Chapter 17: Otherwise, How About You Give Me a Foot Massage?
"Zhang, Zhang, we can slow down now," Wen Zhixing said, seeing Zhang Tiancheng hurrying along with no intention of stopping and feeling compelled to call out.
They had been walking on a narrow cliffside path and hadn't encountered anyone.
"Ah... Oh, okay." Zhang Tiancheng came to his senses, stopped, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Without caring if it was clean, they both plopped down on the ground.
He had been extremely nervous just moments before. As a furnace disciple, when encountering other disciples within the Wonderous Palace, one could only keep a low profile. Even with someone's protection, they had to live cautiously and carefully. Otherwise... they would die!
"Zhang... Ye Fei's chances might be slim now," Wen Zhixing said in a grave tone, taking a deep breath.
Ning Shan and Yun Xinyue were clearly at odds with each other. Conflict was inevitable. In such a dispute, Ye Fei would naturally become the scapegoat. When the powerful clash, the collateral damage always hits the weak.
"Is that so? Perhaps..." Zhang Tiancheng forced a smile.
In reality, he knew Ye Fei's fate all too well, having experienced countless similar situations. That sense of powerlessness was nothing new to him.
"Zhang... what should we do next... where do we go?" Wen Zhixing asked, breaking the silence after a moment.
"Go where?" Zhang Tiancheng was in no mood to take Wen Zhixing wandering around now.
"If it's not convenient, should we go back first?" Wen Zhixing asked, understanding Zhang Tiancheng's state.
"Junior Brother Wen, aren't you curious about who Senior Sister Ning is?" Zhang Tiancheng asked after a brief silence. Throughout their journey, Wen Zhixing hadn't asked a single thing.
"Who this Senior Sister Ning is, whether her status is high or low, does it make any difference to us?" Wen Zhixing retorted.
Zhang Tiancheng was taken aback. Indeed. As furnace disciples, they were the lowest within the Wonderous Palace. Everyone else was above them. Anyone could hold power over their life and death.
"Let's go. We'll head to Pill Peak first," Zhang Tiancheng said with a bitter smile, regaining his composure.
"Alright."
「Later」
The two put everything that had happened behind them and never mentioned it again.
That day, Zhang Tiancheng took Wen Zhixing to various places within the Wonderous Palace.
Of course, they only visited the periphery; furnace disciples like them couldn't enter the core areas. Even so, Wen Zhixing witnessed many horrifying scenes.
Some furnace disciples were ceaselessly channeling their cultivation skills, desperately releasing Spiritual Qi to promote the growth of spiritual herbs. Some Wonderous Palace disciples directly collected blood from other furnace disciples to feed spiritual beasts.
Wen Zhixing and Zhang Tiancheng were merely passing by, yet they too were caught and forced to give blood before being let go.
Wen Zhixing was alright. Even after losing a fair amount of blood, he recovered quickly, considering it merely a way to improve circulation.
Zhang Tiancheng, however, almost fainted. Luckily, he carried elixirs with him. After taking one, he barely recovered.
Later, they even saw furnace disciples being taken into a pill room, never to emerge. Seeing this, Zhang Tiancheng quickly pulled Wen Zhixing away.
Wen Zhixing had heard Zhang Tiancheng mention this before. Now, he had witnessed it with his own eyes.
After the tour, Wen Zhixing truly understood the cruelty of the Wonderous Palace. This was simply no place for humans to live.
Eventually, Wen Zhixing and Zhang Tiancheng returned to where they had first seen Ning Shan and Yun Xinyue. Ye Fei's body had been taken away, but the bloodstains on the ground told the silent story.
They exchanged wordless glances.
"We should rest well when we get back. At least the two of us still have a way to survive." Zhang Tiancheng patted Wen Zhixing on the shoulder, his smile uglier than if he were crying.
After speaking, he silently turned and left. Wen Zhixing watched Zhang Tiancheng's slumping figure and sighed.
「Night fell.」
Wen Zhixing returned to his room.
What he had seen and heard today, though somewhat expected, still deeply impacted him. He shook his head, trying not to dwell on it. Regardless, today had brought some gains.
Afterward, Wen Zhixing opened his attribute panel to review his information.
[Name: Wen Zhixing.]
[Life-span: 17/74.]
[Constitution: Revival of the Withered Tree (Blazing Gold).]
[Talent: Extraordinarily Intelligent (White).]
[Cultivation Skill: Tai Chi health-preserving skill (Grey).]
[Secret Skill: Blood Escape Skill (White)]
[Realm: Shedding Mortal Realm Level Two.]
[Fortune Points: 5.]
[Fortune Fragment: None.]
Wen Zhixing looked carefully and realized his life-span had significantly increased.
He remembered that after his body's first nirvana, his maximum life-span was only sixty-five years. Now, it had risen to seventy-four.
This wasn't due to the Tai Chi health-preserving skill. The efficacy of that health-preserving skill was actually quite ordinary, primarily focused on nurturing the body. The ten-year increase in life-span was because his body had undergone a second nirvana.
Each nirvana granted Wen Zhixing an additional ten years of life-span. Originally, his life-span should have been seventy-five, but because he had extracted Fortune, about a year of it had been consumed.
If he underwent nirvana seven more times, shedding his mortal coil, his life-span would drastically increase. Wen Zhixing estimated that by then, he would have at least two hundred years of life-span.
The Calming Heart Mantra isn't mastered yet; once it is, it will appear on the panel, Wen Zhixing mused.
He had tried to cultivate the Calming Heart Mantra the previous night. But as a mere Shedding Mortal Realm cultivator, his spiritual sense was still clouded, making it incredibly difficult to practice secret skills.
However, now with 'Extraordinarily Intelligent,' my comprehension has greatly improved. The difficulty of cultivation should be considerably reduced, he thought optimistically.
Wen Zhixing adjusted his state and prepared for cultivation.
His soul platform felt much clearer now; he might make significant progress tonight. With good luck, he might even reach the entry level of the mantra.
With these thoughts, Wen Zhixing sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Time ticked by. The moon climbed high, its light filtering through the treetops.
During this cultivation session, Wen Zhixing experienced an unprecedented smoothness. Concepts he couldn't grasp before now became clear.
"I see! So that's how it is, that's how it is!" he exclaimed softly, a wave of contentment washing over him.
So this is what it felt like to be a genius in cultivation! Exhilarating!
Just as Wen Zhixing was immersed in his cultivation, a series of "TAP TAP TAP" knocks came from the door.
"Junior Brother Wen, may I come in?" a gentle voice asked.
"Who is it?" Wen Zhixing asked, startled, his eyes snapping open.
"It's me." The door was gently pushed open, and a tall, graceful figure entered.
Seeing the visitor, Wen Zhixing was taken aback. It was none other than Yun Xinyue, whom he had met earlier that day.
"Senior Sister Yun, what brings you here?" Wen Zhixing asked, somewhat at a loss.
"Has Junior Brother Wen forgotten? I did say I would come looking for you today," Yun Xinyue teased, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled.
"Oh, did you? I must have forgotten," Wen Zhixing replied, scratching his head. Then he added sincerely, "Senior Sister Yun, thank you for today."
"Oh? Then how will you thank me?" Yun Xinyue asked, locking the door from the inside, her eyes shimmering playfully.
"This..." Wen Zhixing lowered his head to think. Just then, he saw a pair of smooth, fair legs extend from beneath the hem of her skirt. As she moved, a delicate fragrance wafted towards him.
"Why don't you give me a foot massage..."
"Ah..." Wen Zhixing was stunned.
The next moment, a delicate, fair foot appeared before his eyes, its slender toes wiggling gently.
[You are full of Yang Qi, ready to be released.]
Wen Zhixing: "..."