Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Taming the Spirit Bead!

Gu Qing Yuan’s poison had sunk deep into his organs. Junior Sister Ye’s old illness still wasn’t healed. Now even he was badly injured…

Only then did Bai Yang truly realize how important Master was.

In the past, whenever he was hurt or poisoned, Master had protected him. With top-tier pills eaten like they were free, he recovered quickly every time.

Now that Master no longer cared, they kept running into tight spots.

Bai Yang clenched the pill bottle, determination hardening in his chest.

He would reconcile with Master—no matter what it took.

He sat cross-legged on a small couch not far away. After swallowing the pills, he began repairing his injuries.

A few days later, Song Wan Ning returned to the Song Family.

Unlike before, the Song Family had become much busier. Few disciples remained in the clan, and everyone moved in a rush. The old lively scene was gone.

Song Qing Yun, as Patriarch, still held the fort. Madam Mu Yuan, his wife, claimed she was entering seclusion—and quietly left the Song Family instead.

When Song Qing Yun saw his daughter return, delight lit his face. He brought her into the study at once, unable to hide his excitement.

“Wan Ning, just as you predicted, there really is a Spirit Vein there! And it’s a top-grade Spirit Vein!”

He waved his hand, and a spirit stone appeared—radiating rich golden light. The hazy glow reflected along Song Wan Ning’s features.

“Look. This is what we mined from it!”

Song Wan Ning took the stone calmly, eyes cool. “So it’s a metal-element Spirit Vein.”

In her previous life, this Spirit Vein had fallen into Ye Chu Xue’s hands. It became Ye Chu Xue’s foundation as she traveled the world—the leverage she used to buy people’s loyalty.

Now the Song Family had developed it first. It would become nourishment for the Song Family instead.

“About the Spirit Vein,” Song Wan Ning said, voice low, “you must be extremely careful. You can’t let other forces discover it, or they’ll definitely come to take a share.”

A top-grade Spirit Vein was too tempting. It was an opportunity—and it was trouble.

The longer they could hide it, the better.

Song Qing Yun smiled. “Don’t worry. Everyone digging the mine is trustworthy. To outsiders, we said they went out to train.”

His expression sobered. “Even within the Song Family, only a handful know.”

“Good.” Song Wan Ning narrowed her eyes. “Now speed up the mining. The more we take out, the better.”

Then her tone shifted, turning sharper. “Once you start pulling spirit stones out, Father, you have to be willing to spend spirit stones too. Push the clan’s children to cultivate hard.”

“The Song Family is powerful. Plenty of people have long disliked us. A family war is unavoidable…”

Back then, when Gu Qing Yuan, Bai Yang, and the others led sects and families to besiege the Song Family, hadn’t they used momentum as their blade?

Those people had been eyeing the Song Family like a fat piece of meat for a long time—just waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Alright.” Song Qing Yun’s smile vanished, his face turning cold. “Father understands.”

Just imagining those people slaughtering thousands of Song Family members made the killing intent in his heart surge.

“Father will find ways to let them train properly, so when the crisis comes, they can endure it.”

He paused, then added, voice heavy, “And recently, Father has been in contact with some old friends. I hope they can help when the time comes. The Song Family can’t fight alone—not with numbers like that.”

He’d seen it clearly. If the enemy dared to besiege them, they’d already decided to wipe them out.

No matter how fiercely the Song Family fought back, they couldn’t stand against sheer numbers.

The good thing was they had prepared in advance. If they contacted other forces early and planned ahead, they wouldn’t be so passive.

Song Wan Ning nodded, a dark glint passing through her eyes.

Father already had his plans.

What she needed to do was raise her cultivation. When danger came, she would step forward and protect the Song Family.

After bidding Father farewell, Song Wan Ning returned to her own courtyard.

Though she hadn’t lived at home for years, everything looked exactly as it had when she left—bright windows, spotless floors, and air faintly scented with herbal grasses.

She refused the servants’ help. Once inside, she activated the courtyard’s barrier.

The Spirit Bead she had bought at the auction lay quietly in her storage ring.

In her previous life, Ye Chu Xue had won this item.

This time, Song Wan Ning had “snatched it away” and finally gotten it into her own hands.

But after one hard lesson, she understood something very well: even if she held it, it might not serve her.

Still, if she let it go, she couldn’t accept it. So she decided to take the risk once more and test its power.

The sect was full of disputes and far less safe than home. Her own courtyard was the perfect place to bind it.

Taking a slow breath, Song Wan Ning took out the Spirit Bead.

She examined it closely, but couldn’t see anything special.

She lifted an eyebrow, then pricked her finger decisively. A few drops of blood welled and fell onto the Spirit Bead.

They should have been absorbed.

Instead, they slid down the Spirit Bead’s smooth surface.

Drip.

The blood hit the floor.

Veins stood out along Song Wan Ning’s arm. A violent aura surged up her chest and flooded her eyes, as if it wanted to swallow her reason whole.

It lasted less than two seconds before she forced it down and regained clarity.

“It won’t acknowledge me as its master,” she murmured, smiling darkly.

She squeezed out a few more drops and let them fall again.

She had given herself a chance.

She had given the Spirit Bead a chance.

Yet the Spirit Bead remained willful. It refused her completely—and even shook the blood off with arrogant pride, as if provoking her.

“Heh.”

Song Wan Ning laughed softly.

Spiritual items always chose their own master. Other than the Female Lead, no one could truly use them.

If she kept holding it, then sooner or later this Spirit Bead would find some way back into Ye Chu Xue’s hands.

She couldn’t tolerate that.

And this Spirit Bead had cost her far too many spirit stones.

How could she let it go so easily?

“If you won’t behave,” Song Wan Ning said, voice light, “then I’ll teach you what it means to obey.”

She carried the Spirit Bead into the alchemy room.

With practiced precision, she restrained it and tied it above the alchemy fire so it couldn’t struggle or flee. Then she lit the flame.

This alchemy fire had been peeled from a strange flame—fierce and domineering.

The moment it flared, heat rolled through the room, unbearable and biting.

The Spirit Bead was roasted at the center. It couldn’t speak, but Song Wan Ning could feel its proud little temper, as if it were sneering that it didn’t fear the fire.

Song Wan Ning didn’t care whether it feared anything.

She fed spiritual energy into the flame and began burning it hotter and hotter.

She had patience. She could tame the Spirit Bead slowly.

And if it truly refused to yield, she didn’t mind destroying it outright. At worst, she’d lose some spirit stones.

If she couldn’t have it, she would ruin it.

Either way, she would never let it return to Ye Chu Xue’s hands and become a weapon turned against her.

With lazy composure, she pulled a chair over and sat to the side, watching the Spirit Bead’s sheen shift and deepen in the firelight.