Chapter 32 Jinjiang First Release: Sensing the Probing
The mysterious stones placed around Yao Sisi were instantly drained, silently transforming into spiritual energy that lingered around her.
Reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining requires condensing the dantian to make it more solid so that it won't be burst by compressed spiritual energy. This is a small hurdle that many people get stuck at and can't advance.
She sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, calmly absorbing spiritual energy to temper her dantian. As time went by, she felt a slight swelling and pain in her dantian, as if something was polishing her body inside. The stinging pain became more and more obvious, but this pain was nothing to her, and she didn't even frown.
Time passed slowly, and her dantian became more solid. However, fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The solidified dantian seemed much thinner than before. If it was a fleshy inner wall before, it was now as thin as paper, but also much harder.
The moment her dantian was fully formed, the surrounding spiritual energy surged into it like a lost child finding its home. She gritted her teeth and struggled to regulate the turbulent energy, allowing her dantian to gradually adapt. Soon, the surrounding spiritual energy was completely absorbed, and her dantian was on the verge of swelling...
Qi Refining Level 6, breakthrough successful!
Yao Sisi slowly opened her eyes and gently exhaled.
I did the math, and this breakthrough actually took a whole day and night.
The surrounding mystic stones had been completely extracted and turned into powder. With a dust-removing spell, the powder was swept up by the wind and carried outdoors.
Yao Sisi felt that her meridians were becoming more solid. Although her dantian was now thinner, it would slowly grow over time. As it grew, it was also being tempered, and gradually it would become thicker and stronger.
She picked up the futon, walked to the furnace, placed the futon down, opened a weapon-forging book, and found a simple weapon to practice with.
After much deliberation, she still preferred the broadsword, but forging a sword was quite difficult. So she chose a dagger and went to the outer room to find suitable materials.
The forging process began, and the fire was lit. A long tongue of spiritual fire flew out from the palm of the hand, circled the forging furnace, and then transformed into a raging inferno that burrowed into the bottom of the furnace.
Yao Sisi organized the materials and threw them into the furnace one by one in order. Her spiritual sense could perceive the melting process of the materials in the furnace more clearly than her eyes. Moreover, the spiritual fire was connected to her mind, so she could control the heat better.
Time passed little by little. A year can be long or short. She had refined almost all the materials she could use in the space. She had dozens of weapons in her storage bag. Moreover, she had some idea of what flying magical artifacts would be like in the future.
Yao Sisi left the space and wanted to take the bed out of it, but found that it could not leave the space like the books, so she had to give up the idea.
A year passed in her life, but because the rules within the space were incomplete, that time was not counted in her lifespan, and her bone age remained at twenty years old.
This is an absolutely mind-blowing bug!
Most of the weapons in her storage bag were very low-level and worthless; even if sold in bulk, they might not be worth more than the mystic stones needed to activate the formation. She planned to sell the slightly better quality weapons on the black market.
The next day, Yao Sisi produced more than a dozen low-level weapons. Even if she produced more of these, it wouldn't attract much attention.
She spent the rest of her money on the black market, selling some of it for mystic stones and exchanging some for the materials she wanted.
Currently, Qi Mu and Ri Jiu are both in seclusion, so Yao Sisi doesn't want to disturb them. Instead, she focuses on acquiring materials for flying artifacts.
A month later, Qi Mu emerged from seclusion, and Yao Sisi received his communication talisman at the same time.
"Miss Sisi, the engagement banquet has been moved up. Do you have time to come out and discuss it with me? I'm in the tea room..."
Yao Sisi raised an eyebrow, not understanding why it was so early. Since she had nothing else to do, she went to the address he gave her.
When she arrived, the other party was already pouring tea. It seemed that he had been there for quite some time. He was acting strangely today. Yao Sisi noticed that he was wearing a veil, and his face was completely obscured by the long gauze curtain.
"What's wrong?"
Qi Mu paused in pouring tea, looking through her veil at the other person standing gracefully before her, still carrying the cool breeze from outside.
"I was injured by the medicinal liquid during the body tempering process."
Yao Sisi: "Huh? You hurt your face?"
Qi Mu poured her tea, her eyes darkening beneath her veil, and said evasively, "There's nothing seriously wrong with her face; after all, the medicinal bath is mainly for the body."
Yao Sisi nodded and noticed red marks on the back of his hand as he poured tea. The pinkish scars on his porcelain-white skin looked pitiful no matter how you looked at them.
"Aren't there any medications for removing scars?"
Qi Mu pursed her lips: "Sisi is very concerned about this scar?"
Yao Sisi: "?"
No, I was just saying that to comfort you when I saw it. "I thought you cared, that's why I said that."
Qi Mu thought to herself: I do care. Who in this world would willingly be disfigured?
He withdrew his hand, his long sleeves concealing the scars. "I'm already applying it, but the medicine is taking a little longer to work."
Yao Sisi: "Wait? Didn't you apply the high-quality medicine?"
Qi Mu: "No..."
A question mark flashed above Yao Sisi's head. Could it be that this young master didn't have enough money to buy good medicine? As far as she knew, the body-tempering potion was not cheap, and she guessed that all the money had been spent on this.
She didn't want to ask about it anymore, so she quietly changed the subject: "Didn't they say the engagement party was moved up..."
Qi Mu looked apologetic, realizing he had troubled her repeatedly: "Miss Sisi... I..."
Yao Sisi said, "Tell me which day you've moved up the date!"
Qi Mu: "The seventh day of next month, there are still ten days..."
Yao Sisi didn't ask why it was suddenly brought forward. Anyway, they were in a contractual marriage, and engagement wasn't sacred to them, but just a formality.
"Since you're in such a hurry, let's go buy some engagement gifts today. Although you don't need to worry about these things after marrying into the family, it still doesn't look good for you." It was something she could do, and there was no need to give others something to talk about.
Qi Mu: "I called you here today to discuss this matter, but you don't need to spend any money. I have already prepared the Xuan Stones, so let's go and choose!"
Yao Sisi didn't speak, but raised an eyebrow at him while playing with her teacup. "Young Master... you didn't save the money for your treatment, did you?"
Qi Mu admired her keen insight, but he didn't want to admit it and put a psychological burden on her, nor did he want her to think he was useless.
"Even with inferior medicine, it will heal with prolonged application; it's just not worth the extra money."
Yao Sisi didn't reply, but finished her tea. "Let's go check out the gifts."
As the two walked down the street, there was a strange atmosphere. If Yao Sisi was more relaxed when she was shopping with Ri Jiu, then walking with Qi Mu was heavy and entangled.
He said it was just to complete a task and go through the motions, but there was also a bit of pity mixed in. What a kind young master he was, even his marriage was out of necessity. He finally found a way to cope, but he was disfigured after undergoing a physical transformation. As for... does it really mean that his face is fine?
Seeing her head towards the pharmacy, Qi Mu couldn't help but reach out and tug at her sleeve. "Miss Sisi, it's not easy to find something of value in this kind of gift set since your family is in business. Let's choose something else!"
Yao Sisi glanced down at her sleeve and saw him quickly pull it back like a startled hamster. She couldn't help but tease him, "Young master, aren't you afraid I'll take this to heart? What if I deny the contract and try to hold you accountable?"
Qi Mu's heart skipped a beat. "Miss Sisi wouldn't do that."
Yao Sisi raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Young Master is so sure?"
Qi Mu's voice was clear and steady, without the slightest hint of panic, as if he had already seen through her personality. "Mm."
Yao Sisi smiled and said, "Your certainty makes me want to play a prank. Aren't you afraid I'll take it seriously?"
Qi Mu pursed her lips, suddenly feeling somewhat fortunate that she had brought Mi Li, which prevented Mi Li from seeing her shy gaze: "The engagement is just a formality within the family; there's no wedding night..."
Yao Sisi was taken aback, then laughed. "What are you thinking, young master? When I said 'fake it for real,' it was just an adjective. How did it become a verb in your mouth?"
Qi Mu opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word. He only regretted that the veil wasn't thick enough to completely cover his body.
How embarrassing!
How could he be so shameless...?
Seeing that he was frozen like a wooden stake, Yao Sisi tugged at his sleeve and led him into the pharmacy. It wasn't until a bottle of high-quality scar removal medicine was placed on the counter that he came to his senses.
Before he could speak, Yao Sisi placed the medicine bottle in his palm. "This is an apology for my rudeness earlier, young master. However, I have a small request to make..."
Qi Mu was reluctant to accept the medicine. He had accepted too much from her and felt he could hardly repay it. "What are your requirements, young lady?"
Yao Sisi: "I would also like to ask the young master for some spring water, and try using the spring water to make a medicinal bath to see if it has any miraculous effects."
Qi Mu didn't think this was anything special to exchange for such excellent medicine: "I'll pack some for you, young lady, but..."
He pushed the medicine bottle towards her, saying, "My scars will heal on their own, no need to spend money."
Yao Sisi refused to accept it, saying, "Young master, please don't be so polite. I'll be leaving soon, and I might even have to ask you for more before I go. If you don't accept it, how can I possibly ask for more?"
The medicine that had been pushed back landed in Qi Mu's palm again. He couldn't help but say, "Miss Sisi, you make me very uneasy. Do you really have no requests of me?"
Yao Sisi felt a chill run down her spine. Had this young master noticed something?
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A note from the author: I've been suffering from menstrual cramps for the past few days. Plus, it's quite cold at my mom's house, and there's been a lot of snow here. Coal is expensive, and the price hasn't come down completely. As soon as I start writing, the cold seeps into my body, causing not only abdominal pain but also, strangely, a sharp, needle-like pain in my stomach. So I took a break from updating for a few days. I only got up to write today because I felt a bit better. It wasn't intentional that I stopped updating.
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