Chapter 13: The Journey of Cultivation Begins

As soon as Du Ruolan heard this, she knew Wei Lingyue would consider her suggestion, so she wisely retreated to Haitang Court.

Her thoughts were straightforward: since the precious things weren’t with that little brat Wei Yunxi, she was all the more unwilling to let Yunxi follow her daughter to the sect, where Yunxi would siphon off her daughter’s cultivation resources.

On the other side, the matter Wei Yunxi had worried about took a turn for the better the next day. Among the children cultivating in the training hall, one managed to successfully guide spiritual energy into the body—it was Wei Lingyue’s second brother’s child, Wei Zongjin, making him the first of the “Zong” generation.

When the spiritual roots were tested previously, Wei Zongjin had been overshadowed by Wei Yunqing, which left him disgruntled. Moreover, hearing Wei Yunxi’s words in the training hall yesterday, he was even more determined to earn a place in the Haoran Sect.

Wei Zongjin possessed three spiritual roots—wood, fire, and gold—with values all at eighty-five, higher than Wei Yunxi’s hidden spiritual root after her aptitude was concealed. After Wei Yunqing succeeded in guiding spiritual energy, Zongjin could already sense the spiritual energy clusters, so today, in the denser aura of the training hall, he succeeded in guiding spiritual energy into his body, becoming the second child to do so.

That evening, Du Ruolan informed her daughter that Wei Yunxi would not accompany her to Haoran Sect.

Wei Yunqing immediately asked in distress,

“Mother, why? Didn’t you say she could go with me to Haoran Sect?”

Du Ruolan gently reassured her,

“Qing’er, be good. In the past couple of days, I had Pearl turn Chuhua Courtyard upside down, and neither the hairpin you liked nor the resources left by her mother are with Wei Yunqing. All those things are stored at the Feng family.

The Fengs are highly guarded against us. Even if she follows you to the sect, she cannot take those resources with her. Bringing her along would be a burden, and you would be obliged to care for her for Feng family’s sake, which would only hinder your cultivation.”

Wei Yunqing felt her mother made sense, yet she couldn’t help feeling uneasy, though she couldn’t pinpoint why. She could only furrow her brows and say,

“Mother, you must find a way to get that hairpin. I feel it’s very important to me.”

“Rest assured. As long as she stays in the Wei residence, she won’t make any waves,” Du Ruolan promised immediately. Her goal was simple: keep Wei Yunxi under her nose, easy to control and suppress, and conveniently extract any treasures left by Feng Jiayun.

At that time, Wei Yunqing was too young to realize that sometimes fortune is not found in objects. Her true opportunity was Wei Yunxi herself—a truth she would only understand much later.

By then, the gap between them had already widened. She could no longer approach her younger sister, only circle endlessly around her.

Feng family finally sent a maid, specifically to guide Wei Yunxi in cultivation. The new arrival possessed three spiritual roots—water, wood, and fire—and was at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, immediately eclipsing Pearl.

This public affront unsettled Wei Lingyue, but he said little; after all, the Fengs were simply supporting their niece’s cultivation, compensating with resources when talent was lacking—he had no grounds to refuse.

He exchanged a few words with her, then sent the woman named Feng Xiu straight to Chuhua Courtyard.

Wei Yunxi had finally received her reinforcement. Had the Feng family delayed any longer, she might have lost patience and guided spiritual energy herself.

Feng Xiu’s cultivation surpassed Pearl’s, and upon arrival, she took charge of Chuhua Courtyard, dismissing Pearl to the outer court with a single glance.

“Miss, these are items the head of Feng family instructed me to bring. He said you can confidently begin guiding spiritual energy into your body,” Feng Xiu said, handing Wei Yunxi a delicate storage pendant.

“Thank you, Sister Feng. Please send my regards to Uncle and thank him for preparing these for me.”

“Yes, Miss.”

That night, Wei Yunxi impatiently activated the isolation array, then sat cross-legged in the cultivation chamber, palms upward, breathing deeply and slowly, gradually synchronizing her breath and heartbeat.

As her mind settled, the world fell silent; only her heartbeat echoed. From the darkness, shimmering points of light drifted toward her—one, two, three, and more, gathering until she was submerged.

Wei Yunxi radiated goodwill, inviting the spiritual energy clusters to enter her body. A green orb of light was the first to merge with her skin, followed by the second, the third…

With the influx of spiritual energy, her meridians swelled. The more she absorbed, the greater the sensation of blockage, as if her meridians were congested by the sudden surge.

She silently recited the Qi-guiding incantation she knew by heart, directing the congested energy to flow through her meridians. After a circuit, she stored the refined spiritual energy in her dantian.

Her dantian, newly formed and only the size of an egg, was already twice as large as that of an ordinary novice cultivator. She unknowingly activated her spiritual consciousness while circulating the energy.

At the bottom of her dantian, only green, white, and purple energy orbs lay scattered, barely covering its base—signifying her successful guidance of spiritual energy.

Wei Yunxi remained oblivious, continuing her cultivation, as the sensation was so blissful—like soaking in a perfectly warm spring, so pleasant she almost moaned aloud.

As she practiced the Qi Refining technique, more spiritual energy entered her body. Soon, a layer of brownish grime seeped from her skin, emitting a foul odor—the impurities expelled during her first successful energy guidance.

Feng Xiu, waiting outside, could not sense what was happening within, but she knew Miss Yunxi must have succeeded; she had felt the faint ripple of spiritual energy just now.

Wei Yunxi did not lift the array until sunrise. Feng Xiu grew concerned but dared not intrude, so she sent Chunyu to request leave from the training hall.

Chunyu understood Feng Xiu’s intention and left Chuhua Courtyard, only to be caught halfway by Pearl.

“Chunyu, why isn’t Miss Yunxi going to the training hall today?”

Chunyu frowned and replied, “Miss isn’t feeling well. She said she’ll cultivate in her own courtyard, and she won’t appear until she succeeds in guiding spiritual energy. She’s anxious.”

Pearl’s eyes flashed, and she parted ways with Chunyu.

Wei Yunxi had to break her cultivation because of the rumbling in her stomach. Upon opening her eyes, she was dizzy—a sign of low blood sugar.

Ignoring the stench on her body, she quickly deactivated the array. Feng Xiu rushed in, saw Wei Yunxi crawling on the floor like a little turtle, and couldn’t help but smile.

She cast a cleansing spell to remove the layer of grime, then picked her up and fed her a fasting pill, before checking her from head to toe.

Wei Yunxi felt a warm stream flow from her mouth to her belly, soothing the burning sensation. She softly asked,

“Sister Feng, how long did I cultivate?”

“Miss, you cultivated for two days and two nights. If you hadn’t come out soon, I would have barged in.”