Lin Xinyi continuously circulated the spiritual energy within her body, attempting to suppress her restless heart.
After all, the greatest taboo during cultivation was the fluctuation of a peaceful mind.
Lin Xinyi slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, and the spiritual energy within her gradually became more stable.
However, Bai Qianqian, who should have swallowed the pill, had walked over to the table at some unknown point.
Looking at the neatly arranged teapot, she tilted her head slightly and glanced behind her.
“Qianqian! Didn’t you swallow the Confusion Pill? Does your body feel uncomfortable?!”
Luo Qingyao had originally been monitoring Lin Xinyi’s every move from the side, fearing the woman would do something out of line.
However, she had unexpectedly seen Bai Qianqian sit up from the bed just now, still holding the pill she was supposed to have consumed.
Seeing that the girl was in such high spirits, Luo Qingyao could not help but feel a bit relieved.
Yet, a trace of doubt surfaced in her mind; Bai Qianqian’s current behavior was not at all like that of a child.
‘Alas, if only you could hear me speak—’
Luo Qingyao helplessly cradled her own cheek.
Although she had many things she wanted to tell Bai Qianqian, the formation on the ring restricted her every move.
Now, even transmitting a message had become an extravagant hope.
Luo Qingyao could only pray in her heart that the girl would find an opportunity to leave, the farther the better.
However, instead of running away, Bai Qianqian stopped when she reached the table.
“It should be here…”
Bai Qianqian looked at the neatly arranged tea set.
Lin Xinyi’s usual standards were extremely high and she could not tolerate even a single flaw.
Qin Huaiyin, even within her own Cave Abode, always dressed strictly according to the standards of a beauty, purely for the sake of being pleasing to the eye.
Just by looking at the exquisite tea set before her, one could tell it was worth a fortune.
Luo Qingyao watched Bai Qianqian anxiously from the side, terrified that Lin Xinyi would suddenly wake from her meditative state.
After all, if she wanted to protect Bai Qianqian from the hands of a Nascent Soul cultivator at peak power right now, she likely had no other choice besides self-detonation.
‘Qianqian, go back quickly! If she discovers you didn’t take the pill, she will definitely be even more on guard against you!’
Though Luo Qingyao was worried, she could only watch from the side, unable to take any other action.
In her memory, Bai Qianqian was always so weak, helpless, and pitiful.
Luo Qingyao had already prepared herself to protect Bai Qianqian no matter what, but when she turned her head, she found that Lin Xinyi was still sitting by the bed, meditating and adjusting her breath.
‘Did she not notice? Eh, strange…’
Luo Qingyao was somewhat confused.
As a Nascent Soul cultivator, Lin Xinyi actually had no reaction at all, even though Bai Qianqian had walked right past her.
While she was feeling puzzled, the sound of an object falling into water came from behind her.
The sound was so loud that it even caused Luo Qingyao to snap her head around.
“Bai Qianqian…”
Luo Qingyao looked at Bai Qianqian, who had a calm expression as she dropped the pill into the tea.
Luo Qingyao wanted to call out to remind her that the pill would not dissolve in water, but she immediately remembered that Bai Qianqian could not hear her voice.
Her anxiety was for naught.
But to Luo Qingyao’s surprise, the pill that originally should not have dissolved in water actually began to melt on its own.
Luo Qingyao reacted instantly; that woman Lin Xinyi was drinking spiritual tea, so even a pill could dissolve within it.
“Qianqian…”
Luo Qingyao did not know why Bai Qianqian was doing this, but when the girl turned around, it was the first time Luo Qingyao had seen those dull, lifeless eyes on Bai Qianqian’s face.
“Phew, I really can’t let my guard down…”
After a long while, Lin Xinyi exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and slowly opened her eyes.
Along with the circulation and respiration of the spiritual energy in her body, her aura finally returned to a state of calm.
“It feels unexpectedly quiet…”
After opening her eyes, Lin Xinyi lightly scanned everything in the Cave Abode, only to find that Luo Qingyao was still hiding her form, with no intention of coming out to speak with her.
“Alas, really, does the Immortal Venerable not want to chat with me that much?”
“…”
After Lin Xinyi talked to herself, she found there was no response.
She could only stretch her arms in boredom.
Turning her head to glance at Bai Qianqian lying behind her, she saw the girl was still sleeping peacefully.
“Such a heartless look, she doesn’t even know that disaster is imminent.”
Lin Xinyi still looked as if everything was under her control.
She reached out a finger and gently touched that soft cheek.
Thinking about how the girl was about to become a cripple, her heart became increasingly excited.
This way, her revenge would be perfect.
When the time came, the girl would practice those flawed techniques and become a useless person.
Then, she would magnanimously support her for the rest of her life.
By then, even if Bai Qianqian grew to have a peerless countenance, would she not still be at her beck and call?
“You killed me so many times, yet this time I’m letting you live until the end of your natural life. I really am kind.”
Lin Xinyi got out of bed and walked over to the table.
With a flick of her hand and a small spell, the formation beneath the teapot instantly began to heat up.
In just a moment, the lukewarm tea became scalding hot.
“The more I think about it, the more unbearable it becomes. I’ll brew a cup of tea to drink. Eh, this teacup…”
Lin Xinyi originally wanted to pick up the tea and savor it, but her gaze suddenly narrowed as if she had discovered something amiss.
Luo Qingyao, who had been taking everything in from the shadows, became flustered at that moment.
‘As expected… that woman definitely noticed…’
Luo Qingyao swallowed her non-existent saliva and had even prepared for the worst.
However, after waiting for a long time, Lin Xinyi still made no move.
“Is the pattern on this teacup a bit outdated? It’s quite an eyesore…”
After Lin Xinyi said that, she lost interest in tasting the tea.
She drained the cup in one gulp and then threw the cup back into her storage space like a piece of trash.
“Alas, though I don’t like the pattern on the cup, this tea is exceptionally fragrant.”
As Lin Xinyi spoke, she intended to go out and move around.
Having reached this level of cultivation, she had long since lost the need for sleep or rest.
She had intended to use the night to return to her Cave Abode, but just as she reached the door, a wave of intense exhaustion washed over her heart.
“Eh, strange?”
Lin Xinyi’s feet slipped, and seeing that she was about to fall, she hurriedly grabbed the nearby wall to steady herself.
Lin Xinyi could not understand why she would suddenly feel this kind of fatigue, as if her entire body were draped with boulders weighing tens of thousands of pounds.
“Strange, this is far too strange…”
Lin Xinyi took two steps back and sat back in the chair.
She turned her head to look at the Calming Tea still brewing in the teapot.
She wondered if the effect of this tea was too good, making even a Nascent Soul cultivator like herself find it difficult to withstand.
“No, no, this is a bit too good to be true. Could it be…”
Lin Xinyi’s first reaction was to turn her head and look at Bai Qianqian, who was lying motionless on the bed.
But as soon as this thought appeared, she dismissed it herself.
‘Even if she evaded my perception once, could there be a second time? Where would she even get the ability to drug me right in front of my face…’
Lin Xinyi was consistently unwilling to believe the girl could easily evade her perception.
But if it really was not her, then who else could it be?
“It seems you’re struggling quite a bit.”
Just as Lin Xinyi was wondering who else had this ability, a mocking voice sounded from behind her.
Luo Qingyao appeared beside her at just the right moment.
“You drugged me?”
“Drugged? What drug would this Immortal Venerable use? Do I look like someone who could administer drugs?”
Luo Qingyao slowly floated to the side.
Although she did not admit it with her words, her appearance successfully drew all the attention to herself.
Although Lin Xinyi did not hear her admit it personally, she felt ninety percent certain in her heart that the other woman was the one behind it.
“Forget it. Even if you have the means to make me feel tired, what can you do to me? Even if I fall asleep, the formation will continue to operate.”
Lin Xinyi felt the fatigue becoming heavier and heavier, and she completely failed to understand when the other party had used such means.
Lin Xinyi’s current thought was that even if Luo Qingyao had turned into a mere remnant soul, she still possessed methods that were difficult for her to comprehend.
“I hope you can teach me these methods once I wake up.”
“Who knows? We’ll talk about it after you wake up.”
As Lin Xinyi sat in the chair, that feeling of exhaustion permeated her entire body.
Although she could try to reconcile it with spiritual energy, the feeling of fatigue could not be erased.
As her body went limp, she collapsed onto the table and fell completely still.
Only after confirming the woman had finally fainted did Luo Qingyao breathe a sigh of relief.
Although she had successfully diverted the topic to herself, if one thought about it carefully, the plan was full of holes.
“Truly making people worry…”
Luo Qingyao was thinking about how to get through this when Bai Qianqian stepped down from the bed.
Without any hesitation, she walked straight to the unconscious Lin Xinyi.
She reached out and touched the ring on the woman’s finger.
“As expected, it’s from here…”
“Qianqian!”
Hearing the voice by her ear, Bai Qianqian looked up with some confusion and indeed saw Luo Qingyao floating in mid-air, her eyes filled with tears.
Seeing that Bai Qianqian could finally hear her voice, Luo Qingyao was incredibly excited.
“Qianqian, you’re too impulsive! Although this woman doesn’t have the intention to take your life right now, hurry and run while you can!”
“Run? Why should I run?”
Bai Qianqian’s eyes were calm as she tilted her head in a daze.
Clearly, she did not have much of a reaction to those words.
Seeing this, Luo Qingyao became anxious.
“This woman wants to teach you a bunch of rotten techniques to lead you down the wrong path!”
Luo Qingyao stopped halfway through her sentence, immediately realizing that Bai Qianqian did not even know what cultivation was yet.
How could the girl understand what she was saying?
“Just run, quickly! This woman definitely harbors ill intentions toward you!”
Luo Qingyao only wanted Bai Qianqian to fly far away so she could stay here and stall Lin Xinyi.
But after waiting for a long time, she did not hear any response.
Confused, she looked down and found that Bai Qianqian’s face was slightly flushed as she reached out a finger to touch Lin Xinyi’s lips.
“So soft…”
Bai Qianqian extended her finger and lightly stroked those soft lips.
For some reason, a different kind of color appeared in her eyes.
Luo Qingyao, who was still worrying from the side, immediately became frantic upon seeing this scene.
“Bai Qianqian, what are you doing?!”
“I want to kiss her…”
“Huh?!?”