Story 6 - Slapping Faces and Entering Sects (7)

Story 6 - Slapping Faces and Entering Sects (7)

I sputtered to awareness with that disgusting pill taste in my mouth and took in a few breaths.

Briefly, I considered all the near painless (and terrible performing) baths I created back when I was experimenting with the bodies of brave outer sect ‘volunteers’.

Of course, I tested them on pill beasts first... The concoctions, not the disciples. I wasn’t a monster. Usually. (Okay, I was an old monster, but I wasn't evil.)

When I began my research, I made the baths as painless as possible. I had.

And it resulted in very little improvement.

At one point, I even attempted to give the body cultivators different kinds of pain-relieving dan first...

And that resulted in several pill beasts dying due to the interaction.

Eventually, I came to a conclusion.

When that lazy fucker authored this world, he made it have a ‘No Pain, No Gain’ philosophy when it came to body cultivation. So, if a cultivator didn’t experience pain, then their body cultivation would fall short.

At least that was what I assumed after a full decade of research.

It wasn’t like I had some kind of heavenly library that could correct this shit for me, either. I had to figure everything out through the scientific method and trial and error.

Pain distracted me. I would need to center myself, then go back under. According to my calculations, I needed to stay in the solution for another hour.

If I wasn’t awake for a majority of the bath, then this round of body cultivation would fail.

I groaned from the agony. At least it was all at the same level. It just sucked because it slowly ran through every part of my body. Though this series of baths focused mostly on strengthening the skin. It only lightly touched on everything else.

I glanced at Ghosty. His face switched between pale and angry red.

“Get out of that bath! You almost died!”

I grinned. “Almost isn’t dead.” I placed another pill on the table. “You know what to do.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Your body is too young to go through this.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m still alive. I’d rather almost die a hundred times in a controlled environment than actually die.”

Because selfish cock mosquitos were everywhere in this universe, and several of them considered me an annoying fly that landed on their face.

“Ridiculous! What if the pills you’ve prepared don’t help you? What if I give them to you and it’s too late?”

I gritted my teeth. “Ghosty. It will be fine. I may have underestimated how much the pain would affect my younger body, but my calculation on dosage is perfect.”

He didn’t look convinced. And I needed to get back in. I gritted my teeth. “Look, the chances of me dying here are almost nonexistent. But if I don’t do this, then I could die during the trials if one of those sect elders tries something. And if I die, then your chances of regaining a working body that is solely yours will have significantly decreased... This would be a body you don’t have to steal. One that is built to perfection. All that goes down with me. What I’m saying is that you better make sure I don’t die!”

I blew out a harsh breath, sucked in once more, and settled myself for another round of the Turtle Breathing Technique. Only this time, I took more short breaks.

After I closed my eyes and submerged myself, I heard a muffled, something-something- “Worried!” But I ignored it.

Body cultivation could help me stay alive. It didn’t matter how much it hurt now. In the future, it would pay off a thousandfold.

***

It turned out that taking breaks was exactly what I needed to do to stay conscious through my horrible bath.

Granted, the pain was worse than I thought it would be. And Ghosty may have yelled at me each time I surfaced. But this was all part of making me harder, better, faster, and definitely stronger. It was absolutely worth it!

After all of that training, he now had the look of someone who had taken a few steps down the path of cultivation and swordsmanship. His back was straight, and he stood with more confidence in himself.

It was a pleasant sight to see... I looked forward to proving to him that he still had a long-ass way to go. Muahahaha!

I activated my own token. A pressure squeezed my cultivation down to the second layer of Qi Condensation. Fortunately, it didn’t do much to decrease my body cultivation.

“Fairy Lin...” Red Seven said with more concern than I thought he’d show. I guess I hadn’t told them just how much of a handicap I was going to have.

“It’s part of a deal I made. It’s the only way they would allow someone with my knowledge to take part in the trials. But don’t worry. I’m stronger than I look.” I patted my small bicep through my silk sleeve.

He appeared even more concerned... and so did Little Spring.

Red Seven sighed. “Once you enter the gates to take the test, we’ll have to return to the Alchemists’ Guild.”

Chances were that I wouldn’t see these two again after today. Or if I did, it would be a matter of coincidence.

They had both risked their lives to protect us. And they did their utmost to train Little Spring, even though it wasn’t technically in their job description.

I bowed to them. “It was a pleasure to work with you both. You’re very competent cultivators and I believe you’ll break into Nascent Soul someday.”

Hmm. Maybe I should leave them with some extra words of wisdom to give them that extra push?

I tapped my chin in thought, then turned to Red Seven. “It’s not obvious, but your technique is related to the stars. When you cultivate from now on, do it at night and out in the open. It may give you some surprising results.”

His eyes widened. And he bowed. “Thank you, Fairy Lin.”

Then I turned to Red Three. He was always the one I had trouble figuring out. Like a silent background character with no lines or something. Except that he was always silently watching over us with no complaints.

I needed to give him some superb advice.

He looked at me expectantly. “Red Three. You should consider taking home a wife.”

The glare that he sent me...

I held up my hands with an innocent smile to forestall his anger. “The technique you’re currently cultivating... Well, getting a wife will help you... sometime in the next decade or so.”

Apparently, my fantastic advice didn’t help because his glare turned into a glower.

“I’ll consider your suggestion, Fairy Lin. However, I think I’m fine.”

I shrugged. “It’s your choice.”

Then I brought out the actual gifts I’d made for them.

I handed each a bag of pill bottles containing cultivation resources... Well, most of it was simple healing pills and things that could increase their chance at survival. But one of the pills I added would help them smooth out the inconsistencies in their golden core so they could actually reach Nascent Soul in the next 50 years... whether Red Three decided to take my advice or not.

Which he should! My advice was the best!

“You both have been incredibly helpful to us. Not only did you distract those assassins so we could finish our mission, but you took the time to train Little Spring. That wasn’t part of your original duties, but I am very grateful that you helped, regardless.”

Red Seven bowed. “Thank you, Fairy Lin, for your advice. After talking it over with the guild, they agreed that — as long as you gain approval from a Guild Elder — you are always welcome to hire us again.”

Red Three nodded.

I cried internally... because even if I received approval, I couldn’t afford to hire these excellent Golden Core cultivators. At least not until I started making higher tiered pills. At that time, they would have moved to another guild headquarters. Still, I appreciated the sentiment and bowed to them both.

Little Spring followed me and we both said, “Thank you.”