Chapter Twenty-Six: Spiritual Co-cultivation

(Supporters of this book, if you think it’s at least passable, please remember to leave a recommendation or add it to your favorites. The book is still new and needs your care. I’m not one for sentimental words—this is the first time I’ve asked for votes since starting half a month ago—so if you’re able, please do show your support with a recommendation or a vote.)

The Peony Fairy seemed to understand her feelings. After a moment of thoughtful silence, she began to gently persuade, “At certain moments, your fate has already been decided. With your current strength, resistance is impossible. Instead of letting yourself be troubled and confused, it would be better to accept it calmly. When you possess the power to seek the truth, all your questions will be answered.”

“What if I refuse to accept the dictates of fate?” Ji Mo looked at the Peony Fairy, a trace of anger in her voice.

“If you refuse, the consequences would be beyond what you can now bear. For instance, you may not wish to cultivate now, but when the day comes that you must watch your sect and those dearest to you slaughtered and destroyed before your very eyes, would you still feel the same?” The Peony Fairy spoke with unusual calm, not appearing at all angered.

“You—?” Ji Mo’s brows furrowed tightly. She disliked hearing such words, and though the Peony Fairy’s words seemed only hypothetical, an inexplicable premonition took root in Ji Mo’s heart, as though such a thing was destined to occur in the future. The chill that crept through her at that thought was inescapable.

“Very well, I accept my fate. You’re right. For things one does not have the power to change, the best approach is acceptance. My parents used to tell me the same thing.” After a moment’s silence, Ji Mo did not wait for the Peony Fairy to speak further. She took the initiative to open the Celestial Fiend Body Tempering Manual once more.

It was only upon reaching the third page that Ji Mo discovered the words “First Volume” inscribed upon it. She paused in surprise, her gaze turning to the Peony Fairy. “So, this book only contains the first volume. I’ll have to seek the second one myself, won’t I?”

“It’s perfectly normal for there to be only the first volume. As you yourself just said, no matter how great a person’s luck, they cannot monopolize all the world’s fortunes. For a cultivation method like the Celestial Fiend Body Tempering Manual, obtaining the first volume alone is already an extraordinary stroke of fate. As for the second, that will depend on your own destiny in time.” The Peony Fairy seemed unsurprised, as if she had long anticipated this outcome.

Ji Mo withdrew her gaze and focused on the manual in her hands. The Celestial Fiend Body Tempering Manual was divided into two volumes, of which the first recorded the formulas for the initial six layers.

The first layer: Tempering Bone and Training Flesh Stage. The formula was concise and to the point. The method was primarily to absorb the essence of sun and moon, supplemented by spiritual energy, ceaselessly refining the body so that flesh, bones, and organs would gradually become more solid.

In ancient times, demon cultivators tempered their bodies by drawing in the essence of sun and moon, as well as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, endlessly refining their flesh. When the body became strong enough to contain a certain amount of power, an inner core would condense. The body would then be tempered anew, and the cycle would repeat. Once the demon cultivator’s strength reached the highest limit of a given realm, they would break through the void and ascend to a higher plane.

Having finished reading the first layer’s formula, Ji Mo closed the manual and withdrew from her sea of consciousness. She had been born intelligent, yet her nature was somewhat indolent, lacking ambition or drive. Guided by her parents, she had always wished for nothing more than to live as an ordinary mortal. Not even their early deaths had changed this aspiration. Yet reality often runs counter to one’s wishes. The hand of fate had pushed her inexorably onto the path she was meant to tread, and she had become Lei Wei’s disciple.

Fortunately, for all her laziness, Ji Mo possessed a redeeming quality: she knew how to adapt. When faced with an unchangeable situation, she would accept it with equanimity. Now, since resistance was futile, she could only throw herself into cultivation. Withdrawing from her sea of consciousness, Ji Mo looked up at the sky. The noonday sun hung quietly overhead, radiating its scorching light.

According to the first layer of the Celestial Fiend Body Tempering Manual, cultivation required absorbing the essence of the sun and moon as the main focus, with spiritual energy as a supplement. The present environment was therefore ideal for practice. Not wasting a moment, Ji Mo settled cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began to cultivate.

She had drunk the Vein-Cleansing Soul-Purifying Tea and successfully drawn energy into her body, making her physique as pure as that of a newborn. Cultivating a body tempering method now would yield twice the results with half the effort. The fierce sunlight and ambient spiritual energy poured ceaselessly into her body, dispersing through every acupoint. Time trickled by, and before she knew it, day had passed into night and the bright moon had risen.

So the days and nights alternated, and in the blink of an eye, seven days had passed. On the seventh day, a muffled crack sounded from within Ji Mo’s body, and she awoke from cultivation. She did not open her eyes at once, but quietly sensed the changes in every part of her body, aware that she had already reached the first layer of the Celestial Fiend Body Tempering Manual.

A fierce hunger soon rumbled from her belly, driving out all other thoughts. She leapt up from the ground, dashed outside, climbed to the peak, and picked a few fruits, stuffing them ravenously into her mouth. She had just succeeded in drawing energy into her body but had not yet reached the fasting stage. Though she had been nourishing herself with spirit fruits for months, she was not yet able to forgo ordinary food altogether.

Had she not closed off her five senses during cultivation, she could never have managed to go seven days without food or drink. Even after eating all the fruit, her hunger was not sated. Seeing no sign of Chi Yan, she could not help but call out loudly, “Uncle Chi Yan! Uncle Chi Yan!”

No sooner had the words left her lips than a crimson cloud swooped down from the distance and paused by her side. Ji Mo leapt onto its back, urging, “Is the Thunder Peak dining hall still serving food at this hour? Take me to eat something, I’m starving!”

“Yes,” Chi Yan replied, wasting no words. He carried Ji Mo, spread his wings, and in moments they reached the Thunder Peak dining hall. Thunder Peak’s formal and menial disciples together numbered several thousand, of whom four-fifths were at the Qi Refining stage and all required food. Only those who had reached the Foundation Establishment realm could forgo eating.

Ji Mo lived on the main peak and mostly ate spirit fruits, so she rarely visited the dining hall—this was only her third time. The food was divided into three grades, and each person chose according to their means. All transactions were based on the sect’s contribution points as currency.

Naturally, Ji Mo had no contribution points of her own. She’d only just succeeded in drawing energy into her body after several months and had no combat ability, so earning points was impossible. But with a good master like Lei Wei, who had transferred a thousand contribution points to her badge, she had enough to last for years.

As she entered the hall outside of mealtime, there were few people present. Those who saw her paused in surprise, their eyes flickering with mockery and disdain, but seeing Chi Yan accompany her, they quickly looked away.

Ji Mo paid no mind to their opinions. She picked a window, ordered two large bowls of spirit rice, a big plate of beast meat, and a dish of vegetables. After carrying the food to a table, she glanced at Chi Yan. “I got an extra bowl of rice. Want to eat together?”

Chi Yan shook his head. Having reached the fasting stage long ago, ordinary spirit rice held no appeal for him. Ji Mo shrugged, unconcerned, and sat down to devour her meal. In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, she had polished off both bowls of rice, the plate of beast meat, and the vegetables. Chi Yan looked at her with some surprise. For someone so small, her appetite was astonishing—only body-tempering cultivators could eat like this.

After vanquishing every morsel, the protest from her empty belly finally ceased. Once she had finished, Ji Mo went to the Sutra Library, intending to choose a body-tempering technique.

Neither Chi Yan nor Elder Feng, the library’s keeper, showed any surprise at Ji Mo’s choice. Although Moonwatching Sect had both body and spiritual cultivation paths, many talented spiritual cultivators would choose dual cultivation of body and spirit at the outset, since the strength and resilience of a body cultivator far surpassed that of pure spiritual cultivators.

Of course, progress in body cultivation grew ever more difficult with advancement, but for the gifted, reaching the Condensed Essence Realm was not too hard. This was equivalent to the Golden Core stage for spiritual cultivators. Should a Golden Core spiritual cultivator also reach the Condensed Essence stage in body cultivation, their power would be nearly unrivaled among their peers. For this reason, most spiritual cultivators in Moonwatching Sect who considered themselves talented would begin by selecting a body-tempering technique.