Chapter 370: Hello, Little Chen Shu

The Beast Pill transformed into pure Spirit Power, like countless scattered specks of light, seeping into Chen Shu's body.

This was the essence of an Eighth-tier beast, far beyond what a Sixth-stage human body could safely receive, so within him, it appeared savage and irritable. Even the simplest movement brought him pain as if his meridians were shattering inch by inch, and as it began to take effect, it felt as if his flesh and blood were being ground to pieces one by one.

Chen Shu's eyes were shut tight, his features twisting.

He had thought the pain of advancing from the Fifth stage to the Sixth stage was enough, but he had not expected this time to be ten or a hundred times more painful than the last.

This pain that reached deep into the Spirit Soul exceeded the limits of what a normal person could endure; if not for someone with a firm will, they might have been pained to death.

Chen Shu struggled to stay conscious and fight the pain, while also needing to spare enough reason to strike at the Spirit Lock; in this situation, he could not steady his posture at all. And he was completely unable to care about what posture he was in while staying in the Quiet Room, only vaguely feeling himself falling to one side.

It felt as if his bones had broken.

As for which side.

He could no longer distinguish, nor could he care.

He only felt himself falling into a soft place, someone holding him in their arms, gently and carefully trying to smooth out his brow.

But how could it be smoothed out?

……

But how could it be smoothed out?

Ning Qing was also thinking about this question.

How painful it was to use a Beast Pill to assist in advancement, she had felt it, and yet she had not.

At that time, she had not sealed her perception of pain, but the upper limit of a Heavenly Human's perception of pain was far lower than that of a human, not to mention that the pain an Eighth-tier Beast Pill could cause far exceeded that of a Seventh-tier Beast Pill; how much pain Chen Shu was in now, she truly did not necessarily know.

"Silly…"

Ning Qing looked down at him.

She had clearly told him a few days ago that she could use the Secret Method of the Secret Sect to transfer all the pain he was enduring to herself, or even half of it; this actually would not affect the process of using the Beast Pill to assist in breaking the Spirit Lock, and instead, it could allow him to focus on breaking the Spirit Lock, perhaps even improving the effect, but he simply refused.

Ning Qing naturally understood him—

This person was neither feeling sorry for her nor acting tough; he was simply being stubborn and wanted to try just how painful it was.

Know it now, do you?

Ning Qing thought as such, seeing sweat seep out on his face, her expression softened, and she reached out to take a tissue from the air to wipe the sweat away for him.

……

The sun hung low over the mountaintop.

Golden light spots were cast onto the dark curtains, the light struggling to penetrate into the Quiet Room, illuminating two figures.

Time inside seemed to have frozen for a long while.

The Spirit Power of the Beast Pill gradually exhausted, its effect having already been completed, while the spiritual efficacy of the Auxiliary Potion was completely masked by the radiance of the Beast Pill. In the dark, that shackle had swayed repeatedly but still persisted under wave after wave of impact.

Chen Shu's mind was already extremely exhausted.

This had been expected long ago.

High-Tier advancement is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The experience of succeeding once when advancing from the Fifth stage to the Sixth stage could not be replicated this time.

Even for the top geniuses of every era, staying at the Sixth Stage Peak for decades was not rare, whether it was the contemporary Sect Master of the Spirit Sect or the contemporary Sword Master. The Bodhisattva who had already attained Buddhahood and passed the tribulation was considered the protagonist of the previous great era, and even they had stayed at the Sixth stage for twenty-two years, with at least a dozen of those years spent at the Sixth Stage Peak.

Succeeding once was destined to be wishful thinking.

This failure would not be without gains.

In fact, it was not a simple failure of advancement, or rather, it was not that it had failed and was therefore a meaningless act.

Every formal strike was equivalent to long-term hard cultivation and tempering; in this process, the Spirit Sea Lock gradually became fragile, while the Spirit Sea became increasingly powerful; in essence, it was an act that replaced a large amount of time spent on hard cultivation and tempering, and using a Beast Pill saved even more long periods of time.

In fact, if Chen Shu had not used the Beast Pill to attempt a breakthrough today, and instead used it after a few more years of hard cultivation, there would have been a high hope of succeeding in one go.

But since there were two Beast Pills, there was naturally no need to save them.

A moment later—

Chen Shu used his last shred of clarity to organize the gains from this breakthrough attempt, to avoid forgetting them upon waking, and then he could no longer hold on and lost consciousness.

Ning Qing still held him in her arms, her face calm.

She reached out to summon a Restoration Pill, pried open his mouth, and stuffed it in; the Restoration Pill immediately turned into a gentle spiritual effect, and just as it wanted to escape from his mouth, a fair, tender palm pressed down and blocked it back in.

Ning Qing paused and thought for a moment, staring at his forehead—

It was full of sweat, so she would not kiss him.

Then she laid him flat, let him lie on the soft cushion, sat cross-legged beside him, and closed her eyes to enter meditation.

……

The stars gathered and scattered, and the morning sun rose again.

Another day passed.

Chen Shu finally opened his eyes.

Almost at the same time, Ning Qing, who had not eaten or drunk for two days and one night, also opened her eyes, her gaze full of indifference; she only glanced at Chen Shu once before discerning from his movements and demeanor that he was not quite normal, so she spoke, her tone still faint:

"Mr. Chen, what is your surname this time?"

"You… who are you? Where is this? Why is it so pitch black?" Chen Shu turned his head to look around.

"Snap~"

Ning Qing snapped her fingers, and the lights in the room turned on.

And she remained sitting on the floor, dressed elegantly, her figure slender, her hair tied into a bun at the back of her head, revealing a long, fair neck, looking up at Chen Shu, who was standing up due to physical incoordination but then fell back to the ground:

"Your girlfriend."

"Who? Whose girlfriend?"

"What is your name?"

"Emmm…"

"If I had any malice toward you, you would have been dead long ago."

"Okay, my name is Chen Shu."

"Your name is Chen Shu..." Ning Qing pursed her lips, looked him over, and asked again, "How old are you this year?"

"Eleven years old."

"Then take a look at who I am."

"You are..."

That person leaned in close to her and took a careful look.

Seeming to have realized something, he blinked, and his face gradually filled with confusion, which then turned into disbelief:

"Are you Qingqing?"

Ning Qing remained sitting cross-legged on the ground, her expression indifferent, and only said to him:

"Long time no see."

"You... how is that possible?"

"There is a mirror on the left."

"!!"

Chen Shu stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes gradually widening, and he turned his head to look at her again: "How did I grow so big? How did you grow so big too? Why haven't you changed much after growing up? Why did I become ugly?"

"One at a time."

Ning Qing raised her head to meet his gaze: "You attempted to break through to the Seventh Stage, and various aftereffects caused you to fall into a coma. Now that you've woken up, you haven't fully woken up yet. It seems your current memory is stuck at around eleven years old, so it's not that we have grown up, but that you have temporarily regressed. As for our appearance after growing up, what you see now is what we look like as adults. If you are not satisfied with your appearance, you can go back and question your aunt and uncle; don't ask me."

"How old are we now?"

"Almost twenty-four."

"I'm Seventh Stage at twenty-four? Are you lying to me because you think I haven't read books or the news?"

"Various coincidences and arrangements have led to the present."

"Then... are we married?"

"Not yet."

"Are we dating?"

"We are currently dating."

"Oh right, you just said you were my girlfriend." Chen Shu patted his own head, paused, and then asked another question he cared about, "How is our relationship now?"

"To me, it's not much different from when we were eleven, though to outsiders, it should be better than when we were little," Ning Qing answered calmly.

"What about Xiaoxiao?"

"She's outside."

"Has she changed much?"

"How old is she in your memory?"

"Eight or nine... I guess..."

"Your memory is confused; she was only six when you were eleven. But it doesn't matter, she is nineteen now. Whether she was six or eight or nine, there is definitely a difference between her appearance then and now."

"Is she... pretty?"

"She is."

"Compared to you?"

"Not as good."

"You..." Chen Shu stared blankly at her, "How did your skin get so thick after you grew up?"

"I have always been honest."

"Emm..."

"How old are you at eleven?"

"Just turned eleven not long ago, I suppose."

"What season is it now?"

"I don't remember, it seems to be summer."

"You like summer," Ning Qing said softly, "so the things that leave a deep impression are in summer."

"Oh, oh..."

"The summer when you were eleven," Ning Qing's gaze grew a bit colder, "that would be when you tricked me into reaching out my hand to you, and then spat into my palm, right?"

"Huh?"

"Forgot? Then let me help you recall," Ning Qing paused, "You circled your hands together, tricked me into spreading my hand and reaching it inside, saying something wonderful would happen. When I reached in, you lowered your head and spat into my hand."

"You really are Qingqing!"

"You've been using that trick to change the subject for twenty years."

"Hehehe, I don't remember..."

"Liar."

"What about Xiaoxiao? I want to see Xiaoxiao."

"Outside the door, turn left."

"Oh, oh..."

Ning Qing saw this person secretly glance at her again. It seemed that the teenage version of him was quite satisfied that they were still together more than a decade later, or perhaps he was satisfied with the appearance of his desk-mate after she grew up. This satisfaction also made her feel satisfied.

Ning Qing stood up and followed him outside.

The young girl happened to be holding a water cup, preparing to return to her room.

The two locked eyes.

The little girl blinked her eyes, looking at her brother-in-law who clearly showed Surprise, and after pondering for a few seconds, she asked tentatively:

"You don't know?"

"You... you are Xiaoxiao?"

"Yes."

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu was suddenly at a loss for what to do.

The little girl in his memory had suddenly grown into a cute young woman, even older than himself, so he could not help but feel a bit flustered.

"Let me introduce you," Ning Qing said to Xiaoxiao, "this is your eleven-year-old brother-in-law."

"Ah?"

The little girl opened her mouth slightly.

The two stared at each other blankly.

Ning Qing just stood to the side, arms crossed, back against the wall, watching their inner conflict silently, finding it amusing.

Until Chen Shu poked her arm cautiously:

"I'm a little hungry..."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Twice-cooked Pork."

"What should I stir-fry it with?"

"Garlic sprouts."

"Anything else?"

"Fish-flavored eggplant."

"I'll order one for you," Ning Qing glanced at Xiaoxiao, "you take your brother-in-law to play for a while first, you two should be able to get along."

"Okay..."

The little girl nodded honestly, secretly glancing at her brother-in-law, and whispered: "Let's go, I'll take you to play."

The two walked downstairs.

Ning Qing picked up her Mobile Phone, opened a food delivery app, and looked at it for several minutes; even though the dishes were added to the cart, she still didn't place the order. After pondering for a moment, she ultimately opened another grocery shopping app, bought the ingredients instead, and prepared to cook for him herself.

Jianzhou, Sword Sect.

Zhang Suannai, having failed her second breakthrough attempt, opened her mouth slightly and looked left and right at the group of people before her. She stretched her neck and let out a strange cry:

"Awoo~~"

"What are you 'awoo-ing' for?" Third Senior Sister watched her with amusement.

"I am a husky!" Zhang Suannai said as such.

"Well done, Junior Sister!" First Senior Brother said with gratification, "You have finally seen your true self!"

"Awoo~~~"

"Junior Sister's cry is full of vigor; one look and you can tell she is very healthy. In time, she will surely be able to advance to the Ninth Stage, assist me in managing the sect well, and restore the glory of the Sword Sect." Second Senior Brother held his Mobile Phone aimed at the current Junior Sister; he was not recording a video, but was on a video call with someone. On the other side of the video was a figure currently riding a Sword.

This spirit of selfless sharing was moving.

"You all promised," Sixth Senior Sister said, "that from now on, the embarrassing things from when I advanced to the Seventh Stage are strictly forbidden to be mentioned again."

"Fine, fine, fine..." Fifth Senior Brother cracked melon seeds.

"Awoo~~"

Zhang Suannai glanced at them: "I want to gnaw on a bone!"

"No problem, Junior Sister! Gnaw! Gnaw on a big one!" Seventh Senior Brother also held his Mobile Phone, this time recording a video, "Senior Brother will go buy you one in a moment!"

"Awoo~~"

Zhang Suannai lowered her head to look at the melon seed shells Fifth Senior Brother had thrown on the ground, grabbed a handful, and stuffed them into her mouth.

"Smack!"

Third Senior Sister slapped her hand.

The melon seed shells scattered all over the floor.

"!?"

Zhang Suannai was in great Surprise, staring at Third Senior Sister with wide eyes, and said to her: "What are you doing? I am a husky!"

Third Senior Sister glanced at her coldly and did not answer.

Zhang Suannai went to grab the melon seed shells again.

"Smack!"

"Awoo, awoo, awoo..."

Zhang Suannai did not dare to move this time. She huddled in the corner, back against the wall, secretly glancing at Third Senior Sister, then squinted her eyes to look at the others. While rubbing her hand, her eyeballs rolled around as she watched them stare at her and discuss.

"Junior Sister truly has a unique bone structure and extraordinary talent. Even her behavior when delirious is different from ours. Could it be because of the Beast Pill?"

"This Beast Pill was really worth using!"

"Agreed! At first, I thought it was a bit of a waste for the old man to give this thing the Beast Pill that the sect had kept for a thousand years, but now I think it's really worth it!"

"I wonder what her expression will be when she wakes up..."

"Haven't you all experienced this moment?"

"Sounds like you didn't..."

"..."

Zhang Suannai listened blankly, but had no reaction. After a moment, she stretched her neck again:

"Awoo~~"

The sound was crisp and long-drawn.

Everyone glanced toward Seventh Senior Brother.

Seventh Senior Brother was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Alright, I'll turn it into a remix as soon as I get back, so it can be used as a Mobile Phone alarm for the senior brothers and sisters."

Everyone revealed a satisfied smile.