Chapter 24 is first published on Jinjiang Literature City, please subscribe!

Time flies when you're a cultivator. Yao Sisi stayed in the space for a year, spending her days like a busy little bee, constantly learning new knowledge.

She couldn't help but wonder, "Are all these monks who collect ancient books well-read?"

If it weren't for the fact that she had improved her memory by practicing the Refining Spirit Technique, she really wouldn't have dared to read so much, for fear that she would forget it later, which would be a waste of effort.

She hadn't deliberately tried to improve her cultivation level over the past few days, but the spiritual energy stored in her dantian was already full. Unlike when she was advancing from the fourth to the fifth level, she only needed to fill the spiritual energy in her dantian before she could try to break through to the next stage.

The fifth to sixth level is another small hurdle. You need to compress the spiritual energy in your dantian so that the original spiritual energy only occupies half of the space. Then, you need to fill the remaining half again and compress it again until it is completely compressed once before you can attempt to break through to the sixth level.

The cultivation methods for the Qi Refining stage are the most basic, focusing on nourishing the meridians and dantian. They are relatively gentle but lack sharpness, so cultivation should not be too fast. It is the time to lay a foundation, which is why she is not in a hurry to cultivate, but allows spiritual energy to be absorbed into her dantian on its own.

Even so, she is not far from breaking through.

Yao Sisi tidied up the space and looked around, only to find it completely barren. The spiritual spring water she had sprinkled earlier was a drop in the ocean and had no effect.

With the intention of getting something for nothing, she asked, "Spirit, can't you grow some spiritual plants on this land?"

The spirit, bored out of its mind, secretly praised her whimsical idea: "What can you plant in something so parched..."

Yao Sisi said with a hint of disdain, "People can grow things in the desert, but you haven't reached that level yet."

The spirit seemed to see a creditor who would exploit it to the bone, and its voice was filled with fear: "Master... even if it can be planted, there isn't enough spiritual energy..."

Yao Sisi: "Are other people's spirits like you? You have to learn to be self-reliant. If you don't have enough spiritual energy, you can absorb it. Can't your space absorb spiritual energy if it can absorb other objects?"

The spirit managed to utter a single word: "Yes..."

Yao Sisi pressed on, scolding, "If you had been a little more diligent, you wouldn't have fallen to such a low rank. I think you're just starving. Did you just sit around and wait to die after your previous master left? You can't rely on others for everything and wait for them to feed you. Even the pigs in the production team aren't as lazy as you!"

The spirit choked at the rebuke, barely managing to find its voice: "But... when I fell into my master's world, there wasn't much spiritual energy there, so it was a shame to absorb it, sob sob... and it was also heavily polluted, with lots of harmful gases..."

Yao Sisi automatically filtered out its excuse: "Don't talk about harmful gases. You're just lazy. Maybe if you inhaled more of that gas, you could even mutate your body! Besides, we're here now, and I haven't seen you actively absorbing Xuan Qi. Alright, I'm going out now. Be more careful."

The spirit was completely bewildered by her series of actions, but it couldn't completely disobey her orders. It could only tentatively absorb the nearby profound energy, and while absorbing it, it complained that the energy was much lower in level than spiritual energy. It even had the idea of ​​leaving this place more than Yao Sisi.

"Won't Master scold me when she comes back?" Wait... why am I so afraid of her?

It's so difficult. It remembers that it shouldn't have been like this, but its memory seems to be impaired, and many things are like a fog, unclear and indistinct...

Yao Sisi returned to her room, intending to lie down on the bed and rest properly, but as soon as she lay down, she received a message from Gong Yichen.

[The date for exploring the cave has been moved up; we'll depart tomorrow, starting at 3:45 AM from the city gate.]

Yao Sisi thought for a moment and then sent a message to Ri Jiu: "There's a spot in the cave exploration area. Do you want to go? If you do, wait for me outside the city at 3:45 AM. But I don't know how dangerous it is inside, so you have to think it over carefully before you decide."

After sending the message, Yao Sisi took off her coat, snuggled into bed, and caught up on some sleep. Soon, Ri Jiu replied: "Oh my god! Sisi, wait for me~"

Yao Sisi dismissed the news, pulled the blanket tighter around herself, and decided to wait until she woke up from her nap before discussing anything else.

When she woke up that night, she found that she had slept for nearly ten hours. Although she had tried her best to arrange her sleep and rest during the year in the space, she always felt a sense of pressure looking at the many books she had not finished reading. After all, she was different from others. She had to worry about how to travel back to Little Blue Star in the future, and she also had to be wary of the artifact spirit's schemes.

If her estimation was correct, the spirit must be seriously injured at this moment, perhaps even its brain was damaged, which is why it looks so stupid and has no idea what it would be like once it recovers.

No matter what, she wouldn't let it be that comfortable; sooner or later, she would crush any evil thoughts in her palm.

Just then, Rijiu sent another message: [Sisi, could you buy me a hat? I'll cover my ears first, but what about my big tail? How about... I transform into my original form and pretend to be your pet to go inside!]

Yao Sisi: "..." Hat? Are all boys this affectionate?

She replied with a message: "Go in human form. It's dangerous if you turn into a pet. They might let you scout ahead first. I'll go buy you a cloak in a bit. Come over early tomorrow and I'll make you a disguise."

After sending the message, Yao Sisi headed towards the clothing store. She went to the second floor, familiar with the place, intending to choose a robe for that guy so that ordinary clothes wouldn't tear and expose his identity.

The clothes on the second floor were quite expensive. It took her a while to find one that was reasonably priced: a fiery red cloak with a semi-sheer veil. Perhaps considering that the gender of cultivators was not very obvious, the cloak was made in a grand style, and the veil was also mysterious and beautiful, suitable for both men and women.

After taking the picture of the cloak, she went downstairs and bought a pure white waistband, which had a slight defensive capability.

After finishing these things, she realized that she didn't have a dedicated defensive magic weapon, so she made a special trip to a magic weapon shop and chose a protective soft armor. She also felt that her neck and head were prone to fatal injuries, so she simply bought an actively activated defensive magic weapon, the Silver Moon Hairpin.

The ritual implements were excellent, shimmering with a beautiful glow, but my wallet looked terrible, glistening with pitiful tears.

The two magical soft armors are relatively cheap, but the Silver Moon Hairpin is expensive. Not only is it reusable, but it's also actively activated. However, if you can't focus on attacking, or simply don't detect an attack, the hairpin will automatically block it. It costs 500 Xuan Stones...

It can basically accompany you throughout the entire Qi Refining stage.

"Magic artifacts are so expensive, I wonder how much profit they generate." This made her even more determined to learn artifact crafting.

The next morning, Yao Sisi arrived at the agreed-upon grove and saw the little fox in its original form, hiding in the treetops. She waved, and it scurried down from the tree like a kitten. If she hadn't taken a step back, the little guy would have grabbed her face...

"Little fox, time is running out, hurry up and change your clothes."

She took out a thin cloth from her storage bag, then pointed to his tail and said, "Don't move your tail. I'll wrap it around you with this cloth."

Ri Jiu had already transformed into human form and obediently let her manipulate his tail. Yao Sisi left a little bit of the tail root so that the root wouldn't be so restricted when he wagged his tail. Actually, the restriction was secondary; she was worried that his movements would stretch the waist cloth too much.

She grabbed his tail and wrapped it tightly with cloth, then covered his waist with the sash and handed him the cloak.

Ri Jiu's attention was originally on the tail. He tried to move it and felt fine, but then he saw her take out a cloak of excellent quality, which was also his favorite color.

He stared intently at the cloak. "It must be very expensive, right?"

Yao Sisi nodded: "No matter how expensive it is, it's not as valuable as life. If you feel embarrassed, then just behave well in the cave and find some good things to give me, that's all."

Ri Jiu sniffed: "Okay! I'll definitely save the good stuff for you."

Once he put on the cloak, his entire demeanor changed; he became less cute and more mysterious and sexy.

Yao Sisi glanced at the sky and said, "Let's go, let's meet up with them!"

The four of them finally arrived. They looked each other over and over. Gong Yichen noticed that Ri Jiu was wearing a cloak and veil and was a little worried that Yao Sisi might change her mind and bring Qi Mu along. "Why are you hiding like this?"

Seeing him frown, Yao Sisi knew he had misunderstood and explained, "His name is Ri Jiu." Then she said to Ri Jiu, "Pull your hat up a bit so he can see your eyes."

Rijiu nodded, pulled his hat brim slightly, and then let it fall back down.

Gong Yichen, seeing that it was a stranger, didn't care. Instead, he looked at Yao Sisi with schadenfreude: "I just received news yesterday that you got engaged to Qi Mu?"

Yao Sisi didn't want to talk about it anymore: "Young Master, please stop gossiping. We're about to go to the cave. Aren't you nervous?"

Gong Yichen said, "I'm just worried for Qi Mu because it's rare to see such a handsome man..."

Yao Sisi: "..."

I don't believe you for a second...

"Let's get down to business. How far is that place?"

Gong Yichen: "It'll probably take a day or two!"

Yao Sisi: "What if we put on a speed-enhancing talisman?"

Gong Yichen: "You've drawn a new talisman again? That's pretty impressive! But the route I mentioned was the one with the Swift Travel Talisman attached."

Yao Sisi continued, "What if it's a mid-grade Swiftness Talisman?"

Gong Yichen paused, looking at her with surprise: "That kid Qi Mu is really lucky, he actually found a talisman maker with unlimited potential like you."

Yao Sisi: "..."

"If my estimation is correct, the mid-grade talisman should arrive before dark, right?"

Gong Yichen nodded and unceremoniously extended his hand to her: "I didn't bring a mid-grade speed talisman."

Yao Sisi didn't waste any words. Getting on the road was the priority. Since the talismans were drawn by herself and didn't cost any money, she took out two and handed them to him. "Take them. Just focus on getting there. I won't take care of the swift travel talismans for the return trip."

Gong Yichen: "..." Could this woman be any more stingy?

He took the Swiftness Talisman and handed one to the person behind him, then introduced him to Yao Sisi and the others: "This is my bodyguard, Xiao Yi, who is mainly responsible for my safety. When we get to the cave, let's try to separate our two teams!"

Yao Sisi nodded in response. Following Gong Yichen's guidance, the group hurried along the way. Xiao Yi handled almost all the dangers they encountered. She silently assessed his combat strength and felt that it was even higher than her own.

However, since he had been cultivating since childhood, he must have some talent to become a personal bodyguard. She kept a watchful eye on him and treated herself as an ordinary talisman master, with low combat power and relying entirely on talismans for protection.

Before nightfall, the group arrived at a valley overgrown with weeds, making it impossible to tell that there was a senior's cave there. If it weren't for Gong Yichen's guidance, she would definitely have missed it. She wondered how he had discovered the place.

They pushed through the thick weeds and stopped among a pile of rocks. Gong Yichen rummaged through the stones, and something happened. In an instant, the rocks scattered, revealing a hole about the height of a person. It was pitch black, without a single ray of light, like a path leading to the underworld...

Yao Sisi thought to herself: Would anyone actually design a cave like this? It looks like a trap!

-----------------------

Author's Note: I'm recommending a pre-order for "Soft Rice Cultivation Immortal, Boundless Magic Power," a female-dominated novel.

Copywriting:

Ming Jin encountered an accident during his tribulation and woke up as a cripple with no spiritual energy left in his dantian.

Just as she was about to check her injuries, a handsome young man ran up from not far away. Seeing that she was seriously injured and almost dying, he saved her without hesitation.

She was marveling at the young man's kindness and generosity, and her brain automatically began to consider how to repay him after her health was restored.

Little did she know that the young man saved her only to find himself a nominal wife, with the intention of keeping himself a widow if she couldn't save him.

Mingjin: "..."

Ah, you might be disappointed, you little husband who walked right into my trap.

Please add this to your favorites!