As time passed minute by minute, the burning sensation on her skin grew more intense. It felt as if countless ants were gnawing at her.
“Sister Shen, it hurts so much,” Chen Xiaoyan said, gritting her teeth as she endured the stinging pain coursing through her entire body.
She wanted to escape, but Shen Qingqing’s hand was pressed firmly against her shoulder, making it impossible to move.
“Do not worry. This is a process that must be experienced during the early stages of Body Tempering. If you cannot persevere, everything will have been for nothing.”
“I understand.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaoyan fell silent. She closed her eyes and endured the pain in silence.
The game’s pain sensation was not at 100%. She was not exactly sure of the setting, but if she had to guess, it was likely around 80%. Even so, the pain brought by this Body Tempering Medicinal Bath was incredibly intense—so intense it was almost unbearable.
Chen Xiaoyan thought this was already the peak, but as a few minutes passed, she realized that what she had just experienced was merely an appetizer.
Seeing that the timing was about right, Shen Qingqing struck the wooden tub with her palm.
Instantly, the dark red medicinal broth began to boil.
The water temperature rose rapidly, and Chen Xiaoyan’s fair skin immediately turned a bright crimson.
“Sister Shen, it’s hot! It’s so hot!”
She struggled violently, trying to stand up, but the hand on her shoulder was like an iron vice, pinning her down.
“Girl, hold on!” Shen Qingqing said with a solemn expression. She then began to frantically pour Spiritual Power into the wooden tub to catalyze the medicinal properties of the Body Tempering herbs.
The more she catalyzed the medicine, the higher the water temperature rose.
Chen Xiaoyan began to cry.
‘This isn’t a medicinal bath; this is clearly scalding a pig.’
‘No, even scalding a pig isn’t this ridiculous.’
The pain throughout her body was so sharp she could not breathe, eventually causing her to black out.
The moment she lost consciousness, Shen Qingqing used some unknown method to wake her up again.
“Girl, pull yourself together! You must not sleep, or the medicinal power will destroy your meridians!”
Chen Xiaoyan’s consciousness was hazy. She could no longer feel the pain, and her head was buzzing. She could barely hear Shen Qingqing’s warning.
Her eyelids slowly began to droop.
‘Just sleep.’
‘Once I sleep, I won’t have to suffer this torture. Maybe it will be over when I wake up.’
‘Yes, it will be over when I wake up.’
Shen Qingqing grew anxious as she saw Chen Xiaoyan closing her eyes again. She released her shoulder and delivered a sharp slap.
*Slap!*
The loud sound of the slap echoed through the room.
However, Chen Xiaoyan did not react. Under the torment of the full-body pain, the pain from a mere slap was nothing in comparison.
This left Shen Qingqing feeling frustrated.
‘This child’s willpower is still too weak.’
Initially, the first Body Tempering was a perfect opportunity to build a foundation. Now, it seemed she had no choice but to give up. Although the girl had only absorbed half of the medicinal power, it was better than nothing.
Shen Qingqing withdrew her Spiritual Power, and the medicinal bath immediately returned to a state of calm. The dark red broth had now become somewhat pale.
“Sigh!” Looking at the diluted broth, Shen Qingqing sighed in disappointment.
She lifted Chen Xiaoyan out of the tub. After using Spiritual Power to disperse the moisture on her body, she gently placed her on the wooden bed and covered her with a blanket. Then, she reached out and tenderly smoothed the girl’s furrowed brow.
The power of Body Tempering herbs was extremely violent and not something an ordinary person could endure. She had experienced that sensation herself back then. However, she had not been as pathetic as this girl.
Unfortunately, the first attempt at building a foundation had failed. In the future, the girl would have to take many more medicinal baths to make up for it. Otherwise, she would only ever be a mediocre practitioner.
At the thought of frequently seeing this girl wailing in a wooden tub in the future, Shen Qingqing could not help but chuckle.
***
Fire!
The surroundings were filled with raging flames. Those flames surged from all directions like a man-eating beast, opening a bloody maw toward Chen Xiaoyan.
She desperately wanted to run, but her shoulders felt as heavy as Mount Tai, crushing her until she could not breathe. She could only watch helplessly as the flames swallowed her whole.
Chen Xiaoyan jerked awake. She suddenly realized the scenery had changed; she was now at a farmhouse with a bamboo fence.
The owner of the farmhouse was boiling water in a clay stove. Beside him was a stone platform, where a plump, white pig was tied up tightly with ropes.
As the water boiled, the owner used a wooden bucket to scoop out a pail of boiling water and poured it directly onto the pig.
Instantly, screams of agony echoed throughout the surroundings.
To Chen Xiaoyan’s horror, the sound coming from the pig was not a squeal, but her own voice.
The owner scooped another bucket of boiling water, but this time, he did not pour it on the pig. Instead, he turned around and splashed it toward her.
“Ah!!!”
As the intense pain hit her, Chen Xiaoyan let out a series of screams. She sounded exactly like that pig.
She jerked awake once more, snapped her eyes open, and took a deep breath. Looking at her surroundings, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Having a nightmare?”
By the bed, Shen Qingqing was sitting with her knees pulled in, floating in mid-air. Seeing Chen Xiaoyan covered in sweat with a look of terror on her face, she gave a slight smile.
“Sister Shen?” Chen Xiaoyan was a bit dazed. Looking at where she was, she was even more shocked.
‘Wasn’t I in the game?’
‘How can I dream?’
‘Can you dream in a game?’
This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to her worldview.
“What happened to me?”
“You fainted from the pain.”
Fainted from pain?
Recalling that terrifying medicinal bath, Chen Xiaoyan could not help but shiver. That thing was definitely not meant for humans.
“Sister Shen, did I succeed?”
Shen Qingqing shook her head. “You were unconscious; it was no longer suitable for you to continue soaking.”
“Then… am I okay?” Chen Xiaoyan became nervous. She remembered Shen Qingqing warning her about something earlier, but she couldn’t remember the details.
“You are fine.”
Hearing Shen Qingqing’s words, Chen Xiaoyan patted her chest, feeling relieved. But Shen Qingqing’s next sentence nearly scared her into fainting again.
“From now on, just come for a soak once a day.”
Chen Xiaoyan immediately begged with a miserable expression. “Don’t… please don’t, Sister Shen. I can’t even handle it once. If you make me do it every day, you might as well just kill me.”
“You silly girl, you can’t even handle this little bit of pain? The path of cultivation is very long, and there are countless things far more severe than this. If you shrink back every time, I suggest you stop practicing. Just get married early and focus on raising children.”
Although Shen Qingqing’s tone was not particularly harsh, there was a sense of disappointment in her words, as if she were frustrated that the girl wasn’t living up to her potential.
“I…” Chen Xiaoyan lowered her head in shame.
Shen Qingqing calmed down. Feeling that her words might have been a bit too harsh, she spoke softly. “Girl, do you want to hear your sister’s story?”
“I do.”
Shen Qingqing looked out the window, recalling the time she first ascended Tianxin Mountain.
“Back then, I was a new disciple who had just joined the mountain. During that Mountains-and-Rivers Competition, I took third place among 900 new disciples. I successfully became a disciple under the previous Sect Leader of the Tianxiang Sect, Qiu Zhiyin. At that time, Master had six disciples, one of whom is the current Sect Leader, Yue Qifang.”
“What about the other four?” Chen Xiaoyan asked curiously.
At this, Shen Qingqing’s expression turned somber. “They all died in the Endless Demon Domain.”
Chen Xiaoyan’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Sister Shen. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Shen Qingqing revealed a faint smile and shook her head. “It is no matter. After all these years, I have long since come to terms with it. One must move forward; why cling to the past?”
Chen Xiaoyan remained silent. Those words sounded easy, but who could actually do it?
“I have also soaked in Body Tempering Medicinal Baths, and more than once. As for the exact number, I can no longer remember.”
‘Is it because she did it so many times she lost count, or has it just been too long?’
Either way, Chen Xiaoyan could not help but admire her. To Chen Xiaoyan, the greatest physical pain she had ever known was being bitten by a dog as a child; a chunk of flesh had been torn from her calf, leaving it a bloody mess. That was the most serious injury she had ever sustained.
But if she had to choose which was more painful between having a chunk of flesh torn off and soaking in that medicinal bath, Chen Xiaoyan would choose the latter without hesitation.
What did it feel like to be scalded by boiling water?
It was a fate worse than death. Having experienced it once, she never wanted to experience it again.
“The Body Tempering Medicinal Bath is extremely painful; I know this. However, it is also the most effective method of tempering the body. If you hadn’t fainted just now, the help it would have provided your physical body would have been immense. It’s a pity.”
“I’m sorry, Sister Shen. I’m just too useless.”
“Xiaoyan, I don’t even need to guess. Your life before must have been carefree and very happy. If you hadn’t come to Tianxin Mountain to cultivate, you would surely have had a perfect life. Why… why do you want to cultivate?”
Why did she want to cultivate?
Chen Xiaoyan couldn’t say it. She couldn’t very well say that she didn’t want to cultivate at all and was only here to play a game. Not only would the woman not understand, but even if she did, she would likely be furious.
‘I worked so hard to train you, and you tell me you don’t want to cultivate?’
Anyone would lose their mind if they heard that. Since she couldn’t tell the truth, she had to find a random excuse to brush it off.
At that moment, Chen Xiaoyan thought of a classic line from a TV drama and blurted out, “For longevity.”
“Longevity?”
Hearing those two words, Shen Qingqing shook her head and gave a bitter smile.
“Girl, eternal life is nothing more than a legend. Even at my level, one only has a lifespan of 1,000 years. After 1,000 years, if there is no breakthrough, one will inevitably turn into a pile of dust.”
“1,000 years?” Chen Xiaoyan’s mouth immediately formed an ‘O’ shape in surprise.
‘Holy crap, she’s a thousand-year-old monster.’
‘No, wait, she just has the potential to live that long; she hasn’t actually lived for a thousand years yet.’
“Then, Sister Shen, if I may ask, how old are you?”
“Hmm?” Shen Qingqing immediately shot her a cold glare.
Chen Xiaoyan shrank her neck and immediately backed down. Indeed, you could not ask a woman her age. That rule applied everywhere.
“Alright, starting tomorrow, remember to come for a medicinal bath once a day. If there is nothing else, you may leave.”
After saying that, Shen Qingqing closed her eyes.
“No, Sister Shen! It’ll kill me!” Chen Xiaoyan immediately began to wail.
Shen Qingqing’s brow twitched. “With me here, nothing will happen to you. Rest easy.”
“But… but…”
*Smack!*
“Ow! What the—”
While Chen Xiaoyan was stuttering and trying to think of an excuse to refuse, a mysterious power struck her hard on the buttocks.
‘Who the hell is attacking my butt?’
But on second thought, there were only two people in the room, so the culprit was…
Chen Xiaoyan quickly looked at Shen Qingqing, who was meditating in mid-air.
“Sister Shen, something dirty hit me.”
*Slap!*
The loud sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet inner room.
Chen Xiaoyan fell silent. She was now certain who the culprit was, but she didn’t dare say it.
“Put on your clothes and go practice,” Shen Qingqing said expressionlessly.
“Sister Shen, about that medicinal bath, can I not soak in it? It’s really too—”
*Slap!*
“Urgh.”
Chen Xiaoyan’s lip twitched, her face turning a deep shade of red. She silently closed her mouth, bowed to Shen Qingqing, and quickly ran out of the inner room.
Sometimes, having a body that was too sensitive was also a form of suffering.
As soon as she left, Shen Qingqing waved her hand and closed the door. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
Sometimes, with disobedient children, you had to hit them a few times before they would behave. It was just like how her Senior Sister treated Fufeng. One had to admit, the results were quite significant.
Shen Qingqing rummaged through her Jiezi Bag. She had used a bit too many Body Tempering herbs just now, and there weren’t many left of the herbs Big Fool Xiao had given her. After a moment of thought, she decided to find a time later to go and ask for more.
***
Outside Tianxin Pavilion.
Chong Chong was spinning her Chunfeng Umbrella for fun. She had already been waiting here for half an hour. As soon as she logged in and saw that Chen Xiaoyan was online, she had happily gone to the courtyard to find her. But no one was there. If she wasn’t in the courtyard, she had to be here. Almost every day when she logged in, she would come to find that NPC.
Chong Chong had wanted to go into the backyard to find Chen Xiaoyan, but someone had placed a barrier there, making it impossible to enter. Left with no choice, she could only wait outside.
“Little cutie, what are you doing here?” Chen Xiaoyan ran out of Tianxin Pavilion using her Yueying Step and spotted Chong Chong in front of the building at a glance.
Hearing her voice, Chong Chong put the Chunfeng Umbrella back into her inventory and ran toward Chen Xiaoyan. she buried her face in Chen Xiaoyan’s chest, nuzzling against her impressive bosom and taking a deep breath.
Ah, the nostalgic scent.
“Sister Xiaoyan, I missed you so much!”
Chen Xiaoyan patted her head and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? We only haven’t seen each other for half a day.”
“A day apart feels like three years! Also, why couldn’t I get into the backyard? What were you doing in there?”
“What was I doing? I was suffering.”
“Suffering?” Chong Chong looked up in surprise.
“Yeah, you have no idea—”
“Ahem!”
Suddenly, a cough drifted out from somewhere.
As soon as Chen Xiaoyan heard the sound, she knew it was Shen Qingqing. She quickly shut her mouth and pulled Chong Chong out of her embrace.
“It’s nothing. Let’s go finish our Daily Quests first.”
“Sister Xiaoyan, did you hear someone speaking?” Chong Chong looked around, observing their surroundings.
“Oh, you misheard. We don’t have much time. Let’s finish quickly and go find Qingxue.”
“Oh.”
Chong Chong glanced toward the backyard of Tianxin Pavilion, puffed out her cheeks, then turned and hurriedly followed.
In the inner room.
Shen Qingqing slowly took a deep breath to calm herself. She was truly quite angry. She had gone to great trouble to get those Body Tempering herbs for the girl, and the girl wasn’t grateful at all. She even said she was “suffering” at her sister’s place.
Suffering?
Fine.
Then she would let her suffer properly; otherwise, she would be doing an injustice to those words.
‘Increase it. I’ll increase the dosage like crazy.’
‘As long as it doesn’t kill her, I’ll add as much as I can.’
‘Not enough herbs? No matter. I’ll just ask Big Fool Xiao for more.’
‘No, how could just “a little more” be enough? At least…’
Thinking of this, Shen Qingqing narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a smirk.