Chapter 228: Leaving Anyway

Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Leaving Anyway

In the Bamboo Garden, a spectral White Phoenix materialized behind Bai Qiulan as waves of Spiritual Power rippled outward.

In the distance, both Mo Xuan and Mo Jinyu watched nervously. Mo Xuan was naturally worried about his wife.

Mo Jinyu, on the other hand, was worried for the entire Mo Family. ’From what I’ve observed recently,’ she thought, ’I know just how deep their love is. If my sister-in-law’s breakthrough fails, my older brother becoming merely despondent would be a blessing. I’m terrified that he would, on the slightest pretext, choose to follow her in death.’

’My brother is absolutely capable of something like that. If it really came to pass, I couldn’t inherit the position of Patriarch. Are our parents supposed to just have another child?’

’Never mind whether our parents would even want to, at their current level of Cultivation, conceiving a child would be far more difficult than achieving a breakthrough.’

"It’ll be okay."

Mo Jinyu whispered. Mo Xuan nervously clenched his fists. The Soul Contract with the Spirit Ghost had been completed long ago. All that remained was to see if his wife could merge the inherent Peak Path insights from the Spirit Ghost with her own and return to the Peak Path.

A pure white lotus flower appeared behind Bai Qiulan. Seeing this, Mo Xuan grew even more tense. This was the manifestation of his wife’s former Peak Path. Upon reaching the Qi Refining Peak, one’s insights into the Peak Path could be projected externally. It was the most common yet most uncounterable ability for Cultivators on the Peak Path—to face it without corresponding insights was a death sentence.

"A Wood Attribute?"

Mo Jinyu’s eyes widened. ’The White Phoenix was specifically chosen for its Fire Attribute. How could these two possibly be compatible?’

"Watch closely."

Mo Xuan offered no explanation, his eyes fixed on the scene. A wisp of flame slowly rose from atop the white lotus. Seeing this, Mo Xuan let out a small sigh of relief. His wife had failed at this very step last time. After the transformation of wood to fire failed, she’d had no choice but to attempt Foundation Establishment with her Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivation.

’Now that this step is complete, it proves she has fully absorbed the insights of the Qi Refining Peak. All that’s left are the insights for the Foundation Establishment Peak.’

The flames blazed hotter and hotter. The white lotus remained a lotus, but its Wood Attribute vanished completely as it transformed into a white Fire Lotus. A spectral White Phoenix flickered in and out of existence above the lotus, and a scorching heat suffused the entire bamboo grove. The surrounding bamboo leaves shriveled before the naked eye before bursting into flame.

A fluctuation unique to a Cultivator on the Peak Path emanated from within Bai Qiulan. Seeing this, Mo Xuan finally let out a true sigh of relief. ’She succeeded. The next hurdle is the Bright Acupoint Peak. If she can overcome that, then there’s nothing to worry about.’

Mo Jinyu watched with a helpless sigh and quickly cast a Magic spell to extinguish the surrounding flames. Left unchecked, the entire bamboo grove would have burned to the ground.

"Whew... That feels pretty good. It’s a shame the power of most of my Magic will be affected."

Bai Qiulan exhaled a murky breath. She raised her right hand, and a wisp of white flame appeared in her palm. Something she had failed to accomplish in the past was, at long last, a success. Her Dao Foundation had transformed from its original Wood Attribute to a Fire Attribute.

The white flame in her palm gradually coalesced, finally transforming into a vivid, lifelike White Phoenix.

Bai Qiulan took out a porcelain vial. She let the sliver of Dao Foundation Flame fall inside before immediately sealing it.

"Lan’Er, what are you doing?"

Mo Xuan couldn’t help but ask. A Dao Foundation Flame wasn’t easy to coalesce. An ordinary Qi Refining Peak Cultivator could even use it as a Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object to increase their chances of successful Foundation Establishment.

"I have no use for the rest of it, so I’ll give it to Liu Chen later."

Bai Qiulan put the vial away. She already had her own insights from her time at the Qi Refining Peak, so she didn’t need to fully absorb the ones that came with the White Phoenix Spirit Ghost. Rather than simply letting the excess insights dissipate, she had converted them into a Dao Foundation Flame as a way to compensate Liu Chen.

Whether Liu Chen could actually use it wasn’t her concern. Regardless, it was her way of thanking him.

"The destruction is severe."

Bai Qiulan ignored Mo Xuan’s rather stunned expression and surveyed her surroundings. The bamboo house was merely a little scorched, but the surrounding Cyan Bamboo had been turned completely to ash.

"We’re leaving soon anyway. It’s not like we’ll need to tidy up."

Mo Xuan glanced at the surroundings with a smile. He wouldn’t have cared if the entire rear mountain had burned to cinders, let alone this small area. As long as his wife could break through, what did it matter?

"I really don’t get what sister-in-law sees in you."

Mo Jinyu quipped with a wry smile from the side. Mo Xuan started to say something, but when he saw his wife’s look of tacit agreement, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Clean this up."

Bai Qiulan smiled faintly and sat down on a nearby chair. At the cue, Mo Xuan immediately began casting Magic, doing his best to erase the damage to the surroundings.

"You’ve already signed a Soul Contract. How do you plan to have the Spirit Ghost refined?"

Bai Qiulan looked at Mo Jinyu, who had approached her, and couldn’t resist asking. Liu Chen would have no problem refining an un-contracted Spirit Ghost, but attempting to refine one that was already bound would inevitably affect Mo Jinyu herself.

"I can dissolve the Soul Contract first..."

Mo Jinyu said calmly. It was something she had been considering for a long time. Though her strength would diminish, the side effects of the Spirit Ghost were growing more and more severe. According to her father, she had to dissolve the Soul Contract before she could advance to the Bright Aperture Realm.

To minimize the impact, the Mo Family had even developed a special Magic technique specifically for dissolving the Soul Contract. Although her mastery of it was lacking, she thought it should still work.

"I suggest you give the Magic technique to Liu Chen first. That should minimize the risk."

After hearing the full explanation, Bai Qiulan breathed a sigh of relief. Mo Jinyu genuinely respected her. In the Mo Family, this younger sister-in-law was the most reliable member besides Mo Xuan. For both personal and practical reasons, she wanted the best for her.

"We’re leaving in two days. Will that be enough time?"

Mo Jinyu asked uncertainly. The technique to dissolve the Soul Contract was considered a Basic Magic Technique, after all. Even if Liu Chen was a genius, after only two days, his proficiency would likely be on par with her own at best.

"Maybe he won’t need two days."

Bai Qiulan gave a knowing smile. Mo Jinyu was confused. A short distance away, Mo Xuan opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he saw his wife’s gaze fall upon him.

A short while later, Ye Linglong appeared near the Bamboo Garden. She stared blankly at the surroundings before entering the garden and setting down a tiered food box.

"Master, Mistress, Junior Martial Uncle, here is today’s lunch."

After delivering the meal, Ye Linglong departed, looking slightly perplexed.

This time, Mo Jinyu made a point to sense what was inside the young woman. As expected, she detected a Top Grade Spirit Ghost. ’With that alone, combined with the Mo Family’s resources, this girl’s future accomplishments will be nothing to scoff at.’

"Let’s eat first. We’ll deliver the Magic technique this afternoon."

Bai Qiulan drew Mo Jinyu’s attention back to the present. ’Ye Linglong’s and Ji Suyao’s Talent is considered decent in Purple Cloud Valley, but it would probably be average at best back in the Mo Family. However, they have Liu Chen as their senior brother. A Top Grade Spirit Ghost alone is enough to surpass ninety percent of other prodigies.’

"Then we’ll put it to the test."