Chapter 643

However, Kiana's gaze toward Mei remained somewhat aggrieved.

Mei understood why Kiana was aggrieved; in the future Himeko had shown, she had indeed given Kiana a sound beating.

Now, Mei also felt a bit guilty and dared not look Kiana in the eye.

If not for the incident with Himeko, and had things developed as they did in that future, she really might have had to beat Kiana up.

After settling Otto and the others, Theresa hurried over, ignoring the strange atmosphere, and asked in confusion:

............. 0

"Where is Himeko?"

"Teacher Himeko has gone to take a bath."

Bronya replied softly.

"A bath? Cultivators are pure inside and out, untainted by dust; do they still need to bathe?"

Theresa asked in surprise.

"Don't really think of cultivators as non-human!"

A slightly helpless voice rang out as Himeko leisurely came down from upstairs.

"A cultivator's lifespan is almost infinite; I can live for tens of thousands of years now, let alone in the future."

"Although it's true that cultivators don't need sleep, food, or baths."

"But not everyone is like the Sect Master, who, aside from becoming an immortal, has no desires and goes into seclusion to cultivate whenever they have time."

"After all, I haven't been cultivating for long; the best way to maintain my sense of self in this long life is to keep a shred of humanity."

"This is what the Senior Head Zhongli and the other immortals told me."

Himeko plopped onto the sofa, casually summoned a bottle of cola, took a sip, and looked completely refreshed.

Shushan is great in every way, except that cultivators don't value enjoyment; there is basically nothing in her cave dwelling.

Having grown accustomed to modern life, it would be difficult for Himeko to change that in the short term.

"Hehe..."

Kiana clung to Himeko, hugged her tight, and teased:

"So, Himeko, do you mean that your Shushan Sect Master is a truly high-and-mighty existence who looks down on all living beings like a god, devoid of human nature?"

Himeko rolled her eyes at Kiana in annoyance.

"You have no respect! Can you just say things like that?"

"If the Enforcement Hall hears you, they'll lock you in the Demon-Suppressing Tower for a thousand years!"

441. Demon cultivators, ghost cultivators? Your Shushan really has a rich variety of species.

"A thousand years or so is too long! I'm not even sure I can live that long."

"Besides, isn't there you, Himeko? I believe you'll protect me."

Kiana muttered heartlessly. Seeing that she still didn't take it seriously, Himeko couldn't help but say earnestly:

"Don't think I'm joking, Kiana! In Shushan, disrespecting one's master is the most serious of the Shushan commandments."

"At best, your cultivation will be crippled and you'll be suppressed for a thousand years; at worst, you'll be hunted to the ends of the earth until you die."

"Shushan is a cultivation sect after all, and there are many rules. Also, don't think that just because Shushan is a righteous sect, it lacks means of torture."

"Among my fellow disciples, there are several ghost cultivators whose methods of manipulating souls are top-notch; physical death is the most trivial thing."

"If they take action, death is a luxury. At best, they'll refine you into a ghost general to fight for them eternally; at worst, they'll put you in a soul lamp to be burned by karmic fire forever."

"Tortured with soul-damaging curses, dying and being reborn."

"A senior sister of mine named Lisa controls the art of burning souls with karmic fire; not only can she devour and refine souls, but she can also use karmic fire to keep a soul suffering endlessly without dying."

"You can't even imagine the methods of a cultivator, so don't talk nonsense like that in the future."

"Throughout Shushan, speaking recklessly about the Sect Master is a grave crime."

"Although I am a core disciple of Dragon Head Peak, above me are the Shushan inner sect protectors, elders of various peaks, peak heads, the Sect Master's personal disciples, and so on."

"Core disciples don't have much power."

Hearing this, Kiana immediately shrank her neck and hugged Himeko in fear.

"I was wrong, Himeko... That Shushan Sect Master didn't hear what I just said, did he?"

"Don't worry, it's fine."

Himeko smiled.

"The Sect Master has indeed reached a realm in the Tree and Sea universe where he perceives everything he thinks of, but generally speaking, he wouldn't listen."

"Countless people in Teyvat pray to the Sect Master every day; if he really listened to them one by one, would he have any time to cultivate?"

"The Sect Master is a peerless genius dedicated to cultivation; apart from cultivating, he focuses on strengthening Shushan. Strictly speaking, he really doesn't have many worldly desires."

"At the Sect Master's level, the only remaining desire is to become stronger."

As for the matter of Ganyu and Miko...

She didn't dare to say anything.

"Himeko, isn't your Shushan the leader of the righteous path? Why are there ghost cultivators?"

Theresa looked at Himeko with concern, and the latter waved her hand.

"Although most ghost cultivators are insane and their techniques are extremely vicious, there are always exceptions, though such exceptions are few."

"Alright, let's stop talking about these topics."

Himeko stretched and leaned comfortably on the sofa.

"It's so comfortable to have a taste of modern life after so long. Shushan is great in every way, but it's very boring."

"Most of my fellow disciples prefer to go into seclusion to cultivate or ponder state affairs."

"People on the mystical side are indeed better at enduring loneliness than someone like me on the technological side."

"Speaking of which, when I go back this time, I must bring more furniture; there isn't even a bed in my cave dwelling."

Mei was surprised and looked at Himeko with heartache.

"Not even a bed? Then how do you rest, Teacher Himeko!"

"Meditation, of course."

Himeko shrugged.

"A cultivator's sleep basically involves setting up a spirit-gathering array and meditating within it."

"Of course, many cultivators, like the Sect Master, never rest; every day, apart from cultivation, they have nothing else to do."

"It's normal for hundreds or thousands of years to pass in a single seclusion."

After saying this, Himeko looked at Kiana and said with a smile:

"Alright, now that there are no outsiders, I'll tell you something more profound."

"Before that... let's bring out Fu Hua's soul first."

Mentioning Fu Hua, Kiana suddenly realized and asked anxiously:

"Himeko! Class Monitor used something called a feather to help me control the Herrscher of the Void's power, and there's been no movement since. What should I do?"

"Don't worry, she's just fallen into a deep sleep due to excessive soul power consumption. I'll bring her out first, then we'll go back to Shushan and talk. It'll be fine to help her recreate a body then."

As she spoke, Himeko took out a dim, yellowish oil lamp.

She waved it gently in front of Kiana, and a feather was sucked into it.

Gentle soul power began to nourish Fu Hua's soul.

However, having consumed too much, she still showed no signs of waking up.

"Teacher Himeko, is the Class Monitor okay?"

Bronya looked at Himeko with concern, and the latter shook her head.

"It's just soul power depletion; it doesn't hurt the foundation. It's fine. When we go back, just ask Junior Sister Hu Tao for some soul power to nourish her."

Seeing everyone looking stunned, Himeko said helplessly:

"I can't help it. I haven't been cultivating for long, and I don't know any techniques involving souls at all; at most, I know some techniques that can tear souls apart."

"Junior Sister Hu Tao is a professional ghost cultivator. She can even raise ghost generals at the middle stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. Healing Fu Hua is a piece of cake."

Kiana's head spun, and she looked at Himeko with some fear.

"Ghost... ghost cultivator! There really are ghosts! She won't treat the Class Monitor as a ghost general to be driven, will she?"

Himeko laughed:

"You're overthinking it. On the trip to the Dragon Palace, Junior Sister Hu Tao made a fortune. Not only did she get a ghost general at the middle stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, but she also has many other ghosts of various realms."

"In that Ten Thousand Ghost Banner of hers, there might be hundreds of thousands of evil souls hidden. Now, she has no energy to continue collecting souls, and besides, Fu Hua's soul doesn't meet Junior Sister Hu Tao's requirements..."