The three of them laughed and joked as they arranged the copper pot and dishes one by one.
Shen Ci suddenly rested her chin in her hands, staring absently at the stream. Her fingertips glowed with a shimmering blue Spiritual Qi, and a clear spring of water rose into the air, condensing into delicate, translucent ice crystals above her palm before tinkling into the milk tea bowl.
She took a large sip from the bowl, squinting with satisfaction. “Mmm… iced milk tea really is more refreshing and sweet.”
When she looked up, she saw Shi Zhouzhou and Bu Ranchen staring at her in astonishment.
Shi Zhouzhou stammered, “Little junior sister, when did you awaken an ice Spirit Root?”
Shen Ci: ??
“I just made a few ice cubes. Isn’t that something anyone with Spiritual Qi can do?”
Bu Ranchen pointed toward the stream.
Shen Ci turned her head in confusion and gasped sharply, “Hiss…”
Only then did she notice that the entire stream had silently frozen over, with frost flowers blooming across the ice surface. She waved her hands frantically: “No! I was just trying to make a few ice cubes…”
Halfway through her sentence, Shen Ci suddenly paused. She raised her hands and looked at them in disbelief.
Aside from innate Spirit Roots, ordinary cultivators wouldn’t awaken a Spirit Root before reaching Foundation Establishment, or required specific conditions to activate one. Was she… an ice Spirit Root?
But she had merely recalled Senior Mo Cheng’s technique of freezing water into ice—that expert could instantly freeze hundreds of miles with a casual flick of his finger. She had just wanted to imitate the motion… She was just…
Shen Ci murmured: “I just wanted a sip of iced milk tea.”
She turned her head dazedly and asked: “Senior brothers, I don’t know what happened either. I was just trying to make a few ice cubes.”
“I haven’t even reached Foundation Establishment yet.”
Bu Ranchen suddenly rushed forward in a single stride, pressing his index finger to his lips: “Shh—!”
He conspiratorially huddled their three heads together, lowering his voice: “We’re done for, we’re done for! Our Sect has produced someone with an innate Spirit Root. If this gets out…”
“I’m afraid major Sects will come to snatch you away tomorrow.”
Shen Ci: “……”
Shi Zhouzhou swatted Bu Ranchen away: “Get lost!”
Turning back with a gentle tone that couldn’t conceal the astonishment in his eyes: “Don’t be afraid, little junior sister. Perhaps you’re a once-in-a-millennium cultivation prodigy!”
Seeing Shen Ci still looking completely bewildered, he scratched his head and added: “Uh, well… actually we’ve never seen this situation before either. Let’s wait until your senior sister returns.”
“Alright then.”
“Let’s eat, let’s eat!”
Shen Ci dropped several beef balls into the pot. As the red broth bubbled, the meatballs bobbed up and down in the spicy soup.
“You need to cook it like this…” She demonstrated by gently pressing a shrimp ball with her chopstick tip, “When it floats up, it’s done!”
Bu Ranchen imitated her, picking up a slice of beef thin as cicada wings and dipping it three times in the broth. The moment it entered his mouth, his eyes widened: “Mmm! This… this…”
“Mmm…”
“So fragrant, so delicious, damn!” Shi Zhouzhou kept inhaling sharply, “Ah, spicy spicy spicy.”
Shen Ci prepared some aromatic vinegar and sesame paste for him, “Senior brother, dip it in this!”
“Holy crap, little junior sister, what exactly is this thing? It’s incredible!”
“This, this beef ball—give me a few more!”
“Ah, you fatso, save some for me! You’ve already eaten eight meatballs!”
…
Shen Ci made them several more bowls of iced milk tea. Watching the two compete for food while gulping down milk tea to combat the spiciness, she smiled until her eyes curved.
The three ate until their bellies were round and plump, collapsing together on the green stones by the stream.
Bu Ranchen sucked noisily on the last few sips of milk tea through a wheat stalk straw, the empty bowl rattling: “All these years wandering outside, enduring wind and dew—turns out I’ve been living like a dog. This is the life immortals should lead~”
“Damn right!”
Shi Zhouzhou lay sprawled on his back, arms pillowing his head. Sunlight filtered through his fingers onto his face, the gloom between his brows earlier completely steamed away by the hotpot: “Foundation Establishment? What a joke! From now on, I’m coming back to the sect every day to eat Little Junior Sister’s cooking!”
He sighed contentedly and declared boldly: “So many cultivators grow old and die in the Qi Refining stage anyway, what’s the big deal, hahaha!”
Shen Ci covered her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sunlight. “A-Ci has no ambition. Actually, even if I can’t cultivate, it wouldn’t be so bad if days like this could continue forever.”
At these words, both Bu Ranchen and Shi Zhouzhou looked at her in surprise. “Little Junior Sister, you…”
If they remembered correctly, she was only eight years old? How could she be so enlightened??
Shen Ci recalled Brother Xiao’s clumsy yet sincere smile, Senior Mo’s gentle sleeve-frozen ice, and the peach blossom pastries and protective talismans Senior Sister had secretly tucked under her pillow before departing.
She suddenly turned her head and beamed, revealing neat, white teeth: “A-Ci can’t be too greedy. Having Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters is already enough to make me content.”
“Senior Brothers, the more one obsesses over something, the less likely one is to obtain it.”
When the little girl smiled, her eyes seemed to hold countless stars, gazing at them earnestly.
Whether it was an illusion or not, both felt warmth spreading through their hearts and Dantians.
Yes, what could bring more happiness than contentment? They actually understood less than this little girl.
Bu Ranchen stood frozen in place, feeling as if the entire world had become utterly tranquil, with only the sound of the stream flowing in his ears.
“Obsession…” Shi Zhouzhou murmured in repetition, suddenly pressing a hand to his Dantian. The Spirit Energy that had lain dormant for years began to spontaneously rotate, like the first crack of spring wind breaking through a frozen lake.
Faint, shimmering light began to emanate from both of them.
Shen Ci hurriedly stood up. “Senior Brothers?!”
“My Dantian, my Dantian…”
Shi Zhouzhou urgently said to Bu Ranchen: “Cross your legs and meditate, quick!”
The two immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot and began controlled breathing.
Shen Ci quickly realized what was happening. Seeing Bu Ranchen and Shi Zhouzhou sweating profusely, she understood that her Senior Brothers must have experienced some sudden enlightenment.
She hastily sat cross-legged as well to protect them during their meditation.
So this meant the Spirit Food in her attic could actually aid cultivation?? Then why didn’t she feel anything when she consumed it herself?
Shen Ci pondered this endlessly without finding an answer.
After about half an hour, Shi Zhouzhou’s eyes snapped open. Spirit Energy gathered in his palm as he struck out:
“Hum!”
Intricate earth-yellow patterns appeared on his skin surface, meandering like ancient tree roots. His previously scattered Spirit Energy suddenly became prolonged and substantial, flowing gently through his meridians.
“This is late-stage Qi Refining?!” he exclaimed joyfully, sensing his Spirit Energy no longer feeling insubstantial.
Meanwhile, the sword energy hovering above Bu Ranchen’s head swooshed back into his body. When he opened his eyes again, a flash of sword light briefly appeared in them.
He casually plucked a blade of grass and flicked it. The grass shot through the air with a whistling sound, embedding itself several inches into a tree trunk.
“My sword energy has solidified…” he muttered, stroking his chin. “But I’m still far from Foundation Establishment.”
He casually used his newly condensed sword energy to peel an apple for Shen Ci. Shen Ci, cheeks puffed out as she nibbled on the fruit, gazed eagerly at her two senior brothers. She had clearly reached the late Qi Refining stage first, so why did it now feel like she was being surpassed by her juniors!
But then it occurred to her that cultivation couldn’t be achieved overnight. No matter how helpful Spirit Food was, her senior brothers had also undergone years of arduous training. It seemed the key still lay in relying on oneself.
Although the two senior brothers had eaten the attic’s food earlier, they had also conversed with her, likely experiencing a shift in mindset that led to their sudden enlightenment and breakthrough.
Relying solely on Spirit Food wouldn’t suffice.
Lost in thought, Shen Ci suddenly felt herself lifted into the air. Shi Zhouzhou abruptly scooped her up by the knees, while Bu Ranchen tacitly supported her shoulders.
“Little junior sister is amazing!”
“Senior brothers, what are you… Ah!”
Before Shen Ci’s exclamation could fully escape her lips, she was tossed high into the air.
“Wheee—!”
Two whirlwinds of Spirit Energy sent the young girl soaring skyward, startling the spirit sparrows on the tree branches into fluttering away in panic. Shen Ci’s screams soon transformed into silvery bell-like laughter.
Bu Ranchen: “Our little junior sister is truly remarkable!”
Shi Zhouzhou: “Coming back to the sect was definitely the right decision!”
“Hahaha…”
The three of them were enjoying themselves immensely when suddenly—
“Awooo~!”
A wolf’s howl pierced the sky, its sound waves carrying ripples of Spirit Energy that swept through the area. Before Bu Ranchen and Shi Zhouzhou could react, they were sent stumbling backward by the shockwave.
“Little junior sister!”
Shen Ci felt the Spirit Energy around her stagnate, and her body abruptly plummeted downward. Instinctively clutching her head, she tumbled into a mass of snow-white fur that carried the fresh scent of mushrooms.