Ambition for the World

The next morning, on the southern slope of Tea Mountain.

Shen Leling sat cross-legged upon a blue boulder, silently chanting a Daoist scripture to cultivate.

The path of cultivation was divided into Qi refinement and gathering elixirs; the former relied on comprehending the heart of heaven, while the latter depended heavily on resources.

She was originally a wild demon, but later practiced the Jade Flower Scripture of the Shen family and became a Qi refiner. Her efficiency in absorbing the sun and moon essence was extremely high, so she had no need to consume elixirs.

A Qi refiner only needed to master a single classic, using it for internal contemplation, reciting it quietly every day, and comprehending it. In this way, half an hour of such practice could increase one's Dao attainment by a day.

That was to say, it enhanced one's perception of the Heavenly Dao, thereby breaking through realms sooner.

Dao attainment, Dao attainment, was like carving footprints step by step along the path of seeking the Dao. Day by day, month by month, there must be absolute continuity once a day without interruption; otherwise, only a great secret art could make up for the deficiency.

To this day, Shen Leling already possessed twenty years of Dao attainment.

"Ah-wu..." Yan Nu lay off to the side, suddenly waking up and letting out a yawn.

In truth, he had already woken from his fainting spell last night, but simply because he hadn't slept properly for several days, he had drifted right back to sleep.

"Don't move around wildly, oh. I truly never imagined that with your waist broken like that, you wouldn't end up crippled! Hehehehe... It was no small feat for me to reconnect the meridians across your entire body, so be careful not to snap them again." Shen Leling giggled.

"Are you the demon big sister?" Hearing Shen Leling's voice, Yan Nu finally recognized her.

Shen Leling was now truly a pretty big sister. Her skin was crystal clear and fair, just like an exquisite jade figurine, and her facial features were so delicate they looked as though they had been meticulously sculpted.

"It's me... Hehe, am I good-looking?" Shen Leling smiled enchantingly, truly resembling an exotic flower first budding, a fine piece of jade glowing with luster, peerlessly bright and captivating.

"Good-looking! But didn't you say you weren't going to care about me anymore?" Yan Nu asked in surprise.

"You..." Shen Leling felt stifled with frustration.

That night, she had indeed said she would wash her hands of Yan Nu, yet who could have anticipated that Yan Nu would break free from his shackles by his own strength and actually cut through Tea Mountain Fort.

She truly cherished talent and had always wanted to have a martial artist as a follower, yet she had never been able to find one worthy of trust. Now, at long last, she had a youth of simple mind and supreme talent who even directly viewed a demon as a normal person; naturally, she was unwilling to let him go.

"Hey, my belly has been sewn up, and I remember twisting my lumbar vertebrae apart at the very end. Did big sister heal all of that? Thank you very much, you've saved my life yet again." Yan Nu stroked and inspected himself. Even though bloody scars still covered his entire body from top to bottom, looking fierce and terrifying, those were merely surface marks of skin and flesh; his true inner tendons, bones, and internal organs had already healed by a little over half.

Yan Nu sniffed the air, catching a thick medicinal scent mixed with a fresh fragrance. He had no idea how many fine medicines must have been used on him.

Shen Leling said with playful malice, "Hmph, as long as you know! If I hadn't saved you, you would have died long ago! You made me use up all my medicines!"

"Quite a few of them were even precious spiritual medicines. You're going to pay me back!"

Yan Nu possessed nothing on his entire body save for a pair of tattered trousers, completely sparing him the motion of reaching into a pocket. He directly and calmly stated, "I have no money."

Shen Leling chuckled. "I know you have no money, so you must serve me as a slave to pay off your debt! Whatever I tell you to do, you will do!"

Yan Nu said nothing, looking toward the direction of Tea Mountain Fort.

"Hehehe... Now that I've brought you out, don't even think about going back. You killed Zhang family members, and returning there means certain death!" Fearing that Yan Nu would say something about going back to wait for Grandpa, Shen Leling cut him off right at the start!

Yet Yan Nu merely said, "So many martial artists died at Tea Mountain Fort. When the fighting happens in the future, who will protect everyone?"

"Ah?" Shen Leling was astonished, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Tea Mountain Fort is merely one of the manors under the Zhang family name. Their subordinate troops and disciples are numerous; they have no shortage of people and will naturally send someone to take charge."

"Even if the Zhang family were wiped out to the last man, there would still be some Sun family or Li family to take over the fortified manor. Among the noble families of the world, there is constant annexation as well; you needn't trouble yourself with the management of the common people!"

"Instead, you ought to worry about yourself. Right now, people are surely searching everywhere for you!"

"Is it that they won't stop until I'm dead?" Yan Nu felt excruciating pain throughout his entire body, so he circulated the Great Emperor White Jade Scripture to nourish his whole frame. If he didn't use up all his Qi vortexes, it felt as though his entire body was suffering.

Shen Leling rolled her eyes. "Nonsense! You killed so many people of the Zhang family and smashed their heirloom treasure to pieces; the Zhang family will certainly never let you go."

Yan Nu said solemnly, "I cannot die. I must keep living!"

Seeing how serious he was, Shen Leling raised an eyebrow. "Oh-ho? Do you want longevity?"

"Hehehe... Don't even think about it. You come from a humble background and possess no immortal bone; longevity is impossible for you."

Yan Nu was stunned. "I only want to wait until there is peace. Grandpa said as long as I live well, I will eventually see peace."

"Peace... Hehe, judging by the current state of affairs, you won't live long enough to wait for it." Shen Leling cold-laughed.

"Why?"

Shen Leling shook her head. "If you want peace, at the very least the realm must be unified. However, the Divine Land is currently in utter chaos; warlords are in separatism, noble clans are autonomous, rebels are everywhere, and malevolent demons run rampant."

"Aside from that, there are the Xianbei, Qiangqu, Tuofa, Morin, and Yuwen—the five major Hu barbarian clans—charging about with sweeping might. It is quite simply an unprecedented great troubled era!"

"The imperial city is being besieged by the Xianbei clan right now, and the Sima family can barely even protect themselves. In my view, the nation is about to perish."

"Peace? Just keep waiting!"

Yan Nu didn't quite understand, but he came to a sudden realization and said, "So unification brings peace... Big sister, let's go unify the realm!"

"Pfft... Hahaha!" Shen Leling nearly laughed her head off.

"What kind of thing are you, daring to set your ambitions on the realm!"

Yan Nu answered calmly, "I am a humble person."

"You still know you're a humble person!" Shen Leling covered her mouth and smiled. "With a big fool like you who charges straight ahead like this, if not for this elder sister showing great mercy, how many times would you have died?"

"At best, you can only manage to be a martial man, or at the absolute most, a general. Unless you follow the right person and assist a wise ruler to unify the realm, there is truly no possibility of seeing peace."

Yan Nu asked with eager excitement, "Who is the wise ruler? Take me to find them."

Shen Leling discovered that this brat would climb right up whenever he was given a pole, completely incapable of distinguishing between praise and reprimand.

She hastily waved her hands. "Alright, alright! One of us is a demon and the other is a humble person; why bother worrying ourselves with this!"

"As for me, I only wish to become an immortal. As for you, just follow me obediently—I will pass on ultimate skills to you, and you shall serve and obey me!"

Yan Nu pondered for a moment and said, "You saved me, and I will repay you. But can you go to the Ji River?"

"Why go to the Ji River? That's where I fled from; we're heading south!" Shen Leling stood up. "Ah, I know, you're going to look for your grandpa again, right?"

Yan Nu nodded honestly. "I don't believe Grandpa is dead; I must find him!"

Knowing his stubbornness, Shen Leling rolled her eyes and giggled. "Alright then, I'll take you to look for him! If we can't find him by the Ji River, we'll go look in other places, all the way until we find him! How's that?"

"Okay!" Yan Nu nodded repeatedly.

Shen Leling added, "But you must listen to me along this journey!"

"Understood!"

Seeing Yan Nu happily agree, Shen Leling smiled as well, thinking to herself how easy he was to trick!

When dealing with a straightforward fellow like Yan Nu, hoodwinking him was the end of it.

"Hurry up and circulate your cultivation to rest. After resting for two more days, we can set off."

Yan Nu said with eager impatience, "I can set off right now!"

"No! Lie down properly for me and circulate your cultivation to heal your injuries. Under no circumstances must you leave behind any lingering ailments," Shen Leling said sternly.

"Alright... But I'm hungry." Yan Nu licked his lips.

Shen Leling smiled faintly. "Rest assured, following me, you won't go hungry!"

With a gentle exhale from her delicate mouth, she spat out a peach pit that fell into the soil.

With a single hand forming an incantation spell, pale cyan light gathered more and more densely at the tip of her index finger. That light was soft and hazy, scattering into the air and transforming into a mist of water in an instant.

The mist enveloped the patch of land, seeping inward little by little. Before long, seeds within the earth began to take root, sprout, and break through the soil.

The tender shoots grew larger and larger, rising and expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye. In roughly the time it took to burn half a stick of incense, they grew into a small peach tree nine feet tall.

Yan Nu stared in blank amazement. He had farmed since childhood and had never seen plants grow at such a pace.

"So fast! Grandpa and I had to toil in the fields for over half a year just to get a harvest, and you grew a tree all at once."

Shen Leling was quite pleased with herself. "Hehehe... It's nothing! It's merely a spell for hastening the growth of plants. Compared to genuine divine abilities like Withered Wood Meets Spring and Flower Blooms in an Instant, it's nothing more than a small trick."

"Oh, so it's a small trick," Yan Nu realized.

...

Shen Leling curled her lips, realizing that she had been utterly redundant in being modest just then!

"I'm not done yet! Fruit Ripening Technique!"

Shen Leling blew another breath of air toward the peach tree. This wave of moisture seeped inward, causing flowers to rapidly bloom upon the branches and foliage, followed by the setting of fruit. After a dozen breaths or so, it caused the peach tree to become laden with heavy fruit.

She picked a large, enticing peach and took a bite, her mouth full of juice and relishing the delicious taste.

Yan Nu hurriedly picked two as well, feasting heartily.

"Big sister, I want to learn this!"

Shen Leling picked another peach and said, "I already told you, you cannot cultivate, so naturally you cannot learn spellcraft."

"Only noble clans are able to nurture an immortal bone; at the bare minimum, one's family must have scholars for three generations."

"A cultivator, a cultivator—he must first be a 'scholar'!"

"Don't look at me; demons are different! Most of them are enlightened by the Heavenly Dao. Among all things in the world, aside from you humans, how many possess spiritual apertures? Truly speaking, every single demon is a one-in-ten-thousand existence!"

Yan Nu let out an "oh" and asked, "Since cultivators are so formidable, why don't they help farm the land? That way everyone wouldn't go hungry."

Shen Leling was stunned for a moment, then amusedly said, "Hehehe, do you think the emperor farms the land with a golden hoe?"

"Eh?" Yan Nu asked curiously, "Does the emperor farm the land with a golden hoe?"

...

Shen Leling pointed at him for a long while without being able to utter a word, and then took a deep breath, chanting the Calm Heart Incantation.

Only after feeling refreshed and her mind as still as water did she speak.

"Immortals are those scholars who enter the mountains to cultivate the Dao. None fail to drift ethereal and trace-free in secluded forests, truly desiring to distance themselves from worldly stench and attain purity."

"For you to expect lofty recluses to farm the land for mortal men—isn't that laughable?"

"Is it laughable?" Yan Nu was stunned.

"Isn't it laughable?" Shen Leling pointed at him and said, "Practitioners refine Qi, gather elixirs, comprehend the Dao, travel, practice spellcraft, and master divine abilities... Which of these is not filled with profound truths and infinite wonder? Why waste time on farming?"

"Even if they farm, it is to nurture exotic flowers, cultivate strange fruits, and tend gardens to give birth to heavenly materials and earthly treasures for compounding medicines and refining pills."

Yan Nu asked, "What on earth is the point of it all?"

"To seek to Ascend to Immortality, to attain eternal life without dying! When heaven and earth close, to remain unharmed by great calamities; when heaven and earth open, for one's divine abilities to undergo myriad transformations!" Shen Leling raised her head to gaze at the sky, her heart yearning and spellbound.

Yan Nu listened with relish. "And then? And then?"

"An... and then?" Shen Leling was astonished.

Yan Nu asked strangely, "Once you've attained eternal life and immortality, don't you do something?"

"Naturally, it is to roam the Northern Sea in the morning and lodge at Cangwu in the evening, traversing the Eight Directions, free and unfettered."

"Oh, so it's just wandering around and sleeping? I can do that too. Then what use is this longevity?"

...

Shen Leling fell silent; she truly had never considered what she would do after becoming an immortal.

Yan Nu muttered, "So immortals are just idle people?"

"You... what do you understand! Immortals naturally have an immortal's joys! Mortals will never understand! Once you have attained eternal life and immortality, naturally you have plenty of time to think about what to do! This is just the fox calling the grapes sour because he can't reach them!"

Before Yan Nu could ask further, Shen Leling had already reached her limit with him and directly shoved a peach into his mouth.

"Have you eaten your fill or not?! If you're full, hurry up and heal your injuries!"

p.s: Sorry.