Ten days slipped quietly by within the high walls of the Mo Residence.
As the bronze door of the underground stone chamber slowly opened, it stirred up a cold, sinister draft that sent the candle flames on the walls shaking violently.
Mo Juren sat upright in a grand armchair, the black markings on his face writhing like countless tiny venomous snakes in the flickering candlelight.
His withered fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest, each soft tap stirring a faint echo within the stone chamber.
His five wives entered the chamber in order, their skirts rustling.
The first wife, Jin, led the way, her embroidered shoes striking the flagstones with crisp clicks;
The second wife, Yan, followed close behind, the dangling gold ornament in her hair swaying gently with each step;
The third wife, Li, kept her head lowered, twisting the silk handkerchief in her hands almost out of shape;
The fourth wife, Liu, and Fifth Madam Wang walked side by side, exchanging glances from time to time.
"Ten days have passed." Mo Juren's voice scraped against their eardrums like sandpaper.
He slowly raised his eyelids, his cloudy eyes gleaming eerily in the candlelight. "How has your cultivation gone?"
The candlewick suddenly crackled, scattering sparks that traced tiny streaks of light through the air.
The five wives' shadows twisted across the stone walls like ghosts baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
Jin took a deep breath and stepped half a pace forward.
Irrepressible delight appeared on her well-preserved face. "My lord, I can already faintly sense spiritual energy."
"Truly?" Mo Juren abruptly leaned forward, and the grand armchair creaked under the strain.
Over these ten days, he had watched his five wives day and night, but those eyes concealed in the shadows had chiefly focused on whom they taught the cultivation art to.
Now, hearing that Jin had already crossed the threshold, his twiglike fingers involuntarily tightened, his nails sinking deep into the soft wood of the armrest.
"Show me." His voice sounded as though gravel had clogged his throat.
Jin extended her right hand, palm upward.
Her wrist was slender and fair, like a piece of smooth, lustrous jade in the dim chamber.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, and a strand of pale red energy slowly emerged like a tender shoot in early spring, gathering into a tiny vortex three inches above her palm.
"Ah!" Li, the third wife, suddenly gasped, utterly unaware that the silk handkerchief in her hands had slipped down to her chest.
Her eyes widened, fixed enviously on Jin's palm. To her, that pale red vortex seemed like the most precious treasure in the world. The corners of her mouth rose involuntarily as she exclaimed, "Sister, you're incredible!"
Yan, the second wife, stepped half a pace forward, her hands unconsciously rubbing her sleeves. The dangling gold ornament in her hair swayed gently with her movements, and undisguised envy shone in her eyes. "Sister, tell us quickly. How did you do it?" As she spoke, she gave a slightly ingratiating smile.
Her face full of delighted surprise, Liu, the fourth wife, hurried two steps to Jin's side and took her arm, her voice brimming with envy. "This is simply miraculous! Eldest sister, you must give us more guidance from now on."
As she spoke, she studied that little vortex from every angle, her eyes filled with longing.
Wang, Fifth Madam, hurried over to Jin and clasped her other hand tightly in both of hers. Leaning slightly forward, she said excitedly, "Sister, you're our example! You must teach me."
Her cheeks flushed and her breathing quickened, her whole being immersed in admiration for Jin.
Though faint, that pale red vortex became the focus of everyone's attention at that moment.
Seeing this, Jin looked increasingly pleased with herself. She deliberately turned her wrist gently, making the vortex spin more smoothly.
The other wives' gazes followed the moving vortex, the envy in their eyes growing stronger.
Mo Juren sprang to his feet, knocking the grand armchair backward with a piercing scrape across the flagstones.
The black markings on his face writhed violently, revealing an almost savage delight. "Wonderful! Wonderful! My wife has a spiritual root!"
His voice was terrifyingly hoarse, like a corpse suddenly roaring after years of silence.
He rushed up to Jin in a few long strides and seized her wrist.
His grip was astonishingly strong. Jin frowned in pain but dared not pull away.
She could feel that her husband's hand was as cold as iron, his nails almost piercing her flesh.
This uncharacteristic enthusiasm made Jin's ears burn-in twenty years of marriage, she had never seen this normally calm, self-controlled man lose his composure like this.
"My lord..." Jin shifted her wrist uneasily, her voice as faint as a mosquito's whine.
Only then did Mo Juren release her, as though waking from a dream. The frenzy in his eyes had yet to fade as he turned to his other four wives. "And you?"
Yan, the second wife, bit her full lip, her bright red nails digging deep into her palm. "I... I still haven't felt anything." Clear frustration colored her voice.
"Neither have I," Li, the third wife, quietly echoed, her gaze flickering.
She stole a glance at Jin's palm, seemingly still stunned by what she had just witnessed.
Liu, the fourth wife, and Wang, Fifth Madam, both shook their heads as well.
The four could not hide their disappointment. Especially after seeing Jin successfully draw spiritual energy into her body, their sense of defeat seemed almost tangible, hanging over their heads.
The black markings on Mo Juren's face relaxed slightly, and his voice suddenly grew gentle. "Don't lose heart."
He walked slowly back to the grand armchair, the hem of his black robe brushing the floor with a soft rustle. "The road of immortal cultivation is long. If you can sense spiritual energy within a year, that means you have a spiritual root."
His reassurance seemed to work.
Yan, the second wife, abruptly clenched her fist, her nails leaving four red crescent marks in her palm. "I'll work twice as hard!" Fierce determination blazed in her eyes.
"So will I," Wang, Fifth Madam, chimed in, a resolute look appearing on her young face.
Mo Juren nodded in satisfaction and sat back down.
The black markings on his face seemed a little fainter than before, but no one noticed this subtle change.
In the candlelight, his shadow twisted across the stone wall like a ferocious beast poised to strike.
"Now," he suddenly interlaced his fingers over his knees, his tone turning abruptly cold, "tell me, whom have you taught the cultivation art to?"
The air in the stone chamber froze in an instant.
The five wives exchanged looks, never having expected their husband to ask this so suddenly.
Jin felt a fine layer of cold sweat seep down her back, soaking her inner garment.
"I taught Yuzhu, and... my personal maid, Cui'er." Jin was the first to speak, her voice growing quieter with every word.
She suddenly remembered that she had not informed everyone of her teaching them, and unease stirred in her heart.
Mo Juren's face betrayed neither pleasure nor anger. Only those black markings slowly writhed. "Why did you teach them?"
"Yuzhu is my own daughter, and she's naturally gifted and intelligent," Jin hurriedly explained, her fingers unconsciously twisting her sash,
"Cui'er has been with me since she was little, and she's utterly loyal. Besides..." She hesitated,
"The last time you returned, my lord, she heard some of it at the doorway too..."
"Hmm." Mo Juren gave a noncommittal response and turned to Yan, the second wife. "And you?"
Yan straightened her back, the dangling gold ornament in her hair swaying gently with the movement. "I taught Caihuan. That girl may be mischievous, but she has good innate aptitude." A measure of pride colored her voice.
Mo Juren's gaze swept over the remaining three wives with an almost physical weight.
Li, the third wife, twisted the silk handkerchief in her hands, her voice as faint as a gnat's buzz. "I... I had no suitable candidate..."
Liu, the fourth wife, and Wang, Fifth Madam, also shook their heads repeatedly. They had no daughters of their own, and they did not trust their personal maids enough to risk teaching them.
"You may teach those you trust," Mo Juren suddenly said, his voice surprisingly gentle,
"But you must keep watch over them. You cannot let them pass the cultivation art on to outsiders."
Relieved of their burden, they all nodded repeatedly.
Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought teaching others without permission would anger her husband, yet he had tacitly approved it.
Mo Juren rose, the hem of his black robe sweeping across the floor and stirring a cold, sinister draft. "That is all for today. Jin, stay. The rest of you may leave."
The four wives bowed and withdrew.
As she left, Li, the third wife, glanced back at Jin, a barely perceptible trace of jealousy flashing in her eyes.
Her nails dug deep into her palm, yet she was utterly oblivious to the pain.
The dull sound of the stone door closing echoed through the chamber.
The gentleness on Mo Juren's face vanished instantly, replaced by a hair-raising urgency.
He seized Jin's wrist, gripping it so hard he nearly crushed her bones. "Tell me in detail. How did you sense spiritual energy?"
Frightened by this sudden change, Jin trembled all over. "I just... followed the method in the book, drew blood and drank it, then sat in meditation..."
"At precisely what time? Was there anything unusual?" Mo Juren pressed, an unsettling light flickering in his eyes.
His breathing quickened, his breath carrying a heavy scent of medicinal herbs.
"Between one and three in the morning on the seventh day..." Jin's voice trembled. "My dantian felt hot then, as though a ball of fire were burning inside...
"Recalling that strange sensation, she unconsciously touched her lower abdomen.
Mo Juren released her and paced back and forth through the stone chamber.
His black robe fluttered like bat wings, casting enormous shadows on the walls. "How is Yuzhu's cultivation progressing?"
Jin hesitated, her lips trembling slightly. "She... she seems to be progressing even faster than I am..."
Mo Juren stopped abruptly, the black markings on his face twitching violently. "Truly? Yuzhu really is progressing faster than you?"
Startled by his reaction, Jin retreated half a step, her back meeting the cold stone wall. "Y-yesterday, she could already form a vortex the size of a red bean..."
"Excellent!" Mo Juren suddenly threw back his head and laughed, his laughter striking the chamber's four walls and producing eerie echoes,
"I always said that girl was no creature destined to remain in a mere pond!" He abruptly leaned close to Jin, his herb-scented breath washing over her face,
"From today onward, report the details of her cultivation to me every day."
Jin nodded blankly, watching the black markings on her husband's face fade a little more.
For a hazy moment, she actually felt that those hideous markings resembled countless tiny insects, greedily sucking at something.
"And you." Mo Juren suddenly stroked her cheek with a tenderness that made her skin crawl. "Keep cultivating. Do not slack off."
Outside the stone door, Li, the third wife, pressed her ear tightly against the crack.
Hearing the faint laughter inside, she bit down hard on her lip until she tasted blood.
Why should Jin and her daughter alone enjoy his favor? She stared at her carefully maintained nails, then suddenly dug them viciously into a corridor pillar.
The pain of wood splinters piercing her fingertips cleared her head a little, but the flames of jealousy in her heart burned even hotter.
"What are you eavesdropping on, sister?" Yan's voice came from behind her, carrying a hint of teasing.
Li whirled around in alarm and forced a smile. "I was worried our lord might lose his temper..."
"Is that so?" Yan gave the tightly shut stone door a meaningful glance. "My Caihuan certainly won't lose to Yuzhu."
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