Ning Chengfeng had been to the cultivation hall once before and had experienced what a proper lower grade cultivation room should be like, so he immediately noticed the difference here.
This kind of spiritual energy.
“Is this not a lower grade cultivation room? Why is it like this?” he asked knowingly as he looked at Ning Zhishui.
“I do not know either. I just found this room pleasing to the eye and came in. I did not expect that after forming a hand seal by accident, its spiritual energy would suddenly surge,” Ning Zhishui said with an innocent expression.
She thought to herself that the need to inject spiritual energy to activate it had to be told to them. They would still need to come back to this cultivation room in the future. She would not be present every time, so she had to explain it.
It was a pity that they could only use it for half a month. If only the time could be extended.
Ning Chengfeng curled his lips almost imperceptibly.
She spoke as if it were true.
Whether she was truly a great power returned or not, her ability to lie convincingly and make others believe her had not changed at all.
The worst part was that he knew the truth but could not expose her.
“Is there such a good thing?” he said with a half smile as he glanced at Ning Zhishui. “Then we must cherish this opportunity. Let us cultivate quickly.”
“Alright.”
Ning Zhishui took out a meditation cushion from her storage pouch and adjusted her sitting posture.
Each cultivation room could accommodate at most two people. However, when renting, the fee was charged per room rather than per person.
In other words, whether one person or two people used it, the price was the same.
Therefore, aside from those who lacked trustworthy companions and came alone, most people with family members would bring them along.
However, this kind of advantage could not be exploited recklessly. When cultivating, a cultivator was at their most vulnerable and slowest to react. If the other party was not trustworthy, bringing someone inside rashly could lead to trouble.
Ning Zhishui saw Ning Chengfeng sitting in meditation and circulating his spiritual energy. She frowned slightly.
The technique her second brother used was not the most suitable for him. The Heavenly Movement Technique was the right one, but she had no way to give it to him directly.
She would copy it down after returning home and find an opportunity to give it to him in the future.
Ning Chengfeng did not open his eyes, but inside he felt restless.
A more suitable technique for him?
Of course there was. Those great clans and sects possessed superior techniques, usually passed only to elite disciples and direct descendants.
No matter how good those techniques were, Ning Chengfeng did not covet them. He knew clearly that he could never obtain them. They were not something someone of his background should even think about.
Yet now Ning Zhishui had said that she had one and could even write it down from memory.
To have something but know it was unattainable.
And to have something that could be obtained at any time, yet be unable to receive it.
These were entirely different feelings.
Ning Chengfeng almost wanted to shake Ning Zhishui awake right then and tell her to give him the technique immediately.
But he could not.
It was too painful.
At that moment, Ning Chengfeng sensed that the person beside him had already entered a steady breathing rhythm. Her entire being was absorbing spiritual energy. He could even feel the speed at which the surrounding spiritual energy surged.
So fast.
He abruptly opened his eyes and looked at Ning Zhishui in astonishment.
She had already entered a state of cultivation. Her expression was serene and calm, and between her brows was a firmness that did not belong to someone her age.
How could this be? She had never cultivated like this before.
Ning Chengfeng had cultivated together with Ning Zhishui in the past. He knew her technique and her state during cultivation very well.
In fact, most ordinary cultivators were similar when cultivating. The surrounding spiritual energy would move, but only slightly. Unless one paid close attention, it was almost impossible to notice.
But Ning Zhishui was completely different now. The movement around her was far greater, and the spiritual energy surged much more violently.
How could this be the cultivation speed of someone with five spiritual roots?
Had she changed her technique as well, and to an earth grade or even heaven grade technique?
Ning Chengfeng was filled with doubts, yet he could not interrupt her to ask. He suppressed his questions and began cultivating as well.
When the rented time ended, someone knocked on the cultivation room door.
“Time is up. Vacate within half a quarter hour. Those who delay will permanently lose the qualification to enter the cultivation hall.”
Ning Zhishui opened her eyes and flicked out a talisman. The spiritual energy in the cultivation room gradually calmed down.
Ning Chengfeng also woke up. He looked at Ning Zhishui, his gaze flickering.
He sighed. “My aptitude is truly poor, and this technique feels uncomfortable no matter how I use it. If only there were a better technique. Little sister, do you think we have any other way to obtain a new technique?”
He looked at Ning Zhishui expectantly.
However, Ning Zhishui’s expression did not change. She simply stood up and put away her meditation cushion.
“No.”
Ning Chengfeng was speechless.
You clearly do have one.
But since Ning Zhishui refused to continue the topic, he had no choice but to follow her out in dejection.
As they stepped outside, they happened to hear someone causing a disturbance.
“You must give me an explanation.”
“This fellow cultivator, all our cultivation rooms are the same. Countless people have used them before you, and everything was normal for them,” said Uncle Cen.
“What do you mean? Are you saying that the reason I almost suffered deviation was because there was something wrong with my own cultivation?”
“For now, that does appear to be the reason.”
The noise grew louder. After turning a corner, the two of them saw that quite a crowd had gathered in the front hall.
One man looked agitated and was pointing at Uncle Cen. Uncle Cen and several other stewards stood together trying to reason with him, but it clearly was not working.
On both sides stood spectators who were either newly arrived or about to leave.
After listening for a while, Ning Zhishui understood. The troublemaker claimed that there was something wrong with their cultivation room. While he had been cultivating normally, there had been a sudden moment when his spiritual energy became blocked and reversed, nearly causing him to suffer deviation.
But Uncle Cen and the others insisted that it had nothing to do with the cultivation hall. Everyone used the same conditions, so why had only he encountered a problem?
“Most likely he wants to extort more usage rights.”
“Exactly. Have we not seen many cases like this?”
“He thinks that by making trouble he can get the cultivation hall to give him some extra days for free. How ridiculous.”
“Such a clumsy attempt.”
Hearing the surrounding discussions seemed to enrage the man further. His face turned red and his neck thickened as he shouted.
Ning Zhishui observed him for a moment before suddenly speaking.
“May I ask, fellow cultivator, are you carrying a water attribute object on you? Something extremely cold.”
The man was in the middle of arguing when he heard her youthful voice. He paused and looked toward her in confusion.
“A water attribute object? Why are you asking that? What does it have to do with my cultivation?”
His tone was still harsh, but much calmer than when he was addressing the stewards.
“That object conflicts with your attribute. You were at a critical stage of breakthrough during cultivation, were you not? It was the damage to that object that caused the problem in your cultivation. Why not check it?”
As soon as Ning Zhishui finished speaking, the man’s expression changed. He hurriedly took out a small bottle from his chest.
The moment it appeared, a faint chill spread through the air. Most crucially, cracks had appeared on the body of the bottle.
Today there may only be one update. The author has tested positive again and is burning with fever.