In her previous life, Du Yuanluo was a person who knew how to please others. Under Shen Qingyi’s guidance, she would often go to Elder Songhe to act cute and curry favor. However, she had never managed to receive personal instruction from the Elder.
Shen Qingyi herself was incapable of such fawning behavior. To make Elder Songhe break the rules and teach Du Yuanluo, she had to offer something significant in exchange.
Elder Songhe specialized in alchemy and cherished immortal herbs and grasses as if they were her own life. While she possessed no shortage of rare spiritual treasures, there was one item she sought but could never obtain.
Legend had it that on the ancestral island of the Eastern Sea, there grew a celestial herb called the “Spirit Nourishing Reishi” (Yangshenzhi). Consuming it could grant immortality. This was not just Elder Songhe’s unfulfilled wish, it was a treasure that many cultivators spent their entire lives seeking but never found.
Although Yunyin Peak was beyond the mortal realm, it was not a true celestial paradise, it could not grow such an immortal herb. Shen Qingyi decided to use this very treasure to trade for an opportunity for Du Yuanluo.
In the past, after the Sect Leader had subdued a demon, he had seized a volume of ancient records. Shen Qingyi had only flipped through a few pages before it was confiscated, with the warning that it contained “crooked paths” and “evil ways” that a child should not learn. It was in those few pages that Shen Qingyi had seen the method for growing the Spirit Nourishing Reishi.
It was indeed an evil method. It required the essence and blood of a living person for nourishment. Simply put, one had to use someone else’s life to grow the herb to extend their own.
Shen Qingyi hadn’t been interested back then, but thinking about it now, she felt it was worth a try.
Yunyin Peak did have seeds of the Spirit Nourishing Reishi, but they grew without spiritual energy. Shen Qingyi followed the demon’s method, watering the seeds day and night with her own essence and blood. Of course, she would not truly sacrifice her life, she carefully balanced the process to keep the herb alive without causing herself permanent harm.
Even so, the prolonged blood-letting left her face pale, and she occasionally showed signs of exhaustion. Others didn’t notice, but Du Yuanluo saw it clearly.
“Senior Sister, are you sick? You look so listless.”
Shen Qingyi knew Du Yuanluo’s temperament, give her a little sweetness, and she’d try to repay it with her life. Shen Qingyi didn’t want her to feel indebted.
She lightly flicked Du Yuanluo’s forehead. “I’m listless because you’re so noisy. How is your sword practice coming along?”
Du Yuanluo pursed her lips and smiled. “Not well. The Senior Brothers and Sisters are all letting me win.”
It seemed that the last time Shen Qingyi had intimidated the younger disciples, it had actually worked; they didn’t dare to take Du Yuanluo seriously during daily practice. But this was fine, since Du Yuanluo wasn’t likely to achieve great results in cultivation anyway, it was better that she suffered less.
“Come, I’ll teach you a few moves,” Shen Qingyi said, summoning her sword.
“Please guide me, Senior Sister,” Du Yuanluo said, striking a wobbly opening stance.
Shen Qingyi looked at her, sighed, and sheathed her sword. Instead, she picked up a tree branch to spar with her. Even though Shen Qingyi held back as much as possible, Du Yuanluo still took a few hits from the branch.
Du Yuanluo rubbed her sore spots from the strikes but continued to shout, “Thank you for the guidance, Senior Sister! Again, again!”
Shen Qingyi threw the branch aside. “I don’t know my own strength. Go play with someone else.”
Du Yuanluo naturally wanted to continue practicing with her sister, even if she was being toyed with like a pet. However, seeing that Shen Qingyi was truly tired, she didn’t dare pester her further.
At some point, Shen Qingyi noticed that the meals Du Yuanluo brought had turned into medicinal feasts. They were filled with precious nourishing herbs from Yunyin Peak, items that outer disciples couldn’t obtain without a special reward.
Shen Qingyi picked out a strand of mountain ginseng from the soup bowl and asked, “Where did this come from?”
“Elder Songhe gave it to me. It’s perfect for nourishing the spirit and calming the mind,” Du Yuanluo replied.
Elder Songhe guarded her precious herbs like the apples of her eye, would she really be so generous to an outer disciple?
Under Shen Qingyi’s suspicious gaze, Du Yuanluo finally confessed: “I’ve been helping Elder Songhe with chores, and she rewarded me.”
Refining medicine did indeed involve many tedious steps. Older disciples had delicate tasks to handle, and younger disciples lacked the patience for menial chores. Du Yuanluo was perfectly suited for it.
After exactly eighty-one days, the Spirit-Nourishing Reishi Shen Qingyi planted finally matured. While it lacked the immortality granting power of a true celestial herb, it was still a divine medicine capable of prolonging life.
Now, in addition to cooking for Shen Qingyi, Du Yuanluo also made a box of pastries for Elder Songhe every day. As she was packing the box, Shen Qingyi suddenly walked in, startling her.
On Yunyin Peak, anyone with a bit of cultivation couldn’t wait to distance themselves from the kitchen. While Shen Qingyi never acted pretentious about it, she rarely visited.
“Senior Sister?”
Shen Qingyi opened the food box. There were four plates of exquisite pastries and a bowl of porridge.
“Is this for Elder Songhe?”
“You have some too, Senior Sister. I made two extra types for you,” Du Yuanluo said boastfully, lifting Shen Qingyi’s food box to show it was heavier.
“You really are a filial disciple. Do you still want to learn real skills?”
Shen Qingyi took the box intended for Du Yuanluo, quietly placed the Spirit Nourishing Reishi inside, sealed the lid, and shoved it into Du Yuanluo’s arms.
“Deliver this box to Elder Songhe today. Kowtow to her and ask to be her apprentice. Beg her to teach you medicine.”
“Ah? Just adding two pastries isn’t enough, is it? So many Senior Brothers and Sisters have tried…”
“Just go when I tell you to. Do you want to learn or not?” Shen Qingyi pushed her out without further explanation.
Forced to leave, Du Yuanluo walked a good distance before turning back to shout, “Senior Sister! I’ll cook two extra dishes for you when I get back!”
Seeing Du Yuanluo so different from her past self brought a sense of comfort to Shen Qingyi’s heart. She picked up a piece of pastry and tasted it, it was lightly sweet and truly delicious.
When Shen Qingyi returned from evening lessons, Du Yuanluo was nowhere to be found. Shen Qingyi couldn’t help but feel anxious. Would Elder Songhe really take Du Yuanluo under her wing for the sake of that Spirit Nourishing Reishi?
Surely she would. In the previous life, Du Yuanluo had almost entered Elder Songhe’s tutelage on her own. In this life, without Shen Qingyi sabotaging her and with this extra help, she would surely achieve her wish sooner.
However, Du Yuanluo came back crying. Her sobs could be heard from a distance.
Shen Qingyi quickly stood up to meet her. Seeing Shen Qingyi, Du Yuanluo ran forward and buried her head in Shen Qingyi’s arms, her cries muffled by calls of “Senior Sister.”
Shen Qingyi guessed the worst: “Elder Songhe refused to take you as a disciple?”
Du Yuanluo shook her head. “She agreed.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Du Yuanluo cried even harder. Shen Qingyi knew she was a crybaby and knew that nothing terrible would happen on Yunyin Peak, but she still pulled her into an embrace, patting her back gently.
Once Du Yuanluo had cried her fill, she asked between sobs, “Senior Sister, did you grow that Spirit-Nourishing Reishi?”
“Yes. Did you lie to Elder Songhe?”
“No. When Elder Songhe saw it, she said that if I had the ability to grow such a celestial herb, I deserved to be cultivated. I wanted to learn from her, but I didn’t dare deceive her. She said I was honest and agreed to teach me medical theory.”
“Then it’s fine. You cried all the way back, anyone would think you were being punished.” Shen Qingyi started to tell her to wipe her eyes, but she realized Du Yuanluo had already wiped them all over her clothes.
“But Elder Songhe told me the method for growing it… is it true?”
“It’s true. It’s an evil path; don’t learn it.”
Du Yuanluo’s lip trembled again. Knowing she was about to cry, Shen Qingyi covered her mouth with her hand. “Don’t you get embarrassed crying every day? Get back to your room.”
A single Spirit Nourishing Reishi had traded for Du Yuanluo’s entry into medical study under Elder Songhe and for Shen Qingyi, it meant three days of solitary reflection for practicing “evil arts.”
Shen Qingyi felt that what she could do for Du Yuanluo ended here. As long as she was around, Du Yuanluo could live in peace. If she were ever gone, Du Yuanluo would at least have a skill to survive.
For the rest of her time, she had to focus entirely on dealing with Jiang Linchuan.
After days of observation, Jiang Linchuan currently had no contact with the Demon Sect. Yet, in their daily drills, Shen Qingyi was still defeated by him.
In her previous life, she had somehow defeated him after emerging from seclusion. She didn’t even know how she had won or why he had lost. Could she replicate that success in this life? What if…
Calculating the time, there were only sixty years, a mere blink of an eye until the Sect Leader’s ascension. Shen Qingyi didn’t dare gamble on a “what if.” She had once asked the Sect Leader if there was a technique to reverse time.
The Sect Leader told her definitively that no such technique existed.
When she tentatively mentioned her visions of the “previous life,” the Sect Leader only smiled dismissively. “It’s but a chaotic dream. Linchuan is a righteous boy. Look at him, he only recently completed his coming of age trial, and his book of merits is already full.”
Shen Qingyi didn’t take the booklet. In her previous life, she had been blinded by Jiang Linchuan’s mountain of merits. Even though she disliked him as much as she disliked Du Yuanluo, she had still relied on him because of his contributions to the Yunyin Sect and the common people.
But it was all a facade. He was rotten to the core.
Perhaps her hatred was too obvious, or perhaps the Sect Leader’s sharp eyes saw through her.
“Qingyi, you have always been steady. Do not be troubled by things that haven’t happened. Fate has its own course, what must come cannot be avoided. Thinking too much leads to inner demons. For those who seek the Way, the greatest taboo is an obsession that cannot be let go.”
Shen Qingyi snapped back to reality. “This disciple will remember.”
The Sect Leader knew she only remembered it with her words. Elders can only offer guidance, the young must walk their own paths. Watching her walk away, the Sect Leader sighed. He had calculated this child’s fate when she was born. She had incredible talent and a righteous heart, a natural for cultivation but her only weakness was the “trial of love” (qingguan).
As she grew, the Sect Leader had once doubted his own calculation because she was so steady and rational, seemingly unmoved by passion. But looking at her now, it seemed fate was hard to change after all.
Shen Qingyi’s cultivation and sword skills in her previous life were far superior to what they were now. Despite having those memories, it was difficult to reach that same height. With a heart weighed down by worry, the harder she tried, the harder it became to succeed.
Should I follow the previous life and go into seclusion for a period? she wondered.
Although Du Yuanluo was studying medicine, she still had to pass the sword exams to become an inner disciple of the Yunyin Sect. She didn’t dare waste a moment. Sometimes, Shen Qingyi found that Du Yuanluo spent even more time on the practice field than she did.
Has her fate been changed then? Before Shen Qingyi could feel a sense of relief, she noticed that Du Yuanluo, just like in her previous life, was once again covered in injuries.