“This has nothing to do with you.”
Shui Miao’s tone was resolute as he quickly replied.
Seeing Shui Miao’s attitude was off, Sister Tang patiently and gently asked, “What’s wrong? Did someone upset you?”
“This still has nothing to do with you.”
Shui Miao couldn’t help but furrow his brows. “Once again, I kissed you back then, and even touched your butt. Tell me, how should we settle this account?”
“Shui Miao…please don’t act like this. I actually miss you a lot, you know?”
Suddenly, Sister Tang tightly embraced Shui Miao, burying her head in his chest.
After failing to push her away twice, Shui Miao deeply inhaled and said, “I never liked you at all. I kissed you back then only because I was caught up in the moment. Please calm yourself down. Don’t think about me anymore. I can compensate you for what happened back then.”
“What did you say?”
Upon hearing this, Sister Tang suddenly pushed Shui Miao away, pointing at him and exclaiming, “You stole my first kiss and molested me, and now you say this? Are you even a man?”
Shui Miao felt troubled, not knowing how to respond. “Yes…I’m sorry…”
“Sorry? You think an apology is enough to settle this?” Sister Tang exploded.
Shui Miao closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Then tell me what you want. Name it, and I’ll compensate you.”
“Two words: take responsibility.”
Sister Tang exuded an air of dominance, revealing her true personality.
“How should I take responsibility?” Shui Miao asked.
Sister Tang glared at him, then resumed speaking in a normal tone, “Marry me.”
“That’s impossible.” Shui Miao immediately refused.
Sister Tang frowned, raising her voice again. “Why not? Why is it impossible? Are you fooling around with other women outside? Or have you always liked that girl Lin Qing’er? Answer me, isn’t that right?”
“Yes! I do like many beautiful women. I flirt with others every day, so you won’t be happy staying with me. You’re so well-off, why don’t you find someone better than me?” Knowing how much Sister Tang valued a man’s faithfulness, Shui Miao decided to provoke her on purpose.
To his surprise, Sister Tang suddenly sneered coldly. “I’m not stupid. You’re not that kind of person at all. Tell me, give me a reason convincing enough, or else you have to marry me. No other man has ever touched me, and you were the first—and will be the last.”
Sister Tang became somewhat emotional, her eyes brimming with tears.
Seeing this, Shui Miao felt his head spinning, wishing he could grab a knife and castrate himself—though it was just a fleeting thought.
After a pause, Shui Miao nodded and telepathically communicated to Sister Tang, “Alright, I’ll tell you the truth. Actually, I’ve had relationships with several women already. Just this alone makes me unworthy of you. Moreover, I’m now fully devoted to the path of Dao cultivation and don’t want to think about anything else. Think about it—how can a Taoist priest get married? Furthermore, I have many enemies, some of whom are ghosts, gods, and demons. If I oppose them, they will target my loved ones and friends, so I must make choices. That’s also why I’m speaking to you telepathically now—I can’t drag you into this.”
After hearing these heartfelt words, Sister Tang looked into Shui Miao’s eyes and said, “Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier? Am I really such an unreasonable woman?”
“Xiao Tang, you’re beautiful, you’re amazing—you really can find someone better than me…”
“Enough!”
Sister Tang interrupted Shui Miao. “I don’t want to hear this. I’m not the kind of person you think I am. Now, I just want to ask you one question: if not for those reasons, would you like me?”
“Yes!”
Shui Miao nodded firmly.
Upon hearing this, Sister Tang’s tears could no longer be held back and streamed down her face. She moved forward, wrapped her arms around Shui Miao’s neck, and bit his lips—hard enough to draw blood before letting go. “Whatever you did to me back then, I want to do the same to you now. Otherwise, it’s not fair.”
Then, to Shui Miao’s shock, Sister Tang dramatically reached her hand into his pants and gave a hard squeeze. Afterward, she casually wiped her hand against his body. “Now we’re even. As friends, I hope you succeed. Good luck!”
Sister Tang opened the door and walked out.
Shui Miao felt a dull pain in his lower body, his mind filled with disbelief. Truly, Sister Tang was a bold and fierce woman, capable of doing such a thing!
“Our relationship…”
Before the door could fully shut, Shui Miao quickly asked one question.
Without turning around, Sister Tang said, “I don’t remember.”
…
The door automatically shut. A strange feeling suddenly arose in Shui Miao’s heart, as if he had lost something, leaving him feeling hollow inside. At that moment, while descending into the stone cave beneath the dry well, Shui Miao spread out his spiritual senses and discovered that Sister Tang indeed seemed to have let go. She was cheerfully chatting with Xiao Shuang and Wang Xiaomi, carrying a bowl of soup into the room.
Women truly were mysterious creatures, hard to understand!
Shui Miao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Then he sat cross-legged on the platform, gathering the Holy Spirit Qi and beginning his cultivation.
※※※
The Holy Spirit Qi continuously flowed into his dantian and spiritual realm, increasing steadily. As time passed, Shui Miao noticed that the two blackened immortal energy spheres, which had been darkened, were gradually becoming clear again due to the influx of Holy Spirit Qi.
Meanwhile, the five stone tablets within his spiritual realm also seemed affected, gradually regaining their luster and no longer appearing as dull and lifeless as before.
At the same time, Shui Miao sensed his immortal energy rapidly growing stronger.
This Holy Spirit energy was countless times purer than ordinary spiritual energy, even surpassing typical immortal energy.
After more than a dozen hours, Shui Miao observed the two immortal energy spheres slowly merging together again. As time passed, they automatically transformed into nine small, colorful spheres, each containing a unique type of immortal energy. They rotated slowly in a clockwise direction, continuously transforming.
The absorption and circulation of Holy Spirit energy continued. It was unclear how much time had passed when the nine small immortal energy spheres underwent another transformation and fused together once more.
“Boom!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
At the moment the nine small immortal energy spheres fused, Shui Miao’s heart jolted as if he had heard a series of thunderclaps. Looking inward, he saw that the fused immortal energy sphere had shrunk by half and turned a mysterious deep blue.
His dantian had turned deep blue, which left Shui Miao utterly bewildered.
However, the transformation was not yet complete.
The transformation process required vast amounts of Holy Spirit energy. Shui Miao used his willpower to channel all the Holy Spirit energy from the Holy Yuan Ring to fuel the transformation of his dantian. It wasn’t long before only the Water Holy Spirit and Fire Holy Spirit remained in abundance.
“Boom!”
At the sixth thunderous sound, all the Water Holy Spirit was instantly sucked away!
“Boom!”
At the seventh thunderous sound, the Fire Holy Spirit was completely drained.
At this point, Shui Miao had no Holy Spirit energy left, only some medicinal herbs.
“Boom!”
Another thunderous sound rang out, and Shui Miao discovered that the shrunken immortal energy sphere had turned a pale black, resembling a dark vortex. It began rotating rapidly, voraciously absorbing all available spiritual energy, even draining the medicinal potency from the herbs within the Holy Yuan Ring. Even the immortal energy and Holy Spirit energy within his spiritual realm were being pulled into the dantian.
“Oh no! Something’s wrong! I might actually die this time!”
Shui Miao suddenly felt tense and frightened.
He could sense that the immortal energy sphere in his dantian was even beginning to devour his body’s essence, blood, and vital energy.
His body was rapidly shrinking!
Shui Miao, sensing through his spiritual awareness, was shocked at his current appearance—his body had become emaciated, reduced to little more than skin and bones.
At this rate, he estimated that within ten minutes, he would be reduced to a skeleton wrapped in skin.
In desperation, driven by his survival instinct, Shui Miao quickly opened his eyes and grabbed the jade pendant given to him by Ye Xian, calling out his name three times in succession. To his surprise, as soon as he finished calling, the five stone tablets in his spiritual realm trembled and simultaneously released a massive surge of immortal energy into his dantian!
Even the mysterious immortal energy from the five stone tablets had been mobilized!?
Shui Miao was shocked, unsure whether to feel relieved or alarmed.
“Boom!”
The ninth thunderous sound erupted…
This time, the sound was especially muffled. Shui Miao immediately felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. Focusing his spiritual awareness, he saw that the dark vortex-like immortal energy sphere had turned completely jet black. It was spinning even faster, requiring more and more immortal energy. Most alarmingly, a small crack had appeared on its surface!
This crack was the source of his excruciating pain.
Shui Miao also sensed that a crack had appeared on the surface of his lower abdomen, and blood was beginning to seep out.
“I think I understand now!”
“The immortal energy sphere is me, and I am the immortal energy sphere.”
“Each fusion produces a thunderous sound, and the resulting damage requires massive amounts of immortal and spiritual energy to repair and nurture. Just now, the insufficient energy caused an incomplete fusion, hence the crack… Wait! If this fusion isn’t sufficient either, won’t the immortal energy sphere completely shatter, and won’t my body also be torn apart!!”
Shui Miao was deeply alarmed, for at this moment, there was no way he could gather enough immortal energy.
Even if the five stone tablets in his spiritual realm could release ample mysterious immortal energy, the rate at which it flowed into his dantian was extremely slow—like distant water failing to extinguish an immediate fire.
“I’m going to die!”
“This time, I’m really going to die!!”
Shui Miao found it hard to believe, yet the facts were undeniable.
A sense of unwillingness enveloped his heart.
As his essence and blood were devoured by the immortal energy sphere, Shui Miao felt his body growing increasingly frail, his clothes hanging loosely on him.
“Haha! Here I come, Master Shui! Look at what I’ve brought you…” Suddenly, Ye Xian emerged from the jade pendant, holding a purple medicinal gourd. He had intended to show off his treasure to Shui Miao, but upon seeing Shui Miao reduced to a skeleton-like state, he froze in shock. “What…what happened to you…”
“Quick, save me…”
Seeing Ye Xian, Shui Miao felt a glimmer of hope and quickly reached out for help!
“Whoosh!”
Because Shui Miao had placed all his hope in Ye Xian, his mind became intensely focused. Suddenly, he sensed the powerful medicinal energy within the gourd. The black immortal energy sphere in his dantian suddenly “whooshed” out from his abdomen, flying toward Ye Xian in an instant. It released a massive amount of spirit-devouring force, enveloping Ye Xian and his gourd entirely!
“Ahh! What the hell is this thing?”
After being wrapped in the spirit-devouring force, Ye Xian sensed that his soul, cultivation, medicinal pills—everything—was being rapidly consumed by an unknown, terrifying force!
“Quickly take out the medicinal pills, or you’ll die!”
Shui Miao weakly reminded Ye Xian, as the departure of the immortal energy sphere had left a hole in his abdomen, from which blood was continuously flowing.
“Crack!”
The sound of the gourd breaking.
Before Ye Xian could even open the medicinal gourd, the powerful spirit-devouring force had already corroded a hole in it. The gourd’s medicinal energy instantly surged out, and all the spirit-devouring force immediately converged upon it, devouring it in an instant. The spirit-devouring force was now fully focused on the gourd. Shui Miao saw Ye Xian’s appearance change—he transformed from having black eyebrows to yellow ones, and his green robe turned into a golden dragon-embroidered armor!
He was no mere ghost physician!
Could he be…the Yellow-Browed God?
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage