi Cultivation practitioner, he was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.
With a loud crash, they landed in a flower bed.
The impact made stars dance before their eyes, their heads buzzing.
A moment later, Jian Huan, who was in slightly better condition thanks to having someone cushion her fall, climbed off Shen Jizhi feeling dizzy and weak. She instinctively scanned their surroundings.
They appeared to be in a courtyard with over a dozen peach trees. Their impact had caused the delicate pink blossoms to fall from the branches, dancing in the air with otherworldly beauty.
Jian Huan was stunned.
It was late summer - not the spring season when peach blossoms typically bloom.
Her teleportation talisman could only transport them ten kilometers - not far enough to change seasons.
So where exactly were they?
The person lying in the flower bed was still coughing.
Jian Huan quickly snapped back to reality, pushing aside her doubts as she bent down to help him up.
But although Shen Jizhi looked thin, he was very heavy, and Jian Huan couldn't move him at all.
She gave up and instead pulled up her skirt to crouch beside him, gently patting his back to help him catch his breath. "Are you alright?"
Shen Jizhi gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.
He bent one knee for support and pushed himself up with his elbow to sit.
Seeing this, Jian Huan withdrew her hand and hugged her knees while observing him.
Though his face was smudged with dirt, it didn't detract from his handsome features.
They were both still in white nightclothes with low necklines, making the ring of red marks and blood spots on his neck particularly eye-catching.
Jian Huan was startled and blurted out, "What happened to your neck?"
Shen Jizhi gently rubbed his neck and glanced at her coldly, "What do you mean? Don't you remember what you did?"
Jian Huan: "..."
She pointed at her nose in disbelief, "So... I did that?"
Then, with that gesture, she noticed her fingernails.
There were traces of blood on them.
Jian Huan: "..."
She lowered her head, showing genuine remorse: "I'm sorry, I wasn't fully conscious while we were falling."
Shen Jizhi let out a light scoff.
His gaze fell on her beautiful profile.
There was a shocking red mark on her face where he had pinched her earlier to wake her up.
Shen Jizhi quietly averted his gaze, pretending not to notice.
...
He hadn't used much force at all - how had it turned so red?
As his consciousness began to grow hazy, Shen Jizhi suddenly recalled those scenes again - scenes with Jian Huan in them.
Something seemed to be stirring once more...
"Shen Jizhi? Shen Jizhi?" After calling his name several times without response, seeing him standing there in a daze, Jian Huan quickly gave him a firm push and shouted in his ear, "SHEN! JI! ZHI!!!"
Shen Jizhi suddenly snapped back to reality.
The second time was just like the first - that familiar sweet fragrance lingered faintly at the tip of his nose.
The sword wound on his palm was still there. He curled his fingers, forcefully reopening the wound that had already stopped bleeding.
The pain brought clarity.
Shen Jizhi sat back down on the ground and quickly began casting.
His face was pale as he channeled spiritual power through his fingertips, silently reciting incantations. Five-colored spiritual light flowed around him in a dazzling display, gradually adhering to his body and blocking out that strange fragrance.
Seeing this, Jian Huan remained quiet, sitting nearby to keep watch over him.
A moment later, Shen Jizhi finally lowered his hands, appearing exhausted.
Jian Huan sat cross-legged directly across from him and asked, "What happened to you just now?"
Shen Jizhi looked up at her, studying her expression. Seeing that she appeared completely normal, his eyes flickered slightly as he asked, "Didn't you smell a sweet fragrance?"
"Sweet fragrance?" Jian Huan sniffed the air, and after careful consideration, nodded slightly, "Yes, there is a faint one. It smells quite nice actually. Why?"
Shen Jizhi spoke thoughtfully: "You didn't feel anything?"
Jian Huan raised an eyebrow: "Feel what?"
Shen Jizhi lowered his gaze: "This fragrance seems to make people fall into illusions."
"Really?" Jian Huan exclaimed in surprise, shaking her head honestly, "But I didn't experience any illusions."
Shen Jizhi stated matter-of-factly: "But earlier I saw you having a nightmare."
Hearing this, Jian Huan paused briefly, then nodded: "Yes."
Shen Jizhi keenly noticed her unusual reaction and pressed further: "What did you dream about?"
She had dreamed of scenes from the book.
Those words had transformed into images flashing through her mind.
There were scenes of 'Jian Huan's' death, scenes of 'Shen Jizhi' being surrounded and attacked, and scenes of the main characters living happily together - the entire plot of the book played out like a slideshow.
Jian Huan tilted her head, thought for a moment, then gave him a simple summary: "I dreamed that I died, and you died too."
"??" Shen Jizhi was speechless for a moment, "What else?"
Jian Huan looked at him strangely: "Once you're dead, that's it. What else could there be?"
Shen Jizhi: "..."
Then why were his illusions about... her?
Shen Jizhi fell silent.
Jian Huan looked at him with curiosity: "So what were your illusions about?"
Instead of answering her question, Shen Jizhi lifted his gaze slightly and asked: "Why didn't you experience any illusions?"
Jian Huan paused.
Perhaps it was because her soul wasn't from this world? So she was automatically immune to spiritual attacks like the fragrance?
Actually, she wasn't quite sure herself.
Jian Huan answered honestly: "I don't know."
Shen Jizhi smoothly replied: "I've forgotten mine as well."
Jian Huan: "...I wasn't lying to you!"
Shen Jizhi clearly didn't believe her: "Oh, what I said was true too."
Jian Huan: "..."
They stared at each other in silent standoff.
Finally, they tacitly agreed to drop the subject.
Jian Huan looked up at the sky.
The sky here was a pure blue, with large white clouds piled up within it, like a midsummer afternoon.
But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the white clouds weren't moving at all, maintaining the exact same shape.
And then there were the unseasonable peach trees all around them.
Jian Huan changed the subject: "Is this an illusion realm?"
Shen Jizhi slowly shook his head: "It doesn't seem like it."
Jian Huan: "Oh?"
Shen Jizhi explained to her: "Illusion realms are usually anchored to objects, like mirrors or scroll paintings. You'd need to enter through such objects, not via a teleportation talisman."
Jian Huan understood: "Then this place..."
Shen Jizhi: "It's more like a self-contained small world."
Jian Huan's eyes flickered: "I guess this place holds the Jiang family's secrets, perhaps the key to finding Chuchu and Niu Niu."
Shen Jizhi nodded slightly.
After a while, he added: "Not just that, there might be treasures here."
Jian Huan had already stood up to leave, but upon hearing this, she whirled around with raised eyebrows and wide eyes: "What?"
Treasures?!
She hadn't misheard, had she?
"Yes." Shen Jizhi continued, "You see, secret realms are also self-contained small worlds. For a small world to function, it must be sustained by some heavenly materials or earthly treasures."
Jian Huan: "!!"
She suddenly became excited.
She urged: "Then why are you still sitting there? Let's get moving!"
Shen Jizhi: "."
In Yujiang City, dawn had broken.
The guests in the guest house gradually awoke, none noticing what had transpired the previous night, nor did anyone care that two people were missing from the small building.
A couple sat before Bing Lian. Both husband and wife were fifty-seven years old, looking younger than common folk of their age, though their hair had greyed considerably and wrinkles lined their eyes.
"Li Family Lord, Mrs. Li," Bing Lian spoke with gentle warmth, giving people a comforting feeling like a spring breeze, "Have you two decided? Do you truly want a child?"
The Li Family Lord and Mrs. Li exchanged glances before nodding firmly.
Bing Lian asked again, "Having a child isn't something that happens in just a few days. If you both decide to go ahead, you'll need to stay in Yujiang City for about half a year. The Jiang household will have medicine masters to help nurture your bodies. What do you think about this arrangement?"
The Li Family Lord gently patted his wife's hand, "Don't worry, Miss Bing Lian. My wife and I had already considered this before coming to Yujiang City. We've arranged everything at home, and half a year isn't too long."
"That's good then," Bing Lian smiled. "There's one more thing - have you thought about what spiritual root you'd like the child to have? The Jiang family's medicine masters are extremely skilled in alchemy and can nurture specific spiritual roots through medicinal pills. However, different medicines come at different prices."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li suddenly raised her head, "Really?!"
Bing Lian nodded gently, "Of course it's true."
Mrs. Li, thinking of her child who had died unexpectedly, had tears glistening in her eyes. She grabbed Bing Lian's hand, her expression full of hope, and said chokingly, "I want a child with three spiritual roots - gold, fire, and earth."
Bing Lian allowed Mrs. Li to hold her hand and spoke softly, "Alright, based on previous cases, it would cost about 500,000 spirit stones over the half-year period."
Five hundred thousand spirit stones was a considerable sum.
But the couples selected by the Jiang family all had ancestral savings, and their families could manage to scrape together this amount if they tried hard enough.
Moreover, the Li family wasn't poor; they could afford more than five hundred thousand.
The Li Family Lord lowered his head in thought for a while, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Then... what about a single spiritual root?"
If his Li family could have a child with a single spiritual root, wouldn't they secure a place in the cultivation world?!
This thought made his heart race.
Bing Lian, seeing the desire in the Li Family Lord's eyes, smiled apologetically, "Regarding children with single spiritual roots, the Jiang family cannot help. I hope you understand."
The Li Family Lord's eyes gleamed, "What about dual spiritual roots?"
Bing Lian replied, "The medicine for dual spiritual roots is rare, and the medicine masters have limited quantities. It usually goes to the highest bidder."
The Li Family Lord turned his head with a questioning look, "Dear..."
But he only managed two words before his voice caught in his throat.
Because Mrs. Li was staring at him, staring so intensely that it made him uncomfortable.
Mrs. Li seemed unable to believe what her husband had just said. With trembling lips and tears in her eyes, she said, "Husband, Mao'er had gold, fire, and earth spiritual roots. Have you forgotten about Mao'er? It's been barely a year since he died..."
The Li Family Lord remained silent.
Mrs. Li laughed bitterly, "I only want a child like Mao'er..."
Bing Lian lowered her eyes, quietly waiting for the couple to make their decision.
In the end, the Li family chose a child with three spiritual roots.
Bing Lian collected a hundred thousand spirit stones as a deposit, made a note on paper, and left to visit the next location.
On her way, she encountered Qing Bai returning.
Bing Lian asked, "How did it go?"
Qing Bai patted his clothes, making a bitter face, "I accidentally let him escape. He has something on him. But all the city gates are manned by our people, and with his Foundation Establishment realm cultivation, he can't leave the city. We can search the city slowly. However, I need to report this to the madam..."
Bing Lian nodded.
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi used invisibility talismans to explore every accessible area.
This small world was only the size of a mansion, with the outer wall serving as its boundary, and those inside couldn't leave.
Maids and servants frequently passed through the mansion, their faces blank and eyes lifeless, doing what they were supposed to do, working what they were supposed to work on, saying what they were supposed to say.
Methodically, like walking corpses.
Although Jian Huan had many talismans stored in her storage ring, they had cost money, so she tried to use them sparingly.
Now, instead of exploring outside, she and Shen Jizhi were hiding behind a rockery.
On the other side of the rockery, a servant was watering flowers.
He watered once in the morning and once in the afternoon, following the same order every time, even muttering the same complaints about the steward: "Why am I always stuck doing this? I want to serve in the main courtyard too! Chen, who serves by the master's side, entered the mansion three years after me, but now he's become the master's most trusted person and is even accompanying the master on business outside! While I'm still here watering flowers!"
And so on - Jian Huan could recite it all by heart.
She withdrew her gaze, "Can these people ever wake up?"
Shen Jizhi was drawing a map on the ground with a stone. Hearing her question, he replied, "Once the formation is broken, they'll wake up."
"Oh?" Just as Jian Huan felt a glimmer of hope, Shen Jizhi's next words dashed it, "But those who have been trapped in the illusion for more than three months will likely be mentally impaired when they wake up."
Jian Huan: "...Alright."
Remembering something, she looked at him with bright eyes, "That means I saved your life then. If I hadn't called out to you, you would have fallen into the illusion. Don't you think you should show some gratitude for saving your life?"
Shen Jizhi didn't look up, finishing his last stroke before tossing the stone aside, "A fifty-fifty split is impossible, don't even think about it."
Jian Huan gritted her teeth, "Is your life worth so little?"
Shen Jizhi: "Mm, it's not worth much."
Jian Huan: "..."
Shen Jizhi stood up, and Jian Huan moved closer. They both looked down at the simple map.
Jian Huan pursed her lips, somewhat disapprovingly, "Your drawing isn't as good as mine."
Shen Jizhi's forehead twitched, "Then why didn't you draw it earlier?"
Jian Huan flexed her fingers, "I didn't draw because my drawings are valuable."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
Ignoring her, Shen Jizhi got down to business: "This isn't the Jiang residence."
Initially, they both thought this place was built to replicate the Jiang residence.
But after today's exploration, they discovered this wasn't the case.
Jian Huan crossed one arm over her chest while stroking her delicate chin with the other, her eyes gleaming, "That day when you and Baili Dao went to rent a carriage, I went to buy talismans, remember?"
Shen Jizhi made a sound of acknowledgment, indicating he was listening.
Jian Huan continued, "While buying the talismans, I asked the shop assistant about the history between Jiang Cheng and Qi Wan."
Shen Jizhi wasn't surprised; if she wanted to, she could become friendly with anyone: "And?"
Jian Huan: "Their current Jiang residence was built sixteen years ago. Before that, they lived in the old street district. I went to look at the old street, but the mansion is gone, replaced by several restaurants and teahouses."
Shen Jizhi: "Then this place might be their old residence."
Jian Huan had the same thought. Her gaze slowly swept across the map, contemplative: "Where do you think the formation's core might be?"
This was a small world operated by a formation, eternally frozen on a day when peach blossoms were in full bloom.
To find what they were looking for, they needed to locate the formation's core and break it.
Shen Jizhi thought for a moment, then asked Jian Huan, "If you were hiding a treasure in your home, where would you hide it?"
Jian Huan tilted her head in thought, answering seriously, "I would keep it on me."
Even in death, she would want to die with her precious treasure! How could she put it somewhere else? What if someone took it?
Shen Jizhi's mouth twitched slightly: "..."
Jian Huan looked up curiously, "What about you?"
Shen Jizhi lowered his eyes: "...Same here."
Yes, keeping it on oneself was more reassuring.
The rockery fell silent for a moment. They looked at each other and simultaneously mouthed the same word: "Qi Wan."
They had learned from the flower-watering servant that on this day, Master Jiang Cheng wasn't in the mansion.
From other servants, they learned that Madam Qi Wan was.
In the main courtyard, two sword-wielding guards stood like shadow puppets, performing the same scene day after day in the bright spring afternoon.
"Did you check the Xuantian Mirror this morning?"
"No, what's up?"
"Ha, ha, ha—" The puppet's laughter was emotionless, making it eerie and creepy, "I saw that Elder Gufeng from the Jade Clarity Sect went to steal spirit ducks from the Beast Taming Sect to eat, and when he was caught, he ended up owing twenty thousand spirit stones."
"Elder Gu has always been like this, hasn't he? He must owe quite a lot by now. But he's a Nascent Soul realm powerhouse, others can't do anything about it. Actually, at his level, wouldn't it be easy to earn spirit stones? I wonder why he keeps stealing and pilfering."
"All powerful cultivators have their quirks. Elder Gu probably just enjoys it."
"So will Elder Gu not pay back those spirit stones?"
"No, according to inside sources on the Xuantian Mirror, the Jade Clarity Sect Leader explicitly told him to pay it back. Elder Gu replied that he'd take a disciple in the future to help him repay it."
"His future disciple is so pitiful. Wonder who that unfortunate person will be."
Jian Huan, standing silently behind them with an invisibility talisman: "..."
Afterward, she quietly left to listen to the next puppet's lines.
An hour later, they returned to their secret hideout—the rockery.
When Shen Jizhi returned, Jian Huan was already there, practicing meditation.
Her cultivation level had shown signs of advancement since her time at the Chu family, and recently these signs had become more evident.
Hearing movement, she released her breath from the dantian and opened her eyes. Her first question was, "Did you repay the two thousand spirit stones that your master owed to the Beast Taming Sect?"
Shen Jizhi paused: "How did you know?"
Jian Huan briefly explained the situation.
Shen Jizhi fell into contemplation: "This is a debt from sixteen years ago."
Jian Huan calculated: her current body was born in the summer sixteen years ago, and in the formation, it was now spring of sixteen years ago. "So I wasn't even born yet, you were one year old, and it would be five more years until you became unfortunate."
Shen Jizhi: "..."
Jian Huan looked up: "What about you? What did you discover on your end?"
Shen Jizhi looked down at her quietly, remaining silent for a moment, his face showing traces of...
Well, longing??
...
In the bathhouse of the main courtyard, the door was open.
Walking in, there was a wooden carved screen on the left, with lifelike depictions of mountains, waters, birds, and beasts.
Behind the screen, several maids with double buns were busy.
Two maids were adding water to the bathtub, one maid was carrying a tray with white jade bottles, and another maid took a bottle and opened it, pouring translucent green liquid into the tub, quickly tinting the water with a light green hue.
Rich spiritual energy filled the bathhouse, and Jian Huan felt every pore in her body opening up.
It felt so comfortable, she desperately wanted to soak in it...
An intense desire rose from her dantian.
This tub of spirit liquid was like finding an oasis for a traveler dying of thirst in the desert, especially for a cultivator on the verge of advancement.
Beside her, Shen Jizhi was also staring intently.
His thirst had lasted longer than Jian Huan's—eleven years already.
When they searched the mansion yesterday, they had come here too, but the maids hadn't started preparations then.
Just now, when Shen Jizhi followed the maid carrying the white jade bottle, he discovered this.
The busy maids were completely unaware of the hungry eyes behind them, their attention focused solely on the tub of spirit medicine.
After all three white jade bottles were emptied into the tub, the water became even more emerald green.
The maids began cleaning up the empty containers.
The one who had poured the medicine gazed at the water and muttered to herself, "It's ready, we can invite the madam now."
She and the other three maids nodded to each other, stepped out of the bathhouse, and walked toward the bedroom.
Outside the bedroom door, the maid curtsied and said flatly, "Madam, your spirit bath is ready."
The maid waited for a quarter hour, gave a lifeless smile to the air, and curtsied again: "Madam."
Then she led the way back to the bathhouse.
Seeing her return, the other maids quickly put down their tasks and half-bent their knees: "Greetings, Madam."
After waiting a moment, they said again: "Yes, Madam."
The maids adjusted the curtains, all withdrew from the bathhouse, closed the door properly, and quietly stood guard outside.
But inside, there was no one—Qi Wan, who should have been there, wasn't.
All the maids' curtsies and conversations had been directed at thin air.
Jian Huan looked at the untouched spirit bath, suppressing the clamoring in her dantian, and thought.
The real Qi Wan was certainly outside.
But these servants weren't real either—they were puppets thrown into the formation...
The real Qi Wan should have had a puppet counterpart too.
'Qi Wan' was the core of the formation, and all the mansion's maids and servants existed only to serve her.
That's it—the question was, where was the formation's 'Qi Wan'?
Though they were tempted by the spirit bath and all the expensive items in the mansion,
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi didn't dare act rashly to avoid unnecessary trouble.
They both sat in meditation by the bathtub, absorbing some of the spirit medicine's energy.
On this day sixteen years ago, Qi Wan apparently took a spirit bath that lasted all afternoon.
As the sun began to set, the maids outside suddenly responded with a "yes," and with a creak, opened the door and filed in.
A maid pulled back the curtains, revealing the magnificent sunset on the horizon.
The sky here was like a slideshow, changing every hour.
The lead maid bowed, seeing off the non-existent person, and the other maids also bowed deeply.
After a while, the maids inside straightened up. They used empty buckets to scoop out the water from the bathtub, each carrying two buckets as they walked out.
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi tacitly followed.
The three maids showed remarkable strength, each easily carrying two large buckets of water, walking briskly out of the main courtyard, along the corridor, and into the garden.
The dozen or so peach trees in the garden were in full bloom. The maids poured all the water from their buckets onto the roots of the peach trees.
Beside them, Jian Huan's eyes widened, and she unconsciously reached out her hand, her fingers tensing grotesquely before curling into a fist.
Her features contorted in anguish as if she might cry.
Though she couldn't see the person beside her, Jian Huan knew he was there.
She turned her head and whispered very softly: "We're living worse than these peach trees!"
Shen Jizhi's expression remained calm, but his hands behind his back were clenched into fists.
After a while, he let out a quiet sigh.
The sigh echoed through the small courtyard, dispersing with the wind as peach blossoms fell, their delicate petals dancing in the air as if mocking something.
...
The nights here were peaceful and tranquil.
After a busy day, the servants were either eating, washing up, or resting in corners.
In the bedroom of the main courtyard, the lamp was still lit—'Qi Wan' hadn't gone to sleep yet.
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi stood in the empty room, waiting quietly.
Suddenly, the light before them went out.
Before they could react, with a snap, it was daylight outside again.
A maid gently knocked on the door, beginning a new day: "Madam, would you like a spirit bath this afternoon?"
The person inside seemed to say something, and after a moment, the maid replied: "Yes, Madam, this servant will arrange it right away."
Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi exchanged glances.
What happened on that night that made Qi Wan unable to move forward, constantly repeating that day, as if doing so would prevent what was to come?
According to this world's time, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi had been here for three days.
On the first day, they conducted a general survey, getting an overall impression of the entire Jiang family mansion.
On the second day, they focused on listening to the puppet people's conversations, getting a grasp of the day's events.
Today was the third day, and they began a detailed search.
The first place they searched was Jiang Cheng and Qi Wan's bedroom.
With some time before the afternoon when the maids would come looking, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi didn't use concealment talismans.
The bedroom was spacious, divided into outer and inner sections.
The outer room had a desk and dressing table, while the inner room contained the bed.
Shen Jizhi was examining the desk area, so Jian Huan lifted the door curtain and entered the inner room.
The bed was large and square, with rouge-colored bed curtains neatly tied to the bedposts.
But the bedding was somewhat messy, not yet made up, as if the occupant had awakened but hadn't gotten up, resting against the headboard with closed eyes.
Jian Huan climbed onto the bed and immediately flipped over the covers, revealing a thick book.
The book was half-read, its cover facing outward, casually lying on the bed.
The cyan-colored cover was extremely familiar, and Jian Huan froze.
She had this book too.
Every Jade Clarity Sect talisman master had one—it was their sect's "Complete Guide to Talisman Arts."
Jian Huan: "!"
She hugged the talisman guide and emerged from the inner room with a shocked expression.
Hearing movement, Shen Jizhi looked up, holding a sword manual in his hands.
It was the Jade Clarity Sect's sword manual—he had one too.
Though he had sold his copy a few years ago to a junior brother who had lost his.
Shen Jizhi's expression wasn't as animated as Jian Huan's, but his slightly furrowed brow revealed some disbelief.
Jian Huan said gravely: "I think Qi Wan might be a talisman master from the Jade Clarity Sect."
Shen Jizhi: "...And Jiang Cheng is probably a sword cultivator from the Jade Clarity Sect."
Jian Huan asked him: "You don't have any impression of this Jiang Cheng and Qi Wan?" He had lived at the Jade Clarity Sect for eleven years.
Shen Jizhi: "None."
They both fell silent: "..."
The direction this situation was taking became increasingly frightening.
Qi Wan was clearly doing something nefarious that couldn't see the light of day.
Could these misdeeds be connected to someone powerful in the Jade Clarity Sect...
Jian Huan lowered her head, carefully thinking about the story's plot.
Actually, the book wasn't very long, only about 200,000-300,000 words, ending after telling the melodramatic love story between Jiang Qiaoqiao, Jing Chi, and Shen Jizhi.
When Jian Huan was reading, she didn't care much about it. She was just looking for drama, who cared what was happening in that world within the book, in the parts that weren't written about.
Jian Huan sighed.
She quietly held the talisman manual and returned to the inner chamber to continue searching.
Shen Jizhi put down the sword manual and also continued.
After a while, Jian Huan emerged with a strange expression, carrying a box.
Shen Jizhi looked up at her, his gaze questioning: "?"
Jian Huan cleared her throat lightly and opened the box to show him.
Shen Jizhi glanced at it and fell silent again.
Just because he hadn't experienced it didn't mean he didn't understand.
In those years, to earn spirit stones to pay off debts, he had ventured into some pleasure houses.
He knew what these items were used for.
Jian Huan made a profound comment: "Hmm, the couple seems quite loving."
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi glanced at her, then quickly averted his gaze, composing himself before saying quietly: "In the future, don't show me such things."
To this, Jian Huan explained: "I just wanted to share."
Just like before in the modern world, when she saw gossip online, she would definitely find her girlfriends to discuss it enthusiastically.
But now, with the Xuantian Mirror not working, she could only share with him.
Outside, the sky changed again and again, from dawn to noon.
Shen Jizhi finished searching the last place, finding nothing else useful.
Jian Huan had been inside for some time and hadn't come out.
Shen Jizhi hurriedly lifted the door curtain and walked into the inner chamber.
Inside, Jian Huan sat on the ground with the complete talisman manual in her lap.
She had been staring at the bed for a long time, lost in thought.
Shen Jizhi let out a slight breath and asked, "What is it?"
Jian Huan didn't turn around. She lightly bit her fingernail, her eyes carrying a reminiscent light: "Elder Yu mentioned before that there's a formation that can create another realm within the same space, without interference. He even gave us a simple demonstration..."
When Elder Yu taught about talismans, he didn't strictly follow the talisman books. When teaching about transportation talismans, he might suddenly talk about transportation formations and demonstrate the formation patterns for them.
Talismans and formations were inherently connected, but formations were too difficult for beginning talisman cultivators like them. Other elders wouldn't teach this at this stage - it would be like casting pearls before swine.
But Elder Yu often taught it. He could go from transportation formations to spatial formations, then back to speed talismans, making his classes longer than other elders'.
Jian Huan murmured: "I feel that the sensation from this bed is very similar to when Elder Yu cast the spatial formation that day..."
She hadn't noticed before, but just now when she accidentally tripped and fell, looking up from the ground, that moment suddenly reminded her.
Shen Jizhi asked: "Can you break the formation?"
Jian Huan: "..."
She slowly turned around and quietly looked at him.
Shen Jizhi: "Hmm?"
Jian Huan uttered two words: "I can't."
Shen Jizhi showed slight disappointment and shook his head.
Jian Huan sneered: "Can you?"
Shen Jizhi stopped shaking his head and quietly lowered his gaze.
However—
Jian Huan's fingertip tapped lightly on the ground: "If I could reach Foundation Building stage, I could try..."
Elder Yu had mentioned that the Jade Clarity Sect's spatial formations had some minor issues in the past, but they had been improved in recent years.
Yes, it was Elder Yu who had improved them.
At the time, Jian Huan had wondered internally if Elder Yu's roundabout way of teaching, going off on so many tangents, was just his way of telling them that although he was a new elder, he was actually very capable.
In any case, the spatial formation Qi Wan used was likely the old version.
Seven days later.
Jian Huan sat in the bathtub, the water reaching her fair neck.
Spiritual energy gradually gathered into her body, the energy ball in her dandan growing larger and larger, almost bursting her entire dandan. The tearing pain spread throughout her body.
Jian Huan focused her mind, her brows tightly furrowed.
The spiritual medicine Qi Wan used for soaking was of unknown grade, but its effects were intense.
On the first day of soaking, Jian Huan directly advanced from Qi Refinement first level to third level.
In the following days, she continued advancing level by level.
Now, she was just one step away from Foundation Building.
Actually, when she reached Qi Refinement fourth level, that was the most comfortable state.
After the fourth level, it became somewhat forced, like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.
But—
She could still endure it!
She had to reach Foundation Building. How could free spiritual medicine be painful? At least her heart wouldn't hurt.
The maid stood guard outside, while Shen Jizhi sat beside the bathtub.
An elegant curtain blocked the spring scenery outside the window, making the bathroom dim and peaceful.
But inside Jian Huan's body, it was like being in the center of a level ten typhoon, with spiritual energy crashing about, her dandan on the verge of collapse.
She took a deep breath, continuously circulating the Great Talisman Heart Method, moving through the cycles, keeping her mind clear.
Shen Jizhi noticed something and looked up at her, his eyes dark and unclear.
After an unknown amount of time, the typhoon suddenly dispersed, and the chaotic dandan returned to stillness.
The broken walls gradually restored, like a rebirth.
Shen Jizhi lowered his head and closed his eyes.
Jian Huan opened her eyes.
The bathroom was still the same bathroom, but somehow different.
She could easily see every grain of sand on the wall, see the crystal-clear water beneath her.
The dim light no longer blurred her vision.
Foundation Building stage achieved.
Jian Huan let out a long breath, not daring to soak any longer, and climbed out of the water.
Shen Jizhi rose from his meditation position and said flatly: "Congratulations."
"Thank you." Jian Huan's face was somewhat pale. Through the gap in the curtains, she looked at the sky outside.
It was still bright, far from evening.
Having just reached Foundation Building, her realm was still somewhat unstable.
Jian Huan simply sat down on the ground and said: "I'll meditate for a while, wake me up when it's time."
Shen Jizhi: "Alright."
Jian Huan then peacefully entered meditation.
Shen Jizhi walked to the bathtub and looked down at the water inside.
The water still had a light green tinge; Jian Huan hadn't used up all the spiritual medicine.
Without much hesitation, he pointed his toes and gracefully landed in the water, causing a few slight ripples.
