Foundation Establishment cultivators surpass Qi Refining Realm practitioners in all aspects. Their senses, for once, allow them to react to any sudden changes.
"Hm..?"
Shi Tian did not need to open his eyes. His spiritual consciousness fed back the vision of his surroundings. It caused his meditative state to be broken, however.
"Again..?"
He is in disbelief. Kiana is right beside him. She stuck to him like an octopus. He was turned into a body pillow.
The sleepwalking a few months ago is nothing but a prologue. It started with her crawling to his couch, and then it outright turned into Kiana hugging him like a pillow.
Cases like the body pillow ones have happened eight times already. Shi Tian no longer felt as embarrassed as before.
He got used to it.
The only problem was Kiana. Her reactions every morning can get out of hand.
'Is there really something wrong with her..?'
Shi Tian first settled some inner demons. The convenience of Sword Nurturing Pagoda cleared up his mind. His current body did not grow up. It merely changed in essence—in life levels.
Shi Tian can control and suppress the reactions of his body. He is no longer dictated with hormones and the likes. The second realm of sword cultivation, [Sword Nurturing Pagoda], also contributed to it.
After that, he did not move his physical body. It was his spiritual consciousness that probed her metaphysical body (i.e., soul).
Foundation Establishment cultivators can deduce as deeply as a person's mental state. It is no longer limited to meridians, dantians, and Spirit Roots.
'There really is something…'
Shi Tian felt the emotion of dread. Kiana is having a nightmare of sorts.
'Everything's normal…'
He did not give up immediately. His previous realm did not allow him to see much. It's different now.
His spiritual consciousness switched modes. He no longer viewed the soul, but rather, Kiana's internal physique.
The first thing that greeted him was the trace amounts of honkai energy. They are not noticeable in the naked eye, but when viewed microscopically, every cell of hers contains honkai energy. Due to their minute amounts, they did not cause much damage to the body. It only improved her physical traits.
'This… connection?'
Shi Tian discovered two things: A thread and the Herrscher Core. The latter is no brainer. It is the fragmented Second Herrscher Core inserted by Otto to K-423. It has a connection with the imaginary space and can theoretically draw unlimited amounts of imaginary energy. It is also the authority granted by being high above the moon.
'The Kaslana Stigmata Space? The connection's very weak, but it exists.'
Shi Tian immediately withdrew his spiritual consciousness. He isn't as reckless to assume it is invincible. Who knows if Kevin or Sirin notices his peeking.
This precaution is exactly the reason why he did not utilize his 'Encompassing Eyes'.
'My hands are already itching. I want to do some tests…'
The problem of Kiana sleepwalking to his bed… it will be left for tomorrow.
Just like that, Shi Tian got into a meditative state before falling asleep once more.
*****
"Again…"
Contrary to all expectations, Kiana did not act as rashly as before. Her heart still beats like crazy.
Kiana's current posture is akin to an octopus. Her shame reached its peak when she realized how closely she clung onto him. Both her hands are wrapped around his chest. Her face is sticking closely to his neck. She could smell the scent exclusive to Shi Tian.
Kiana's heart is about to burst.
'Will he feel it?!'
She became conscious with her heartbeats. She wants to move away from him but is afraid of waking him up.
A realization struck her during this time.
'He's not touching me..?'
Moving away is not as hard as she thought. Shi Tian is not hugging her nor is his hands in contact with her. His right hand is under the pillow. His left arm is folded on his waist.. It was she who stuck closely to him.
For a while, the emotions she suppressed surged forward.
'Can I let him leave?'
'Can I see him being close to other girls?'
Kiana completely forgot about being the older sister. She remembered the times she monopolized Shi Tian. Being an older or younger sister…
It doesn't matter anymore.
All she knew was that spending time with him was fun. Being around him is fun. His departure will make her sad for months.
Being by his side, improving together, eating together…
'I want this to never end.'
Her wish caused her to fall into a peaceful state.
*****
Oh, god.
Oh, great heavens.
Something's wrong.
Something's definitely wrong!
I woke up and found Kiana faking her sleep. She did not say anything and stood up from my bed. After that, she proceeded to act like nothing happened.
"Can you take a look at it?"
"Ah?"
"I became stronger… I think."
My spiritual consciousness scanned three dantians. She is still at the transition stage between Late and Peak stage. She has to refine her three dantians to their utmost limits. Once she reached their limits, Kiana formally enters the Peak Stage.
It's not her cultivation.
"Test out your spell."
"Um."
At first, Kiana did the standards of her current level. The [Void Shield] she formed is like that.
"Try going beyond your limits."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
She followed my instructions. Much to her surprise, she exceeded her limits. The [Void Shield] she formed is the size of a normal person. This is the state where it has been compressed to the limits.
I realized what happened. She underwent an epiphany and got her spell mastery upgraded.
"Cultivation is about internal and external states. Cultivation causes improvement, and so does realizations about something. That's why you reached a new mastery for your spell."
"Oh. I'm uber smart, then!"
I am afraid that's really the case…
The Tuna is going against the heavens!
*****
Shenzhou has a lot of noodle variants—hot, cold, dry, and wet.
Kiana eats all of them.
Looking at the stack of bowls on our table, I felt hungry. My current realm no longer requires me to eat, drink, and defecate. My main source of sustenance are spiritual materials. Heck, even spiritual qi would do.
It's just a pity for all the delicacies in the world. With a glutton right beside me, I can only get hungry.
"Sorry. We ran out of bowls."
I looked at Kiana. She gave the restaurant owner a confused gaze before it turned into embarrassment.
"Oh. Oh. There's no need to apologize!"
Fortunately, she is proficient in English. Kiana can handle it by herself.
In the end, we are forced to finish our meals with the stacks of bowls on our table. The restaurant owner even took a picture of us both. She said that we created a record that couldn't be broken.
That was like…
Four hundred normal-sized bowls?
"Fwa… The variety tasted very good!"
"You're the only one who wouldn't think about flavor fatigue…"
"It doesn't matter if it's delicious."
Just then, I stopped walking.
I blinked twice to see whether we are in an illusion. We already moved away from the hot spring village near the forest. We are in a completely different village in the exact opposite direction as it!
So…
'Am I tripping or she's Fu Hua?'
Shenzhou's Empyrean soon met my gaze.