34. Confidence

His strength was achieved by combining the guidance of the Heart of the Universe with the Cold Steel Warblade, the Galactic Sacred Body, the Devouring Blade Technique, and several other elements. Remove any one of these, and he would fall to the level of an ordinary powerhouse.

“So what do you intend to do?” he asked.

Ji Lingyu replied, “I will teach her some secret arts suited to her cultivation. Any one of them would be enough to drive the entire Longquan Prefecture mad with desire.”

Her tone was audacious, as if she cared little for the powerful cultivators of Longquan Prefecture, whether they were in the Profound Realm or even the Primordial Soul Realm.

But her bearing was so confident, it left no room for doubt.

Li Miao felt tempted.

All the skills he possessed came from the Silver Alliance, and he dared not pass them on lightly. If the masters of the Alliance learned of it, he would face harsh punishment, and even Guo’er would suffer.

Ji Lingyu’s offer arrived at the perfect time to solve Guo’er’s problem of having only a single path to follow.

Still, he couldn’t understand why Ji Lingyu was willing to do this.

“Forgive my impudence, but why are you doing this? To you, Guo’er is just a stranger. Why go to such lengths?”

“An excellent question.”

Ji Lingyu laughed freely, her exquisite face radiating nonchalance. “When my master found me years ago, she said: ‘Every uncut jade in the world deserves careful carving.’ Now, your Guo’er is such a piece of jade, and I am the one who wishes to carve her.”

She was not only confident, but also unconventional, caring only whether she wanted to do something, never minding the consequences.

After sensing Guo’er’s extraordinary affinity with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, she immediately decided to take her as a disciple and pass on her rare and peerless arts.

She didn’t even ask whose child Guo’er was or whence such talent came.

Her carefree demeanor made Li Miao almost agree.

Yet he had one more question.

“If I agree, how long will you need to teach her? Can I accompany her during this time?”

Ji Lingyu raised three slender fingers and replied calmly, “Three months is enough. I’ll teach her the essence of my secret arts; how much she comprehends depends on her own fortune. As for you—living on my ship, you are not qualified. So, no.”

Her final words carried a trace of teasing.

Li Miao pursed his lips, speechless.

“What would qualify me, then?”

Ji Lingyu took a bite of the sour, unripe pear, laughing lightly. “Serve as my servant for a hundred years, or defeat me.”

Li Miao rolled his eyes inwardly.

Both options were clearly impossible for him.

He lowered his head in thought, and after a while said, “Let Guo’er decide. If she agrees, I won’t stand in her way. If she refuses, I hope you won’t force her.”

“Agreed,” Ji Lingyu replied with a confident smile.

Dealing with a girl just over ten, she had plenty of methods. Once Guo’er finished her first cultivation session, she was sure she could persuade the girl to agree.

Guo’er was still cultivating; in the tightly closed room, the spiritual energy was so dense it was astonishing.

It was still early, and it would be quite some time before Guo’er finished.

The two stood in the courtyard, silent for a while.

Li Miao leaned against the courtyard wall, watching the door, quietly waiting for time to pass.

From time to time, the crisp sound of Ji Lingyu biting into the young fruit reached his ears.

She seemed to have eaten two pears already—this was her third.

Was it really so tasty, though it hadn’t ripened?

Li Miao wondered, holding the pear she had tossed to him. He took a bite.

Instantly, the sour, astringent, and bitter juice jolted his senses, making him shiver and gasp.

Yet Ji Lingyu, unfazed, continued to savor hers in small bites, her expression unchanged.

Li Miao murmured, “A true powerhouse indeed—even sensory endurance is far stronger than ordinary folk.”

Ji Lingyu heard this and turned to him, laughing. “Little one, you’re quite the talker. I can eat green pears because I am a pear myself. You’re just human; you can’t feel what a demon experiences with her kind.”

With that smile, all her imposing aura vanished, replaced by a beauty as youthful as a maiden. Her allure eclipsed even the moonlight.

Her words left Li Miao utterly stunned.

“You—you’re a demon?” he exclaimed.

He could hardly believe that this ethereal, otherworldly Ji Lingyu was not human, but a demon.

Ji Lingyu smiled, pleased by his shock. “Surprised? Seems my disguise is quite good—ordinary people would never notice.”

“You’re joking, aren’t you?” Li Miao said.

“Believe it or not.”

Ji Lingyu turned away, picking a fourth pear, offering no explanation and making no attempt to reveal her true form.

Li Miao was half skeptical, glancing at her for signs of anything unusual.

He had only recently arrived in this world and had encountered demons only at Qianyuan Mountain, so his impression of demons was rather negative—opposing forces to cultivators.

So when Ji Lingyu claimed to be a demon, his instinct was to resist. Such a powerful, beautiful, and amiable woman ought to be human, not some evil, vicious demon.

He scrutinized Ji Lingyu again and again, but found nothing demonic about her.

Ji Lingyu stood calmly, allowing his speculation, and after a while asked with a smile, “Well, have you seen enough?”

“Uh…”

Li Miao felt awkward and quickly looked away.

No matter what she was, she appeared as a woman, and staring at her like that was inappropriate.

Ji Lingyu wore a faint smile, saying, “Little one, don’t let appearances blind you. Some people look beautiful and gentle, but are quite dangerous.”

Was this a warning?

Li Miao shook his head, amused. “I’ve done nothing to bring calamity upon myself, have I?”

After his shock, he quickly regained composure.

In such a vast world, nothing was truly strange. Ji Lingyu being a demon might be surprising, but not beyond reason. He could accept it.

Ji Lingyu said playfully, “You never know. Among demons, there are those who delight in slaughter and devouring the living.”

Li Miao pursed his lips.

He could believe a crimson dragon might eat people, but Ji Lingyu, a beauty whose true form was supposedly a pear, hardly seemed the type.

“If you were that kind of demon, the land here at Longling would have been devoured long ago.”

Ji Lingyu nodded. “Indeed, I do have quite the appetite.”

After some time, she seemed to recall something and suddenly asked, “Little one, do you think I am a good demon or a bad demon?”

“I don’t think you’re evil,” Li Miao replied.

Ji Lingyu sat at the stone table, resting her chin on one hand. “Good and evil aren’t so easily distinguished. Perhaps you say that because I happen to look pretty right now.”

Li Miao made no comment.

Seeing her thoughtful, he let her speak at her own pace.

Ji Lingyu toyed with the unripe pear, her gaze distant. “Mortals are easily deceived by appearances, not knowing that flesh and skin are but shells for the soul. In essence, humans and demons aren’t so different—they are both ordinary beings, subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death, unable to escape the cycle of reincarnation.”

“What sets the truly exceptional apart is the ability to endure countless trials, to survive nine lives and deaths, and to fathom the laws of heaven and earth—becoming celestial immortals.”

“They are ageless and undying, their words shape reality, their bodies embody the Dao. They grasp the ultimate truths of the universe and look down upon the common world.”

“I’ve cultivated for hundreds of years, striving for that realm. Yet after all this time, it still feels far away.”

“This pear tree tells me the soil beneath this little courtyard is too dry, too rocky, lacking in nutrients. Its growth is stunted, uncomfortable.”

“It says the walls are too high; it stretches and cannot reach beyond.”

“This is the tree’s fate, the shackle of all beings.”

“To become immortal is to break free from these shackles. But the process is exceedingly difficult.”

Her tone was tinged with helplessness, full of longing for the immortal realm.

Becoming immortal was the ultimate goal for nearly all cultivators, human or demon alike.

But it was far from easy.

In such a vast world, countless strong and gifted individuals had risen over the ages, yet those who reached the final summit and became peerless immortals were exceedingly rare.

Li Miao, though not a true cultivator, could empathize with Ji Lingyu’s feelings.

As a transcendent warrior, he saw certain things from a perspective even more distant than cultivators.

“Perhaps your goal is misaligned.”

A phrase he’d heard years ago in the expeditionary army flashed in his mind. He said, “Celestial immortals may be powerful, but that is not the ultimate end of cultivation.”

“Oh?” Ji Lingyu was surprised, her eyes curious. “Why do you say that?”

Li Miao replied, “I once heard it said that cultivation is a path with no end. To ordinary people, cultivators are powerful, but cultivators know that only the undying are truly strong. And to the undying, the universe remains mysterious, full of things beyond imagination that can end even their eternal lives.”

“Infinite life is merely a ticket to explore the vast universe. The only eternal thing in the universe is the universe itself.”

Cultivation has no end; immortality is only the beginning.

This was the maxim left to the expeditionary soldiers by the Grand Leader of the Galactic Transcendent Alliance—twelve simple words capturing the lifetime wisdom of a Lord of the Universe, revered by many as a life credo.

“The only eternal thing in the universe is the universe itself. That’s quite meaningful.”

Ji Lingyu pondered his words, her eyes gleaming with thought.

After a moment, she said, “I am beginning to find you interesting. Little one, who are you, to have such a unique perspective?”

The world’s people all yearned for the immortal realm, but he spoke as if there were far greater realms beyond, which surprised Ji Lingyu greatly.

Aside from her master, the Peach Blossom Immortal, she had never heard such bold words from anyone.

She was interested in Li Miao, but he had no intention of revealing his origins.

He smiled. “Some things can only be spoken at the right time, or they bring trouble,” he said, keeping his secret.

Ji Lingyu saw he would not answer and could only say, “Then tell me when you’re ready. Consider it a bounty.”

“Oh? You value me that much?” Li Miao was surprised.

Ji Lingyu smiled, candidly saying, “My intuition tells me that someone with such insights is extraordinary. I am deeply interested in all the wonders of the world, so I naturally wish to know more.”

“May I ask, where does my origin rank on your bounty list?” Li Miao was curious.

Her bounty list had ten slots, with only three left unfulfilled.

First was the twenty-thousand-year-old peach blossom petal, second the sword that severs karma, fifth the five-thousand-year-old old dragon scale.

Each of these was not easily obtained.

Ji Lingyu thought for a moment, then replied, “I’ll put you at fourth. The old dragon’s scale is difficult, but attainable with enough cultivation. Compared to getting someone to reveal their origin when they don’t wish to, that’s harder.”

She smiled, watching Li Miao for his reaction.

To her, this ranking was a mark of esteem; anyone should be proud to hear it.

But Li Miao shook his head. “Too low.”

“Oh?”

Ji Lingyu was puzzled. “That confident?”

Li Miao chuckled.

He dared not boast, but the transcendent universe behind him would astound any cultivator, far surpassing the five-thousand-year-old sand sea dragon king.

Original Energy Warriors, Lords of the Universe, transcendent technology—any one would terrify cultivators.

Yet… now was not the time to speak.

“Wait and see. Life is long, and as long as I don’t perish along the way, someday everything will be revealed.”

Only when the expeditionary army arrived in this world, or when he reached its pinnacle, could he speak freely of these things.

Otherwise, the truth would bring disaster.

The two chatted beneath the pear tree, and before they knew it, dawn crept across the eastern sky.

Day was near.

Guo’er’s first cultivation session was still ongoing; the spiritual energy in her room was so dense it rivaled the fluctuations produced by a Return-to-Origin cultivator casting spells.