Chapter Fifty-Three: Cause and Effect

Feng Ke’er dashed back into the valley and dumped out all the high-grade spirit rice she had collected. The harvest was impressive—a large pile, at least three hundred pounds.

Remembering something, her smile faded as she asked suspiciously, “Hey, Meat Bird, you said this should be enough for me to eat—what do you mean by that?” Only now did she realize those words sounded like she was being stocked up for the long haul.

The bird tossed her two items and walked into the stone cave. “Heh, you’ll know soon enough.”

Feng Ke’er caught them: in her left hand was her family’s cooking pot, in her right, the bamboo steamer she’d just pilfered.

So this brat really treats me like a full-time cook! She hefted the two things and hollered, “Hey—!”

But Feng Jiu ignored her, waving a wing from inside the stone cave before activating the ward.

Instantly, the stone wall at the cave entrance slid shut. Vines crawled up the cliff face at a dreamlike speed, covering it completely.

Feng Ke’er stared, dumbstruck.

Just like that, Feng Jiu began another seclusion.

Because of her constitution, Feng Ke’er couldn’t stay too long near the spirit rice sprouts. So she simply devoted herself to practicing swordsmanship in the valley. When hungry, she cooked spirit rice or roasted wild fowl. She, too, was in a sort of seclusion.

The days slipped by like water. In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

That morning, just after finishing her meditation, she was about to make breakfast when a white figure appeared at the valley entrance.

“Junior Brother Qin, Uncle Qin requests your presence.” The visitor was a female disciple at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, someone unfamiliar.

What was meant to come had come. Feng Ke’er sighed and rose. “Understood. Senior Sister, please allow me a moment to pack—”

But the senior sister cut her off rudely, her face impatient. “Uncle Qin ordered you to come immediately. Junior Brother Qin, this way.” As she spoke, her eyes darted toward Feng Ke’er’s simple lean-to.

“Very well, thank you for your trouble.” Feng Ke’er secretly rejoiced—luckily, she’d been prepared. Everything was stored away in her pouch.

The senior sister found nothing and, disappointed, grew even more aggressive, reaching out to grab Feng Ke’er’s arm.

But Feng Ke’er wasn’t some fresh novice—how could she allow it? With a flick of her arm, she sent a jolt of spiritual energy that made the woman’s hand ache, forcing her back three steps before she regained her footing.

“You! How dare you!” The woman’s spiritual sense flared.

She gathered her spiritual power to its peak, trying to suppress Feng Ke’er with sheer force.

Unfortunately, she was unlucky enough to run into Feng Ke’er.

Feng Ke’er had long wanted to test her progress with the meditation mantra against someone of equal cultivation, but the outer sect was full of prying eyes, and she’d avoided unnecessary trouble—until now, when a challenger had delivered herself.

Delighted, she unleashed her own spiritual sense and power.

A cold wind howled through the valley; the temperature plummeted. Nearby flowers and grass were instantly coated in a thin frost.

The furious senior sister, as if a red-hot stone dropped into ice water, couldn’t withstand the onslaught—she spat blood and collapsed.

“Senior Sister!” Feng Ke’er was alarmed, hurriedly withdrawing her power and rushing to check.

One look made her heart pound—her unfortunate test subject was bleeding from all seven orifices, eyes rolled back, jaw clenched, unconscious.

Feng Ke’er checked her breath—barely a thread left, only exhaling, not inhaling.

It seemed she was on the brink of death.

Heart pounding, Feng Ke’er desperately used her Heart-Probing Technique to check the woman’s spiritual sea. Thankfully, though shattered, there was still a faint glimmer of light.

In the world of cultivation, as long as there’s light in the spiritual sea, there’s hope.

She quickly took out all her Revitalizing Pills—however many there were—and stuffed them all into the woman’s mouth. Then, with her gourd bowl, she scooped up a full bowl of water and poured it down.

Spirit pills were miraculous indeed. Three breaths later, the senior sister slowly regained consciousness.

When she opened her eyes and saw Feng Ke’er, she tensed in alarm, quickly scrambling to her feet. Then, as despair washed over her, she dropped to her knees, clawing desperately at her abdomen, nearly shrieking, “No, it can’t be… how is this possible…”

“Senior Sister…” Her emotions were so erratic that Feng Ke’er couldn’t keep up, a chill running down her spine.

In the rush to save her, Feng Ke’er hadn’t counted the cost. Now, seeing all her precious pills gone—and knowing she could only level up by fighting beasts, so injuries were always a risk—her heart ached. If only one pill would have sufficed; the rest were wasted…

Suddenly, the senior sister, like a maddened lioness, lunged at her, screaming, “It’s all your fault—yours!”

Feng Ke’er instinctively dodged, but the woman overbalanced and fell flat on her face, eating a mouthful of grass.

“Senior Sister, I—I really didn’t mean…” Feng Ke’er tried to explain, reaching out, but froze two steps away. The woman’s attack held not a trace of spiritual power, and she now lay there, utterly drained, no different from an ordinary girl.

“Why didn’t you kill me! You destroyed my spiritual root—why didn’t you finish me off? Isn’t this enough suffering?” She raised her face, grabbing at the earth, flinging dirt and grass at Feng Ke’er in despair. “Just kill me! Kill me!”

Feng Ke’er stood unmoving, unable to answer. She’d had no grudge, had only wanted to spar, not harm. Yet the damage was done—irreversible. She couldn’t defend herself.

After venting, the woman collapsed, lying weakly on the ground, eyes vacant, staring into the distance, muttering, “My spiritual root is gone… gone…”

Feng Ke’er felt even worse. She wanted to offer comfort but feared making things worse, torn between wanting to help and fearing to cause more pain.

“Junior Brother Qin, why are you still here?” Another figure appeared at the valley entrance. “Uncle Qin summons you to the Disciplinary Hall—immediately.” This time, Uncle Qin had sent a late-stage Qi Refining male disciple, also a stranger.

Feng Ke’er glanced at the woman on the ground, intending to carry her to the lean-to for rest.

But seeing the fallen woman, the male disciple gave a surprised “Oh?” then, after a closer look, clapped his hands and laughed mockingly. “Ziyu, so you’ve finally met your match!”

The name struck Feng Ke’er as familiar—she’d heard it before.

“Senior Brother, you know her?” By now, Ziyu was utterly withdrawn, like a lifeless puppet. Feng Ke’er helped her into the shelter, but she gave no reaction, resigned to her fate.

The male disciple ignored the question, looking Feng Ke’er up and down. “Junior Brother Qin, did you do this?”

“I—I…” Feng Ke’er nodded. “We were only sparring with spiritual sense—I didn’t expect…”

“That explains it!” He snapped his fingers, interrupting her without ceremony. “That’s Ziyu—a once-famous figure. Three years ago, she advanced within nine months of joining, and in the Inner Sect selection, crippled three opponents’ dantians, catching the eye of Master Hong, who took her in as a personal disciple. She made two more breakthroughs in three years. Just over a month ago, it was rumored she might soon form her foundation. But then came news she’d consumed a Beauty-Preserving Pill from Fairy Mo Xue, which damaged her dantian, causing her cultivation to fall to mid-stage Qi Refining, with no hope of ever forming her foundation. Everyone knew Fairy Mo Xue’s pill bottles were specially made. Master Hong even took her to confront Master Hui Lan with the pill bottle, but Fairy Mo Xue swore by her inner demon that she’d never given it. The dispute caused an uproar until the Grand Elder investigated and cleared Mo Xue’s name—it was Ziyu’s own greed; she tried to rob new outer sect disciples, failed, and suffered the consequences. She was nearly expelled, but the Grand Elder took pity and merely cast her out of the Inner Sect. Hmph! With a ruined dantian, she still dares spar with spiritual sense? She overreaches herself!”

At his words, Feng Ke’er finally recalled who Ziyu was—one of the four who’d tried to rob her days ago!

So the Beauty-Preserving Pill really had been tampered with—perhaps Feng Que’er had been destroyed the same way years ago. That was why she’d mentioned that pill twice. Perhaps, seeing Feng Ke’er as a rootless mortal, she hadn’t wanted to spell it out further.

“With a fragile dantian, her spiritual sense was bound to be weak. Junior Brother Qin, you were lucky this time—she was already crippled. Next time, be careful; challenging above your level comes with a price.”

He patted Feng Ke’er’s shoulder, urging, “Come on, Uncle Qin’s waiting. As for this useless woman, leaving her alive is mercy enough—don’t trouble yourself.”

Feng Ke’er said nothing, following him to the Disciplinary Hall. Only then did she collect her thoughts. Did she have a choice? Ziyu was never the type to show mercy. Here, everyone was like this—if they struck, it was a fight to the death. This was the law of survival in this world. She was no saint; she had to survive, too. If it happened again, she would still defeat Ziyu without hesitation—and would still heal her. But next time, she’d give her only one Revitalizing Pill, not waste the rest.

Uncle Qin received her in the main house of the Disciplinary Hall. But this time, his expression was grim. Before Feng Ke’er could salute, he threw four low-grade spirit stones on the ground and questioned her angrily, “Qin Heng, what is the meaning of this? Qin Heng, you’ve truly disappointed me.” His tone was more pained than ever.

What else could it be? Feng Ke’er immediately understood—no wonder Uncle Qin hadn’t sent Jiang Yuan as before. The latter must have been… (to be continued)

Heavenly Tome, Chapter 53: Cause and Effect—End of update.