Feng Yang spent a full four months in the library pavilion before finally organizing the cultivation technique completely. During these four months, she did not neglect Ah Jiu’s education either.
Although she had not taught Ah Jiu how to guide Qi into her body, she had unintentionally already taught Ah Jiu how to integrate the spiritual energy absorbed into her body into her internal organs and meridians.
Ah Jiu still had to persist in body-tempering every day. By now, she hardly needed herbal baths anymore; instead, Mu Yao was the one who had to take a daily herbal bath using the medicinal herbs provided by Fu Yan. The medicinal efficacy was strong and helped Mu Yao improve her physical constitution.
It was just that in the early stages, the medicinal formula was too aggressive, occasionally tearing Mu Yao’s meridians apart, only for them to be repaired again through the medication.
Fu Yan had researched a new medicinal formula and would also come over every day to perform acupuncture on Mu Yao.
Every time, Ah Jiu would peek from outside the window, so much that from time to time she would see Senior Sister vomiting blood, or bleeding from her body and eyes.
At first, Fu Yan felt it was not very good to let the little one watch these things, but no matter what she said, Ah Jiu always insisted on sneaking a peek. Even if the doors and windows were closed, she would find every possible way to take a look.
Not knowing what kind of obsession this was, Fu Yan even asked Ah Jiu very seriously if she was perhaps afraid that Fu Yan was plotting to harm her Senior Sister.
However, Ah Jiu quickly shook her head: “No, Senior Martial Aunt, Ah Jiu just wants to watch.”
She did not explain why she wanted to watch, and refused to say even when asked.
During these days of taking herbal baths, Mu Yao was afraid of both the cold and the heat, so she could only stay in a suitable, shady spot every day.
She was even less capable of making things for Ah Jiu to eat, but the little one was sensible, and since Mu Yao could not make food for her, she obediently ate her Bigu Dan.
Occasionally, when she had serious cravings, she would go roast meat herself, and would even remember to share half of it with Mu Yao.
For some reason, Mu Yao always felt as though the little one was taking care of her like a patient.
Although she did indeed resemble one somewhat nowadays, she could actually sense that her body was starting to improve. It was just that she still had to cooperate with Senior Martial Aunt, which meant her meridians would continuously be destroyed and then reshaped. Each time, this process was indeed painful.
Moreover, it required a very long period of recuperation. According to what Senior Martial Aunt had told her, this had to be carried out for at least three years.
It was a lengthy process, but once it was over, her body would be able to withstand much more cold Qi, which would be even more beneficial for her cultivation.
“After all, this entire process is meant to completely fuse your spiritual roots and your body together. If this can be achieved, it might completely suppress the demonic fire within your body, thereby reducing the difficulty of expelling it. With your spiritual roots and body fused, your cultivation speed will also become faster, and the probability of reaching the Reincarnation Realm will be much higher.” This was what Fu Yan said when she found Mu Yao.
After a brief moment of thought, Mu Yao agreed. In any case, she would constantly endure pain, so she might as well give it a try.
Of course, there were also risks. After all, no one had ever tried Senior Martial Aunt’s method before. Even though Mu Yao was widely read, she had never heard of anyone completely fusing their spiritual roots with their physical body, so that the body became the spiritual root and the spiritual root became the physical body.
If that happened, one could emerge victorious even against opponents of the same cultivation realm, and could even fight across realms.
Upon hearing this at the time, Mu Yao’s heart was stirred, and without considering for too long, she agreed.
Every time Mu Yao finished her acupuncture session, Ah Jiu would bring over various small snacks, tell Mu Yao stories, and accompany her the whole day through.
Fu Yan did not understand why Ah Jiu insisted on sneaking a peek every time, but Mu Yao seemed to understand, as the little one was worried about her and felt heartache for her.
She simply never spoke of it, choosing instead to accompany Mu Yao in her own way.
Therefore, even when the little one would occasionally bring other disciples of the peak’s uncles and aunts over to play and make the entire Xiaoyao Peak lively and noisy, Mu Yao would not scold her, choosing instead to hide away in the library pavilion.
Moreover, occasionally listening to Ah Jiu’s cheerful laughter, Mu Yao also felt that life had become much more vibrant.
Of course, the time spent every day teaching Ah Jiu how to write characters and urging her to practice copying talisman paper remained what Mu Yao found most difficult to endure. The moment this fellow started studying, she would find all kinds of ways to slack off, and Mu Yao happened to dislike that the most.
Although Feng Yang was still within the sect at present, she only taught Ah Jiu some cultivation methods and did not supervise her every day, leaving this supervisory chore to Mu Yao instead.
Under the nice-sounding pretext of ensuring that Mu Yao’s days would not be too dull, dullness indeed was no longer an issue, but if Mu Yao’s state of mind hadn’t been relatively calm, she probably would have been driven to a fit of rage.
Just like right now, Mu Yao had told Ah Jiu to recite a text. Not only could this fellow not recite it after stammering for a long time, but when told to read it aloud, she actually fell asleep while reading.
Mu Yao listened as her voice grew softer and softer, until it finally turned into steady breathing.
She let out a soft sigh, and then tossed a small pebble from her side toward Ah Jiu’s direction. The small pebble landed accurately on Ah Jiu’s arm.
Ah Jiu let out an ouch from the pain, then sleepily opened her eyes and pouted: “Senior Sister, it hurts.”
Now two years older, Ah Jiu had grown to just slightly above Mu Yao’s waist.
The baby fat on her face had receded a little, and those eyes had opened up somewhat. Even at such a young age, those eyes possessed an extraordinary charm as they moved, as if one could catch a glimpse of a peerlessly gorgeous appearance in the future.
Unfortunately, Ah Jiu’s closest Senior Sister was temporarily unable to see it.
“You still know it hurts? I told you to read,” Mu Yao said speechlessly.
Ah Jiu slumped over the desk, looking at those characters: “Senior Sister, I cannot remember them.”
She acted spoiled in a soft manner. Mu Yao rubbed the carved book in front of her with her fingertips, identifying the characters on it: “If you cannot remember, do not go outside until you do.”
Hearing Mu Yao’s words, Ah Jiu puffed out her cheeks, full of reluctance: “Fine.”
She picked up the book, looked at the words on it, then looked at the book in Mu Yao’s hand, and asked curiously: “What is Senior Sister reading today?”
“The Compendium of Myriad Things.”
“I know this one! There are many interesting things inside, right?” Ah Jiu instantly perked up upon hearing the name of this book.
“You remember these things quite firmly.” Although Mu Yao’s tone was flat, Ah Jiu still knew she was implying that she had not been serious about memorizing her texts.
“Senior Sister Nan You said that the things recorded in it are extremely useful, so naturally I have to remember them.”
Though small in size, she spoke in a very milky voice, yet her tone was dead serious.
If Mu Yao had not known her playful nature, she would have been fooled by her.
“The books Senior Sister makes me recite are not useful at all, so why should I recite them?” Not only was she justified, but she even started questioning Mu Yao in return.
“The book I am making you recite is the Grand Mystery Scripture, the source of all Daoist techniques in the world. If you cannot even understand the simplest Grand Mystery Scripture, then even if I give you the Compendium of Myriad Things, you will not know how to use it. That is also why Master has delayed teaching you formal cultivation methods,” Mu Yao replied unhurriedly.
“If you cannot even memorize the Grand Mystery Scripture or comprehend it, then no matter how high your talent is or how fast your cultivation progresses, it will be very hard for you to become a true top-tier expert, unless you walk a crooked path. But if you do that, Master will surely purge the sect. Is that what Ah Jiu wants?” Regardless of whether someone her age could understand it, Mu Yao still imparted these principles to her.
Ah Jiu slumped over the desk, resting her head on her arms, looking at the Grand Mystery Scripture in front of her. Then she flipped to another page and scribbled randomly on blank paper with a brush for a long time.
Mu Yao did not pay attention to her, nor did she respond, as if she were the only person existing in this entire space.
After quite a while, Mu Yao finally heard the little one’s voice reciting texts again.
This time she was much more serious, and Mu Yao felt slightly relieved in her heart, though she still did not raise her head to look at Ah Jiu.
Until Ah Jiu went over to find Mu Yao on her own: “Senior Sister, the parts I needed to memorize today, Ah Jiu remembers them.”
“Recite.” Mu Yao was concise and to the point most of the time, as Ah Jiu was practically the only one who could make her use more words.
Ah Jiu stood in front of Mu Yao, holding her hands obediently behind her back, and did not secretly glance at the book. Although she stumbled through it, she still finished today’s assigned task.
“Is this okay?” Ah Jiu asked cautiously.
Mu Yao nodded gently: “Mm, consider it completed.”
“Then can I not draw talisman paper today?” Ah Jiu attempted to bargain.
“No.” Mu Yao refused without the slightest hesitation.
Ah Jiu pouted: “Senior Sister does not love Ah Jiu anymore.”
Hearing her soft mumbling, Mu Yao could not help the corners of her mouth curving upward slightly.
“Go on out, and come back after the afternoon nap time has passed.” When Mu Yao raised her head again, the smile on her face had faded away once more. She knew very well that she could not give this little fellow too many pleasant looks at a time like this, after all, if Mu Yao smiled at her, she would push her luck and demand even more.
“Fine. Then I will go pick some fruit. Does Senior Sister want any?”
“No need, you eat them.” Mu Yao did not have much desire for food; if it were not for Ah Jiu, she could easily survive purely on Bigu Dan indefinitely.
“Okay.” Ah Jiu got up, ran over to give Mu Yao a hug, wrapped her arms around Mu Yao’s waist, and rubbed against her bosom: “Does Senior Sister not want to rest?”
“Senior Sister does not need to, off you go.” Mu Yao patted her head.
Ah Jiu knelt half-up on the ground, wrapped her arms around Mu Yao’s neck, and rubbed against her again: “Alright then.”
After hugging Mu Yao for a good while, she finally let go and scampered outside.
After she left, the corners of Mu Yao’s mouth curved upward once more, because the little one really was a clingy tagalong.
Not long after, Mu Yao heard the sounds of Ah Jiu shouting at the spiritual cranes outside.
She had not gone straight to the fruit-picking area; it sounded like she was planning to go to the Pill Peak first, perhaps to look for Yue Yue or Nan You.
Of course, it was also possible she was going to look for other senior sisters or junior brothers; in any case, she could never guess the little one’s thoughts.
Even though Mu Yao did not eat them, Ah Jiu still went and picked fruit back for her, and even got a fresh fish, bringing it back already steamed.
“You steamed this yourself?” Mu Yao doubted it, as the little one should not have cooking skills that good, right?
“Not really, it was exchanged with Senior Brother Qiheng.” Ah Jiu answered obediently.
“What did you trade it for?” Mu Yao was quite curious.
“I had Ling Po help him retrieve the Red Snake Fruit from the cliff, and he helped me steam the fish.” Ah Jiu handed the chopsticks to Mu Yao: “Senior Sister, this fish has no bones, I asked Senior Brother.”
Mu Yao took the chopsticks, her fingertips moved slightly, and then she picked up a piece. Instead of eating it herself, she fed it to Ah Jiu.
Ah Jiu was somewhat surprised; this was the first time Senior Sister had ever fed her food.
Of course, Ah Jiu would not know or remember the times Mu Yao used to feed her rice soup in the past.