Chapter 115: Young Lady, March Toward Meat and Milk

Do you really think the Fragrant Intention Technique is some demon’s magic that anyone can cultivate?

If that were truly the case, there wouldn’t be so few disciples in the Heavenly Fragrance Sect.

Of course, players, those bugged-out cheaters carrying data modifiers, don’t count in this.

What’s that?

You say you’re not a cheater?

NPCs train day and night, spending months or even years just to reach the Tuofan Realm.

Players? One month is all it takes.

NPCs want to break through to the next realm? They must shatter bottlenecks, elevate their state of mind, or risk falling into qi deviation.

Players? As soon as their spiritual energy reaches the mark, the system automatically breaks through for them. State of mind? What’s that?

If an NPC wants a magic weapon, they must pay a high price to seek out a Qi Refining Master, or collect Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to refine it themselves—costly and laborious, sometimes failing and wasting all their materials.

Players? They just run a simple dungeon, and gear drops right into their laps.

All in all, to NPCs, players are nothing less than cheaters.

But the strength that NPCs hone through their own sweat and grit isn’t something players can compare to.

In cultivation, tempering the heart is every bit as important.

It’s like this: imagine a grown man and a child, both possessing the same immense strength.

If they fight, the grown man will win.

That’s because he knows how to wield his power skillfully, while the child only knows to swing wildly, flailing around.

“Go get ready, the sect tournament is about to begin.”

As the Vice Sect Leader, Shen Qingqing naturally had to be present at this event.

She glanced at the sky, rose from the pool, and flicked the robe on the stone table with a wave of her hand.

In an instant, she was dressed.

This display left Chen Xiaoyan absolutely dumbfounded.

“Shen-jie, what was that instant clothing technique? Can you teach me?” Chen Xiaoyan picked up her own wrapped skirt, slowly pulling it over herself.

“It’s not a skill.”

“It’s not?”

“Mhm.” Shen Qingqing nodded, reaching out to wave her hand before Xiaoyan’s eyes.

Within just a second, it was impossible to tell how many times her hand had moved—Xiaoyan only saw lingering afterimages.

“How many times do you think I waved?”

“Dozens?” Chen Xiaoyan made a rough guess.

After all, the Residual Image Hand she just saw was too fast for the naked eye to follow.

Shen Qingqing smiled, then flicked a finger at Xiaoyan’s forehead.

“Ow—!”

“That’s for being lazy with your cultivation. You’re already in the Tuofan Realm; by rights, you should be able to see my movements clearly, yet you’re still this slow.”

“Shen-jie, it’s not that I’m slow—it’s just your hand is way too fast, I can’t see it at all.” Chen Xiaoyan rubbed her forehead, her tone full of grievance.

“What about now?”

Shen Qingqing waved her hand again.

This time, it was a little slower; the layered afterimages were visible.

If before she could only see two or three, now there were over a dozen.

“Can you go even slower?” Chen Xiaoyan awkwardly lifted her hand, making a finger-universe gesture—some foreign man would be furious to see that.

Shen Qingqing pressed her forehead and let out a sigh.

“Xiaoyan, in cultivation you can’t just train your spiritual power—the heart and the body must be trained as well.”

“But Shen-jie, why would Heavenly Fragrance disciples need to train our bodies? We don’t have to take hits.”

“Take hits?”

“I mean, we don’t need to get beaten up.”

“Not get beaten up? Ha! What a naive thought. I’ve met countless cultivators, and never seen one who hasn’t been beaten.”

“Even though we at Heavenly Fragrance mainly cultivate spiritual power and don’t have to forge our bodies like those at Divine Strategy Manor, we can’t be as frail as you.”

Shen Qingqing’s repeated scolding left Chen Xiaoyan hanging her head, for once without a retort.

She knew perfectly well her own constitution was weak—even that little brat Chongchong was much sturdier than her.

It just didn’t make sense.

Aren’t we the same type of character? Why is my constitution so much worse?

Is this the price of being overpowered?

“Why so quiet?” Shen Qingqing looked at Chen Xiaoyan, who kept her head down, lost in thought.

Finally, Shen Qingqing paused her nagging.

“I’m listening to your guidance, Shen-jie.” Chen Xiaoyan looked up and smiled.

That took the wind right out of Shen Qingqing’s sails.

“Alright, alright. From now on, come to me every day for a medicinal bath. Time’s getting short, go get ready for the tournament.”

But Chen Xiaoyan didn’t leave, her curiosity flaring up.

“Shen-jie, what’s the medicinal bath for?”

“Naturally, it’s to temper your body with herbs.”

“Oh.”

She didn’t ask further—after watching so many xuanhuan dramas and movies, medicinal bath scenes were nothing new.

After Chen Xiaoyan left.

Shen Qingqing opened her Jiezi Bag.

She rummaged through it carefully, only to find she was out of Body Tempering Medicine.

Yet she wasn’t the least bit anxious.

She casually checked in with Divine Strategy Manor.

[Xiao Jun, fellow Daoist, could you sell me some basic body tempering medicine?]

Far away on General’s Mountain, the Divine Strategy Manor elder quickly received Shen Qingqing’s spiritual message.

Seeing the cluster of pink words floating midair, Xiao Jun rested his chin on his hand, pondering for ages without a clue what she meant.

Wasn’t basic body tempering medicine easy to get?

Why send a special message about this?

Was there a hidden meaning?

No matter how he turned it over in his head, Xiao Jun couldn’t see any deeper meaning. He scratched his head in frustration.

“Forget it, I’ll just send that ancestor a few batches of top-grade medicine.”

He acted on his thoughts at once, shelling out his own funds and instructing an idle NPC disciple to deliver the herbs to Tianxin Mountain.

Then, he hurried off to the Wushen Hall where the Sect Leader resided.

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother!”

At that moment, Divine Strategy Manor’s Sect Leader, Ye Poyun, was circulating his internal force through his meridians in a great celestial circuit.

He heard that thunderous roar from afar, his fine brows furrowing.

“Senior Brother, help me figure this out—what does Shen Qingqing mean by this?”

Ye Poyun didn’t catch any of the words, only the name Shen Qingqing.

A thought flickered in his mind. He calmed his nearly rampaging energy, drew it back into his Dantian, then opened his eyes.

The instant he opened his eyes, it was as if golden light shot fiercely from his gaze.

Xiao Jun was so startled he jolted, finally realizing he’d made a blunder.

He immediately cupped his fists in apology, “Sorry, Senior Brother, I was too rash.”

Ye Poyun was already used to his junior’s reckless ways, paying it no mind and not blaming him.

“What about Shen Qingqing?”

“Senior Brother, look.”

Xiao Jun pulled the spiritual message from his Jiezi Bag, flinging it into the air; the row of glowing pink words appeared.

Ye Poyun took a glance.

“Just send some medicine over, nothing more to it.”

“But Senior Brother, is that ancestor really just asking for common body tempering medicine?”

Basic body tempering medicine—every disciple under Divine Strategy Manor could get it for free, wasn’t it everywhere?

“What do you think?” Ye Poyun closed his eyes, asking lightly.

“I just can’t figure it out, that’s why I came to you, Senior Brother. Your mind’s the sharpest in all Divine Strategy Manor.”

“Then why not go to Tianxin Mountain and ask her yourself?”

“Er…” Xiao Jun shrank his neck, chickening out.

That Demon Shen… he’d been tormented by her before, and still had nightmares.

Can’t beat her… well, maybe I could.

But she’s got the Alliance protecting her, and there’s that total freak, Jian Chenzi.

Ai—

Forget it. If I can’t afford to mess with her, I’ll just stay put on General’s Mountain.