How could Qi Yan have known where Jiang Jinyue's imagination had wandered? After saying that, he had no other topics to bring up, so he concentrated on steering the boat.
In any case, this little demoness was only looking for someone and meant no harm. There was nothing wrong with sticking together, and it was safer, too.
Jiang Jinyue fell silent as well, leaning to one side with a stiff expression and enjoying the refreshing sea breeze.
Then, to her surprise, she found it rather comfortable.
The vast sea and sky naturally opened the heart. The waves and seabirds' cries wove a natural symphony. Rather than seeming noisy, they offered a different kind of tranquility, as though one could glean some insight into the Dao from them.
Her master had been right. The Dao followed nature; heaven and humanity were one. It was no more than this. So long as one was not consumed by purpose and hurrying along, there would naturally be something to gain.
Qi Yan felt rather strange as well, but his thoughts differed from Jiang Jinyue's... He had gone to sea so often in his previous life that it no longer inspired such awe or insight. Yet across both his lives, this was the only time he had shared a boat alone with an outrageously beautiful woman.
There was no describing how strange the experience felt. Even holding Yun Ranyi in his arms had not felt like this.
He instinctively turned to look, only to find Jiang Jinyue leaning against the gunwale with her eyes closed. He could not tell whether she was cultivating or sleeping.
Did someone with her strength need sleep? He did not know.
The sea breeze blew her long hair loosely across her face. Her lovely features, so delicate a breath might break them, bore none of her usual charming smiles. She was as still and serene as a porcelain doll.
Then, seemingly uncomfortable with her hair blowing about in the breeze, Jiang Jinyue unconsciously smoothed it aside.
After a brief hesitation, Qi Yan activated the lifeboat's protective barrier.
The wind stopped and the waves subsided. Jiang Jinyue smacked her lips and gave a small, contented smile.
Her expression made Qi Yan smile too. Then he turned back and sped up once more.
Jiang Jinyue secretly opened her eyes a crack, glanced at Qi Yan's back as he concentrated on steering, then closed them again.
She had gained some insight into cultivation and entered a cultivating state, but alone at sea with a man, she obviously would not seal off all six senses and enter deep meditation. She was on her guard... The moment the barrier went up and blocked the breeze, she knew.
She had not expected this damned man not only to harbor no ill intentions, but to be rather considerate, too...
Qi Yan sailed silently for a day. When evening approached, he set the boat to cruise automatically and turned to the cabin to prepare some food.
During the previous three days aboard Yun Ranyi's ship, he had felt too awkward to go looking for someone and ask for food, so he had relied entirely on pills to replenish his energy. Looking back now, the Yun Clan had not cared whether this "guest" lived or died. In three days, no one had even asked whether their guest wanted a meal. Thinking about it, that really was a little abnormal.
But this lifeboat had plenty of dry rations and fresh water, as well as dried meat, and even fishing gear and cooking utensils. Apparently, he could catch some seafood and have a hot meal if he wished. He wondered whether the boats provided for the other sailors' return had these things too. Were they standard supplies, or had he received special treatment?
Qi Yan could not be bothered to think about it. He leaned over the side and watched for a while, then suddenly thrust two fingers through the air. A streak of lightning pierced the sea, and a fish floated up, belly first.
A Dao art, Fingertip Lightning.
Qi Yan scooped up the fish, deftly gutted and scaled it, then set up the cookware and began cooking. Before long, a faint, savory aroma drifted out.
Jiang Jinyue rather wanted to open her eyes.
In truth, she had not eaten mortal food for many, many years and had felt no appetite for it... She did not know why the savory aroma made her want some.
Perhaps it was because she had never experienced this homely warmth of someone cooking beside her, for as long as she could remember?
She did not know. In any case, she had been in the Heavenly Evolution Sect for as long as she could remember. How could her stern-faced, white-haired master possibly cook something like this for her?
But the little demoness was too embarrassed to open her eyes and ask for mere mortal food, leaving her a little conflicted.
As she hesitated, footsteps approached, followed by the sound of a porcelain bowl touching the deck beside her. Qi Yan had saved her a bowl and set it next to her.
Then he paid her no more attention, going back to his seat and digging in.
Jiang Jinyue finally stopped pretending and opened her eyes. "Hey, you weren't going to call me for dinner?"
Qi Yan paused. "I didn't know whether you were cultivating or sleeping, so I didn't want to disturb you. Since you're awake, want to eat together? Fish soup isn't good cold."
His manner was so natural that Jiang Jinyue's little bit of inner conflict vanished. She really did pick up the bowl beside her and shuffle over to Qi Yan on her bottom. "Hey, can you actually cook? This won't taste awful, will it?"
Qi Yan kept eating. "Everyone has different tastes. How would I know what yours are... We're out at sea. Having anything to eat is good enough, and you're still being picky."
Jiang Jinyue huffed twice and took a small sip of soup. Her eyes brightened, and her little sips quickly became big gulps. Within a few mouthfuls, she had finished it.
Qi Yan smiled.
"What are you smiling at?" Jiang Jinyue held out her bowl. "Another bowl."
Qi Yan refilled it for her. Only then did he remember. "Huh... Aren't you supposed to have no need for food?"
Jiang Jinyue stiffened her neck. "Being an immortal means eating when you want to and not eating when you don't."
She was clearly finding an excuse to salvage her dignity over her gluttony, but Qi Yan actually agreed. "That must be the freedom to follow your heart. I wonder when I'll reach that realm."
Jiang Jinyue eyed him sidelong for a while, then suddenly asked, "Why do you cultivate?"
"It's hard to say about the distant future... For now, it's to control my own fate, instead of constantly finding myself with my life in someone else's hands. That doesn't feel good."
"Including with me? Is that why you tried to shake me off earlier?"
"Yes." Qi Yan offered no excuses and spoke frankly. "Perhaps you're only looking for someone and mean no other harm... But you did threaten me when we first met. I can't be sure what you might do if you're in a bad mood, and I don't want to be walking on eggshells all the time. Keeping a ruler company is like keeping a tiger company..."
"And now? The tigress is right beside you."
"Since we're already here, sharing the same boat, I might as well relax." Qi Yan casually tossed his fish bones into the sea. "It's lonely out at sea. Stay alone long enough and you'll go mad. Having someone to talk to isn't bad."
Jiang Jinyue sounded somewhat mocking. "Even allowing for everything, getting to the Heavenly Prefecture Continent won't take more than a month. If you find even that little time alone too lonely, what kind of immortal cultivation are you practicing?"
Qi Yan paused. "Doesn't the immortal path also speak of wealth, companions, methods, and land? How could it all be about walking alone? Isn't joining a sect also about finding a good community?"
"That's true in the broader sense, but for the individual, cultivation is ultimately lonely."
"Why? Because you're alone in your cave abode?"
"Of course."
Qi Yan looked at her sincerely. "Cave abodes are big. Find yourself a Dao companion, little sixteen-year-old girl."
Jiang Jinyue's gaze turned dangerous, and Qi Yan raised his bowl to shield his face.
Jiang Jinyue's eyes shifted, and she suddenly smiled alluringly. "You want to join the Heavenly Evolution Sect."
"Yep."
"I have some connections there." Jiang Jinyue smiled. "Call me 'dear big sister' three times, and I'll pull some strings for you. How about it?"
Qi Yan rolled his eyes. "Don't you still owe me a favor...?"
Jiang Jinyue's smile vanished.
Qi Yan slowly backed away. "I'll go wash the dishes..."
Jiang Jinyue stamped her foot. "If your cooking weren't good, I'd throw you into the sea right now!"
Qi Yan ducked aside and cast a simple Cleaning Technique to wash the dishes, then used the Cleaning Technique on himself as well.
The sky went completely dark.
There were no lamps on the lifeboat...
The ocean in the darkness resembled a gigantic beast capable of swallowing everything. Merely looking into the distant vastness could chill one to the core.
Qi Yan stood at the bow, facing the sea breeze and gazing silently at the moon.
Jiang Jinyue could see that Qi Yan's face had gone pale and his heartbeat had noticeably quickened, but she did not mock him.
Ultimately, here was someone bravely crossing the ocean in pursuit of the immortal path, and she had the good fortune to witness it all. To some extent, it stirred her and offered her insights as well.
If even she gained insights, Qi Yan himself gained all the more.
As his fear of the darkness and the unknown gradually faded and his mind grew calm, he experienced that peculiar sensation of immortal cultivation, "an obscure stirring within the heart." Without another word, he sat cross-legged and entered cultivation, turning his gaze inward.
Jiang Jinyue was both annoyed and amused. You really are treating me as your guard, aren't you? You even dare enter meditation. Aren't you afraid something might happen?
Even I don't dare enter meditation!
Forget it.
Jiang Jinyue leaned leisurely to one side, watching Qi Yan's hazy figure beneath the moonlight and pondering having him make something else tasty tomorrow.
Come to think of it, this damned man would probably break through during this meditation... How fast.
In his hazy, harmonious state, Qi Yan felt his muscles grow increasingly solid and his magical power swell once more.
Qi Refining Third Layer.
The body-refining pills he had taken earlier were still working, and the danger aboard the ship had drawn out his potential. Now, with his mind calm again, he broke through naturally. This time, he had not even used spirit stones.
Qi Yan opened his eyes and looked at his increasingly powerful hands, feeling quite pleasantly surprised.
Sure enough, tempering through experience surpassed arduous cultivation. He was getting closer and closer to the middle Qi Refining stage.
Jiang Jinyue's voice drifted over lazily. "It's only the third layer of Qi Refining. Look how pleased you are."
Qi Yan did not mind her mockery and smiled. "I'm not happy over this little bit of progress. You said joining a major sect requires at least the middle stage of Qi Refining. I'm happy because I'm nearly at my goal."
"Going from the third to the fourth layer is still a minor threshold into the middle stage. It really isn't something you can cross during these days drifting at sea. By the time you reach the Heavenly Evolution Sect, you'll have practically no chance... Besides, I remember telling you that the middle stage of Qi Refining is only the minimum. The late stage would be best. You think reaching the fourth layer makes it a sure thing?"
"You have to eat one mouthful at a time. It's a good start, at least."
"Why bother?" Jiang Jinyue said with a smile. "I already told you. Call me 'dear big sister' three times, and I can help you."
Qi Yan turned his head toward the sky and ignored her.
Jiang Jinyue drawled, "One day, you'll obediently say it, little brother."
Qi Yan's gaze swept over those A cups, and he declared sincerely, "Rest assured, that day will never come."