Different colored and attributed spirit stones transformed into spiritual energy were absorbed by Bao Gu, converging in her dantian and transforming into true qi. The five-colored true qi mixed in the dantian, constantly merging and repelling under the influence of the five elements generating and overcoming each other, turning Bao Gu’s dantian into a chaotic furnace. She only felt the true qi of various attributes violently colliding and changing, almost bursting her dantian.
The cultivation technique did not record such a situation.
Bao Gu was terrified! She was worried that such powerful and chaotic true qi would burst her dantian and end her life right there. She tried her best to control and guide it, but to little effect. She knew she had to balance the five elements within her body to resolve the crisis, but she had absorbed too much water spiritual energy previously. A large amount of true qi transformed from water spiritual energy condensed in her dantian, causing an imbalance of the five elements—
Bao Gu stabilized her mind, guiding the spiritual energy from top-grade spirit stones to replenish the other lacking types of spiritual energy, trying her best to compensate.
However, the true qi transformed from the water spiritual energy was too much, several times it even stretched out of the dantian, seemingly about to burst it open, but strangely it didn’t burst, maintaining at a critical point where her dantian was in so much pain she wanted to die, yet it didn’t let her die.
Bao Gu dared not stop absorbing spiritual energy. The absorbed spiritual energy transformed into true qi and continued to fight in the dantian, torturing Bao Gu to the point of wishing for death, feeling like an eternity.
All the top-grade spirit stones piled in front of her were absorbed, leaving only a thin layer of residue on the ground, with no more spiritual energy to replenish. The true qi inside her body collided violently as if it was about to explode at any moment, or perhaps it had already exploded.
Bao Gu felt like she was about to die!
Suddenly, she felt her dantian burst open, yet it seemed like the chaotic spiritual energy had banded together!
The next moment, she felt a lightness throughout her body, as if she had broken through a critical point. She quickly checked her dantian and found that the five types of true qi, which had been fighting fiercely just now, had strangely calmed down and merged into a small five-colored qi ball.
Her dantian was filled with true qi, and her body felt warm and much stronger!
Was this a breakthrough? She didn’t die?
Bao Gu incredulously got up, jumped around, and found her body light and agile.
This was a breakthrough to the fourth stage of Qi Refining!
Bao Gu was so happy that she revealed a radiant smile, but then she saw the residue on the ground and couldn’t smile anymore. Over seven hundred top-grade spirit stones, all gone! She rummaged through her super large storage bag on her arm and found only over two hundred water-attributed top-grade spirit stones and some mid to low-grade spirit stones her senior sister had given her before.
She walked out of the room and strolled around the yard, not seeing any signs of her senior sister and Little Martial Aunt returning. After asking around the disciples of Qingfeng Pavilion, no one had seen her senior sister and Little Martial Aunt return. they had been out for half a month.
Could something have happened?
Bao Gu thought it was impossible. With Little Martial Aunt accompanying her senior sister and the emergency communication treasures from her senior uncles, they shouldn’t have encountered any trouble.
After a sweaty cultivation session, Bao Gu diligently found the small kitchen to boil water for a bath, and then set up a bonfire in the yard to roast a whole tiger and celebrate her breakthrough to the fourth stage of Qi Refining with the little monkey.
After roasting the whole tiger, she ate a tiger leg, and the rest of the tiger meat filled the little monkey’s stomach, who didn’t even spare the tiger’s bone marrow.
Bao Gu watched the little monkey eat the tiger until only bones were left, feeling her scalp explode.
How could such a small monkey have such a big stomach! How could it fit!
Suddenly, the courtyard door was pushed open, and Yu Mi and Little Martial Aunt appeared at the door with smiles.
Bao Gu joyfully shouted, “Senior sister!” and ran to Yu Mi.
Yu Mi was also stunned when she saw Bao Gu, exclaiming, “Qi Refining fourth stage? So fast?”
Bao Gu replied, “Mhm, I encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation, so I went to consult with Elder Lv and also exchanged eight hundred top-grade spirit stones of various attributes with him…”
Yu Mi suddenly had a bad feeling, interrupting Bao Gu, asking in shock, “You used all eight hundred spirit stones?”
Bao Gu replied, “I used seven hundred and fifty.”
Little Martial Aunt’s face turned green instantly!
Yu Mi almost spat out blood! She was so angry that she stomped her feet, shouting, “You prodigal! Aren’t you afraid of deviating from your cultivation path? So many top-grade spirit stones transformed into spiritual energy, can you absorb it all? Aren’t you afraid of bursting your dantian?”
Bao Gu blinked blankly. It seemed like she almost burst her dantian?
Little Martial Aunt shook her head speechlessly, walked past Bao Gu, and after a few steps, couldn’t help but turn back and shout, “Do you know how many spirit gathering arrays those top-grade spirit stones could have set up for your cultivation? You prodigal!”
Bao Gu said, “Elder Lu said that the spiritual energy in Xuan Yue Ancient City is mostly water spiritual energy, and I used spirit stones to absorb spiritual energy because my cultivation was difficult to progress. Isn’t the purpose of spirit stones to absorb and cultivate?”
Little Martial Aunt’s face turned ashen. She stepped back to Bao Gu, pointed her slender jade finger at Bao Gu’s forehead, and shouted, “Can’t you set up a spirit gathering array in another place with sufficient spiritual energy? Do you have to stay in one place and not move at all?” Directly using spirit stones to absorb spiritual energy, only a prodigal would do such a thing!
Bao Gu muttered softly, “It’s so cold outside, I can’t move, and you all went out for so long and didn’t come back.”
Little Martial Aunt trembled with anger, and after a long time, she squeezed out a sentence through her teeth, “Yu Mi, go ahead, killing her counts as my doing.” She turned and walked into the house without looking back.
Yu Mi glared at Bao Gu, and after a long time, she managed to say, “I’m very glad you’re still alive!” So many top-grade spirit stones only advanced a small stage, and it was still in the Qi Refining period. Bao Gu, you’re ruthless! She took a few steps, then turned back, grabbed Bao Gu, and dragged her into the house, saying, “Cultivation requires gradual progress. Rushing like this can easily lead to deviation, and you won’t even know how you died! We can earn more spirit stones, but how many lives do you have to lose? You cultivate the five elements together, so you must ensure a balance of the five elements and progress gradually. If the five elements are imbalanced during advancement, the consequences are unimaginable.” She suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted, “Wait, how could your cultivation speed be so fast? Even with a large amount of spirit stones, with your spiritual root aptitude, you couldn’t have absorbed enough spiritual energy to advance in such a short time—Little Martial Aunt!”
Little Martial Aunt, hearing Yu Mi’s call for help, thought for a moment, took out a treasure for testing spiritual roots, and handed it to Bao Gu.
Bao Gu took the spiritual root testing treasure in her hand.
Yu Mi, seeing the display of spiritual roots on the treasure, exclaimed, “How is that possible!”
Little Martial Aunt took back the spiritual root testing treasure and said, “Five top-grade spiritual roots, over seven hundred top-grade spirit stones plus a spirit gathering treasure, and you only advanced one stage. You’re really capable!”
Yu Mi said, “Little Martial Aunt, when I accepted her into the sect in Yun City, I tested her, and she had medium-grade spiritual roots.”
Little Martial Aunt was shocked and turned to stare at Yu Mi, saying, “She had medium-grade spiritual roots before? Spiritual root aptitude is innate, can it grow?”
Yu Mi and Little Martial Aunt suddenly thought of something and realized they had the same suspicion. They reacted and looked at Bao Gu simultaneously, their eyes gleaming with mischief.
Bao Gu felt her hair stand on end and turned to flee out the door.
Yu Mi and Little Martial Aunt stepped forward at the same time, grabbing Bao Gu and dragging her back into the house.
Duobao Spirit Monkey jumped onto Bao Gu’s head and bared its teeth at Yu Mi and Little Martial Aunt.
Bao Gu, holding onto the door frame, shouted, “Help—” She neither called for help nor managed to stop her fierce senior sister and Little Martial Aunt with the door frame, being dragged back into the house by the two of them.
Little Martial Aunt looked at Bao Gu with a smile, saying very attentively, “Bao Gu, Little Martial Aunt is planning to refine a set of extremely powerful sword arrays. Could you support me a bit?”
Yu Mi said, “Senior sister won’t hit you or bully you. Can you break off a part of the Xuan Tian Sword that our ancestor left for me to refine the Lihuo Sword?”
Bao Gu shivered in the chair, tightly clutching the protective jade on her neck, and asked timidly, “Little… Little Martial Aunt, what can I support you with? What Xuan Tian Sword?” She was scared! Her senior sister had told her before that fellow disciples could also harm each other, and fellow disciples could rob each other.
Duobao Spirit Monkey stood on Bao Gu’s head, pointing its monkey paw at Yu Mi and Little Martial Aunt, chattering non-stop, looking extremely furious!
Yu Mi glanced at Duobao Spirit Monkey, smiled charmingly, and asked, “Duobao brother, I see you have extraordinary talent and bravery. Would you like to fight me?”
Duobao Spirit Monkey bent its monkey legs and jumped towards the roof beam at the fastest speed, disappearing without a trace, leaving the shivering Bao Gu behind and running away!
Bao Gu complained, “Senior sister, what don’t you know about me? Where do I have the Xuan Tian Sword!”
Yu Mi said, “The five-colored sword you accidentally encountered at the old site of Lingyun Peak is the Xuan Tian Sword. It didn’t disappear out of thin air but hid inside your body.”
Bao Gu was so angry that her nose was crooked, shouting, “Such a big sword, could I have swallowed it? Bandits, two female bandits, even robbing their own junior sister and disciple.”
Little Martial Aunt corrected, “It’s not robbing, it’s asking for your support, borrowing from you.”
Bao Gu shouted, “Senior sister said that people from Xuan Tian Sect always borrow without returning.”
Little Martial Aunt said righteously, “That’s still borrowing!” She glared and asked, “In one word, will you lend it or not?”
Bao Gu angrily shouted, “I don’t have it, how can I lend it?”
Little Martial Aunt said, “If you really don’t have it, do you think your senior sister and I have nothing better to do than to bully you for fun? The Xuan Tian Sword, the treasure of our sect, dear, lend a little bit to Little Martial Aunt, and I’ll definitely return it to you later.” Her tone was long and coquettish, making it hard to ignore.
Bao Gu was about to cry, saying, “I really don’t have it! Even if I did, how could I lend a sword? Do you want me to break a piece off for you?”
Little Martial Aunt said, “That’s the idea!”
Bao Gu said, “Then the treasure of the sect will be ruined!”
Little Martial Aunt said, “Spiritual swords have spirits. If it’s ruined, it will find materials to repair itself in the future.”
Bao Gu felt the five-element true qi in her dantian shiver for no reason, shrinking by a third in an instant. She wiped her tears in grievance. This damn Little Martial Aunt scared her hard-earned true qi into shrinking.
Yu Mi beckoned Bao Gu to take off the protective jade around her neck. Seeing Bao Gu unmoved, she huffed, “If you don’t lend it, then go cultivate on your own in the future!”
Bao Gu cursed, “Senior sister, you’re a bastard! Little Martial Aunt, you’re also a bastard!” She tearfully took off the protective jade.
The two female bandits immediately probed Bao Gu’s body with their divine sense after she took off the protective jade, but found nothing. They were not willing to give up and joined forces to strip Bao Gu naked.
Bao Gu screamed in fright, frantically covering her private parts, crying with snot and tears.
Yu Mi wasn’t surprised at not finding the Xuan Tian Sword. After all, when the acting sect leader and the elders of Xuan Tian Sect went out, they didn’t find the Xuan Tian Sword, let alone her. She took out a handkerchief to wipe Bao Gu’s nose, laughing, “Bao Gu, you’re fourteen, right? You can cry like a three-year-old child!”
Bao Gu, stripped naked, was so angry that she kicked at Yu Mi with her snow-white jade legs, “I treat you like family, and you treat me like a fat sheep! Bad senior sister! Wuu—” She cried loudly, trembling with anger.
Little Martial Aunt knew the Xuan Tian Sword was in Bao Gu’s body but didn’t even touch a shadow, huffing angrily! The things left by the ancestor were more cunning than the other!
Bao Gu turned and lay on the chair, kicking her bare buttocks and covering her face, crying miserably.
Duobao Spirit Monkey peeked out from the roof beam at Bao Gu, quickly covered its eyes, and peeked through its fingers.
Yu Mi turned to Duobao Spirit Monkey and flicked her finger, scaring Duobao Spirit Monkey back into the roof beam. Yu Mi put the protective jade on Bao Gu, coaxing, “There, there, don’t cry anymore!” She picked up Bao Gu’s bellyband to put it on her.
Little Martial Aunt, seeing Bao Gu crying so sadly and not even wanting to wear clothes, knew she had caused trouble. She glanced around and quietly slipped out of the house.
Yu Mi shouted, “Come back! Little Martial Aunt, you’re also involved, and now you want to run?”
Little Martial Aunt hurriedly said, “Uh, I’m still busy refining treasures. You sisters have a good chat, I’ll take my leave!” She ran off as fast as she could.
Yu Mi huffed angrily and said to Bao Gu, “Alright, stop crying. You’re not the first one Little Martial Aunt has stripped and robbed.”
Bao Gu ignored Yu Mi and continued to wipe her tears and cry.
Yu Mi “uh”ed and said, “Bao Gu, it seems like your chest has grown a bit, and your figure is even better?”
Bao Gu tearfully looked up and asked, “Really?”
Yu Mi nodded very seriously, “Really!”
Bao Gu wiped away her tears, looked down at her chest, then leaned back on the chair and continued to cry, the sound slightly softer.
Yu Mi really wanted to leave Bao Gu to cry enough on her own, but seeing Bao Gu shivering with goosebumps, she couldn’t bear it and said, “Bao Gu, put on your clothes before crying.”
Bao Gu sobbed, “It’s easy to strip someone’s clothes, but not so easy to ask them to put them on!”
Yu Mi scared Bao Gu, “You’re exposed!”
Bao Gu cried back, “I’ve been exposed long ago! I’m still a virgin…”
Yu Mi rolled her eyes and said, “I’m not picking flowers.” Seeing Duobao Spirit Monkey peeking out from the roof beam again, she quickly said, “Bao Gu, there’s a monkey peeping on the side.”
Duobao Spirit Monkey fiercely “chi—”ed at Yu Mi and then hid back in the roof beam.
Yu Mi said, “Do you think I and Little Martial Aunt want to bully you? Lifebound magical treasures are crucial to cultivation. Both I and Little Martial Aunt follow the path of sword cultivation, and the strength of our lifebound magical treasures is related to our life and death. The Xuan Tian Sword is the treasure of Xuan Tian Sect, so naturally, we won’t do anything to damage it. If we can observe the array patterns and sword diagrams on the Xuan Tian Sword, it will greatly help us train our own lifebound magical treasures. Even if we draw away some of its sword soul essence, you can nourish it for some time and it will recover. It’s like I’m drawing a bit of your blood, which sounds scary, but you’ll recover in a few days.”
Bao Gu huffed, “I don’t have the Xuan Tian Sword.”
Seeing Bao Gu stop crying, Yu Mi put the bellyband on Bao Gu and said, “The Xuan Tian Sword is in your body, but this sword is even more cunning and better at hiding than that monkey.”
Bao Gu gritted her teeth and shouted, “Even if the Xuan Tian Sword is in my body, what’s the use of stripping my clothes?”
Yu Mi “uh”ed and said, “To see if you’ve developed well, okay?”
Bao Gu kicked at Yu Mi, cursing, “Pervert senior sister, pervert Little Martial Aunt!”
Yu Mi dodged nimbly, laughing, “Stripping you naked is good for searching! Hey, don’t say, the little steamed buns have grown a bit!”
Bao Gu was both angry and embarrassed, unable to hit Yu Mi, and angrily pounded the table!
Yu Mi said, “Xuan Tian Ancestor also followed the path of sword cultivation. If the sword is in your body, it’s very likely to merge into your essence, blood, and bones. If the sword merges with the body, your desperate struggle just now might have caused the sword qi in your body to manifest on your skin.”
Bao Gu blushed with shame and anger, glaring at Yu Mi and shouting, “Then did you see me… do I have a sword?”
As soon as her words fell, she noticed Yu Mi looking towards her legs and biting her mouth to hold back laughter. Bao Gu immediately clamped her legs, covered them with her hands, her face flushed with anger, and quickly turned around to put on her pants.
Yu Mi couldn’t hold back and laughed, saying, “Bao Gu, you’re fourteen, right? If you were in the mortal world, you could be a mother by now. How come… you haven’t even grown all your hair yet?” Soft and fluffy like lanugo.
Bao Gu was furious, took out an axe, and chopped at Yu Mi.
Yu Mi didn’t think she would fight with Bao Gu, so she turned around and rushed out of the yard. After she rushed out of the yard, she turned back and challenged Bao Gu, who was only wearing a bellyband and a pair of underwear, and said, “If you have the guts, chase me out like this.”
Of course Bao Gu didn’t dare to chase her. She vigorously picked up a pair of axes in her hands and threw them at Yu Mi. A pair of axes made a sound as they cut through the air. They rolled up in the air and struck Yu Mi on the head. The speed was fast and accurate.
Yu Mi raised her hand to catch it, put away the axe, stepped into the air with a flying sword, and heard from a distance: “Junior sister, I am going to be in seclusion for a while to refine the magic weapon. It can be as fast as half a month, or as slow as more than a month.”
Bao Gu rushed towards the courtyard where Pavilion Master Lu was, with tears welling up in her eyes. She shouted angrily: “Senior Sister just wait! When I succeed in my cultivation in the future, I will strip you naked and spank you along with Little Martial Aunt, you’re both too much!”
The Little Martial Aunt did not go far away, but was in the next room, and naturally heard Bao Gu’s words clearly. She thought to herself: “Even if you have deep blessings, if you want to step into the Nascent Soul stage, you will only be dreaming for tens or hundreds of years!” Then again, Bao Gu has the Duobao Spirit Monkey and Xuantian Sword. There was really a chance that she will surpass her in practice in the future. She snorted heavily and said, “Bao Gu, if you can, come over and spank me now. I promise not to beat you to death.”
Bao Gu held a breath in her chest, and it took her a long time to exhale, and shouted to the Duobao Spirit Monkey: “Little Monkey, I’m hungry, let me fill my stomach with an eighth-level spiritual fruit!”
