No! I'm not going to ask for help from that sex fiend! I can learn it and get my spiritual vein myself. Ava chased away Leyvi's image with her hands.
Barbara tilted her head, watching Ava's flailing with a curious look. She had seen her do that weird gesture a few times now. What's she thinking about?
"Barbara," Ava said, snapping back to focus, "how do you test talent for a body cultivator like me? Do you check my spiritual sense?"
"For a body cultivator like you, we use illusion as well. Actually, it was even more accurate to test everyone using the illusion method instead of using their spiritual sense as an indicator because a lot of factors during cultivation can influence the development of their spiritual sense, so sometimes it doesn't reflect their true potential. But since it was pretty close overall, we still accept it as a viable method."
"But why?" Ava asked.
"We had to do this because we have limited ingredients to concoct the standardized illusion potion. We need a certain spiritual mist that can trap people in an illusion. Of course, we only need a very tiny amount per potion, but with so many people to test, there isn't enough of this spiritual mist. It can usually be found in marshland with deep mud pits. Some kind of reaction happens in the depth of the mud, producing this mist."
"Is this mist dangerous?" Ava raised an eyebrow.
Barbara shook her head. "This mist won't directly cause harm to a person, but if you inhale too much, you might not wake up from the illusion forever and stay in the illusion until you die. Either by falling into the mud pit, getting eaten by demonic beasts, or your body deteriorating over time. Many people got curious about this mist and illusion, so they tried inhaling it, but they underestimated its potency and died later. Especially those who were alone. If they had company, they could just help by forcefully waking them up."
Ava shook her head. "Who in their right mind would even inhale the mist just to experience the illusion? Are they stupid?"
"Hehe," Barbara giggled. "Men are usually the ones who like to do reckless stuff like this. That's why they die earlier than us women."
"Right. That's why if you want to find a husband, don't marry a reckless man like that. Hmph, I sympathize with ladies who married a man like that. Well, she must be stupid too if she marries a reckless guy like that. No doubt," Ava said. Her nose twitched twice a moment later, feeling itchy all of a sudden.
"Ava, you can't speak about men like that. That's too demeaning. Although they tend to be more reckless, so many discoveries that improved our lives happened because of this trait. So it's not entirely negative."
"Hmph, who cares? A lot of them are annoying anyway, deserve a beating," Ava said nonchalantly.
"Tch, tch. Ava, you can't say things like that. How are you going to get married acting rough like that? You look so delicate but act entirely the opposite. Men would run away like this."
"Why should I care about that? Men should run away when they see me, or I'll beat them up. Well, it's not that I have to care about attracting men anyway. I'm already married," Ava revealed.
"Ehhh?" Barbara's eyes went wide. "You're married? But—but… you're still a virgin!"
Ava's face darkened. She lunged forward, grabbing Barbara's wrist. "Speak!" she growled. "Did you do something to my body while I was out? How do you know I'm a virgin? Spill it, or you won't like my interrogation methods."
"Ow, ow! Ava, my wrist!" Barbara squeaked, eyes watering. "Calm down, calm down! It's my institute's energy-sensing method! I can tell your yin essence energy's still pure, not mixed with yang essence yet. That's how I know! I didn't touch your body, I swear! Boo hoo, it hurts…" She sank to her knees, tears spilling over.
"Ahem," Ava said, letting go of her wrist. "Is that so? You should've said that first." A twinge of guilt hit her, but she brushed it off.
Ava stared at the crying Barbara, who was rubbing her wrist where it hurt. Is this girl really a cultivator? She is too fragile.
Barbara let go of her wrist and pouted. "Ava, you should ask properly first. Look at this bruise! Now I can't get married anymore. No man would want a scarred girl!" She then used the cute handkerchief to wipe her snot again.
What do you mean, no one? If that's the case, then how did that panda woman get married? Not only that, she's also the most loved among them, Ava argued in her mind.
"Anyway, why did your institute develop an improper method like that? That's a breach of ladies' privacy! Some stinky men will use it for the wrong purpose!"
Barbara stood up again, still pouting but with a spark in her eyes. "Then blame that on the person using it wrongfully. So many things in the world can be used for the wrong purpose. Are you saying we shouldn't have anything to avoid that? How is that fair? No, if people are misusing any creations, that's a separate problem. We shouldn't stop moving forward because of people like that. So I support my institute for creating this method and have no problem using it. I have a clear conscience whether my action is right or wrong."
Ava blinked, caught off guard. She thought this girl was completely naive and too cowardly to stand up for herself, but apparently not. In the end, she still had some principles she lived by, ready to defend them. And honestly, Ava felt what she said was right, so she wasn't going to argue. In fact, she somewhat admired the naive girl now.
"You're right," Ava said, her voice softer. "I was being narrow-minded. Sorry for coming at you like that." She gave a slight bow, sincere as could be.
If Vitali was here to see this, his shameless jaw would drop to the ground. My barbaric sister apologized sincerely to another person? Impossible! Must be an imposter! She must be possessed by a Nascent Soul!
"Hehe… you don't need to apologize. It was just a misunderstanding," Barbara said, feeling a little shy.
But then her eyes glinted with mischief. "So, Ava, how come you're still a virgin if you're married?"
Ava's mouth twitched. This girl, she's still on that topic. Look at her eyes. They are brimming with curiosity! Why can't I be a virgin even if I'm married?
"Ava, don't tell me…"
"What?"
"Don't tell me that you prefer using the back hole?"
"Ugg… cough, cough!" Ava choked on her saliva. What the heck is this girl saying? Back hole? Why is that the first thing in your mind? Aren't you supposed to guess whether something is wrong with our marriage first? This Barbara girl is somewhat naive, but she definitely is not innocent! Did she consume erotic novels?
"Hehe. Looking at your reaction, I must be correct, right?" Barbara said.
"NO! Wrong! Completely wrong!" Ava shouted, waving her hands. "I haven't consummated my marriage for personal reasons. End of story, no need to guess!"
"Is that so? Heheh… my bad," Barbara said, scratching her head, feeling awkward now.
Ava had to correct her because a walking leak like Barbara might say incorrect things about her to other people. No secret was safe with her.
The next moment, Ava realized that their conversation had gone off on a tangent again. Ava sighed inwardly. Why did speaking with her feel like speaking with the Leyan Family members? It was so easy to go off on a tangent in any conversation, from something important to talking about random stuff.
"Barbara, what about checking my talent?" Ava asked.
Barbara blinked. "Oh right! We were discussing the illusion potion."
Barbara raised her palm, and a small vial appeared on it a moment later. "This is the illusion potion. Its real name is quite long, Spiritual Cultivator Talent Testing Solution. It didn't sound nice, so I just called it illusion potion. Take and consume it."
"So… how does this work?" Ava inquired.
"After you consume it, you will enter an illusion. If you break through it within an hour, you have top talent; within two hours, you have high talent; within three hours, you have average talent; within four hours, you have low talent; and beyond that, you have no talent for this," Barbara explained.
Ava took the small vial from Barbara's palm, and the next moment a timer appeared on it.
"Alright. The moment you lose consciousness, I will start the timer," Barbara said.
"Is this thing really accurate?" Ava was somewhat skeptical.
"Don't worry. This is a big project relating to the advancement of our continent. Of course, we have the best people working on it. Although we are currently working on alternative methods to test spiritual cultivation talent, this illusion potion is already a certified test method."
"The best? Who?"
"Hehehe… The person who came up with the alchemy formula for this illusion potion was the Cloud Continent's greatest alchemist, the founder of the Alchemy Association, the one and only alchemist in the recorded history of Cloud Continent who reached the level of Alchemy Emperor, capable of producing tier-7 alchemy products, Protector Edward Elrock!"
"What? It was the Alchemy Emperor himself who designed this?" Ava was shocked, looking at the vial in her hand.