I'm Feng Aotian—And I’m Running Away from My Wedding - Chapter 20

“…Thank you.”

Li Baiying stared into her eyes and expressed her gratitude sincerely.

“…” Qin Yixiao pursed her lips without responding. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now.”

Soon, the depths of the cave returned to silence.

The gentle murmur of flowing water accompanied by the soft breeze brushed past her ears. For some reason, Li Baiying found herself wide awake, her mind repeatedly replaying the details of her earlier cultivation session.

What exactly had gone wrong?

She turned over and sat up, unwilling to accept defeat as she reopened the book in her mind, pondering deeply.

Blank. Still blank.

“No way. With only seven days left, how can I even think about sleeping?”

Picking up a torch, Li Baiying strode out of the cave and began wandering aimlessly around the pond.

The pond’s surface was deep, and in the distance, a thin layer of ice seemed to have formed. Faint knocking sounds occasionally rose from below, as if fish and shrimp were trying to leap out of the water.

She then walked toward the area overgrown with aquatic plants.

Dark green stems and leaves intertwined, their long tendrils stretching freely, with suction cups revealing faint patterns, resembling monsters that devoured people without leaving a trace.

“Is this really a spirit plant? Or a demon…”

Just as she was about to utter the word “demon cultivator,” her eyes lit up. “That’s right! The cultivation methods of demon cultivators are completely different from those of martial artists. If I keep trying with my old methods, of course, I won’t get any results!”

At this realization, she almost sat down immediately to try again, but the next moment, she became aware of another problem.

“So, what exactly are the cultivation methods of demon cultivators?”

The water surface remained calm, the boundless shadows silent, with no one to answer her question.

Li Baiying continued walking forward, her steps now much more resolute.

“Since I don’t know, I’ll just observe. There are so many spirit beasts in this lake, surely, I can figure something out.”

With her thoughts suddenly clear, she found a spot at the edge of a muddy marsh and bent down to carefully observe a few slowly crawling brown crabs.

These were the weakest of spirit beasts, so feeble that even a novice first-level martial artist could easily capture them. At that moment, they were desperately digging burrows, building escape fortresses.

Li Baiying then shifted her gaze to the fish swimming in the water.

This was a remarkably simple food chain. Powerful spirit beasts would devour the weaker fish and shrimp, internalizing them as energy to strengthen themselves.

“That’s a decent path. Unfortunately, I’m too weak right now to defeat high-level spirit beasts, and low-level ones are barely useful to me. I’ll set this method aside for now.”

She continued walking and, before she knew it, arrived beneath a waterfall.

“Swoosh!” The water crashed heavily against the rocks, producing a crisp, splattering sound.

Within the dark curtain of water, something seemed to be floating.

Li Baiying threw down her torch, rolled up her pant legs, and waded step by step into the water. Instinctively, she felt that whatever was behind the waterfall posed no threat to her. Or perhaps her thirst for knowledge had overcome everything else.

When she was just a step away from the waterfall, she finally saw the spirit beasts hidden within: several small fish with sharp, wing-like fins.

They were using their mouths to anchor themselves to the rock wall, inching their way upward with great difficulty. What caught her attention were their fins, with each rush of water, the color grew more crystalline, eventually turning completely transparent.

“Are they… shedding their skin?”

Li Baiying did not disturb them but quietly stepped aside, gazing up at the waterfall cascading from above. A moment of clarity flashed through her mind.

“Perhaps this is the true method for demonic cultivation.”

Once the thought arose, she acted on it immediately. She took a step forward and plunged into the waterfall.

“Swoosh!”

The water struck her skin like thick steel needles, sending piercing pain through her body.

Staggering, she desperately clung to the rocks to avoid tumbling down in disgrace.

Pain, everywhere was pain.

An invisible pressure squeezed her entire body, making it difficult to even breathe.

“Huff…” Her consciousness began to blur uncontrollably, but she held on with sheer will, gripping the rock wall tightly.

Suddenly, a faint warmth flickered through her meridians, so fleeting she almost dismissed it as an illusion.

“Thump!”

Her arms could no longer support her weight, and Li Baiying slipped from the rock, falling into the rushing water.

Choking on several mouthfuls of water, she struggled to her feet and moved once more toward the waterfall.

This time, she simply lay flat against the rock, allowing the sharp droplets to pummel her repeatedly.

Even the arrow wound in her back hadn’t been as unbearable as this.

With her eyes closed, the scene she had witnessed atop Taichu Mountain replayed in her mind.

Without strength, she could never avenge her clan.

Without strength, she could never make the traitors pay the price they deserved.

Without strength, she couldn’t even leave this cliff.

…

Countless regrets and frustrations accumulated in her heart, rendering all physical pain insignificant.

Her skin turned a dark red, yet she remained motionless, as if numb to the agony, not even letting out a groan.

Another faint surge of energy passed through her dantian, and this time, she keenly sensed it.

This method was working! Li Baiying’s spirits lifted, and she focused her mind once more, carefully observing the changes within her body.

Her shattered dantian still resembled a massive funnel, unable to gather internal energy. Yet, within the hazy mist, a thread of fiery red energy began coursing through her meridians, as if it were a part of her.

She attempted to channel that power, and the response filled her with delight, it truly obeyed her will!

She could cultivate again!

A thrill shot through her, and she nearly tumbled off the rock in excitement.

Taking a deep breath, she struggled to calm her surging emotions, gripping the rock wall tightly as a smile spread uncontrollably across her lips.

Finally, finally…

After reveling in her joy for a while, she slowly sat up in the water. Having grown accustomed to the pain, she no longer felt as helpless against the waterfall’s force as she had at the beginning.

Sitting cross-legged, she placed her palms upward and heightened all her senses to their maximum.

“Swoosh!”

The sound of water echoed in her ears, but her resolve remained as firm as stone, completely immersed in a state of selflessness.

Gradually, the blank book in her mind began to fill with words.

“Cold Spring Sea-Severing Art”, First Form.

She hungrily committed every character to memory.

…

She sat beneath the waterfall all night. The next day, Li Baiying only slipped from the rock when her body had reached its limit.

Soaked and bedraggled like a drenched chicken, she nonetheless radiated vitality.

At the cave entrance, Qin Yixiao had somehow caught a wild pheasant and was roasting it on a spit.

The aroma wafted from afar, making her ravenous stomach growl with anticipation.

“Change your clothes.” The girl also noticed her, a flicker of surprise in her eyes, perhaps not expecting her to return from outside.

“Alright.” Li Baiying responded promptly and turned to enter the stone cave. After taking just a few steps, she seemed to remember something and turned back:

“I’ll cook tomorrow.”

She thought, Qin Yixiao had treated her injuries and taken care of her, already doing many extra things. It wouldn’t be right for her to keep accepting such kindness indefinitely.

“I can cultivate now!” She shared this good news, hoping to detect any emotional shift on the girl’s perpetually expressionless face.