After finishing her words, Jiang Lingsu walked straight toward her own room.
"Eldest Senior Brother, wait until I call you in before entering."
"All right."
Jiang Lingsu stepped into her room alone, her mind still somewhat in a daze.
Was Eldest Senior Brother... being serious?
*Or could Eldest Senior Brother harbor ill intentions?*
Yet the moment the thought crossed her mind, she realized it was hardly clear who would actually be on the losing end!
Besides, Eldest Senior Brother had no reason to deceive her about such matters. Jiang Lingsu resolved to give it a try.
After all, the freezing cold poison was not something ordinary people could endure.
Roughly two incense sticks of time passed, and Jiang Lingsu finished tidying up her cluttered room.
Under normal circumstances, Eldest Senior Brother never entered her quarters, so she rarely gave the place a thorough cleaning.
Girls naturally had a great deal of belongings—wasn't that only normal?
Now, the cleanup was complete; at least on the surface, it no longer looked disordered.
At present, a large bath barrel sat in the room. Jiang Lingsu, wrapped in a blue chest bandeau, stepped into the barrel and sat down.
The water within was a cyan-blue hue, constantly bubbling and steaming, with Whispering Flowers, Immortal Dragon Rock Leaves, and holmium petals floating on its surface.
These spirit herbs were essential ingredients for treating the condition in Jiang Lingsu's body.
At this moment, Jiang Lingsu's lotus-root white arms and slender shoulders rested outside the water. Her collarbones were sharply defined, adorned with several damp strands of dark hair. She glanced toward the outside of the room.
"Eldest Senior Brother, you may come in now."
The moment she spoke, her hands involuntarily covered her chest. Perhaps due to the scalding heat of the water, a flush of crimson surfaced across her snow-white cheeks.
"Coming, coming..."
Faint footsteps approached, halting after roughly two breaths.
Jiang Lingsu drew in a gentle breath. Feeling the water's intense heat, small red patches began to blossom across her fair skin.
"You're taking a bath?" Qi Yuan's voice came from outside the screen at that moment.
"I'm wearing clothes!" Jiang Lingsu could not help raising her voice in protest.
"Filming a TV show?" Qi Yuan's voice sounded intrigued.
Bathing while wearing clothes—wasn't that straight out of a television drama?
However, curious as he was, he did not step forward, instead remaining positioned behind the privacy screen.
"Physical contact between men and women is improper. Your Eldest Senior Brother is a married man and must avoid suspicion, so I will assist you from right here."
Qi Yuan spoke from behind the screen, his mood perfectly tranquil.
He felt that his emotional intelligence was remarkably high.
Back on the Blue Star, various sayings had always circulated—things about men and women strictly keeping their distance, about fathers avoiding their grown daughters, or even absurd claims that a father ought to hang himself overnight the moment his daughter was born just to avoid her.
Qi Yuan could not go to such extremes, but ordinary propriety and avoidance of suspicion were second nature to him.
"Avoid suspicion?" Jiang Lingsu fell silent for a moment in the bath barrel. "Then I shall trouble Eldest Senior Brother."
"Don't overthink it. It's not that I despise your figure, nor do I think you're unsightly. It is purely due to the strict propriety between the sexes!" Qi Yuan explained warmly, feeling that he was being exceedingly thoughtful and considerate.
In such a situation, he had laid everything bare precisely so that Jiang Lingsu, as a patient, would not let her imagination run wild.
He was also speaking the plain truth. Junior Sister was naturally exquisite, ranking among the very best in the Divine Light Sect. As for her figure, it went without saying—even ordinary attire could scarcely conceal its perfection.
Thus, he truly harbored no distaste.
In the bath barrel, Jiang Lingsu froze, gritting her teeth. She wished nothing more than to leap out of the water and plant a fist on her Eldest Senior Brother's face.
"Eldest Senior Brother, it would really be better if you stayed mute," Jiang Lingsu could not help muttering.
Why was it that Eldest Senior Brother was so handsome and immensely talented, yet the instant he opened his mouth... he completely shattered the image she held in her imagination?
"I understand."
Qi Yuan assumed his words had simply been too heartwarming for his junior sister to handle.
"Are you ready? Senior Brother's Divine Infant is about to enter!"
"I'm ready," Jiang Lingsu responded, her pretty face full of curiosity. She was eager to see exactly how Eldest Senior Brother intended to treat her.
It required a Purple Mansion cultivator possessing a Pure Water Spiritual Root.
What on earth was Eldest Senior Brother's Divine Infant?
Right then, the room abruptly plunged into total silence.
Jiang Lingsu concentrated with utmost focus, observing her surroundings.
Her gaze penetrated past the clothes rack and the screen, fixing upon that motionless figure.
At this moment, Qi Yuan's eyes held an expectant light.
Within the Mortal Heart Realm, regarding what held the greatest value for a cultivator, the first was the original Ancestral Land; the second was Qi Yuan's God Visualization Art; the third was the Holy Mother of Inedia, who had strayed into that place by accident; and only last came the innate world of the Mortal Heart Realm itself.
The original Ancestral Land was deeply intertwined with Qi Yuan's God Visualization Art.
The reason Qi Yuan had been able to visualize such a formidable God Visualization Art was that he had consumed the resources of the special towers within the original Ancestral Land.
Add to that the unique nature of Qi Yuan's God Visualization Art and the quest completion reward—the Innate True Spirit.
An Innate True Spirit was, in truth, the seed of an innate world.
Its value surpassed even that of the Mortal Heart Realm.
All the villagers, the resources of the Ancestral Land, the God Visualization Art, and the Innate True Spirit.
All of the above.
What had coalesced into Divine Infants was far more than a mere cluster of Mythological existences.
They were a cohort of innate gods and demons blessed with staggering potential!
After all, even after slaying two Yang Gods, Qi Yuan had felt an inner tremor upon entering the Ancestral Land.
He still could not handle the puppet gods inside.
Just how precious were the treasures guarded by so many slumbering puppet gods?
They had, after all, supported the birth of the Three Pure Ones God Visualization Art.
Yet Qi Yuan had not hoarded them for himself, bestowing these opportunities upon his fallen subjects instead.
And thus, his current Divine Infants were forged.
"Bright and boundless, infant from the divine store emerge; heed my command, sweep away all disaster and ill omen!"
Qi Yuan chanted softly.
Following his voice, an aura reminiscent of primeval antiquity unfurled, and the room was instantly permeated with the presence of the innate.
The void rippled as if disturbed by invisible waves.
The Divine Infant emerged, and a phantom silhouette materialized.
A slender, graceful divine maiden drifted forth. Her eyes lacked distinct emotion, appearing as though half-asleep and half-awake.
At present, the Divine Infants were still dormant and not yet fully awakened, relying merely on instinct.
"We obey the decree of the Celestial Venerable."
The divine maiden's phantom spoke in a serene, ethereal voice.
Even in death, she maintained an instinctive reverence before Qi Yuan.
At that moment, the pupils of Jiang Lingsu's eyes dilated within the bath barrel. She sensed an aura of supreme might sweeping over her.
It felt as though what stood behind the screen was not a mere mortal, but a vast, boundless ocean.
As the divine maiden's phantom appeared, Jiang Lingsu's heart pounded furiously. Even across the substantial barrier, the rhythmic thumping of her heartbeat was clearly audible.
"A Yin God!"
With just a single glance at the divine maiden's phantom, she knew beyond doubt that this was no Purple Mansion—it was a Yin God.
Jiang Lingsu had seen aloof, lofty Purple Mansion cultivators before, but compared to the maiden's phantom before her, a Purple Mansion was more fragile than an ant.
"Junior pays respects to Senior!"
Confronted by the divine maiden's phantom, Jiang Lingsu dared not remain seated in the bath barrel, rising like a lotus blooming from water.
The blue bandeau wrapped her chest tightly. Unobstructed by loose robes, her full upper bust contrasted sharply with her smooth, flat midriff, accentuating her breathtaking contours.
It was truly a wasp waist paired with a voluptuous bosom, striking and shapely.
The divine maiden's phantom displayed no emotional fluctuation.
Behind the screen, Qi Yuan closed his eyes, yet the imagery perceived by the divine maiden was still reflected directly into his mind.
*Since ancient times, red and blue have always made a pair. Why didn't she wrap something red around her lower half?*
This was the very first thought that crossed Qi Yuan's mind.
His junior sister wore a blue chest wrap above, yet around her hips was wrapped something akin to a white bath towel, functioning like a pencil skirt.
Despite having such a doubt, Qi Yuan exercised his high emotional intelligence and refrained from asking.
The greatest difference between adults and children lay in an adult's ability to control their curiosity.
Qi Yuan was an adult; naturally, he could not act like a child. He needed to demonstrate superior emotional intelligence.
If he asked, wouldn't that expose the fact that whatever the Divine Infant saw, he saw as well?
Although his junior sister's attire was far more conservative than what one might see at a beach—or even from certain generous online bodhisattvas—he still had to respect her. One must not look upon what was improper.
"Junior Sister, sit down quickly and receive your treatment!" Qi Yuan urged.
Being able to see even with his eyes shut felt rather miraculous.
Without overthinking, Jiang Lingsu sat back down into the cyan-blue water.
Looking at the Yin God, countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
The Yin God before her remained utterly silent, just like a corpse, imposing immense pressure upon Jiang Lingsu.
She wondered with bewilderment: how had Eldest Senior Brother managed to find such a Yin God?
Could it be...
Jiang Lingsu could not help thinking of the Blood-Robed Sword God who had wreaked havoc across the Cuiyun Continent.
At this moment, the divine maiden's phantom stepped forward, placing a hand upon Jiang Lingsu's delicate shoulder.
Oceanic divine spiritual power surged forth at that instant. Jiang Lingsu immediately sensed her own spiritual energy boiling over.
Her snow-white skin was instantly stained crimson, resembling a thoroughly cooked little lobster—strikingly enticing.
"Junior Sister, you won't happen to be diagnosed with some special physique this time, will you?" Qi Yuan could not resist asking.
Based on his years of watching television dramas and anime,
the seven Grade-A talent disciples who had joined the Divine Light Sect back then all possessed extraordinary destinies.
For instance... Dong Xian, whose engagement had been annulled, turned out to be an imperial prince with his own grand fortunes. A remnant soul of a Purple Mansion had slumbered within his consciousness, and he ultimately became the emperor of the Great Shang.
Another example was the young woman Jiang Ran, who had been targeted by Old Demon Black Chicken; she possessed a unique physique that offered immense benefits to cultivators through dual cultivation.
Junior Sister was also one of those seven.
Now, Dong Xian had become an emperor, and Jiang Ran's mortal foe Old Demon Black Chicken had fallen—each of them had unlocked their respective side plots.
Once Junior Sister's injuries were cured, was she also slated to trigger her own storyline?
Perhaps a Yang God would arrive out of nowhere to take her away as a disciple?
That was why Qi Yuan inquired about whether Jiang Lingsu had a special physique.
Jiang Lingsu felt warmth spreading across her entire being. Facing a Yin God, she felt boundless reverence; undergoing healing from a Yin God, she ought not to speak, as that would be disrespectful.
Yet since Eldest Senior Brother had asked, she had no choice but to reply, "What special physique? My aptitude is quite ordinary."
Jiang Lingsu was being modest.
She possessed a Pure Water Spiritual Root.
Looking across the entire Eastern Lands, such a spiritual root qualified one as a genius.
Within the Divine Light Sect, it was naturally unprecedented through the ages.
"Your aptitude truly is quite ordinary. Only a Pure Water Spiritual Root? Middle Foundation Establishment, with rather mediocre spiritual energy—just a standard level. Your physique is slightly better than that of an average female cultivator, with greater flexibility. Hmm, your heavy affliction has also caused your menses to be somewhat irregular...
"Junior Sister, apart from having a slightly larger chest and a prettier face, you are truly far too ordinary in every other aspect. You don't even compare to a villager." Qi Yuan's words were utterly blunt.
Through the feedback transmitted from his Divine Infant, Qi Yuan had essentially conducted a medical checkup on his junior sister.
The results of the examination were deeply disappointing; her innate talent was thoroughly average.
Forget catching the eye of a Yang God to be accepted as a disciple—even a Yin God would likely turn their nose up at her.
Even a Purple Mansion... would be disdainful and too lazy to accept her.
Sitting in the bath barrel, Jiang Lingsu could barely restrain herself from jumping up to kick Qi Yuan.
She naturally assumed this information had been conveyed to Qi Yuan by the senior Yin God currently healing her.
"Eldest Senior Brother, which village has villagers... with Pure Spiritual Roots?" Jiang Lingsu retorted in dissatisfaction.
"The one right in front of you is a villager. I searched for a long time in the game before finally finding her in a Little Gourd Village," Qi Yuan said lazily.
This woman had first visualized the Water Calabash Brother, and later visualized the Water God who held the divine office of water, only then becoming a Great Venerable.
Jiang Lingsu was instantly struck speechless.
She had no way to rebut Eldest Senior Brother's claim. After all, could she possibly ask this senior Yin God whether she was indeed a villager from Little Gourd Village?
Eldest Senior Brother was familiar with this senior, but she was not. She could not afford to be disrespectful to this senior simply because of her close relationship with Eldest Senior Brother.
"Sigh, Junior Sister, you really are too ordinary. You don't even qualify to become my Divine Infant," Qi Yuan lamented.
Jiang Lingsu choked on her words, unable to speak.
Divine Infant?
Just now, Eldest Senior Brother had claimed that this senior was his Divine Infant.
Eldest Senior Brother truly dared to dream.
She dared not utter such words in front of this senior Yin God. What if the senior took offense and reprimanded Eldest Senior Brother?
Yin Gods were notoriously mercurial and represented the pinnacle of combat strength in the Canglan Realm; they were not existences one could lightly offend.
"How about this," Qi Yuan said as a thought occurred to him. "If I recall correctly, whenever a disciple of a major sect breaks through to the Divine Infant realm, they are permitted to hold a Divine Infant Assembly.
"Junior Sister, I've decided to hold a Divine Infant Assembly. You can serve as the greeter at the gate, welcoming guests and collecting gifts for me!"
Though Qi Yuan was generally low-key, proper flair was still essential.
Now that he had reached the Divine Infant realm, he certainly needed to host a Divine Infant Assembly to show off a bit.
To achieve wealth and prominence without returning home was like walking through the night in embroidered finery.
If he did not display his Divine Infant cultivation, what would happen if some petty scoundrels came to bully him?
"Eldest Senior Brother, if you can convince the Sect Master to let you host a Divine Infant Assembly, I will gladly serve as your greeter!" Jiang Lingsu replied.
"Deal. Convincing the Sect Master is a piece of cake, isn't it?"
Qi Yuan shrugged.
With just three sentences, he could empty out the Sect Master's storage bag.
As for Junior Sister Jiang Lingsu... this wealthy young lady seemed to throw money at him even without him saying a word.
Thinking this, Qi Yuan's gaze toward Jiang Lingsu softened considerably.
This wealthy junior sister of his truly was a wonderful person.
Half an hour passed as Qi Yuan and Jiang Lingsu chatted endlessly across the screen.
From the specifics of the Divine Infant Assembly to the gifts to be presented and the seating arrangements for each table, the two discussed every detail meticulously.
"Junior Sister, your injuries are healed," Qi Yuan announced at last.
Following his voice, the phantom of the divine maiden dissolved into nothingness.
The oppressive weight pressing on Jiang Lingsu's heart vanished completely. She examined her body thoroughly.
The frigid chill from before had disappeared without a trace.
A look of delight surfaced on her lovely face; her injuries were completely gone.
Had a Purple Mansion cultivator come, several treatment sessions would likely have been required.
Yet with a Yin God, a single session cured it at its root.
Overjoyed, Jiang Lingsu thought of something and stepped out of the bath barrel. Looking into the distance, she waved her slender hand, draping a layer of sheer gauze over her graceful, elegant figure.
Walking past the screen, Jiang Lingsu wore a sincere expression as she bowed courteously. "Eldest Senior Brother, thank you."
To enlist a Yin God to treat her condition was an immense debt of gratitude.
Qi Yuan looked at the lightly clad Jiang Lingsu before him, somewhat taken aback.
Junior Sister had always been conservative, dressing herself securely from head to toe. This was the first time she had appeared so scantily dressed in front of him.
The sheer gauze was practically diaphanous, completely unable to conceal her exquisite curves. Instead, it offered a tantalizing half-veiled glimpse, brimming with feminine charm.
"Junior Sister, aren't you going to put on a few more layers? Aren't you worried I might be a bad person?" Qi Yuan could not help asking.
Jiang Lingsu responded with open candor, "Everything that ought to be covered is covered, so what does it matter?
"If that senior female Yin God could look, why can't Eldest Senior Brother?"
Qi Yuan was left speechless.
Indeed, he had been too feudal-minded. The Qing dynasty had fallen long ago, yet he still carried a queue in his mind.
"Even if Senior Brother were a bad person, it's not yet clear who would lose out and who would profit!" Jiang Lingsu added.
Chapter 241