Chapter 205: The Day of Rest Is Coming

"When are you planning to act?"

At noon, Feng Xue dragged a reclining chair into the courtyard, sunbathing while holding a fruit tray, when he suddenly asked beside him, Liu Yunxi:

Feng Xue, startled, turned his head to look at the face that perfectly matched his xp, utterly baffled:

"What act?"

"The act!" Liu Yunxi was thrown off by his retort, flailing her hands for a moment before glancing toward Tina and whispering:

"You've always been in such a hurry, but now you've suddenly stopped—aren't you waiting for something? I've already refined the moonlight stored in the Jade Rabbit, and I'm nearly at the threshold of a hundred years' cultivation. Next, I need to choose my first innate spell. Tell me your thoughts so I can decide what to pick."

Feng Xue leapt up at her outburst, studying the snake spirit closely: "Wait, why are you asking me about something so private as your innate spell? And why do I feel your personality's off? Did you cultivate too fast and lose your mind?"

"You…" Liu Yunxi's face flushed crimson, looking distinctly "angry."

Seeing this, Feng Xue swallowed his snark—"That red face must be qi rushing upward—definitely lost control!"—and changed the subject:

"Can yokai even choose their innate spells?"

Hearing his question, Liu Yunxi finally realized she'd been too hasty—but she couldn't afford to wait, because as she neared the hundred-year cultivation threshold, the sense of impending doom grew ever stronger.

In fact, she'd already been at that threshold when she first met Feng Xue; back then, her talent barely scraped past the passing line, and her innate spell hadn't even formed.

But this time, her talent was hundreds of times greater than an ordinary yokai's, and in less than two months in this world, she'd reclaimed the hundred-year level by siphoning moonlight from the Moon Goddess.

But the problem lay precisely here—

Just as humans face tribulations during breakthroughs (Note ①), yokai too encounter trials when reaching certain stages of cultivation.

According to the Fox Immortal Grandma, tribulations are debt repayment: every laziness, every skipped lesson on the path of cultivation, becomes a debt paid back all at once during the trial.

In truth, Bai She had once suspected Feng Xue was her human tribulation—but instead of dying, she'd gained a pile of talents, so whether or not he'd been her tribulation, he was now her benefactor.

Now, nearing the threshold again, Bai She had to consider: having reached this realm in under half a year, what kind of tribulation could possibly match it?

Worse still, she owed Feng Xue a massive debt!

If tribulations are debt repayment, should this debt be counted too?

Realizing this, Liu Yunxi immediately halted her cultivation pace, determined to sacrifice herself for Feng Xue—ideally in a near-fatal way, and if once wasn't enough, she'd do it multiple times, just to reduce the tribulation's intensity.

But she'd lived with Feng Xue for half a year and knew enough to realize that though he possessed countless inexplicable abilities, he was utterly clueless about cultivation—and she couldn't tell him, because if she did, she'd owe him even more.

Most desperate of all, the human realm's spiritual mechanism only saw her rapid cultivation and high talent; through her spiritual sense alone, she could feel that a massive tribulation was coming.

Asking about her innate spell was, in essence, an act of "debt repayment"—by creating the illusion that she was choosing the spell for Feng Xue's sake, she could settle a karmic debt and lighten her burden.

Suppressing the unpleasant urge to throw herself at him, Liu Yunxi explained calmly:

"It mostly depends on race and cultivation talent, but you can choose a direction—for example, as a snake yokai, besides the standard enhanced physique all yokai can pick, mine would typically be poison, water, or illusion arts—but you already have a spirit ghost, clumsy as it is, so illusion arts aren't necessary…"

"Who are you calling clumsy?" Seeing Mo Ying jumped out as if triggered; Feng Xue grabbed the mochi ball and shoved it back into the painting, yet his face showed a flicker of interest.

That expression made Liu Yunxi deeply uneasy, but she forced herself to continue:

"You've already decided to use me as a tool snake. Rather than pick my innate spell and then resent me for it and ruin my cultivation, better to let you choose from the start."

"Is that so?" Feng Xue wondered if the white snake had Stockholm syndrome—but her stiff-necked, glaring stare didn't seem like it. He pondered:

"What's the advantage of yokai innate spells? I mean, is it about numerical power or mechanistic rules? Take water control: if you can control an entire sea, that's numerical. If you can control molten iron, that's mechanistic."

"It's hard to say…" Liu Yunxi thought for a moment before replying:

"Because both are possible—I don't know exactly what I'll awaken, since I'm no primordial beast with special bloodline…"

"Then pick physical enhancement." Feng Xue thought for a moment and offered a bizarre suggestion.

"Huh?" Though she'd prepared to accept whatever Feng Xue chose, Liu Yunxi still didn't understand his logic—but feared he'd think her insincere, so she asked in a timid voice:

"I'll definitely pick it, but… could you tell me why you chose this?"

"No special reason—just that if your body's strong enough, your transformation should let you become larger, more complex, more intricate forms. And a stronger body can store more demonic energy, right?"

"No wonder it's you!" Hearing his answer, Liu Yunxi actually laughed—not out of anger, but because she realized: with this ridiculous reason, choosing it would definitely repay the debt!

Suppressing her reluctance, lest the human realm's spiritual mechanism mistake it for her own desire, she nodded:

"I understand. Any actions coming up soon? I'll need some time to break through— if you're planning a fight soon, I'll delay it."

"No need. Break through as fast as possible."

Feng Xue shook his head, feeling Liu Yunxi had turned into a battle maniac—as if he'd already decided to fight.

He wasn't in a hurry because he was planning something big? He had time to slow down because his lifespan was long… well, actually, he really was planning something big.

Feng Xue suddenly felt he was a bit of a jerk, but he tapped his temple and linked through the spirit pact: "Little Xiao Lingdang, how's your preparation going?"

"Report, Master: currently at seventy-seven percent of the ideal value, sufficient for the plan—but for safety, let's wait a few more days."

Hearing Little Xiao Lingdang's reply, Feng Xue nodded inwardly and smiled:

"Then wait a bit longer—safety first. Also, keep posting on those fringe forums."

"Understood!"

(End of Chapter)