Chapter 85: Little Calico Cat
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two years, Feng Shi didn’t go out for training. Most of his time was spent refining pills and drawing spiritual talismans. Every six months, he would enter the Demon Slaying Tower to cultivate for a period and catch up with Xu Yan.
He could now enter the fifth floor of the Demon Slaying Tower. In the Chongshan Sect, only elders or masters who had already completed their apprenticeship could achieve this.
As for the ninth floor, in the past hundred years, only one person had ever reached it: Xu Yan.
The fourth and fifth floors had the same trials as the first two, but the difficulty was doubled.
Ever since breaking through to the Golden Core stage, Feng Shi’s progress had been lightning-fast. In just two years, he had reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, surpassing even Liu Yi’s progression speed back in the day.
Those disciples and elders in the sect who originally disliked Feng Shi now felt either wary or envious of him. Even Qiu Changzhou’s mouth twisted with envy as he grumbled to Shen Songhe, “Looking at this, it would be quite fitting for your disciple to take over as Sect Leader.”
It was true. Such a speed of improvement would take most cultivators over a decade, and those with poor talent might even spend a century on it.
In the Chongshan Sect, and even the entire cultivation world, Feng Shi could be considered a god-like existence.
However, only the person involved knew that achieving such a level required no small amount of effort.
During these two years, Feng Shi had spent effectively a year and a half inside his personal space.
Time flowed slower there, making his cultivation twice as effective, but it was also truly exhausting. He hadn’t rested for years, living a life of three points and one line every day: practicing the sword, refining pills, or drawing talismans.
When calculated, the time he spent in the Demon Slaying Tower was actually his most leisurely.
Shen Songhe taught him talismans, so even without much talent, he practiced them well. But as for alchemy, he had to figure it out on his own.
Feng Shi felt that his 20% luck had all been used on the path of the sword, with not even a bit left for the other two paths.
He was particularly bad at alchemy. Although he had that “Alchemy Genius” cheat, because it was only at the beginner level, it could only help him recognize herbs and farm. To go deeper, he either had to spend money or buy tutorials to learn.
The Chongshan Sect consisted mostly of sword cultivators. Other paths like tool refinement, alchemy, and array formation were auxiliary. There were currently no exceptionally outstanding alchemists, and even the only one who was decent at it, Xiao Yuhui, was currently away from the sect.
Feng Shi couldn’t afford to spend more points, so he could only try practicing on his own.
He gritted his teeth and bought two pill furnaces. The medicinal materials were all grown in his own space, which was fairly cost-effective. Learning to draw talismans from Shen Songhe also saved a lot on material costs.
As a result, Feng Shi had accumulated quite a few points now, about four hundred thousand.
Unfortunately, despite drawing from the lottery every day for two years, he never hit a grand prize again. He was truly unlucky to the core.
Feng Shi shook his head. Pressing his fingers together, he lightly flicked more medicinal materials into the pill furnace.
The main part of this step was controlling the heat to purify the spiritual herbs. Feng Shi had been practicing for a month or two without seeing much progress, wasting quite a lot of materials.
This time, seeing the flames steady and the materials dissolving and merging, he was about to succeed!
Feng Shi, along with the mouse beside him holding the materials, widened their eyes, faces filled with joy.
Feng Shi shouted, “Success! Success! Success!”
The mouse stood on its tiptoes, holding the tray: [Ji ji! Zhi zhi! Ji ji!]
One person and one mouse leaned forward, their eyes brightened by the firelight. Unexpectedly, in the next second, the small flame suddenly flared up intensely, burning the newly added aggressive herb into black ash.
“Holy shit! It’s gonna blow!”
Sensing something was wrong, Feng Shi frantically tried to cover his face with his sleeve, but it was too late.
There was a loud bang, followed by a series of clattering and clanging sounds.
Shortly after, one person and one mouse ran out of the small wooden alchemy shed, both covered in soot.
The lid of the large pot Feng Shi used to boil water had been sent flying, punching a large hole through the roof.
“Dammit, I knew I shouldn’t have practiced out here!” Feng Shi lamented.
Not only had the furnace exploded, but his house was ruined too.
It was mainly because the Wenxin Secret Realm was about to open, and people often came to find him, making it inconvenient to stay in his personal space. That was why he had come out to refine pills.
He hadn’t expected such a thing to happen after being out for only two days.
Feng Shi wiped the furnace ash from his face, his expression somewhat defeated. The mouse in his arms had watery eyes and an identical expression.
Behind them, Shen Songhe arrived on his sword.
A smoky purple silk inner robe and a warm white snow-velvet long shirt made his features appear even more strikingly vivid. His floor-length silver hair was loosely tied with a purple ribbon, hanging behind him.
He had the appearance of an immortal but with a touch of illness, his lips slightly pale.
It was another autumn now, and the weather was a bit chilly. The temperature would drop further in a few days, so Shen Songhe had put on his autumn clothes early.
“Shier.” He landed slowly. The sword Yan Luo beneath his feet turned into a streak of golden light, shrinking into his wide sleeve, which revealed a section of his thin, white wrist.
Feng Shi turned around at the sound. He instinctively tried to hide his face with his sleeve, but then he found the sleeve was blown to shreds. He simply lowered his hand and acted calm. “Why has Master come?”
After speaking, he looked around. Seeing the wind was strong, he frowned and immediately set up a barrier, muttering, “Didn’t I say I’d go find you later?”
Shen Songhe’s eyes held a faint smile. He pulled a handkerchief from his lapel and gently wiped Feng Shi’s face, saying softly, “Little calico cat.”
Feng Shi secretly curled his lip. He circulated his spiritual energy for two cycles and instantly cleaned himself up.
His body was clean, but his clothes were still torn, revealing bits of fine, white skin.
Shen Songhe put away his handkerchief and manifested one of his own thin shirts, draping it over Feng Shi.
Feng Shi could see through the man’s intentions perfectly, but he didn’t say anything, obediently putting on the clothes that were a size too large for him.
The scent of cold fragrance wafted from the clothes—Shen Songhe’s scent.
“The schedule has been moved up by a few days, so I came to find you.” Shen Songhe’s cool fingers lightly brushed Feng Shi’s temple, tucking away a stray lock of hair.
“When do we leave?”
“We set off tomorrow.”
Feng Shi frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, “Alright then, I’ll get ready.”
Shen Songhe raised an eyebrow as he looked at the disciple’s room emitting black smoke. He said, “Would you like to stay in Master’s room tonight?”
Feng Shi: “…”
Qingqing covered its mouth and giggled: [Hahahaha, Host, the lead really never misses an opportunity to get you into his b*d~]
During these two years, because Feng Shi ran to Shen Songhe’s courtyard so often, he already had a small bed of his own there. It wouldn’t be a problem even if he stayed over.
Looking at his house, which was clearly uninhabitable, Feng Shi pressed the tip of his tongue against his teeth and said decisively, “Fine.”
That night.
Feng Shi rolled up his pile of talismans, packed up his broken pill furnace, and headed up the mountain.
A green lamp was lit in Shen Songhe’s courtyard, filling the area with a golden glow.
When Feng Shi pushed the door open, Shen Songhe was reading at his desk, propping his head with one hand and holding the book with the other. The line of his tilted neck was elegant.
Though wrapped in somewhat thick clothing, a bit of his snow-white chest was exposed. He looked half-asleep.
Feng Shi struggled to tear his gaze away.
Knowing the other was deliberately trying to seduce him, he gave a light hmph. He placed Wu Cheng and Yan Luo together with practiced ease, then stepped forward to bow. “Master.”
Shen Songhe smiled and beckoned him over. “Shier, come here.”
Feng Shi stepped forward but didn’t give him a chance to rub his head. Instead, he reached out to take the book from his hand, bundled the man in his quilt, and covered that restless mouth. “Sleep.”
We have to leave early tomorrow.
Shen Songhe blinked and indeed didn’t speak again.
Only then did Feng Shi get up and go to his own small bed, intending to lie down and get some sleep.
Between sleep and wakefulness, he felt his body suddenly grow light, as if floating on water. A moment later, he landed on something solid, pressing against a piece of warm, cool jade.
The scent at his nose was familiar and grounding.
Feng Shi subconsciously nuzzled it.
And so, a night of sweet dreams.
Translator’s Note: Two years later and Feng Shi is a total powerhouse! Peak Golden Core already! But he’s still a disaster at alchemy. The “little calico cat” moment was so soft. Shen Songhe is really embracing the “sickly beauty” trope to keep Feng Shi close. And yes, they’re basically living together now. On to the secret realm!
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