Hua Min'er's Breakthrough

After an unknown amount of time playing, Hua Min'er suddenly let out a scream, covering her small mouth with one hand while pointing to the stream bank not far away with the other. Her face was a little pale, and she said with a hint of fear, "Brother, what is that?"

Seeing this, Ling Tian quickly stopped splashing water and followed Hua Min'er's gaze. His expression also turned a bit grim as he said in a deep voice, "A corpse. That's a corpse."

"How do you know it's a corpse? Maybe he's still alive?" Hua Min'er asked curiously, even her fear diminishing slightly.

"Don't you smell the stench of decay from a corpse? I'm afraid he was bitten to death by a Zombie. Fortunately, it hasn't undergone Corpse Transformation yet," Ling Tian explained, seeing Hua Min'er's confusion.

Hua Min'er inhaled slightly through her delicate nose, and after a moment, her brow furrowed deeply. "Yeah, it smells awful."

Ling Tian didn't say anything and walked directly to the corpse. He took out a Spear from his Storage Ring and gently prodded the body. After a moment, he also frowned. "It's indeed dead. There are two deep tooth marks on its neck, and its face is pale. It clearly died from blood loss."

"Brother, please don't touch the corpse. Be careful not to get infected with corpse poison," Hua Min'er said, looking at Ling Tian with some concern.

"Don't worry, I'm not directly touching the corpse... No, we have to burn this corpse. Otherwise, it's likely to undergo Corpse Transformation soon," Ling Tian reassured Hua Min'er, and after a moment, he thought of the serious implications.

"Okay, Brother. Drag the corpse a bit further away from the stream, and I'll condense some Spirit Fire," Hua Min'er said, forcing herself despite her fear.

Ling Tian didn't speak. With a flick of his Spear, the corpse gently flew out and landed steadily on a rock. It seemed Ling Tian had used a clever technique, not wanting to desecrate the person's body further.

Hua Min'er took two steps towards the corpse and suddenly felt a wave of nausea. She quickly turned around, barely suppressing it.

"Min'er, are you alright? Should I signal for some senior sisters to come?" Ling Tian said, his heart aching. He couldn't condense Spirit Fire, otherwise, he wouldn't let a girl do this. He asked with concern.

"No need, Brother Ling Tian, I can do it," Hua Min'er said stubbornly, taking a deep breath.

Ling Tian felt helpless. He knew Hua Min'er's stubbornness well and knew she wouldn't give up. Hua Min'er flicked her finger, and a wisp of green flame appeared. With a flick of her finger, the Spirit Fire shot towards the corpse. In a moment, the corpse was engulfed in flames, emitting a thick black smoke. Instantly, the surrounding air was filled with an even more foul odor.

"Ugh!"

Hua Min'er couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited a mouthful of bitter bile. Ling Tian quickly patted her back and took out a water pouch from his ring, handing it to Hua Min'er, his expression full of heartache.

"Min'er, are you alright?" Ling Tian looked at Hua Min'er with concern, wishing he could take her place.

Hua Min'er took the water, rinsed her mouth, and after doing so several times, she straightened up and said tremblingly, "I'm fine, Brother Ling Tian. It gets easier after vomiting a few times. Don't look so sad, it's unsightly."

"You, you stubborn little girl," Ling Tian said softly, pulling her into his arms, feeling a tenderness he had never experienced before.

"Brother, I don't want to be so useless. I know I'll encounter things like this often in the future. I need to be strong," Hua Min'er murmured, her voice so faint that Ling Tian, focused on his concern for her, didn't hear it.

"Alright, Brother, I'm fine now. Go and collect the ashes and scatter them on the water. It can be considered a water burial," Hua Min'er said, pushing away Ling Tian, who was still holding her tightly, her face blushing as she quickly tried to cover herself.

"Oh!" Ling Tian felt a bit awkward. Although he had hugged Hua Min'er before, she was now completely soaked, her figure's curves clearly visible. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and the sensation was incredibly alluring. After a soft "Oh," he hurriedly went to collect the ashes.

"Min'er, um, you should change your clothes," Ling Tian said awkwardly as he carried her on his back.

"Ah!" Hua Min'er let out a soft gasp, instantly understanding Ling Tian's meaning. She quickly changed her clothes. She wasn't worried about Ling Tian peeking; in fact, she even harbored a faint hope that he might steal a glance. Of course, that hope was not realized.

After a while, Ling Tian finished collecting the ashes, and Hua Min'er had also changed her clothes. They looked at each other in silence, a lingering, ambiguous atmosphere filling the air.

"Min'er, let's go back," Ling Tian broke the awkward silence first. He didn't want to see Hua Min'er standing there feeling uncomfortable any longer. She had been so sick earlier that she must have felt terrible. He wanted her to go back and rest as soon as possible.

"Oh," Hua Min'er felt a pang of disappointment, secretly chiding Ling Tian for breaking the ambiguous atmosphere. However, she knew he was worried about her, so she agreed.

Then, the two walked away hand in hand, both lost in their own thoughts.

After they left, an excited low growl emanated from a hidden cave by the stream. The cave was deep, likely over a thousand meters.

"Heh heh, that woman... her aura... is very good..." The voice was deep and intermittent, but after a moment, it fell silent again, as if it had never made a sound.

Suddenly, the air distorted, and an old man appeared out of thin air. It was Old Man Ling, who had been ordered to protect Ling Tian.

"Hmm? I didn't expect there to be another Zombie that has cultivated a Corpse Core. Should I eliminate it? Never mind, I'll consider it as their trial," Old Man Ling pondered for a moment, decided against intervening, and then concealed himself again.

Meanwhile, Ling Tian and Hua Min'er headed towards their temporary residence. They didn't speak on the way. Upon returning, Hua Min'er reluctantly went into seclusion to cultivate. She felt something different; the Spiritual Energy within her was surging. Puzzled, she sat cross-legged and tried to control the flow of Spiritual Energy. She didn't yet realize that this was a sign of an impending breakthrough.

After Hua Min'er left, Ling Tian gave a helpless glance and then found a sizable tree. He leaped up, took out a Jade Slip, and immersed himself in studying Formations.

Time slowly passed, and the disciples who had gone out also gradually returned. However, some of them had grim expressions, likely having encountered something similar to Hua Min'er and their group. For many of them, it was their first time witnessing such events, and they were naturally unaccustomed to it. After returning, the disciples didn't speak and went straight into their rooms, where the sounds of quiet sobbing and comforting voices could be heard.

Ling Tian outside let out a wry smile. The sense of unease in his heart grew stronger, but he didn't pay it much mind. A moment later, he was once again engrossed in his study of Formations.

Unaware of the passage of time while cultivating, Ling Tian was suddenly awakened by a strange spatial fluctuation. He opened his eyes and, without much effort, knew that the fluctuation was coming from the house-shaped magical artifact.

"This fluctuation feels so familiar. It should be the fusion of Spiritual Sense. Someone has broken through to the Qi Solidification Stage. I wonder who it is?" Ling Tian murmured to himself. As he spoke, he extended his Spiritual Sense towards the house-shaped magical artifact.

The house-shaped magical artifact was his, so his Spiritual Sense easily permeated it.

"Huh, it's Min'er!?" Ling Tian exclaimed in surprise. He figured Hua Min'er must have been stimulated by their outing and achieved a breakthrough.

"I should go and see," Ling Tian thought, and with a flash, he appeared inside the house.

The girls inside the house had stopped crying. More than a dozen of them were anxiously surrounding Hua Min'er. Hua Min'er sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, likely in the process of breaking through. Many among them had not yet reached the Qi Solidification Stage and were at a loss, not knowing what to do. Fortunately, Yun Ying and Yao Yu, having experienced this before, instructed everyone not to panic and to properly guard Hua Min'er.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, is Min'er...?" Ling Tian asked, his expression filled with worry.

Ling Tian had never cultivated Spiritual Energy and didn't know how Hua Min'er's breakthrough differed from his own Spiritual Sense fusion, so he was naturally worried.

"Ling Tian is here. Don't worry. Junior Sister Min'er has extraordinary talent. It's just a breakthrough to the Qi Solidification Stage, so there shouldn't be any danger," Yun Ying comforted him.

Although Yun Ying said this, Ling Tian noticed a flicker of worry in her eyes. He surmised that Hua Min'er held a significant position on Qingdie Peak and even within the Qingyun Sect. While there might not be any real danger, she feared the unexpected. As the leader of this group, she bore a heavy responsibility and worried about her inability to protect Hua Min'er.

"Oh," Ling Tian replied softly, understanding Yun Ying's concern. However, there was nothing else they could do, so he patiently waited.

After a while, two strong soul energies began to converge: one came from the void, carrying a sense of the interplay between life and death; the other originated from the surroundings. The two energies grew stronger and stronger, swirling above Hua Min'er's head. Soon, the two energies intertwined and then moved towards Hua Min'er's brow. After a moment, the surrounding people could no longer sense these two energies.

"Oh, it's similar to when I fused my Spiritual Sense, but the speed of gathering the two souls and the speed of their fusion are both much faster than mine. I imagine fusing all three souls will be many times faster." Ling Tian's Spiritual Sense carefully observed for a while before discovering Hua Min'er's difference; her Spiritual Sense fusion rate was more than dozens of times faster than his.

"Sigh, it was that easy? It made me worry for nothing." Seeing Hua Min'er's Spiritual Sense was about to fuse completely and she would wake up at any moment, Ling Tian couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Comparing it to his own Spiritual Sense fusion, he immediately complained about the unfairness of heaven and earth.

Looking again at Yun Ying and the others, they were also wiping away the sweat that had beaded from nervousness, breathing a huge sigh of relief. For a moment, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma from the women's sweat, creating a rather ambiguous atmosphere, though they were all blissfully unaware.

After a while longer, Hua Min'er finally finished her breakthrough. Upon opening her eyes, she saw everyone staring at her and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"Senior Sister Yun Ying, why are you all looking at me like that?" Hua Min'er asked softly.

"Hmph, you didn't tell me you were about to break through. What if something had happened to you? How would I explain it to Master?" Yun Ying chided her with a hint of playful annoyance.

"Hehe, Senior Sister, I didn't know why it happened like this either. Don't worry, I'm fine now, aren't I?" Hua Min'er replied cheerfully, unconcerned.

"You, you always make people worry so much." Yun Ying felt very helpless towards Hua Min'er, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "How do you feel now?"

Hua Min'er didn't answer immediately. She closed her eyes and carefully felt for a moment before replying joyfully, "Hehe, I feel great! This world seems so much clearer. My Spiritual Sense has already fused more than halfway, and I can project it outwards now."

"I'm glad you're alright. You worried me to death. Alright, continue fusing your soul. If anything feels wrong, just ask me." Yun Ying finally put her mind at ease and carefully instructed Hua Min'er.

"Mm, I know, Senior Sister. My Spiritual Sense should be completely fused in half a day." Hua Min'er naturally knew her Senior Sister cared about her and felt a little touched. She then gazed at Ling Tian beside her, a hint of affection emanating from her eyes, as if no one else was present.

Seeing that Hua Min'er was fine, the others also continued their cultivation. In fact, when they saw Hua Min'er and Ling Tian gazing at each other affectionately, they knew it was wrong to be a third wheel, so they made space for them. However, cultivating was the excuse; peeking was the real intention. Didn't they see them all sneakily glancing over with one eye?

"Brother Ling Tian, let's go for a walk." Hua Min'er's face flushed. She knew her Senior Sisters were secretly watching, so she grabbed Ling Tian and fled as if flying.

"Hehe..." After they left, a burst of laughter erupted.