"You can rest assured, the child is fine." Liu Changfei patted her hand. After hesitating for a moment, she took out several Spirit-Recovery Pills and had Song Zhizhi swallow them.
The Spirit-Recovery Pills melted into a warm current the moment they entered her mouth, flowing into Song Zhizhi's Dantian. She felt the spiritual power in her Dantian grow full once more, no longer draining toward the child.
The child was fine.
The pallor on her face eased slightly, and the stone in her heart finally dropped to the ground. Looking at Liu Changfei, she asked, "What happened to me just now?"
Liu Changfei took Song Zhizhi's pulse again and asked, "Just now, did you feel the spiritual power in your body go out of control? Your meridians swelled and ached, and it kept gathering in your Dantian?"
Song Zhizhi nodded. She remembered how the child had continuously absorbed the spiritual power within her just now. "Is there something wrong with the child?"
Other than the child, Song Zhizhi could think of no other possibility. While waiting for Liu Changfei to arrive, she had thought of far too many things.
She feared that delaying and refusing to seek out Xie Xiuji to transfer spiritual power had harmed the child. She also feared that something had happened to herself—such as going astray in her cultivation—and that she had implicated the child.
Perhaps she should not have kept thinking of delaying things until there was nowhere left to hide before confessing to Xie Xiuji. She should have told him earlier. Even if Xie Xiuji did not like the child and refused to transfer spiritual power, she could have found someone else.
Song Zhizhi felt a lingering dread. She was afraid that the child had truly suffered some harm because of her negligence. That was something she could not accept.
Liu Changfei looked at Song Zhizhi, nodded, then shook her head. "The child is fine. You're about to reach Foundation Establishment."
Hearing that the child was fine, Song Zhizhi finally relaxed. But the latter half of Liu Changfei's words left her stunned. She carefully sensed her cultivation level, her brows knitting slightly. "Foundation Establishment? How is that possible? I'm only at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. Shouldn't I first reach Qi Refining Great Perfection, then cultivate a technique before I can establish my foundation?"
Though she had cultivated diligently during this time and had already touched the barrier of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, she had yet to truly break through to Qi Refining Great Perfection. How could she possibly skip that step and directly establish her foundation?
Foundation Establishment in this world differed from what Song Zhizhi had read in novels. Here, having sufficient cultivation alone was not enough to establish one's foundation; one had to possess a cultivation technique. Without the guidance of a technique, Foundation Establishment was simply impossible.
That was also why the major sects of the Cultivation World held such exalted status. These sects controlled ninety percent of the Cultivation World's Foundation Establishment techniques. With those techniques, they drew countless geniuses to their side, forming a virtuous cycle.
Liu Changfei had not studied for long in Medicine King City or under the elders of her clan. Her talent in healing cultivation was limited, and she could not give Song Zhizhi a clear answer to these questions.
"Your spiritual power went out of control just now, and a great amount of it poured into your body. Your meridians and Dantian have already been widened by that spiritual power to a degree almost no different from that of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Those are all signs of Foundation Establishment."
"I can't be mistaken. Your abnormal condition just now truly came from your impending Foundation Establishment. Perhaps you'll skip Qi Refining Great Perfection and establish your foundation directly. It may be related to the child in your belly."
After turning it over in her mind, Liu Changfei felt that this was the only possibility. Perhaps the child's talent was simply too high, and the mother had been affected as well, skipping Qi Refining Great Perfection to establish her foundation directly. After all, this was the Cultivation World—anything was possible.
"Then right now, I..." Song Zhizhi could feel that her cultivation level had not changed and that she was still at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, yet the spiritual power in her Dantian was indeed far more condensed than before.
"That's what I need to tell you, Zhizhi." Liu Changfei's expression abruptly turned grave. "I checked just now and found that the fetus in your belly has grown a little more. This child's talent is too high, and the spiritual power he needs to grow is also increasing. When you advance, the spiritual power in your body is at its most abundant. He has never had enough spiritual power to nourish him, so when you advance, he instinctively seizes the spiritual energy you need to break through, causing your advancement to fail."
"Zhizhi, your spiritual power is almost no longer enough to sustain the child. Finding someone to transfer spiritual power to you is now a matter of utmost urgency. It can't be delayed any longer. If you can't find the child's father, I can introduce you to several Fire Spirit Root cultivators to tide you over for now."
Find several Fire Spirit Root cultivators to transfer spiritual power to her? Xie Xiuji came to Clear Snow Peak every day. How was that any different from confessing directly to Xie Xiuji?
Song Zhizhi shook her head and politely declined Liu Changfei's suggestion. But she knew this truly could not be delayed any longer. Rather than finding someone else to transfer spiritual power as a stopgap, she might as well confess directly to Xie Xiuji.
Song Zhizhi did not want to go through that heart-in-throat ordeal again. She had thought it through. If she confessed to Xie Xiuji and he could accept the child, that would be best. If he could not, then they would part ways cleanly, and she would find someone else to transfer spiritual power.
Song Miaomiao was also an Ice Spirit Root cultivator. Song Zhizhi could swallow her pride and beg Song Miaomiao; one way or another, she would be able to safely give birth to the child.
The expression on Song Zhizhi's face gradually became resolute.
But how should she bring this up to Xie Xiuji?
Was she supposed to tell Xie Xiuji outright: Yes, we have a child?
Song Zhizhi felt that being so direct might be too much of a shock for Xie Xiuji. She should put it more tactfully and try to make him accept the child.
How should she say it? She might need someone to offer her some advice.
Song Zhizhi looked toward Liu Changfei, lightly coughed twice, and said, "Feifei, actually, the child's father is in the sect. He still doesn't know the child exists. I'm not sure whether he'll accept this child, so I haven't told him."
Liu Changfei: ?
Liu Changfei ran through the several Inner Sect Disciples who had entered the sect with them.
Fang Zheng? Kong Xing? Or Pei Yuqing?
No, those men all had dual Spiritual Roots and ordinary talent. Judging from the odds of inheritance, the child in Zhizhi's belly possessed extraordinary talent, so the child's father certainly could not have dual Spiritual Roots. He had to be a Single Spirit Root cultivator like Song Zhizhi—perhaps even a genius with a mutated Spiritual Root and a special physique.
There were not many male Single Spirit Root cultivators in the Sword Sect's inner sect to begin with, and male cultivators who possessed both a Single Spirit Root and a special physique...
Liu Changfei instantly thought of someone. After thinking it over, only that one person fit the conditions—Mutated Ice Spiritual Root, and an Innate Dao Body. He perfectly matched her speculation.
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