Chapter 34: A Secret Between Partners

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: A Secret Between Partners

He couldn’t stay there any longer, the area was no longer safe for him. He had killed one disciple of Huangjin Mountain Sect and severely injured six others.

If he was lucky, they would succumb to their injuries or be devoured by forest monsters.

However, if Ye Xuan was unlucky, they might survive and report everything that had happened to their sect elders.

Ye Xuan was thoroughly fed up. His trouble with the disciples of Ocean Sword Sect had already been frustrating enough.

Now, he had gotten himself into another mess with disciples of Huangjin Mountain Sect.

Even so, he had his own justification.

The conflicts he had experienced with both sects’ disciples hadn’t started with him. They had been the ones to provoke him first.

But facts could be manipulated, and Ye Xuan was naturally worried about that possibility.

With Qingyu wrapped around his neck, he flew rapidly through the sky, cutting through the clouds as he headed toward the location suggested by the white serpent.

The distance might have been considerable, but that didn’t deter Ye Xuan.

After all, he needed somewhere safe to cultivate and recover his strength.

In the distance, a vast desert plain came into view, signaling that he had arrived in the remote region.

As Ye Xuan flew closer, the enormous hole in the altar of the ruined city became increasingly visible.

"The last time I came here, water erupted from the bottom of the chasm like a fountain."

"It seems to have stopped now."

Ye Xuan took the opportunity to fly into the hole in the altar. He proceeded cautiously, turning when he reached the altar passageway where Qingyu had once been imprisoned.

He descended from his sword and set foot on the ground. The water that had gushed out previously had left the altar chamber wet, muddy, and damp.

However, compared to other locations, this chamber was the best place for Ye Xuan and Qingyu to recover from their injuries after the battle.

Qingyu slid down from Ye Xuan’s neck and moved to the other side of the chamber, stopping directly atop the altar where she had once been imprisoned.

She turned her head toward Ye Xuan, seemingly expecting something from him.

Ye Xuan understood what Qingyu needed. He patted his bag of holding and took out three items at once.

A bag of low-grade spirit stones, a bag of Minor Thundergrass, and ten pieces of Heavenly Lightning Essence.

[Eh? Am I allowed to use this lightning essence?]

"Of course. You can use those first. I’ll try to stabilize the lingering turbulence in my dantian with spirit stones."

[Thank you, Ye Xuan.]

Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on the floor, patted his bag of holding, and took out a pouch containing a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Actually, if he wanted to speed up the process of calming the qi turbulence in his dantian caused by the Ninefold Lightning Scripture, he would need to consume Heavenly Lightning Essence.

However, because he had needed so much of it to comprehend the technique and break through, he had used up a large portion of his supply.

If he used the last of his lightning essence, it would be completely depleted, leaving Ye Xuan at a considerable loss.

His best option was to let Qingyu use the lightning essence and allow the Infinite Return System to do its work.

Following Ye Xuan’s suggestion, Qingyu shattered all ten pieces of Heavenly Lightning Essence at once, allowing the lightning qi within them to be absorbed into her body through the red rune on her forehead.

Ye Xuan, meanwhile, took all the spirit stones out of the pouch and used them to help restore his dantian.

He absorbed their spiritual qi all at once, guiding it through his meridians until it was completely absorbed into the sea within his dantian.

The two cultivated in their own ways. Ye Xuan used low-grade spirit stones, while Qingyu relied on Heavenly Lightning Essence.

The previous battle had consumed a considerable amount of their energy and exhausted their bodies.

Their spiritual qi reserves had been severely depleted, leaving them physically drained.

Cultivating to recover was the only way to restore their strength, even if the process might take a considerable amount of time.

***

Two days later.

Ye Xuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. He formed a hand seal and stopped absorbing spiritual qi from his low-grade spirit stones.

A burst of qi erupted and spread throughout the chamber, waking Qingyu, who had been sleeping with her tail wrapped around Ye Xuan’s neck.

The young man let out a brief sigh, feeling that his body was incredibly light and full of energy, a stark contrast to how he had felt before.

His gaze swept across his surroundings, and he clearly saw that all the low-grade spirit stones he had been using were gone.

That’s right! Ye Xuan had absorbed all one hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Once they were depleted, he had relied on the natural spiritual qi in the surrounding environment to help calm the turbulence in his dantian.

[You’ve recovered, Ye Xuan.]

"It seems so. The higher a cultivator’s cultivation base becomes, the more qi they need," Ye Xuan explained.

He glanced at Qingyu. "Did you use up all the items I gave you?"

[The Heavenly Lightning Essence alone was actually enough, but since you were still cultivating, I decided to use the spirit stones and Minor Thundergrass to cultivate as well.]

[Are you angry about that?]

Ye Xuan looked at her and smiled. He raised his hand and gently stroked the serpent’s back with his finger.

"I’m not angry. I’m actually happy that you’re using them to become stronger," Ye Xuan replied.

[Thank you. Do you want to know something else that happened while I was cultivating?]

"What is it?"

[I successfully advanced my spiritual beast stage to Late Spirit Beast.]

[...Even the seal on me has weakened. Only 76% remains.]

The young man’s eyes widened in surprise at her progress. He then responded with a small smile and nodded in approval.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Qingyu."

[You’re welcome. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without your help. You’ve helped me grow so much, Ye Xuan.]

As he was looking at Qingyu, a system panel appeared in front of his face. Its appearance didn’t surprise him, as he had already anticipated it.

[Congratulations! You have given three items to your partner.]

[Items given:]

[100x Minor Thundergrass]

[100x Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

[10x Heavenly Lightning Essence]

[Items returned:]

[10,000x Minor Thundergrass]

[10,000x Low-Grade Spirit Stones]

[1,000x Heavenly Lightning Essence]

[Multiplication Level: 1]

[Affection: 215/1000] [+45]

[Daily use of Infinite Return exhausted: 3/3]

[Warning! The seal has been damaged.]

[Seal remaining: 76%]

Ye Xuan’s eyes widened as he carefully examined the quantities.

In an instant, dozens and then hundreds of black pouches appeared before him one after another, prompting Qingyu to look in the same direction.

[Why are so many black pouches appearing? What’s going on?]

"Ah... It’s about my bag of holding. It seems my items suddenly spilled out because it couldn’t hold any more."

[That’s suspicious. Every time you give me something, you receive many times that amount in return.]

[Are you hiding something from me, Ye Xuan?]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment, feeling conflicted about the situation he now faced. Qingyu had become his partner—or more precisely, a spiritual beast bound to him by a blood oath, not an ordinary beast contract.

That meant he and Qingyu would remain together until their blood oath was fulfilled, though even Ye Xuan had no idea what would bring it to an end.

Was it wise to keep deceiving Qingyu about the system? Wouldn’t her suspicions only grow as she learned more about it?

However, if Ye Xuan told her the truth, he worried that her attitude toward him might change.

He feared she might develop negative feelings toward the system and the way he treated her.

What he feared most was that Qingyu might suspect he had only been using her to gain instant benefits.

But continuing to lie would only disappoint Qingyu if she eventually discovered the system’s existence.

Ye Xuan was truly caught in a dilemma.

[Ye Xuan? What’s wrong?]

Ye Xuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Listen to me, Qingyu."

"I need to tell you about this because, after all, we’re partners bound by a blood oath."

"I shouldn’t keep any secrets from you. I think that’s the best choice I can make right now."

[What? You’re making me nervous, Ye Xuan.]

"This concerns what you’ve been thinking about those mysterious pouches appearing out of nowhere."

"Actually..."