Chapter 51: Engrossed in Cultivation
As night fell… As Bai Luochu used up a lot of her energy to formulate her plans in the day, she didn’t have any spare energy to further extract the essence in the herbs before using them for cultivation. Left with no other choice, she used the spirit medicines Pei Rumo provided to continue her cultivation
After using Pei Qingfeng’s ‘diagnosis fee’, there were no more problems with her meridians. Right now, she only had one objective and that was to quickly increase her strength.
If Bai Luochu wanted to revive the temple, she couldn’t simply depend on her medical skills and connections. The current world was one where the strong ruled supreme, it was also why the Cloud Water Nation’s imperial clan would be so respectful to the Phoenix King Valley’s members. Furthermore, these noble clans would think of endless ways just for a chance for their children to enter the Phoenix King Valley. It wouldn’t be a stretch if they spent a vast fortune as well.
Humans were always chasing for fame and profit as they desperately tried to climb to a higher place in society.
When Bai Luochu opened up the bottle of spirit medicine and took a careful whiff, she noticed that the quality was somewhat similar to the one she had bought in the Hundred Herbs Hall.
She sniggered in her heart as Pei Rumo was truly generous. He was even willing to pour so much money towards nurturing a female slave. However, this also indicated that Pei Rumo had gained a huge amount from their transaction… Why else would he be so generous?
However, due to the fact that Bai Luochu didn’t retain any memories after her reincarnation, she didn’t know the relationship she had with the Third Prince, Pei Wuchen. Thus, she didn’t know that Pei Rumo was actually thinking of using her to strike a blow at the Third Prince’s dream of ascending the throne.
Now wasn’t the time to think about so much. Bai Luochu consumed the spirit medicine with a single gulp and she started to circulate the temple’s unique secret technique. The secret technique allowed her to absorb the spirit qi at a speed a few times faster than normal people. It also allowed her to constantly absorb the environment’s heaven and earth spirit qi even when she wasn’t cultivating. The next time she cultivated, the spirit qi would automatically turn into spirit qi in her body, ready to be absorbed at any time.
It was needless to mention the effects of the secret technique when spirit medicine was used to complement it. The spirit medicine originally used medicinal ingredients meant for assisting in her cultivation as it contained an alchemist’s spirit qi. A normal person would use spirit medicine by guiding the spirit qi in the spirit medicine to allow the medicinal effects to act on the body.
As for the secret technique, it used one’s spirit qi to envelop the spirit medicine’s medicinal effects and spirit qi. As the medicinal effects acted on the body, the alchemist’s spirit qi would be absorbed directly by the cultivator. It would also purify the spirit medicine inside the body, raising the spirit medicine’s grade by one entire level.
As such, using the secret technique would greatly increase the speed of cultivation. This was also why the temple was known as an evil cult. Despite its identity, there were plenty of those so-called righteous and orthodox sects members who were eyeing covetously at the temple’s inheritance.
In fact, Bai Luochu could refine medicine herself. However, she wasn’t strong enough to ignite the alchemy cauldron. Let alone the fact that she had to blend her spirit qi into the spirit medicine. If she were to refine the medicine forcefully, it might ruin the medicinal ingredient that she obtained from the medicine room.
Furthermore, the amount of spirit medicine in the First Prince’s residence was the same as the amount of meat in a butcher shop. They were aplenty. She naturally didn’t have to force herself to do something she didn’t have the ability to. Her current body was originally weak and if she were to force herself, she might just injure her foundations.
After her cultivation session, Bai Luochu’s strength had increased significantly. With her movement skill, if she had to pit herself against those with cultivation levels higher than her, she might not actually be at a disadvantage. When thinking about this, Bai Luochu revealed a joyous expression as her eyebrows arched upwards. The corners of her mouth curled towards the sky and there was a brilliant smile on her face.
“Knock Knock Knock.” All of a sudden, the sound of knocking could be heard.
The moment the knocks ended, Zi Su’s voice entered the room. “Young Lady, it is getting late. Tomorrow, you will have to enter the palace to provide treatment to the Empress Dowager. If it is convenient, this servant will enter to help you wash up.”
After immersing herself in formulating a plan for the entire day, along with a brief interlude of the First Prince’s sudden visit, it wasn’t surprising that Bai Luochu forgot the time. After opening her eyes to take a look, the moon was already suspended high in the sky and it looked as though it was already deep into the night. Had it not been for Zi Su’s reminder, she would have truly forgotten about the time. Bai Luochu didn’t bother tidying up as she allowed Zi Su to enter her room immediately.
“Of course it is convenient. Come in.”
Zi Su heard the response and immediately opened the door. The two of them had been living together for such a long time and Bai Luochu had never placed status and hierarchy in her eyes. Zi Su was also a flexible person and hence, the two of them never really paid much attention to etiquette. The only time Zi Su would be polite was when she wanted to enter the room. She would knock and ask for permission in order to avoid disrupting Bai Luochu’s cultivation.
Seeing Zi Su acting mysteriously with her hands behind her back as though she was hiding something, Bai Luochu felt curious and asked, “Zi Su, why are you acting mysteriously? Are you hiding something good from me?”
When Zi Su saw that Bai Luochu discovered the surprise she had prepared, her face instantly changed. She pouted her lips at Bai Luochu before saying, “This servant knows that Young Lady has acute senses, but can’t you pretend that you didn’t see it? I prepared the surprise for nothing...”
“Then do you want me to treat it as though I never saw it and do it all over again?” Seeing the cute expression on Zi Su’s face, Bai Luochu couldn’t help but tease her.
“You have already pointed it out... Young Lady may be able to pretend that you don’t know, but this servant isn’t able to play along with you. Here you go. This servant went to dig out the coronet His Highness tossed away. The style is rather plain and isn’t too eye-catching. This way, this servant can help you to comb up the same hairstyle as His Highness and you don’t have to do it yourself.”
In response, Bai Luochu quickly asked, “Did you ask His Highness before taking the coronet?”
“Of course! His Highness even said to pick a simple and unadorned coronet fitting for your image as Divine Physician Bai. This servant always does things appropriately, Young Lady doesn’t have to worry.”
Zi Su saw how worried Bai Luochu was and quickly explained without forgetting to praise herself.
“Heh. You’re really cheeky... You even remember to praise yourself when giving an explanation. Don’t you know what shame is?” Bai Luochu made fun of Zi Su when she saw that she had a smug expression on her face. It seemed as though she was trying to say “I knew you would ask, so I have already prepared in advance.”
“Aiya, Young Lady, this servant is telling the truth. I am not going to entertain you any longer! I will help you wash up first. Tomorrow, you still have to get up early!”
As soon as Zi Su ended the conversation, she quickly got busy and undid Bai Luochu’s hair as she combed it carefully. She kept the hairpin properly inside the grooming box and asked someone to bring in some hot water to help Bai Luochu clean up.
After everything, Zi Su took out the clothes and mask that Bai Luochu would have to use the next day and arranged them outside before asking for permission to leave.