64 Breaking Through the Boundary (Part Two)
◎“Are you a saint?”◎
Ran Qinghe keenly sensed that Shui Rong'er was probably hiding something from her, but she didn't press the matter further.
The incident outside the palace was like a pebble thrown into calm water; after ripples spread, the surface returned to calm, but a nameless doubt sank into her heart.
She suppressed these thoughts for the time being; she had more important things to do right now.
When it was her turn to receive her share, the disciple in charge verified her identity and pushed a heavy bag of high-grade spirit stones in front of her. Ran Qinghe didn't even look at it, put it away directly, and turned her gaze to the spiritual treasures and magical artifacts displayed around the hall.
She walked straight to a corner where a lotus seat about the size of a palm floated quietly. The seat was covered with intricate and ancient runes, and faint spiritual energy fluctuations emanated from it.
The disciple then introduced the artifact, saying, "This is the Lotus Spirit Seat, a low-grade Heavenly Rank magic artifact. It can only be used to gather spiritual energy. As you know, the spiritual energy in the hall is abundant, so almost no disciple uses this artifact."
Ran Qinghe nodded without hesitation, and amidst the astonished gazes of her guiding disciples, she took the lotus seat: "I choose it."
After registering, she fiddled with the lotus seat in her hand, feeling somewhat at ease. This thing might be able to help Ye Buchen.
Without a moment's delay, she politely declined Shui Rong'er's suggestion to travel together, and with the one thousand high-grade spirit stones and lotus seat she had just received, she left Yunya Academy directly and boarded the academy's immortal boat to Mortal Valley.
*
As soon as she entered the valley, Ran Qinghe could clearly sense the stagnation and thinness of the spiritual energy around her, a stark contrast to the abundant spiritual energy within Yunya Academy.
She passed through the slightly dilapidated valley entrance archway with ease, and walked deeper into the valley along the familiar path. The few scattered cultivators she saw along the way were mostly Qi Refining stage disciples who even had difficulty drawing Qi into their bodies.
The buildings in the valley are simple. Compared to the pavilions and towers of the academy, shrouded in mist, this place is no different from a remote village in the mortal world.
After passing through the path, in front of the familiar cave, a figure wearing a slightly faded white-blue Taoist robe was standing with his back to her, bending down to tend to a few wilted-looking spiritual herbs.
Compared to the stark simplicity of my last visit, this place has been largely transformed. A low hut has been built next to the cave, surrounded by a sparse fence. In the outermost grove of trees, there are even a few swings and small hammocks made of vines.
"Old Man Ye," Ran Qinghe called out. She had arrived without saying a word and was somewhat surprised to see the change.
Ye Buchen froze, turning around at the sound. His face was crisscrossed with lines, but his eyes remained clear.
"Why did you suddenly come back?" He sounded rather guilty.
Ran Qinghe seemed oblivious, tossing the bag of spirit stones in her hand over, "I have too many spirit stones, here, take some."
"And this magical artifact is called the Lotus Spirit Seat. You see, it can freely change size. If you meditate and cultivate on it, your spiritual energy will be easier to breathe and your cultivation will be twice as effective."
After demonstrating it in her hand, Ran Qinghe tossed it to him as well.
Ye Buchen looked at the bag of spirit stones and the faintly glowing magic artifact in his hand, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a joke: "I hope you have a smooth cultivation in Qingxiao. Keep the things for yourself. This old man doesn't need them."
"Wait until you've established your foundation before saying that to me. How can a master be of a lower cultivation level than his disciple..."
Her words came to an abrupt end.
Her gaze swept over Ye Buchen's waist, where a familiar brocade pouch was tied, containing the Vajra amulet she had given him when she returned last time.
The Vajra amulet is used to ward off external evils, and it is only effective once. Once the evil spirits are gone, the amulet also loses its power.
Right now, this brocade pouch clearly doesn't show any spiritual energy fluctuations.
Ran Qinghe's heart sank. She knew Ye Buchen well; he always kept his pills and talismans carefully and never left them lying around. Unless he encountered a dangerous situation, this protective talisman would never be activated.
"Old Man Ye," her voice suddenly tightened, "did Wei Lin come to cause you trouble?"
Ye Buchen waved his hand: "No, you know him, he's always just spouting tough talk."
Ran Qinghe asked, puzzled, "What about the amulet in the brocade pouch?"
Ye Buchen's expression stiffened slightly, then he smiled nonchalantly, "I've put it away. I don't usually need it..."
"Where is it?" Ran Qinghe interrupted him, her eyes fixed on him. "Show it to me right now."
Ye Buchen remained silent for a moment, then, under the gaze of those stubborn eyes, finally sighed and avoided her gaze: "I..."
Just then, a clear child's voice came from the end of the path, running and calling out, "Master, Master."
Ran Qinghe's words were interrupted by a little girl running from a distance. The girl was about seven or eight years old, with her hair in two buns. She ran out of the fence panting, clutching a handful of freshly picked, bright green wild grass in her hand.
"Master! Look, I've found it..." The little girl stopped halfway through her sentence when she saw Ran Qinghe's frosty face. She timidly stopped and hid behind Ye Buchen, peeking out half her head to look at him curiously.
Ye Buchen turned around and patted the little girl's head reassuringly. "Little Bell, be good. Go play by yourself first." He gently pushed the little girl away, signaling her to leave.
Ran Qinghe didn't move, her gaze still fixed on Ye Buchen. Only after the little girl had run far away did she ask, "Who is she? And where is the talisman?"
Ye Buchen finally sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly, as if he had shed some kind of disguise.
"I used it all up." His voice was dry.
"When? Why?" Ran Qinghe pressed, her heart sinking.
“As you know, Wei Lin has always been a bully who preys on the weak. He doesn’t dare to touch me, but he shows no mercy to the other cultivators in Mortal Valley. Little Bell’s parents were bullied by Wei Lin and came to me for help, so I gave them that talisman…”
Ran Qinghe pressed on, "And then? You've always taught me the principle that a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment, so how come you've become so confused yourself?"
"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." The cultivation resources in Mortal Valley are already scarce, and Ye Buchen's actions have undoubtedly made him a target of public criticism.
Why didn't you tell me?
"What good would it do to tell you?" Ye Buchen finally looked at her, his eyes filled with deep weariness. "Given your personality, you would definitely go find Wei Lin and finish him off with a single whip, but in the end? You would still be the one violating the laws of the realm, it's not worth it..."
"You have a long road ahead of you, and you can't let me hold you back all the time."
Ran Qinghe's gaze swept across the direction where the girl named Xiaolingdang had run off from outside the fence. Further away, several other simply dressed children were peeking out.
She suddenly understood. No wonder there were swings and hammocks suddenly erected at the edge of the woods. "Are they all your apprentices?"
Those children had clearly mastered the art of drawing in Qi into their bodies. In this valley where spiritual energy is scarce, to be able to do this requires either exceptional talent or the accumulation of resources.
"You gave them all the spirit stones and pills, didn't you?" Her voice trembled slightly. "You yourself are struggling to even reach the Foundation Establishment stage, yet you've given away all your life-saving items and cultivation resources to these unrelated people! Ye Buchen, are you a saint?"
She practically screamed the last sentence. All the pent-up worry, fear, and heartache at not being valued erupted at that moment.
Ye Buchen was stunned by her shout, then a look of pain flashed across his face. He straightened his slightly hunched back, and his voice, though not loud, was exceptionally clear:
“Qinghe, you were also picked up by me. So were they. But they didn’t have your talent, so they couldn’t enter a sect to cultivate and could only waste their time in this mortal valley.”
"The spiritual energy gathered in the azure sky, and only a tiny, insignificant amount was scattered throughout the mortal valley."
"They, like you, cultivate diligently day and night, daring not to slack off in the slightest, but the result is that even guiding Qi into their bodies is extremely difficult for them. A low-grade spirit stone is also very precious to them."
“Children like Little Bell, with only a little talent, can’t even distinguish the most basic spiritual herbs, and can only hold onto a few wild grasses as treasures.”
Ye Buchen's chest heaved as he spoke in one breath. He looked at Ran Qinghe with a complex mix of emotions, including heartache, helplessness, and guilt.
Ran Qinghe stood there, as if she had been doused with ice water. She looked at Ye Buchen's wrinkled face, all her questions and anger stuck in her throat.
She recalled the heavy weight of high-grade spirit stones she received when she collected her allowance, the dazzling array of magical treasures and artifacts in the hall, and the abundant spiritual energy of Yunya Academy. Here, however, the spiritual energy was so thin that even activating a talisman felt sluggish.
"Qinghe, the pills you gave me can sustain me for a few more days, or even allow me to barely touch the threshold of Foundation Establishment, but for me, they are nothing but illusions."
"I did not intentionally sacrifice myself, nor did I disregard my own path, it's just..."
"If I know that my small contribution might change someone's fate, I cannot justify ignoring them."
Ran Qinghe remained silent for a long time before raising her head. Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions, including heartache, understanding, and a hint of resentment.
"But old man Ye, what if you can't break through and your lifespan is nearing its end?" Her voice was still hard, but it lacked the anger she had shown before.
Ye Buchen seemed to have reverted to his usual frivolous self: "Who can say for sure about breakthroughs? Maybe Heaven will see that I'm doing good deeds and let me break through."
As he spoke, he seemed to recall something: "Alas, it's also my fault. When I was young, the Valley of Mortals was so full of spiritual energy, but I didn't cultivate seriously. I spent my days playing with cats and dogs. As a result, now that I'm old, I can't even get close to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Ran Qinghe's tone softened somewhat. After all, she would be able to obtain the Breakthrough Pill a year later, and Ye Buchen's breakthrough would be a piece of cake.
However, she suddenly noticed something incongruous in Ye Buchen's words: "You mean, the Valley of Mortals used to be full of spiritual energy?"
Ye Buchen replied, "Of course. I've been in Mortal Valley for nearly two hundred years, and I can say that no one knows everything about Mortal Valley better than me."
"It was probably more than a hundred years ago that the spiritual energy in Mortal Valley began to decline day by day, until it became what it is now."
As Ye Buchen was reminiscing about the past, Ran Qinghe suddenly asked out of the blue, "How much longer until two hundred years?"
"Only two or three years..." Ye Buchen realized that Ran Qinghe was trying to trick him into revealing information as soon as he said it.
In other words, if he cannot break through to the next level, he will only have two or three years left to live.
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