Chapter 33 She became a cripple, trapped day after day in…
Sheng Zhiyi lowered her head dejectedly and spoke listlessly:
“I had a chance to choose between the Tempering Edge Spirit Root and the Stream Moss Spirit Root, but I made the wrong choice…”
"Jinghongyu" pressed sharply, "What did you choose?"
"...Stream moss spirit root".
Sheng Zhiyi answered softly, waiting for "Jing Hongyu" to start scolding her.
Anyone would choose the Tempering Spirit Root, as it is the most suitable spirit root for sword cultivators to have an indomitable spirit. Yet she made the wrong choice in her moment of panic.
Even if she pesters Ji Fuguang to do tasks now, the system cannot possibly issue five tasks in just three days.
All previous efforts were in vain; it was like a light boat crossing ten thousand mountains, only to crash into a great glacier in life.
Sheng Zhiyi closed her eyes, waiting to be scolded, but "Jinghongyu" chuckled softly.
?
What's going on? He's so angry he's laughing instead?
Choosing the wrong spiritual root is a big problem, but there's no need to go to such extremes.
"...Are you alright?" Sheng Zhiyi asked, her voice filled with a mixture of doubt, confusion, and panic.
"You really are an idiot," "Jinghongyu" concluded.
I knew this guy wouldn't say anything nice...
"But maybe this is what they mean by 'fools have good luck'."
?
"What do you mean?" Sheng Zhiyi's usually colorful expression suddenly turned into pure confusion.
"Jinghongyu" said in a clear, childlike voice, "No wonder I suddenly woke up just now. You almost chose the Tempering Spirit Root!"
"Isn't it good to have a tempered spiritual root?" Sheng Zhiyi asked in confusion.
The function descriptions are all built into the system. Would the system lie to us?
But none of the items she redeemed before had ever gone wrong.
"Jinghongyu" snorted again, "Only people with such limited knowledge would think it's good. The Quenching Root is clearly only a low-level root, but in actual combat, it has more attack power than a mid-level root. Can you guess why?"
Sheng Zhiyi followed its words and asked, "Why?"
"Jinghongyu's" tone was full of disgust: "The tempering spirit root does not truly strengthen the sword's material or the quality of its sword energy. Instead, it forcibly extracts the material essence and spirituality of the natal sword through an extremely domineering 'etching' spiritual power, transforming it into ultimate sharpness in a short period of time!"
Sheng Zhiyi was taken aback and quickly sat up straight: "So, this spirit itself gains attack power by consuming sword spirit?"
When Jinghongyu spoke of the Tempering Spirit Root, the disgust in her tone was obvious. "No matter how good the sword is, if it is driven by Tempering Spirit Power for a long time, it will wear down faster, become brittle, and develop irreversible micro-cracks inside. It may even hinder and destroy the natural growth of the sword spirit. You should know that most sword spirits are nurtured for a long time before they gradually appear. If you use this spirit root, it is equivalent to killing many sword spirits that cannot speak yet."
Sheng Zhiyi felt a chill run down her spine as she listened, and couldn't help but say, "Most cultivators only have one natal sword in their lifetime, and the natal sword is even fused with their soul. If the natal sword is subjected to such damage for a long time, then the cultivator's soul will also have problems."
“That’s right!” Jinghongyu said with deep disgust, her voice rising several decibels. “Activating this kind of ‘etching’ power requires consuming the cultivator’s essence, energy and spirit. This technique will leave a kind of indelible, subtle ‘etching marks’ in the cultivator’s meridians and dantian. As time goes by, the etching marks deepen, the soul is consumed, the cultivation speed will become slower and slower, and the sword energy may even backfire on the cultivator.”
Sheng Zhiyi trembled all over.
Who would have thought that the Tempering Spirit Root, which seemed suitable for sword cultivators, would be so terrifying?
"Don't choose spiritual roots randomly," Jinghongyu warned again. "Many of these messy spiritual roots were developed by the demons back then. They can quickly increase strength in the short term, but in the long run, they are just forcing growth and shooting themselves in the foot."
Sheng Zhiyi broke out in a cold sweat, realizing once again the ruthlessness and cruelty of the demon race, who acted without regard for consequences.
"It's a good thing you spoke up just now," Sheng Zhiyi said, feeling relieved, "otherwise I would have made the wrong choice."
"Jinghongyu" showed its smugness again, and snorted, "It's normal that a mere junior like you doesn't know these things since you haven't experienced the war between gods and demons."
This time, Sheng Zhiyi didn't refute at all. In fact, to show her attentiveness, she quickly made a hand seal and cleaned the "Jinghong Feather" from top to bottom.
"Jinghongyu" was enjoying itself comfortably, sometimes instructing Sheng Zhiyi to change the sword tassel, and sometimes instructing Sheng Zhiyi to wipe its scabbard with a soft cloth again.
After all that fuss, "Jinghongyu" finally spoke: "Alright, I'm going back to sleep... to nourish my soul. Don't call me unless it's absolutely necessary."
Sheng Zhiyi, considering its great contribution tonight, respectfully saw it off.
After packing her things, Sheng Zhiyi checked the tightly closed doors and windows one last time and set up a protective barrier before finally feeling relieved.
Now that things have come to this, her attitude towards the system has become somewhat complicated.
She originally thought that the relationship between the system and her was simply an exchange: the system would issue tasks, she would complete them, and then use the points to exchange for what she needed.
They have always lived in peace and harmony, and could even be described as having a pleasant working relationship.
However, the hidden danger of this tempering spiritual root was completely beyond her expectations.
The system didn't mention it at all!
If she had actually changed to the Tempering Spirit Root and continued to cultivate, only to have it backfire on her in the end, she would never have imagined that the spirit root she obtained from the system was the problem.
The system doesn't care about any of these things.
Fortunately, "Jinghongyu" reminded her this time. But who will remind her next time?
Thinking of this, Sheng Zhiyi felt a chill run down her spine. She silently reminded herself to be more careful with the system in the future.
But right now, she shouldn't be thinking about those things; rather, she should be thinking about—
Change your spiritual root.
Sheng Zhiyi sat cross-legged on the bed, closed her eyes, and slowly exhaled.
Within the sea of consciousness, the moss-like spiritual root floated quietly in the boundless darkness, emitting a faint green light.
Sheng Zhiyi's consciousness transformed into a white ball of light, slowly approaching and tentatively trying to make contact with the spiritual root.
She originally thought this step would be difficult, but the spiritual root exuded a fresh and upright feeling, seemingly not rejecting her approach.
Sheng Zhiyi suddenly felt that this spiritual root might be quite compatible with her.
Her consciousness gradually drew closer to the spiritual root, and the two merged together. The spiritual root flowed into her body like water.
Before Sheng Zhiyi could even breathe a sigh of relief, her meridians suddenly began to burn, as if countless fire threads were radiating intense heat from her limbs and bones, as if they were trying to burn her to ashes from the inside out.
The excruciating pain caused her to break out in a cold sweat, which completely soaked her clothes.
Large beads of sweat poured from my forehead, flowing down and seeping into my eyes, causing a stinging and painful sensation.
But she had no time to care about any of that. It was as if she was surrounded by invisible flames, her meridians were breaking inch by inch, and cracks were appearing on her dantian.
She bit her lip hard, and her dry skin cracked open instantly, drawing out a stream of bright red blood. But this pain was nothing compared to the burning pain that was coursing through her entire body.
It hurts...it hurts so much...
Since entering the world of cultivation, Sheng Zhiyi has suffered all kinds of injuries, big and small, but the pain she felt at this moment was incomparable to any of them before. She clearly felt that her mind was becoming somewhat blurred, and she quickly bit her lip again.
However, such actions are merely a drop in the ocean.
She desperately told herself not to faint, not to faint.
Her meridians were broken, and she had to do everything in her power to replace her old spiritual root with the moss spiritual root. If she fell into a coma and the old and new spiritual roots could not be replaced, she would become a cripple!
She had anticipated the pain of changing her spiritual roots, but she never expected it to be this painful!
The pain was so intense that her vision blurred and everything appeared double.
In her hazy state, she seemed to smell a faint, delicate fragrance...
Is it a pear blossom...?
Then, everything went black, and she knew nothing more.
Inside the room, the barrier set up by Sheng Zhiyi was still shimmering with light, but a tall and slender figure suddenly appeared by the window, as if he were in an empty room.
Ji Fuguang casually raised his hand, setting up a new barrier that simultaneously isolated the "Jinghong Feather" on the table.
He lowered his head slightly, his phoenix eyes fixed on Sheng Zhiyi, who was lying limp on the bed.
The girl looked as if she had been pulled from the water; her clothes were soaked and clung to her skin. Her cheeks were pale, only the blood on her lips was red, still congealing into beads. On her exposed limbs, faint blood streaks appeared, symptoms of ruptured meridians. Even in her unconscious state, her body was still trembling intermittently, clearly still in immense pain.
What an idiot...
Changing one's spiritual root is something that, even within a sect, often requires two or three elders to protect the practitioner, and various elixirs and medicines must be purchased in advance for unforeseen circumstances.
She, a mere handyman, hid in a dilapidated room, trying to finish the task alone, and actually persisted for so long.
Sheng Zhiyi's wide sleeves were pressed down beneath her body, revealing her forearms. On her snow-white wrists, the color of the blood-stained lines grew increasingly dark.
When it turns deep red, her meridians will be completely severed, and she will become a cripple, beyond medical help.
At that time, she would be like an ordinary person, no, even worse than an ordinary person, weak and frail, pale and thin, only able to live out her natural lifespan.
Ji Fuguang's eyes suddenly narrowed, revealing an extremely cruel smile.
Actually... being a useless person isn't so bad...
If she becomes a cripple, she will be trapped on Frostflower Peak every day and won't even be able to go down the mountain.
I can't see anyone, I can't go anywhere, and I can't do anything.
Perhaps she would even be moved to tears, feeling that he had given her a place to settle down and make a living.
No one in the sect will raise any objections. If anyone does, they can simply use their brains to resolve it.
Why not leave her on Shuanghua Peak, to cook tea and clean for him every day, and to eat and read with him?
Ji Fuguang reached out, grabbed Sheng Zhiyi's wrist, and lifted her forearm.
His movements weren't forceful, but Sheng Zhiyi's body was already burning like a raging fire. Even this level of touch made her brows furrow, and she murmured:
"pain……"
On her snow-white arms, the red marks grew increasingly vivid, turning from pink to red, and soon to be deep crimson.
The pain was far beyond what Sheng Zhiyi could bear. She vaguely felt that she shouldn't have fainted, but she struggled to wake up. Her anxiety and grievance intensified, and a hot tear suddenly rolled down her cheek.
"Senior brother..."
Her voice was faint, like a murmur. Subconsciously, she prayed that the person she trusted most would appear before her immediately and help her out of her painful situation.
She didn't want to become a useless person; she wanted to live a good life!
Ji Fuguang used two fingers like pincers to pinch her chin and lift her face up.
The intense pain returned, and Sheng Zhiyi's eyes welled up with more tears. She sobbed silently, her voice barely audible.
"Senior brother... save me..."
Ji Fuguang stared at her. On Sheng Zhiyi's pale face, only the blood dripping from her lips was like the only splash of color in the vast snow.
Time passed second by second.
The blood lines on Sheng Zhiyi's forearm were getting deeper and deeper.
Finally, it turned deep red.
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