Chapter 89: Book Letter Promise to Longevity

Demons of heaven and earth, and living devils among humans.

The former is easy to grasp, but the latter naturally refers to monsters like Ning Qinshui, devils with human faces and beastly hearts.

Shubai could barely grasp the words, but he couldn't comprehend their meaning.

“You immortals always say one thing and do another...” His words were already somewhat weak.

Ning Changjiu didn't say much more, only asking, “Have you been here for over a month?”

Shubai hummed in affirmation.

Ning Changjiu asked, “Where is your master?”

Shubai replied, “If Ning Qinshui doesn't return by the third watch, I'll go back to see my master.”

Ning Changjiu then asked, “What do you usually eat?”

Shubai retorted irritably, “There's rice in the house, and I have hands. Am I likely to starve?”

Ning Changjiu looked at his gaunt body; his spine was clearly visible through his thin clothing, like a bony serpent crawling up his back.

Ning Changjiu nodded. “Very well, go prepare food.”

Shubai was stunned, slow to react. Ning Changjiu had already grabbed his wrist, and with two clicks, the young man let out a soft cry of pain. His wrist, which Ning Changjiu had dislocated with a single move earlier, was now back in place.

He gently rotated his wrist, looking at Ning Changjiu, increasingly baffled by his actions. He could only wonder if all cultivators in the world were so eccentric.

Shubai grunted sullenly, “I'm doing this for you because you won't kill my master, not because I'm afraid to die.”

Ning Changjiu said, “You can think whatever you like.”

Shubai turned and walked toward the stove.

Ning Changjiu watched his back and said, “Your innate aptitude is indeed excellent.”

Shubai stopped, frowned, and turned, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Ning Changjiu added, “Unfortunately, without a Purple Mansion Qi Sea, you are destined not to cultivate.”

Shubai stomped his foot and said coldly, “Who cares about that...”

Ning Changjiu no longer looked at him, instead turning to the always-silent Ning Xiaoling. He asked, “What are you thinking about?”

Ning Xiaoling pulled up a stool and sat down, resting her elbows on her thighs and propping her chin in her hands. She said sadly, “Senior Brother, if it hadn't been for you just now, I might have died...”

Ning Changjiu said, “That's why Yu Jian Tianzong holds events like the Early Spring Sword Trial and the Four Peaks Sword Debate: to let you properly adapt to actual combat. This prevents you from being in a critical situation with ample spiritual power, yet unable to wield any of it.”

Ning Xiaoling nodded vigorously. “I understand... Previously, I kept breaking through realms—entering the Profound, Middle, and Upper Realms—and I was truly proud of myself. Later, I easily broke through the Immortality Realm bottleneck by illuminating the Sword Star, which made me even more spirited. But today, I almost got defeated by a mortal who can't even cultivate... Sigh.”

The more Ning Xiaoling thought about it, the more disheartened and vexed she became. She pinched her cheeks, her face puffing up and wrinkling in turns with the movement of her fingers.

Ning Changjiu smiled faintly, placing a hand on her head. He said gently, “So, while you can't truly stand on your own yet, your Senior Brother will be by your side.”

Ning Xiaoling knew he was speaking from the heart, but the recent blow was too great for her to accept, so she just weakly hummed in response.

Ning Changjiu suddenly remembered something and asked, “Oh right, Junior Sister, how did you manage to refine so much pure spiritual power in such a short time? Logically, even with your innate aptitude, you shouldn't have progressed from the Profound Realm to the Immortality Realm in just two months...”

Ning Xiaoling found it a bit strange and said, as if it were obvious, “Master told me last time that my innate spirit is incredibly powerful, but in real combat, if my own strength isn't enough, even a strong innate spirit is useless... So, the little snow fox I have contains a lot of spiritual power left behind by the old fox, which was already refined, so I just ate it directly.”

“You consumed the spiritual power within your innate spirit?” Ning Changjiu's body trembled slightly. He stared at her intently for a moment before saying, “Junior Sister, you truly are a genius.”

Ning Xiaoling thought he was praising her, and cheered up a bit. She smiled, “I'm just good at observing my own body.”

Ning Changjiu took a breath and said softly, “Junior Sister... do you know that cultivating the innate spirit to increase its strength is much harder than cultivating one's own power? Many cultivators don't hesitate to sacrifice their own cultivation to enhance their innate spirit, because the innate spirit is like a hidden weapon. Others can't tell if you have one, and even if they know, it's hard to guard against. Sometimes, a powerful innate spirit's surprise attack can even bridge a gap in cultivation realms. And you...”

Ning Xiaoling looked at him innocently, realizing she seemed to have done something foolish.

Ning Changjiu sighed and asked, “Your actions are like having two bags of rice at home, then diligently scooping from one bag to put into the other, inevitably spilling a lot along the way. So... you've cultivated for two months, but essentially, you still only have two bags of rice.”

Ning Changjiu's vivid analogy finally made Ning Xiaoling understand what she had truly been doing.

And to think she had praised herself every day after depleting the little snow fox of its innate spirit, thinking, “Today was another day of diligent cultivation.”

Ning Xiaoling hung her head in shame.

Ning Changjiu sighed and comforted her, “This isn't entirely your fault. After all, most people's innate spirits cultivate alongside their own power, gradually raising their cultivation realms. But your innate spirit, due to that old fox, was at an extremely high level from the beginning, so making this mistake... is understandable.”

Ning Xiaoling knew he was comforting her. She huddled in the chair and nodded silently.

Ning Changjiu asked, “How much spiritual power is left in that snow fox?”

Ning Xiaoling, looking embarrassed, replied, “A few days ago, after illuminating the Sword Star, I got so excited and entered the Immortality Realm that I... completely drained it.”

“...” Ning Changjiu looked at her helplessly and said, “It's alright. Just don't let Lu Jiajia know about this, lest she ridicule your Senior Brother for being a poor teacher.”

Ning Xiaoling sincerely replied, “No, Sister Jiajia is my master, so if anyone is a poor teacher, it's Master. Besides, Senior Brother discovered this first, so you can make a preemptive accusation and lay the blame on Master.”

“Make a preemptive accusation...” Ning Changjiu closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and sighed, “I've also taught you to read and write for two months, and this... indeed shows your Senior Brother is a poor teacher.”

Ning Xiaoling blinked pitifully.

Ning Changjiu said softly, “If it weren't for outsiders being present, your Senior Brother would discipline you on Master's behalf.”

Ning Xiaoling immediately drew her hands behind her back and changed the subject, saying, “Senior Brother, Senior Brother, what was in that letter from earlier?”

Ning Changjiu took the letter from his sleeve, unfolded it in his palm, and handed it to Ning Xiaoling. Then he tucked his hands into his sleeves and closed his eyes to rest.

Ning Xiaoling took the letter with suspicion and quietly read its contents.

“Enter the Imperial City, slay the ghost. Success grants immortality?”

Ning Xiaoling flipped the letter over and asked, puzzled, “That's it?”

Ning Changjiu nodded. “That's all.”

The more Ning Xiaoling thought about it, the more alarmed she became. “Who sent this letter? Would someone as shrewd as Ning Qinshui believe a single sentence and risk going to the Imperial City?”

Ning Changjiu took the letter back, his gaze falling on the seal. He slowly said, “If the sender's status is sufficiently noble, then the weight of a single sentence has nothing to do with its length.”

Ning Xiaoling asked, “So the sender...”

Ning Changjiu looked at the seal, which bore four characters: “Bite the Moon, Cleave the Clouds.”

This was the same seal as the one on the marriage contract, the seal of Qianyu Hall.

Ning Xiaoling suddenly recalled something and said, “When we first arrived in the Imperial City, that old fellow told Song Ce not to forget the promise of that esteemed person... that esteemed person?”

Ning Changjiu nodded. “Thinking about it now, that esteemed person must be the... Empress of Qianyu Hall.”

“Cough, cough, cough...”

Shubai, holding a palm-leaf fan, started a fire in the stove opening and fanned it. The firewood crackled as it burned, and waves of heat rolled out from the stove, making his cheeks flush red.

He looked up at the pair of male and female immortal masters sitting by the door, his eyes filled with ill-concealed jealousy and envy.

He stood up, lifted the pot lid for a glance, and considered spitting into it. But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the white-robed young man, and the saliva, which had already reached the tip of his tongue, was ultimately swallowed.

After all, he'd have to eat a couple of bites of this rice himself later.

Meanwhile, by the door, Ning Xiaoling occasionally glanced over, seemingly worried he might poison the food. Shubai felt even more disdain, thinking that while he might have launched a sneak attack, he was a person of integrity; his arrows were never poisoned, let alone resorting to cheap tricks like poisoning someone's food.

“All of this was pre-arranged?” Ning Xiaoling recalled the events in the Imperial City, feeling a shiver of dread.

Ning Changjiu folded the letter and put it into his sleeve. He said, puzzled, “If that's truly the case, what's her objective? Just to send Ning Qinshui to his death in the Imperial City?”

Ning Xiaoling pursed her lips and gently shook her head. “This letter tricked that old fellow into going to the palace. While it might have rid the people of a menace, this Empress's credibility really isn't great.”

Ning Changjiu said, “Things shouldn't be so simple.”

From the stove, the aroma of cooked rice wafted over.

Ning Xiaoling rubbed her rumbling stomach, just about to get up and check on the cooking progress, when suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.