Chapter 3: First Spiritual Method (2)
Morning light slipped through the cracks of the cave ceiling, thin rays falling across the stone floor like pale blades. The cave was quiet except for the slow rhythm of breathing.
Ling Chen sat cross-legged on the ground, completely focused.
Spiritual energy drifted through the air and slowly gathered around him. The energy was faint compared to the great sect mountains, but inside the cave it was enough for cultivation.
Thin streams of spiritual energy entered his body.
They traveled through his opened meridian and circulated again and again.
Inside his body, the flow of energy became stronger with every cycle. His first meridian pulsed with warm light, guiding the spiritual energy deeper into his body.
Then suddenly—
A faint cracking sound echoed inside him.
Ling Chen's body trembled.
Another pathway inside his body opened like a blocked river suddenly bursting free.
The second meridian.
Spiritual energy surged violently through the new channel, spreading warmth across his limbs.
Ling Chen slowly exhaled.
He opened his eyes.
A faint golden glow flickered in them before disappearing.
"Finally…" he muttered.
"I opened my second meridian."
Not many people could open two meridians this quickly. For ordinary cultivators it could take months or even years.
Ling Chen stretched slightly before turning his head.
Behind him, Lin Xian was sitting quietly against the cave wall.
She had been watching him the entire time.
Silently.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp.
Ling Chen stood up and walked toward her.
Then he casually sat down beside her.
"So," Ling Chen said, "how did you get here?"
Lin Xian didn't even look at him.
"Why would I tell you?"
Ling Chen blinked.
"You won't tell me?"
"No."
Ling Chen's expression suddenly changed.
His lips trembled.
His eyes watered.
Then—
"WAAAAAA!"
He started crying like a baby.
Lin Xian didn't move.
"Stop acting," she said calmly.
Ling Chen continued crying loudly.
"You're so arrogant," he complained between fake sobs.
Lin Xian slowly turned her head and stared at him with a cold expression.
Ling Chen instantly stopped crying.
"Okay," he said normally. "But you took my virginity. At least tell me how you got here."
Lin Xian's eyebrow twitched.
"You're very annoying."
Ling Chen crossed his arms.
"If you don't tell me, I will assume you're ungrateful."
"How will that affect me?" she replied.
Ling Chen suddenly leaned forward and hugged her arm while making an exaggerated cute face.
"Please tell me."
SLAP
THUD
Lin Xian slapped him and kicked him away.
"Aaa! That hurts!"
"Don't think I'm a kind woman," she said coldly.
Ling Chen rubbed his head.
"No, you're an old hag."
Lin Xian's eyes narrowed.
"I am very young."
"No," Ling Chen said confidently. "You're an old hag."
He repeated it again.
"And again."
"And again."
"You're an old hag. Old hag. Old hag. Old hag."
Lin Xian's patience snapped.
She punched him directly in the head.
"Shut the f*ck up!"
Ling Chen immediately sat properly like a disciplined student.
"You're so cruel," he said sadly. "I'm just a fifteen-year-old boy and you're one hundred sixty-eight years old."
Lin Xian froze.
"…How are you sure I'm 168 years old?"
Ling Chen shrugged.
"Because I know."
Lin Xian stared at him carefully.
Ling Chen smiled.
"It looks like my guess was correct?"
Lin Xian's gaze sharpened.
"That was not a guess."
"Tell me… do you have the Golden Spiritual Eye?"
Ling Chen shook his head.
"No."
Lin Xian slowly raised a finger.
"I have to test something."
She pressed her finger against Ling Chen's forehead.
A blue mark shaped like a small sun appeared between his eyebrows.
Ling Chen blinked.
"What is this?"
Lin Xian explained calmly.
"If you lie, the mark will turn red and you will be electrocuted."
Ling Chen sighed.
"You're so cruel."
"Now answer me," she said. "Do you have the Golden Spiritual Eye?"
Ling Chen answered immediately.
"No."
The mark stayed blue.
No lightning appeared.
Ling Chen secretly thought to himself.
I have the Heavenly Insight Eye, not the Golden Spiritual Eye.
And she will never guess it.
The Insight Eye is one of the Five Great Heavenly Spiritual Treasures.
Lin Xian continued.
"Do you know anything about me?"
Ling Chen nodded.
"A little."
"What do you know?"
Ling Chen counted with his fingers.
"You have a big chest."
"You're very beautiful."
"Your skin is soft."
"You were poisoned."
"And you're 168 years old."
The mark remained blue.
Lin Xian's eyebrow twitched.
"…What did you say about my chest?"
Ling Chen shrugged innocently.
"I said it's big. Why are you angry? What can I even do with it?"
Lin Xian's fists clenched slightly.
Then she asked another question.
"What do you think about me?"
Ling Chen replied instantly.
"Nothing. You're my friend."
The mark suddenly turned bright red.
Lightning exploded from it.
"AAAAAAA!"
Ling Chen convulsed violently as electricity ran through his body.
Lin Xian removed the mark's power.
"Now tell me the truth."
Ling Chen coughed.
"I love you."
"I want to marry you."
The mark turned blue again.
Lin Xian blinked.
"You… love me?"
"Yes."
Lin Xian crossed her arms.
"Fine. My final question."
Ling Chen leaned closer.
Lin Xian frowned.
"Why are you getting close to me?"
"So I can hear the question."
"That doesn't count."
"Yes it does."
"I said it doesn't."
"That was the fourth question," Ling Chen said calmly. "You can ask one final question."
Lin Xian stared at him silently before sighing.
"Fine."
"My final question."
"Are you from a powerful clan with a powerful bloodline?"
Ling Chen answered honestly.
"My clan is weak."
"I don't have a powerful bloodline."
"If I have a bloodline at all… it's extremely weak."
The mark remained blue.
Lin Xian fell into deep thought.
He doesn't have a powerful bloodline.
He isn't from a strong clan.
Then how did he open two meridians so quickly?
After a moment she said, "I'm done."
Ling Chen immediately pointed at his forehead.
"Remove this mark first."
The mark disappeared.
The moment it vanished—
Ling Chen suddenly hugged her.
Outside the cave, a few spiritual beasts were wandering through the forest.
Suddenly a distant voice echoed.
"AAAA! It was just a mistake! I'm sorry!"
"No! You did it intentionally!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Inside the cave—
Ling Chen was crying again.
Lin Xian stood over him with an extremely angry expression.
"You're beating a child!" Ling Chen cried. "That's illegal! I'll go to court and report you!"
Lin Xian looked at him like he was stupid.
"You think the courts in your village have the authority to touch me?"
Ling Chen continued crying.
Lin Xian cracked her knuckles.
"If you don't stop crying, I'll beat the shit out of you."
Ling Chen instantly stopped.
Lin Xian dusted off her clothes.
"I'm leaving."
Ling Chen grabbed her sleeve.
"Please don't go! I can't live without you!"
Lin Xian kicked him away.
"That's domestic violence!" Ling Chen shouted.
Lin Xian paused.
"…Domestic violence?"
A few moments later—
Ling Chen lay on the ground completely beaten up.
Lin Xian stood over him.
"If you speak again, I will kill you."
Ling Chen weakly raised a finger.
"At least… give me a goodbye kiss."
Lin Xian slowly turned her head toward him.
"What did you say?"
And in that exact moment—
Ling Chen realized what he had just done.
(THIS IS THE END)