Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 24.1

Wang Xi did not know when Shen Lezhi’s change began. Was it when she suddenly developed a fondness for cultivating spiritual plants, or when she started wanting to learn spells from her, or perhaps it started a few days ago when she sharply rejected her?

Wang Xi could not figure it out. She only assumed that the change had occurred because of her own rebirth, which in turn caused Shen Lezhi to change as well.

Shen Lezhi could now establish her foundation (Zhuji). What about the future?

If her cultivation could advance further, if she could also gain achievements through focused practice like others, would she still want to seize that remaining half of the Exquisite Heart?

Wang Xi thought for a long time. The sad truth was, Wang Xi was certain that Shen Lezhi would still come to seize her remaining Exquisite Heart.

Shen Lezhi had begun her disguise when she was just over ten years old. A setup that had lasted for so many years, a plan that had stretched for so long—no matter what level of cultivation the other party reached, she would not let Wang Xi go.

This was purely greed for the Exquisite Heart.

Thinking of this, Wang Xi was not angry at this moment. She had long since known the answer in her heart, and she had long lost all hope for Shen Lezhi.

It was just that the sudden change in everything left her feeling a little confused.

Wang Xi did not release the hand that restricted Shen Lezhi. She pulled the girl closer to her eyes, raised her hand, and forced it straight into Shen Lezhi’s meridians.

To trespass into another person’s meridians without warning could cause severe pain to the invaded person if met with strong resistance, and the invader would also suffer the consequences.

This kind of act was normally only done by people in an intimate relationship. However, Wang Xi’s magic power was high; even if Shen Lezhi resisted, she could suppress her. If Shen Lezhi resisted strongly, she would naturally feel pain, and in severe cases, her meridians could be injured. But Wang Xi would not consider her feelings.

Nevertheless, Wang Xi’s few intrusions had never been obstructed. In the past, Shen Lezhi did not know how to channel her spiritual power. Now, although Shen Lezhi felt slightly uncomfortable, it had happened so many times that she was used to it.

The other party entered so smoothly, so quickly, that she couldn’t stop it even if she wanted to.

It was just a feeling of being completely numb, weak in the waist, and soft in the legs.

It doesn’t matter, let her do whatever she wants.

Shen Lezhi was indeed at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. After the forced dredging of her full spiritual power during the process, the perpetually blocked meridians had also shown faint signs of loosening.

Wang Xi was puzzled as to why Shen Lezhi had suddenly broken through. After all, in the past, both she and Herb Peak had determined that Shen Lezhi would only remain in the Qi Refining period for this lifetime.

Her previous life had also confirmed this point, but now Shen Lezhi had not only established her foundation but had directly skipped a rank from the middle stage of Qi Refining to break through.

What was the catalyst?

Wang Xi carefully explored her body but could not find the answer in Shen Lezhi.

Of course, Shen Lezhi herself did not know. She could feel that she had broken through; her physical and spiritual senses had undergone earth-shattering changes after establishing her foundation.

Her eyes were no longer limited to the scenery right in front of her; the white mist above her head, which she could not see through before, could no longer obstruct her vision.

The surrounding spiritual energy also suddenly became more receptive. Shen Lezhi could even sense which spiritual energies were more inclined toward her and which were indifferent to her.

However, her attention was still focused on Wang Xi, who was tightly restraining her. Wang Xi’s cold eyes were fixed before her. At this distance, Shen Lezhi could clearly see the skin on the Master’s face.

There were virtually no flaws on the excessively pale skin. The light in her eyes, set against the daylight, was like the faint candlelight in the deep night. Shen Lezhi looked closely and noticed a thread of unusual red in Wang Xi’s eyes.

It was a line that looked somewhat uncomfortable. Shen Lezhi could not describe the specific feeling, but she watched as the red line spread all the way to Wang Xi’s eye corner, becoming increasingly obvious.

Shen Lezhi had seen it before, but the red line was too fine and not noticeable unless scrutinized.

Just then, Wang Xi noticed her distraction. Her gaze shifted, and her cold, clear eyes stopped on Shen Lezhi’s face.

Wang Xi pursed her lips. Shen Lezhi once thought that the coldness of the Master’s face was largely due to those thin, cool lips.

The deep cold indifference in her eyes was like a clear, potent wine—icy when it touched the throat, but burning when it reached the heart.

Shen Lezhi looked into Wang Xi’s eyes and had the illusion that the Master was about to kiss her in the next second. She was not ready, but she was also afraid that rejecting Wang Xi again would provoke anger.

In a panic, she turned her hand to hold the hand that Wang Xi had confined to her waist. She struggled slightly but couldn’t pull away, so she simply gave up.

She only hooked Wang Xi’s finger joints with her fingertips. Under Wang Xi’s scrutinizing gaze, she first raised her hand to touch Wang Xi’s cheek, letting her fingertip rest just below Wang Xi’s eyelid.

“Master,” Shen Lezhi called out with a trembling voice.

She saw Wang Xi’s eyelashes flutter like a butterfly’s wings, and her heart seemed to tremble along with them.

Fearing that Wang Xi would lean in, Shen Lezhi closed her eyes and simply kissed the Master’s cheek first.

Her kiss was extremely brief, almost a touch-and-go. She originally intended to kiss Wang Xi’s cheek, but in her haste, she ended up kissing the area right below the Master’s eye.

Wang Xi’s blinking eyelashes brushed across Shen Lezhi’s lips for an instant. Wang Xi’s skin was so icy, yet it made Shen Lezhi feel like her entire body was on fire.

Surely this level of intimacy is enough to appease her.

Shen Lezhi struggled again after the kiss, and this time she truly broke free from the restraint. She quickly retreated a few steps, but the feeling that lingered in her mind was not the joy of being liberated, but the softness she had kissed just a moment ago.

She bowed her head deeply, daring not to raise it an inch. Her entire neck was flushed red, and her brain felt unable to think.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a real kiss.

Shen Lezhi thought to herself. If she really had kissed Wang Xi here, she felt she might have fainted.

Moreover, she did not desire that kind of kiss. Wang Xi mistook her for the original female protagonist, but she did not harbor that kind of affection for Wang Xi.

Subsequently, Shen Lezhi did not utter another word. Wang Xi naturally remained silent, only using her sword to take Shen Lezhi away from the place. Shen Lezhi had no idea what expression the Master wore after being kissed like that.

She was probably happy.

After all, they were “in that kind of relationship.”

Furthermore, Shen Lezhi judged that Wang Xi seemed to really like physical intimacy, given how naturally she performed those domineering acts.

Shen Lezhi made wild guesses. As soon as she returned to Exquisite Peak, she bid a hasty farewell to Wang Xi, fleeing all the way back to her dwelling before stopping to catch her breath.

Shen Lezhi forced herself to calm down. The passive acceptance of the past felt completely different from this active moment. Every inch of her became extremely sensitive, and her eyes involuntarily focused on every detail of Wang Xi.

“Ah, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it.” Shen Lezhi did not dare to dwell on it further. She patted her flushed cheeks, forcing an interruption to her thoughts.

Only after calming down did Shen Lezhi finally have the energy to properly examine her changes. Not only had her vision become broader, but her senses and physical body had also undergone significant changes.

Before, Shen Lezhi always disliked how weak this body was. Recently, her body had indeed improved significantly due to cultivation, but it was nothing like this moment. Her body felt full of power, with immense spiritual power circulating through all her meridians.

What Shen Lezhi found most amazing was that the spiritual energy in the air, which she previously had to actively absorb, purify, and integrate into her body, now seemed to be drawn by some attraction, rushing into her body and becoming her spiritual energy.

Shen Lezhi was delighted by her powerful body. Although she found it strange that the original female protagonist in the book never established her foundation even until death, yet she broke through so easily.

Shen Lezhi often heard elders say that people experience enlightenment at certain moments, and their minds become clear afterward. Perhaps this was the so-called “enlightenment.”

At that moment, she had just found her own path of the sword. That very instant was her enlightenment.

The clarity of her spirit also affected her body, and the sudden breakthrough was the proof.

The original female protagonist had never sought her own path; she was obsessed with seizing Wang Xi’s heart, believing that only through that could she embark on the path of cultivation.

Shen Lezhi shook her head. What others did was none of her concern, and she refused to think about it anymore.

Shen Lezhi’s Foundation Establishment was the second thing Elder Sister Qi knew about. Initially, Elder Sister Qi had sent a sound transmission asking her to come to Herb Peak. Shen Lezhi wondered what the matter was. Before she could ask upon seeing Elder Sister Qi, the Elder Sister discovered that she had already established her foundation.

“Junior Sister Shen, you’ve broken through,” Elder Sister Qi simply exclaimed. Although Shen Lezhi’s direct Foundation Establishment and rank-skipping were surprising, she was the disciple of Immortal Venerable Jiyue, the peerless genius of the Jade Profound Sect, who was unmatched by anyone.

It was said that at Shen Lezhi’s age, Immortal Venerable Jiyue was already at the perfected stage of the Golden Core, half a step into Nascent Soul strength. Considering this, Shen Lezhi merely skipping a rank from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment seemed like no big deal.

“Then congratulations, Junior Sister,” Elder Sister Qi smiled.

Shen Lezhi was familiar with Elder Sister Qi, so she smiled and accepted the Elder Sister’s congratulations. Only then did she ask why Elder Sister Qi had sent a sound transmission asking her to come to Herb Peak.

“I wanted to take you to meet my Master, the Peak Master of Herb Peak,” Elder Sister Qi only said this much but did not tell Shen Lezhi why she wanted to take her to meet the Herb Peak Peak Master.

“Master’s spiritual title is ‘Hundred Herbs’ (Baicao). The world calls her True Person Hundred Herbs. Junior Sister Shen can also address her this way.” Elder Sister Qi took Shen Lezhi on her sword and entered the peak of Herb Peak.

Herb Peak was the lowest in elevation among the several mountains in the Jade Profound Sect, but the entire peak was surrounded by lush greenery. Just by passing over it on a sword, one could smell the unique, clean fragrance of a hundred herbs.

Shen Lezhi nodded obediently upon hearing this. She was puzzled why Elder Sister Qi suddenly wanted to take her to see the Herb Peak Peak Master, but then she thought that she would know once she met the person, so there was no need to dwell on it here.

Elder Sister Qi stopped her sword in a vegetable garden. It wasn’t entirely a vegetable garden, at least not the mortal kind. Many of the spiritual plants in the yard were ones Shen Lezhi had only seen in the Spiritual Plant Cultivation Manual.

“Disciple Qi Yue seeks an audience with Master,” Elder Sister Qi announced loudly, leading Shen Lezhi towards the not-so-large thatched hut in front of them.

Only then did Shen Lezhi realize that this was actually the residence of the Herb Peak Peak Master.

She had thought all Peak Masters were like Wang Xi, who had built a cave dwelling that was cold, empty, and devoid of everything.

The scene before her was more like the mountain farm stay she had visited when she was in school.

And this house was a thatched hut, even less modern than a contemporary farm stay.

While Shen Lezhi was lost in thought, a person walked out of the thatched hut. She possessed an elegant posture and appeared to be only thirty-something, but her hair near the temples was white, and her eyes were kind.

Shen Lezhi could not see the immortal-like presence on her, like the one Wang Xi possessed. Instead, she resembled an old scholar in a research institute who was already over seventy.

“Lezhi is here,” True Person Hundred Herbs smiled warmly, waving her hand at the two, inviting them to come closer.

“Shen Lezhi greets True Person Hundred Herbs.” Shen Lezhi followed Elder Sister Qi to the front of True Person Hundred Herbs. True Person Hundred Herbs then brought out stools, motioning for them to sit down. This kind of cordiality genuinely surprised Shen Lezhi.

Shen Lezhi sat down next to Elder Sister Qi. However, True Person Hundred Herbs kept looking at her, not shifting her gaze for a moment.

Shen Lezhi felt a little uneasy. She wasn’t very good at dealing with elders, especially those who were so friendly right from the start.

True Person Hundred Herbs didn’t know her thoughts. After observing her for a long time, just as Shen Lezhi started to feel awkward, she suddenly spoke.

“Lezhi, would you like to become a disciple of my Herb Peak?”

Shen Lezhi looked up abruptly upon hearing this.

Huh?

So you were planning to steal me from Wang Xi?

Shen Lezhi’s mind didn’t process the thought instantly, but then she heard True Person Hundred Herbs’ voice again.

“I have already sent a sound transmission to Jiyue.”

Wait a minute.

True Person, are you serious?

What Shen Lezhi did not expect was that Wang Xi arrived very quickly. Her sword flight tore through the clouds and mist above Herb Peak, and she descended from the sky, accompanied by frost and snow.

Shen Lezhi looked at the snowflakes suddenly falling from the sky and the surrounding air instantly turning cold, and she began to hesitate.

It was hard not to guess that Wang Xi was angry.

That person’s expression remained unchanged even when angry, but the spiritual energy around her was extremely honest.

However, Shen Lezhi knew that Wang Xi was deliberately not controlling it. In the book, Wang Xi did expose herself in the past due to the uniqueness of her spiritual energy, but with her current cultivation, concealing her aura and hiding the fluctuations of her spiritual power should be effortless.

She scattered the clouds, her hair dark as ink, her skin creamy smooth, and her sleeves billowing as she arrived.

The clouds and mist that had not completely dissipated from her body were like a misty, flowing sash, making her look like a celestial being.

She stepped on frost and snow—real snow. Ice and frost formed with every step she took. Shen Lezhi saw her eyes, which held an indifferent look with a deep, cold light. Long lashes were dotted with cold frost.

Shen Lezhi shrank her neck, not daring to look further.

Wang Xi was probably truly angry.

At the very least, she was definitely not in a good mood.