A surge of aura flooded Lin Jiu, filling her dantian instantly!
“A thousand years of spiritual aura would normally take at least a hundred days to fully absorb.” Wei Liang remarked. “With my help, however, you should be done within ten da—” His words suddenly cut off, and the mighty Sword Monarch was once again made speechless by his wife.
Lin Jiu’s absorption speed was simply astonishing! A millennium’s worth of spiritual aura from the Yin-Yang Aura Conduit Stalks had already been drained by 70% in mere moments.
In the blink of an eye, it was all gone.
In truth, the karma lotus didn’t require that much aura, but Lin Jiu, in her panic, had funneled every bit of it into her spiritual sea. Once the eighth petal had stabilized, the lotus, now fully nourished, seemed to hum contentedly. Lin Jiu finally let out a deep sigh of relief and leaned weakly against Wei Liang’s arm.
Having averted the crisis, Lin Jiu, optimistic by nature, no longer dwelt over the matter and began assessing the remaining aura. Lotus Shatter had consumed about one-tenth of the Yin-Yang Aura Conduit Stalk’s aura—equivalent to a century’s worth. This meant she could unleash that powerful attack nine more times!
Oh, but she still needed to form her golden core. One advantage of forming the golden core was the ability to release spiritual aura externally. If she’d already formed it when she entered the sword spirit realm, she wouldn’t have had to struggle with the skeletons in close combat and could have simply harvested them from a distance. Moreover, being able to release aura from a distance to gauge the enemy’s strength meant another safety layer—fight them if you could win and run if you couldn’t. In this world of cultivation filled with constant dangers, long-range combat was certainly a much better survival strategy than close-quarters combat!
Forming a golden core took about 300 years’ worth of cultivation. With determination, Lin Jiu immediately assumed a meditation posture, drawing a third of the aura reserve from her spiritual sea and channeling it into the acupoint at the vertex of her head.
Wei Liang watched her intently. Being so close, it was impossible for Lin Jiu to hide what she was doing, so she simply disregarded his gaze as she continued to guide 300 years’ worth of spiritual aura to course through her meridians using the method he had previously taught her. If he asked, she was prepared to explain the concept of ‘Schrödinger’s spiritual aura.’1
But Wei Liang didn’t ask. Instead, he raised a finger and gently tapped her forehead. His touch was cool, like jade, causing Lin Jiu’s mind to wander for a moment—
‘His temperature is always so cold. Will he remain as cold when doing *that* deed?’
This one thought led to another: ‘Once I formed the golden core, would he pounce on me immediately?’
Then, various special effects of the Jade Heart Sutra fluttered in her mind… causing her to shudder in fright.
Wei Liang seemed to see through her mind and let out a soft chuckle. His deep, slightly raspy voice was cold, yet it was tinged with affection.
Lin Jiu quickly recited the core principles of socialism in her mind to regain her composure.2 Wei Liang channeled another trace of his cold aura into her meridians, guiding her through the process of forming her golden core. He was a masterful teacher, patiently guiding the course of the aura, giving Lin Jiu the illusion that he would take her to reach the pinnacle without her having to lift a single finger.
The forming of the golden core went smoothly. Time passed unnoticed underground, and by the time a warm, radiant golden core hovered in Lin Jiu’s dantian, Liu Qingyin had also cleared the charm miasma from her body. It seemed like the female lead had regained some of the grace she displayed in the novel—her expression was extremely calm, a stark contrast to the frequent erratic moments she had shown in recent days.
After that, Liu Qingyin didn’t cause any more trouble. She was highly skilled in support. As Wei Liang’s sword beams swept through the battlefield, crescent moons burst open in perfect sync, and they successfully broke through the siege at Qianqi Pass from the flank. Though she grew exhausted several times along the way, Liu Qingyun bit her lip and pushed through without a single complaint.
Lin Jiu, who nestled comfortably in Wei Liang’s arms through the journey, couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic—‘Such a tragic, tortured female lead!’
After fleeing the Qianqi Pass, they soon arrived at Yunshui Plains. Without saying a word, Liu Qingyin descended and cleared the remaining devils near the lake. Afterward, she cupped some water to her face. Rising again, she unleashed several sword strikes, killing the fish and insects nearby, before turning her sword toward a pair of birds perched on a tree branch. The female bird was plump, the male bird slim and lanky, and they looked very harmonious when preening each other’s feathers.
Lin Jiu gasped at the shocking sight—‘Wait a moment! Is the female lead going to blacken? How could she bear to harm such cute birds?!’
“Stop it!” Lin Jiu shouted.
Liu Qingyin met her gaze and explained coldly, “Devils cultivate Intent, which often attaches to nearby living beings upon death. While it causes no harm, such evil remnants must never be allowed to linger!”
Lin Jiu paused—indeed, it was one of the world settings mentioned in the novel. However, remnant Intent couldn’t affect the animals or people it attached to and would naturally dissipate within a few days, which was why no one ever bothered to kill the innocent creatures it clung to. This was clearly Liu Qingyin venting her frustrations.
“When the Devil Lord died, there were no living creatures nearby, right?” Lin Jiu let out a mocking laugh, “Wouldn’t that mean his Intent attached to Wei Liang? If you’re so determined to eradicate it all, shouldn’t your first action be to eliminate your Master?”
Liu Qingyin faltered and argued back, “Even if it’s the Devil Lord, no remnant Intent can affect my Master.”
“Then don’t kill those little birds,” Lin Jiu suggested earnestly. “If the remnant Intent truly can’t do any harm, why kill innocent lives?”
“Fine.” Liu Qingyin lowered her gaze and fell silent for a moment before lifting her eyes toward Wei Liang, a faint flicker of fire in her gaze. “Master, do you know how long the Devil Lord’s remnant Intent lasts?”
Wei Liang’s expression remained unreadable, his voice cold and calm: “Forty-nine days.”
Liu Qingyin nodded, then took off on her sword.
Lin Jiu’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Liu Qingyin believed Wei Liang’s recent change in behavior was due to the Devil Lord’s remnant Intent?
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- Schrödinger’s concept: A thought experiment by scientist Schrödinger illustrating quantum superposition, where a cat in a sealed box is simultaneously both alive and dead until observed.
- ”Core principles of socialism” is a set of China’s official interpretations of socialism and is used as part of moral education campaigns in China.