The next day, when Shen Biqian came to the small grove to cultivate again, she was surprised to see Su Jianmo smiling faintly at her.
“You’re here?”
Shen Biqian frowned slightly. “The wood element is very important to you. Trust me—you shouldn’t come here anymore.”
He raised an eyebrow helplessly.
“I didn’t plan on coming. But then I thought that you might not be able to be disturbed while cultivating. If someone interrupted you, it could hurt you, so I came to keep watch.”
Shen Biqian fell silent.
It was true. She had only just begun cultivating and was still unfamiliar with it. She couldn’t yet freely control her spiritual awareness. If someone interrupted her midway through cultivation, she had no idea what the consequences would be, but they certainly wouldn’t be good.
Biting her lip, she looked at him gratefully.
“Thank you.”
He merely returned her thanks with a gentle smile.
As the school’s most popular heartthrob, Su Jianmo truly was handsome. His features were flawless, especially those cool black eyes that always carried a trace of melancholy. Yet when a faint smile mixed with that sadness, it created an irresistible charm.
No wonder countless girls were crazy about him.
He truly had every reason to make people fall for him.
Even Shen Biqian, who had secretly admired him before, found it difficult to handle. Her cheeks reddened as she quickly closed her eyes and calmed her mind to begin cultivating.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
When the thread-like spiritual energy within her body became slightly stronger, a surge of joy burst forth in her heart.
After experiencing the helplessness of her previous life, she treasured every bit of strength she gained now.
Withdrawing her consciousness, she slowly emerged from cultivation.
When she opened her eyes, she discovered that dusk had already fallen.
Su Jianmo was still lying where he had been, his tall body half-reclining on the ground. One hand supported his chin as he looked at her with a faint smile.
“Finished cultivating?”
For some reason, Shen Biqian’s face turned red again.
“Mm.”
“Then let’s go eat. I’m starving.”
With that, he leaped to his feet. His short hair swayed in a dazzling arc.
“Let’s go.”
Shen Biqian still wasn’t used to opening her eyes and immediately seeing such an exceptionally handsome man—especially one she harbored certain feelings for.
Her head felt a little dizzy.
She could only nod absentmindedly and obediently follow behind him.
“Immortal Lord, a crack has appeared in the spacetime tunnel. Creatures from the Demon Realm are about to reach the Human Realm. Should we send people to repair the tunnel?”
An elderly immortal bowed respectfully as he questioned the man seated above.
The man waved his sleeve.
An image of the spacetime tunnel appeared before them.
Inside, countless low-level demonic beasts from the Demon Realm packed the tunnel densely. The other end connected directly to the Human Realm, and the beasts were already very close to the exit.
The man frowned.
With another wave of his sleeve, the image disappeared.
“No need. Repairing the spacetime tunnel requires at least three High Immortals. Under normal circumstances it would be manageable, but now both the Demon Realm and Devil Realm are eyeing the Immortal Realm greedily. We don’t have spare resources to concern ourselves with the affairs of the Human Realm.”
“But—”
“No buts.”
The man interrupted him.
“I have already planted a Seed of the Wood Element on Earth. It will awaken the strong among humanity and allow them to defend their homeland.”
After a pause, he added coldly:
“The weak have no right to survive. If humanity cannot even protect its own world, then extinction is simply extinction.”
“Understood.”
The old immortal withdrew.
The man raised his head and gazed toward the direction known as the Graveyard of the Gods.
A trace of bitterness flickered in his eyes.
Where had the gods gone?
Back in her room, Shen Biqian climbed into bed and once again called out in her mind to that unreliable voice.
This time she called for a long while before it lazily replied:
“What does this young master owe the pleasure of your call?”
Since she needed a favor, Shen Biqian ignored the smug tone and asked with a smile:
“Do you have a cultivation technique suitable for someone with exceptionally strong affinity for the wood element?”
The voice suddenly fell silent.
A moment later, Shen Biqian felt dizzy.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself inside that mysterious space from before.
She had the distinct feeling that a cold gaze was staring at her.
The sensation made her scalp tingle.
Just when she was about to lose her composure, the voice finally spoke again.
“Are you asking for a cultivation technique for that Su Jianmo fellow?”
Shen Biqian nodded.
Su Jianmo’s affinity for the wood element was terrifyingly strong. If he had a suitable cultivation method, his strength would undoubtedly grow at an astonishing rate.
“There is a technique, but he can’t use it.”
The voice sneered.
“Do you know why the wood-element energy only circles around him but never enters his body?”
“Isn’t that exactly why I’ve come to seek guidance from a great expert like you, who knows everything under heaven and earth?”
Shen Biqian grinned and flattered him.
Over the past few days, she had discovered that this voice behaved very much like a child.
It needed to be coaxed and humored.
“Hmph. At least you have good judgment.”
Though he didn’t fully understand her exaggerated praise, he could tell it was complimentary, and immediately became smug.
“For the sake of your excellent taste, I’ll reluctantly tell you.”
His voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.
“He’s simply not fated to enjoy such an extraordinary gift.”
“His wood-element affinity is the strongest I’ve ever seen—he’s the only person capable of rivaling that guy.”
A moment later, his tone became regretful.
“Unfortunately, his body is too weak.”
“The moment those wood elements pour into his body, his flesh won’t be able to withstand them.”
“He’ll explode and die.”
“Then is there any way to improve his body?” Shen Biqian asked anxiously.
Such incredible talent—if he could only watch helplessly and never make use of it, how tragic would that be?
“You were able to improve my aptitude, so you must be able to improve his physique too, right?”
For a long time, no answer came.
That familiar icy feeling crept into her heart again. Shen Biqian knew that the voice seemed to be angry once more.
He’s not like a child at all. Children are much easier to deal with than he is!
Having been stared at coldly by him so many times, Shen Biqian had developed a certain resistance. She asked again:
“Do you have a solution or not?”
The voice seemed to be completely enraged.
A thunderous roar echoed throughout the entire space. Shen Biqian felt the ground beneath her feet tremble violently.
“No!”
“I’ve already done more than enough by improving your constitution, and now you want me to help you raise a man too?!”
A sharp pain suddenly exploded inside her mind.
The agony was so intense that her vision went black. It took a long time before the pain gradually subsided.
When she opened her eyes again, she realized she had been kicked out of the space.
“Damn it! You brat!”
Shen Biqian cursed inwardly.
The voice ignored her completely.
Thinking about what he had said, however, she couldn’t help worrying about Su Jianmo.
The apocalypse was about to arrive.
If he could never absorb spiritual energy and could only stand by watching others grow stronger, it would be a devastating blow to him.
She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
But there was nothing she could do.
On the path of cultivation, her only source of guidance was that unreliable voice with the lightning-fast mood swings. If he refused to help, all she could do was worry.
The next day, with dark circles under her eyes, she returned to the small grove.
There were only three days left for preparation.
No matter what, she could not neglect her cultivation.
Over the following days, Shen Biqian continued cultivating in the grove.
And every day, Su Jianmo accompanied her.
She watched as the wood-element energy he painstakingly gathered each night was completely absorbed by her every single time.
She had tried more than once to persuade him not to come anymore.
But he would always just smile and say,
“It’s fine.”
Then the next day, he would show up again as usual.
Day after day passed.
At last, Shen Biqian successfully cultivated her first leaf.
Although it was still blurry and indistinct, she was already extremely satisfied with this speed.
If Su Jianmo had not been accompanying her all this time, nearly doubling her cultivation speed, she might never have been able to form that leaf.
The cultivation technique the mysterious voice had given her—the Five Elements Art—was completely different from ordinary cultivation methods.
Instead of progressing through stages such as Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, it focused on cultivating the five elemental energies.
When an element reached a certain level, a corresponding symbol would appear within the dantian.
For example, cultivating the wood element produced a leaf.
Once nine leaves had been formed, they would begin to condense into an Elemental Pearl.
When the Elemental Pearl was successfully formed, cultivation of that element would be considered complete.
And now, in only seven short days, she had managed to cultivate her very first leaf.
How could she not be delighted?
That’s right.
Seven days had passed.
Today was the final day.
Starting tomorrow—
the slaughter would begin.