Wunian pursed her little lips and said nothing more, silently casting spells, laying formations, and adjusting the earth veins, as though pondering some momentous question.
After a while, she suddenly said, "Found it."
Qi Yan craned his neck to look and saw her retrieve a small ball from beneath the coffin.
Faint black wisps surrounded the ball, making it look like some demonic object, yet when he probed it, he sensed no particular power. Qi Yan asked curiously, "What's this?"
"This is the formation core I mentioned earlier. Both the various chaotic formations in the burial chamber and the twisted earth veins were constructed around it."
"The little nun is quite knowledgeable." Qi Yan said, "With all that black mist swirling around it, is it a demonic object? But I've seen a demonic dragon, and its demonic qi felt very different."
"It isn't a demonic object. It was simply contaminated by yin qi from spending so long beside the dead. Leave it in sunlight for a short while, and that will disperse... it should actually be part of a witch treasure. On its own, it probably cannot do much. For now, it can only be used as a formation core or as a component in forging materials to create a disruptive effect. I don't know what it would be like if the whole witch treasure were assembled."
"Witch..."
Wunian looked up at him. "May I ask... why are you so determined to practice witchcraft?"
Qi Yan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Hey, I have a mixed spiritual root. If I don't practice this, how am I supposed to cultivate?"
"People with mixed spiritual roots can cultivate too..." At this point, Wunian apparently felt she sounded rather like someone asking why the starving didn't eat meat porridge, so she added, "There are special methods in this world that can alter spiritual roots. Sect Master Mu is a peerless talent, rarely seen in this world. She should have a way."
Qi Yan said, "You hardly ever hear of such things. As I understand it, wouldn't that mean seizing the creative power of heaven and earth, defying heaven to change one's fate? It must be extremely difficult and very likely require enormous amounts of time and effort. My venerable master has her own affairs to attend to. How could I burden her as her disciple?"
Wunian pursed her lips, wanting to say something, but held back.
It really was difficult... Buddhism had a few methods, but not many, and they did indeed require tremendous effort. At the very least, she couldn't manage it herself, and her master wouldn't be willing to do it for someone either.
What a pity. This Qi Yan wasn't a bad person, yet he practiced something as evil as witchcraft... she didn't know how to stop him.
Little did she know that Qi Yan's train of thought had already veered off course... If Master learned I called her "my venerable master," would she think I was being respectful, or would she get angry?
She clearly wasn't old at all; her grace was unrivaled.
Wunian stood there lost in thought for a while, then suddenly held out her little hand. "Here."
Qi Yan blinked. "You found it."
"This thing is useless to me. If I asked my sect, they would most likely destroy it, but it is useful to you... even though I don't want you practicing witchcraft." Wunian said calmly, "Besides, you may need it to trace its origins."
Her solemn little expression made Qi Yan want to laugh. He didn't stand on ceremony and simply accepted the bead. "I'll repay you someday."
"There's no need..." Having dealt with the formation core, Wunian released brilliant Buddhist light from her hands, enveloping the area.
Before long, she had completely corrected the earth veins. Clearly, it hadn't been easy; tiny beads of cold sweat appeared on her little bald head.
She raised her sleeve to wipe them away. The sight made Qi Yan want to laugh again, and he couldn't resist saying, "Hey... you asked why I insist on practicing witchcraft, but I'd like to ask why you insist on being a nun. Is this really a profession for a pretty young girl like you?"
Wunian paused. "I've been at the Dharma Mystery Nunnery since birth."
So she was adopted, just like Jiang Jinyue... that means who adopts you is another huge blind box. How could such a pretty little girl become a nun? What a wanton waste of heaven's gifts.
Then Wunian continued, "Besides, the human body is merely a skin bag; all rosy beauties are skeletons. You are an intelligent man, young master. Do not cling to appearances. The Buddha said..."
Qi Yan cut straight through her scriptural quotations. "How old are you?"
Wunian swallowed her lengthy speech. "Sixteen."
Qi Yan's face streamed with tears.
This one really was sixteen, unlike a certain pair of A-cups or a certain round-faced girl, who looked young but were actually who knew how old.
Hmm... Little Crybaby is sixteen too. I wonder just how adorable she'd be in person.
"At such a young age, when you ought to be happy and carefree, they make you 'without thoughts' and stamp out your nature. I really don't know what sort of cultivation that is." Qi Yan sighed deeply. "Earlier, I joked about you being free of irritation and anger. I was wrong. Girls your age ought to know how to pout a little and get a little cross."
Wunian felt he was teasing her and said sternly, "I told you, the human body is merely a skin bag. There is no girl."
"...So I defined your gender for you, did I?" Qi Yan was speechless. "If you don't distinguish between men and women, why did you say earlier that men and women shouldn't touch? And why have a nunnery at all? Let monks and nuns live together if you're so capable."
Wunian was very earnest. "You are twisting my meaning. The Buddha said..."
Qi Yan tossed the ball in his hand. "Forget it. There's nothing to say to people who've been brainwashed since childhood. We're done here, so let's go, little nun."
Wunian followed close behind him. "You aren't very old yourself, yet you act so old and world-weary."
"Ha... so you do know how people should behave at different ages?"
Wunian stared blankly, unable to find a rebuttal.
The door opened. A group stood waiting there like fools, and when they saw the two emerge looking perfectly normal, an audible sigh of relief rose from them all, remarkably in unison.
Wunian stamped her foot. "Senior Sister!"
Wuzheng glanced at Qi Yan, pulled Wunian aside, and asked quietly, "What were you doing in there all that time?"
"Nothing much. Correcting the earth veins takes time." Wunian thought to herself that this wasn't a lie. At most, she was leaving a few things unsaid; that shouldn't count as false speech...
"Then why did you need to speak in private?"
Wunian simply chose to keep her mouth shut.
Wuzheng studied her suspiciously for a long while, thinking that this girl wasn't one to lie. Could romantic feelings really have stirred in her...? She would counsel her properly once they returned. This wasn't the place.
Then again, compared with Little Crybaby's side, Buddhist cultivators like Wuzheng, arrogant and self-centered though they were, really bore their junior sister no ill will. On the contrary, they were quite worried about her...
After watching the nuns leave, Jing Chuan came over to Qi Yan with his hands tucked together and nudged him with his shoulder. "Hey..."
Qi Yan struck first. "How did your three-hundred-round battle with the big nun go?"
Jing Chuan spat bitterly. "What a bunch of garbage. Aren't Buddhists supposed to have tranquil minds? These nuns are each more stubborn and arrogant than the last."
Qi Yan grinned. "So you couldn't beat her?"
Struck right in his sore spot, Jing Chuan snapped, "A good man doesn't fight women. You think I couldn't beat her?"
"Fine, fine." Qi Yan slung an arm around his shoulders and walked out. "That Wuzheng is the leader of those nuns. Peak Foundation Establishment, right? Holding your own against her is already pretty good..."
Jing Chuan shook his head. "It wasn't as bad as merely holding my own... I was only slightly disadvantaged. I still had a chance of winning, about forty-sixty. It's just that I thought I should be among the very best at this level, enough to compete with Senior Brother Wan. Apparently, I'm still lacking. When I get back, I'm holing up in the trial caves and not coming out. I'll train until the tournament."
"Senior Brother Wan..." Something stirred in Qi Yan's mind. "Martial Uncle Wan's descendant?"
"Yes, his grandson."
"Isn't Martial Uncle Wan very old? How is it only a grandson? Shouldn't it be an eighteenth-generation descendant by now?"
"Who told you immortals reproduce on the same schedule as mortals? We age slowly, so naturally we have children slowly too. Besides, the stronger a life-form is, the harder it is for it to reproduce. That's a principle of the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, if those naturally powerful demon races could reproduce as quickly as humans, humanity would go extinct. By the same token, a powerful immortal ought to burn incense in gratitude for having even one child. If you want children, have them early, while your cultivation is still low."
Qi Yan looked thoughtful. "Then why doesn't everyone start early?"
"My little martial uncle, we're cultivating immortality. Few of us have mortal desires. Take the appetite for food, one of humanity's great desires. Once you can abstain from grain, you won't crave delicacies anymore. The desire to reproduce works much the same way."
Qi Yan almost said, Not necessarily. I know someone who's nearly at Spirit Transformation and is still a foodie.
Forget it, there's nothing to say... but I really do miss Senior Sister.
Even when he followed Jing Chuan to turn in the mission and collect the spirit stones he needed most right now, something that should have excited him, Qi Yan remained distracted.
It was strange. He hadn't actually interacted all that much with Jiang Jinyue. Although they had traveled together aboard the ship for twenty days, they had merely eaten and cultivated, each doing their own thing without talking much. Yet somehow, she kept coming to mind.
Perhaps being away for days without seeing her naturally made him miss her a little.
She really had treated him well. With the winds and clouds so treacherous now, he hoped nothing happened to her.
"What are you thinking about?" Having collected a generous reward, Jing Chuan was in high spirits. "Come on, let's go drinking?"
"No, I'm going back to cultivate." Qi Yan came back to himself and sighed. "You should stop idling around too. You just said you'd bury yourself in the trial caves, but the moment you get home, you forget everything except drinking."
"...That's called getting everything that might affect your cultivation mindset out of the way before cultivating, so you can focus."
"Yeah, I thought that way when I was in school too. Later, I nearly failed to get into even a second-tier university."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing."
Jing Chuan eyed him curiously. "Why do I get the feeling you're so distracted because you're thinking about a woman? Don't tell me it's that little nun? Pretty as she is, she really is a renunciant, you beast."
"I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!" Flustered, Qi Yan brought out the earring, intending to flee.
He had barely mounted the phoenix when a flat-chested figure appeared ahead. Her eyes seemed capable of speech, and her tone was gentle. "Oh? What little nun? And where did that woman's earring come from? I've only been gone a little while, yet Young Master Qi's life has become so colorful. How very intriguing..."
Jing Chuan cautiously backed away.
She was clearly all smiles, yet he somehow felt murderous intent flashing in her eyes. That smile plainly never reached them. Her voice was so gentle, yet it brought the suffocating sensation of dark clouds pressing overhead. How bizarre.
Yet Qi Yan stared fixedly at the newcomer for a long while, murmuring almost inaudibly, "Is this an illusion? I was just missing her... how did she suddenly appear right in front of me?"
His voice was too soft for anyone nearby to make out what he said.
But Jing Chuan had the privilege of witnessing the three stages of a woman going from brimming with murderous intent, to astonishment, to looking around in slight panic. The changes came even faster than changes in Jing Chuan's enthusiasm for cultivation.
"You're asking for death, saying whatever nonsense comes into your head! Come on, back to the peak with me!"