Pink and white petals spiraled down, landing by the pool's edge. Yun Pianpian stood with her hands on her hips in the rising steam, the hem of her Cloud Pattern embroidered skirt darkened by the moisture.
“It’s a lot like a Hot Spring,” she muttered, squatting down. The moment her fingertips touched the water, she snatched them back with a hiss—the clear spring water was scalding hot like molten lava, leaving a Rouge-colored mark on her skin.
“Ouch—!!”
A sound of tearing air accompanied by intense pain struck her back, sending her tumbling into the pool, the resulting splash refracting a rainbow halo in the sunlight.
“That hurt! Who did that!”
When she surfaced, shaking the water from her damp hair, the two fluffy Artifact Spirits had already retreated thirty feet away. Xiao Jiu held up a bright green lotus leaf to cover half her face, her exposed glass-like eyes darting around.
“This was the best method anyway; you should soak for eighty-one days. This is the highest grade of body Tempering Spirit Spring; the Spiritual Qi here far exceeds your imagination. The last time we had one this good was in the Endless Heaven…” Xiao Qi paced on the bank, tail wagging.
“What?”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Yun Pianpian exclaimed, then scrambled to the edge of the pool, water droplets falling from her eyes. “Eighty-one days? That long? I have a Trial in a month.”
Xiao Qi’s eyes nearly rolled out of her head: “One year inside the Tower is one day outside. Eighty-one days is only three hours…” Xiao Qi’s eyes were about to roll into her cloud-like bun when she suddenly froze mid-sentence, her fluffy tail pointing directly at Xiao Jiu: “You didn’t tell her?”
“You were supposed to say it!”
The two fluffy masses instantly twisted into a snowy white whirlwind, cat fur mixing with falling petals, swirling everywhere. Yun Pianpian grinned mischievously and flicked her fingers, sending a few drops of Spirit Spring water accurately hitting their noses. The sound of licking fur and playful fighting immediately erupted.
“I can’t bother with them right now.”
She settled down cross-legged back into the spring, allowing the water, dotted with faint blue light, to cover her Dantian. The intensely hot yet non-burning flow enveloped her, carrying Spiritual Qi like thousands of tiny fish nibbling at every pore. The Artifact Spirits’ exasperated shouts could be heard faintly in the distance, but she had already closed her eyes and sunk into the mysterious world of her Spirit Sea.
The essence of a minor Breakthrough is nothing more than drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the Spirit Sea, layering and condensing it until it forms Spirit Crystals. With every Tier ascended, the required Spiritual Power increases exponentially.
Yun Pianpian was currently at the Second Tier of the Spirit Gathering Stage, and the Spiritual Qi here was so dense it was almost tangible. She had never encountered such a blessed place in the outside world; if she didn't seize this chance to cultivate, wouldn't that be wasting Heaven’s gift?
She closed her eyes, concentrating, as Spiritual Qi surged into her Meridians like a tide. The initial burning pain from entering the Spirit Spring had long since dissipated, replaced by a gentle, warm current flowing through every part of her body. She looked inward at her Spirit Sea, where newly formed Spiritual Qi poured in like a Star River, circulating endlessly within her.
With every breath in and out, Spiritual Mist was refined into liquid, then condensed into crystal grains—this was the precursor to every minor Breakthrough.
The path of cultivation inherently allows no shortcuts; if one attempt fails, try again. Yun Pianpian had long adapted to the Tempering of the Spirit Spring, and her speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi was now much faster than before, with the condensation of Spirit Crystals becoming increasingly stable.
During this long period of cultivation, her perception grew increasingly sharp.
The Artifact Spirits occasionally left and returned, sometimes sitting on the Bluestone by the pool, cultivating the essence of heaven and earth alongside her. However, her consciousness extended far beyond this—outside the Heaven-Reaching Pagoda, the boundless Grassland rolled like green waves in the wind. Distant mountains stood majestically, piercing the clouds. Several great rivers rushed past, their tributaries winding like silver snakes. Further beyond the plains to the east of the Tower, a Spirit Herb Field shimmered faintly, its Medicinal Fragrance seemingly able to penetrate space and reach her nostrils.
Further still, there seemed to be an invisible Barrier, blocking her perception.
The Artifact Spirits witnessed all of this, occasionally exchanging quiet words.
“Xiao Qi, do you think that since Master’s realm is improving so quickly, she might suffer Qi Deviation?”
“You call this fast? In ancient times, this speed would be considered slow.”
The Artifact Spirits’ whispers brushed past her ears like the wind, but Yun Pianpian had no time to heed them. Tomorrow was the day the body Tempering concluded. Her consciousness sank into her Spirit Sea, where she saw the seven-story Spirit Crystal Tower standing tall, each level solid and heavy, as if built from bedrock.
The foundation laid during the Spirit Gathering Stage often determines how far a Cultivator can go in the future—and at this moment, she stood on the threshold of Great Perfection.
The instant the last wisp of Spiritual Qi transformed into a Spirit Crystal, Xiao Qi’s voice drifted down as if from the clouds:
“Do your best in the Trial a month from now.”
Yun Pianpian slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, a slight smile curving her lips. Fifth Rank of Spirit Gathering… If this were before, she probably wouldn't have even dared to dream of it.
“Hoo—”
She opened her eyes, and it seemed as if a Star River flowed within their depths. Both Artifact Spirits instinctively took half a step back—the girl before them had features like a painting, yet she was enveloped by a sharp aura. Her light blue gauze dress moved without wind, its sleeves fluttering like clouds and mist, resembling a celestial fairy descending to the mortal realm.
However…
“Wait, who changed me into a fairy outfit?!” Yun Pianpian clutched the light gauze, looking utterly bewildered.
Xiao Qi’s cat face was filled with disdain, her tail flicking impatiently: “Thought follows will, clothes follow thought—you don’t even understand such a simple principle? You…”
Before she could finish speaking, Yun Pianpian’s eyes lit up, and she spun around excitedly, her skirt blooming like flower petals: “Isn’t this ‘Miraculous Pianpian’?! It suits me perfectly!”
A vein twitched on Xiao Qi’s forehead, and she couldn't bear it any longer, flying up to kick her: “Get out of here!”
“That hurt so much—!”
Yun Pianpian’s consciousness was instantly kicked back to her True Body, leaving only a wail echoing above the Spirit Spring.
She suddenly opened her eyes; the dawn was faint, and the light in the room was hazy. However, the moment her vision focused, she met a pair of eyes as deep as a Cold Pool—Xuan Ye was sitting by her bed, propping his chin with one hand, staring at her thoughtfully.
“Spirit Gathering Fifth Rank?” His eyebrows arched slightly, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, silver light lingering on his fingertips from where he had probed her Spiritual Power.
Yun Pianpian sat up with a sudden jerk, her voice carrying clear indignation: “Prince Regent sneaking into a lady’s chamber at night, aren’t you afraid of ruining your reputation if this gets out?”
Xuan Ye remained unhurried, instead asking back, “How did you know it was this King?”
Yun Pianpian’s expression was as if she were looking at an idiot, conveying the message: Do I look like a fool?
The expression was so vivid that Xuan Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he actually felt the urge to pinch her cheek. He stood up and strode toward the tea table, his snow-white robe swirling with Dark Patterns in the morning light. “You haven’t even prepared tea for this King.”
“My place is small,” Yun Pianpian said, stepping off the bed barefoot and casually pulling her disheveled collar together, “it cannot accommodate a great Buddha like you. If you want tea, turn left outside.”
“Turn left?” Xuan Ye feigned confusion.
“That’s right, turn left to my pool, it’s huge, I wouldn’t mind if you drank until you became a hippopotamus.” She tilted her head and smiled, her eyes cunning as a fox.
Yun Pianpian stepped onto the carpet barefoot and deliberately kicked her Embroidered Shoes toward Xuan Ye’s feet. “While you’re at it, pick up my shoes for me.”