Keeping a Low Profile

After Xiamo came in, she curtsied to Wei Yunxi, then asked somewhat blankly,

"Miss, what are your orders?"

"You kept watch last night. Did you notice anything unusual?"

Xiamo froze for a moment, then dropped to her knees the next instant.

"Please forgive me, Miss. I slept like the dead during the latter half of the night."

Upon hearing this, Chunyu immediately widened her eyes in anger.

"Xiamo, you have some nerve! How could you make such a mistake? Weren't you told to finish your shift early and rest during the day?"

Xiamo's face turned pale as she stammered,

"This servant... this servant doesn't know what happened either. It has never happened before."

Wei Yunxi already had a clear idea of what had happened. She knew Xiamo could not be blamed; after all, she was a mortal and had no way to counter a cultivator's methods. So she waved her little hand.

"It's fine. I already have a rough guess. Chunyu will keep watch tonight."

"Yes, Miss."

After breakfast, Zhenzhu came to take Wei Yunxi to the Cultivation Hall.

Wei Yunxi wore an eager expression as she left Zhuohua Courtyard under the watchful eyes of her four maids.

Once her identity had been verified, Wei Yunxi entered the Cultivation Hall alone. Zhenzhu was not qualified to enter, so at Wei Yunxi's instruction, she returned to Zhuohua Courtyard.

Wei Yunxi ran into Wei Yunqing at the entrance to the Cultivation Hall.

There was smugness in Wei Yunqing's eyes, while Wei Yunxi sweetly said,

"Sister Yunqing, you're here? Did a new maid bring you here today?"

Somewhat unaccustomed to it, Wei Yunqing pulled farther away from her. Then she lifted her little chin and said,

"Father assigned me a maid at the sixth layer of Qi Refining. What about you?"

Wei Yunxi immediately put on an aggrieved expression, pouting as she said,

"Father is playing favorites. I'm going to find Father too—I want a maid at the sixth layer of Qi Refining as well."

At that moment, the Sixth Elder in charge of the Cultivation Hall opened his eyes. He had heard the conversation between the two little ones, but he also understood Wei Lingyue's reasons for doing this. He gave a light cough and said,

"It is nearly time. Everyone, take your seats quickly."

Wei Yunqing considered herself a cut above Wei Yunxi. With her head held high, she was the first to enter the Cultivation Hall. Wei Yunxi followed behind her with a pitiful expression, found a seat in a corner, and sat there in a daze.

The Sixth Elder said nothing and began explaining the essentials of Qi Introduction.

"Today, I will explain the essentials of Qi Introduction. The first step is to sense the points of Spiritual Qi. This will vary according to the attributes of your respective Spiritual Roots—"

Wei Yunxi pretended to remain lost in thought. She had already heard this knowledge once at the Feng Family, but she still kept one ear on the Sixth Elder's lecture, wanting to see whether it differed from what the Feng Family had taught. She only needed to take the best of both.

The other part of Wei Yunxi's attention was focused on analyzing the matter of her Storage Pendant being moved. She guessed that Zhenzhu had tampered with it last night, and the other party's purpose was not hard to infer.

If Zhenzhu belonged to Du Ruolan, then what they had their eyes on were the things Feng Jiayun had left her. After all, her mother had been a second-rank intermediate alchemist, and the elixirs she had left behind were enough to support her cultivation all the way to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

To Du Ruolan, those were no small amount of resources. Even if she could not use them herself, she would surely find every possible way to scoop them into her own pocket. After all, her daughter's aptitude was outstanding.

Since the maid at her side could not be trusted, she definitely could not let Zhenzhu stand guard for her when she underwent Qi Introduction. Who knew whether Zhenzhu might cause trouble? If the other party ruined her foundation, who would she cry to then?

Just as Wei Yunxi was planning what to do next, a childish cry of surprise rang out beside her.

"Quick, look! What's around Sister Yunqing?"

Everyone in the Cultivation Hall turned their eyes toward Wei Yunqing. Blue and green points of light were currently circling around her, creating a dreamlike sight.

"Silence!"

The Sixth Elder gave a stern reminder, then looked kindly at Wei Yunqing. Dual Spiritual Roots truly were excellent. It was only the first day, yet she could already sense points of Spiritual Qi.

The children in the Cultivation Hall all looked at Wei Yunqing with tiny, envious, jealous eyes. It was only the first day, and someone had already sensed points of Spiritual Qi. How infuriating!

Meanwhile, Wei Yunxi secretly prayed that the other party would fail to complete Qi Introduction.

Perhaps Heaven had heard Wei Yunxi's prayer, or perhaps the suddenly quiet surroundings had instead disturbed Wei Yunqing. In any case, not long afterward, she opened her eyes, and the points of light around her scattered away.

Wei Yunqing scratched her hair in frustration, then looked toward the Sixth Elder.

The Sixth Elder said with a smile,

"Yunqing, don't be anxious. It is only your first day of cultivation, and you have already sensed points of Spiritual Qi. That is already very good. It will still take some time to draw those points into your body. Do not lose heart. Keep working hard."

"Yes, Sixth Elder. Yunqing understands."

Wei Yunqing looked around and found that all the children nearby were gazing at her enviously. The little bit of gloom in her heart vanished in an instant.

At noon, the Sixth Elder gave everyone half an hour to eat. In the afternoon, they continued sensing points of Spiritual Qi in the Cultivation Hall.

When Zhenzhu came to take Wei Yunxi back to Zhuohua Courtyard, Wei Yunxi pretended to be somewhat dejected as she asked,

"Zhenzhu, how long did it take you to complete Qi Introduction?"

Zhenzhu replied respectfully,

"In answer to Miss, this servant has Four Spiritual Roots. It took me three months to complete Qi Introduction."

"Hiss! That long?"

"Yes. This servant's aptitude is inferior to Miss's, and my cultivation resources were limited, so Qi Introduction took so long.

With Miss's aptitude, you should succeed in at most one month. Please do not be anxious, Miss. The more anxious one becomes, the less likely things are to work out."

"Ah... I understand."

After Wei Yunxi returned and finished dinner, she had Zhenzhu stand guard outside the door for her. She herself sat cross-legged on the bed, putting on a show of sensing points of Spiritual Qi.

In truth, the moment she closed her eyes, she could see points of Spiritual Qi in every color. She could sense that as long as she released a little goodwill, those points of light would be drawn to her, even enter her body.

But she could not do that. With her aptitude of Three Spiritual Roots, it was impossible for her to complete Qi Introduction in a single day. If she did, not only would Wei Lingyue grow suspicious, Du Ruolan and Wei Yunqing would watch her like hawks. She did not want her Spiritual Roots extracted, nor did she want her Golden Core dug out, so for now, she could only lie low.

Zhenzhu kept a close watch on Wei Yunxi inside the room. She discovered that Wei Yunxi first sat cross-legged on the bed for a quarter of an hour, then could no longer sit still, as though needles were pricking her beneath her. Before long, she opened her eyes, played with her fingers for a while, then took out the items from her Storage Pendant and arranged them on the bed, picking them up one by one to play with them. She had long since thrown Qi Introduction to the back of her mind.

The corners of Zhenzhu's lips curled upward. She felt that earning these spirit stones was easy this time. She did not even need to trip her up—the little one had started playing all by herself. It could not have been more worry-free. Nor would she remind her young miss. Her duty was to keep the other party safe; her cultivation progress had nothing to do with her.

Wei Yunxi spent the next three days in the same manner. Then, on the fifth day, news spread through the Cultivation Hall that Wei Yunqing had successfully completed Qi Introduction.