The day was bright and warm, yet the atmosphere around Scalegorge Waterscape remained as gloomy and misty as ever. After an entire year of rigorous physical training, Yun Yi had finally reached the required condition to begin cultivating once again. Now, she sat by the seaside, having breakfast with Bai Lu. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady—meditating even while eating.
"Yun Yi, do you really have to meditate while chewing?" Bai Lu asked, slightly exasperated.
Yun Yi didn't respond.
She was focused—expanding her five senses to the absolute limit, trying to feel every ripple of wind, every grain of sand underfoot, every sound echoing through the distance.
Then, without warning, she raised her chopsticks and swiftly jabbed into the air.
Snap!
Bai Lu blinked. "W-What did you just do?"
Yun Yi opened her eyes, revealing a calm, almost serene expression. "I was testing how far my senses had progressed... It seems I've exceeded my target faster than expected."
Caught between the tips of her chopsticks, a single fly squirmed.
Bai Lu leaned forward, stunned. "You caught that mid-air? With chopsticks? That's... not normal."
She paused, then smiled slightly. "At first, I didn't believe you. When you talked about cultivation and immortality, I thought you were just obsessed with myths. But now... I can't deny what I see with my own eyes."
Yun Yi nodded. "That's understandable. In the Xianzhou Alliance, the concept of immortal cultivation is treated like ancient fiction. So when I first spoke about it, I knew you'd be skeptical."
"Well, like it or not, I have to believe it now." Bai Lu crossed her arms. "Your vitality has skyrocketed. According to the tests, your life expectancy now matches that of long-life species. You even said you could live up to 200 years in this current state."
"That's right," Yun Yi said. "And now, I'm ready to begin the next stage—Qi Condensation."
"Qi Condensation? What's that?" Bai Lu tilted her head.
"It's the first true step into mortal cultivation," Yun Yi explained. "Once you successfully channel and circulate Qi through your body, you're officially a cultivator. From that moment on, your strength, speed, and spiritual endurance begin to transcend mortal limits."
She continued, "Reaching this point requires complete harmony of body and spirit. That's what the past year was for."
Bai Lu sighed. "Cultivation sounds like such a long, difficult road. And this is only the first step?"
Yun Yi gave a small, peaceful smile.
Later, Bai Lu left for the Alchemy Commission—worried, as always, that the place would fall into chaos if she were gone too long.
Yun Yi, meanwhile, prepared herself.
---
She sat cross-legged near a quiet cliffside overlooking the sea, the mist brushing against her skin like a veil.
"This is enough... I've prepared my body, and while my spiritual root is only of intermediate grade... I've succeeded before."
Closing her eyes, she began meditating. Slowly, she reached out with her spirit—gathering the spiritual energy around her.
Qi began to converge, flowing into her body like gentle rivers. It refined her flesh, tempered her bones, calmed her soul. The energy of heaven and earth slowly responded to her presence.
Time passed.
Nine hours later, she opened her eyes.
In that instant, an invisible pressure pulsed from her body—an aura not seen, but felt—before dissipating like mist on the water.
"...I got too excited and accidentally released pressure," she muttered.
But her expression shifted to relief. "Finally... after a whole year... I can channel Qi again."
A familiar warmth coursed through her. Her soul and body resonated in harmony.
But then she frowned.
Suddenly, she turned her gaze to the horizon, her crimson eyes narrowing. "That sensation... someone is trying to divine me? No... two of them?"
She paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Well, they're lucky I'm only at Early Qi Condensation. The backlash was mild. If it had been the previous me... they wouldn't have survived the attempt."
Her voice was calm, but a strange amusement flickered across her face. "To try divination on me... how interesting."
She rose to her feet.
"Whoever they are... I'll definitely meet them sooner or later."
---
Meanwhile...
Far away in another part of Xianzhou...
A young girl with pink hair, golden eyes, and a gemstone embedded in her forehead suddenly coughed violently, blood staining her sleeve.
"What... what is this?" she gasped, feeling the pain slowly subside.
Her internal injuries healed quickly, but she was shaken.
"When I tried to divine her, she looked at me... But that shouldn't be possible!"
She recalled the brief moment of eye contact—eyes like rubies in a sea of darkness.
"I used tools this time... not just instinct... and still... that woman saw me."
Clutching her chest, she stood up in a hurry.
"I need to find her. Black hair... red eyes... I need to know who she is."
---
Elsewhere...
A man in a shadowed room coughed up blood.
He looked at his stained hand, expression grim.
"A being... beyond the script. She affected me with a gaze."
He staggered slightly, but straightened himself with effort.
"I only hope... she doesn't disrupt the written story."
With that, he disappeared into the shadows.