Chapter 53: Lovely Girl Shang Hongxue

In his sleep, Chen Chuyang felt his face itchy, as if a bug were crawling on it; in a daze he reached up and swatted, but found nothing, turned over and continued to sleep. He hadn't had deep sleep in a long time, and this time he was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he lay down—he slept soundly and comfortably, his whole soul relaxing, comprehending naturally.

The Hunyuan Dao Scripture circulated on its own, bringing about spontaneous insight; this open, unconscious kind of insight is the most casual, yet it yielded great gains. Chen Chuyang enjoyed the feeling, not knowing how long he had slept or how long he had gained insight; his whole soul seemed soaked in the sea, endless energy pouring into his soul, nourishing him.

That feeling remained; when the other side of his face itched, Chen Chuyang instinctively swatted, and the feeling disappeared. He scratched his face, turned over, and kept sleeping, not noticing at all the girl sitting beside him, tickling his face with a blade of dogtail grass.

Shang Hongxue held back her smile, curiously playing with the dogtail grass on Chen Chuyang's face, her eyes twinkling. She stifled any sound, intently watching his face, waited a moment, then continued toying with it.

Chen Chuyang felt something was off, opened his eyes, and then the girl let out a startled cry.

"Ah."

Startled, she dropped the dogtail grass, scrambled backward a meter on hands and feet, and Chen Chuyang caught her ankle—she almost kicked his head—realizing what had happened, her face flushed, she came back, looking at Chen Chuyang embarrassedly.

Chen Chuyang released her hand, sat up, and looked at Shang Hongxue before him; the girl with a flushed face was very pretty and also adorable.

Like a frightened fawn, she was utterly adorable.

"When did you arrive?"

"I came this morning, I called you several times, but you didn't wake up, so I…"

She picked up the dogtail grass again and continued toying with Chen Chuyang's face; this girl had no fear at all.

Watching the red on Shang Hongxue's face fade, Chen Chuyang couldn't help shaking his head.

He reached out, grabbed the dogtail grass, glanced at it, and handed it back to her.

"Big Brother Chuyang, how long did you sleep?"

"I don't know."

Chen Chuyang reckoned in his mind and found he had slept three days and three nights—really a long stretch.

Forging artifacts had consumed a great deal of his true qi and soul, making him unwilling to get up, unwilling even to cultivate; it was a rare sleep, a blend of work and rest.

He checked his true qi—it had increased by one‑fifth; these days, self‑recovery meant the more he expended, the more he recovered.

The forging process is a constant cycle of consumption and recovery; the more pure true qi is used, the purer it naturally becomes.

He then looked at his soul, and Chen Chuyang was astonished.

"My soul also grew by one‑third—even a breakthrough in cultivation couldn't add that much, yet just one sleep gave me this increase?"

The enormity of his soul delighted Chen Chuyang; although the Hunyuan Dao Scripture can increase the soul, it does so slowly, not as quickly as true qi.

Soul enhancement is inherently slow; unless one finds heavenly treasures that boost the soul or some soul‑related elixirs, such pills are exceedingly rare—one could say none have appeared in Longshe Cheng, and even his father Chen Yuan likely never saw one in his lifetime.

As for soul‑nourishing pills, Chen Chuyang has no recipe; he might study them in the future, but for now he cannot.

With his soul increased come many benefits, and Chen Chuyang is naturally delighted.

He sensed, extending his awareness to envelop Longshe Shan.

The whole of Longshe Shan lay clear before him.

He withdrew his awareness, then looked again at the girl before him; she hadn't come in a while, and it was no easy feat for Shang Hongxue to climb the mountain again. After her last visit, this girl had stirred up quite a bit; sitting down, Shang Hongxue began to recount those events—each time the same: as soon as she arrived, she would speak of all the big and small happenings at home.

No matter how great or small, she reported everything.

Only in front of Chen Chuyang would she be so talkative, saying everything.

She mentioned every detail, even the quarrels she had with Shang Hongchen.

When Chen Chuyang learned why she had argued, he couldn't help but give a thumbs‑up.

"You're impressive, but don't do that again—arguing with your sister for my sake isn't good."

"I'm just angry with her, humph." Shang Hongxue, speaking up for Chen Chuyang, said: "It's her own problem—why blame you? I won't allow it."

Others may say it, but she alone must not.

This matter is clearly her sister's fault; even if compensated, it still isn't her fault?

To err and yet be so arrogant—only her sister would act that way.

It's obvious that Big Brother Chuyang treats her so well and has done nothing wrong, yet in her sister's eyes he is an unforgivable villain.

She can't stand it.

She must not let her sister speak ill of Big Brother Chuyang again.

This time, no matter what, she must step forward and not let Big Brother Chuyang suffer any more injustice.

"What gives Shang Hongchen the right to say that to you, Big Brother Chuyang? This matter is clearly her problem—she just got noticed by the Heavenly Heart Sect, taken as a disciple, and actually thinks she's soared to become a phoenix, humph."

"Even if she flies onto a branch and becomes a phoenix, that's her own affair—what does it have to do with Big Brother Chuyang? From start to finish, he's the victim; she's the one who broke off the engagement, she's the one who erred, not him—why should he bear the blame for her?"

"Big Brother Chuyang is already aggrieved, yet she presses on—what exactly does Shang Hongchen want?"

The puffed‑up Shang Hongxue is quite adorable.

At least, right now Chen Chuyang thinks she is very cute.

This girl truly makes one feel pity.

Chen Chuyang patted her head and said, "Your sister will soon leave Longshe Cheng; just endure it—once she's gone, you'll be free."

"Arguing with her now is pointless."

Shang Hongxue lifted her head and declared firmly, "It is meaningful."

"I simply won't allow her to keep saying you're wrong; I won't permit it."

Chen Chuyang's smile grew richer—this girl really is adorable.

She is also very pure.

She has her own ideas and persistence, so Chen Chuyang says no more about it.

"Let me check your condition."

"Sure."

Shang Hongxue obediently reached out; Chen Chuyang probed her blood vessels, then directly examined her entire body's interior.

Meridians, blood vessels, and the five viscera and six bowels—this time he could see them more clearly.

After his cultivation increased, his soul rose with it, making the five viscera and six bowels he could observe far clearer, every detail in his sight.

Huh?

Chen Chuyang looked at her heart, frowning slightly.

Layers of seals appeared on the heart.

Those seals were like formations, like restrictions, very terrifying.

The seals tightly locked her heart, making her the source of disaster, and that source is this heart.

After the Spiritual Sense touched it, Chen Chuyang could feel the existence of that restriction; even a slight carelessness would make it impossible to detect the abnormality of the heart.

The restriction on the heart caused her body to be weak, and also made her supply unable to keep up, thus... constantly in a state of extreme weakness.

After the previous medicinal bath, the replenished nutrients were all drained away.

"A bit troublesome."