Chapter 19: A Heart Like an Arrow (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Shaoheng looked at Jiang Yunjiang, her expression turning cold as she refused to follow the thread of her words.

"What more do you want from me?"

She did not care how excellent the aptitude of this green carp, which Jiang Yunjiang had bound with a Contractual Demon Curse, might be, or how great a stroke of luck it represented.

Given Shaoheng's current rate of cultivation, as long as she had sufficient resources, she feared she could ascend to the late stage of the First Realm in less than three years.

And with such talent, why should she care whether a carp demon could transform into a flood dragon?

Even if it transformed into a pseudo-dragon, as long as its cultivation was sufficient, it would still be nothing more than a tiny insect in Shaoheng's eyes, capable of being crushed underfoot at will.

She only cared that Jiang Yunjiang seemed to be plotting something against her once again.

In truth, just as Jiang Yunjiang thought, Shaoheng held no hatred for her as a person.

Because in Shaoheng's eyes, whether it was love or hate, such profound emotions were far too precious; she refused to give them away!

But disgust was different. When Shaoheng realized that Jiang Yunjiang was clearly sizing her up like a dish of food, looking to extract value from her, her loathing for this person instantly reached its peak.

Her words were naked and direct; her gaze was like a sharp blade.

The [Azure Emperor] rune within her sea of qi and dantian vibrated silently, drawing mana from the yellow sprouts and emitting an aura starkly different from before.

For a moment, Jiang Yunjiang was actually startled back half a step. Upon realizing what had happened, a rare look of shame and annoyance rose on her face.

Taking a deep breath, she forced a smile. "Shaoheng, you misunderstand."

"There are only you and I here. Whether there is a misunderstanding or not, you know it yourself, and so do I." Shaoheng walked in another direction, toward the spiritual fields.

"If someone tries to play schemes against me, I don't care if they are an inner disciple—I will make sure they feel a pain etched into their very bones."

Shaoheng turned back to look at her sideways.

"Once one becomes a cultivator, their spiritual sense increases accordingly. Can your soul's strength still support that [Heart-Confusing Pupil] to produce the same effect as before?"

Of course, it could not.

In the sect of True Monarch Tianbai, aside from Jiang Yunjiang, the one with the lowest cultivation was Song Feisheng. Even as a mid-stage First Realm cultivator, he could still be somewhat affected by the [Heart-Confusing Pupil].

But the world was not entirely filled with fools and useless trash; how could a disciple of a Sixth Realm True Monarch be a mere good-for-nothing?

Song Feisheng had timely realized that sudden surge of goodwill. By the next day, he had equipped a prayer bead dharma artifact to protect his soul, and he was no longer affected. Instead, he often sized up Jiang Yunjiang with a wary eye.

Jiang Yunjiang was accustomed to using an opponent's strength against them. Compared to the inner disciples, who possessed higher talent and cultivation, were harder to deal with, and carried greater risks of future repercussions, she began to turn her gaze toward the outer disciples.

She thought to herself with a sense of regret; as she watched Shaoheng's retreating figure, the tenderness on her face vanished completely.

The little carp on her shoulder seemed to sense its master's mood, nuzzling her cheek flirtatiously.

"Yunjiang, this old woman has seen too many people and too many things. You must know that the human heart is difficult to grasp. Some are like blades, but even blades have handles that limit them. Yet there are others who are like arrows released from a bow—once shot, they move forward relentlessly. To try and grab them forcibly will only result in self-injury."

"Senior Danhua, I have learned much."

...

Shaoheng reviewed the recent encounter. At first, the surprise on Jiang Yunjiang's face did not seem fake; it truly seemed to have been a chance encounter.

"Jiang Yunjiang mentioned her master, who should be an inner sect elder. Having upper-middle aptitude in the inner sect is rare, so it is not unexpected that an elder took her as a disciple. It's just a pity she is still not strong enough. If I were strong enough—strong enough that her master behind her could be slapped to death with a single palm—would Jiang Yunjiang still dare to harbor even the slightest ulterior motive toward me?"

To be honest, during the confrontation between the two women in the Marquis of Pingnan's manor years ago, every time those two fools, Lu Shaojia and Lu Shaojing, said she should yield her things to Jiang Yunjiang, the first thought that actually popped into Shaoheng's mind was quite absurd—

Shaoheng had thought then: if she were the little emperor, and they could only bow and scrape before her, exhausting themselves to please her, would they still say such things?

Or rather, would they even dare?

At this thought, Shaoheng quickened her pace and soon reached a certain territory.

Before her lay an endless plain without any towering peaks, but it was shrouded in a layer of white mist, making the true terrain impossible to see. However, several disciples could be seen entering and exiting the mist.

Shaoheng infused more mana into the guidance talisman, which instantly shot out a streak of red light, landing in a specific direction.

She ran toward that spot and discovered that the white mist was almost physical, impossible to penetrate, and highly organized. The areas not covered by the mist clearly divided this territory into individual plots, which were likely the divisions for the spiritual fields.

Upon reaching the spot where the red light vanished, Shaoheng gripped the guidance talisman and tentatively tested her footing, finding that she indeed encountered no resistance from the mist and stepped smoothly into it.

Once inside the white mist, she saw a stretch of black soil. Sensing it finely, she found that the earth-element spiritual qi here was more abundant than the other four elements.

Shaoheng took out her rice bag and set it aside, looking at the spiritual field without the slightest hint of intimidation.

With the white mist acting as a barrier, outsiders could not enter without the corresponding guidance talisman, nor could they spy on the condition of each individual plot.

The miraculous part was that while standing inside the mist, one could clearly observe the movements outside, and it did not affect the sunlight shining in at all.

Once Shaoheng had a plan in mind, she acted immediately. She first chanted an incantation, drawing mana to perform the Earth-Breaking Spell. Once the spiritual field was tilled by the spell, she opened the rice bag and used a Control Spell to sow the rice seeds in an orderly fashion.

Using two spells in succession consumed a significant portion of the eleven cauldrons of mana within her body. She sat cross-legged to recover her mana for a while, while simultaneously using the [Azure Emperor] to condense emerald liquid beads.

After about fifteen minutes, Shaoheng stood up, her left palm holding a handful of green liquid.

She performed hand seals with her right hand and chanted: "Preserve the spirit, circulate the qi; let the dragon move and the rain pour."

Once the Spirit Rain Spell was activated, it drew in the surrounding water-element spiritual qi, gradually condensing into clusters of clouds hovering above the field. Shaoheng then used her mana to guide the green liquid from her left palm into those clouds.

*Pitter-patter.*

When the clouds became dense enough, a fine, pale green drizzle began to fall.

As the rain ceased and the clouds dispersed, Shaoheng saw green seedlings piercing through the black soil, growing rapidly until they were almost at the stage of tillering and branching.

Seeing the entire plot covered in green seedlings, she carved out a small corner and once again triggered the first transformation of the [Azure Emperor], letting drops of green liquid fall from her fingertips into the soil.

The surrounding spiritual qi was rapidly absorbed by the seedlings, fueling their growth.

In less than half a quarter-hour, they actually began to produce ears and flowers.

Shaoheng grew even more excited. Suppressing her restless thoughts, she activated the Wind-Blowing Spell, creating a breeze within the carved-out area to complete pollination.

The green liquid was no longer dripping from her fingertips, but suddenly, the seedlings rapidly turned yellow and withered, eventually decaying.

"They can't withstand it?"

Shaoheng felt a bit disappointed, but it was within her expectations.

If these liquid beads could force the rice seedlings to maturity in one breath, the effect would be too staggering, completely defying the normal laws of growth. This result actually made her feel more at ease.

"That's enough for today. When I come tomorrow, I will use another portion of the seedlings to experiment and find the pattern."

However, looking at the entire field, Shaoheng rareley showed a hint of worry: "If I have to come here every day to tend to it, it will be quite troublesome—weeding, pest control, loosening the soil, watering..."

Spending time every day at the spiritual field felt like a waste of time to Shaohong. Moreover, if she forgot about it while in secluded cultivation, the precious spiritual rice seedlings might wither and die.

"It would be great if I could find a helper."

Shaoheng's eyes suddenly lit up, and the corners of her mouth curled upward.

"I've got it!"

(End of Chapter)