Double the Apprehension (Thanks to the magnate "Qi Wang_Yue" for becoming an alliance leader)

"How do you feel?"

"A thousand thanks, Immortal Master!" Yunzhi fell to her knees before Chen Du for the umpteenth time and said sincerely, "Yunzhi feels as though she has undergone the legendary cleansing of her meridians and marrow. I have changed both inside and out. My mind is clear, and I can commune with the spirit by closing my eyes. It has greatly benefited my Dao. My essence fire is vigorous, my sea of qi is surging, and my magic power has increased greatly."

He didn't know exactly what she meant. It sounded awfully mystical.

In any case, it didn't sound as though there were any downsides.

"That's good, then."

Chen Du nodded to her.

Meanwhile, his cat had also understood what Yunzhi said. Ignoring everyone else, she had already walked over and reached a paw into the bamboo basket for a fruit.

She was clever. She gripped the fruit's stem between her toes and lifted it out in one go.

But she didn't put it straight into her mouth. Instead, she froze in place and turned her head to look at Chen Du.

"You want one too?"

Chen Du thought for a moment before nodding.

"Go ahead, then."

The cat immediately started eating.

Chen Du watched her closely.

He had actually intended to eat one himself first.

In practical terms, Yunzhi had cultivated and possessed cultivation, while he had none. His cat was probably somewhere between him and Yunzhi, so letting her try it first was the safer choice. But he also had to consider that cats had a narrower diet than humans. Some common foods that people could eat were poisonous to cats.

Grapes, for example.

But there was no way to tell with this sort of thing. If it was poisonous to cats, then even if he ate one first and gave her one afterward, it would still be poisonous.

Before long, a gulp sounded. The cat had finished the entire spirit fruit. She smacked her lips a few times and licked her mouth twice.

Then, just as with Yunzhi, radiance bloomed from her body, giving off a mystical spiritual aura.

Chen Du continued watching closely.

But he had no real ability to observe and discern what was happening.

Now that he had given them the spirit fruits, it was the perfect time to put the next step of his long-prepared plan into action.

He could also have Yunzhi keep an eye on his cat.

"Yunzhi."

"Immortal Master!"

"I already told you not to kneel. Get up and speak."

"Yes."

"My cat is very naughty, and she's nearly become a spirit, but I don't have time to teach her. You're her senior and have more experience. Would you be willing to teach her in my place?"

Yunzhi recalled what the Immortal Master had just told her. She didn't know what secret art he was cultivating, but it seemed extraordinarily profound, beyond the grasp of a little yao like her. Still, this was no more than lifting a hand for her, and she had just eaten the Immortal Master's spirit fruit. She had absolutely no reason to refuse.

"Yunzhi will obey the Immortal Master's decree and give it her all!"

"Then I'll leave her to you."

"Huh?"

Starting now?

Yunzhi watched the Immortal Master set the spirit fruits on the wooden table as though they were ordinary fruit. He even turned on the television and sat down in the armchair to watch it.

The sight made her suspect that the Immortal Master would eat the spirit fruits she had once searched so tirelessly for as snacks while watching television.

But on closer inspection, the Immortal Master didn't seem to be watching television. It looked more as though he was resting his mind.

Senior Side-Swept Bangs, meanwhile, had already sat down primly and was looking up at her, her lively eyes seeming to speak.

For some reason, Yunzhi felt a little envious.

Back then, she had attained enlightenment and gained intelligence not through her own talent, but because, by a stroke of fortune, she had encountered a remarkable person attaining enlightenment and reaching sagehood. She had picked up a trace of that mystery in a nearby bamboo grove. Afterward had come many years of drifting from place to place.

This cat could stay by the Immortal Master's side and attain enlightenment and gain intelligence without doing anything. She could eat rare spirit fruits whenever she pleased and had the Immortal Master to look after her. Her circumstances were truly different.

"Greetings, Little Immortal Master."

Yunzhi bowed, thought for a moment, and said:

"Little Immortal Master, you are still young and your cultivation is shallow. You may absorb the spirit fruit slowly; it could take anywhere from one night to three days. During that time, you may experience some mystical sensations. But you needn't worry. The spirit fruit the Immortal Master grew has gentle effects and won't do you any harm."

Is that so? Then I can rest easy.

Chen Du listened silently from the side.

Side-Swept Bangs listened attentively too.

"As you digest it, Little Immortal Master, you may find that the world looks a little different to you and that you can sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth more clearly. For example, where you could only vaguely sense its presence before, you will gradually be able to see it more clearly, perhaps even to the point of distinguishing its different types by sight. In particular, if you close your eyes and carefully sense it, you can even perceive how spiritual energy moves and changes."

Is that what she meant by "my mind is clear, and I can commune with the spirit by closing my eyes"?

How spiritual energy moves and changes?

Did you need to close your eyes for that?

Chen Du concentrated and clearly saw the room filled with the radiance of spiritual energy, all manner of colors shifting and flowing.

Could this be a difference between humans and yao?

He couldn't help thinking cautiously.

Or is it because I awakened earlier?

He also allowed himself a slightly bolder thought.

"Those are the more internal changes. As for the more external ones, Little Immortal Master, you may also feel more vigorous and stronger. You'll need to be careful not to scratch anything around you. You're unlikely to hurt yourself, though, because your own sinews, bones, and flesh will become tougher as well."

Yunzhi was conscientious, and her voice was gentle and patient.

"Essence, qi, and spirit have always complemented one another. Although you haven't begun refining qi yet, Little Immortal Master, vigorous essence and qi make it easier to gather fire. This will also directly benefit you when you draw in and refine qi and form a sea of qi later on."

Is that what she meant by "my essence fire is vigorous, my sea of qi is surging"?

Essence fire and sea of qi-were they related to refining essence into qi?

Chen Du pondered silently at the side.

Although he had been sent to school, he was a Daoist priest, after all, and knew something of traditional Daoist cultivation concepts. It was just that the terms essence fire and sea of qi were relatively unfamiliar to him.

But hadn't I seen them somewhere?

Just then, Yunzhi thought for a moment and turned to him.

"Immortal Master, I can see that the Little Immortal Master's essence and qi are already very vigorous. Moreover, spirit fruits and immortal plants of this kind are themselves an opportunity for the creatures of the mountains to transcend the mundane. Now that both have come together, may I ask, may I ask when the Immortal Master intends to have the Little Immortal Master begin cultivating and refining qi?"

Just the question I wanted to hear!

Although his cat could be stubborn at times, mischievous and playful at others, and sometimes her train of thought differed from that of ordinary people-and ordinary cats-overall she was very well-behaved and considerate.

They shared a deep bond, and she was trustworthy.

Besides, when Chen Du took her down the mountain to buy supplies and an ill-mannered stray dog barked at him, she really would charge up and throw cat punches at it.

Yunzhi was different. No matter how polite, gentle, and obedient she was now, they had only known each other for a few days, and she was an outsider. Chen Du couldn't trust her completely, nor was he capable of fighting her. Therefore, while he sought an opportunity to cultivate as soon as possible, he also needed to nurture his cat, preparing for both possibilities so she could keep Yunzhi in check.

He had originally planned to bring it up himself when the opportunity arose.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Huh? Me?"

"What? You can't?"

"Yunzhi wouldn't dare! Yunzhi is only afraid that her cultivation is shallow and her knowledge of the Dao insufficient, and that she cannot shoulder such a responsibility!"

"Don't belittle yourself. The fact that you've come this far on your own already proves how capable you are. And although she's been at my side, she's really just an ordinary cat. I've never taught her anything. She's come this far by letting nature take its course, so why can't she continue that way?"

"This..."

Yunzhi stared for a moment.

He never taught her anything, yet she naturally attained enlightenment and gained intelligence? In a daze, she was reminded of the person who had reached sagehood all those years ago. She hadn't even known him. He had simply been there attaining enlightenment, while she was in a bamboo grove not far away, and she had naturally gained a little intelligence.

The mysteries of the world were truly hard to fathom.

She raised her head slightly and saw the four characters "The Dao follows nature" on the wall behind the Immortal Master.

She argued no further.

"Yunzhi will obey the Immortal Master's decree. Once the Little Immortal Master has finished absorbing the mysteries of this spirit fruit, Yunzhi will tell her everything she has learned about cultivation and refining qi, holding nothing back."

"There's no need to be so careful. Just be yourself."

"Yes..."

Yunzhi had already begun gathering her thoughts and choosing her words.

She didn't know whether presenting what little she knew would make her a laughingstock before the Immortal Master, or whether she would lead the Little Immortal Master astray and delay her future.

If she explained something incorrectly, would it ultimately be bad or good? Would the Immortal Master take the opportunity to correct her or offer her some guidance?

She was deeply apprehensive.

Chen Du, too, was ready to listen to his heart's content.

Did yao cultivate the same way humans did? Or were there things they had in common? Would I hear anything useful?

In his caution, he also couldn't help wondering whether this yao would deliberately say something wrong to test him.

He was deeply apprehensive too.