Chapter 28: The Bottomless Pit

The moment the array formation activated, Bai Shuangshuang felt the entire courtyard come to life.

Spirit jades faintly glowed in their respective positions.

The array patterns drawn by the ink stick seemed to come alive, a silver-gray light slowly flowing along the lines.

The longsword inserted at the array eye trembled lightly, emitting a faint hum, as if stirred by the wind.

Bai Shuangshuang closed her eyes.

Her consciousness spread out along the array patterns, covering the entire courtyard bit by bit.

Where the Spiritual Qi flowed quickly, where it was slow, where there was stagnation, where there were gaps… all of it was within her perception.

Bai Shuangshuang took a deep breath and began to fine-tune the flow and arrangement of Spiritual Qi in the courtyard.

Each adjustment made the Qi flow smoother.

Gradually, the Spiritual Qi of the entire courtyard began to circulate, like a cleared creek, joyfully and smoothly looping around and around.

She had a strange illusion, as if the courtyard had become a part of her body, every corner under her control.

‘Palm View of Mountains and Rivers.’

‘Master talked about it in my past life. When a true formation master sets up an array, they experience a sensation of “Palm View of Mountains and Rivers,” where everything within the formation lies in the palm of their hand, as clear as the lines on it.’

She hadn’t expected to touch that realm on her first time setting up an array.

But now was not the time for sentiment.

Bai Shuangshuang gathered her focus and began to guide Spiritual Qi into her body.

The Spiritual Qi flowed slowly along her meridians, like lukewarm spring water, starting from her fingertips, gradually soaking every meridian and every acupoint.

She guided the Qi to circulate through her four limbs and hundred bones, making three full circuits throughout her body.

It was like heating a wok—first get the pan hot before adding the ingredients.

The hotter the meridians, the smoother the Qi flow, and the faster the flow it could bear.

She did three circuits, felt she could go further, and then did half a circuit more before just barely hitting her limit.

Those dozen years of Soul-Calming Decoction hadn’t been wasted.

But back then, when she condensed her Dao Seed at the Qingyun Sword Sect, she had done five or six full circuits at this step.

There was still a gap, but it wasn’t too shabby.

Bai Shuangshuang opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and then abruptly poured the Spiritual Qi from her entire body into her Dantian.

Her Dantian instantly became full.

That sensation of fullness left her dazed for a moment.

But she didn’t celebrate for long, because she hadn’t forgotten the deadly thing inside her Dantian.

Here it comes.

Deep in her Dantian, the cluster of Red-Gold Flame, like a beast awakened from sleep, burst out and bit into the Spiritual Qi she had just poured in.

A burning sensation exploded from her Dantian and shot up along her meridians, just like the night she had first arrived at the Prince’s Mansion.

Bai Shuangshuang frowned slightly, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead, but it was much better than last time.

Last time it felt like someone was twisting a knife in her gut.

This time it was more like accidentally swallowing a mouthful of scalding hot porridge.

It hurt, sure, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

The Spiritual Qi was being burned clean by the Red-Gold Flame at a visible rate, and her Dantian deflated again.

Bai Shuangshuang gritted her teeth.

Again.

She once again guided Spiritual Qi into her body, circulated it through her meridians a few times, poured it into her Dantian, where it was burned away by the Red-Gold Flame.

Guide, pour, burn—like a tug-of-war.

She kept pouring Spiritual Qi into her Dantian, and the Red-Gold Flame kept burning.

She poured fast, and the flame burned fast.

That flame was like an insatiable bottomless pit.

Bai Shuangshuang repeated this process over and over, more and more sweat gathering on her face, her lips pressed tightly together.

Beside her, Zhao Qingyue and Qiu Yue watched her, not daring to breathe too loudly.

The courtyard was so quiet it was left only with the hum of the longsword and Bai Shuangshuang’s faint breathing.

Zhao Qingyue crouched three steps away from Bai Shuangshuang, both hands clutching her skirt, her knuckles white.

She didn’t understand these cultivation matters, but she could see the sweat on Bai Shuangshuang’s forehead, the occasional frown, and her lips growing drier and drier.

She held back for a while but couldn’t help it, and asked Qiu Yue in a low voice.

“Is this… is there any danger for her?”

Qiu Yue blinked and looked at Zhao Qingyue.

She felt that this maidservant’s relationship with the Commandery Princess didn’t seem like a master-servant relationship at all.

She thought for a moment and answered quietly.

“There is some risk. When condensing the Dao Seed, if Spiritual Qi is poured into the Dantian too violently, the meridians might crack. Or if the Qi isn’t pure enough, impurities can remain in the Dantian, affecting future cultivation. Also—”

“Also?”

Zhao Qingyue’s voice tightened.

“That’s all…”

Qiu Yue weighed her words.

“Generally, it’s not a big problem. As long as you don’t force it, at least there won’t be serious harm.”

Zhao Qingyue listened, nodded, and didn’t ask further.

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Qiu Yue stole a glance at Zhao Qingyue, feeling the atmosphere was still a bit awkward.

Now that she’d finally started talking, she couldn’t just stand by doing nothing, right? She hesitated, then decided to start a conversation to ease the tension.

“Um… Miss Bai”

Qiu Yue’s voice was as small as a mosquito’s buzz.

“I heard… the Commandery Princess likes girls. Is that true or false?”

Zhao Qingyue’s expression instantly became very subtle.

She opened her mouth, then closed it, her face twitching slightly.

Right now she was playing the role of Bai Shuangshuang, a maidservant.

How should a maidservant answer this?

Say she didn’t know?

Say she wasn’t sure? Or say “Our Commandery Princess really does like girls”?

She took a deep breath and asked Qiu Yue with a strange look.

“Where did you hear that?”

“My master told me”

Qiu Yue answered honestly.

“She said the Commandery Princess of the Jingnan Prince Manor doesn’t like men, only cute girls her age. She told me to be careful after I arrived, and not to… not to…”

She couldn’t finish, her face already red to the ears.

Zhao Qingyue’s expression became even more subtle.

She was silent for a moment, then had a flash of inspiration.

Since Qiu Yue was so afraid of being noticed by the Commandery Princess, why not just admit it and make her keep her distance from Bai Shuangshuang?

She coughed, lowered her voice, and put on a face that said “I’m telling you a secret.”

“Actually, it’s true! The Commandery Princess really does like girls!”

“Based on my years of experience, the Princess has taken a liking to you. If you want to run, now’s the time. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Qiu Yue’s face turned bright red.

Her eyes started darting around, her lips trembled a couple of times—she wanted to say something but didn’t know what.

Her hands twisted together, fingers tangling like they were fighting.

Zhao Qingyue watched her reaction, secretly satisfied.

‘Got her.’

‘Now she’ll be scared, right? She’ll stay far away, right?’

But she didn’t notice that although Qiu Yue’s face was red, there was no fear or resistance in her eyes as Zhao Qingyue had expected.

On the contrary—Qiu Yue was already starting to scheme in her heart.

‘Master said the Commandery Princess likes girls, and Miss Bai just confirmed it.’

‘If… if I sacrifice a little charm and get on the Princess’s good side, couldn’t I get more than just that half share from the Prince’s Mansion?’

‘Maybe the Spirit Field quota could be increased? Maybe I could even get a better Spirit Mine?’

Qiu Yue’s face grew redder, but that thought had already taken root in her heart.

Zhao Qingyue waited for a long time, only to find that although Qiu Yue was blushing, she showed no intention of leaving.

Instead, she secretly glanced at Bai Shuangshuang’s back.

Zhao Qingyue saw that look clearly.

“Hey—you—”

She opened her mouth but before she could say anything, she suddenly heard a gasp from Bai Shuangshuang’s direction.

Both of them turned their heads at the same time.

Bai Shuangshuang’s expression had turned wrong.

Her lips were pale, her forehead covered in sweat.

Her hands resting on her knees were trembling slightly.

A quarter of an hour had passed.

She had poured Spiritual Qi into her Dantian countless times, and each time it was burned clean by the Red-Gold Flame.

That flame was like a bottomless pit, no matter how much she poured, it couldn’t be filled.

Qi in, burned.

Again, burned.

Not a trace of a Dao Seed had formed.

Bai Shuangshuang’s hands started shaking.

A thought suddenly struck her—what if this Red-Gold Flame could never be satisfied?

What if it never went out?

Then would she never be able to condense the Dao Seed?

The Red-Gold Flame in her Dantian still burned, still devouring her Spiritual Qi.

Bai Shuangshuang pressed her lips into a thin line, her fingers curled on her knees, her palms drenched in cold sweat.

She suddenly felt that she might have thought too simply…