"Xunzong Mouse, stay here and keep watch. If someone triggers the formation, call for me immediately."
"Yes, Master!"
Seeing that her master's aura had stabilized, the little creature's frantic heartbeat finally began to calm.
Yunxi generously added, "I'll reward you with a milk fruit. Take one for yourself."
Xunzong Mouse rubbed its tiny paws together, blinking its beady black eyes as it bowed. "Thank you, Master!"
Delighted, it rolled a milk fruit over to itself, plopped down beside Yunxi, and perked up its little ears. While listening for any movement, it began nibbling on the fruit. This was its first time seeing such a delicacy. The aroma had tempted it to drool earlier, and now it was finally getting a taste.
While the mouse enjoyed its snack, Yunxi's spirit entered the wooden tablet space. The first thing she did was send a distress message in the chat group.
[Fleeting Cloud]:Fellow seniors, please help! My physical body is about to collapse. What do I do?
The chat interface flickered, and messages began flooding in.
[Ethereal Grace]: Little Cloud, what did you do? How did you end up with your body falling apart?
[Star Trek]:Weren't you just focusing on cultivation lately? Did something go wrong with your technique?
[Tribal Warrior]:Little Cloud, with how many milk fruits you've eaten, your physical body should be on par with an adult beastkin. How did it get this fragile?
[Ox-Head Horse-Face]:Little Cloud, if it's really that bad, you could always become a ghost cultivator.
[Survival is the Ultimate Truth]:Did someone ambush you?
Yunxi skimmed through the flood of concern and typed a response.
"While out on a training journey, I stumbled across a suitable cultivation technique. But the original owner of the technique tried to possess me. Thankfully, the immortal artifact gifted to me by Senior Ethereal Grace protected me, and I managed to devour the intruder's soul.
The problem is, that cultivator was in the Unity realm when he died. Even after being trapped in the cultivation world for a thousand years and having his spirit power drop to Divine Transformation level, my mere Foundation Establishment body can't handle the load.
Luckily, I've been taking milk fruit consistently for the past five years, or my body would've already shattered. Just now, I downed ten more, barely holding it together. That's when I came running here to ask for help."
Yunxi sighed. What rotten luck.
[Ethereal Grace]: What kind of technique is worth risking your life for? I have plenty here, all at the immortal level. Why didn't you trade with me instead?
[Fleeting Cloud]: This junior's pockets were embarrassingly empty. I had nothing of equal value to offer for a trade, so I went searching on my own. The technique I found truly suits me.
Yunxi could only be honest.
[Star Trek]: Little Cloud, clearly the issue is your spiritual strength far outpacing your physical endurance. That's why your body is starting to fall apart.
In our Star Federation, we have mental suppressants that can temporarily subdue your excess spiritual force. But this is only a short-term fix. You'll need to cultivate a physical strengthening technique to catch up, or your body will collapse under the pressure.
Yunxi's eyes lit up. She quickly replied:
"Senior, can I exchange spirit stones and pills with you for both the suppressant and the body cultivation technique?"
[Star Trek]: I'll first send a scanner to assess your spiritual power and physical endurance. Only then can I send you the appropriate dosage and training manual.
[Fleeting Cloud]: Got it. I'll also transmit a batch of my spirit stones and pills as samples. You can let me know which ones you'd accept for trade.
Yunxi replied immediately. There was no time for hesitation.
[Star Trek]:Understood.
A moment later, a system alert appeared in the chat. Star Trek had sent an item via pinpoint transmission. Yunxi accepted the package, and a silver capsule-shaped scanner appeared in her storage space.
She quickly pulled her spirit out of the space and summoned the scanner into the real world.
Xunzong Mouse was gnawing on fruit when the silver object suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Its fur bristled in alarm as it shouted:
"Master! Master!"
"It's fine, it's mine."
Yunxi sent a calming message to her companion, then cast an object manipulation spell to lift herself into the scanner pod.
As the lid slowly closed over her, a mechanical voice echoed in her ears.
[Initiating spiritual strength analysis. Please remain conscious during the scan.]
She felt a pulse of electricity sweep through her mind, shaking her sea of consciousness before it settled again.
[Scan complete. Spiritual strength: Grade S, upper-tier talent. Physical endurance: Grade B, mid-tier capacity.
Recommendation: Begin cultivation of mental control techniques. Given your current age, your spiritual power still has potential to grow. Please supplement with physical cultivation techniques.]
Yunxi gained a basic understanding of the Star Federation's spiritual classification system. Just as she was processing the results, the pod blared with warning alarms.
"Alert. Alert. Spiritual strength exceeds physical tolerance. Structural damage detected. Immediate use of suppressant advised. Repair treatment recommended."
Yunxi let out a slow breath. She quickly returned both herself and the scanner to her wooden tablet space, then used her spiritual sense to transmit the scanner data back to Star Trek.
He accepted the scan, and a moment later, a large shocked emoji popped up in the chat group, followed by a message.
[Star Trek]: Little Cloud, you're so young. Not even a fraction of my age. I'll send you one dose of body repair serum and one mental suppressant right away. Just focus on staying alive. We'll talk trade later.
Yunxi expressed her agreement and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. The first step was survival.
The chat group was buzzing, everyone now guessing Yunxi's true age and debating her injuries.
Yunxi didn't have time to participate. She immediately accepted the two vials Star Trek sent. One was silver, the other pale green, each labeled with its intended use.
The silver vial was the suppressant. She drank it first. The liquid melted down her throat and turned into a stream of pure energy, flowing straight to her sea of consciousness. It gently soothed her out-of-control spiritual force, and the two egg-sized light orbs slowly condensed into one goose-egg-sized sphere.
As the spiritual force was suppressed, the tearing pain in her body finally began to ease. She exhaled. The medicine worked.
The green body repair liquid needed to be half ingested, half used for soaking. Yunxi left a quick message for Star Trek, then exited the wooden tablet space.
Xunzong Mouse stared in awe as its master popped in and out of existence. Only when Yunxi's aura stabilized again did the mouse lower its fur, its heart finally at ease.
Because of their contract, it had just experienced a brush with death. It was truly terrified.
Yunxi rummaged through her storage ring and pulled out her personal bathing tub. With a flick of a hand seal, she filled it with water, poured in half the green liquid, and then leapt into the tub. She drank the remaining half of the vial and sat down cross-legged, beginning the healing process.
The green liquid turned colorless as it was absorbed into her body. The sharp tearing sensation faded gradually.
An hour later, Yunxi opened her eyes and muttered with relief,
"Whew. I'm alive."
She gripped the side of the tub and climbed out. Just as she did, something shifted. The ambient spiritual energy in the room suddenly surged and began rushing into her body.
===
In earlier chapters, Yunxi's chat group nickname was written by Author and so do I as Xiao Yunyan (小云烟), which perfectly matches her Chinese ID, Guòyǎn Yúnyān (过眼云烟). However, since I translated her official ID as "Fleeting Cloud" in English, the nickname Xiao Yunyan no longer fits smoothly. To keep things natural, I'll now use "Little Cloud" as her affectionate group nickname—preserving both the affectionate "小-" prefix and the cloud imagery.
Similarly, I initially translated "寻踪鼠" literally as "tracking rat" to give you a clear idea of what the creature does.
寻 (xún) – to search/track
踪 (zōng) – traces/footprints
鼠 (shǔ) – rat/mouse
I chose this at first so you could immediately understand what the creature does (a mouse specialized in tracking). However, now that you're familiar with it, I'll switch to its original name, "Xunzong Mouse." This keeps the term distinct and avoids awkwardness like "Tracking Rat" in dialogue (e.g., "The Xunzong Mouse sniffed the air—its nose never failed." sounds more natural than "The Tracking Rat…").
Think of it like how "Niffler" (from Fantastic Beasts) doesn't need to be called "Treasure-Digging Platypus" after its first introduction. Now that you know what it is, we can stick to its proper name!