Chapter 10: I can start cultivating now!

When Qian Junyou was leaving the scene, the Yin-Yang Eye girl from the Court of Judicial Review—Su Qingyan—slipped him a small note:

“Tomorrow night at the Hai hour, Jade Sovereign Tower, Heavenly Character No. 1 Room. Don’t be late~”

Qian Junyou’s mind went completely blank as he held the note with a numb expression. The girls in this world play so openly!? There were still people from the Ministry of Justice standing right beside them! Had “Qian Junyou” even made a move on this little girl?

Although he knew people married early in ancient times, he didn’t expect relationships to be this messy. He felt his worldview had already collapsed.

Sitting in the carriage on the way home, enduring another four hours of bumpy travel, Qian Junyou kept thinking about how to change his relationship with Bai Shuxi. Being a villain was really hard!

He had to admit that the first time he saw Bai Shuxi, his heart couldn’t help but flutter. Who wouldn’t like such a beautiful woman who looked like a flower or jade?

But when his body lost control, his consciousness fell into darkness, and the cold sword blade from the black-clothed man behind him pierced into his body, it felt both reasonable and completely unexpected.

Having lived for twenty-two years, he still understood basic道理. There were so many beauties in the world, but the chances that any of them would belong to him were very low.

National beauty, peerless elegance—after studying hard for sixteen years, this young master’s heart had long become as cold as his report card. Only the gaming mouse he had used for four years still carried a trace of youthful warmth.

Love? What a stale old joke. Just like Kua Fu chasing the sun, he would end up exhausted and collapse on the ground.

Drinking the Yangtze in one gulp, drinking the Yellow River in another, he would still mutter:

“One cup to the rising sun, one cup to the moonlight, awakening my longing, gentling the cold window.”

Mother-fetus solo for twenty-two years. The only encounter was during the first semester of his senior year.

The campus flower junior who everyone admired suddenly added him on WeChat and invited him to dinner the next night.

The day he received the message, he was so excited he couldn’t sleep. It also happened to be the public beta of the web novel Offering Explosions to the World of Immortal Heroes.

Although the protagonist in the original novel was male, players could create female characters in the game. Using the character customization system and photos from the campus flower’s Moments, he spent an entire night perfectly recreating her.

Morning sunlight shone into the dorm. He had a date that night—what should he wear?

He excitedly got up to welcome the new day, then suddenly died. And then? He transmigrated.

Forget it. Everything was just passing clouds, not worth mentioning.

“Right, Xueya, don’t you have a younger brother who is two years younger than you?”

Looking up at Nalan Xueya inside the carriage, Qian Junyou began calculating how to deal with the protagonist from the original novel.

“No, Xueya only has a younger sister who is two years younger.”

“Huh???”

Younger sister? Wasn’t the protagonist male? His mind suddenly went blank, and his emotions became complicated. Was the world he transmigrated into really the novel world? Or…?

………………

By the time they returned home, it was already noon. Afterward, Qian Junyou examined the “samples” he had brought back from the fire scene that morning. The unburned dry straw was mostly filled with white powder, colorless crystals, and “water.”

Judging from the amount, someone had deliberately mixed them in. The burned dry straw also contained these white powders, along with a small amount of pale yellow powder.

When the fire first broke out, the villagers would definitely have tried to fetch water from the river to extinguish it, but the fire only grew fiercer. It must have something to do with these substances.

There weren’t many substances that would burn upon contact with water. From the scene’s effect, if he wasn’t mistaken…

Driven by curiosity and a sense of achievement, Qian Junyou decided to first verify his idea. However, identifying these substances required experiments, and this world had no glassware for lab use.

Although he was a fourth-year science and engineering student, his major wasn’t inorganic chemistry, and he didn’t know how to make glass. He knew the general chemical equations, but putting them into practice would still take a lot of time.

The main reason was that the transmigration had been too sudden—he hadn’t had time to prepare relevant knowledge. If he had known he was going to transmigrate in advance, he would have maxed out the technology tree!

Since there was no glass, he could use ceramics instead, though observing chemical reaction phenomena would be more troublesome.

After planning, Qian Junyou roughly sketched the shape of the porcelainware he needed and handed it to the servants to send to the official kiln. He specially instructed them to rush the order.

As a royal prince’s residence, they could cut in line at the official kiln and enjoy exclusive firing for “Prince’s Porcelain.” Being a noble came with quite a few privileges.

Solving the case with his modern knowledge gave off a slight protagonist script vibe.

After arranging the ceramics matter, he ordered Nalan Xueya to be called over, preparing to attempt cultivation. Although she was a dangerous homicidal maniac, he still needed her help for cultivation.

After encountering Bai Shuxi at the scene today, Qian Junyou was surprised to discover that getting angry at her seemed to strengthen his control over the mysterious power inside his body.

Normally, the moment he got close to Miss Bai, demonic whispers would sound in his ears, accompanied by an uncontrollable desire.

But today when he saw her, the moment he got angry, the filthy whispers in his ears disappeared without him noticing!

Even the power trying to seize control of his body had been suppressed by his rage.

It could actually work like this? Was this a blessing in disguise?

Suddenly feeling like he had opened the door to a new world, Qian Junyou began carefully recalling what Bai Shuxi had said that morning, and the result…

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became! That girl’s words were way too harsh!

No wonder in the previous loop at the pleasure quarters, Bai Shuxi kept thinking he was taking revenge on her. She clearly knew what she had done.

Although his primary task was to improve their relationship, Qian Junyou really couldn’t swallow this anger. He decided that when Bai Shuxi came to beg him tomorrow, he would reject her in the coldest and most heartless way possible! Afterward… he would follow the previous loop’s approach…

“Young Master… you can actually repel the evil qi now?”

As soon as she entered the room, Nalan Xueya extended her divine sense and noticed the change in Qian Junyou’s body.

She covered her mouth and froze at the doorway, revealing an expression of utter disbelief. It took her a long time to recover.

“Mm, today… I comprehended some truths! Then… I discovered I could suppress the evil qi inside my body!”

“Truths? What Dao did Young Master comprehend?”

With an innocent and pure face, Xueya tilted her head like a child and asked. Qian Junyou was momentarily rendered speechless. He couldn’t possibly say he had been angered by Miss Bai, could he?

“The Dao… the Great Dao! The Dao of Non-Action!”

“The Dao of Non-Action?”

“Mm! The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of all things.”

Suddenly recalling the first few lines of the Tao Te Ching, if this girl asked any further, he would have to say it was indescribable, since he couldn’t remember the rest.

Xueya froze again, then revealed a faint smile. A trace of gentleness appeared in her eyes, like a glacier bathed in sunlight—warm and elegant.

“So that’s how it is! That’s wonderful. Congratulations, Young Master!”

Xueya, who usually spoke without any emotional fluctuation, suddenly sounded a bit more cheerful.

Even Qian Junyou, who had always imagined her as a homicidal maniac, could clearly hear a touch of warmth in her originally icy tone.

After transmigrating, this was the first time Qian Junyou had seen Xueya smile like this. There even seemed to be a faint trace of tears in the corners of her eyes. For a moment, it felt as if an extra heart was beating in his chest.

It was just that this scumbag in front of her could now cultivate. Why would Xueya have such a strong emotional reaction?

Qian Junyou couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought. However, Xueya’s smile was like a flash in the pan. Within a few seconds, she returned to her usual cold and indifferent expression.

Afterward, under Xueya’s guidance, Qian Junyou prepared to absorb spiritual qi and break through to the third layer of Qi Refining.

His consciousness gradually sank into his sea of consciousness. It felt as if he were standing at the peak of a solitary cliff, surrounded by ten-thousand-foot abysses. Countless demons and ghosts stirred restlessly in the bottomless ravines.

While calming his mind, Qian Junyou also had to summon his anger to suppress the evil qi, carefully guiding the spiritual qi into his dantian.

It was like trying to pour wine into a gourd without a funnel. The slightest shake of the hand would spill it everywhere.

As he went deeper, he gradually gained some understanding of this evil qi. It didn’t seem to be a power created by world-line convergence to force him toward the designated plot. Perhaps it was precisely because of this power’s existence that such a plot occurred.

There might be something inside Bai Shuxi that attracted this evil qi, and the black-clothed man who killed him had probably been lurking nearby the whole time, monitoring him.

A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Maybe one day, these demons and ghosts could be used by him!

This evil qi seemed to come from a deeper place in this world. Their bizarre appearances flashed through his mind one after another.

No… these demons and ghosts were definitely not illusions. They truly existed! They possessed even greater power! Their history existed in the past. In the distant past, they were the true rulers who dominated this continent…

If he could control them… perhaps this was his own protagonist halo?

“Steady your mind. Do not let your thoughts run wild, or you will fall into qi deviation.”

Xueya’s light voice sounded, and only then did Qian Junyou realize he had been tempted… He hurriedly adjusted his breathing and cleared his distracting thoughts.

His consciousness moved within the sea of consciousness and suddenly noticed thick fog rising all around. Vaguely, he could sense a black dragon moving through the mist, constantly searching and probing for his location.

Then it seemed to catch something and began devouring it. Low, hidden roars came from the depths of the thick fog, flaunting its greed and frenzy.

The instinctive fear from Qian Junyou’s body urged him to end this quickly and leave.

The black dragon greedily fed in the mist, finishing one prey before turning to the next.

He didn’t know what exactly fell into its jaws. He only heard bones being crushed one after another and chunks of flesh being torn apart.

Black dragon scales appeared and disappeared. The sounds of crunching bones, ripping flesh, and sharp fangs sinking into meat along with saliva constantly tormented Qian Junyou’s mind.

He didn’t know when this black dragon would discover him. Perhaps he would be the next target.

About half an incense stick’s time later, after the black dragon had devoured its sixth prey, its gaze slowly turned toward Qian Junyou. Like a giant python, it slowly approached him.

At that moment, Qian Junyou’s dantian was finally filled with spiritual qi. He quickly stabilized his mind and withdrew his consciousness from the sea of consciousness.

“Young Master, are you alright?”

Xueya wiped away his sweat. Only then did Qian Junyou realize he was covered in sweat, his clothes completely soaked.

“I’m fine. It was a bit strenuous, but everything went smoothly.”

“That’s good. Congratulations on breaking through to the third layer of Qi Refining, Young Master.”

Success! This meant his transmigration hadn’t been in vain. He could now embark on the path of immortal cultivation! Even if he couldn’t replace the protagonist, simply cultivating to immortality and reaching the peak of life still held some hope.

Although what he had seen in the sea of consciousness was a bit creepy, Qian Junyou didn’t mind. It might just be a heart demon or an illusion. As long as he could continue cultivating, he was already extremely grateful!

While he was still immersed in joy, the steward of the Prince Rui’s residence suddenly rushed in, flustered.

“Young Master! This is bad! Your horses are dead!”

“You* are the one who’s dead!”

What was wrong with this steward? Cursing people right from the start? Qian Junyou didn’t even think before retorting.

“It’s true. Six horses died in the stable. They were bitten until only bones remained. It might have been some evil beast like wolves or tigers. The entire residence is searching right now. Young Master, you must be careful!”

Six horses? Qian Junyou suddenly recalled the black dragon from earlier, which had also bitten six prey to death. It was probably just a coincidence…

But the Prince Rui’s residence was built on a lake heart island. How could wolves or tigers have gotten inside?

A faint sense of unease began to rise in Qian Junyou’s heart, but the joy of successful cultivation still diluted this fear and worry.

In the end, he decided to leave it to the servants to handle. After all, there were so many experts in the household. Even if there really was some black dragon, it probably wouldn’t cause too big a problem… right?

On the other side, Old He and the others in the stables stared in shock. Six horses had been torn apart, bitten until only half their bones remained. Five of the horses’ legs couldn’t even be found. It was as if someone had taken a few bites of a pear or apple and then tossed them aside.

“Old He, look at this…”

“Find an excuse to send the others away. Do not let this spread. Wait until the Prince returns to report it. This matter… is probably not something we can intervene in.”

The huge tooth marks seemed to belong only to demonic beasts deep within secret realms. However, the demonic qi remaining on the corpses did not belong to any known demonic beast.

What terrified them the most was that no one had heard the horses neighing throughout the entire incident. If the stable hand hadn’t gone in to change the fodder, they might not have discovered it yet.

Meanwhile, the other horses nearby continued eating the fodder stained with horse blood as if nothing had happened.