Chapter 125: Yao Ning’s Medicinal Bath

‘Yes, Junior Brother Li is right.’

Life was a long journey, filled with many fellow travelers. Some walked with you for a mile, some for a lifetime. But if a companion proved unworthy, dragging you down into the mire of despair, then the only choice was to cut the rope.

There was nothing more important than the Dao.

Lose one traveler, gain another. Why should she weep for a man who didn’t cherish her? She should be celebrating her freedom.

[System Notification: Affection +30] [System Notification: Sub-profession Experience +150]

High above the clouds, Li Meng chuckled as he rode the wind back to Moon Gaze Peak.

Senior Sister Wan was using emotion to temper her Dao Heart. That explained the profound melancholy surrounding her—it was a crucible of her own making.

Such a method was rare in the Joyous Union Sect, where relationships were often transactional. The Path of Emotion was the sharpest blade for carving a resilient Dao Heart, but it was also double-edged. One slip, and the cultivator would fall into Qi Deviation, their mind shattered by the very feelings they sought to master.

Market City, Thousand Treasure Pavilion.

The shop assistant on the first floor dozed behind the counter, his head bobbing rhythmically.

A shadow fell across him.

He blinked awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When he saw the figure standing in the doorway, bathed in sunlight, he scrambled to his feet.

“Immortal Master Li?”

A fawning smile plastered itself onto his face as he rushed out to greet the esteemed customer.

“Immortal Master Li! It’s been ages! You… are you still…”

He choked on the words ‘alive’. Rumors of Li Meng’s demise or decline had circulated, but the man before him looked more prosperous than ever.

Li Meng looked the assistant up and down, his gaze piercing. “You got married, kid?”

The assistant froze. “How… how could you tell?”

Li Meng glanced toward the stairs leading to the second floor. The herbs he needed for Yao Ning were basic—hundred-year-old stock available right here on the ground floor. No need to climb.

He turned back to the assistant, his expression indifferent.

“Your glabella is dark. Your Yang Qi is leaking like a sieve. If you want to live to see your grandchildren, pace yourself at night. Otherwise, you won’t see thirty.”

The assistant laughed nervously, scratching his head. “Immortal Master Li, you… you’re joking, right?”

Li Meng didn’t answer. He flicked his sleeve, tossing a list onto the counter.

“Fetch these.”

“Yes! Right away!” The assistant grabbed the list and scurried into the aisles, eager to please.

Li Meng watched him go, a calculating glint in his eyes.

The assistant’s wife likely possessed a special constitution—a ‘husband-killer’ in mortal terms, unknowingly draining her partner’s vitality. For a mortal like the assistant, this was a calamity he couldn’t evade. Fate was cruel like that. Without the means to cultivate, he was just a leaf in the wind.

“Immortal Master Li, I have everything here. That will be 340 Spirit Stones.”

Li Meng paid without blinking. With a wave of his hand, the herbs vanished into his storage bag.

Then, he placed a small jade bottle and a yellow talisman on the counter.

“Take one pill every New Year’s Eve. Paste the talisman under your bed. Do that, and you might just live a long life.”

The assistant stared at the items, trembling. He dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly.

“Thank you, Immortal Master Li! Thank you! You truly are a living immortal!”

Li Meng turned and walked out, ignoring the effusive gratitude.

The assistant watched him go until he disappeared into the crowd. He clutched the gifts to his chest, tears welling in his eyes. He had felt the drain, the exhaustion that never faded even after a full night’s sleep. He knew something was wrong, but he hadn’t known how to fix it.

“Immortal Master Li… truly a good person.”

Joyous Union Sect. Moon Gaze Peak.

Night had fallen. A full moon hung in the sky, bathing the peak in silver light.

In a guest room on the second floor of the pavilion, steam filled the air.

A large wooden tub sat in the center of the room, the water within bubbling and dark with dissolved herbs. Yao Ning sat inside, her snow-white back leaning against the rim, submerged up to her collarbone.

Five array talismans were pasted around the tub, drawing the surrounding Heaven and Earth Qi into a vortex that centered on her body. The room was thick with spiritual pressure.

Yao Ning’s eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes snapped open, confusion swirling in their depths.

She looked around. The water was scalding hot, yet it felt incredibly comfortable. A numbing, tingling warmth seeped into her pores, like millions of tiny ants crawling through her meridians, repairing the damage from the lightning.

“Wait.”

She stiffened. “Why am I in a bathtub?”

She looked down. She was naked.

Her memory was a blur. She had been practicing her stance in the courtyard, the lightning hammering her… and then darkness.

“Did… did Senior Brother take off my clothes?”

Her face turned a deep, burning crimson. She sank lower into the water until only her eyes and nose were visible, bubbles rising from her mouth.

‘Junior Sister. Stop hiding. Sit in meditation and regulate your breathing. Absorb the medicinal power.’

Li Meng’s voice echoed in her mind via Divine Sense, calm and authoritative.

Yao Ning jolted. She realized the water wasn’t just hot; it was a potent medicinal soup. Colorful spiritual herbs floated on the surface, dissolving their essence into the liquid.

She sat up, crossing her legs in the tub. Following his instructions, she began to cycle her breath.

The steam swirled around her, glowing with multicolored light. The energy surged into her body, and her skin, pale from exhaustion, flushed with renewed vitality.

In the adjacent room, Li Meng sat cross-legged on his bed.

A faint five-colored aura surrounded him as he digested a Flawless-quality pill. The medicinal efficacy was potent and pure, dissolving instantly without leaving a trace of Pill Poison.

He opened his eyes and sighed.

Even with Flawless pills and top-tier talismans, his Five Spirit Roots were a shackle. His cultivation speed was a crawl compared to a Heavenly Spirit Root genius.

“I wonder how effective the Mystic Yin Pill will be.”

Refined from over a dozen thousand-year-old herbs, it was his best hope for a significant boost.

He closed his eyes, returning to his meditation.

The next morning.

Click.

The pavilion door opened. Li Meng stepped out, dressed in fresh yellow robes, and stretched under the warm morning sun. The sky was a vast, cloudless blue.

He sat in his reclining chair in the courtyard. With a wave of his hand, the tea set appeared. He poured a cup, savoring the aroma.

“Mmm. Good tea.”

He grinned. Even if it tasted like dirt, he’d call it good. It was the principle of the thing.

“Senior… Senior Brother!”

Yao Ning walked out of the pavilion. She wore her black martial attire, looking refreshed and brimming with energy. Her aura was sharper, heavier.

Li Meng glanced at her over the rim of his cup. “How do you feel?”

Yao Ning rolled her shoulders, throwing a few test punches as she walked to the center of the courtyard. The air cracked with each strike.

“Senior Brother, I broke through. Bone Tempering, Third Layer!”

Body Tempering was divided into three great realms: Bone Tempering, Flesh Tempering, and Spirit Tempering.

Bone Tempering had nine layers. Reaching the third layer meant her skeleton was now as hard as ironwood.

She dropped into her stance.

Her movements were different today. There was a weight to them, a ferocity that hadn’t been there before. Each punch generated a visible ripple in the air—a precursor to Gang Qi.

Once she could shatter a boulder from ten paces away with just the wind of her punch, she would have reached the Great Perfection of Bone Tempering.