Yuan Lian acted as if she didn’t realize she had said something extraordinary, and instead, she casually asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chang Songzhu was dumbfounded, staring at her, unable to speak for a moment. It took quite a while before she regained her ability to speak, “D-Dao partner?”
Yuan Lian nodded.
Chang Songzhu felt her brain buzzing, “You actually got married… Your dao partner is…”
“He’s my senior martial brother,” Yuan Lian said nonchalantly, “My father officiated the ceremony, and we’ve been bonded for a long time.”
“……”
Chang Songzhu was truly stunned. In her impression, not many cultivators in the Divine Realm became dao partners, and most of those who did were lower-level cultivators.
This was because most cultivators took defying the heavens and cultivating immortality as their mission, dedicating most of their energy to cultivation. Moreover, with their long lifespans, the desire to pass on their lineage wasn’t as pressing.
Especially for female cultivators, the higher their cultivation, the greater the cost of bearing children. For instance, if an Earth Immortal wanted to have a child, the energy expended from pregnancy to childbirth could cause her cultivation to regress by one or two major stages, falling back to Integration or even Void Return stage. Such a cost was too great for most to bear.
If they truly wanted offspring, they would often use secret methods to reverse yin and yang, allowing their partner to conceive.
But this was the same for male cultivators. Getting pregnant and having children already required a significant decision, and if it meant regressing in cultivation, any man with a higher cultivation level would naturally be unwilling.
As a result, high-level cultivators looking to continue their lineage would find that those of equal rank, qualified to be their dao partners, wouldn’t want to have children with them. Instead, concubines or servants, who had fewer concerns, might be willing, but such people generally wouldn’t formally bond.
So, Chang Songzhu couldn’t fathom that Yuan Lian was already married.
Seeing her at a loss for words, Yuan Lian frowned and said, “Alright, there’s nothing to be so surprised about. Hurry back, improve your cultivation, and prepare to enter the secret realm.”
Chang Songzhu had a lot to say but was sent back to her residence by Yuan Lian before she could voice it.
She blinked, spun around in place several times, barely suppressing her curiosity. After thinking for a moment, she obediently sat cross-legged on her bed, preparing to cultivate while waiting for the new day’s morning class.
*
Before being overwhelmed by Chang Songzhu’s endless chatter, Yuan Lian decisively sent her away and somewhat regretted telling her these things. Because while she could avoid it for now, she couldn’t avoid it forever. The next time they met, she would likely have to face her barrage of questions.
Thinking of this, Yuan Lian closed her eyes and carefully searched, then opened them and called softly, “Senior Brother?”
But there was still no response.
She couldn’t help but purse her lips slightly, a clear sign of displeasure.
At this moment, a leaf gently fell from the tree behind Yuan Lian, landing on the back of her neck.
Yuan Lian paused for a moment, then let out a soft hum, ignoring it.
The leaf lightly brushed against her neck, and when she still didn’t react, it playfully rolled around like it was acting cute.
Yuan Lian picked up the leaf, placed it in her palm, and said lightly, “Aren’t you unwilling to talk to people?”
The leaf was a vibrant green, noticeably different from its fellow leaves.
It stood upright in Yuan Lian’s hand like a little person, curling its edges. Then, Cang Hai Shenwang’s clear voice came from it:
“I just saw my junior sister being a good teacher and didn’t want to disturb you.”
Yuan Lian didn’t speak, and the leaf gently brushed against her palm. Cang Hai said softly, “Junior Sister, seeing you get along so well with your friend, I didn’t want to interrupt.”
His tone was very sincere, and Yuan Lian didn’t immediately realize what was wrong. She instinctively used her slender, white fingers to stroke the leaf, but her furrowed brows hadn’t completely relaxed when her movements paused.
She pinched the leaf between her thumb and forefinger, questioning, “If you didn’t want to disturb, then why were you secretly watching?”
Cang Hai paused, explaining, “I happened to have something to discuss with you, it wasn’t intentional…”
Unfortunately, Yuan Lian was no longer so easily fooled. She fiddled with the leaf up and down before saying, “Have you always left a wisp of your primordial spirit on me?”
“Not… always…”
In fact, Yuan Lian’s perspective was different from most. She was used to having someone watching over her at all times. Her earlier displeasure was mostly because Cang Hai hadn’t responded to her call promptly.
From birth, she had been under constant scrutiny. After all, a child with powerful abilities, capable of overturning the seas, but without the corresponding age and mindset to control her actions, and lacking emotional threads, wouldn’t naturally empathize with others. Dao Ji Shenwang, for protection and control, always kept a divine sense on his daughter.
Yuan Lian wondered, “I won’t harm others. Even Father doesn’t watch me all the time anymore… Are you still not reassured?”
The small leaf rested quietly on Yuan Lian’s fingers, and Cang Hai’s voice became gentle and helpless, “It’s not that, Xiao Lian, it’s not like that…”
“Then what is it for?”
Cang Hai didn’t know how to express his feelings to such a junior sister and… wife. He hesitated for a long time, finally saying, “You’ll understand when you’re older…”
This was the phrase Yuan Lian had heard most throughout her life. Her father, senior brother, two martial uncles, and even the celestial servants of the Supreme Heavenly Palace had all said this to her.
But due to her inherent deficiencies, no matter how much she grew, she remained clueless about certain things until she began using her split soul to undergo tribulations. Only then did she start to slowly understand others’ thoughts and feelings through their experiences.
But she hadn’t expected to hear this phrase from her senior brother again.
Cang Hai didn’t explain further, only politely asking, “Junior Sister, may I always stay with you?”
Yuan Lian thought for a moment, finding no issue with it, “As you wish.”
The small leaf floated up, hovered in the air for a moment, then chose its place. Its stem slipped into Yuan Lian’s hair bun, leaving most of the leaf in her dark hair, emitting a jade-like glow, like a precious ornament.
*
When Yuan Lian saw Chang Songzhu again, the first thing she did was ask how her cultivation was going, and the second was to strictly forbid her from asking questions.
Chang Songzhu was resilient, but her flaw was being overly lively. Fortunately, she was very obedient, especially towards Yuan Lian. She had spoken sincerely before; Yuan Lian was her best friend and had taught her much about cultivation, adding a bond of both teacher and friend.
So even though she had a burgeoning curiosity, if Yuan Lian didn’t allow questions, she would keep them to herself and diligently follow Yuan Lian in cultivation.
The mixed spirit pill was quite peculiar. Chang Songzhu knew Yuan Lian wouldn’t have inferior products, but because they looked so… plain, she initially thought it was just a pill that could slightly neutralize conflicting spiritual energies, similar to other common spiritual herbs she had taken before. Those had effects that were better than nothing.
Unexpectedly, the pill turned into spiritual liquid as soon as it entered her mouth, flowing down her throat. From that moment, the two spiritual roots on her soul platform, which had always been like mortal enemies, changed their nature, becoming as intimate as lovers. The spiritual energy they had previously repelled now reluctantly accepted.
If the absorption of spiritual energy, hindered by conflicting spiritual roots, was like a trickling stream before, now it wasn’t quite like a great river, but at least it flowed like a small river.
Chang Songzhu, who had been on the path of cultivation for nearly a hundred years, had never felt such comfort and was startled.
Even with her limited experience, she knew the pill’s value couldn’t be summed up by Yuan Lian’s casual words.
Such a pill, if placed in an auction house, would be considered priceless, and cultivators suffering from conflicting spiritual roots like her would fight fiercely for it.
“Why make such a fuss?” Yuan Lian’s response was, “This pill can’t reshape spiritual roots, and its effects are just so-so. If I keep it, it’ll just lose its potency. Who else would I give it to if not you?”
“You could keep it to exchange for spirit pearls…”
Before Chang Songzhu could finish, she saw Yuan Lian’s eyebrows raise.
Thinking it over, she realized it was unlikely and sheepishly stopped.
“Uh, you could give it to your family or friends…”
Out of a strange sense of pride, Yuan Lian wouldn’t admit that Chang Songzhu was her only friend. Instead, she said expressionlessly, “You’re the only one I know who’s unlucky enough to need it.”
Conflicting spiritual roots weren’t uncommon, but having two strong, pure roots that conflicted so thoroughly was indeed rare.
Chang Songzhu didn’t refuse anymore, but she sidled up to Yuan Lian, “Then I’ll give you whatever I have in the future, the best of everything…”
Yuan Lian acknowledged with a hum, then immediately said, “What are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be cultivating instead of slacking off?”
“Oh!”
*
Yuan Lian was sure that this guidance would take Chang Songzhu a long time to digest, so she found a random place on Banchi Peak to cultivate.
Previously, her meditation sessions were measured in years, but now that she had promised Yan Hang to go to the Xiao Canglou Secret Realm, she emerged in less than two months.
The timing was precise. Just as she got up, Yan Hang, dressed in formal dao robes, stood outside her cave dwelling.
“Master, the Xiao Canglou Secret Realm has opened. This time, there are over 3,500 disciples entering, regardless of whether they’re from the inner or outer sect.”
It wasn’t that more people didn’t want to enter, but the Xiao Canglou Secret Realm had limited capacity, only able to hold so many people. Therefore, a selection was held by the Wanyi Sect a few days prior.
Yuan Lian tilted her head slightly, her divine sense sweeping over Feng Yunqing and Kuang Yuming, “seeing” Chang Songzhu standing nervously near the entrance to the secret realm, and then nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Such events had been experienced by other “hers” more than once, but Yuan Lian herself had never participated. Even without Yan Hang’s invitation, she was interested in seeing it for herself.