Chapter 289: No Time Like the Present
Early morning snow enveloped Shengjing City, accompanied by a cold mist, creating a hazy scene.
At this moment, in the east wing of the Wei Family's separate courtyard, a slender, delicate hand pushed open the previously tightly closed door.
Yuan Caiwei, holding the Spirit Stone containing the Sacred Artifact's Origin, came to her younger brother Yuan Chen's room and hesitated at the doorway for a long time.
At this moment, she suddenly understood what Yan Shuyi had said. The reason her father was unwilling to try this method was truly because he felt that if the outcome were bad, he simply couldn't bear it, as her current feelings were the same.
But Master Jian had said one thing correctly: it was unfair to be so harsh on Yuan Chen, attributing everything to his lack of effort.
So, after much thought, she reached out and knocked on the door.
After a long while, the door opened, and Yuan Chen appeared with obvious dark circles under his eyes: “My younger brother—My younger sister, good morning.”
Seeing this, Yuan Caiwei gazed at him for a long time.
Yuan Chen held out for a moment, then pulled out a storybook from under the cotton cushion behind the desk: “It’s not easy to be away from the mountain; I just want to relax. Please, My younger sister, don’t scold me.”
“But you can’t stay up all night, can you? It’s not like we’re going back tomorrow.”
“Uh…”
Yuan Chen noticed that Yuan Caiwei wasn't angry and couldn't help but narrow his eyes: “It has to be Brother-in-law. Even though he lives in a different place, and logically can’t spank me, he can still threaten My younger sister so she doesn’t dare to be fierce.”
Yuan Caiwei listened to his mumbling and thought, 'Is that a threat? That’s clearly a reward.' “My younger sister, why are you looking for me so early?”
“Seeing you idle and bored, there are some things I need your help with.”
Yuan Caiwei took out the Spirit Stone she had received from Yan Shuyi yesterday: “Use your Pill Qi to refine the Qi within this Spirit Stone for me, My younger sister.”
Yuan Chen took the Spirit Stone, played with it in his hand for a while, then sat down on the meditation cushion.
Although he didn't know what was sealed within this Spirit Stone, Yuan Chen never refused his elder sister's requests, so Pill Qi began to surge from between his arms.
And as the Pill Qi poured in, the wisp of golden light within the Spirit Stone began to slowly overflow, like wisps of cooking smoke drifting outwards.
Watching this scene, Yuan Caiwei couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly.
Within her line of sight, that wisp of golden light stood in the Void Realm, seemingly aimlessly drifting around, and before long, it gradually drifted towards Yuan Caiwei.
The daughter of the Dan Sect retreated half a step, her brow slightly furrowed as she gently urged him to hurry.
Yuan Chen dared not delay, and a brilliant Pill Light surged from within him, enveloping the wisp of golden light, then guiding it towards himself.
The golden light, now guided, changed direction, transforming into a narrow-front, wide-back silken thread, slowly drifting towards Yuan Chen's glabella.
It began to constantly circle between his Heavenly Spirit, seemingly with a probing intent.
After a while, Yuan Chen suddenly let out a breath: “My younger sister, this thing is a bit difficult to refine.”
“Work hard these next few days, and I promise you, My younger sister, I won’t stop you from reading storybooks in your free time.”
“Really?”
“When have I ever lied to you?”
After speaking, Yuan Caiwei walked out, leaving Yuan Chen alone in the room to attempt the refinement.
Jianzhu Sister had said yesterday that refining the Origin power was not that easy and shouldn't be rushed, so she didn't tell Yuan Chen that it represented whether he could control the Sacred Artifact.
However, although no results were seen, she felt a slight relaxation in her heart because, although that wisp of Origin power was not very close to him, it did not show any rejection.
Yuan Caiwei exhaled a breath of cold air and saw Yan Shuyi standing in the connecting corridor, turning to look at her after she came out.
The daughter of the Dan Sect bowed slightly upon seeing this, saying “Good morning, My elder sister,” which made the little Master Jian narrow her eyes.
Always calling her “My elder sister,” always calling her “My elder sister,” she was almost used to it.
“Master Jian, you’re up so early.”
“Did you give that wisp of Origin power to Yuan Chen yesterday?”
“Mm.”
“What was the result?”
Yuan Caiwei glanced at Yuan Chen's room: “There was no rejection. I imagine the result should be good. My younger sister will repay My elder sister’s kindness soon.”
Yan Shuyi knew she was referring to the medicine that caused back and abdominal soreness but was harmless, and the medicine that made it painless, so her gaze involuntarily shifted slightly to the side: “Lingjian Mountain has been unstable these past few days. This way, if I encounter danger in the future, I will also have Medicinal Pills to protect myself.” Yuan Caiwei couldn't help but purse her red lips after hearing this, thinking, 'My elder sister, just lie. How can this protect oneself? This is clearly for breaking one's body.'
Yan Shuyi didn’t care what she thought. The Medicinal Pill she wanted, which was harmless but could cause back and abdominal soreness, was originally for self-protection.
As for the painless Medicinal Pills, Yuan Caiwei was willing to refine them for her; she hadn't asked for them.
“I had the servants in the separate courtyard prepare some plain porridge for you, My elder sister Caiwei. Go and eat some.”
Yuan Caiwei raised her head: “Master Jian, are you having breakfast with me?”
Yan Shuyi stepped out of the connecting corridor: “I haven’t had a good appetite recently, so I plan to go for a casual walk this morning.”
“Then I’ll accompany My elder sister.”
“?”
Before long, Yuan Caiwei followed Yan Shuyi, Ding Yao, and Zhuo Wanqiu to the entrance of the Worry-Free Commerce, thinking to herself, 'It’s truly hard for sisters to open their hearts to each other.'
Ji You slept soundly last night. Apart from a constant chill in his lower back, overall, he felt refreshed.
Feng Province sent a letter this morning, saying that it had started snowing again recently, and the official road was frozen three feet deep. Fortunately, most of the snowy region demon stones had been transported back during the sunny days prior and stored in the warehouse.
Ji You wrote back to them, telling them to release the snowy region demon stones gradually, maintaining the current high price while striving to sell them all before the ice and snow melted.
In fact, after snowy region demon stones continuously appeared in Qingyun through various channels in Feng Province, some people had already begun to suspect that he had intentionally done so.
And such business calculations were considered by cultivators to be trivial matters, a waste of Lifespan compared to seeking immortality and the Dao.
But surprisingly, no one used this to mock him, because even now, people still couldn't accurately know why Fang Jincheng was imprisoned, Peng Yu withdrew from the academy, and the Sect returned from Shengjing without success.
After replying to the letter from Feng Province, Ji You came to the tea pavilion under the green pine, where he was continuously absorbing the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth.
That Spiritual Qi was now flowing into his body along his broken Spirit Origin, mixing into the burning spirit fire.
A raging fire flowed continuously within his body, surging with the guidance of his breath, burning his body from the inside out.
The hot Qi also caused his body temperature to continuously rise in an instant, so that once the fluttering snowflakes approached him, they would be scalded into a puff of white smoke with a sizzling sound, drifting upwards.
The four women from the Wei Family’s separate courtyard were now standing under the eaves of the backyard, quietly watching this scene.
Yuan Caiwei’s expression was somewhat surprised, her red lips slightly parted.
No one knew whether the Dan Sect was aware of the Dongping Mountain Range incident, but Yuan Caiwei was not.
So she didn't know that Ji You had forcefully killed Bu Qirong of the Innate Realm under encirclement, nor that he had inflicted internal injuries on Elder Fang of the Wujiang Realm.
When the Sect gathered in Shengjing to accuse Ji You through the Tianshu Academy, Yuan Caiwei had actually worried for an entire night. Later, she heard that the matter had been dropped, and many great Sect had gone to the Northern Region to obtain Spirit Stones themselves.
She was naturally delighted in her heart, but also had the same doubts as others, and only now did she vaguely understand some things.
She was not a cultivator, but she could also feel the oppressive power that made her heart tremble.
This sense of oppression was the same as what her Master Jian's sister exuded when she was jealous, but the feeling was not entirely the same.
The oppressive power of the little Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain was from top to bottom, from inside out, as if Mount Tai was pressing down, but Ji You's oppressive power was born from the bottom of the heart, like an instinctive fear.
Also surprised were Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu.
They had seen Ji You kill the Bu family members with his sword, but they had never understood where Ji You's battle power, far exceeding his Realm, came from. This was the first time they had seen him Cultivate.
“What kind of Cultivation method is Young Master using?”
“Constant internal illumination, burning oneself.”
Yan Shuyi looked at Ji You and whispered, her slender, curled eyelashes trembling slightly.
She had seen Ji You's peculiar Cultivation method early on, and vaguely had her own judgment.
The Lower Three Realms are for Body Refining and Foundation Establishment, and after Junior Third Realm Completion, Spirit Origin is formed, and cultivators mainly focus on comprehending the Heavenly Dao.
But Ji You seemed to be able to continuously perform the Cultivation method of the Lower Three Realms, and did not lose close contact with his Physical Body due to the formation of Spirit Origin.
Presumably, after he entered the Xianxian Holy Land, he had been repeating this process, which is why his Dao comprehension Realm had always remained at Tongxuan, but his Physical Body battle power was comparable to the Wujiang Realm.
At this moment, Ji You let out a cry of pain, and his body began to tremble continuously.
And with this tremor, the Qi within his body began to make all his muscles subconsciously tense, gradually stretching his clothes into lines.
The areas covered by his clothes were invisible, but his exposed forearms revealed a surge of Qi, like a full moon heavy bow,
Yuan Caiwei and Yan Shuyi's gazes grew solemn, and even Ding Yao clenched her fists.
Not long after, as the heat gradually dissipated, Ji You slowly opened his eyes and saw a row of fierce, pretty faces, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
After a moment of thought, Ji You understood that these four girls had watched him Body Refining.
However, it was understandable for Yan Shuyi and Yuan Caiwei to be scared, but why were even Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu so determined?
Ji You rose from the tea pavilion and walked along the stone path to stand before them: "Where is Yuan Chen?"
"My younger brother is Cultivating in Wei Rui Guniang's separate courtyard."
"I cooked porridge with scallops and fish maw this morning; that kid really missed out."
As Ji You spoke, he saw Yan Shuyi intently staring at his arm.
Seemingly sensing his gaze, Yan Shuyi looked up at him, then haughtily went to the dining table.
Ji You didn't know what she was planning, so he stepped into the kitchen to serve the porridge: "Kuang Cheng said he's making rice cakes today. Do you want to come with me later?"
Ding Yao couldn't help but straighten up: "Young Master, how are rice cakes made?"
"They're made from the rice paste we ground last time, steamed in a steamer, and then pounded with a wooden mallet."
After breakfast, under a light snow, Ji You took Ding Yao and Wei Rui to Kuang Cheng's residence.
Wei Rui had arrived early to help. Seeing Ji You enter, she immediately rose to greet him, but then noticed that her Sister Yan was not there, and a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes.
Kuang Cheng also turned to look: "Where are Yan Xianzi and Yuan Guniang?"
"They said they were going shopping together, acting all mysterious. I don't know what they're up to. Speaking of which, I feel like I'm the only outsider in my backyard right now."
"Isn't it a good thing for Young Master Ji that the sisters have a good relationship?"
Ji You pursed his lips: "That's true, but I always feel a chill."
At the same time, in a medicinal herb shop on Yong'an Avenue, Yan Shuyi, veiled, watched Yuan Caiwei pick back and forth at the counter filled with medicinal herbs, even picking up a few to smell.
The profoundness of Dan Sect's Medicinal Pills did not lie in the rarity of the materials used, but in their Alchemy techniques, so the medicinal herbs they used could also be bought in Shengjing.
Yan Shuyi didn't understand Alchemy and didn't know the efficacy of these medicinal herbs. After looking around for a while, she lost interest, so she quietly watched Yuan Caiwei gather all the medicinal herbs according to the Pill Formula.
Then, the two of them put these medicinal herbs into their Magical Artifacts and returned to the Wei Family's separate courtyard along the vast Yong'an Avenue.
After watching Ji You Body Refining today, they both felt that Medicinal Pills were very necessary. The two walked from the front courtyard to the backyard, chose a room in the corner, opened the door, and cleaned it up slightly.
Then Yuan Caiwei took out a Pill Furnace and set it up in the center of the room.
As a Pill Master, Yuan Caiwei, like Yuan Chen, always carried a Pill Furnace with her. After the incident at Qi Ridge, when the refugees contracted the plague, Yuan Chen also refined Medicinal Pills with the Pill Furnace he carried.
However, Alchemy was not that quick, especially Dan Sect's Alchemy, which always strived for Perfection.
After setting it up, Yuan Caiwei placed a piece of black charcoal under the Pill Furnace.
This was different from ordinary people's charcoal fire; it was specially made by Dan Sect for Alchemy. Just one piece was enough to support the Medicinal Pill until it was finished.
Yuan Caiwei ignited the black charcoal, then turned to Yan Shuyi: "The first day is for warming the furnace to the right temperature. The second day is for initial refining of the medicinal herbs. The third day is for combining and melting them. The fourth day is for using Pill Hands to extract toxins. The fifth day is for refining it into a Medicinal Pill."
Yan Shuyi stared at the Pill Furnace for a long time: "So, just one Medicinal Pill takes four or five days of effort?"
"Yes."
"What about the other one?"
Yuan Caiwei replied softly: "It will only take six or seven days, and I'll have the Medicinal Pills Master Jian wants ready."
Yan Shuyi looked at her: "But yesterday you said both Medicinal Pills would take about the same amount of time."
"The heat and time for Alchemy are fixed and cannot be extended or shortened, but by refining two furnaces at once, the time can be overlapped and utilized."
"I see—"
Yuan Caiwei watched him leave, then flipped her hand and took out a medicine box, from which she pinched out a black Medicinal Pill.
She had refined the pain-relieving Medicinal Pill a long time ago and always carried it with her when she came to Shengjing.
Although Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain watched her strictly, what if?
So, this time, she saved the time of refining another Medicinal Pill.
Yan Shuyi then left the Wei Family's separate courtyard and went to Kuang Cheng's place. Pushing open the courtyard gate, she saw Ji You and Kuang Cheng pounding rice cakes. Her gaze swept around and then fixated on Ji You.
The finished rice cakes would be divided into several portions. As usual, some would be sent to the orphanage, some kept for themselves, some given to Ji You, and several portions sent to colleagues at the Immortal Supervisory Office.
The portion prepared for Ji You was larger than last time, because in Kuang Cheng's opinion, Brother Ji's courtyard was getting livelier.
Perhaps next time they made them, it wouldn't even be enough for Brother Ji's Family.
Ji You was currently putting the pounded rice cakes into a basket, preparing to take them inside, when he saw Yan Shuyi had arrived at some point: "Why are you alone? Weren't you and Yuan Caiwei out together?"
Yan Shuyi looked at him: "Sister Caiwei went back after buying things. I had nothing to do, so I thought of coming to chat with Sister Rui'er."
Wei Rui, who was cutting the rice cakes, couldn't help but look up, a hint of complexity in her eyes.
There was no casual chatting; as soon as Sister Yan entered, her gaze was fixed on Young Master Ji.
Ji You looked at Yan Shuyi with curiosity: "You two were out together for so long, what did you buy?"
"Didn't buy anything."
"How strange—"
Ji You finished dividing the rice cakes in the basket, wrapped them in oil paper, and handed them to Yan Shuyi: "This portion is ours."
Yan Shuyi took it, then watched Ji You finish dividing the other portions. He took her smooth, small hand and walked out: "Old Kuang, I'm going back first. Don't buy the winter wine for the festival; if I come over tomorrow, I'll bring you a jar."
Kuang Cheng, holding the wooden mallet, turned his head at the sound: "Does Brother Ji have winter wine at his house?"
"Old Qiu and the others sent it; it's at the post station. I haven't had time to pick it up yet."
"Then I'll trouble Brother Ji."
Ji You nodded and walked out, holding her small hand.
Yan Shuyi obediently let him lead her, following him all the way back to the Worry-Free Commerce.
The brazier in the room had not yet burned out. Ji You added firewood and then ignited it with Spiritual Qi.
Master Jian placed the brought-back rice cakes on the cabinet, sat down next to Ji You, and then took off her shoes and socks.
Her fair, tender jade feet, with hints of peach pink, were delicately placed on the footrest closer to the brazier, glowing translucently in the firelight.
When her feet were slightly warm, Yan Shuyi noticed Ji You looking at her, and a hint of confusion appeared in her beautiful eyes.
A few breaths later, Ji You leaned closer to her.
Yan Shuyi's eyes blinked slightly, and she couldn't help but part her red lips slightly, her delicate tongue peeking out.
But as soon as the tip of her tongue emerged slightly, resting between her pearly teeth, she realized that the strange man's target was not her mouth, but her neck.
Then, a warm breath fell along her neck, causing Master Jian of Lingjian Mountain to instinctively flinch back.
She was already very used to intimacy with Ji You; she often sat in his arms, whispering sweet nothings. But that breath just now gave her a tingling sensation, making her feel a bit desirous.
Ji You looked up, puzzled, and suddenly saw Yan Shuyi's peeking tongue. He then lowered his head and took her lips into his. Amidst soft sounds, her pair of snow-white feet curled up on the footrest.
He had just smelled a faint scent of medicinal herbs, which was a bit strange, but thinking that Yuan Caiwei was living with her now, he didn't find it so strange anymore.
Since the Yuan family siblings arrived, he and Yan Shuyi hadn't had many opportunities to be intimate.
Of course, with a jealous person watching, he and Yuan Caiwei were naturally the same.
At this rate, the task of continuous procreation was simply impossible to complete.
Ji You pondered for a long time. Seeing that no one was around, he continued to kiss her, hooking his hands around Yan Shuyi's slender waist and the bend of her knees, gently lifting her up, intending to go into the bedroom for an impromptu session.
However, just as he was about to step, he saw Yan Shuyi, in the midst of their kiss, gently open her eyes, and Sword Qi roared behind her.
Feeling the continuously rising aura, Ji You sat back down and reached out to pat her firm, perky buttocks, which caused Master Jian to open her mouth and bite his tongue.
He must Cultivate well from now on.
Kuang Cheng's words were false; without cultivation, a good Physical Body was useless.