A Consequence of Opposing the Heroine’s Halo (GL) - Chapter 23

The next day, Bai Tong began practicing the Dust-Spirit Sword Manual by the cold pond, while Liu Sanye didn’t dare waste a second and started practicing the Wood-Devouring Method.

She found a grove rich in wood spiritual qi and sat cross-legged to breathe and meditate. The technique seemed tailored for her; within moments, she entered a state of deep meditation. In her mind, the runes from the Sacred Scroll swept through like a storm. Liu Sanye’s head throbbed with a splitting pain, but she persisted through sheer willpower.

This state lasted from morning to night, and from night until the next morning. Day after day, she remained submerged in it for several days without coming out. During this time, Bai Tong came to check on her, but fearing to disturb her, she never called out, arriving and leaving silently.

This meditation lasted for a remarkably long time, continuing until the morning of the fifteenth day. On this day, tens of thousands of strands of wood spiritual qi surged frantically into Liu Sanye’s body. Not only did the qi on the Southern Dividing Ridge rush toward her, but even the qi from Green Wood Peak in the southwest began to spontaneously gather at her location.

Such an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual qi was detected by the high-level leadership of the Hegui Sect in an instant.

Feng Zhu, the Lord of Green Wood Peak, frowned slightly. “Why is the spiritual qi of my Green Wood Peak flowing toward the outer sect?” He projected his divine sense to investigate. A Soul Transformation cultivator’s sense can cover a hundred miles; in moments, he clearly saw Liu Sanye sitting in meditation, absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

“A Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root!”

On Heaven-Reaching Peak, inside the Yuxu Palace, a man of pure and noble appearance suddenly opened his eyes. He looked directly toward the outer sect.

At the same time, Autumn Mist (Valley Master of Sunset Water), Fang Shi (Valley Master of Illusion Array), Lin Yuan (Lord of Fire Spirit Peak), and Wan Guizong (Lord of Sword-Coming Peak) all simultaneously sensed the existence of a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Liu Sanye, the subject of all this attention from the grand masters, knew nothing about it. In fact, she didn’t even have the capacity to think. She currently felt like a balloon being blown up to its absolute limit.

Massive amounts of qi were pouring into her. Her body hadn’t undergone any specialized training prior to this; now, taking in such a vast amount of energy at once, she felt as if she might explode at any second.

She gritted her teeth and persisted, silently reciting the Sacred Scroll’s mental mantra. She followed the method to convert the boundless qi into Wood-Spirit power and injected it into her dantian. Because her dantian was currently only at the Qi Refining stage, it was too small to store all this power at once, so she allowed the excess energy to dissipate outward.

The pure Wood-Spirit power was rapidly absorbed by the surrounding trees. As if enchanted, the trees shot up toward the sky, transforming into giant woods that blotted out the sun in an instant. Finally, the surge of power in Liu Sanye’s body subsided.

Having successfully “Drawn Qi into the Body,” Liu Sanye’s body expelled a large amount of impurities. Her skin became delicate and smooth at a visible speed, no longer dark or rough. Her hearing significantly improved; she could clearly hear bird calls from ten miles away. She could even clearly sense the position of objects while her eyes were closed—this was the legendary projection of divine sense.

Liu Sanye had succeeded in less than a month. It felt surreal to her. She secretly pinched her thigh.

“Hiss—it hurts!” She could hardly believe it. She had actually reached the Qi Refining stage!

Bai Tong had been keeping a close watch on Liu Sanye’s progress. The moment she finished, Bai Tong flew over. “Sanye, are you alright?” Seeing so much qi rushing into her earlier, Bai Tong had been worried she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Liu Sanye shook her head and replied with joy, “Bai Tong, I’ve drawn qi into my body! Amazing, right?”

Bai Tong smiled and nodded. “Amazing.”

Liu Sanye felt amazing too. Bai Tong asked, “Now that you have spiritual power, do you want me to teach you some spells?”

Liu Sanye replied, “You have the Grand Competition soon. Practice your Dust-Spirit Sword Manual first, don’t worry about me.”

“I’ve already mastered the first style of the manual, ‘Rain Falls Across the Heavens,'” Bai Tong said. “The later styles require Foundation Establishment. Currently, I have the moves but no actual combat experience.”

Liu Sanye understood immediately. “You mean you want me to learn spells so I can duel with you?”

Bai Tong nodded.

Liu Sanye thought it was a good idea and agreed. But then she paused. “What should I learn?”

Bai Tong replied, “The Hundred-Flower Umbrella has a move called ‘Hundred-Flower Slash’.”

“Hundred-Flower Slash?” Liu Sanye was delighted. “Sounds powerful.” Then she frowned. “Will it hurt you?”

Bai Tong shook her head. “No. If I can’t parry it, I’ll dodge.”

Liu Sanye was hesitant, but she trusted the heroine’s abilities.

Over the next few days, the two of them began learning the move from scratch. The umbrella contained a detailed record of the “Hundred-Flower Slash.” Both were beginners; at first, their movements were awkward and they couldn’t even get the posture right, but after a few days, they made real progress.

“Hundred-Flower Slash!”

With a soft cry, Liu Sanye threw the umbrella. The rapidly spinning umbrella shot out countless yellow petals like sharp blades. Then, she lightly stepped onto the petals as they flew, using them as stepping stones to jump onto the top of the umbrella floating in the air. This allowed her to evade Bai Tong’s sword strike.

Bai Tong was surprised. “Hundred-Flower Slash is an offensive move. Why did you use it for defense?”

“I couldn’t control myself!” Liu Sanye replied. She was currently standing on the umbrella and was terrified of falling!

Bai Tong understood. “True, you’ve just started.”

Then Liu Sanye asked, “I know how to get up here, but…” She looked at the ground, which was a fair distance down. “How do I get down?”

Bai Tong laughed. “Just jump. You’re a cultivator now; this height won’t hurt you.”

Liu Sanye still didn’t dare. Bai Tong had to coax her: “Don’t worry, I’m down here to catch you.”

Hearing this, Liu Sanye finally jumped. Then, she watched with wide eyes as Bai Tong—who had been holding out her arms—quickly stepped to the side.

Liu Sanye thought she was doomed to face-plant into the dirt, but her feet landed lightly on the ground. She was perfectly fine and it felt effortless. However, this didn’t stop her from accusing Bai Tong: “Bai Tong, you’ve turned bad! You’ve learned how to lie!”

Bai Tong shook her head repeatedly, looking wronged. Liu Sanye didn’t care; she reached out her “wicked” hands to tickle her. Bai Tong used a “Phantom Step” to dodge, and Liu Sanye chased after her with the umbrella. After a chase, Liu Sanye didn’t even touch the edge of Bai Tong’s clothes and ended up exhausted on the ground.

Bai Tong knelt beside her and poked Liu Sanye’s pale face. “Did Elder Xun not teach you that consuming spiritual power requires technique?”

Liu Sanye shook her head.

“It seems you have much to learn.”

Liu Sanye nodded in despair. Over the next few days, they swapped roles—Bai Tong used the umbrella, and Liu Sanye used the Jade Frost Sword. Bai Tong personally showed Liu Sanye how to save energy when using the umbrella. Even though they started at the same time, Bai Tong mastered the umbrella’s use in just a few days.

Liu Sanye was full of admiration. The more they practiced, the more certain she felt that Bai Tong winning against Ma Shi in the Grand Competition was a sure thing. Her initial worry was completely gone.

But just one day before the competition, Xun Qiu suddenly arrived.

Xun Qiu said to Liu Sanye with a serious expression, “Come with me to Heaven-Reaching Peak. The Sect Leader wants to see you.”

Both girls were puzzled. “Why?” Why would the leader of the entire sect find time to see a tiny outer sect disciple?

Xun Qiu replied, “The fluctuation when you drew qi into your body was too large. They already know you have a Top-tier Heavenly Spiritual Root.”

A silence fell over the room. Bai Tong said nothing; after all, going to Heaven-Reaching Peak was a path to a limitless future for Liu Sanye. But Liu Sanye couldn’t sit still. She asked, “Can I refuse to see him?”

Xun Qiu wagged her finger. “Of course not.”

Liu Sanye frowned and thought. In the original novel, the male lead Yun Yixian was a cold and aloof character. If she refused to be his disciple, he likely wouldn’t force her.

“Fine. Let’s go see the Sect Leader.” Then she turned to Bai Tong. “Don’t worry. Wait for me to come back.”

Bai Tong looked at her and gave a helpless smile. She didn’t hold much hope. “It’s okay…”

Liu Sanye leaned in. “You don’t want me to stay at Heaven-Reaching Peak, do you? That’s impossible. I’m coming back to keep being a nuisance to you.”

Bai Tong’s hands clenched and relaxed. “I’ll wait for you to come back and be a nuisance.”