Chapter 11: Keeping a Low Profile-With a Dimensional Chat Group in Hand, the Doomed Side Character Soars to Immortality(Ephemeral clouds and fleeting winds, like the tinkling of wind chimes in passing moments.)

After Xia Mo entered the room, she curtsied to Wei Yunxi, then asked somewhat bewildered, “Miss, what are your instructions for me?”

“You were on night duty last night. Did you notice anything unusual?”

Xia Mo froze for a moment, then immediately knelt and said, “Please forgive me, Miss. I slept like the dead during the latter half of the night.”

Hearing this, Chunyu’s eyes widened in anger. “Xia Mo, how dare you make such a mistake! Didn’t I tell you to rest earlier during the day?”

Xia Mo, her face pale, stammered, “I… I don’t know what happened. This has never happened before.”

Wei Yunxi already had her suspicions. She knew that Xia Mo couldn’t be blamed. After all, she was just a mortal—no match for the methods of a cultivator. So Wei Yunxi waved her small hand and said, “It’s fine. I have a rough idea of what happened. Chunyu will take the night watch tonight.”

“Yes, Miss.”

After breakfast, Pearl came to escort Wei Yunxi to the cultivation hall. Wei Yunxi looked expectant as she left Zhuohua Court, watched by her four maids.

Once her identity was verified, Wei Yunxi entered the cultivation hall alone. Pearl wasn’t qualified to enter and, at Wei Yunxi’s gesture, returned to Zhuohua Court.

At the entrance, Wei Yunxi met Wei Yunqing. Pride glimmered in Wei Yunqing’s eyes, while Wei Yunxi greeted her sweetly, “Sister Yunqing, you’re here? Did your new maid bring you today?”

Wei Yunqing, still unused to the closeness, drew back a little and raised her chin. “Father assigned me a maid at the sixth level of Qi Refining. And you?”

Wei Yunxi immediately put on a pitiful look, pouting, “Father is so biased. I’m going to find him and ask for a maid at the sixth level of Qi Refining too.”

At that moment, the Sixth Elder in charge of the cultivation hall opened his eyes. He’d heard every word, but he understood Wei Lingyue’s reasoning. He cleared his throat. “The hour is nearly upon us. Everyone, please take your seats.”

Wei Yunqing, believing herself superior, strode in with her head held high. Wei Yunxi, looking wronged, followed behind and found a quiet corner to sit and daydream.

The Sixth Elder didn’t say more but began explaining the essentials of drawing spiritual energy into the body. “Today, we’ll discuss drawing spiritual energy within. The first step is to sense the points of spiritual light, according to your own spiritual roots…”

Wei Yunxi pretended to be lost in thought. She’d already heard these basics in the Feng family, but she kept one ear open for differences in the teaching, ready to draw on the strengths of both.

The rest of her mind was analyzing the incident with her storage pendant. She suspected Pearl had moved it last night, and the motive was not hard to guess.

If Pearl was Duroran’s person, then what she was after must be the things Feng Jiayun had left for her. After all, her mother had been a second-grade alchemist, and the pills she’d left were enough for Wei Yunxi to cultivate up to Foundation Establishment.

To Duroran, such resources were a fortune. Even if she didn’t use them herself, she’d find a way to pocket them. After all, her own daughter had excellent aptitude.

Since her maid couldn’t be trusted, Wei Yunxi certainly couldn’t let Pearl guard her during the critical process of drawing spiritual energy. Who knew what tricks she might play? If her foundation was ruined, who would she turn to for help?

As Wei Yunxi was pondering her next steps, a childish voice rang out, “Look! What’s that around Sister Yunqing?”

Everyone in the cultivation hall turned their gaze to Wei Yunqing. Blue and green points of light swirled around her, dreamlike and enchanting.

“Silence!” the Sixth Elder warned sternly, then softened his gaze as he looked at Wei Yunqing. The talent of dual spiritual roots truly was remarkable—to sense spiritual energy on the very first day.

All the children in the hall looked at Wei Yunqing with envious, jealous eyes. It was only the first day, and someone was already sensing spiritual energy. How infuriating!

Wei Yunxi secretly prayed that her rival would not succeed in drawing the energy inside.

Perhaps heaven heard her prayer, or perhaps the sudden hush startled Wei Yunqing. Soon after, she opened her eyes, and the points of light around her dissipated.

Wei Yunqing scratched her head in frustration and looked at the Sixth Elder.

He smiled kindly, “Yunqing, don’t be impatient. This is only your first day, and you’ve already sensed the spiritual light. It takes more time to draw it inside. Don’t lose heart—keep striving.”

“Yes, Sixth Elder. I understand.”

Wei Yunqing glanced around and saw all the children watching her with envy. Whatever frustration she’d felt vanished in an instant.

At noon, the Sixth Elder gave everyone half an hour for lunch. In the afternoon, they returned to the hall to continue sensing spiritual energy.

When Pearl came to pick up Wei Yunxi for the return to Zhuohua Court, Wei Yunxi feigned dejection and asked, “Pearl, how long did it take you to draw spiritual energy into your body?”

Pearl answered respectfully, “Miss, I have four spiritual roots. It took me three months to succeed.”

“So long?”

“Yes. My aptitude isn’t as good as yours, and I had limited resources. That’s why it took so long. With your talent, you should succeed within a month at most. Don’t be anxious—the more impatient you are, the harder it becomes.”

“Sigh, I understand.”

After returning, Wei Yunxi ate dinner and instructed Pearl to guard her door. She then sat cross-legged on her bed, pretending to sense spiritual energy.

In truth, the moment she closed her eyes, she could see colorful points of spiritual light. She could tell that if she simply welcomed them, they would be drawn to her and even enter her body.

But she couldn’t do that. With her three spiritual roots, it was impossible to succeed in a single day. If she did, not only would Wei Lingyue be suspicious—Duroran and Wei Yunqing would watch her like hawks. She didn’t want her spiritual roots extracted or her golden core stolen. For now, caution was best.

Pearl kept a close eye on Wei Yunxi, noting that at first she sat cross-legged for a quarter of an hour, then got restless, fidgeting as if sitting on needles. Soon she opened her eyes, played with her fingers, then took out items from her storage pendant, playing with them one by one—completely forgetting about cultivation.

Pearl’s lips curled up in amusement. Earning spirit stones was so easy this time—she didn’t even need to intervene. The little one was already goofing off. So effortless. She didn’t bother reminding her; her only duty was to keep the young lady safe. Cultivation progress was none of her concern.

Wei Yunxi spent the next three days this way, and on the fifth day, news spread through the cultivation hall that Wei Yunqing had succeeded in drawing spiritual energy into her body.