Shen Jizhi slipped into the bathtub, causing the medicinal water to overflow slightly, gradually soaking his body until it stopped half an inch below his shoulders.
Like rain after a long drought, the lingering medicinal essence in the water encountered this body that had been barely sustained by fasting pills, instantly sweeping through him.
His limbs grew slightly warm, and Shen Jizhi closed his eyes, his usually sharp, sword-like features softening slightly.
Just as he was about to circulate his qi, that warmth flickered like a tiny lit match, lasting only briefly before vanishing completely.
Shen Jizhi was startled and opened his eyes to look down.
The water, which had been faintly green before, was now clearer than mountain spring water, without a trace of impurity.
That brief touch of spiritual energy and warmth felt like nothing more than a dream.
Shen Jizhi: "..."
He sat quietly in the water for a long while, then silently climbed out and sat behind Jian Huan, closing his eyes to meditate, his face cold and still.
In Yujiang City, it was the hour of Yin, the transition between night and dawn.
A half moon hung in the pitch-black sky, coldly watching the mortal world below.
There had been a heavy rain the night before, and the wet traces on the stone paths gleamed eerily in the moonlight.
The City Lord's Mansion had issued an order that thieves were active in the city recently, putting the entire city on alert. Despite this, even before dawn broke, some citizens were already out and about.
They carried empty baskets one after another, taking shortcuts to their fields to pick fresh vegetables still covered in dew.
Later, when day broke, they would take these vegetables to sell at the morning market.
As they hurried along, these hardworking citizens encountered a dilapidated cart.
The horse pulling it was thin and therefore moved slowly. The roofless carriage behind it was filled with night soil buckets.
Ah! It was the night soil cart!
Everyone pinched their noses and hurried to keep their distance.
Baili Dao, who wore a gray cloth on his head, looked up, revealing his dark face that was difficult to make out in the darkness.
It had been five days since Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi entered the Jiang Mansion.
And he had been collecting night soil for five days.
Five nights ago, while Baili Dao was sleeping, the protective pendant given by his parents suddenly lit up with a blinding light, creating a solid protective shield around him.
Baili Dao ran as fast as he could, darting through the streets and alleys of Yujiang City.
The broken cart was too decrepit to park at an inn, especially since Miss Jian wouldn't even let it take her to the Jiang family.
So Baili Dao had hidden the cart deep in an alley.
And since Jian Huan had been angry when she got off the cart that day, no one had told him to return it.
So Baili Dao kept renting it without returning it.
The pendant protected him for the time of one incense stick before failing, but thankfully he had Miss Jian's talismans.
The teleportation talisman had always been ineffective in Yujiang City, as Miss Jian had tested when they first entered the city.
The invisibility talisman worked, but even after it was used up, the pursuing forces still searched everywhere relentlessly. Baili Dao didn't dare to use his flying sword or any spiritual power.
He jumped onto the cart and drove it frantically, not caring which way he went.
But the horse truly couldn't run fast.
Baili Dao whipped it several times, but the horse became stubborn, stopped, and refused to move further.
Baili Dao was desperate, his mind went blank, and he even forgot he could abandon the horse and flee.
At that crucial moment, with a creak, a back door several meters away opened from the inside.
An elderly person carrying a night soil bucket poked their head out and, seeing the cart in the distance, waved and called out, "Here, here, here! Over here!"
Baili Dao, not knowing what the person wanted, confusedly went over.
The elderly person's eyesight wasn't very good, and with it being dark, they didn't look too carefully before handing the night soil bucket to Baili Dao, mumbling something and closing their back door.
It was at this moment, amid the lightning and thunder, that Baili Dao suddenly had an idea!
He found a place, dismantled the cart's roof, stored the wooden materials in his Mustard Seed Pouch, and put on a crimson undergarment from it.
This was what their mother had sewn for Baili Dao and his brother Baili Jian when they went out to gain experience. Each brother had one, and wearing it could prevent other cultivators from detecting their cultivation level.
However, their mother had embroidered several peonies on it, making both brothers reluctant to wear it.
They only wore it when absolutely necessary.
After changing clothes, Baili Dao earnestly began his journey as a night soil collector.
He even encountered several patrol guards searching for him along his route, but none paid him any attention...
Having avoided this pursuit, Baili Dao planned to leave the city and find the Jade Clarity Sect elder as Jian Huan had instructed.
But the city gates were under strict guard, and everyone leaving had to pass through spirit-detecting stones, with anyone at the Foundation Establishment realm being detained for questioning.
The crimson undergarment couldn't avoid the spirit-detecting stones, so Baili Dao had to continue collecting night soil while looking for a chance to leave the city.
In the past, Baili Dao wouldn't have thought so much about it; if the city gate wasn't an option, he would have just recklessly climbed over a secluded section of the city wall.
But now, Baili Dao was thinking things through carefully.
He realized this wouldn't work - if someone could trap Miss Jian and Master Shen in the Jiang Mansion, how could they possibly let him easily climb over the city wall?
Those two couldn't even get out of the Jiang Mansion's walls, so who was he to think he could succeed?
So Baili Dao held himself back, which proved to be wise.
Because in one night, the guards caught several cultivators trying to climb the walls.
Baili Dao felt he had become smarter.
In the formation grounds, the spring moon was like a flower.
Though the sky was artificial, it was extremely beautiful.
All around was quiet, with occasional sweet-scented breezes passing by. In the artificial mountain where no one would come, Shen Jizhi was meditating while Jian Huan was drawing talismans.
Having soaked too long in the spiritual bath, Jian Huan felt like a balloon, somewhat bloated and needing release.
When she couldn't afford spiritual pills before, her external energy exceeded her internal energy. Now, with free spiritual baths, her internal energy exceeded her external.
So after stabilizing her dantian realm, she began drawing talismans non-stop.
Fortunately, before coming to the Jiang Mansion, she had spent most of her spirit stones to buy two thousand sheets of talisman paper.
Elder Yu Qing's method regarding the old version of the space formation was still related to teleportation talismans...
Indeed, at Elder Yu's place, teleportation talismans held crucial importance, serving as the most solid foundation of his talisman arts.
Jian Huan recalled that day's talisman class.
She had been dozing off, but when she saw Elder Yu float a large piece of white paper in the air and draw formation patterns on it, she instantly became alert.
Compared to text and language, she definitely preferred images.
Yu Qing demonstrated to his disciples, using an ordinary brush without spiritual power, drawing and explaining: "When the brush falls on paper, it becomes a talisman. When it falls between heaven and earth, it becomes a formation. Of course, you're not at the Golden Core stage yet, so you can't draw formations, but it doesn't hurt to learn more. Look, this is the old space formation pattern. Formation patterns are only useful when drawn between heaven and earth; they're useless on paper. But if you wrap this old formation pattern within the teleportation talisman's script like this, the teleportation talisman can transport you from here to the derived space. But the new formation pattern won't work - I've improved it, and the new pattern can't coexist with teleportation talisman script. Drawing them together will definitely cause backlash for the talisman master. If you're interested, just try combining the old formation pattern with the teleportation talisman, but never attempt the new pattern, be careful not to cause accidents. Oh right, to draw combination talismans, you need to be at least at the Foundation Establishment realm..."
Elder Yu Qing's rambling words flowed from the river of memory, and Jian Huan drew without being hindered by the light, trying to recreate the old formation combination talisman that Elder Yu Qing had demonstrated.
But it wasn't going smoothly.
It had looked simple when Elder Yu Qing drew it, but when she tried herself, the strokes never came out right on the talisman paper, wasting several sheets.
Yet she could draw it quite well when using stones on the ground.
Jian Huan sighed softly.
She put away the talisman paper and brush, dusted off her hands and stood up from the ground, looking at the sky: "Is it almost dawn?"
Hearing this, Shen Jizhi looked up and nodded: "Yes."
Jian Huan left the artificial mountain first, urging: "Then let's hurry, yesterday there was only one petal left!"
It wouldn't be good if they were late.
...
In the formation grounds, another new day dawned.
With the morning sun on the horizon, everything in this small world returned to normal.
Maids woke up to wash and dress, hurriedly lifting their skirts as they walked along the soft goose-feather paths. Along the paths, flower beds bloomed in brilliant colors, with delicate buds still carrying crystal-clear morning dew.
As the girls passed by, their skirts brushed off dewdrops, leaving slight wet patches.
But the maids couldn't care about that now. They passed through the round arch of the main courtyard, arriving at Qi Wan's door to inquire whether she wanted a spiritual bath today.
After receiving confirmation, she hurriedly left for the Alchemy Pavilion.
The alchemist at the Alchemy Pavilion was already awake, sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the courtyard.
Just on the other side of the wall, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi were racing against time to open wooden boxes and exchange spiritual herbs and flowers.
Outside, a maid stopped precisely ten steps away from the alchemist, lowered her head, and said stiffly, "Reporting to Alchemist, the madam requires a spiritual bath today."
The alchemist slowly opened his eyes and mechanically nodded, "I understand. You may go."
"Yes, Alchemist." The maid curtsied and left.
The alchemist stood up and pushed open the door to the alchemy room.
The alchemy room was spacious, with a magnificent golden furnace in the center, surrounded by cabinets made of spiritual wood. Each shelf was originally filled with wooden boxes.
However, now the shelves had gaps here and there, as if mice had secretly nibbled away at corn.
But it didn't matter, as the boxes the alchemist needed were still there. Therefore, he showed no reaction.
The boxes had intricate maze-like patterns, special formations designed to store various spiritual herbs.
The alchemist opened a rectangular box.
The most important ingredient for Madam Jiang's spiritual bath liquid was this third-grade Jade Snow Lotus.
The box contained two lotuses, each with twelve petals, and one petal was taken each time.
The lotus on the right still had all its petals intact, but the one on the left was completely bare, without a single petal.
The alchemist had always taken petals from the right lotus, and he didn't question why the left one was bare. He simply reached out and plucked a petal.
The same went for other spiritual herbs and flowers.
After gathering the necessary materials, the alchemist walked to the furnace and began preparing what Qi Wan needed.
He didn't see, and would never see, that a man and woman were standing right beside him, watching.
The more Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi understood this place, the bolder...
They became.
At first, they used invisibility talismans everywhere they went, being extremely cautious, fearing these puppet people would see them and cause trouble.
But gradually, the two discovered that as long as they didn't interfere with what these puppet people needed to do, everything was fine.
Jian Huan summarized the rules of this world in her mind:
First, don't interfere with the daily routines of the Jiang Mansion. In other words, you could stand next to the puppet people and chat loudly, but you couldn't stand in their way, block their path, or take things they needed to use, otherwise the consequences could be severe. Just how severe, neither Jian Huan nor Shen Jizhi dared to find out.
Second, observe the law of conservation of energy. The puppet people and the old mansion formed an internal energy system. Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi weren't puppet people; they were external energy bodies. When she took a spiritual bath, energy transferred from the internal system to the external system, and during the daily reset, one petal would disappear from the Jade Snow Lotus in the alchemy room.
And since this alchemist would only take from the right lotus, if she and Shen Jizhi hadn't switched the positions of the two lotuses this morning, it would have violated the first rule.
Crisis averted, Jian Huan and Shen Jizhi left the alchemy room as if they owned the place.
She touched the Mustard Seed Pouch at her chest, thinking of the wooden boxes inside, and her smile became particularly bright.
Outside the Alchemy Pavilion was a bamboo grove, but it wasn't just bamboo there – several puppet people stood as straight as the bamboo stalks.
Jian Huan remarked, "If you fell victim to the sweet fragrance technique, you'd end up being bamboo here."
The Jiang Mansion only had so many people, and when the positions were filled, those thrown in later could only pretend to be bamboo.
Shen Jizhi gave her a cool sidelong glance: "No need to remind me that you woke me up. Out of one hundred and eighty-one boxes, I only took ninety."
Jian Huan: "Heh, then it's settled – in cases where we can't split things evenly, the extra portion is mine."
Since she needed to break the spatial formation, Shen Jizhi thought for a moment and didn't object: "Only while we're here. This doesn't count once we leave."
Jian Huan immediately agreed: "Deal!"
She raised her right hand high, her slender white palm facing him, eyes sparkling with laughter: "Here's to successful cooperation."
Shen Jizhi held his sword with both hands, looking at her palm: "?"
Jian Huan raised her left hand and tapped her own right hand, demonstrating: "It's called a high-five celebration, get it?"
She extended her right hand again.
"Don't get it," Shen Jizhi shook his head, glancing at her, "Keep clapping by yourself."
With that, he strode away.
Jian Huan: "..."
He really knew how to ruin the mood.
He wasn't actually clueless.
Shen Jizhi, in fact, understood quite a lot.
Like that box they found under the bed – she knew what it was because her college roommate had once dragged her to an adult store to broaden her horizons.
But he knew too, yet said not to show him such things in the future.
Tch, what an act.
Jian Huan lowered her head and muttered: "...Dog of a man."
They walked one after another, maintaining a neither long nor short distance, but Shen Jizhi keenly turned his head: "What?"
Jian Huan smiled brightly: "Nothing, I was just complimenting you!"
"Really." Shen Jizhi let out a light laugh, returning a compliment, "You're so kind and generous."
Jian Huan: "...Shen Jizhi!"
Shen Jizhi explained calmly: "I was complimenting you too."
Jian Huan: "..."
Damn!
In the Jiang Mansion, Qi Wan lay on a couch.
The nearby window was open, and suddenly a gust of wind rushed in, making the water-red curtains dance wildly.
Qi Wan's red dress draped over the black and gold carpet, also fluttering in the wind.
In the corner of the carpet, several...
Empty wine bottles lay scattered, the remaining wine seeping silently into the carpet.
After a night of drinking, Qi Wan lay with her eyes closed, appearing to be asleep.
But suddenly, she opened her eyes, her gaze cutting through the room's depressing alcoholic atmosphere, looking out through the open window.
In the not-yet-bright dawn, everything was bathed in a bluish light, carrying the coolness and solitude of the pre-sunrise hours.
She lowered her enchanting eyes and extended her hand with deep red nail polish.
A cup of wine appeared through the air; she grabbed it, and the burning liquor entered her throat.
They better not disappoint her...
Qi Wan threw away the cup and fell back onto the couch.
She buried her face in the crook of her arm, her shoulders suddenly shaking violently as silver bell-like laughter erupted, like a beast's roar in the wilderness, mad and terrifying.
"Hahahahahahaha..."
Jian Huan's talisman brush had run out of spiritual ink.
Though they had ransacked everything they could from the Jiang Mansion, they couldn't find any spiritual ink.
Spiritual ink was like training wheels for children who couldn't walk yet – only talisman masters at the Qi Condensation stage would use it.
After advancing to the Foundation Building stage, one shouldn't need spiritual ink anymore, but should use their own dantian instead.
However, Jian Huan's realm was unstable, so having spiritual ink would have been ideal.
But now without it, they had to make do.
Formation patterns were already difficult to draw, and combining them with teleportation talisman scripts made it even more challenging.
It was like asking a child who had just abandoned their walker and learned to walk to run instead.
In the bathhouse, Jian Huan lay on the ground. Without spiritual ink, the talisman brush was just an ordinary brush.
She dipped the brush in ink they'd scavenged from the study and carefully drew patterns on the talisman paper.
It wasn't going smoothly; another talisman paper was wasted.
Though she could draw perfectly well on ordinary paper, it wouldn't work on talisman paper. This hadn't happened when she was learning teleportation talismans before.
Jian Huan endured the heartache and took out a new sheet from her Mustard Seed Pouch, which was already crammed full of gold, silver, and jewels.
Fortunately, she had managed to collect a large stack of talisman paper from the Jiang Mansion's storehouse, so she could afford this waste.
Jian Huan took a deep breath, calmed her mind, and repeated the process again and again.
Thinking back to her graduation project, how many times had she started over under her demanding advisor's guidance?
Compared to that thesis, everything else was trivial.
In the bathtub, Shen Jizhi opened his eyes.
He silently looked down, then got out of the tub.
Jian Huan raised her upper body, looking surprised: "It's only been a quarter hour? Why are you out already?"
That was way too fast.
Shen Jizhi stood before her, using a spell to dry his clothes, lowering his head reluctantly: "...I finished bathing."
Jian Huan got up to look – the water was so clear she could see the wooden patterns at the bottom of the tub.
"..." Jian Huan looked at him helplessly, "But your realm hasn't changed at all... still at the fifth level of Qi Condensation..."
She had hoped that while she was drawing talismans, he would reach the Foundation Building stage.
After all, she had gone from the first level of Qi Condensation to the first level of Foundation Building, and since he was already at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, it should have only taken two or three days.
That would have increased their chances of success when they reached the formation's eye.
But now...
Shen Jizhi tried to explain: "There was some progress."
Jian Huan blew a breath, making the fine hair on her forehead flutter slightly. She felt somewhat discouraged and said, "You can still soak for ten days. Can you reach Foundation Establishment in ten days?"
Shen Jizhi glanced at her without answering.
But Jian Huan already understood.
She put one hand on her hip while biting the nail of her other hand, and suggested, "Didn't we get a lot of spirit herbs and flowers from the Alchemy Pavilion? You should just eat them directly, it should work the same way."
Alchemists refined spiritual liquid for soaking to help cultivators better absorb the purest spiritual energy contained in spirit herbs and flowers.
Jian Huan thought that given Shen Jizhi's body, which had been thirsting for spiritual energy for eleven years, he could directly consume the spirit herbs and flowers to absorb all their spiritual energy, without needing to soak at all.
Shen Jizhi lowered his eyes, with the word 'okay' stuck in his throat.
His mouth seemed to have its own thoughts.
The wooden boxes hadn't even had time to warm up in his Mustard Seed Pouch, and now they needed to be used already?
Silence fell between them as they looked at each other without speaking.
Jian Huan pressed her lips together, lowering her head in contemplation.
He had previously given up his soaking rights to help her reach Foundation Establishment. Because only if she reached Foundation Establishment would the array-breaking talisman have a chance.
And Shen Jizhi reaching Foundation Establishment would benefit her too. There were dangers in the array core, and he was a sword cultivator. Once they got out, he would be able to fly on his sword, which would save them money.
Jian Huan gritted her teeth, not giving herself a chance to regret, and decided to help bear some of the cost: "How about you use five boxes, and I'll subsidize one box?"
This time Shen Jizhi answered quickly: "Alright."
According to Jian Huan's estimate, he would use thirty boxes at most.
But—
Ten days later.
Sitting cross-legged, Jian Huan counted the three stacked wooden boxes again and again, pushing them over with a pained expression.
She had already given him eighteen boxes yesterday. Adding these ones, she had given him twenty-one boxes in total.
Twenty-one boxes!!!
He had actually used up all his own ninety boxes, and even after soaking for ten days in spiritual baths, it still wasn't enough.
He had even used up all eighteen boxes she gave him yesterday, barely managing to reach Foundation Establishment.
No wonder Five Elements Root cultivators had such a difficult start - with this kind of consumption, how could it not be difficult?
No wonder Five Elements Root cultivators could fight above their level - they needed several times more precious materials than other cultivators to advance a single level!
Jian Huan's heart ached so much she felt like vomiting blood. Her hands gripped the wooden boxes on both sides, refusing to let go.
Shen Jizhi held the bottom of the boxes, waited for a moment, but she wouldn't release them. Seeing that she might even take them back, his eyelids twitched slightly, and his other hand quickly pressed down on the top of the boxes, pulling them toward himself.
Jian Huan's ten fingers remained firmly stuck to the box walls, reluctantly following along, causing her whole body to lean forward.
The distance between them suddenly shortened in the dim room with its drawn curtains.
A beam of light sneaked in through an uncovered corner of the curtains, casting a small dancing circle of light on the floor beside them.
Jian Huan looked up, her gaze falling on his face.
After ten days of soaking and consuming nearly a hundred boxes of spirit herbs, Shen Jizhi's complexion was excellent.
His appearance, which had been extensively described in the book, became even more breathtaking in the dim room.
Jian Huan couldn't help but look a few more times before suddenly saying, "Did you do this on purpose?"
Shen Jizhi looked puzzled: "?"
Jian Huan stared at him intently: "Deliberately tricked me for my boxes, so you used up all your own boxes first."
Shen Jizhi: "...You think I wanted to??"
That's true.
Would he really be willing to do that?
Jian Huan withdrew her gaze and pulled back a bit, trying to negotiate with him nicely: "Look, you've already reached Foundation Establishment, so these three boxes..."
Shen Jizhi heard this and freed one hand to methodically peel her fingers off the wooden box one by one, unhurriedly interrupting her: "I believe you're a person who keeps their word."
