Chapter 35: Yulan's Cultivation

The snow outside had melted, and as a result, the weather grew increasingly cold.

Inside the earthen house, a basin of charcoal was silently blanketed in a thick layer of white ash. When the door was pulled open, a gust of wind blew in, causing the charcoal to reveal the glowing sparks beneath as if it were being peeled. Yu Xian stood at the doorway, breathing in the cold air, feeling his anxious heart slowly calm down. He turned around, his face already wearing that familiar, gentle smile.

"It's alright, take it slow. I told you long ago that this is not something one can rush."

Sitting cross-legged before the fire basin, Yulan, her small face flushed red from the heat, looked dejected, like a pitiful little kitten.

"Master, am I just useless?" she asked. "Sister Chen Yi was able to start her cultivation in an instant, but after all this time, I'm still like a fool. And I even used your precious stone."

Over the past two months, Chen Yi had been practicing spirit arts, and Yulan had been working hard to enter the path of cultivation, even using spirit stones to assist her practice. Yu Xian was grateful once again for the Lin family cultivator; without his generosity, Yu Xian could never have afforded such luxury. Yet, the results were not just underwhelming—they were deeply disappointing.

Yu Xian did not blame Yulan. Though she appeared innocent, carefree, and always cheerful, he saw the effort she put in behind the scenes. Every time she had a spare moment, she would practice meditation and sensing, and now she could enter a meditative state three or four times out of ten. However, she was still a long way from guiding Qi into her body.

Reality was cruel. Geniuses were one in a million, while most were mediocre or even dull; a lifetime of effort often failed to equal a single day of enlightenment for a genius. Yulan was simply an ordinary person. Even he himself was no better. His original self had started cultivating at twelve, and after eighteen years in the environment of the cultivation world, he had only reached the third layer of Qi Refining. Yu Xian felt fortunate that this world lacked the restriction of "Spirit Roots," otherwise, there would be no chance to strive at all. But undoubtedly, aptitude remained a formidable barrier standing before everyone.

"You are my greatest treasure. How could you be useless?" Yu Xian cleared his mind of stray thoughts, smiled, and stepped forward, reaching out his hand. Yulan threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Your legs must be numb from sitting. Let's take a break today; you can take me to the back mountain to catch some rabbits."

"Master, the rabbits don't have any meat now, they don't taste good at all. The ones at the beginning of winter are the plump ones, all round and chubby." Yulan wrapped her legs around Yu Xian’s waist, nesting in his embrace with a look of pure happiness on her face.

She did not know what the use of cultivation was, nor did she particularly like it, but because it was something her master wanted her to do, she gave it her all. Besides, her master had promised that once she mastered the basics, he would marry her.

"Then we shall warm wine and boil tea with spring water; let us imitate the romance of the ancients," Yu Xian said, swinging Yulan onto his back. "Hold on tight, don't fall off."

Yu Xian sprinted out into the cold wind, leaving behind a trail of laughter that rang like silver bells.

Time is sand that cannot be grasped between one's fingers. In the blink of an eye, Yu Xian welcomed his first New Year in the mundane world. Outside, the village was brightly lit. Children in new clothes and tiger-head hats held incense sticks, setting off firecrackers in the open ground. The sound of crackers popping and snapping filled the air. A theater troupe had arrived at the edge of the village, erecting a stage and singing lively plays to a bustling crowd. Indeed, the troupe had been paid for with Yu Xian’s silver.

The village knew that the Gu family girl had not become a concubine for the Prince, but had instead married another great figure. Since the Gu family's son-in-law had come to stay, the family had grown quite prosperous. It was said that he had bought dozens of acres of land for them and was building a new mansion; many villagers had helped with the work, allowing them all to enjoy a bountiful New Year. The Gu family was now considered a significant landlord in the village. Children often claimed they had seen the son-in-law flying in the sky above the back mountain, and the stories were told with such vivid detail that the Gu family became shrouded in mystery. Although Yu Xian did not appear often during his months in the village, the villagers held him in deep awe.

Inside, Yulan sat on the bed, her small face serious. Before her lay a snow-white pill, the size of a bean, with a jade-like luster, resembling a pearl. This was the Spirit-Nourishing Pill Yu Xian had obtained from the Lin family cultivator. When interrogating him, Yu Xian had made sure to ask about its efficacy.

The Spirit-Nourishing Pill was a first-grade mid-tier spirit pill containing a vast amount of pure spiritual energy. Taking one could fill a cultivator's Dantian as if it held a spring of spiritual energy, capable of quickly replenishing the energy required for a battle by a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. It was the Lin family cultivator's lifeline in the mundane world. Without these, they would struggle to maintain their cultivation levels, let alone use spirit arts to bully others. Since it was a pill that required a professional alchemist to refine, it was extremely precious; even the Lin family cultivator was only issued one per mission. Thus, this was the only one Yu Xian possessed. He would not have considered using it for Yulan if she hadn't claimed to have felt the flow of Qi today.

The greatest obstacles for Yulan in starting her cultivation were her own aptitude and the lack of spiritual energy in the environment. With this pill, he could briefly create an environment for her that was even superior to the average cultivation world.

"Master, should we wait a little longer? Maybe today was just my imagination," Yulan whispered, hesitating for a moment. Seeing the solemn look on Yu Xian's face, she knew the pill must be very precious. After all, Yu Xian would give away a hundred taels of gold without a second thought, yet he had hesitated repeatedly before producing this pill.

"Say no more. Focus your mind, hold onto that feeling you had, and then take the pill," Yu Xian said, his voice low and undeniably serious.

"Alright." Yulan took a deep breath, placed the pill in her mouth, and began to search for that sensation again.

Time passed. Yulan drifted into a hazy state. She seemed to see tiny, sparkling stars within the air. As her will guided them, they were slowly drawn toward her, but for some reason, the stars stopped moving after a short distance. A flash of insight hit her; she knew this was the moment her master had described. She swallowed the pill.

A violent surge of spiritual energy erupted around her. Because she had not yet formally stepped onto the path of cultivation, her Dantian could not contain all the power of the pill, and most of it dissipated. However, this escaping energy briefly transformed the area around Yulan into a blessed land of spiritual Qi. Under the violent impact of the energy, Yulan felt like a lone boat in a vast sea, swaying and helpless.

Just then, a voice reached her ears: "Guide the Qi into your body, channel it into the Dantian, forge your magic power—begin!"

Yulan gritted her teeth and obeyed. She finally caught a strand of the spiritual energy, found her Dantian, and made one final push.

Boom!

It was as if a morning bell had rung in her soul. Yulan felt her spirit break free from its shell; her vision suddenly cleared, and she saw a new world. She opened her eyes to see Yu Xian’s relieved, smiling face, and she burst into a radiant grin.

"Master, I did it!" she sobbed, tears of joy streaming down her face. "I did it!"