Chen Baiqing's Daily Sect Cultivation

Morning.

After cultivating all night, Chen Baiqing steadied the spiritual energy within her body and slowly opened her eyes.

Unlike her senior sister, who slept at night, Chen Baiqing devoted every hour of darkness to cultivation, reserving daylight for studying books and filling gaps in her knowledge.

The thick tome on immortal cultivation basics, once her senior sister’s, had recently been passed down to her.

Among the three disciples in the sect, she was the least gifted, and that weighed on her.

Her talent and intellect paled in comparison to her senior sister, who could afford to sleep instead of cultivating.

But for someone like her—mediocre in aptitude, only brought into the sect by their master’s kindness—slacking was not an option.

If she didn’t push herself, how could she ever keep up with the others?

Now at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, she was steadily approaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

As dawn broke, Chen Baiqing tidied up and picked up the hefty book, planning to continue reading by the pond.

Though the material was dry, the knowledge within was invaluable.

When her master needed this wisdom, she wanted to be of use.

Setting the book on a stone table, she pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle of candied fruits from her robe.

Popping one into her mouth, she savored the sweetness and turned her gaze to the pages.

Lately, everyone had been busy—her senior sister drafting plans for new disciples, their master preoccupied with alchemy.

Conversations with her had grown scarce.

Still, there were occasional exchanges.

Like when their master hit a bottleneck, muttering in existential despair:

“This can’t be… How? I followed the instructions perfectly. Why is it still wrong?”

He’d usually be by the pond, tossing stones while venting.

At such times, Chen Baiqing would set her book aside and quietly sit beside him.

Their master would then ruffle her neatly combed hair into a mess with his big hands.

He also loved pinching her cheeks.

She didn’t mind it from him or her senior sister. With her second senior brother, she wouldn’t get angry, but she didn’t exactly enjoy it either—their interactions were too few.

As for anyone else? Not a chance.

Once her master finished, Chen Baiqing would offer him the choicest candied fruit from her stash and cheer him on:

“Master, you’re the best! You’ll definitely succeed.”

She knew little about alchemy, but she knew her master.

He’d accept the treat, devour it in one bite, and chuckle:

“Thanks for the encouragement, Baiqing. Your master will definitely concoct a pill even your senior sister can stomach.”

She usually didn’t reply, simply nodding with a smile.

Why?

By now, she’d seen enough of his alchemy endeavors.

Every time he strode out of his workshop, bursting with confidence, he’d summon their senior sister to taste his latest creation.

At first, her senior sister endured—gritting her teeth, swallowing the pills, only for their master to later dispel the medicinal effects.

But as his failures mounted and his methods grew… unconventional, her patience finally snapped. One day, she outright scolded him: “Master, do you even see me as human?!”

Chen Baiqing understood.

That day, her senior sister’s wails echoed through the entire sect…

Their master, knowing he’d crossed a line, stopped recruiting her as a tester.

Yet feedback was essential. After much deliberation, Chen Baiqing mustered the courage to volunteer.

Their master neither agreed nor refused, only seeming to recall something in a daze.

The next day, she learned what it was.

A young monk from Zen Forest Temple—Yuan Kong—arrived.

Unfortunately, his tolerance was abysmal.

A single pill had him scrambling on the ground, tears streaming, begging to go home.

Their master simply had their senior sister produce a contract, laid it before the monk, and asked gently:

“Do you really want to leave?”

Yuan Kong complied after reading the terms, though their master showed mercy—limiting him to two pills a day.

Freed from pill-testing duty, their senior sister’s long-lost smile returned.

With Yuan Kong as his new subject, their master grew bolder in his alchemy, often lighting up with “brilliant” ideas.

If her senior sister and master were happy, Chen Baiqing was content.

Though Yuan Kong’s visits always followed the same pattern: hands clasped in prayer, a serene yet dead-eyed expression as he accepted the pill… then immediate writhing on the ground.

After witnessing this a few times, she lost interest.

As days passed, visitors to the sect multiplied.

Zhao Wanqing from the Demon Suppression Bureau came, reporting that promotions were fully underway and advising their master to prepare.

The abbot of Zen Forest Temple sent word too, praising the campaign’s success and reassuring him.

Meanwhile, their senior sister finalized trial designs—constructing a grand illusion array with their master’s help, plus other oddities Chen Baiqing didn’t quite grasp.

Lately, their master had spent considerable spirit stones and silver funding her vision.

This time, their senior sister vowed with absolute confidence:

“I’ll make sure Master is impressed.”

Faced with such remarks, the master, who was busy innovating new elixirs, merely responded with a disdainful chuckle.

However, the senior sister's proposal document was quite intimidating in its own right.

The sheer thickness of the stacked papers was no small matter.

It was clear that the senior sister had put a great deal of effort into it.

Yet, Chen Baiqing couldn’t shake the feeling… that his senior sister was definitely plotting something unusual.

This intuition stemmed from his deep familiarity with her.

Overall, things were progressing smoothly, and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

Except for the fact that the little monk recently appeared to be on the verge of grasping the true essence of Buddhism.

He could now swallow their master’s elixirs without batting an eye—or rolling on the ground in agony.

After consuming the pill, Yuan Kong’s expression remained eerily calm, though his body would tremble uncontrollably.

Every time the master saw Yuan Kong’s serene face, he would believe he had finally succeeded.

But the moment Yuan Kong spoke, the master knew he had failed yet again.

“I don’t want to live anymore. I wish to meet the Buddha face to face,” Yuan Kong would say.

The master would then pat his shoulder comfortingly and hand him a piece of candy…

And without fail, Yuan Kong would accept it and eat it.

As the final date was set, the master temporarily set aside his alchemical pursuits.

It was also rumored that Zen Forest Temple had made preparations to reconstruct Yuan Kong’s spiritual foundation, which was why he hadn’t been around lately.

With that, the master’s elixir experiments came to a half.

Only occasionally, when inspiration struck, would he refine a pill or two, saving them for Yuan Kong’s return.

Over time, quite a stockpile had accumulated.

Even Chen Baiqing couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for the monk.

As the grand ceremony drew nearer, Chen Baiqing managed to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage during this period. The master handed him a rather… peculiar mystical technique.

Meanwhile, the senior sister, short-handed as the event approached, sought him out as well.

She hoped he could take on some minor responsibilities.

Chen Baiqing agreed without hesitation.

He was more than willing to contribute to the sect’s affairs.

However, as the ceremony loomed closer, the number of attendees far exceeded Chen Baiqing’s expectations…

Standing at the sect’s entrance, he looked down and saw nothing but a sea of people.

Senior sister, there’s no way our trial formation can accommodate this many!