Chapter 31: Ladybug is Extra Enthusiastic at the Beginning of the Month

“Wow, it smells amazing!”

The main door pushed open, and Gu Caiyi, dressed in silk pajamas, let out an exclamation.

Opposite her, Luo Chen was sitting at the entrance, clutching a large floral porcelain bowl, shoveling mouthfuls of spiritual rice into his mouth.

A few pieces of bright red beef were tucked to one side of the bowl; as he scooped the rice, the beef wobbled enticingly.

“Did you make this yourself?”

Looking at the woman who had walked up to him and was staring intently at those clumps of beef, Luo Chen asked tentatively.

“Want a piece?”

“Sure!”

*Holy crap, you really aren't polite!*

Watching the largest piece of beef enter that rosy little mouth under the guidance of his spiritual energy, Luo Chen felt like crying without tears.

To reward himself for his hard work today, he had specifically sliced an extra two ounces of meat, and now it was all going into this woman's mouth.

To make matters worse, she was at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, so he had nowhere to voice his grievance.

*It's all my big mouth's fault!*

“Mmm, so tender and flavorful, spicy and delicious. The faint herbal scent not only locks in the juices but also contains rich spiritual energy.”

Gu Caiyi squinted her eyes, enjoying the mouthful of beef.

“I didn't realize you were so good at managing a household. This skill is much better than the chefs at our Tianxiang Pavilion; it wouldn't even lose to the spiritual chefs of the Zhongding family.”

After a few compliments, she noticed Luo Chen was rapidly shoveling the food in his bowl.

Feeling both annoyed and amused, she tapped Luo Chen on the head.

“I only ate one piece of your beef, is that really necessary?”

*Gulp!*

“I was hungry, purely hungry. Sister Caiyi, don't misunderstand.”

Gu Caiyi licked her lips, still craving more.

“I won't let you eat that meat for nothing. I've looked into it for you. The Yin energy in Dahe坊 is just seeping through the formation; it isn't harmful. As long as you don't stay for too long, it will have almost no effect.”

“How long is 'too long'?” Luo Chen pressed immediately.

“At least a month, like if you were in secluded cultivation without moving a muscle.”

Luo Chen breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Last night, while sleeping under a thick quilt, he had felt more or less uneasy in his heart.

Cultivation was already difficult enough; if his foundation were ruined by Yin energy, he would truly be out of luck.

With his mind relaxed, his eating speed involuntarily slowed down.

His gaze even had the leisure to follow Gu Caiyi's graceful figure.

Under the control of spiritual energy, a wooden bucket drew water from a corner of the courtyard. She leaned down, splashing her face with clear water.

When she lifted her head, the water droplets on her face shimmered with a magnificent, multi-colored radiance under the sunlight.

“Is it pretty?”

“It is!”

“Giggle, giggle, giggle.”

Forgive Luo Chen; he didn't know what adjective to use, so he could only use the sound of a hen laying an egg to describe that crisp and charming laughter.

Sitting on a swing built under the tree in the west wing of the courtyard, Gu Caiyi suddenly said with a hint of melancholy, “They all say I am beautiful, yet they also say I don't meet the entry requirements for the Hehuan Sect.”

What were the entry requirements for the Hehuan Sect?

Shouldn't a sect's recruitment only look at age and spiritual roots?

Gu Caiyi didn't say. Sitting on that swing, which clearly looked built for a child, her waist and hips bounced tightly, forming a peach-like silhouette.

As she swayed, her unadorned cheeks gazed at the sky, looking somewhat lonely.

Luo Chen realized that Gu Caiyi was different from Bai Meiling Fengxia; she was more like the people he had seen chasing Foundation Establishment.

Among rogue cultivators, there were many such people, yet not enough.

Because most, under the pressure of their dire circumstances, would gradually become vulgar, spending their days toiling for a livelihood.

And in that daily toil, they would forget their original intention: the pursuit of the Great Dao and Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen was also a vulgar person, but he reminded himself from time to time that the purpose of refining pills to earn spiritual stones was not for the stones themselves, but to purchase enough resources to pursue immortality.

“When did you get back this morning? Why didn't I hear anything?”

“I came back during the Yin hour last night.”

The Yin hour was roughly between three and five in the morning.

It was about two hours earlier than his usual return during the Mao hour.

No wonder he hadn't heard a sound.

“It's been like this for the last two months. I don't know what's wrong with those 'ladybugs,' but they are exceptionally enthusiastic at the beginning of the month, flocking to Tianxiang Pavilion all at once.”

Ladybugs?

*She means customers!*

“Then after two or three days, I don't know if they've run out of spiritual stones or energy, but they all slink back home dejectedly.”

Wait, the beginning of the month?

Luo Chen seemed to realize something, and his gaze instinctively avoided Gu Caiyi.

“Actually, those of us who dance and play music are fine. It's just hard on the sisters in the flesh trade. When I tell Mama that the beginning of the month is especially exhausting, they all want to adjust their holidays to the start of the month.”

A certain man gave an awkward, silent laugh.

Staring at the remaining grains of rice in his bowl, he picked them up one by one and put them in his mouth.

“Of course, the sisters earn more then. Some have already decided to persist for a while, save up enough spiritual stones, and then move to another market to marry an honest rogue cultivator. They hope to bear a child with spiritual roots so they can join a major sect in the future and achieve Foundation Establishment and Core Formation.”

Luo Chen kept his head down, drawing circles with his finger.

*I really thank them on behalf of the honest rogue cultivators.*

“Why aren't you speaking? Do you dislike hearing about things in Tianxiang Pavilion?” Gu Caiyi suddenly turned her head to look at him.

Luo Chen waved his hands hurriedly. “How could that be? It's just that I've never 'eaten the pork,' so I don't know how to join the conversation.”

“Hey, you brat!” Gu Caiyi gave a mischievous smile, then advised, “If you still want to reach Foundation Establishment, it's best not to lose your primordial yang before then.”

Luo Chen gave an affirmative hum.

He was quite knowledgeable about this matter.

Most cultivation techniques set a "Golden Lock" in the Qi Refinement stage specifically to ensure low-level disciples did not lose their primordial yang.

The *Everlasting Spring Technique* also contained similar warnings.

“By the way, let me ask you something.” Luo Chen felt a bit troubled. “In the inner city, how do cultivators solve the problem of practicing spells?”

Gu Caiyi looked at him strangely. “They just practice them. How else would they solve it?”

“No, I mean spells that require constant release and practice. Like large-scale attack spells, such as Fireball Technique or Giant Sword Technique.”

Luo Chen said distressfully, “The space is too small, and it's easy to disturb the neighbors.”

“Fighting is strictly prohibited in the inner city. Why are you learning those spells? Shouldn't you be focusing on keeping your spiritual energy abundant to sprint toward higher realms?” Gu Caiyi was puzzled.

Luo Chen found it even stranger. “Spells and magical tools are means of protecting one's path. Shouldn't they be mastered proficiently?”

“Besides, the inner city isn't necessarily absolutely safe, is it?”

“Fine, the inner city does indeed have one or two fools every year who provoke the regulations of the Yuding Sword Sect, so it's not absolutely safe.”

Gu Caiyi shrugged, giving Luo Chen the answer he wanted.

“As far as I know, if inner-city cultivators want to practice high-power spells, they either go out of the city to desolate mountains and empty lands, or they go to the combat platforms of the Yuding Sword Pavilion.”

“Combat platforms?”

“Mhm. They charge a fee. It starts at one spiritual stone per session. If you want an opponent to act as a practice partner, the price increases a hundredfold.”

Luo Chen's eyelid twitched.

So the Yuding Sword Sect's way of making money was also this vulgar!

Perhaps seeing that Luo Chen was short on funds, Gu Caiyi offered him another solution.

“There's hardly anyone in the courtyard during the day. You can practice in that corner by the wall. Just make sure to replenish the soil whenever necessary so Senior Sun doesn't find out.”