Spirit Cultivation

Yi's beautiful blue pupils gradually started losing their colour, turning darker and darker until they turned completely black, looking like two black pearls found inside the white interior of the clam. Her blonde hair also started changing, turning into a similar colour to her eyes, black. 

She looked completely different compared to Pio which made Xuefeng quite worried. Would her normal look be similar to Pio's darkness transformation? He was the one who made her take the ability as he didn't have time to explain anything so if anything bad happened to her, Xuefeng would be the one responsible. 

As he stood right in front of her, he lifted her chin which was still laying on his palm and glanced into her eyes trying to see some consciousness in them. For some reason, Yi looked as if she lost her soul, staring blankly at Xuefeng's eyes. 

As he didn't want to do anything wrong, Xuefeng wanted to ask Little Ming for help when Yi suddenly opened her mouth and whispered in her soft voice, "Help me…" 

'Great, she is finally absorbing my Fate Qi! Wait… it seems like there is still something wrong with her…' Little Mind said excitedly but then she realised there were still some complications. 

'Of course... She literally just called out for help…' Xuefeng rolled his eyes speechless as he commented sarcastically but didn't roast her too much as he knew she was focused on the Fate Qi transfusion. 

Xiao Feng who was ignored by them looked at the scene himself and finally found out why the cultivators around them were all squinting their eyes. Everyone could see earlier how Pio was using the Star-shaped crystal to battle and now they saw Xuefeng taking it from him and giving it to the Princess' servant. They wouldn't be suspicious if they didn't see the instantaneous transformation she just went through. 

Who, from all the cultivators gathered there, wouldn't want to take over Pio's abilities? After seeing the power this crystal could give, it would be hard to find even one person who would reject it. Now that they saw one could take away that ability by just taking the crystal from the person, it would be a surprise if the greed didn't awaken in their minds. With the target being as weak as Yi was, together with her status as a servant, it was obvious that all Sage Cultivators were feeling tempted. 

Unfortunately for them, it was Xuefeng who gave her the crystal so it was a tricky situation. Not many could claim they would be able to defeat him. Xiao Feng knew the greed for power of a cultivator so he wasn't surprised by that but it didn't mean he would allow it. 

He glared at everyone, forcing their gazes away before spawning a barrier around the four of them which blocked everyone's vision. 

Xuefeng wasn't concerned about the situation around them as he naturally had plans to protect Yi afterwards and tried to contact the Star Shaper Fate Spirit to figure out how they could help her. Too bad even after calling for a few times, he didn't receive any reply. 

'I tried already but she is still too weak. I need to send more Fate Qi to her.' Little Ming said with a sigh, not disturbing Xuefeng earlier in the hope the Spirit would reply but it seemed like she wasn't the only one without luck. 

Knowing she was probably using Fate Qi out of her own bank, Xuefeng proposed 'Take as many Fate Stones as you need later to replenish what you lost. Ling will give you some.' 

'Ah, don't worry. Ling is right next to me. We are working a lot together recently… I'm in her space right now.' Little Ming assured him, acting cutely and Ling confirmed it right after, 'She looked so cute that I couldn't leave her alone. The complete opposite to her other self...' 

Little Ming giggled as he asked, 'Hehe, don't you just like cuddles?' Xuefeng could almost imagine the two cuddling each other and even imagined joining them but quickly disregarded those thoughts knowing the priorities. 

He didn't hesitate to scold them both, 'Leave playing around for later and focus on the current situation!' 

'Yes!' They both acknowledged him and they both started pumping Fate Qi into Yi's body. It didn't take long for her to start releasing dark miasma from her body which forced Xuefeng to pull away a bit, only holding his hand on Yi's forehead to keep the connection between them. The black miasma didn't burn him but rather the opposite, it feels extremely cold. He felt like his arm would turn into ice and break if he touched it. 

Just then, Yi muttered once again, acting as if she was sleep talking, "It's cold and dark here…" She would blink from time to time but her gaze was empty as if she was in another space. 

This time Xuefeng didn't hesitate and called out, hoping to reach her, "Yi! Can you hear me?!" 

Unfortunately, Yi didn't act as if she heard him and continued talking to herself, "It's so dark… I am scared… Where are you, Young Master…" 

At that very moment, as Xuefeng was troubled with what to do with her, Little Ming informed, 'Yi's Spirit finally replied! Yi is trapped inside her own mind as she is being consumed by her own darkness. The moment she was connected with her Fate Spirit there were only bad emotions filling her mind and they quickly amplified, trapping her inside of it. She seems to be attached to you for some reason so the spirit asked you for the help.'

'What can I do?' Xuefeng naturally didn't mind that, wanted to help her anyway. 

'She will create a way for your voice to reach her and you just need to convince her to discard all negative emotions and cheer her up. Yi doesn't seem to listen to her Fate Spirit so this is the only thing we can do.' Little Ming passed the message. 

'No problem. Let's do this.' Xuefeng quickly agreed and when he got the signal from Little Ming, he grasped Yi's cheeks, saying, "Yi, I am here! Don't be scared." 

This time Yi finally reacted as she turned her head into the direction of his voice and asked hesitantly, finding that it belonged to a certain someone she liked, "Young Master...? Where are you? It's so dark that I can't see you… I'm so scared…" 

"Don't be, I am right in front of you… You just need to reach out to me." Surprisingly, Yi listened to him and slowly reached out her hands, encountering Xuefeng's chest as the first target. Her hands soon raised up to his face, trying to confirm it was him by touching everywhere. 

First, her fingers landed on his lips before slowly checking out his cheekbones and the shape of his face. Not even his ears were spared as she finally said happily, confirming it was him, "Young Master…" 

"You can call me Xuefeng from now on." Xuefeng said with a smile, letting her feel the change with her hands

"Can I really…? Xuefeng… I like that name…" Yi said softly as a bit of redness appeared on her cheeks. 

Xiao Wen and her father who were watching from the side figured out that Xuefeng was trying to help her so they didn't disturb him but Xiao Feng already knew he didn't like Yi' feelings for Xuefeng. 

'It's working! Keep talking to her and make her think positive.' Little Ming exclaimed but she didn't have to as Xuefeng had eyes. The more he talked to Yi, the more strands of hair turned from black to silver. This made him try even harder as it didn't look so hard to do and started talking with her as intended. 

"You remember the crystal I gave you? How are you feeling?" 

"I remember you placed it on my forehead… and then everything turned black… I don't like this darkness… Can you take me away from here...?"

"I will. You know, I took this crystal from Pio and it will grant you the same abilities as he had. Now you will be able to join our group and travel with us. Do you want to?" 

"Yes! Of course, I want to!" Yi cried out happily as she agreed right away and threw herself onto Xuefeng's neck, hugging him. "Ah, I'm so happy right now." 

Xuefeng could see that more than half of Yi's hair swiftly changed into silver and even the black matter lessened, no longer wrapping around her without restrains. Unfortunately, this wasn't it as there was still a lot of darkness he had to get rid off. 

He tried to think of a good plan that will help him achieve it quickly and he somehow thought of one. Even if it was a bit forceful, he believed it would work just fine in this situation. Pulling her arms away, he called out happily, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go right away, follow me." 

He acted as if he was leaving but Yi speedily caught his shirt and pleaded, "Xuefeng, don't go! It's still somewhat dark here… I still can't see your face…" 

"Well, I guess you don't want to go with us then. You have to decide, now or never." Xuefeng gave her the ultimatum to motivate her. 

"I really want to go with you guys…" Yi was a bit sad at first but then Xuefeng stopped her speech, "Then get rid of this darkness and come with me."

He grabbed onto her hand and added, "To get rid of the darkness, you just need to really want for that to happen. Imagine me standing right in front of you and smiling while holding your hand then close your eyes, wishing it was real. When you open your eyes, I will be there." 

She naturally didn't want to believe it was this easy as she asked, "This simple?"

Xuefeng could only agree and motivate her further, "Yes. If you really want it, nothing is impossible. But it will only work if you want it from the bottom of your heart." 

"Alright, I will try then." Yi didn't have reasons not to try and closed her eyes, imagining everything that she wanted, even something more, wanting a sweet and tasty kiss from him as she didn't have anything to lose. 

Xuefeng could naturally see the changes from the outside and just as he expected, the Black matter quickly started disappearing and the black hair turned into beautiful silver hair, falling gently onto her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she saw that she returned back to how they were before and saw what she wanted, Xuefeng. 

"It worked! You are amazing, Xuefe— Young Master…" Yi naturally exclaimed, knowing Xuefeng's method worked and planned to continue using his name but then she realised where she was. Seeing Xiao Feng's glare quickly forced her old habits of a servant to resurface and she lowered her head. 

Fortunately for her, Xuefeng noticed this behaviour and didn't hesitate to act, lifting her chin up and scolded her, "What is that bowing?! From today onward you should never bow to anyone as you are above all of them and you..." Xuefeng pointed at Xiao Feng and added, "...Yi is no longer a servant so you can get that glare off your face. I don't wish you to glare at my friends." 

Xuefeng didn't care if Xiao Feng was his future father-in-law or not when he was in his scolding mode. If Yi wanted to stay in his group, she had to act like one of his members. He didn't want any of his friends to have the status of a servant. 

He ignored Xiao Feng's reaction and looked back at Yi, asking sternly to confirm, "Do you understand?" 

"Yes!" Yi naturally agreed, a smile appearing on her face. It was quite a rare occurrence today so it was definitely special. 

"Good girl." Xuefeng patted Yi on the head before explaining as he smiled back at her, "Listen, I lied to you. We still need to get rid of the Tang Family and only then we will be able to leave. I hope you don't mind? I will explain everything else later on. I know you have many questions." 

He knew that having a Fate Spirit, she would have a lot of questions so he left that for later.