Chapter 3489: Martial Aunt (6)

Ning Shu set up the spirit gathering formation. She had not felt spiritual energy this abundant and refreshing in a long time. It surged into her body in a continuous rush.

Ning Shu absorbed the spiritual energy and guided it into her inner core, but her body felt unwell, and her meridians twitched.

She did not know whether it was due to her injuries or her state of mind, but her cultivation was not going smoothly at all.

Her chest was swollen and painful. This feeling was accompanied by an undercurrent of irritability. This feeling of dissatisfaction and annoyance with everything made her wonder if her monthly period was approaching.

The nascent soul in her inner core remained listless and dull, tainted with a faint gray energy, which was the result of her damaged Dao heart.

Even though Jiang Xueci had acted with great grace at the time and had suppressed her negative emotions, the incident had still taken a toll on her Dao heart.

Most people truly could not move past such a hurdle, leading them to doubt their own existence and feel depressed, left wondering what was the point of all their hard work and sweat.

Ning Shu had no choice but to stop cultivating. She felt too irritated, knowing that cultivation under these conditions would yield no results and would even be counterproductive. What would she do if she truly succumbed to her inner demons?

She decided to go to the alchemy room to ask for some pills to calm her mind.

When she stepped out of her room and through the courtyard gate, she encountered some disciples who quickly bowed and greeted her as ‘Elder Jiang.’

Ning Shu nodded slightly. As soon as she passed by, some disciples began whispering and stealing glances at her, clearly gossiping about the recent challenge from the new disciple.

She looked around and noticed quite a few people staring and pointing at her. It felt as if a fire were burning within her, threatening to consume her rationality.

Ning Shu now understood why Jiang Xueci kept challenging Yi Youxuan time and again. Only by defeating Yi Youxuan could she face these gazes calmly and extinguish the fire of her inner demons.

In other words, Jiang Xueci was now bound to Yi Youxuan by karma. This karma would keep them entangled until one of them died to settle the debt. However, her entrustor was merely a cannon fodder.

Others would likely say that she went mad after being surpassed because she was too narrow-minded.

These looks made Ning Shu very uncomfortable. She knew she should not care, but it still bothered her deeply.

She had never been the type of person to care about the opinions of others, yet under the torment of her inner demons, all her inner darkness was bubbling to the surface.

There was resentment, anger, jealousy, and hatred.

She knew it was wrong, but it gnawed at her heart. She knew she ought to let it go, yet she could not.

Ning Shu took a deep breath, reciting the heart-clearing chant in her heart while attempting to activate her calming halo.

It had been a long time since she felt such a lack of control over her body and emotions.

Furthermore, Ning Shu felt that there were lingering remnants of the original host in this body. In truth, she was still lingering in this body now.

Her thoughts and her physical body were not entirely her own.

Ning Shu closed her hearing off and headed straight to the alchemy room, nodding slightly to the disciples who greeted her along the way but hearing none of their gossip.

Since she could not remain indifferent, she chose to feign ignorance.

When she arrived at the alchemy room, she saw an old man with a red nose sitting on a recliner, leisurely drinking wine with a contented expression while humming an unknown tune.

Ning Shu walked over and called out to an ‘Uncle Duan.’ He was the master alchemist of Zisha Island, responsible for refining all the medicinal supplies for the island.

Elder Duan opened his eyes and looked her up and down. “Little Jiang, what happened to you? Has your Dao heart been damaged?”

Ning Shu touched her face. “Is it that obvious?”

“Someone who practices alchemy like me also knows medicine. A person’s vitality cannot fake these things. Your complexion is dim right now, as if bad luck is hanging over you.” Elder Duan stood up, placed his hands behind his back, retrieved a jade bottle from a small box, and handed it to her.

“Damage to the Dao heart ultimately relies on yourself to heal. This pill can suppress it for now, but suppression is not a long-term solution. You must repair and perfect your Dao heart,” Elder Duan said. “There is no point in competing with a junior.”

Ning Shu accepted the jade bottle and handed over some merit tokens.

She said rather helplessly, “It seems you know everything.”

“So many people come and go through my alchemy room. There is very little that happens on Zisha Island that I do not know,” Elder Duan replied before taking a swaying sip of his wine.

“However, that disciple of Qi Cheng is truly lacking in manners. If she cannot accept discipline, she should not have joined the sect and instead should have become a rogue cultivator. A sect must be united,” Elder Duan said casually.

“Please do not speak so carelessly,” Ning Shu advised sincerely. “If you say this, you will be labeled an ill-mannered elder, a villain who bullies the young. If they challenge your alchemy skills, do not come crying to me later.

“You should just focus on refining your pills and enter the Dao through alchemy. Do not concern yourself with these trivial matters.”

Yi Youxuan was truly invincible. She could start a fight at the drop of a hat. She had a whole Divine Dao sect backing her, which possessed alchemy, artifact refinement, and various ancient texts.

If she truly challenged Elder Duan, the old man would be soundly defeated.

The ancient sect possessed complete recipes, some of which had already been lost to time. Furthermore, the spiritual herbs of ancient times were far superior to those of today.

Unlike now, where cultivators had harvested the world’s resources like they were cutting weeds.

Moreover, Yi Youxuan’s immortal estate was filled with all manner of rare herbs and treasures.

Her cheats were too massive to contend with. It was basically a single person going up against a Divine Dao sect.

Even more incredible was that these ancient alchemy and artifact refinement facilities housed the spirits of masters. These spirits had no consciousness and existed solely to aid in crafting.

Whenever Yi Youxuan refined pills or artifacts, these spirits would temporarily enter her body.

She did not even need to operate the process themselves because the spirits would handle the alchemy independently.

The pills they produced were the best in the world.

Elder Duan would definitely be crushed.

Elder Duan waved his hand. “I have no desire to compete, nor do I intend to bicker with a junior.”

Ning Shu smiled. It was best not to provoke Yi Youxuan.

If you could not win, you should hide. Becoming entangled with her meant a life-and-death struggle. As long as one did not blindly fawn over her, they would not have to die.

Of course, Ning Shu believed that the Dao hearts of those involved would all be damaged.

In the quest for immortality and the Dao, cultivators sought to discern the false and discover the true.

They sought harmony with the heavens and treated their own bodies as the cosmos. Whether living in the shadow of another or blindly fawning over someone, both would negatively impact one’s Dao heart.

When a Dao heart was truly firm, nothing could defeat it.

It was a matter of constantly correcting oneself.

Fearlessness in the face of any hardship.

Reconstruction was difficult, but violent destruction was effortless.

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