Yu Ziyu deftly slung her long sword over her shoulder and slung her curved saber over her arm.
Her movements were fluid and effortless. Ever since her family forged this longsword and scimitar for her three years ago, she has cherished them dearly, carrying them with her even while eating and sleeping. If it weren’t for the fear that the swords would rust, she probably would have soaked them in the bathtub while taking a bath.
”Where are you going?” Li Jiyan asked, picking up the poisonous mushroom from the ground.
“You don’t deserve to know!”
Yu Ziyu ran swiftly into the dark forest. Her Yin-Yang Eyes were currently at their peak, and she needed to strike while the iron was hot, slaying as many demons as possible to rid the people of evil and accumulate merit.
Li Jiyan, carrying the poisonous mushrooms that Yu Ziyu had just eaten, followed after them. Compared to Yu Ziyu, he was a martial artist, so his skills were naturally much better than Yu Ziyu’s.
He quickly caught up with her, stood in front of her, and walked backwards facing her: “Yu Ziyu, what did you see with your Yin-Yang eyes?”
Yu Ziyu ignored him, her eyes fixed intently on a purple mass in front of her. The purple mass resembled a clump of wriggling seaweed, with countless tentacles dripping with slime, constantly rolling and spreading forward, growing larger and larger, out of control, and disgusting.
The ugly, wriggling thing made Yu Ziyu gag a few times, and the hairs on her body stood on end.
This thing truly frightened her, but she couldn’t give up. She was a cultivator; how could she be frightened by something like this? Gripping her longsword tightly, she charged forward, the sharp blade whistling through the air, cleaving straight at the purple mass.
Li Jiyan nimbly moved aside, frowning as he watched Yu Ziyu chop a magnolia tree in front of him into pieces.
Yu Ziyu didn’t stop until she had stripped all the branches and leaves off the entire magnolia tree. She then picked up the thickest trunk and threw it in front of Li Jiyan.
Wiping the fine sweat from her forehead, she said, “This nine-tailed purple demon eye demon is so ugly, even more disgusting than the thing in your crotch. It almost scared me. If it weren’t for my profound cultivation, I’m afraid I would have died at the hands of this monster today.”
Li Jiyan squatted down, picked up the half-tree trunk and examined it, then looked up at her: “Nine-Tailed Purple Demon Eye Demon, how did you know this demon was called that?”
Yu Ziyu took off the water pouch from her waist, tilted her head back and took a few big gulps before replying, “Because I chose the name myself, I just chose it.”
”You named it?” Li Jiyan was both amused and exasperated.
Yu Ziyu also squatted down to look at the tree trunk, glared at him with displeasure, and said, “I am a dignified chosen immortal cultivator, the only true disciple of the Taoist True Monarch Lingxuzi, the third young lady of the Yu family. Am I not worthy to name a monster? If I am not worthy, are you?”
Li Jiyan suppressed a laugh and muttered, “So cute.”
”What did you say?” Yu Ziyu didn’t hear clearly.
Li Jiyan stood up and bowed to her, saying, “Fairy Yu is exceptionally talented and possesses great supernatural powers. She will surely become an immortal in the future. After you become an immortal, Fairy Yu, please don’t forget your mortal husband.”
Yu Ziyu was most pleased with this statement. Whenever someone said that she would definitely become an immortal, she would look at that person with new respect.
She said smugly, “You’ve got good taste, kid. Don’t worry. When I attain enlightenment, even my chickens and dogs will ascend to heaven. My dog will have to become immortal with me. As long as you can please me, I will definitely not treat you badly.”
The more seriously she spoke, the more Li Jiyan wanted to laugh.
His smile displeased Yu Ziyu.
”You shameless man, why do you always wear such a sullen face in front of strangers, like you’re mute? But when you’re with me, you’re all smiles and grins. Do you look down on me?”
Li Jiyan was speechless at her logic. He wasn’t naturally cold-hearted; it was just that Li Fanglian wouldn’t let him read or write, yet he was forced to pretend to be a man of both literary and martial prowess. He had no choice but to act indifferent and aloof in front of others, afraid that if he opened his mouth, he would expose his illiteracy.
But it’s different in front of Yu Ziyu. Yu Ziyu is crazy, and with her brain, she definitely wouldn’t realize that he can’t read.
He quickly replied, “I talk to you more because I like you, which means you are special to me.”
Yu Ziyu snorted coldly: “No need to explain. Anyway, I don’t care about the thoughts of you ordinary people. How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? Everyone is drunk but I am sober. I will walk my own path of immortality. How can you mortals understand me?”
After saying that, she picked up her sword, looked up at the sky, laughed loudly, and strode forward.
Li Jiyan followed her again, still standing in front of her and walking backwards, playing with the poisonous mushroom in his hand: “Yu Ziyu, what did you see after eating the mushroom?”
Looking at the dazzling scene before her, Yu Ziyu smiled and shook her head: “Indescribably wonderful.”
Li Jiyan had a sudden inspiration, clasped his hands together and said, “I also have the desire to become an immortal. Please tell me, immortal, what is so wonderful about this ineffable thing?”
“Very well, since you are so eager to learn, I will give you some pointers.” Yu Ziyu was magnanimous and waved her sleeves. “Come here to me.”
”Alright, thank you, fairy.” Li Jiyan moved to Yu Ziyu’s side.
Yu Ziyu adopted a mature and composed demeanor, pointing ahead and speaking slowly and deliberately: “Young man, look over there, there’s a Calabash Brother with seven arms growing from the gourd. Each arm is a different color, red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, it has all the colors, isn’t that amazing?”
Li Jiyan looked over and saw a gourd among the layers of vines in front of him. However, the gourd was just a common, flat, round, waisted gourd, and quite small.
Not getting a response from Li Jiyan, Yu Ziyu was displeased and slapped his head: “Is it wonderful or not?”
Li Jiyan regained his senses and gave a thumbs up: “Wonderful, wonderful beyond words! Absolutely wonderful!”
Yu Ziyu, feeling smug, turned around and pointed to the rock in front of him: “Look there, that thing is a red-haired, rascally tortoise, with flames burning on its back. Isn’t that amazing?”
Li Jiyan: “Wonderful, wonderful beyond words!”
Under Yu Ziyu’s rambling, Li Jiyan had a terrible idea: he suddenly wanted to see the world of gods and immortals through Yu Ziyu’s eyes.
He examined the yellowish-brown poisonous mushroom in his hand, swallowed hard, and asked, “Fairy Yu, do you often eat these poisonous mushrooms?”
”What poisonous mushroom? This is a miraculous elixir bestowed upon me by the gods!”
Li Jiyan quickly changed his tune: “Do you take this elixir often?”
Yu Ziyu said leisurely, “I only take it when my Yin-Yang Eyes fail, and I’ve only taken it four or five times over the years. This medicine is extremely potent and should not be taken in excess, or it will cause me to go into a state of demonic possession.”
Li Jiyan pondered for a moment, thinking that Yu Ziyu had eaten it so many times, and apart from hallucinations, she hadn’t experienced any other symptoms, so the toxicity shouldn’t be too strong. After hesitating, he put a mushroom in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.
Yu Ziyu was furious when she saw Li Jiyan take her “miracle drug”.
She grabbed Li Jiyan by the neck, pinned him to the ground, and yelled, “You wicked child! This is something given to me by the gods, and you dare to eat it? Do you want to die?! Spit it out, or I’ll beat you to death!”
She grabbed Li Jiyan’s chin and tried to pry his mouth open with her fingers.
Li Jiyan licked her finger.
Yu Ziyu gasped, pulled her finger out, and immediately slapped him across the face: “You cunning dog tongue, how dare you lick me, you’re really vicious!”
Poisonous mushrooms have an unusually rapid hallucinogenic effect.
Li Jiyan had barely swallowed when he became delirious. The world before him spun around him, as if he were drunk. Dazzling flowers bloomed before him, and in the distance, a magnificent golden palace floated in the air.
”Wonderful, wonderful beyond words…” Li Jiyan was stunned, staring blankly ahead.
”What did you see?” Yu Ziyu asked.
Li Jiyan said blankly, “I saw a deity.”
Hearing this, Yu Ziyu was filled with sorrow and tears welled up in her eyes. How could Li Jiyan see immortals? How could he be worthy of seeing immortals!
She cultivated for many years and even developed the ability to see spirits to see immortals. How could Li Jiyan, a lowly mortal, be worthy of seeing the same world as her? The fact that Li Jiyan can also see immortals shows that she is not the only chosen one.
Yu Ziyu grew increasingly indignant and retorted, “How can you see immortals? Do you even deserve to? I can only see immortals with my Yin-Yang Eyes. What do you use to see them? Your dog eyes?”
Li Jiyan was still captivated by the dazzling world before him and casually remarked, “I saw so many gods floating around.”
Yu Ziyu was furious and almost out of breath: “Nonsense! Nonsense! Then call upon a deity and see if the deity will respond to you.”
Li Jiyan patted his head, trying to clear his head, and replied, “Then call out and see if the gods will respond.”
Not wanting to lose face, Yu Ziyu looked up at the sky and roared, “Gods! Laozi!”
There was no sound in the woods except for her echo.
Yu Ziyu burst into tears, then cried out in anguish, “Goddess Nuwa! I am your disciple Yu Ziyu. If you hear me, please answer me!”
Still no response…
Tears streamed down Yu Ziyu’s face. She clearly saw all sorts of deities floating in the air, and fairies in flowing robes dancing gracefully above her head. Why didn’t they respond to her? Was it because her sincerity wasn’t enough?
She climbed to the rock in front of her, knelt on it, and shouted, “Disciple pays respects to Guanyin Bodhisattva, Queen Mother of the West, and Jade Emperor! If you hear me, please answer me!”
Li Jiyan ate too few poisonous mushrooms, so his hallucinations weren’t deep enough, and he’s much more awake now.
Seeing Yu Ziyu kneeling on the rock and shouting, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness and mixed emotions.
He pinched his throat, mimicking a woman’s voice, and said in a low, hoarse voice, “I heard you. If you cultivate diligently, you will surely become an immortal.”
Yu Ziyu turned her head, her expression alert: “Who’s speaking?”
Li Jiyan also looked around, deliberately asking, “Who’s talking?”
”It’s a deity! A deity replied to me! Hahahaha!” Yu Ziyu reacted, jumping up from the rock with joy, and mocking Li Jiyan triumphantly, “You think you can disturb my Dao heart? Dream on!”
Li Jiyan clutched his stomach and bent over. When he saw the illusion, he did indeed feel a strange sense of euphoria. Now he felt nauseous and dry heaving, his head was spinning, and his mind was completely muddled.
However, looking at Yu Ziyu’s radiant appearance, Li Jiyan guessed that this madwoman might have had mental problems to begin with, and eating the poisonous mushrooms was actually a case of fighting poison with poison, without any side effects.
Yu Ziyu laughed wildly and strode down the mountain, completely ignoring Li Jiyan who was vomiting behind her.
Before sunset, she returned to the Yu residence and excitedly went to find Yu Qingdai to tell her the good news: “Sister, my ability to see ghosts has been restored, and I even talked to the gods.”
“What did you say?”
Yu Ziyu was overjoyed: “The immortal told me to cultivate diligently, saying that I will definitely become an immortal.”
Yu Qingdai touched her face affectionately and said with a wry smile, “Good, Ziyu is really great.”
At this moment in the study.
The old nanny hurriedly found Yu Ningying, who was looking at the account book. She smiled and covered her mouth with her palm, saying, “Madam, everything is done. The male prostitutes that Wanniang from Fuliu Tower found are all still virgins. Those pretty boys are all incredibly handsome.”
Yu Ningying put down her book, smiled at the old nanny, and instructed, “Bring them in through the back door, and be discreet so that no one notices anything amiss.”
”Okay, I’ll go right away.”