Chapter 94: Cultivating [1]

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Cultivating [1]

By the time Xi Yunxui finished breakfast, she had already made up her mind.

She was going to the mountain.

After spending the early hours of the morning wrestling with her thoughts, she had realized that sitting around the Huo residence and thinking about Huo Jingchen would only make her feel worse. Besides, the system had given her the mountain as part of her system mission reward, and she had yet to properly investigate what exactly she had received.

If she was going to spend the day doing something, she might as well do something useful.

After clearing away the last of her breakfast, Xi Yunxui found Auntie Zhang in the main courtyard and told her that she would be going out for a while.

Auntie Zhang was somewhat surprised.

"Going out?"

"Yes." Xi Yunxui nodded. "I have somewhere I want to visit. I should be back later."

Auntie Zhang did not ask too many questions. She simply reminded Xi Yunxui to be careful and not to stay out too late, which Xi Yunxui readily agreed to before returning to the staff quarters.

The moment she stepped inside her room, three pairs of eyes immediately turned toward her.

King C was lying on the floor with his legs stretched out, looking as though he had been bored out of his mind. Biyu was perched beside Hui’s doll, preening its feathers, while Hui herself was sitting quietly nearby.

Only, she was no longer in her ash-grey tiger form.

Instead, a little girl of about five years old was sitting on the floor.

Hui had dark hair that fell softly around her small face, a pair of large, round, dark eyes, and delicate features that made her look particularly adorable. She was wearing a little dress that Xi Yunxui had helped her choose, and the sight of her sitting obediently among the other two creatures still felt strange enough that Xi Yunxui occasionally had to remind herself that this was the same small tiger she had first encountered. Hui could also speak now, which greatly surprised Xi Yunxui.

The moment Hui saw her, she immediately stood.

"Big Sister."

Xi Yunxui smiled.

"Hui."

Hui hurried over and grabbed her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To the mountain."

The little girl’s eyes immediately brightened.

King C’s ears perked up.

Biyu stopped preening its feathers.

All three creatures looked at Xi Yunxui with varying degrees of interest.

"We’re going to take a look at the mountain the system gave me," Xi Yunxui explained. "I don’t know what’s there yet, so I want to investigate it myself."

King C immediately became excited.

"Are there carrots?"

Xi Yunxui’s smile disappeared.

"Why is that the first thing you ask?"

King C looked genuinely confused.

"What else would I ask?"

Xi Yunxui rubbed her forehead.

She had forgotten that whenever King C heard the words going somewhere, his first concern was always food.

"We’ll see."

King C seemed satisfied with that answer.

Xi Yunxui, however, soon discovered a much more troublesome problem.

She looked at the three creatures.

King C.

Biyu.

Hui.

Then she looked at the door.

Her expression gradually became complicated.

"...How am I supposed to get all three of you there?"

She could carry Hui if necessary, but Biyu could obviously fly, while King C was far too large to simply pick up and carry around. Even if she somehow managed to transport him, there was no way she could casually walk through the streets with a strange goat-like creature following behind her without attracting attention.

Xi Yunxui folded her arms.

"Maybe I should leave King C behind."

"No!"

King C immediately objected.

Xi Yunxui glanced at him.

"You heard me."

"I’m coming!"

"You’ll attract too much attention."

"I can hide."

"You?"

King C puffed out his chest as though deeply offended by her lack of confidence.

"I can hide very well."

Xi Yunxui stared at him for several seconds.

She remembered all the trouble he had caused since coming to the Huo residence.

She did not trust his definition of hiding.

Just as she was about to think of another solution, the familiar system panel appeared before her.

[Host.]

Xi Yunxui looked at it.

"What?"

[The Host can purchase a Teleportation Talisman from the System Store.]

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"A teleportation talisman?"

[Yes.]

[The Teleportation Talisman can transport the Host and designated companions to a selected destination.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression brightened further.

"Can it bring us back?"

[The talisman is a round-trip talisman.]

[It can be used to travel to the selected destination and return to the original location.]

Xi Yunxui finally relaxed.

"How much?"

[30 Affection Points.]

She paused.

Thirty?

Xi Yunxui immediately opened the System Store.

Her current Affection Points were 64, which meant purchasing the talisman would leave her with 34.

After a moment of consideration, she nodded.

"Buy it."

[Ding!]

[30 Affection Points have been deducted.]

[Remaining Affection Points: 34.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a Round-Trip Teleportation Talisman.]

A small golden talisman appeared in Xi Yunxui’s hand.

Unlike the ordinary paper talismans she had seen in cultivation stories, this one was surprisingly delicate. Strange silver patterns covered its surface, forming a circular design that seemed to shimmer whenever she moved it.

Xi Yunxui examined it carefully before looking at the three creatures.

"All right. Problem solved."

King C stared at the talisman.

"What is that?"

"A way for us to get to the mountain without having to walk."

King C’s eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Yes."

His expression became excited.

Xi Yunxui ignored him and turned toward Hui.

"Stay close to me when we teleport."

Hui nodded obediently.

Biyu fluttered onto Xi Yunxui’s shoulder.

King C moved closer.

Xi Yunxui held the talisman firmly and concentrated on the mountain she had received from the system.

The silver patterns on the talisman immediately began glowing.

A strange sensation surrounded her.

The next moment, the room disappeared.

---

When Xi Yunxui opened her eyes again, she found herself standing beneath a canopy of enormous trees.

For several seconds, she simply stood there.

She had expected a mountain.

She had expected trees.

Perhaps some ordinary scenery.

She had not expected this.

The forest around them was incredibly lush, with ancient-looking trees rising high into the sky and their thick branches intertwining overhead. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in scattered golden patches, while vines covered portions of the tree trunks and countless unfamiliar plants grew between the roots.

The air was clean and fresh, carrying the scent of earth, leaves, and something else Xi Yunxui could not quite identify.

Then she felt it.

Spiritual energy.

Her eyes widened.

The spiritual energy surrounding the mountain was so abundant that she could almost feel it brushing against her skin. It was completely different from the air at the Huo residence, and even though she had only recently begun cultivating, the difference was immediately obvious.

Xi Yunxui slowly inhaled.

The spiritual energy entered her body with her breath, making her feel strangely refreshed.

"This place..."

She looked around in disbelief.

"It actually has this much spiritual energy?"

King C, Biyu, and Hui had also noticed the difference.

Biyu fluttered down from Xi Yunxui’s shoulder and looked around curiously. Hui stood beside Xi Yunxui with her mouth slightly open, while King C lifted his head and sniffed the air several times.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes gradually brightened.

She had originally planned to explore the mountain first.

But after sensing the spiritual energy, another thought immediately took priority.

Why waste such an opportunity?

"I think I should cultivate first."

King C tilted his head.

"Cultivate?"

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"This place has much more spiritual energy than the Huo residence. If I can absorb even a portion of it, my cultivation should improve."

The three creatures stared at her.

None of them seemed to understand what she meant.

Xi Yunxui did not bother explaining.

Instead, she found a relatively flat patch beneath one of the larger trees and sat down.

She crossed her legs, straightened her back, and closed her eyes.

Almost immediately, King C moved closer.

Biyu hopped along the ground until it was sitting beside her.

Hui stared at Xi Yunxui for a few moments before quietly sitting down as well.

The three creatures watched her.

Xi Yunxui remained completely still.

Her breathing gradually became steady as she followed the cultivation method she had learned, allowing her consciousness to settle while she guided the surrounding spiritual energy toward her body.

The moment she began cultivating, the atmosphere around her seemed to change.

Spiritual energy slowly gathered around her, invisible to ordinary eyes but becoming increasingly noticeable to Xi Yunxui’s senses.

She could feel it.

It was everywhere.

The mountain was practically overflowing with it.

Xi Yunxui’s lips curved into a faint smile.

Perhaps coming here had been the right decision after all.

She had been so distracted by everything that had happened at the Huo residence that she had almost forgotten she now possessed something completely extraordinary.

A mountain.

A system.

And a future she had barely begun to explore.

Beside her, Hui watched with wide eyes.

She leaned closer.

"Big Sister is sleeping?"

King C immediately shook his head.

"She’s not sleeping."

"How do you know?"

"Because sleeping doesn’t require sitting like that."

Hui considered his words.

Biyu looked at King C as though silently questioning his expertise.

King C ignored it and continued staring at Xi Yunxui.

"Maybe she’s doing something important."

The three creatures fell silent again.

None of them wanted to disturb her.

So, beneath the enormous trees of the spiritual mountain, Xi Yunxui continued cultivating while her three companions sat around her, watching with increasing curiosity.

And completely unaware of it, deep within the mountain, something stirred.