Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Settled
Jiang Li Sheng wasn’t eager to find the Qi Shan Secret Realm and enter again. She wasn’t as obsessed as Chen Liu An.
She tried to draw on her spiritual power.
Nothing.
Her spiritual abode was still dry and cracked, a field of scorched earth without even a wisp of power. In the past, if she ran out of power and slept this long, she would have recovered at least a little. This time, there was nothing at all. She felt like a mortal wearing a cultivator’s skin.
She let out a helpless breath. “I don’t have any spiritual power. Even if we find the secret realm, what would I do? The moment I go in, I’ll probably be swallowed alive by demon beasts.”
Wei Qing Lan looked at her. “I’ll be there.”
Jiang Li Sheng went quiet.
Wei Qing Lan’s voice stayed calm, as if he were discussing the weather. “Either way, I have nothing pressing. I can walk with you. And as for your spiritual abode… it might not be beyond repair. I think it needs a spiritual vein to irrigate it. Scorched earth becomes fertile only when there’s water. Commoners in the mortal world need water to irrigate fields. Your spiritual abode is scorched earth everywhere, so it likely needs a spiritual spring or a spiritual vein. Toss a spiritual vein in, and the problem should be solved.”
Jiang Li Sheng stared at him like he’d grown wings. “Senior Brother Wei, are you joking? Spiritual veins are that easy to find?”
Find one. Toss it in. Problem solved.
He said it as lightly as if he were tossing a pebble into a pond.
She didn’t even dare imagine it.
From what she knew, spiritual veins were limited and precious. The three major sects—Kun Lun Sect, Qing Xu Sect, and Tai Yi Sect—each occupied a major spiritual vein, blessed by heaven and earth, enough to support their disciples’ cultivation.
Other sects might only hold a small vein, but even that was enough to secure a foothold in the world.
He couldn’t possibly drag her off to steal or rob one.
And even if he could… he was Wei Qing Lan. That kind of rumor would cling like tar.
Leaving the three major sects aside, they had stood unshaken for ten thousand years. Their old seniors—those who had lived for thousands of years—were countless. Most stayed hidden, but if the sect faced a real crisis, they would emerge.
Even smaller sects often had elders who had lived for millennia, with Grand Completion Stage cultivators guarding them. Even if Wei Qing Lan had the skill, taking a spiritual vein by force would be ugly, and dangerous.
Wei Qing Lan watched her expression shift through a dozen thoughts and gave a short laugh. “What are you thinking? Robbing one is obviously impossible.” He continued, matter-of-fact. “The world is vast. Mountains and seas are endless. Not every spiritual vein has been claimed. Not every spiritual vein has been discovered. Maybe a hidden spiritual vein lies inside some dormant secret realm.”
Jiang Li Sheng studied him. “Then why would you help me search for one?”
Wei Qing Lan turned, stepped off the stone bed, and flicked his sleeve. The wrinkles in his robe smoothed out as if they’d never existed. He said, without drama, “Martial Uncle Yu of Qing Xu Sect cared for you for years. He poured in countless efforts to raise your cultivation to Foundation Establishment Stage. You came to Kun Lun Sect for barely a month. Because of Kun Lun Sect’s rules, you went into a secret realm, and this happened. Your spiritual abode is ruined. Kun Lun Sect bears responsibility. Martial Uncle Yu entrusted you to Kun Lun Sect, and Kun Lun Sect failed to protect you. We can’t answer to Martial Uncle Yu. After my master went into seclusion, I’ve been acting in charge of Kun Lun Sect. That responsibility falls on me.”
Jiang Li Sheng looked startled. “My master agreed to me going. I was supposed to train anyway. This has nothing to do with Kun Lun Sect.” She scratched her head, then added in genuine surprise, “Senior Brother Wei… are you the type who likes to take blame for everything?”
Wei Qing Lan paused, just for a breath.
“You showed up at Bitter Mountain and saved my life,” Jiang Li Sheng said quickly. “If my master knew, he’d be grateful beyond words. As for everything else… forget it. You don’t have to take responsibility. It has nothing to do with Kun Lun Sect, and it has nothing to do with you.”
She didn’t say the rest out loud: maybe Shan Gao was right. Maybe she really was useless. A huge inheritance fell into her lap, and she couldn’t hold it. Now she’d crippled herself.
“You really are carefree,” Wei Qing Lan said.
Jiang Li Sheng’s ears warmed. She couldn’t exactly argue. Being carefree was sometimes the only way to keep breathing.
Wei Qing Lan looked at her. “So even if I help you find the secret realm and a spiritual vein, you won’t take it? You’ll let your master’s years of effort go to waste? You’ll give up completely?”
Jiang Li Sheng wanted to say yes—give up, break the jar and let it shatter.
But her spiritual abode was already shattered. If she kept falling, wouldn’t she die?
A Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator could live two hundred years. She’d been satisfied with that. Now she felt like a candle with no wax. Could she still live that long?
Life was good. She didn’t want to die early.
Still… asking Wei Qing Lan—a sect genius, a future pillar—to spend time and effort searching for a spiritual vein for her? What face did she have?
She scratched her head again, helpless. “My master will find a way.”
“So you run to your master for everything,” Wei Qing Lan said, unimpressed. “Martial Uncle Yu must be terribly unlucky to have you as his disciple.”
He waved a hand and cast a cleansing spell over her. Warm, clean energy swept away the stale sweat and dust of long sleep. Then he made the final call. “We’re going to Da Gui Mountain. If we find the Qi Shan Secret Realm, I’ll go in with you. If we find a spiritual vein inside, even better. If not, then later Martial Uncle Yu can slowly search for you.”
Jiang Li Sheng swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn’t blind to kindness. “All right,” she said softly. “Thank you, Senior Brother Wei.”
She slid off the stone bed. Her legs trembled when her feet hit the ground, weak as noodles, but she was better than she’d been before. At least she could stand.
She shuffled outside the cave dwelling and froze.
Scorched earth stretched endlessly, cracked and broken into ravines and trenches. It looked like the world had been burned clean.
She stared, dazed. “This… was my destructive power that big?”
“The entirety of Bitter Mountain has no inch of good soil,” Wei Qing Lan said, calm as ever. “When I arrived, the mountain was collapsing. If not for an innate treasure my master gave me—an ancient artifact—I might not have been able to keep even ten zhang safe. Your destructive power is… impressive.”
Jiang Li Sheng winced, then brightened with sudden, practical pride. “Good thing I grabbed a handful of no-goiter herb and picked two yellow-thorn tree fruits earlier.” She pulled them out of her storage pouch and thrust them at him. “Senior Brother Wei, look. These are probably the last no-goiter herb and yellow-thorn tree fruits left in the world, right?”
Wei Qing Lan glanced at what she held out, genuine surprise flickering in his eyes. Then he nodded. “Probably. Those only grow in Bitter Mountain. I didn’t expect you’d still have a chance to pick them.”
Jiang Li Sheng shoved them into his hands with the confidence of someone paying a debt before it could grow teeth. “They’re for you. Thank you for saving my life.”