Chapter Nineteen: Daily Life in the Demonic Sect

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After returning to the Heavenly Demon Sect, Wen Yue resumed her former cultivation routine. Every morning, she would rise and complete two circulation cycles before going to the cafeteria for breakfast. Afterward, she attended Elder Zhao’s lectures and listened attentively, no matter what he happened to be teaching.

This trip had brought her into contact with only Ao Qing, yet that alone had made her realize how lacking her knowledge of cultivation was. Although Ao Qing had given her some materials, many things were still different in practice.

The afternoons were generally left for independent cultivation. Now that everyone had successfully drawn qi into their bodies, no one was required to attend lectures. Even so, Elder Zhao explained everything with great seriousness each time, which suited Wen Yue perfectly.

Every day, Wen Yue followed the same three-point routine, keeping to herself and rarely speaking to anyone. In the eyes of others, she seemed rather withdrawn and unsociable.

Meanwhile, the others had formed new little groups. At some point, Yin Yicheng had fallen in with Mu Qingyang, and Liu Changming had eagerly followed them.

The rest had kept quiet for a while after Niu Hongtian’s death. Somehow, however, they gradually gathered together again. This time, their leader was named Lin Kuishan. Whenever Wen Yue caught sight of him, she almost thought Niu Hongtian had come back to life.

At first, still overshadowed by Niu Hongtian’s death—with many people assuming that Wen Yue had killed him—Lin Kuishan did not dare provoke her. Later, for reasons unknown, he seemed to develop some other intention. Perhaps he wanted to recruit her.

One evening, as Wen Yue was leaving after dinner and heading back to her room, Lin Kuishan and his band of followers happened to cross paths with her. He was certainly more tactful than Niu Hongtian.

“Is something wrong?” Wen Yue asked. Her days were packed from morning to night; she had no time to indulge these children in playing house.

“We came to ask you to cultivate with us,” Lin Kuishan said. “That way, whenever we encounter a problem during cultivation, we can discuss it together.”

He did not appear to harbor any ill will, but Wen Yue still had no desire to cultivate with them. She did not want these people disrupting her carefully planned routine.

“No need. I’m fine on my own. If I have any questions, I’ll ask Elder Zhao.”

“I’ve never seen you ask him anything. It would be better to cultivate with us so we can discuss things together,” Lin Kuishan urged.

“No, thank you.”

Wen Yue walked past him and went inside. Little Golden Thread was still waiting for her there.

The moment Wen Yue pushed open the door, Little Golden Thread flung herself at her.

“Master, I missed you so much!”

“How long has it been since we last saw each other? I invited you to attend lectures with me, but you refused. Whose fault is that?”

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“I wasn’t going. I don’t like any of the people there. Elder Zhao is the only one who looks kind and benevolent. There isn’t a single other good person among them.”

Little Golden Thread’s impression of Elder Zhao was clearly much better.

“You can even use idioms now? Impressive!”

Little Golden Thread had progressed astonishingly quickly. By now, her intelligence was about that of an elementary school student.

“Master, did I use it correctly? Was I impressive?”

“Very impressive!”

These days, Wen Yue often treated Little Golden Thread as though she were raising a daughter. She had never been a mother, nor had she ever been anyone’s master before, so this was her first time doing either. She was learning as she went.

Whenever she was not cultivating, she would tell Little Golden Thread stories and teach her various principles. Whether human or spirit beast, one should possess a spiritual world in addition to pursuing cultivation.

“Master, when will you advance to the third level of Qi Refining?”

Wen Yue had once told her that reaching the third level of Qi Refining would allow them to accept missions and leave the sect. Little Golden Thread had taken this to heart and supervised Wen Yue’s cultivation every day, hoping they could go out as soon as possible.

“I haven’t even reached the second level yet. When do you think I’ll reach the third?”

Wen Yue could not help sounding exasperated.

“Then cultivate faster! Stop dawdling.”

Though she was tiny, Little Golden Thread had already begun urging Wen Yue on.

“What about you?”

“I’m going outside to cultivate too. I’ve discovered that cultivating beneath the moonlight feels much more comfortable. I don’t know whether it’s actually faster, but I really like the feeling of moonlight spilling over my body.”

“Then go ahead. Bye-bye!”

Wen Yue waved her hand.

“Master, don’t miss me too much! Didn’t you teach me that if love endures through the years, there is no need to remain together every day?”

Little Golden Thread mischievously recited a line from an ancient poem.

“That isn’t how you use it.”

“That’s what it means!”

Little Golden Thread was becoming livelier by the day.

Ever since Wen Yue had mentioned that cultivating beneath the moonlight was better, Little Golden Thread seemed to have fallen in love with coiling her body around the treetops and bathing in the moonlight as she cultivated. She said that cultivating that way was especially comfortable.

Since Little Golden Thread was working so hard, Wen Yue naturally refused to fall behind. Once Little Golden Thread had gone outside, she began cultivating as well. She still did not cultivate for very long, completing only two circulation cycles before stopping.

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After that, she read through the materials Ao Qing had given her. Wen Yue intended to accept a planting mission when the time came, so she began with the Manual of Cultivation and Planting. It introduced the cultivation and planting of spirit rice, spirit plants, and spirit herbs.

Taking her own circumstances into account, Wen Yue made a plan. She intended to grow a little of everything. At first, she had considered starting with simple, easy-to-grow crops since she had no experience. But the easier they were, the lower the returns. Crops with higher profits, on the other hand, required more time.

So her original plan of beginning with the easy and gradually moving on to the difficult was no longer feasible. Fortunately, she had familiarized herself with everything beforehand, sparing herself the panic of trying to learn after taking on the task. Now that she had studied what needed to be studied, she could grow several varieties at once and have an income every year.

After farming for ten years or so, she would still be under twenty. By then, she would probably have reached Foundation Establishment. Once that happened, where in the world could she not go?

The thought of this plan filled Wen Yue with excitement.

After finishing the materials, she cultivated for another two circulation cycles. Since it was not yet too late, she practiced the Object-Controlling Art for a while. Wen Yue could now control the sheet of paper and make it fly around the room. It moved wherever she wished; she could send it anywhere she wanted.

Wen Yue guessed that sword-flying was probably an advanced version of this technique. She only stopped once she had exhausted all the spiritual energy within her body.

Finally, she cultivated for another two circulation cycles before going to sleep. Her days were packed from beginning to end, and Wen Yue found the fullness of her life deeply satisfying.

The next day, on her way to eat after finishing her cultivation, Wen Yue encountered Bai Furou, the beautiful girl who had been waiting for her.

“Is something wrong?”

The girl had deliberately tried to approach Wen Yue several times before. Unwilling to form too many ties within the Heavenly Demon Sect, Wen Yue had coldly rejected her advances, after which Bai Furou had stopped coming near her. Wen Yue had no idea what had brought her here today.

“Wen Yue, it’s like this. Lin Kuishan wants to recruit you and hopes you’ll agree. He asked me to speak with you.”

“Please thank him for his kindness, but I’m used to going my own way.”

“Wen Yue, I hope you’ll think it over. Do you know why Niu Hongtian before, and Lin Kuishan now, have gathered people around them? Even someone as timid as Yin Yicheng has joined a faction. Do you really think they would do that without reason?”

“Why?”

Wen Yue had assumed it was merely children playing at forming little alliances. Even elementary school students in her previous life had sworn brotherhood with one another. But it seemed the matter was not so simple.

“They’re all preparing for the day they can obtain cultivation techniques. Even the cheapest techniques cost several thousand spirit stones. The better ones cost tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands.”