Qiu Ling didn’t pick up on Jing Yi’s general mood but he at least noticed that he didn’t want to talk about the subject any longer. His gaze darted from one side of the lake to the other and his eyes lit up. Now was probably the best time to follow the advice of talking about something important with his beloved! That should definitely tell him what a considerate and caring person his future husband was!

As for what was important to Jing Yi … As much as he loathed to admit it, there seemed to be only one thing: cultivation. As for the things that he could say in regard to that … "So what is the problem with what you are studying now?"

Jing Yi was happy that he didn’t have to talk about his feelings with Qiu Ling anymore. And, well, since this senior martial brother of his already knew that there was a problem he might as well admit it. "Well, I wanted to become a cultivator but I have full spirit veins."

Qiu Ling raised his brows. Full spirit veins? He had never heard of that.

"It means I have six spirit veins."

Qiu Ling tilted his head. "I don’t understand. What spirit veins?"

Jing Yi smiled. There was actually someone who also didn’t know about spirit veins upon coming to the sect. And he wasn’t even a child. Well, Qiu Ling was a practitioner though. He didn’t need to know about them. "Spirit veins are something you need to become a cultivator. You can have six of them but the fewer you have the better." He sighed. "With my six spirit veins, it’s nearly impossible to become a good cultivator."

Qiu Ling frowned. This wasn’t good. The sooner Jing Yi ascended, the sooner he would be together with Jing He in the Nine Heavens again. But to do that he would need to become a cultivator first. If his spirit veins were unsuitable for that … "Is there any way to change spirit veins?"

Jing Yi pursed his lips. "Probably. But it can’t be easy or everyone would do it and all the people in the world would be cultivators." After all, being a cultivator would give you the means to protect yourself and the ones you loved, didn’t it? Why wouldn’t somebody want that? "Anyway, if it’s difficult, then someone like me from the outer sect wouldn’t be able to get rid of some spirit veins. Actually, I don’t mind it too much. Even with full spirit veins and below-average talent, you can still learn a bit and use it for something good, can’t you? So even if the progress would be slow, I could at least work hard to become a true immortal someday." He turned to Qiu Ling and smiled, his sparkling eyes stunning Qiu Ling.

His beloved … was very, very pretty when he smiled like that with even his eyes curved up. Jing He should definitely smile more often.

Jing Yi didn’t notice the reaction he had provoked and just sighed, his smile turning sad. "It’s just that I’ve already failed at the first step. It would be good already if I could understand how to take in spiritual energy."

"Then … Is there no way to learn that?" Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. He might not know about what spirit veins were but taking in spiritual energy was something the immortal races could do as well. There was nothing difficult about that. Why wasn’t his beloved able to do it?

Jing Yi shook his head. "Not for me. Those with full spirit veins aren’t taught. We have to figure it out on our own if we want to become cultivators. You could only have three spirit veins at most if you want to be taken care of by an adviser. I did ask one of my senior martial brothers and he did try to explain to me but … I guess my comprehension ability isn’t that good." He looked down, a hint of worry appearing between his brows. Maybe this life really wasn’t for him.

Qiu Ling pursed his lips. He didn’t like this look on Jing Yi’s face. No, he wanted to see him smile happily again! He definitely had to help him with this! It shouldn’t be a problem. After all, his beloved had already suffered so much and he would still need to suffer a bit more in the future if he really had to put in a lot of hard work to get where others would get naturally. This couldn’t be called interfering in his trial! No, he was merely helping out a little.

Qiu Ling cleared his throat and gave a hopeful smile. "Would my Master know about it? I could ask him."

Jing Yi smiled but shook his head. "It’s nice of you to offer it but Grandmaster Zhangsun is a practitioner, not a cultivator."

"Oh." Qiu Ling frowned. Was there no way to help Jing He? He could contact Fu Min to find out about it. But gathering information about something only related to mortals wasn’t that easy. Especially if it was something that wasn’t taught freely.

Jing Yi’s gaze softened. It really was nice to see that this senior martial brother Qiu cared so much about him. Even if they didn’t get married, he could very well imagine being friends with somebody like this. "It’s alright. I’ve been here for five years already. I might not have managed to cultivate but I already know much more about it. I’ll be able to figure it out sooner or later."

Qiu Ling’s eyes gleamed. There was a determination in Jing Yi’s eyes that he had never seen in Jing He’s. It was like a fire that burned neither bright nor high but instead steadily. With enough time and enough nurturing it could burn the whole world to ashes. This silent pursuing of a goal … He liked to see it very much.

"My love, don’t worry about it. I will help you. I’ll find a way."

His gaze wasn’t less fiery than Jing Yi’s. Yes, he would help him. The sooner Jing Yi became a cultivator and ascended, the sooner he could embrace Jing He again. And he really couldn’t wait for the day he could finally hold his beloved in his arms again. He missed him too much.