Jiao Gu did not refute Zhao He. He merely said calmly,
"I am indeed very weak, and I cannot help you cultivate. Cultivation is your own affair to begin with. Aid from others is like a castle in the air—splendid and flourishing at a glance, yet it topples the moment the wind blows."
Zhao He froze. What Jiao Gu said seemed to make some sense.
In truth, the main reason she had pinned her hopes on the Jiao Gu she had picked up was that, when she had first broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm several decades ago, she had already felt the bottleneck on her path of cultivation.
No matter how much spiritual energy she drew into her body, it could not increase her cultivation by the slightest bit.
Only certain potent medicinal pills could raise her cultivation somewhat.
But Zhao He did not dare take too many of such pills either.
The more pills one consumed, the more they hindered cultivation. This was common knowledge throughout the cultivation world.
The look Zhao He gave Jiao Gu gradually became more serious.
"You are right, but my aptitude is poor. If I do not borrow external aid, I fear I will not even be able to break through the Nascent Soul Realm."
"Is that so? Cultivation values aptitude, but it values one's state of mind even more. If even you do not believe that you can break through, then your path of cultivation truly ought to end here."
Zhao He's heart trembled, as though enlightenment had been poured over her head.
Could it be that the reason cultivation had grown increasingly difficult for her in recent years was precisely this?
Zhao He no longer held even the slightest contempt in her heart. She solemnly bowed to the withered bones