"Whoa, smells amazing!"
The door to the main room swung open, and Gu Caiyi, dressed in silk pajamas, let out an appreciative exclamation.
Across from her, Luo Chen sat right by his doorway, cradling a large patterned porcelain bowl and shoveling down mouthfuls of spirit rice.
Several rich, braised red chunks of beef rested on one side of the bowl, quivering temptingly with every scoop of rice.
"Did you make that yourself?"
Looking at the woman who had walked up to him and was staring fixedly at the beef, Luo Chen ventured tentatively, "Want a piece?"
"Sure!"
*Damn, you really don't hold back, do you!*
Watching the largest chunk of beef guide itself into her moist, rosy mouth under the pull of spiritual power, Luo Chen wanted to weep.
To reward himself for working so hard today, he had deliberately sliced an extra two liang of meat, and now it had all gone into this woman's mouth.
Worst of all, she was at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, so he had nowhere to complain.
*It's my own damn fault for having a loose tongue!*
"Mmm... it's tender, flavorful, fragrant, and spicy. That subtle herbal aroma doesn't just lock in the juices, it's packed with rich spiritual power too."
Gu Caiyi narrowed her eyes, savoring every bit before swallowing the bite of beef.
"Who knew you were such a good homemaker? This cooking is so much better than the chefs at our Tianxiang Pavilion—it wouldn't even lose to the spiritual chefs at Zhongding House."
Only after dishing out a few compliments did she notice Luo Chen shoveling the food from his bowl with frantic speed.
Amused and exasperated, she tapped Luo Chen's forehead.
"It was just one piece of beef. Do you really have to be like that?"
*Gulp!*
"I'm just hungry, purely hungry! Don't get the wrong idea, Sister Caiyi."
Gu Caiyi licked her lips, still craving more.
"I won't eat your meat for free, either. I looked into what you asked about. The yin energy in Dahe Market is just seeping through the array—it isn't actually harmful. As long as you don't stay in it for too long, there's virtually no effect."
"How long is 'too long'?" Luo Chen asked hastily.
"At least a month to start, and that's the kind where you stay motionless in secluded cultivation."
Luo Chen breathed a huge sigh of relief.
When he went to sleep wrapped in the thick quilt last night, he had felt more or less uneasy. Cultivation was difficult enough as it was; if yin energy ruined his Dao foundation, that would truly be the foulest luck.
With his mind at ease, his eating speed naturally slowed down. He even had the leisure to let his gaze follow Gu Caiyi's graceful figure.
Guided by spiritual power, a wooden bucket drew water from the corner of the courtyard. She leaned forward and splashed the clear water over her face.
When she raised her head, the droplets of water glistening on her face caught the sunlight, radiating an iridescent, breathtaking glow.
"Do I look pretty?"
"Very pretty!"
"Giggle, giggle..."
Forgive Luo Chen for lacking a better description, but the sound of a hen laying an egg was the only thing that came to mind for that crisp, coquettish chuckle.
Gu Caiyi sat on the swing built beneath a tree by the west wing, and suddenly sighed with a trace of melancholy. "They all say I'm pretty, yet they tell me I don't meet the requirements to join the Hehuan Sect."
What were the entry requirements for the Hehuan Sect?
Didn't sects recruit disciples based solely on age and spirit roots?
Gu Caiyi didn't elaborate. Sitting on the swing, which had clearly been built for a child, her waist and hips stretched the fabric taut, outlining the luscious curve of a peach. As she swayed back and forth, her bare, makeup-free face looked up at the sky, tinged with loneliness.
Luo Chen realized that Gu Caiyi was different from Bai Meiling and Feng Xia. She was more like the people he had seen who still pursued Foundation Establishment.
Among rogue cultivators, there were many like that, and yet not so many. Most would gradually turn mundane under the squeeze of hardship, wearing themselves out day after day just to make a living. And in that relentless toil, they would forget that the original reason for their struggles was to seek the Great Dao and achieve Foundation Establishment.
Luo Chen was an ordinary, mundane person himself, but he constantly reminded himself that the purpose of concocting pills and earning spirit stones was not the stones themselves, but to afford enough resources to pursue longevity.
"What time did you get back this morning? I didn't hear a peep."
"I got back during the tiger hour last night."
The tiger hour was roughly between three and five in the morning. That was about two hours earlier than when she usually returned at the rabbit hour. No wonder he hadn't heard any commotion.
"It's been like this the past two months. I don't know what's gotten into those ladybugs, but at the start of every month they're extra enthusiastic, swarming into Tianxiang Pavilion in droves."
*Ladybugs? Johns, more like!*
"Then after two or three days, whether they've run out of spirit stones or run out of stamina, they slink back with their tails between their legs."
*Wait, the start of the month?*
Luo Chen seemed to realize something, his gaze unconsciously darting away from Gu Caiyi.
"Those of us who just dance and play music actually have it fine. It's the sisters in the flesh trade who suffer. They keep telling the madam how exhausting the start of the month is, and they all want to move their days off to the beginning of the month."
A certain man chuckled awkwardly, keeping his mouth shut. Staring down at the few remaining grains of rice in his bowl, he picked them up with his chopsticks and popped them into his mouth one by one.
"Of course, the sisters earn a bit more, too. Some have already decided to stick it out a while longer, save up enough spirit stones, and then move to another market to marry some honest rogue cultivator. They hope to bear a child with spirit roots who can enter a major sect one day, achieve Foundation Establishment, and form a Core."
Luo Chen kept his head down, tracing little circles with his finger.
*On behalf of honest rogue cultivators everywhere, I sure thank them.*
"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you not like hearing me talk about Tianxiang Pavilion?" Gu Caiyi suddenly tilted her head and looked over.
Luo Chen waved his hands frantically. "Of course not! It's just that I've never tasted pork, so I wouldn't know what to say."
"Heh, you rascal!" Gu Caiyi gave a teasing smile, then cautioned, "If you still want to achieve Foundation Establishment, you'd better not leak your primordial yang before then."
Luo Chen grunted in acknowledgment.
He knew a fair bit about this matter. Most cultivation arts had a golden lock of the lower gate built into their Qi Refining sections to ensure low-level disciples didn't lose their primordial yang. The Eternal Spring Art contained a similar warning.
"Right, let me ask you something," Luo Chen said, feeling a slight headache. "If cultivators in the inner city want to practice spells, how do they handle it?"
Gu Caiyi looked at him oddly. "They just practice. How else would they handle it?"
"No, I mean spells that require constant casting and repetition to build proficiency. Like wide-area offensive spells, such as the Fireball Art or the Giant Sword Art."
Luo Chen explained ruefully, "The space here is too tight, and it's easy to disturb the neighbors."
"Fighting is strictly forbidden in the inner city, so why learn spells like that? Shouldn't you keep your spiritual power full at all times to push for higher realms?" Gu Caiyi asked in confusion.
Luo Chen found her attitude even stranger. "Spells and magical artifacts are means of protecting one's Dao. Shouldn't one master them thoroughly? Besides, it's not like the inner city is absolutely safe!"
"Fair enough. Every year there really are one or two fools who defy the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect's rules, so it truly isn't absolutely safe." Gu Caiyi shrugged and gave Luo Chen the answer he wanted. "From what I know, if inner city cultivators want to practice powerful spells, they either leave the city for barren hills and open wilderness, or go to the dueling platform at the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion."
"The dueling platform?"
"Mhm. They charge for it—one spirit stone per session to start. And if you want an opponent to spar with, that price multiplies a hundredfold."
Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.
*Turns out the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect rakes in money through such shameless schemes too!*
Perhaps noticing that Luo Chen's pockets were empty, Gu Caiyi offered him another solution.
"Hardly anyone's around the courtyard during the day. You can practice over by the corner of the wall. Just replenish the dirt whenever you're done so Senior Sun doesn't notice."
Chapter 31