Yu Mi found that the effort required to sort out Bao Gu’s meridians was even greater than she had anticipated. Not to mention the mental strain, the amount of spiritual energy consumed was terrifying. With her own reserves of spiritual energy at the late Foundation Establishment stage, she performed a simple meridian cleansing for Bao Gu, and just clearing the Governing Vessel had depleted her energy. The rest of the energy expenditure had to be supplemented with low-grade spirit stones. It took over a thousand low-grade spirit stones and ten mid-grade spirit stones to barely complete the meridian cleansing for Bao Gu.
Such a quantity of spirit stones, if used on someone with a single or dual spiritual root, would be enough for them to break through to the middle or late stages of Qi Refining. Yet, used on Bao Gu, it wasn’t even enough to cause a ripple.
Five spiritual roots, tsk, a perfectly balanced five spiritual roots constitution, Yu Mi had truly seen it all! She hadn’t picked up a treasure to bring home; she had picked up a bottomless pit!
The spiritual energy she poured into Bao Gu’s body seemed to vanish into a funnel, quietly seeping away to who knows where! If Bao Gu’s constitution was truly one of those that couldn’t retain spiritual energy and was unfit for cultivation, Yu Mi would have let her return to being a mortal, saving both trouble and effort. However, she didn’t feel even a trace of spiritual energy leaking from Bao Gu’s body, which meant that the energy she had infused into Bao Gu was still within her, just not in the dantian or meridians, but hidden somewhere in her body that Yu Mi couldn’t detect.
Strange? Definitely strange!
The strangest part was that the meridians she had cleared were slowly healing on their own! In other words, Bao Gu wouldn’t need Yu Mi to reach the Golden Core stage and perform a thorough treatment; given some time, Bao Gu would heal on her own. Was this the reaction of a normal Qi Refining stage cultivator? Even cultivators in the middle or late stages of Qi Refining didn’t have this kind of self-healing ability!
Yu Mi once again marveled at the unique nature of a perfectly balanced five spiritual roots. Who would dare to take on such a disciple? Who could afford it? The spirit stones she had painstakingly saved up to break through to the Golden Core stage, one-fifth of them had been spent on Bao Gu, who was only at the first stage of Qi Refining!
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After sorting out Bao Gu’s meridians, Yu Mi sat down on the spot to meditate and recover the spiritual energy she had expended.
Bao Gu, being considerate, didn’t disturb Yu Mi and quietly left the courtyard. The vague pain throughout her body had disappeared, her complexion turned rosy, and she felt spirited and strong. There was a faint sensation of Qi flowing through her meridians, which would be hard to detect without careful attention. Bao Gu believed this to be the residual true Qi left in her meridians by her senior sister during the healing. Knowing her own constitution was poor, she didn’t dare waste any of the true Qi and hurried back to her own small courtyard to meditate and cultivate, carefully sensing the Qi in her meridians, trying to guide it into her dantian.
The true Qi in her meridians flowed like a meandering stream, different from the stillness of the true Qi gathered in the dantian, like a tranquil lake. Bao Gu didn’t know how to guide this wandering true Qi and could only follow the Qi Refining technique given by Yu Mi, breathing in and out earnestly, closing her eyes, concentrating, and feeling the movement of the true Qi within her body, trying to control and guide it through this sensation.
Bao Gu knew that cultivation couldn’t be rushed. She patiently calmed her mind, emptied her thoughts, and immersed herself in sensing the true Qi within her body.
As time passed, Bao Gu entered a state of extreme tranquility, as if her consciousness and thoughts had entered her meridians along with the sensations of the true Qi within her body. She vaguely “saw” her own meridians, perhaps what the cultivation techniques referred to as “visualization.”
She “visualized” the meridians within her body, the true Qi in her dantian, concentrating and emptying her mind to touch upon a sense of clarity she had never felt before.
Gradually, her mind and body seemed to enter a state of clarity. In this world of extreme stillness, she felt as if something was awakening. Bao Gu couldn’t describe the feeling; it was as if something in her mind had suddenly come to life.
As the unknown thing in her mind came to life, her thoughts became clearer, as if all distractions had been emptied, leaving only clarity.
This was a strange sensation, one she had never experienced before.
Suddenly, she realized what it was! She had entered the second stage of the Qi Refining period.
After finishing her cultivation, Bao Gu ran excitedly to the neighboring courtyard where her senior sister lived. As soon as she saw her senior sister coming out of the room, she shouted joyfully, “Senior sister, senior sister, I’ve entered the second stage of Qi Refining!”
Yu Mi replied with a forced smile, “Congratulations!” Her thousand low-grade spirit stones, ten mid-grade spirit stones, all for Bao Gu to reach the second stage of Qi Refining! Her heart was full of tears!
Bao Gu uttered an “eh” and said, “Senior sister, you don’t seem very happy?”
Yu Mi forced a smile and said, “It’s fine. Junior sister, you see, your senior sister is poor. Just now, treating your injuries cost two thousand low-grade spirit stones and twenty mid-grade spirit stones. Shouldn’t this expense for your treatment be counted on you?”
Bao Gu was stunned! She quickly calculated in her mind. One mid-grade spirit stone was equivalent to a hundred low-grade spirit stones, so according to her senior sister, she owed her four thousand low-grade spirit stones. Now that she was an inner sect disciple, she could receive five low-grade spirit stones a month, and without spending a single one, it would take her two hundred years to repay the debt!
Yu Mi pinched Bao Gu’s tender little face, smiling cheerfully, “Don’t be afraid, you can repay it! Don’t we still have two Golden Core Pills to sell? The starting price for a Golden Core Pill at the auction house is five hundred mid-grade spirit stones. Just deduct it from the sale of the Golden Core Pills.” As she spoke, she reached out her hand to Bao Gu.
Bao Gu was taken aback by Yu Mi’s gesture, then quickly handed over the Golden Core Pill she had been keeping warm in her storage bag to Yu Mi, and then began to count on her fingers, “Two Golden Core Pills can sell for at least a thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Senior sister, how many spirit stones will it cost to buy the medicine for treating injuries?”
Yu Mi chuckled and said, “Stop counting, you won’t have any left.”
Bao Gu’s eyes widened in shock and she asked, “Why… why is that?” She looked pitifully at Yu Mi with a sad face, silently pleading, “Senior sister, don’t trick me because I don’t understand the prices!”
Yu Mi flicked Bao Gu’s forehead gently and said softly, “Your constitution is much better than I expected. After the previous sorting, the damaged meridians are healing on their own, so there’s no need for further treatment. When you have free time, go to the back mountain to take care of the medicinal fields, it’s time to weed, exterminate pests, and water them!” With that, she summoned her flying sword and flew into the air towards the sect’s teleportation array.
Suddenly remembering something, Bao Gu shouted, “Senior sister, don’t forget to buy me a flying sword when you sell the Golden Core Pills!” Her words had barely left her mouth when she saw Yu Mi, already high and far away, stumble and plummet a good distance before rising again.
Yu Mi was so angry she almost wanted to strangle Bao Gu! She had quietly taken the Golden Core Pills given by the acting sect leader to the auction house to sell, rather than to fellow disciples in urgent need of them. Although this did not break any sect rules, it would attract a lot of displeasure, and it could lead to a Nascent Soul ancestor coming to scold her.
If she had to do it, it had to be done quietly. Bao Gu’s loud shout meant that all the Nascent Soul ancestors in the sect, with their keen ears and sharp eyes, now knew she was planning to sell the Golden Core Pills privately. After this incident, it would be strange if the acting sect leader would bestow anything on her again!
She steadied herself and flew towards the teleportation array without looking back, using the sect’s communication stone to announce her willingness to exchange the Golden Core Pills with fellow disciples for the precious medicinal herbs needed to treat Bao Gu.
Yu Mi used the sect’s communication stone to ask several times, and as she expected, she received no response. She then stepped onto the teleportation array and left. Perhaps the acting sect leader, the Nascent Soul ancestor, and the elders could gather these herbs, but they all had a few Golden Core Pills in their hands and did not lack this one.
She had to shout openly because the sale of the Golden Core Pills could no longer be kept secret, making it seem not that she was unwilling to exchange the Golden Core Pills with fellow disciples, but that no fellow disciples came to exchange. She had to sell the pills in order to follow the acting sect leader’s orders and save her junior sister.
This seemed superfluous, but after Bao Gu’s loud shout, she had to take this step! Heaven knows how many fellow disciples were now coveting and laughing at her for getting stuck with Bao Gu, such a troublesome burden!
Bao Gu was scolded by Yu Mi, stuck out her tongue, pinched her ears, and retreated back to her own small courtyard. She diligently rolled up her sleeves and cleaned up her own small courtyard and Yu Mi’s courtyard, including the kitchen a little further away, making everything spotless. Then she happily flipped through the map Yu Mi had given her to find the medicinal fields on Lingyun Peak.
Bao Gu thought about the abandoned medicinal field left to her by Yu Mi, which was overgrown with various spiritual herbs. There should be many old and valuable herbs in the medicinal fields of Lingyun Peak that had grown for many years. She thought it wouldn’t be a problem to pluck a few herbs while weeding, watering, and exterminating pests to cook with meat to increase her cultivation.
With the map as a guide, Bao Gu easily found the path to the medicinal fields of Lingyun Peak. From a distance, she could see the fields divided into plots, stretching far and wide, easily ten times the size of her small courtyard. Bao Gu could already imagine herself consuming a large amount of spiritual herbs, making rapid progress in her cultivation, and shocking everyone. What did it matter if she had a five spiritual roots constitution? With an endless supply of spiritual herbs to nourish her, she wasn’t afraid of not advancing in cultivation.
Joyful, Bao Gu ran all the way to the medicinal fields halfway up Lingyun Peak. When she arrived at the edge of the fields and saw the scene inside, she was so shocked that her mouth hung open and her eyes went blank!
Where were the medicinal fields with hundreds, thousands of years old herbs and precious herbs?
Where were the ancient medicinal trees that had grown for thousands, tens of thousands of years?
Bao Gu stared blankly at the medicinal field in front of her, which looked as if it had been plundered, and it took her a long time to snap back to reality.
Senior sister said the medicinal field needed weeding! Indeed, it needed weeding!
All the herbs in the field had been plucked, leaving only the grass! What was going on? Where were the herbs?
Bao Gu hurried into the medicinal field and found that the herbs had been plucked cleaner than the weeds, not even a root or a leaf was left!
