Chapter 19 The Hard Road

Yi Sanmei didn't know why she came here.

The water was dark blue all around, and the little sand dunes beneath her feet were slowly eroding and collapsing. She wanted to escape, she thought, but she didn't know where to go. As she hesitated, the water continued to rise, already covering her ankles.

She rushed into the water and began paddling vigorously, determined to escape. But no matter how long she swam, she was still trapped in the endless, dark blue silence, and eventually, exhausted, she was swallowed by the sea.

Who, who can I rely on? Who will save me? Countless ropes were lowered from the water, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't grab hold of anything substantial. These ropes were merely shadows cast by various figures on the surface of the water: the faces of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, fleeting on the waves.

I'm suffocating.

"Cough, cough!" Third Sister Yi suddenly sat up in bed, taking deep gulps of fresh air. She finally felt alive again. Her eyes couldn't adjust to the brightness of the room at first, and a tear shed. But once they did, she was astonished. Not only did her vision become clearer than before, but she could also clearly see an omnipresent glimmer, like a thread or ripples on water.

Su Yang, who was led in by the mechanical puppet, answered Yi Sanmei's doubts: "Awake? Your bones are good, and you don't need to take bone-tempering pills anymore. You have already reached the initial stage of pseudo-foundation building. You can now see the mist-like spiritual energy everywhere in the world, just like ordinary cultivators."

After a pause, Su Yang pretended to be cheerful and said, "As long as you adapt to the surge in your cultivation and learn some introductory spells, you will be able to control flying magic tools and the talismans for entering and leaving, and you won't have to be restricted by others."

Thinking of the magic gourd hanging around Su Yang's waist, Yi Sanmei became a little excited, but then calmed down and keenly grasped something: "Why does the word 'false' have to be added in front of the cultivation level of the initiation? Is there something different from ordinary people with ordinary cultivation levels?"

The truth was too cruel, and Su Yang hesitated whether to speak it out. However, seeing Yi Sanmei's determined black eyes staring straight at him, he could not hide the truth of the initiation and told it all. He added: "...those who receive such initiation are not allowed to practice. At most, they can rely on the entry-level Qi to slightly mobilize their cultivation to manipulate magic tools and talismans. The most I know is that they can use elementary spells like Fireball and Water Control. If they use them too much, they will easily explode and die."

Third Sister Yi was speechless. This was clearly very frustrating, and for a moment she even questioned whether she had made the wrong choice. Dejected, she thought of Shen Ranming, who had been taken away by True Lord Bei Lian. "Then don't disciples who join the sect also need initiation? How should they practice?"

"The initiations for sect disciples are different." Su Yang sat on the bedside, holding up a bowl of water to feed Yi Sanmei, while explaining, "Actually, as far as I know, there are three types of initiations. One is given by people outside the Zang Yao Sect who have cultivation skills. With this kind of initiation, as long as you practice, your cultivation level will be the same as if you had cultivated it yourself, and it won't be a problem. The other two were invented by the Zang Yao Sect. Yours is one of them. The third one is specifically for registered sect disciples. After using Tongmai Dan and Duan Gu Dan to open up the meridians and reshape the bones, you sit and practice a special Qi-inducing technique. In just thirty-six days, you can surpass most cultivators and directly enter the third level of Qi Refining from the white body. The speed of cultivation will only increase until you enter the Golden Core stage. However, the cultivation of those who practice this method will be a thousand times more painful than others, and it is also easy to breed inner demons. It is not a long-term method."

Despite this unorthodox method, the Zang Yao Sect's accumulation of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators often worried Su Yang. Furthermore, the Zang Yao Sect had been plotting against Xuancheng Prefecture for years, leaving Su Yang worried about his homeland but uncertain how to spread the news. Recently, he had heard that a fellow righteous infiltrator had been apprehended. While outwardly, Su Yang remained oblivious to the outside world, the thought of escaping had already begun to fester. He had to at least get the message across. Glancing at the thoughtful Third Sister Yi, Su Yang set aside the bowl of food he had been feeding, a glimmer in his eyes.

Third Sister Yi had no idea what Su Yang was thinking. She was currently preoccupied with something else—at least now, Shen Ranming had officially entered the Dao, while she was still a useless person lying in bed. She deliberately ignored the disheartening words and pulled herself together. At least I need to have my own means of self-preservation. Even if I can't cultivate, the Zang Yao Sect possesses so many secret techniques, even a furnace capable of producing its own elixirs. She didn't believe she could do nothing but cultivate! Thinking of this, Third Sister Yi immediately asked Su Yang to teach her characters again.

Su Yang, as if prepared long ago, swiped at the storage bag. Third Sister Yi saw a complex light pattern illuminate on the unassuming little bag, and a large pile of books appeared beside the bed. Su Yang swiped again, and the same pattern illuminated, revealing a small wooden desk placed on the bed, neatly arranged with paper, pen, inkstone, and inkstone.

After staring at the formation formed by the light for a long time, Sister Yi San calmly lit the incense in the incense burner and respectfully held the brush.