Chapter 21: Wishful Thinking (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Shao Heng took the Demon-Contracting Incantation from Song Xuan's hand, stored it in her storage ring, and then produced twenty pale purple spirit stones.

As Song Xuan chanted an unknown incantation, runes began to surface on the cage. She then reached out and, as if from thin air, pulled the dying little monkey demon out of the cage.

Condensing her magic power into her palm, she lifted the monkey demon and held it suspended in the air. She then said to Shao Heng, "Do you have a demon-taming ring for collecting beasts? Otherwise, you'll have to carry it like this."

Among the four people present was a female cultivator named Jiang Suzhi, who shook her head and said, "Senior Sister Song, those demon-taming rings are worth hundreds of spirit stones. As a newly admitted disciple, she likely only has the first year of cultivation resources provided by the sect."

She took out a square kerchief and handed it to Shao Heng, explaining, "This kerchief is woven from jade silkworm silk; it is impervious to water and fire. Use it to wrap this little monkey and go."

Shao Heng took the kerchief, thanked her, and handed the spirit stones to Song Xuan. She then carefully took the immobile little monkey, asked a few questions, and finally took her leave to return to the disciple quarters.

The male disciple from the beginning let out a comment: "What a beautiful and kind-hearted junior sister."

However, Li Yutang snorted, "Kind-hearted? That's just stupidity! She's a new cultivator who knows nothing. I bet that monkey demon won't last half a day before it dies. What a waste of spirit stones."

He continued incessantly, "Senior Sister Song, if you ask me, you're just too kind. You even went through the trouble of explaining so much to her."

Song Xuan glanced at him, the softness on her face having vanished at some unknown point. With a stern expression, she said only one thing: "Shut up."

Jiang Suzhi looked at Li Yutang and sneered, "That junior sister barely knows anything about demons; she was likely recruited from the mortal realm. By my count, she achieved Qi Refinement within ten days."

"That's enough, Li Yutang. Who knows, maybe next year she'll be promoted to the inner sect while you, you blind fool, are still doing odd jobs in the outer sect."

Li Yutang's face instantly turned ashen.

...

Holding the little monkey, Shao Heng realized it was far too weak. Its eyes were squinted, and its body was trembling, looking as if it were about to meet its ancestors.

She didn't want her twenty spirit stones to go down the drain, so she extended a finger to the monkey demon's mouth.

A single drop of emerald liquid seeped out. Upon smelling the fragrance, the monkey demon instinctively began to suckle.

As Shao Heng walked, she sensed carefully and noticed that the monkey demon's aura was beginning to stabilize, and its breathing was no longer as rapid as before.

"The magic aura of this little monkey is only at the level of someone who has just achieved Qi Refinement. The Demon-Contracting Incantation is enough to suppress it and make it follow my commands completely. Once it's recovered, I'll train it for a while, and it should be able to help me tend the spirit fields."

By the time she reached the disciple quarters, the people who had collapsed on the ground were gone.

Shao Heng returned to her room and activated the formation at her door.

She spread the kerchief on the floor. Unable to stand the stench, she first cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell on the little brat. Then, she performed a spell to condense a sphere of water, added three drops of the green liquid, and immersed the little brat in the pale green water, leaving only its nose, mouth, and ears exposed.

Because of her previous testing with the spirit rice seedlings, Shao Heng did not rashly add more green liquid, fearing a repeat of the seedling withering incident.

Once she noticed the monkey demon's aura gradually strengthening and its injuries appearing to improve, Shao Heng stopped watching it constantly.

She pulled out the small booklet recording basic spells again and lined up all twenty-plus spells to compare them.

Shao Heng had already successfully performed several spells; she was confident that the rest would be easy to learn once she understood the principles.

The key to spells lay in hand seals, incantations, and the circulation of magic power.

By comparing the similarities and differences between the various spells, Shao Heng grasped the true crux—frequency.

Whether it was an incantation or a hand seal, the purpose was to ensure that one's magic power maintained a certain frequency during circulation, thereby resonating with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This allowed one to use a small force to leverage a large one, making the resonating spiritual energy manifest the desired effect.

"Of course, these are just my personal conclusions regarding these basic spells. Immortal Arts that have reached a formal rank have a general manual; the true nature of those cannot be explored this way."

Shao Heng let out a sigh and rubbed her face with both hands.

"I really wish I had a manual of Immortal Arts to practice with."

"Ying ying?"

Hearing the sound, Shao Heng looked over. The little monkey soaking in the water had opened its eyes and was looking at her with a mix of panic and curiosity.

She took out the Demon-Contracting Incantation. It was a mere five hundred words or so. After memorizing it, she did not hesitate and immediately began the incantation. Magic power condensed at her fingertips, sketching silver runes that fell upon the little monkey demon.

"Relax, I am saving you."

"Look, I am using very precious and rare spiritual liquid to help heal your injuries. Do not resist."

The little monkey couldn't resist even if it wanted to; its injuries were not fully healed, and its magic power was not strong.

It simply allowed itself to soak in the water sphere and let the runes sink into its body.

Once Shao Heng had fully infused the Demon-Contracting Incantation into the monkey's body, she immediately sensed that those runes had settled into every part of the demon's body, capable of erupting at her will to enforce the contract's restrictions.

Only now did Shao Heng have the time to examine the golden-haired monkey closely.

It blinked its amber eyes; upon closer inspection, its pupils were a pale silver. Its fur was wet and clinging to its body, but one could see that the golden fur on its back was deeper in color, while the fur on its belly was lighter. Its limbs were slender, but its head was round, making it look nimble and cute since it was a cub.

Because of the Demon-Contracting Incantation, Shao Heng was very clear about the monkey's internal condition.

The wounds on its shoulders had mostly healed, but its broken bones and internal organs had not yet fully recovered.

As the water sphere faded into transparency, Shao Heng cast another Dust-Cleansing Spell on it. The water droplets scattered across the floor, and the wet fur became clean and refreshed once more.

The golden monkey hopped onto the ground, scratched its head, looked at the youth before it, and tentatively reached out to tug at her sleeve.

Shao Heng scooped it into her arms. Once the golden fur was washed clean, it felt wonderful to the touch, like high-quality silk. Turning it over, she saw it was a female monkey.

"Let me think of a name for you... I'll just call you Duobao (Many Treasures)."

Shao Heng couldn't be bothered to think of an elegant name. *Duobao, Duobao*—she hoped this little monkey would be hardworking and capable, planting the spirit rice well and earning many spirit stones so she could trade them for many treasures.

The little monkey let out two "ying ying" sounds. Because of the incantation, Shao Heng could sense its mental fluctuations; it had accepted the name.

...

In the lecture hall of the Myriad Law Pavilion, after the unconscious disciples had slowly regained consciousness, Zhao Tang did not proceed with today's lesson. He merely spoke of a few matters, offered some brief comfort, and ended the class early.

Meanwhile, the brothers Lu Shaojia and Lu Shaojing were walking down the road, their minds unable to find peace.

Lu Shaojing, unable to contain himself, said indignantly, "Big Brother, did you hear what that old hag just said!"

To motivate them earlier, Zhao Tang had actually mentioned that a female disciple named Shao Heng had already achieved Qi Refinement, urging them to practice diligently to achieve success early as well.

A look of embarrassment appeared on Lu Shaojia's face as he said sarcastically, "What, is this the first day you've known your sister is capable?"

"Lu Shaoheng wasn't wrong before; every single martial art you've learned was taught to you by her, step by step."

Lu Shaojing clenched his fists, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Then... then let's go find Lu Shaoheng and ask her to teach us how to achieve Qi Refinement! We both have low-grade aptitude, so she must have some trick. It... it's no big deal if we just forgive her for now."

Lu Shaojia stopped abruptly, looking at his foolish brother in disbelief. He covered his head in frustration, and after a long silence, he finally squeezed out a sentence.

"It's as if when Mother gave birth to you, all the brains went into Lu Shaoheng!"

Duobao: *Hello, my real name is Ma Lou (Monkey).*