After spending time with Su Meilin, Bai Shuying left the room, walked happily back to her own room, and then realized.
I forgot to ask Meilin for some spare clothes!
Bai Shuying did not want to disturb her again, and it also felt awkward to go back when she had just left.
"Sigh, I can't go out."
Bai Shuying looked down at her white robe that exposed more of her skin; she could not help but blush.
She entered her room, still seeing her master asleep on the bed. She quietly sat cross-legged on her cushion, intending to inspect her body. Bai Shuying closed her eyes and turned her gaze inward.
Wha?!
Bai Shuying was shocked at what she saw.
In her dantian, a deep blue lake that radiated coldness, a blue lotus with three petals open freely floated on the surface of the lake, a larger red core that radiated a stronger light rested inside the center of the lotus, while above them all a small sphere similar to a sun hanged in the sky.
The sky looked like the night sky, but without any stars or moon.
Bai Shuying was astonished by the beauty of the scenery, but felt complicated.
Is this normal? It feels weird having this in my body.
Bai Shuying shook her head, even if she wanted, she could not do anything since she had no access to her dantian; she could only observe what was happening on the inside.
Bai Shuying knew her demon core had upgraded, but she had no clue about the demon cultivation system, while her human cultivation was stuck in the peak of qi condensation.
How do I break through to the next major realm?
Bai Shuying contemplated.
As a hybrid, Bai Shuying could walk both cultivation systems; this was insanely difficult, but the benefits were that much sweeter. If she wanted to take the easy way, she would either break her demon core or abandon her humanity.
But Bai Shuying would never do that. As someone who spent their entire life as a human, she was reluctant to let go of her humanity. While her fox half was the only connection she had to her mother's family. Bai Shuying still held on to the hope that they would accept her.
Soon, Bai Shuying felt a soft pressure on the back of her neck and a weight on the top of her head between her fox ears.
She opened her eyes and turned her gaze up.
"Are you okay now?"
Hua Xiran said with a charming smile, with a hint of concern in her voice.
"Hmm, all thanks to you, master."
Bai Shuying nodded lightly and expressed her gratitude to her master again, earning her a tighter hug.
"M-master, you're suffocating me."
Bai Shuying found it hard to breathe.
"Hehehe."
Hua Xiran giggled, vanished, and reappeared in front of Bai Shuying, sitting on a cushion. Hua Xiran took a folded robe out of her spatial ring and held it in front of Bai Shuying.
Seeing these robes, Bai Shuying was touched.
Wow! Master is so thoughtful.
Bai Shuying extended her hand to take the robes, only to grasp the air. She turned her gaze to Hua Xiran, confused, while Hua Xiran had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I'll give you these robes only on one condition, Shuying."
Bai Shuying tilted her head, but soon nodded.
It's master, anyway, she won't give me a difficult condition.
Hua Xiran smiled slightly.
"When wearing these robes, you should not wear anything underneath."
"W-wait, master, wear nothing?!"
Bai Shuying was shocked.
Are you asking me to go commando?
"Of course, these are not your regular martial robes; these are profound grade martial robes."
Hua Xiran stated, puffing her chest out.
"Pr-profound grade martial robes?!"
Bai Shuying was shocked again.
"Th-then why can't I wear underwear?"
"Tch."
Hua Xiran clicked her tongue. She thought she had fooled Bai Shuying. Bai Shuying was so focused on the profound grade martial robes that she did not notice Hua Xiran's odd behavior.
"Ehm, Of course, you can't wear underwear, these martial robes can self-repair, so even if they are damaged, you do not need to stitch them, and look at what's on the back."
Hua Xiran unfolded the clothes and showed the back to Bai Shuying. Hua Xiran channeled her qi inside the martial robes. Soon, on the back of the martial robes, a small, barely noticeable formation appeared. Hua Xiran extended her hand from inside the robes as if trying to puncture the clothes, but a magical scene unfolded.
"Wow!"
Bai Shuying was amazed. Hua Xiran's hand came out of the formation on the back of the robes.
"See, so when you sprout your tails, just channel your qi and it will go right through the clothes, so you won't have to worry about any tears."
Hua Xiran explained with a smile. Bai Shuying felt warmth in her heart from her master's consideration.
Who cares about underwear? Those robes are amazing!
Just this feature alone made Bai Shuying want it more; she quickly nodded her head.
"Sure, master, I agree to the condition."
Hua Xiran showed a bright smile and handed the robes to Bai Shuying.
Bai Shuying held the clothes in her hand.
The texture of the clothes feels like it's made of silk.
Bai Shuying was about to take off her white robes, but stopped and looked at Hua Xiran, who was intently observing her.
"Uh, master, can you turn around?"
Hua Xiran could only agree to Bai Shuying's request, but thought.
Why turn around? I already saw everything, twice!
If Bai Shuying knew this, she would have died from embarrassment.
Seeing her master's back, Bai Shuying quickly changed her clothes. Hua Xiran heard the rustling of clothes.
"Master, I'm done. How does it look?"
Bai Shuying asked with great expectations in her eyes.
Hua Xiran turned around and was stunned, but quickly nodded her head.
"It looks great!"
Hua Xiran said with a smile. Bai Shuying smiled brightly at Hua Xiran's compliment.
The martial robes were pinkish white; they covered Bai Shuying tightly, not showing too much skin exposure like the other female Yin-Yang Sect disciples. Her sleeves went to her wrists and were wide. A blue sash was wrapped around her waist, emphasising her figure. The robe reached Bai Shuying's calves had slits on the side making it easier to make movements.
Bai Shuying was surprised. She moved around in her new clothes. Compared to her old ones, these did not scrape against her skin.
No wonder, master said not to wear underwear.
Bai Shuying thought, but this was not the reason.
Hua Xiran wanted Bai Shuying to become a proper Yin-Yang Sect demoness, so she started to slowly get Bai Shuying used to certain things, and this was the first step in her grand plan.
Unaware, Bai Shuying was happily inspecting her new clothes.
But what Hua Xiran failed to notice was that her disciple Su Meilin was ahead of her.
Since growing up with Hua Xiran, Su Meilin also took pride in being a demoness; she picked up on certain things, and one of these things was being barefoot. Su Meilin believed a demoness should wear no shoes!
After all, look at her master's feet, completely bare! And who was she? The Yin-Yang Sect master, the pinnacle of demonesses!
This was only further strengthened when Su Meilin found out that the Sect Master of the Divine Demon Sect, Luo Xianji, was also barefoot.
And who was Luo Xianji? Another demoness!
Su Meilin truly believed she had uncovered a great truth. As a person aspiring to become great, she must follow the steps of those who are great.
If Hua Xiran knew this, she would have died from laughter; after all, the reason she was barefoot was all due to Hua Qingyan not bothering to give her shoes. As an avid gardener, Hua Qingyan enjoyed the feeling of having her bare feet on the cool soil, so she did not wear shoes. Since she did not wear them, why would she remember whether her daughter wore shoes or not? This pair of mother and daughter has just gotten used to it to the point where if they did wear shoes, it would just be uncomfortable for them.
…
After Hua Xiran left, Bai Shuying wore her new clothes, the Yin Gourd strapped to her waist, an anklet on her right ankle that suppressed her fox features, and the spirit grade sword she received from Elder Ling in her hand, headed to the training field in the back of Su Meilin's residence.
Bai Shuying wanted to review her progress in all her techniques and adapt to the changes in her cultivation.
"Let's start with the Thousand Lotus Bloom sword art."
Bai Shuying held her sword and performed the sword art, soon, a single blue petal formed, but it was different than before.
"Did the increase in my demon cultivation add an elemental quality to my petals?"
Bai Shuying wondered.
The single lotus petal radiated coldness. Bai Shuying achieved the first stage, the seed of understanding, of intent. She focused intent into the lotus petal, making it move and slashing the ground.
A shallow line appeared on the ground, Bai Shuying took a closer look and saw some ice formed in the cut from the single blue lotus petal.
"Wow, so my petals now have an elemental quality of ice."
Bai Shuying was amazed at her newfound strength. She nodded with satisfaction. Bai Shuying skipped the Lotus Steps since she felt she had reached a bottleneck, and instead focused on her cultivation art, Blooming Lotus.
"This art is more mysterious the more I learn about it."
While using the cultivation art, Bai Shuying learned that it can absorb any kind of qi, refine it to increase its quality, and convert it into any type of energy she wanted.
Honestly, if any cultivator heard that such a cultivation art existed, the Yin-Yang Sect would have turned into a blood bath.
As she ran the cultivation art, a blue lotus formed beneath her with three petals open. Bai Shuying, who memorized the Blooming Lotus art, reviewed it in her mind.
The three opened petals on the Lotus signified the three great treasures Jing, Qi, and Shen, which are fundamental concepts in Taoist alchemy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Qigong. They represent the three essential energies that sustain life, govern health, and serve as the foundation for spiritual cultivation.
Jing, the foundation, essence, and vitality, the root of life. It determines constitution, stamina, fertility, and aging. Jing is separated into two types: Congenital Jing and Acquired Jing.
Congenital Jing is inherited from parents. Determines lifespan, basic strength, and disease resistance that is fixed at birth; once depleted, aging accelerates.
Acquired Jing is nourished through food, herbs, sleep, and breathwork. It can be conserved or wasted based on lifestyle.
When a female Yin-Yang Disciple absorbs energy from men through intercourse, they are draining the man's congenital Jing, leading to death. That is why the mothers of these men give them nourishing soup, a family recipe passed down for thousands of years, or so they say, to strengthen their kidneys. After all, in this primitive world, parents fear the end of their bloodlines while clans use reproduction to get a talented descendant. One's a failure, no problem, they have ten more.
Qi, the dynamic force, energy, and movement. Qi is the life force in motion, like electricity powering the body. It governs breath, circulation, digestion, and nerve signals. Weak Qi is equivalent to fatigue, poor digestion, and weak immunity.
There exist different types of Qi in the body: Yuan Qi, the core life force; Gu Qi, which is extracted from food; Zong Qi that supports the heart and lungs; Wei Qi that is immune defense, and Ying Qi that nourishes organs and blood.
There are also three signs of Qi imbalance: Qi Deficiency, which is fatigue, weak voice, bloating, frequent illness; Qi Stagnation, which is stress, irritability, muscle tension, pain; and Qi Rebellion, which is coughing, acid reflux, and dizziness.
Ambient Qi found on the Martial Heaven Continent and the Qi found in the body are two different types of energies; they just happen to have the same name. In the current Ascension era, the cultivation of ambient Qi is the mainstream trend, while the cultivation of Qi in the body is only pursued by the Martial Dragon Sect and the mortals.
Cultivating Qi in the body is more popularly known as Body Refining!
During ancient times, humans did not know how to harness ambient qi and could only work with what they had, which was their bodies. In the Prosperity era, they created breathing techniques that allowed them to cultivate the Yuan Qi in their bodies. Their diets became more nutritious, allowing them to cultivate Gu Qi. They performed different exercises, such as running, to cultivate Zong Qi. They endured harsh climates and put their bodies through so much pain to strengthen their Wei Qi. They developed acupuncture and herbal tonics to nourish their Ying Qi.
These ancient people truly pursued martial arts to the extreme, unlike the lazy youths of today who used ambient Qi for overall strength increase, but can you blame them?
Cultivating ambient Qi is easier, a lot less painful, and the benefits are just that good. Why be satisfied with a finite life span when you can have immortality?
Body refining is a grueling path that may not show any returns; instead, you need to invest a lot. Excluding time, the cost of a single ginseng was high. It's not like you could go into a random forest and find one? Nope, you need a ginseng expert! Trained professionals who can just by looking at a ginseng tell you how old it is.
In the entire Yin-Yang Sect, there was only one qualified ginseng expert, that was the loner and avid gardener Hua Qingyan!
Only the truly wealthy go straight to an expert, while the others would buy from a store, but that is just for lower-quality ginseng. Once a ginseng is dug up, it's a race against time to sell it, like a vegetable; the more time passes, the more spoiled it becomes.
Now, you may wonder how the Martial Dragon Sect, filled with Body Refiners, can afford it? Simple, the majority of their disciples are Artifact Refiners, and in the cultivation world, weapons sell like hot cakes. They also moonlight as construction workers. You need a pavilion built, call the Martial Dragon Sect! They quote a fair price and will be able to finish in the fastest time possible. Even the Demonic Sects use their services, are they worried about traps? Nope, as a righteous sect, they would never do such a thing.
Shen, the highest refinement of spirit and consciousness. Shen is the light of awareness in your mind, emotions, and spiritual presence. In Chinese medicine, it resides in the heart. A strong Shen is equivalent to a calm mind, sharp intuition, and emotional balance. There are four levels of Shen: Normal Shen, which is basic awareness, such as survival, and daily thoughts. Emotional Shen, which governs feelings; excess emotions disturb it. Wisdom Shen, which is clarity, insight, and deep intuition. Divine Shen, which is connected to the higher self/Tao, is enlightenment. To cultivate Shen, there are four methods: Meditation, which focuses on and purifies Shen. Heart-opening practices include gratitude and compassion. Calligraphy, tea ceremony, nature immersion calms Shen and lastly, herbs.
While Jing and Qi are fine, the Demonic Sects struggle with Shen compared to the Righteous Sects. After all, cultivators in the demonic sects all have disturbed minds, either killing, sex, or something else. That is why the Elders of the demonic sects stress the importance of being true to oneself, practicing meditation, and taking herbs. As for compassion and gratitude, forget about it.
Look at the Yin-Yang Sect of the past, the elders and disciples all they had in their mind was frolicking under the covers, which led them to be the weakest sect out of all the 8 great sects. Even before their era of debauchery, they had the best Shen. After all, a Yin-Yang Sect disciple that could not properly use emotions might as well never have existed; they were experts in psychology! But alas, they had fallen into their own tricks, high on their own sauce. The desire for sex and lust is a scary thing.
The Divine Demon Sect created the Holy Demon Mantra, which stabilizes the mind. The Five Poison Sect relied on herbs that strengthen the spirit. While the Corpse Sect, which surprisingly had the best Shen out of all four, is a mystery, most just assume they needed a strong Shen to control corpses.
Bai Shuying was amazed and admired the creator of the Blooming Lotus cultivation art.
Just three petals, and they have such grand meanings.
Even in name alone, the lotus carried profound meaning, a symbol of purity rising from murky depths, resilience blooming through adversity. This was no mere coincidence.