Chapter 289: Better to Act Now Than Choose a Day

A light morning snow blanketed Shengjing City, accompanied by cold mist, rendering everything hazy.

At the eastern wing of the Wei family's villa, the tightly shut door was pushed open by a delicate jade hand.

Yuan Caimei held the spirit stone imbued with the sacred artifact's origin and stood at the threshold of her younger brother Yuan Chen's room, hesitating for a long while.

At that moment, she finally understood Yan Shuyi's words: her father had refused to try this method because he truly feared the consequences—if the outcome were bad, he could not bear it, for she felt the same now.

But the Master of the Mirror was right: blaming Yuan Chen, attributing everything to his lack of effort, was unfair.

After much thought, she reached out and knocked on the door.

After a long pause, the door opened, and Yuan Chen appeared with dark circles clearly beneath his eyes: "Sis… good morning."

Seeing this, Yuan Caimei stared at him for a long time.

Yuan Chen held out for a moment, then pulled a novel from beneath the cotton cushion on his desk: "We've finally left the mountain—I just wanted to relax a little. Please don't scold me, Sis."

"But you don't have to stay up all night? We're not going back tomorrow."

"Uh…"

Yuan Chen noticed Yuan Caimei wasn't angry and couldn't help but squint: "It's only your husband who can threaten you like this—he lives elsewhere, so he can't even reach your backside, yet he still makes you too afraid to scold anyone."

Yuan Caimei listened to his muttering and thought: That's not a threat—that's a reward…

"Why did you come to see me so early, Sis?"

"I saw you were idle, so I need your help with something."

"?"

Yuan Caimei took out the spirit stone she had received from Yan Shuyi yesterday: "Use your dantian energy to help your sister refine the energy sealed within this stone."

Yuan Chen took the spirit stone, played with it in his hand for a while, then sat on the cushion.

Though he didn't know what was sealed inside, he never refused his sister's requests—his dantian energy began to surge from his arms.

As the dantian energy flowed in, a golden glow within the spirit stone slowly seeped out, like wisps of smoke rising gently.

Watching this, Yuan Caimei's gaze sharpened.

In her vision, the golden glow hovered in empty space, drifting aimlessly before gradually drifting toward Yuan Caimei.

The daughter of the Yu Dan Sect stepped back half a step, furrowing her brow and softly urging him to hurry.

Yuan Chen dared not delay—he unleashed a brilliant dantian light that enveloped the golden glow and drew it toward himself.

The golden light changed direction, forming a thread narrow at the front and broad at the back, slowly drifting toward Yuan Chen's third eye, circling endlessly around his crown, as if testing him.

After a long while, Yuan Chen suddenly exhaled: "Sis, this thing is hard to refine."

"Work hard these next few days—I promise I won't bother you about reading novels in your free time."

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

After speaking, Yuan Caimei stepped out, leaving Yuan Chen alone in the room to continue refining.

The Master of the Mirror's younger sister had said yesterday that refining the origin force isn't easy—you can't rush it—so she didn't tell Yuan Chen this determined whether he could control the sacred artifact.

Though no result had yet appeared, she felt slightly relieved—the origin force, though not close to him, showed no rejection.

Yuan Caimei exhaled a breath of cold air and saw Yan Shuyi standing in the covered corridor, turning to look at her as she emerged.

The daughter of the Yu Dan Sect bowed slightly and greeted, "Good morning, Sister," making the young Master of the Mirror narrow her eyes.

Always calling her "sister," always calling her "sister"—she was starting to get used to it.

"Sister Master, you're up early."

"Did you give Yuan Chen the origin glow from yesterday?"

"Mm."

"What was the result?"

Yuan Caimei glanced at Yuan Chen's room: "No rejection—likely a good outcome. I'll repay your kindness soon, Sister."

Yan Shuyi knew she meant the medicine for waist and belly ache without harm, and the painless pill—her gaze flickered slightly to the side: "Lingjian Mountain has been uneasy these days—now, if danger comes later, I'll have elixirs to protect myself."

Yuan Caimei bit her red lips, thinking: Keep lying, Sister—this isn't for protection, it's for breaking in.

Yan Shuyi didn't care what she thought—the medicine to relieve waist and belly ache without harm was meant for protection.

As for the painless pill—that was something Yuan Caimei offered to refine, not something she begged for.

"I've had the villa servants prepare congee for you, Caimei Sister—go eat."

Yuan Caimei looked up: "Will Sister Master join me for morning meal?"

Yan Shuyi stepped out of the corridor on tiptoe: "My appetite's been poor lately—I plan to take a casual walk in the morning."

"Then I'll accompany you."

"?"

Soon, Yuan Caimei followed Yan Shuyi, Ding Yao, and Zhuo Wanqiu to the entrance of the Wu Lü Trading House, thinking: Sisters are hard to truly connect with.

Ji You slept peacefully last night—aside from a persistent chill in his waist and belly, he felt refreshed overall.

A letter arrived this morning from Fengzhou: snow had begun again, and the official road was frozen three feet deep; fortunately, most of the Snow Domain Demon Stones had been transported back during the recent clear days and stored in the warehouse.

Ji You replied, instructing them to release the Snow Domain Demon Stones gradually, maintaining current high prices while trying to sell them all before the snow melts.

In truth, as Snow Domain Demon Stones had steadily appeared in Qingyun through various channels, some had begun suspecting he orchestrated it deliberately.

But such business calculations were considered lowly trivialities in the eyes of cultivators—wasteful of lifespan compared to seeking the Dao.

Yet no one mocked him, for no one yet understood why Fang Jincheng was imprisoned, why Peng Yu left the academy, or why the noble families returned empty-handed from Shengjing.

After replying to the Fengzhou letter, Ji You went to the teahouse beneath the pine tree, where he now continuously absorbed spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

That spiritual energy flowed into his body through his shattered spiritual core, mingling with the burning spiritual fire within.

Roaring flames surged through his body, driven by his breath, burning him from within outward.

The heat instantly raised his body temperature—snowflakes drifting near him hissed into white steam the moment they touched him, rising into the air.

The four women from the Wei family villa stood silently beneath the eaves of the back courtyard, watching this scene.

Yuan Caimei's expression was one of surprise, her red lips slightly parted.

No one knew whether the Yu Dan Sect was aware of the events in Dongping Mountains—but Yuan Caimei was not.

So she didn't know Ji You had slain the Heaven-Union cultivator Bu Qirong in a surrounded strike, nor that he had inflicted internal injuries on the Infinite Realm Elder Fang.

When the noble families gathered in Shengjing to accuse Ji You before the Heavenly Book Academy, Yuan Caimei had worried all night—only later did she hear the matter had been dropped, and many great clans had gone north to harvest spirit stones themselves.

She was naturally relieved, yet shared others' confusion—until now, she faintly understood something.

She wasn't a cultivator, yet she felt the pressure that made her heart tremble.

This oppression felt like the one her Master of the Mirror sister emitted when she pouted—but the sensation was different.

The young Master of Lingjian Mountain's pressure came from above, descending outward, like a mountain crushing down; Ji You's pressure arose from within, like an instinctive terror.

Also astonished were Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu.

They had seen Ji You slay the Bu family with his sword, yet never understood how he achieved combat power far beyond his realm—this was their first time witnessing his cultivation.

"What kind of cultivation is the Young Master using?"

"Constant micro-illumination, to forge his body."

Yan Shuyi murmured softly, watching Ji You, her delicate, curled eyelashes trembling.

She had seen this strange cultivation method long ago and held her own quiet judgment.

The lower three realms refine the body and establish foundation; after reaching fullness, they form a spiritual core, and cultivators primarily focus on comprehending the Heavenly Dao.

But Ji You seems to continue practicing the lower three realms' methods, never losing his intimate connection with his physical body despite forming a spiritual core.

He must have repeated this process ever since entering the Sage's Sacred Ground—hence, though his Dao comprehension remains stuck at Tongxuan, his physical combat power rivals Infinite Realm.

At that moment, Ji You let out a cry of pain, his body trembling violently.

As the tremor spread, the energy within him forced every muscle to tense involuntarily, gradually stretching his clothing into defined lines.

What lay beneath the fabric was unseen, but his exposed forearms revealed a power like a full moon drawn taut on a bow—making Yuan Caimei and Yan Shuyi's gazes grow heavy, and even Ding Yao clench her fists.