Chapter 5

Next door, the Senior Sister Su whom Lu Renjia thought so highly of was sitting cross-legged on a Pure Heart Meditation Mat, meditating with her eyes closed. Having cultivated all the way to the late Mahayana stage in her previous life, Su Wanqing found her current Qi Refinement cultivation to be nothing more than a trivial matter. In merely one afternoon, the cultivation within her body rose steadily. Fourth level of Qi Refinement. Fifth level. Sixth level. Seventh level. In the blink of an eye, her cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the eighth level of Qi Refinement. Yet the spiritual energy within her body showed none of the thinness or disorder that usually appeared when one's cultivation rose too rapidly in a short period of time. Instead, it was exceptionally solid and refined. In fact, if Su Wanqing were willing, breaking through from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment overnight would be a simple matter. However, Su Wanqing had no intention of leaving the servant courtyard just yet. She closed her eyes again and compressed her cultivation, which had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refinement, back down to the fourth level. Only then did she open her eyes, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward the room next door. Su Wanqing once again confirmed that in her previous life, whether in the Servant Disciples' Courtyard, throughout the entire Heavenly Evolution Sect, or even across the cultivation world, she had never heard of anyone named Lu Renjia. Not to mention that she actually possessed such an extraordinary appearance. Even if she were merely an ordinary mortal, she would surely have gained some degree of fame. This person who had suddenly appeared beside her after her rebirth left Su Wanqing deeply puzzled. She frowned slightly, sensing the somewhat chaotic aura of the girl meditating just on the other side of the wall, before slowly closing her eyes. --- At dawn, the two met in the courtyard. Lu Renjia was still wearing yesterday's blue dress. The only difference was that her long, jet-black hair was now tied up with a white ribbon, cascading all the way down to her waist. Su Wanqing's gaze lingered for a moment on her pure, breathtakingly beautiful face. Even though she had already looked at her for half a day yesterday, she still could not help feeling a trace of amazement. "Senior Sister Wanqing." Her voice was soft and cheerful, and she looked at Su Wanqing with gentle warmth in her eyes. Su Wanqing gave a soft acknowledgment and summoned a spirit crane. The spirit crane carried the two of them toward the Hundred Herbs Garden. Along the way, Su Wanqing's body remained somewhat stiff. Yesterday, because Lu Renjia had looked so embarrassed, Su Wanqing had softened and worried that renting two spirit cranes would make her feel uncomfortable, so she had rented only one. Yesterday, she had still thought that they were both women and that sharing a spirit crane would not matter. But today, Su Wanqing finally realized that it did matter. They were clearly both women, yet the girl in front of her seemed to have no bones at all. Whether it was her back pressed against Su Wanqing's chest, her arm brushing against her accidentally, or her slender waist that could be encircled with one hand, everything about her was so soft and delicate. Wrapped in the thin robes of the sect, she gave off a rich, subtle feminine fragrance. Lu Renjia, however, was completely oblivious to all of this. During the spirit crane's flight, she would occasionally turn her head to speak to Su Wanqing, her warm breath softly brushing against Su Wanqing's arm and cheek. Su Wanqing kept her back rigid throughout the journey, her entire body practically stiffening into a piece of wood. When they finally arrived at the Hundred Herbs Garden, Su Wanqing quickly put some distance between herself and Lu Renjia. Yet the girl was completely unaware of anything unusual. She cheerfully moved closer again and even hooked her arm around Su Wanqing's. Su Wanqing was helpless. It took quite some effort before she finally used the excuse that she needed to activate the restrictions to get Lu Renjia to let go. The Hundred Herbs Garden was the source of spiritual plants used by the many disciples and elders of Danzha Peak to refine various pills. Despite being called a garden, it was actually an enormous mountain whose vast expanse seemed to have no end. The task Su Wanqing and Lu Renjia had received this time was to clear the weeds from a section of the Hundred Herbs Garden and bring rain to several mu of spiritual farmland. Clearing the weeds was still manageable. Lu Renjia had done it before. It was somewhat tiring, but at least it did not require the use of techniques, making it ideal for cultivators like them who were still in the early stages of Qi Refinement and had yet to learn any spells. Rainmaking, however, was a task Lu Renjia had never done before. She could not help looking toward Su Wanqing. Fortunately, Su Wanqing quickly understood what she meant. "I'll handle the rain." Lu Renjia's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly nodded before reaching out to roll up her sleeves. Su Wanqing was momentarily stunned when she saw the girl's two snow-white arms suddenly exposed, delicate as lotus roots. "What are you doing?" Lu Renjia looked at her as though it were obvious. "Clearing the weeds." Su Wanqing: "..." She was speechless. "Do you think you're farming?" At the very least, they were cultivators. How could she possibly clear weeds with her bare hands? Facing Lu Renjia's expression that seemed to say, *What else am I supposed to do?*, Su Wanqing did not know what to say. She could only take two sickles from her storage pouch and channel two strands of spiritual energy from her fingertips into them. The sickles quickly floated into the air. Lu Renjia's eyes widened as she stared at the objects hovering before her. Su Wanqing said nothing. She simply stood where she was and moved her thoughts slightly. The two sickles immediately flew into the spiritual field, where the weeds had grown to knee height. With several swift sweeps, they cut down a large patch of weeds. Lu Renjia was completely dumbfounded. She had spent three years tending spiritual herb gardens, yet she had never seen a Qi Refinement disciple use the Object Manipulation Technique with such mastery. Cutting down all the weeds was not enough. Su Wanqing then cast a Soil-Turning Technique. The roots of the weeds were turned up along with the soil and tossed aside. Lu Renjia was so astonished that she had instead become calm. Only her eyes remained filled with admiration as she looked at Su Wanqing. That gaze made Su Wanqing's lips curve upward slightly for some inexplicable reason, though the smile disappeared almost immediately. The task, which originally would have taken five days, was completely finished by sunset on the very first day. And it had all been done by Su Wanqing alone. Lu Renjia had originally wanted to stay and accompany her, but Su Wanqing urged her to sit down nearby and cultivate instead. After all, the spiritual energy in the Hundred Herbs Garden was countless times denser than that of Servant Peak. For a cultivator like Lu Renjia, whose spiritual root aptitude was so poor, this was an excellent opportunity. When Lu Renjia opened her eyes, she saw Su Wanqing standing not far away with her hands behind her back, gazing into the distance at the setting sun. Sensing Lu Renjia's approaching aura, Su Wanqing turned her head and first checked her cultivation. Her brows immediately furrowed. With spiritual energy this dense, her cultivation had increased by only a tiny bit. She really was— However, even that tiny improvement was clearly enough to make the girl happy. The corners of her lips were raised high. "Senior Sister Wanqing, the Hundred Herbs Garden really is a wonderful place. The spiritual energy here is so much denser than at Servant Peak. If I could cultivate here every day, I'd definitely reach the fourth level of Qi Refinement within a year." A year? Su Wanqing neither agreed nor disagreed. "Junior Sister Lu, stay here for now. I have a friend in the Hundred Herbs Garden whom I need to see. I need to retrieve something from him." This was the first time in these two days that Su Wanqing had taken the initiative to say she would be leaving temporarily. Lu Renjia froze for a moment. The hand hanging at her side unconsciously pinched the hem of her skirt, but she quickly released it. "Oh, all right." She answered softly and genuinely found a place to sit down. Then she raised her head and looked at Su Wanqing. "Senior Sister Wanqing, I'll meditate here and wait for you." Seeing how obedient she was, Su Wanqing's heart suddenly softened, and her voice became gentler as well. "I'll be back soon." "Mm-hmm." Lu Renjia nodded lightly, watching as Su Wanqing's figure slowly disappeared into the setting sun. The spiritual energy in the Hundred Herbs Garden was so abundant that she naturally would not waste it. She simply closed her eyes and devoted herself wholeheartedly to meditation. She had no idea that, not far behind her, a battered figure was already rushing in her direction.