The gossipy woman, intimidated by Chi Yu’s fierce glare, quickly shuffled away. The other onlookers also sensed she wasn’t someone to trifle with and soon dispersed completely.
System: “Host, you’ve arrived at Canglang City.”
Hearing this, Chi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Though the journey had been tough, at least they’d made it.
Remembering his current persona, Shen Yanzhou immediately stood up, steadying her as she stumbled, and asked softly, “Are you hurt?”
Chi Yu shook her head. “No.”
Only then did he relax, following her out of the pit.
Suddenly, Chi Yu paused and turned to look at Shen Yanzhou. Meeting her gaze, he felt an ominous premonition.
The next second, Chi Yu’s mischievous hands reached out, tearing off a large piece of the coarse cloth from his upper garment without hesitation, using it to cover Jiang Jiuming’s exposed backside.
She muttered under her breath, “We’re about to leave the pit—gotta keep you covered properly.”
Otherwise, attracting the attention of passersby would mean her dignity would be lost right alongside this bare-bottomed fellow.
Jiang Jiuming: “Wah wah wah wah.”
Touching. So damn touching.
Chi Yu was truly good to him.
He declared then and there that from this day forward, she was his best friend.
Shen Yanzhou, forced to go shirtless: “…”
Was she really going to let her target of affection wander the world shirtless, all for the sake of an outsider?
Absurd.
Utterly absurd.
Facing Shen Yanzhou’s disbelieving stare, Chi Yu remained completely oblivious.
She pulled them out of the pit and then used her Spiritual Power to patch up the road as best she could.
As dusk approached, finding a place to stay became their top priority.
Fortunately, there was an inn right by the roadside. Gazing at the flamboyant characters “Cloudwater Inn” on the signboard, Chi Yu strode inside.
“Welcome, guests—”
The innkeeper, hearing the sound of someone entering, immediately looked up to greet them, only to be met with a bizarrely dressed figure.
The person’s face was wrapped in half a pair of pants, obscuring their features, while a pale leg peeked out from beneath coarse cloth, giving off a distinctly unsavory impression.
Beside him stood a shirtless man with a gloomy expression, who didn’t look like a good person either.
The innkeeper panicked. “R-r-r-robbers!?”
As soon as he spoke, a young girl suddenly popped out from behind the man. “Don’t panic. Though he does look rather shady, we’re here to stay the night.”
Hearing this, the innkeeper sighed in relief.
“How many rooms would you like, guests?”
Chi Yu held up three fingers, but the quoted price for the rooms nearly made her jaw drop. “Two hundred Spirit Stones per night?”
“That expensive?!”
Innkeeper: “Guest, our Cloudwater Inn is already the cheapest inn in Canglang City. If you don’t believe me, you can check the prices elsewhere.”
Chi Yu gritted her teeth. The Spirit Stones she’d taken when leaving the Chi family really hadn’t been enough.
She couldn’t help but ask the System, “System, can I exchange for Spirit Stones in the shop?”
She still had some points left.
System: “Sorry, Host. Currency cannot be exchanged. You’ll have to earn Spirit Stones yourself. Besides, your points aren’t enough anyway, so you’d better save them.”
Canglang City was fraught with danger—this was no joke.
Saving points could allow her to activate cheats at critical moments to save her life later on.
“How am I supposed to earn them?”
Chi Yu pondered, then came up with an idea. “How about we make Shen Yanzhou sleep on the streets? He’s the male lead—maybe he’ll even have a romantic encounter. If a wealthy woman takes a liking to him, we’ll never have to worry about food or clothing again.”
“We don’t have much money right now, so we need to spend it wisely.”
System: “And what about you?”
“As a delicate woman, of course I’ll stay at an inn. Save where you should, spend where you should.”
System: “…”
Shen Yanzhou listened to her conversation with the System, feeling quite conflicted.
In the previous five lifetimes, although the strategists always pushed him into danger, they at least ensured material comforts.
How come in this sixth lifetime, he has to sleep on the streets?
A sense of weariness suddenly arose in his heart.
Tired. Maybe I should just cultivate quickly and destroy the entire Cultivation World.
Fortunately, after being persuaded by the System, Chi Yu finally booked two rooms.
Chi Yu’s room was right next to Shen Yanzhou’s, while Jiang Jiuming stayed alone.
Considering that one of them didn’t wear anything on the upper body, and the other wasn’t fully dressed on the lower body—plus the fact that she had only found a set of coarse cloth clothes back in Shen Family Village and hadn’t changed into anything else since—Chi Yu headed to a clothing shop on the street after booking the rooms.
Jiang Jiuming asked her to buy new clothes for him, and Chi Yu happily agreed. While shopping, she also bought a set for Shen Yanzhou.
When it came to her own clothes, Chi Yu faced a dilemma.
She was instantly drawn to a narrow-sleeved, lapel-collared dress in the shop. It wasn’t overly adorned with intricate accessories or patterns, appearing as light and delicate as misty willow branches, yet the fabric was comfortable and the overall look was neat.
But this dress cost three hundred Spirit Stones.
Chi Yu tentatively bargained, “Thirty, will you sell it?”
The shopkeeper smiled, “Miss, how about I give this to you for free, and you can take anything else you like from my shop? Does that sound good?”
Chi Yu was taken aback, “Really? Are you joking with me?”
The shopkeeper replied, “You started the joke first.”
Chi Yu: “…”
Seeing the shopkeeper’s serious expression, Chi Yu knew she was in the wrong and immediately said, “I was just saying, don’t take it seriously. How about one hundred and fifty?”
No matter how much she tried to persuade him, the shopkeeper refused to budge, insisting on three hundred Spirit Stones.
The System advised her, “Host, don’t buy it. You don’t have much money left.”
“But it’s so pretty.”
“You still have to stay here for another month.”
“But it’s so pretty.”
“Shen Yanzhou’s cultivation journey will require a lot of expenses. You need to save up.”
“But it’s so pretty.”
System: “…”
In the end, it couldn’t persuade her.
Adhering to the principle of never shortchanging herself, Chi Yu bought the dress.
On her way back, Chi Yu remembered that the task of [Helping Shen Yanzhou reach Qi Refining Fifth Stage or higher] hadn’t been completed yet. She turned around and bought an Introductory Cultivation Method to bring back to him.
Night fell.
The lights of Canglang City twinkled faintly.
System: “Host, aren’t you going to deliver the cultivation method and clothes to Shen Yanzhou?”
She had returned at dusk but hadn’t delivered the items yet.
“What do you know?” Chi Yu said slowly. “Of course, you deliver things at night. How else do you build feelings?”
System: “? What kind of logic is that?”
Isn’t that the trope in novels? I push open his door, only to find him bathing, then slip and fall into his arms, and then this and that…”
System: “Can you be a little more serious?!”
Chi Yu acted as if she hadn’t heard, “Hehe, Zhouzhou, hehehe.”
System: “…”
On the other side of the wall, Shen Yanzhou, who had heard every word of her conversation with the System clearly: “…”
Even he, a pervert, found this perverted.
It’s truly terrifying.
Chi Yu stood up and walked out, “Shen Zhouzhou, I’m coming for you!”
In his room, Shen Yanzhou felt a slight chill run down his spine.
He instinctively wrapped his clothes tightly around himself and sat upright at the table.
The door was knocked, and he stood up to open it.
Chi Yu looked at him, feeling quite disappointed.
This child, why is he still dressed so conservatively late at night?
There are no bad people here—who is he guarding against?
Shen Yanzhou pretended to be gentle: “What’s the matter?”
Chi Yu stepped inside: “I came to bring you clothes.”
As she spoke, she threw the clothes to him: “I picked these out carefully for you.”
They were so expensive—thirty Spirit Stones.
She almost didn’t want to buy them.
But the System said that based on the experiences of previous hosts, buying clothes for Shen Yanzhou might increase his Favorability Level.
You can’t catch a husband without spending on clothes, so in the end, she gritted her teeth and bought them.
Hearing this, Shen Yanzhou stroked the clothes, preparing to take an emotional approach.
He seemed deeply moved and whispered softly: “Thank you.”
He paused and added quietly: “Besides my grandfather, you are the one who cares about me the most.”
Seeing his pitiful appearance, Chi Yu patted his shoulder: “I told you, you can think of me as your grandfather. That offer is valid for life, so of course I have to treat you well.”
Shen Yanzhou: “…Thank you.”
But that really wasn’t necessary.
He glanced at the brocade Chi Yu was wearing, then looked at the clothes in his hand. The difference between the two was obvious to the naked eye, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
She was truly generous with herself.
“By the way, the world is full of dangers. As a mortal, you’re easily at risk. You must embark on the path of cultivation to ensure your safety. So, I bought you an Introductory Cultivation Method. Starting today, you’ll follow me in cultivation.”
She pulled out the cultivation method and handed it to him.
Looking at the tattered and worn pages, Shen Yanzhou fell silent.
This was clearly second-hand.
How stingy was she? She wouldn’t even buy him a new cultivation method.
Chi Yu coughed: “Don’t judge it by its appearance—it’s a rare edition.”
It was the last one left at the stall, so it might as well be considered rare.
Besides, the stall owner only charged her one Spirit Stone, so she couldn’t complain.
Watching her seriously bluffing, Shen Yanzhou kept a straight face and played along gently.
Chi Yu had too many questionable tactics; he needed to cultivate diligently to gain the ability to protect himself.
The two opened the cultivation method. Chi Yu pulled him to sit cross-legged on the floor, and together they studied the method as she taught him to cultivate.
The path of cultivation has always been arduous. Everyone is born with different talents, and their cultivation speeds vary accordingly.
The Spiritual Root determines the upper limit of each person’s talent.
In the Cultivation World, Spiritual Roots are mainly divided into five types, corresponding to the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Beyond these main Spiritual Roots, there are also Mutated Spiritual Roots, though they are rare.
The more singular the Spiritual Root, the higher its purity and the faster the cultivation speed, making such individuals true geniuses.
Conversely, the more Spiritual Roots one has, the more chaotic their cultivation path becomes, and the slower their progress.
The original host had a Dual Spiritual Root, which was actually a decent talent.
But Chi Shuyun had a single Spiritual Root and a Pure Yin Body. Moreover, Father Chi and Mother Chi didn’t care about a concubine-born daughter, so all the resources were given to their own legitimate daughter.
Because of this, Chi Yu’s body had barely reached the First Stage of Qi Refining before, and that was only through the original host’s diligent and secret cultivation.
After she arrived, she relied on Elixirs to advance to the second stage, but it wasn’t stable. She still needed to cultivate diligently to avoid harming herself.
As the original male protagonist, Shen Yanzhou’s talent was naturally exceptional. He was born with the purest single Spiritual Root, giving him a head start over many others.
But he was currently in a mortal body. First, he needed to draw Qi into the body and expel the mundane turbid Qi from within before he could cultivate more effectively.
“First, we need to draw Qi into the body. Sink your shoulders, lower your eyelids, press your tongue against the roof of your mouth, and breathe naturally.”
Listening to her voice, Shen Yanzhou closed his eyes and silently recited the cultivation method he had long memorized: “To absorb Qi, observe the climate, rinse and swallow spiritual fluids, then lie back, extend your hands and feet, rest your head on the pillow, calm your mind, and maintain unwavering focus…”
Above his head, Spiritual Qi rapidly gathered.
His mind was clear. As he breathed, turbid Qi was expelled from his body, and Spiritual Qi flowed into his meridians. His hands and feet grew slightly warm, and his body felt increasingly light.
For him, cultivation was nothing complicated.
In an instant, Shen Yanzhou had already touched the threshold of the First Stage of Qi Refining.
He opened his eyes. “Like this?”
Chi Yu was utterly stunned. “Damn, cultivation protagonists really are all overpowered geniuses. How terrifying.”
This talent was unmatched.
But wasn’t this also thanks to her excellent teaching?
System: “Host, why are you just standing there? Shen Yanzhou has such great talent. Hurry up and continue guiding him in cultivation. Try to complete the mission tonight.”
Chi Yu quickly snapped back to reality and nodded. “You’re almost entering the Qi Refining Stage. Follow my lead.”
She channeled her Spiritual Power, broadly absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Qi.
Shen Yanzhou pretended not to know how, mimicking her movements, though he was already thoroughly familiar with them.
“The most important part of Qi Refining is letting Qi flow through the meridians, embracing the origin and returning to oneness. Through countless cycles of refinement, you strengthen your physique, and only then can you truly step onto the path of immortality.”
Chi Yu spoke solemnly, “Watch me. I’ll demonstrate for you. Don’t let yourself fall into Qi Deviation.”
Shen Yanzhou nodded, his gaze fixed intently on her.
She took a deep breath. “Exhale and inhale, sensing nature. One Qi connects the eight meridians.”
She struck a perfect pose. “Sink Qi to the Dantian!”
The next second, there was only a soft pfft sound.
She had farted.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
Chi Yu: “…”
The room fell into complete silence.
The tattered pages of the cultivation manual fluttered to the ground, much like her dignity.
Suppressing her embarrassment, Chi Yu spoke with a straight face, trying to salvage the situation. “Actually, I was just giving you a demonstration of what not to do, to help you avoid making mistakes, you know?”
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
You can fool your buddies, but don’t fool yourself.