Her Ritual

Dark clouds hung like ink, and the sole thread of light filtered through them onto the mountain forest beside the courtyard.

Qin Yi silently sensed the changes in his body.

When he circulated his breath on his own, he could barely feel anything, but now he could feel the chill of that Spirit Resonance pouring into every part of his body.

Before long,

the quantitative accumulation of Spirit Resonance within him seemed to have triggered a qualitative breakthrough. Still holding the hand seal within Cultivation Sight, Qin Yi gradually began to see the Spirit Resonance flowing through his body.

Was this inner vision?

Spirit Resonance continuously flowed through his body along lines resembling veins.

It seemed this cultivation method had evolved from a martial artist's internal cultivation art. According to what that uncle Peng Jun had said, after the "Qi-Induction Ritual" ended, internal cultivation relied on something called meridians.

The clouds overhead pressed ever lower, revealing only a faint, dim gleam.

Qin Yi constantly sensed the changes within his body.

He was ready to withdraw at any moment.

Though he did not know why he had chosen to save Ruan Su, his own survival still had to come first.

Gradually, the chill in his body turned into a fullness akin to being well-fed, then, as time passed, transformed into a swelling pain like countless needle pricks.

Noticing this, Qin Yi glanced at the blue Spirit Resonance around Ruan Su. A small half still remained unabsorbed.

So it really wasn't possible...

Qin Yi coldly moved his hand away.

The girl's little face—half flawless, half grotesque—tilted instinctively, as if even in her unconsciousness, she wished to seek that unrealistic warmth.

Qin Yi prepared to rise.

His body could no longer contain so much Spirit Resonance. If this continued, not only would he fail to save Ruan Su, he would drag himself down with her.

Yet the change before him completely exceeded Qin Yi's expectations. Though he had moved his hand away, the almost tangible blue Spirit Resonance stretched a liquid thread less than half an inch long between him and Ruan Su.

The Spirit Resonance continued pouring into his body along that thread.

This was bad.

Without a moment's hesitation, Qin Yi tried to retreat, attempting to use distance to sever the connection, but he was already too late.

Once the needle-prick swelling pain appeared, the various negative sensations did not rise steadily. They erupted like a cliffside collapse, bursting forth all at once!

Tearing agony surged from every corner of his body. His vision instantly turned scarlet, and his body toppled backward.

Several breaths later,

Qin Yi began vomiting blood in great mouthfuls.

But he did not stop moving.

Lying prone on the ground, Qin Yi endured the agonizing pain throughout his body and crawled inch by inch toward the other side.

As if some implanted brand of thought had been stamped into him,

he had to live.

So long as there was even a sliver of possibility, he had to live!

Even though

he did not know what meaning there was in it...

Night fell.

Yellow Bamboo Town.

Meng's Cloth Workshop, rear hall.

A bleak draft swept through the corridor. Stone lanterns were set high into the walls, their flames dim and swaying. Mountains of goods were neatly stacked by category in the side courtyard.

The young girl in a ruqun seemed to be in a good mood. Holding a small notebook, she stood below a pile of goods, softly humming an unknown tune as she carefully checked the items about to be shipped out.

Granny Meng returned abruptly. Her mourning-clothes-black attire swallowed the surrounding light as she emerged from the pitch-black shadows, passing behind Meng Peijiu and stirring a gust of cold wind. She went straight to the grand armchair at the deepest end of the rear hall and sat down.

After pausing for a moment, Meng Peijiu turned back as though only just noticing her, stared at the old woman, and asked curiously,

"Eh, Mother, where did you go?"

Granny Meng leaned against the grand armchair, rocking it slowly with a creak, creak. Firelight shone upon her aged face, and her unconcealed voice was dry and hoarse.

"Compassion Mountain has been unsettled lately. I went to inspect the Ritual Compass Disc."

Meng Peijiu turned around, her skirt stirring a vivid ripple through the gloom. She did not seem surprised as she asked,

"Eh~ What do you mean by unsettled? It can't be that Mountain Lord, can it?"

Granny Meng seemed deeply displeased by her frivolous attitude. Narrowing her eyes, she said hoarsely,

"A beast that has not even fully developed intelligence deserves to be called a Mountain Lord? There is something akin to an aberrant species in the mountain. It has hidden itself well. I searched several rounds but never managed to drag it out."

Meng Peijiu waved her hand and said with a smile,

"These are trifles. The influence of the Black Sun has yet to spread fully into the Shu Region. Since it avoids you, it means it will not have much effect on the ritual."

Granny Meng's voice was muffled, her tone deep as the nine netherworlds.

"There is no harm in being more careful."

Meng Peijiu gave a soft laugh, her eyes curving.

"Hehe, then where did you go last night?"

Granny Meng raised her eyes and glanced sideways at her before answering directly,

"I went to see Her. Also, traces of Blood Feeding have already begun appearing on the jade."

Upon hearing this, Meng Peijiu casually set the ledger in her hand atop a stack of crates. Paying no heed to the gloomy, sinister atmosphere in the courtyard, she spoke lightly, with not the slightest respect for her "mother," smiling as she said,

"So, Mother, what do you intend to do now?"

Granny Meng leaned back in the grand armchair, her face hidden in shadow, and did not answer.

Meng Peijiu took graceful steps into the inner hall, casually found a chair and sat down. Leaning against its back, she propped her cheek in one hand and gazed at the seat of honor as she said leisurely,

"Warden... you have dragged this out for too long. Otherwise, the main family would not have sent me here. Now the entire ritual has slipped from your control to a certain extent, hasn't it?"

Granny Meng's tone lowered slightly, and the temperature around them dropped with it.

"This is because of that little fellow beside Her."

Meng Peijiu thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. If not for that little fellow, based on your report, the entire ritual should have been completed long ago."

At that point,

Meng Peijiu's tone abruptly shifted, turning cool and clear.

"But that cannot become an excuse for your incompetence. Once Blood Feeding appears, the speed at which it spreads is unknown. If the ritual cannot be completed before it completely consumes the Panblood Spirit Jade, you should know the consequences."

Granny Meng fell silent, her hunched body trembling faintly in the darkness.

Meng Peijiu's right index finger lightly tapped her pale cheek as she asked,

"From here on, I will take over the entire ritual. Do you have any objections?"

Granny Meng was silent for a moment. Her small eyes reflected an uncertain glimmer beneath the swaying, dim flames of the distant stone lanterns.

"You... still want to directly interfere with the ritual?"

Meng Peijiu straightened in her chair and stared at Granny Meng, enunciating each word.

"In principle, direct interference with the ritual is indeed forbidden. But now even the principles have begun to fester. Direct intervention is still better than outright failure, isn't it?"

Silence.

After a long while,

Granny Meng suddenly spoke, her voice flickering between light and dark.

"What do you intend to do?"

Meng Peijiu thought for a moment, raised her slender hand slightly, and smiled softly.

"First, find a way to separate Her from that little fellow. Without that little fellow, the ritual should proceed much more smoothly."

Granny Meng hesitated for a moment and raised an objection.

"That little fellow... should be able to become Her support in the future."

"I went to see him yesterday. He is completely unqualified."

Meng Peijiu drew a deep breath, rose from her chair, gave Granny Meng a long look, and walked toward the hall entrance.

"Now the whole world is undergoing violent change. Though that little fellow has some redeeming qualities, his cultivation talent is far too poor. Rather than becoming support, he is better suited to become the whetstone for Her complete transformation."

Her footsteps suddenly stopped. Meng Peijiu stood beneath the upturned eaves of the rear hall, looking toward the heavens shrouded in dark clouds. Her words drifted into the cold autumn wind.

"Warden, a carp that can leap over the Dragon Gate is still a carp, but She is destined to soar through the nine heavens as a phoenix..."