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Chapter 31: A Particularly Enthusiastic Beetle Moon
Chapter 31: A Particularly Enthusiastic Beetle Moon
"Wow, that smells amazing!"
The main door creaked open, and Gu Caiyi, dressed in a silk nightgown, exclaimed in delight.
Across from her, Luo Chen was sitting by the door, holding a large floral porcelain bowl and shoveling down spirit-infused rice with large bites.
A few pieces of bright red beef rested on one side of the bowl, trembling enticingly as he ate.
"Did you make this yourself?"
Looking at the woman standing in front of him, her eyes fixed on the beef, Luo Chen tentatively asked, "Want a piece?"
"Sure!"
Oh, you’re not kidding around! Luo Chen felt like crying as he watched the largest piece of beef, guided by her spiritual energy, slide into her rosy lips.
He had cut extra meat to reward himself for today's hard work, and now it was all gone.
Worse, she was a cultivator at the Eighth Level of the Qi Condensation stage, so he couldn’t argue.
It’s all my fault for having a big mouth!
"Mmm, tender and flavorful, spicy and aromatic. The faint herbal scent not only locks in the juices but also infuses the meat with a rich spiritual energy."
Gu Caiyi closed her eyes in enjoyment as she savored the beef.
"I never thought you were so good at cooking. Your skills far surpass those of the chefs at Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. Even the spiritual chefs of the Zhongding family would be hard-pressed to match you."
After a few compliments, she noticed Luo Chen quickly finishing his meal.
Amused and a bit exasperated, she tapped his head.
"Is one piece of beef really worth getting so upset over?"
Swallowing hard, Luo Chen replied, "I’m just really hungry, Caiyi, don’t misunderstand."
Gu Caiyi licked her lips, still savoring the taste.
"I’m not eating your food for free. I found out that the Yin energy at the Great River Market is just seeping through the array. It’s harmless as long as you don’t stay there for too long."
"How long is too long?" Luo Chen asked urgently.
"At least a month, if you’re in a deep meditation."
Luo Chen let out a huge sigh of relief.
Last night, he had slept with a thick blanket, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Cultivation was already difficult enough; having his foundation corrupted by Yin energy would be a disaster.
Feeling more relaxed, his eating pace naturally slowed down.
His gaze wandered to follow Gu Caiyi’s graceful movements.
Using her spiritual energy, she drew a bucket of water from the corner of the yard. Bending down, she splashed the clear water on her face.
When she lifted her head, the water droplets on her face shimmered in the sunlight, creating a beautiful, rainbow-like effect.
"Beautiful, right?"
"Absolutely!"
"Cluck, cluck, cluck."
Forgive Luo Chen for not knowing the right words to describe it; he could only use the sound of a hen laying eggs to capture her clear and charming laughter.
Sitting on the swing under a tree in the west wing of the courtyard, Gu Caiyi suddenly looked a bit melancholic. "They all say I’m beautiful, but they also say I don’t meet the requirements to join the Joyful Union Sect."
What are the entry requirements for the Joyful Union Sect? Don’t they just look at age and spiritual roots?
Gu Caiyi didn’t elaborate. Sitting on the swing, which looked like it was built for a child, her waist and hips formed a peach-like contour as she swung back and forth.
Her unadorned face gazed at the sky, a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Luo Chen realized that Gu Caiyi was different from Bai Meiling and Feng Xia. She reminded him of the many independent cultivators he had met who pursued the Foundation Establishment stage.
There were many such people among the independent cultivators, but not so many.
Because most of them would gradually become vulgar and preoccupied with their daily struggles, eventually forgetting their original goal of pursuing the path to immortality.
Luo Chen was also a vulgar person, but he often reminded himself that the purpose of refining elixirs to earn spiritual stones was not for the stones themselves, but to buy enough resources to chase after immortality.
"Did you come back this morning? I didn't hear a sound."
"I returned around the second hour of the night last night."
The second hour of the night is roughly between three and five in the morning.
That's about two hours earlier than his usual return time.
No wonder I didn't hear anything.
"Things have been like this for the past two months. For some reason, those beetles get particularly enthusiastic at the beginning of the month, flocking to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion."
Beetles?
He must mean patrons!
"Then, after a few days, whether they've run out of spirit stones or energy, they slink back home."
Wait, the beginning of the month?
Luo Chen seemed to realize something and instinctively avoided Gu Caiyi's gaze.
"Actually, it's not so bad for us dancers and musicians. It's the girls in the pleasure trade who suffer. They're so exhausted at the start of the month that they want to take their days off then."
A man laughed awkwardly, saying nothing.
He stared at the few grains of rice left in his bowl, picking them up one by one with his chopsticks.
"Of course, the girls earn more. Some of them are already planning to save up enough spirit stones to move to a different market town and find a decent wandering cultivator to marry. They hope to have a child with a spiritual root, who can join a major sect and achieve the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages."
Luo Chen kept his head down, drawing circles with his finger.
I really should thank those decent wandering cultivators for them.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Don't you like hearing about the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?" Gu Caiyi suddenly turned to look at him.
Luo Chen waved his hands quickly, "Not at all, it's just that I've never experienced such things, so I don't know how to respond."
"Heh, you kid!" Gu Caiyi chuckled mischievously, then warned, "If you want to achieve the Foundation Establishment stage, it's best not to lose your essence before then."
Luo Chen nodded.
He was quite familiar with this.
Most cultivation techniques have a lower golden lock in the Qi Refinement stage to ensure that low-level disciples don't lose their essence.
The Eternal Spring Technique also has similar warnings.
"By the way, I have a question," Luo Chen said, a bit embarrassed. "How do cultivators in the inner city practice spells that require constant casting and refinement, like Fireball or Giant Sword?"
Gu Caiyi looked at him curiously, "Just practice them. What else can you do?"
"No, I mean spells that need to be cast repeatedly to become proficient, like Fireball or Giant Sword, which are large-scale attacks."
Luo Chen explained, "The place is too small, and it could disturb the peace."
"The inner city strictly prohibits fighting. Why do you need to learn those spells? Shouldn't you focus on maintaining your spiritual energy for advancing to higher realms?" Gu Caiyi was puzzled.
Luo Chen found this even more strange, "Spells and magical artifacts are means of protection. Shouldn't they be mastered?"
"Besides, the inner city isn't absolutely safe, is it?"
"Fair point. The inner city does see a few idiots each year who challenge the rules set by the Jade Tripod Sword Sect, so it's not entirely safe."
Gu Caiyi shrugged, giving Luo Chen the answer he wanted.
"From what I know, cultivators in the inner city who want to practice powerful spells either go outside the city to the wilderness or use the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion's dueling platform."
"Dueling platform?"
"Yep, it's a paid service. It starts at one spirit stone per session. If you want a sparring partner, the price goes up a hundredfold."
Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.
So the Jade Tripod Sword Sect is also this greedy!
Perhaps noticing Luo Chen's financial constraints, Gu Caiyi offered another solution.
"The courtyard is usually empty during the day. You can practice in a corner, as long as you keep replenishing the soil so that Senior Sun doesn't notice."
(End of Chapter)
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