My Portable Spirit Farm: Rise of the Humble Servant

Chapter 242: Sleep First?

Time lost its meaning as Bai Zhi’s wails gradually subsided into ragged, intermittent sobs. Yet, her grip on Chen Ping didn’t loosen. She clung to him with terrifying strength, her fingers digging into his robes like a drowning woman clutching her last piece of driftwood.

Chen Ping could feel the erratic, violent surging of Qi within her Meridians. It was a clear physiological sign of an impending mental collapse. It was incredibly dangerous. He didn’t dare move a muscle. He simply maintained his stiff posture, acting as the physical pillar she so desperately needed.

Eventually, the sobbing faded into wet, shuddering breaths as she fought to steady herself.

She shifted slightly against his chest. Her voice came out muffled, thick with exhaustion and an unexpected, fragile pride.

“You… you aren’t allowed to laugh at me.”

Chen Ping blinked, a faint realization dawning on him. “I won’t,” he replied, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

“And you can’t tell anyone.” She pressed, her tone tiny but fiercely insistent.

“Alright.”

His firm promise seemed to ease the rigid tension in her shoulders, though she still refused to let him go.

A heavy silence settled over them again. They were so close that Chen Ping could smell the scent of her hair—a bitter mix of medicinal herbs and cold sweat that had entirely swallowed her usual bright, vibrant aura.

His unease deepened.

He shifted slightly, allowing her a more comfortable angle, before asking in a low, careful murmur. “Bai Zhi… why…”

He didn’t get to finish.

Bai Zhi violently flinched. The tears she had just managed to suppress threatened to spill over again. Her arms constricted around his waist, her nails practically piercing the flesh of his back.

“I… I don’t know how to say it,” she choked out, a raw tremor of terror vibrating in her throat. “They… they are always in my head. Always.”

“They?” Chen Ping frowned, his suspicions solidifying. “Is it… an Inner Demon?”

The words struck her like a physical blow. She shuddered, shaking her head vehemently before immediately nodding, her words tumbling out in a frantic, incoherent mess.

“Yes… no… not just that. Voices. So many voices. And images… horrifying things… constantly screaming and twisting in my head. I can’t make them stop!”

She looked up at him, her eyes red and brimming with tears. Her sunken, pale face looked pitifully fragile, her gaze wide with absolute terror and a desperate plea for help.

“Chen Ping… am I completely useless? My father and brother prepared so much for me. Such a perfect environment. Yet I… I can’t even calm my mind enough to guide my Qi. I’m terrified. The moment I close my eyes, I’m so scared…”

Her sentences were broken, but Chen Ping understood perfectly.

The root of her collapse was indeed an Inner Demon, one that was feeding on a deep-seated, agonizing mental trauma. It had magnified her fear until it became an inescapable nightmare. This was why she was deteriorating despite the flawless spiritual environment.

It also explained why she had so desperately needed to see him. His past promise to help her achieve Foundation Establishment had become her psychological anchor. It was the only thing keeping her from being entirely devoured by the madness.

What exactly did she experience to leave such a deep, visceral scar? he wondered.

But now was not the time to dig into old wounds.

“It is not your fault,” Chen Ping said, his deep voice carrying a grounding, undeniable weight. “Inner Demons are treacherous. They aren’t something sheer willpower can easily crush. You just needed some help.”

He looked down at her. “Since I am here, I will help you. Rest assured, with me standing guard, you won’t fail. You will cross the Foundation Establishment threshold safely.”

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a jade vial.

The moment he brought it out, the rich, intoxicating fragrance of a Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill flooded the cave dwelling.

Bai Zhi’s pupils dilated. Raised in an elite cultivation family, she instantly recognized the staggering purity and medicinal power radiating from the Pill. It completely eclipsed the Middle Grade Foundation Establishment Pill her brother had painstakingly secured for her!

“This is…”

“A Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill,” Chen Ping stated calmly, as if discussing the weather. “I prepared it for you. With its power, combined with the dense Qi of this array, your spiritual bottlenecks will shatter without resistance. As for the Inner Demon tribulation…”

He met her shocked gaze, his eyes cold and resolute. “I will act as your Dharma Protector. Guard your mind. Remember that whatever you see or hear is nothing but an illusion. I will be standing right outside. You are not alone.”

“A Top-Grade… Foundation Establishment Pill…” Bai Zhi murmured.

She stared at the priceless treasure—an item that would cause Foundation Establishment cultivators to slaughter each other in the streets—and then up at Chen Ping.

A tidal wave of emotion crashed over her.

Disbelief. How much suffering had he endured, how much blood had he spilled over these past few years to obtain something so mythical, just for her?

Her trembling fingers gently brushed the fabric of his robes. A profound, searing warmth bloomed in her hollow chest.

He had kept his promise. He had come, and he had brought her absolute salvation.

Suddenly, the terror began to recede. She felt an overwhelming sense of peace. As long as she was beside this man, she felt as though the sky itself could fall and she would be safe. She finally understood why her subconscious had screamed for his presence.

Only he could anchor her. Only he made her feel safe enough to expose her weakness.

She looked up at him and nodded fiercely. A thousand words of gratitude caught in her throat, distilling into a single, choked whisper.

“Thank you…”

Chen Ping pressed the jade vial into her icy hands, gently closing her frail fingers around it.

“Adjust your breathing. Calm your Qi. Begin whenever you are ready. I won’t leave.”

His words were a stabilizing force. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Bai Zhi gripped the warm Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill. For the first time in months, a spark of genuine courage flared in her swollen, red eyes.

She slowly closed them, attempting to follow his instructions and soothe the chaotic energy tearing through her Meridians.

Chen Ping stood quietly to the side. He watched her sickly pale face, his own nerves pulled taut. The true ordeal was about to begin, and he had to be ready to intervene.

But as he watched her frail body swaying slightly from sheer exhaustion, a pragmatic realization hit him. Her mind was momentarily stable, but her physical vessel was running on nothing but fumes.

“How about…” Chen Ping suggested out of the blue, his tone perfectly flat. “You sleep first?”

Bai Zhi’s eyes snapped open. The last vestiges of color drained from her face before a sudden, feverish flush burned across her sunken cheeks. Her slender hands, still clutching the jade vial, began to tremble violently—not from chaotic Qi, but from a sudden, crushing spike of shame and terror.

A price.

In her fractured, desperate state, her mind drew the only logical conclusion. She had nothing else of value to offer a man who had just handed her a miracle.