Chapter 66: Xu Qinghuan: Am I truly a lowly maid?

Why has my voice gone hoarse?!

Xu Qinghuan was slightly stunned.

In her mind, the scenes of last night's "fierce battle" flashed by subconsciously.

Her heart couldn't help but flutter.

Whimpering for half the night...

How could it not be hoarse!

Of course, even if she were given ten thousand guts, she wouldn't dare say this in front of Jin Hai.

She took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the panic surging in her heart, and lifted her head. She squeezed a strained smile onto her face, her voice so hoarse it barely sounded like her own:

"Brother Hai... I might have accidentally caught a cold last night, my throat is a bit uncomfortable..."

"Caught a cold?!"

Jin Hai looked at the seemingly weak Xu Qinghuan, a flash of realization crossing his charcoal-black face.

For those who practice martial arts, catching a cold occasionally was common. He didn't think much of it, just nodded slightly, his tone indifferent: "Hmm, take care of yourself."

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Hai..."

Xu Qinghuan gave a hoarse, sweet smile. The smile carried a hint of deliberate coquettishness, but paired with that hoarse voice, it appeared rather strange.

As she spoke, she forcefully endured the sharp pain deep within her body and walked down the mountain with a "steady" gait.

Jin Hai watched her back disappear at the edge of his vision, then withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes again, and sank into cultivation.

The five gold stones lit up with a faint golden glow once more, shrouding his figure.

When Xu Qinghuan's figure appeared at the outer sect martial arts arena, the surrounding disciples could hardly believe their eyes.

She had changed.

The Xu Qinghuan who was usually arrogant and domineering, always followed by a group of female disciples, and ready to bully others at the slightest provocation, seemed like a different person today.

She didn't call out to her friends as usual, didn't scan the crowd with those bewitching eyes looking for targets to oppress, and certainly didn't raise her voice to boss people around.

She just walked quietly to the edge of the arena, found an inconspicuous corner, sat cross-legged, and listened earnestly to the martial arts points being taught by the instruction deacon.

Her demeanor was as obedient as a newly entered junior sister.

"This... how did this troublemaker change her nature..."

Even the instruction deacon couldn't help but look at her twice, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He pondered inwardly: Could it be that yesterday's conflict caused too much of a stir, alarming the inner sect peak master, and someone warned her?

In a corner not far away, Liu Yiyi stood quietly, her cold eyes landing on Xu Qinghuan, a hint of obscure strangeness flashing in the depths of her eyes.

She had already prepared herself, waiting for Xu Qinghuan to come and stir up trouble today.

After all, the triumphant look in Xu Qinghuan's eyes when she left yesterday clearly said, "This isn't over."

But the other party's appearance at this moment actually made her somewhat surprised.

However, Liu Yiyi's eyes were sharper and more delicate than ordinary people's, and she observed Xu Qinghuan secretly for a moment.

She finally discovered something amiss.

She keenly noticed that Xu Qinghuan's walking posture, when those fair long legs moved, the stride between her legs seemed deliberately cautious, as if every step she took, she was forcefully enduring some kind of sharp pain. That subtle stiffness, that barely noticeable stagger, and the occasionally furrowed brow...

These details fell into Liu Yiyi's eyes like a bolt of lightning, instantly splitting the fog in her mind.

She suddenly remembered that when she and Su Yan had a "fierce battle" with the white-haired old man that night, they were also in unbearable pain, with such a gait.

"Could it be that she has already..."

Liu Yiyi's eyes obscurely sized up Xu Qinghuan's body, a bold thought flashing through her mind.

A moment later, a scene appeared on the martial arts arena that made everyone's eyes widen.

Xu Qinghuan actually stood up, breaking all precedent, and under the gaze of countless surprised or amused eyes, walked step by step toward Liu Yiyi.

She stopped in front of Liu Yiyi, her bewitching and pretty face piling up a seemingly "sincere" smile, her voice hoarse but trying hard to be soft:

"Lin Lin Shimei Yiyi, I offended you before, I apologize to you."

She paused, as if using all her strength to play this role of "turning over a new leaf":

"Actually, after our conflict yesterday, I went back and thought about it for a long time..."

"Being fellow disciples, meeting is fate, why must we make our relationship so stiff."

She took a deep breath, lowering her posture even further:

"I sincerely apologize for my previous recklessness, I hope you can forgive me."

Although she said this, in the depths of her eyes, a flash of frustrated resentment quickly swept by.

Of course, she hadn't changed for the better, nor did she know she was wrong.

It was simply the fear that if the loss of her true yin were exposed, she would be settled with.

After all, she saw it yesterday too; Liu Yiyi's background wasn't simple either, actually being well-acquainted with an inner sect elder.

This weight was much higher than that of an ordinary outer sect disciple.

Liu Yiyi didn't respond.

She just quietly sized up Xu Qinghuan, those cold eyes like two deep pools, showing neither joy nor anger.

A moment later, her gaze landed between Xu Qinghuan's brows.

There, a hint of mature charm, completely different from yesterday, had faintly emerged.

It was an indescribable allure, like the traces left behind after a flower quietly blooms in the dead of night.

Liu Yiyi's pupils contracted slightly.

She suddenly sneered, the laughter extremely light and cold, like icicles falling to the ground.

In the young girl's cold, beautiful eyes, a hint of undisguised disdain flashed.

Immediately, she turned and left, leaving not a single word.

"This slut! I knew it! Still so good at pretending!"

Xu Qinghuan watched that receding back, the smile on her face instantly stiffening, then shattering inch by inch.

She was so angry she almost bit her teeth to pieces, the rage surging on that pretty face, almost impossible to suppress.

But in the end, she suppressed it.

She bit her lip hard, swallowing the anger that was about to burst out of her chest back into her stomach, bit by bit.

She kept telling herself: Cannot lash out, cannot stir up trouble, cannot let anyone see anything unusual.

Especially when thinking of the wedding date three months later...

Her heart trembled violently, and an uncontrollable sense of desolation surged into her eyes.

"Damn old thing... you better not lie to me when the time comes!!!"

Xu Qinghuan wailed in her heart.

Besides believing the other party, she had no other way now.

At the same time.

Heavenly Sun Peak, inside the Heavenly Sunflower Herb Garden.

In the wooden house, Jiang Ye sat cross-legged on the hard bed, eyes slightly closed, breathing long and steady.

He remained motionless, like a stone statue integrated with the wooden house.

The extremely pure true yin force within his body was being absorbed by him bit by bit, merging into his limbs and bones, nourishing this seventy-year-old decaying shell.

To digest it in peace, he had already put Xiao Huo into the herb garden, letting it help him patrol the garden.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was three days later.

Hiss!!!

Xiao Huo was like a red bolt of lightning, happily darting back and forth in the Heavenly Sunflower Herb Garden.

It would occasionally crawl onto grass leaves, occasionally burrow into soil cracks, having the time of its life.

Suddenly—

It seemed to have sensed something, its head lifted abruptly, its pitch-black compound eyes looking toward the direction of the wooden door.

The next instant.

Creak.

The wooden door opened, and a figure stepped into the herb garden silently.

It was an old man, yet not entirely an old man.

His body was as straight as a javelin, his spine no longer hunched in the slightest.

On that aged face, the wrinkles remained, but they had faded a lot; the originally deep gullies had become shallower, and the skin even faintly radiated a long-lost luster.

Those aged eyes were now as clear as deep pools, the essence within restrained, yet making one afraid to look directly.

It was none other than Jiang Ye, who had absorbed all the true yin.

He stood in the herb garden, eyes slightly closed, feeling this brand-new body.

That feeling was unprecedentedly wonderful.

Every muscle, every bone, every meridian seemed to have been reforged, filled with explosive power.

That power lurked deep in the flesh and blood, like a dormant beast, ready to wake up at any time.

He didn't circulate any force, just casually threw a punch forward.

Bang—!!!

A dull explosion actually came from the air, like a heavy hammer striking a leather drum.

That was the sonic boom caused by the fist tearing through the air and compressing it to the limit.

"Is this my current strength..."

Jiang Ye slowly withdrew his fist, looking down at his hands.

Those hands were still withered and thin, the knuckles still protruding, but he could clearly feel that the power contained beneath that withered skin was a world of difference from three days ago.

This punch of his used only pure physical strength, without mixing in any force.

After the body was cleansed by the true yin, his current physical strength was almost catching up to that of a robust man in his forties or fifties.

That vitality, that vigor, was something he hadn't experienced in decades.

Host: Jiang Ye

Lifespan: 70/100

Strength: Transformation of Force (Peak)

Fate: Ladder to Divinity 【Effect 1: Superb Comprehension!】

Martial Arts Mastered: Five Animals Fist (Perfected), Blood Moon Blade (Minor Success, 1888/2000)

Intent Mastered: Tiger Walk Like Sickness, Spirit Ape Thousand Changes, Startled Deer No Trace, Riding the Wind Soaring Sky

Jiang Ye glanced at the system panel and nodded with satisfaction.

This true yin was indeed magical; not only did it cleanse his physical body, but it also allowed his strength to break through from the Transformation of Force Mid-Realm to the Transformation of Force Peak in one go.

Now, he could truly say he was invincible in the Transformation of Force Realm.

Once Wen Yueyao gathered the contribution points, he could go exchange for the Qi-Nurturing Method and start nurturing Qi.

Hiss~~~

An excited hiss interrupted his thoughts.

Jiang Ye looked down, and Xiao Huo was circling around his feet, its long, thin body twisting like a happy little dog. Its two pairs of mandibles opened and closed, emitting fawning hisses.

It seemed to have sensed its master's changes and was extremely excited.

"Hahaha, you little guy has worked hard these three days."

Jiang Ye laughed heartily and beckoned with one hand.

The force between his fingers was like an invisible magnet, steadily lifting Xiao Huo from the ground from a distance, and it landed in his palm with a "whoosh."

Xiao Huo twisted in his palm, emitting a puzzled hiss, seemingly not understanding how it had suddenly "flown" up.

Jiang Ye looked down at the little insect in his palm that was as red as fire, feeling very satisfied.

After stepping into the Transformation of Force Peak, his control over force had become exquisite and subtle; means like taking objects from a distance were just a small display of skill.

"With my current physical strength, it's enough to practice the 'Jin Gang Body-Refining Technique'!"

Jiang Ye's mouth curled up slightly, a flash of heat in his aged eyes.

This hard-training martial art was absolutely extraordinary!

"Tomorrow, once I gather the herbs to brew the secret medicine, I'll start practicing this hard-training martial art! By the way, I'll go down the mountain to check on Liu Qingshi and the others..."

As his thoughts shifted, Jiang Ye had already planned his schedule for tomorrow.

The main herbs needed to practice the "Diamond Body-Refining Technique"—Snow Yang Flower, Heavenly Sunflower Grass, Green Water Luo—the herb garden had ready-made Heavenly Sunflower Grass.

The Snow Yang Flower and Green Water Luo would need to be bought in the prefecture city.

As for the Liu Qingshi family, it had been a while since he checked on them, so it would be on the way.

He turned and returned to the wooden house, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Although the true yin force in his body had been fully absorbed, it still needed to be thoroughly stabilized.

He had to adjust his state to the best, so he could start new cultivation tomorrow.

At the same time, Jin Chen Peak.

The night was deep, the moon hidden and stars sparse.

Inside an exquisite room, the candle had long been extinguished, and only the moonlight spilled in through the window lattice, spreading a cold silver glow on the floor.

"Ugh..."

A graceful figure rolled back and forth on the bed, unable to fall asleep.

The quilt was crumpled into a ball by her, held in her arms then pushed away, pushed away then held back, but she couldn't find a comfortable position no matter what.

It was none other than Xu Qinghuan.

Actually, ever since that night, she hadn't had a good night's sleep in these three days.

For some reason, whenever she closed her eyes, the scenes of that night would uncontrollably emerge in her mind.

Those images, those sounds, those details she desperately wanted to forget but were as clear as a brand, replayed in her mind over and over again, unable to be shaken off.

Thinking about it too much, she actually started to feel that the old man was quite handsome.

"Could I... really be a lowly maid..."

Sensing the thoughts in her mind, Xu Qinghuan's heart trembled violently, and a layer of hazy moisture actually appeared in her bewitching, beautiful eyes. ===== CHAPTER 67 =====