8. She was totally screwed
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Su Jing stared at the bottle, which resembled a butterfly. It looked strange and pretty, so she rotated it for a few minutes to admire its design. 

" Isn't this precious?"

She had never heard of such a thing. They were right now outside, going together towards an inn, so the twilight rays were colouring the bottle in an orange shade.

Ya Wen, however, shook his head.

" Disciples in Heavenly Clouds Sect are passionate about drinking, so usually there are a lot of such bottles everywhere, even between the outdoor disciples. Personally, I don't really drink, so it would be more useful for you to keep the tonic from going stale. I already have many more since they are easy to obtain."

Su Jing wasn't a fan of alcohol either, but since Ya Wen was willing to give it to her, she didn't refuse. Remembering the tonic, her stomach hurt, still unwilling to digest such an untasteful thing.

Typically, bitter liquors held the most potency in the immortal realm, at least according to Feng Zhi Hao's experiences. However, Su Jing felt that hers did little more than offend her taste buds. As swordmasters consumed this tonic daily, Su Jing suspected it was meant for longer use, but her resilience wasn't sufficient for that. 

She tucked it into her sleeves and followed Ya Wen. Outside, the crowd buzzed with activity, even as the sky darkened. Vendors had started lighting their stalls, creating a warm, welcoming glow. 

After walking for a while, they stopped in front of a small wooden building. The modest structure and the people around instantly indicated to Su Jing that she had arrived at an inn. 

"There should be a few rooms open," Ya Wen said, glancing at her. "I'm sure your journey from Mountain Shun was tough. Be sure to rest well since we can't predict what we'll face at the sect tomorrow." 

Su Jing nodded, thanking Ya Wen. She felt bad for being a freeloader, but she really had no funds to cover anything! 

All in all, once they each got a room, things seemed to calm down. Despite having consumed spiritual food earlier, fatigue pulsed through her body, and the thought of resting in a comfortable bed was irresistibly appealing.

"This is the key," Ya Wen's voice was heard as he came from the innkeeper, giving her a piece of wood. Su Jing frowned when she saw it, not understanding how that resembled a normal key.

After Ya Wen explained to her, she understood that the key token was meant to be put inside a device, and once you entered a bit of your Qi, you were teleported directly inside a private room. To get out, you had to infuse your Qi in the door.

"Your Qi seems unstable," Ya Wen said, frowning as he gently held her wrist. "I'll channel some of my Qi into your fingertip. When you need to activate a spiritual device, just touch it and let the Qi flow through."

Su Jing glanced at him, a little uneasy. She'd thought that her Qi had stabilized after consuming so much spiritual food. But now that Ya Wen mentioned it, there was indeed a lingering discomfort—a subtle, tingling pressure in her chest, as though something inside her was trying to break free.

"Is it that bad?" she asked hesitantly. "It's been quite difficult for me to sense the Qi around me."

Ya Wen, as a core disciple, surely knew what he was talking about. She watched as his brows furrowed slightly. "Your dantian isn't properly settled yet, and there are fissures in it. The small amount of Qi you've cultivated is leaking out and swirling chaotically within your body. Your roots are straining themselves to keep this chaotic Qi under control."

Chaotic Qi? Su Jing unconsciously touched her chest, her heartbeats slowing down for a few seconds as another energy pulsated more strongly, making her dizzy for a second.

Ya Wen, noticing her discomfort, chanted a spell, drawing symbols in the air that glowed faintly before pressing the completed charm into her palm. A soothing warmth spread from her hand, calming the chaotic energy

"To be honest," Ya Wen said, "I'm amazed you can even move around with this much Chaotic Qi. It would've crippled anyone with a weaker will. Your resilience is remarkable."

Su Jing stared at him, her mind spinning. She hadn't even officially started her cultivation journey, and already she was facing something that might end it before it even began. Fissures in the dantian were no joke. If left untreated, they could worsen, leading to a complete collapse of both the dantian and the spiritual roots.

In other words, she was totally screwed.

"Does Senior know of any way to fix this?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

There was, of course, one possibility: the female lead. But how could she, Su Jing, even approach her? Feng Zhihao didn't heal people out of kindness alone. Without a compelling reason—or valuable compensation—Su Jing doubted she'd spare a glance at her. What did Su Jing have to offer? Gratitude? That was practically worthless coming from someone as insignificant as her.

Ya Wen interrupted her spiralling thoughts. "I've temporarily stabilized your dantian," he said. "But you need to stop cultivating for now. Let the Qi already in your body settle naturally. Meditating in a peaceful, spiritually rich environment should help mend the fissures over time." 

Su Jing had no way of ever becoming powerful. 

No wonder the Elder had rejected her during the sect assessment—she wasn't just ordinary; she was damaged goods. With roots this burdened and a dantian teetering on the edge of collapse, she was worse off than Feng Zhihao had been back when her meridians were blocked. Blocked meridians, at least, could be cleared with the right technique or a rare enough treasure. But destroyed roots or a shattered dantian?

There was no coming back from that.

Sure, her dantian might heal its fissures over time, but it would always remain fragile, a ticking time bomb just waiting for the wrong moment to explode. No matter how careful she was, any attempt to push herself too hard—whether in cultivation or combat—could lead to an internal Qi accident.

And when that happened, it wouldn't just ruin her progress; it could kill her.

The realization weighed on her like a mountain. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms as frustration surged. She hadn't asked to transmigrate here, hadn't asked for any of this. And yet, here she was, trying to survive in a world that had already labelled her a failure before she even started.

Hah, she really didn't have the energy for this. 

Nodding in response, she stepped into her room and wished Yawen a good night. The space wasn't large, just sufficient for a bed, a closet, a table, and a small bathroom to meet a traveller's basic needs. There were no real windows, just a painted illusion of one accompanied by gentle bird sounds, creating a semblance of nature.

Su Jing touched it, and the surface was even, like a photo pasted on the wall.

The room felt so strange, and Su Jing felt that further investigating it would only disturb her sleep. She washed her face and hands quickly, changing into some inner robes.

Completely alone at last, Su Jing should have felt at ease. Instead, a vague unease crept up her spine, settling in her chest like a weight she couldn't shake. Her feet carried her to the small mirror in the corner of the room, and she sat down before it without much thought.

For a moment, she simply stared at her reflection.

Her face, illuminated dimly by the flickering light in the room, looked weary but familiar. Dark wavy brown hair framed her pale complexion. Her skin was the kind of pallid white that gave her a fragile appearance, though her features didn't quite match the delicacy it suggested.

Her eyes—large, grey, and a little dull from exhaustion—studied her reflection intently, as though trying to unearth something hidden beneath her skin. Nothing about her face stood out, yet it wasn't unpleasant either. Ordinary, she thought. Neither beautiful nor hideous. 

A part of her wanted to look away, but she couldn't. The reflection in the mirror was hers, yet it felt distant, almost like it belonged to someone else.

"I'm still me," she murmured softly to herself, her voice barely audible over the silence of the room. The words felt hollow. 

Her fingers brushed against her cheek absentmindedly, feeling the coolness of her own skin. She didn't know what she was searching for—reassurance, perhaps, or some trace of who she used to be.

But the mirror offered no answers, only reflecting the face of a girl who looked like she didn't belong in this world.

The next day came far more quickly than Su Jing had anticipated. At least, that's how it felt. She was unsure of the time—after all, the illusion had shifted to a daylight view, which likely meant it was already late in the morning.

She got ready, and as soon as she exited, she saw herself once again in the inn's hallways. Her token of entrance had disappeared from the device, and as she looked at it, she noticed that Yawen's was gone, too. He must be somewhere outside.

She didn't have to search for long. As soon as she reached the terrace, she spotted him, sitting at a table with several talismans scattered before him. Su Jing was about to approach when she noticed someone else beside him.

Lord Qingwu.

"Cultivator Su, It's nice to see you again." He smiled at her.

Su Jing hesitated, not expecting to see the sub-male lead again so soon.

"Good morning, senior, young master Wu." Her voice came out slightly husky, prompting her to cough gently to clear her throat. 

Su Jing gazed curiously at the papers covering the table, each marked with various numbers and symbols, either in Qi or plain ink. She sat beside them, hesitant to ask while Qingwu was present.

"I assume Cultivator Su has chosen her preferred sect since you two are together," he remarked.

Su Jing wasn't surprised by his quick deduction. She smiled and nodded, "That is correct. I apologize, young master, but I stand by my decision."

The man's presence felt too unsettling for her to consider remaining in the same sect as him.

"Actually, before you arrived, I was discussing with Cultivator Wen about his journey to the Heavenly Clouds Sect. I found an old core yesterday and purchased it for him to examine." 

Su Jing frowned at his mention of a core. "A core?" she repeated, glancing at Yawen, but all she saw in his hands were those papers. 

Ya Wen lowered his hands and gazed towards Su Jing, "It's a core for the teleporting talismans. This one might be a little old, but its coordinates are too good to be thrown away. It can teleport people right before the mortal Gate."

Su Jing paused when she heard that, understanding what that meant. It was a way for Ya Wen to travel to the mortal realm by skipping over the forest.

Perhaps sensing her confusion, Qingwu gestured towards the centre of the table. "You may not see it now because of the sealing, but this core is a tool for immortal cultivators to create teleportation talismans. I acquired it from a retired master yesterday at the marketplace, who was selling off old relics. When I saw the core, I couldn't resist buying it and bringing it to Cultivator Wen. Lucky for him, I caught him in time before he left with you, Cultivator Su, for the sect. "

He smiled but his words only made Su Jing frown deeper. Teleporting talismans were quite a different deal from arrays. Usually, it was just one-sided, and for it to function it needed the creator to know the coordinates of the destination -meaning that if you wanted many destinations, you had to travel a lot.

In the said destination, you had to create core energy, or if you were weaker or simply lazier, you could attach it to the public core energies of the most popular spots. This often required you to request the master who created it since recklessly allowing too many talisman users to a single core could cause it to explode and nuke the whole place around it.

Not to forget, you had to pay for it too.

"If Cultivator Su worries about our journey to the Heavenly Clouds Sect, rest assured. I stand by my promises." Yawen interjected, turning his gaze to her. "Even if I can form a talisman to the Mortal Gate, you can be sure I'll send you safely to the sect."

Though Yawen's reassurance was comforting, Su Jing hadn't expected things to turn out like this! Also, she couldn't help but feel that something was weird about this. 

She bit her inner check unconsciously. "Senior is a cultivator of his word. I would never doubt your intentions, especially since your primary purpose for your travels was to reach the mortal realm. " She paused, searching her eyes for the supposed core. "Had Cultivator Wen made any progress with it? I imagine it is a difficult task to master a core."

Yawen shook his head. "Unfortunately, although it is in fairly good condition, the energy is too feeble in Yang City for me to do anything. I can only recharge it with Qi."

Yawen leaned towards the centre of the table, his fingers having a slight luminescence.

"Is it because of the messy array energy?" Qingwu asked, also assessing it with a frown. "This core has been quite old, so it's no surprise it is vulnerable to space malfunctions."

Su Jing watched them both intently, trying to follow their conversation, but she couldn't see anything they were referring to. To her, the table remained as it was—blank except for the scattered papers

Perhaps noticing her, Qing Wu turned towards Su Jing. "Is Cultivator Su curious about what a core looks like? Since I purchased it, I am its new master, so I can let you see through the seal."

Su Jimg had no reason to refuse, so she nodded to Qingwu.

He quickly brushed his fingers against the centre of the table, a round object materializing. The core was no larger than a peach, yet it gleamed with intricate runes floating around its surface, like faintly glowing symbols suspended in mid-air.

Su Jing tilted in, her curiosity piqued. "It's smaller than I expected."

She certainly expected a ball, not a fruit-looking device.

"The seal binds its spatial energy," Yawen explained, "But it's delicate, as you can see. Too much interference from unstable Qi, and it may lose its potency."

Now that Yawen had mentioned it, Su Jing could also see that the light was slowly dimming in some places.

"Perhaps we could explore some other locations? There are places where the Qi is more concentrated."

Su Jing watched how Qingwu got a map out of his storage bag.

Her gaze followed Qingwu's finger as he traced a line from Yang City to the Grey Skies forest. The area he pointed out was just near the border —close enough to benefit from its Qi flow, yet far enough from the inner regions, which were infamous for their dangerous spirit beasts and unpredictable terrain.

"But wouldn't this still carry the risk of attracting beasts?" Yawen questioned, crossing his arms. "When crafting a talisman, you usually create a pool of Qi Energy, which instinctively lures spiritual beasts closer."

"It's not that deep in, and furthermore, me and my sect sisters could accompany you. We, anyway, haven't had the chance to go beast hunting and to return to our sect, we need to present the beast's crystal cores."

Su Jing remained silent, her eyes locked on the map. If she remembered right, Feng Zhihao was supposedly now towards the Still Waterfall, from which she later escaped a terrifying third-level snake beast. She would run away after defeating it, since she did not wish to attract other monsters, going exactly towards the place pointed by Qingwu.

"And Cultivator Su, of course, you're welcome to join us, too." He said while leaning his head to the side. "The area isn't pretty far and you would teleport more safely from an area without space Qi disturbances. "

Yawen nodded, "We were supposed to go to Du Village exactly because of the failed city array. But since things have come to this, we could switch this place with the forest."

He turned towards Su Jing as if wanting to hear her opinion too.

She only managed a faint smile, " I wouldn't mind, though, in the matter of defence or fighting, I wouldn't be of much help."

"With three sword cultivators, Cultivator Su doesn't have to worry. It's not the first time for us to hunt beasts." Qingwu said.

Su Jing actually had every reason to worry. This was a future scene setting for Feng Zhi Hao -the first time Qingwu and Feng Zhihao met was after she escaped Grey Skies Forest, exactly in the place pointed on the map.

But how could that be? Su Jing vividly remembered that event occurring a full month after Feng Zhihao entered the immortal realm, which meant there were still two or three weeks left before it should happen. She was certain of this timeline because Feng Zhihao had an almost obsessive habit of tracking the time difference between the mortal realm and her mystical farming space.

That was why Su Jing had initially dismissed Qingwu as irrelevant—she believed she would be long gone before his arc began. However, this assumption now seemed dangerously inaccurate.

Qingwu was going to meet Feng Zhihao on this very trip.

Then, if things were really like that, Su Jing had lost track of time when she stayed on Mount Shun. 

The most likely explanation was her unconsciousness after Feng Zhihao's inner demon episode. Being trapped inside the demon had consumed an immense amount of her energy, and her body might have required an extended period of rest to recover. But even then, she was mortal. Staying asleep for that long without a proper energy source—like food or water—should have been impossible.

The other possible explanation was tied to the Immortal Guild Array she had broken. Arrays weren't just about space—they manipulated time as well. When Su Jing had broken the array, it might have glitched and thrown her into a temporal anomaly. It wasn't unheard of for broken arrays to create pockets of suspended time, leaving those caught within to experience delays or distortions. That could explain why she hadn't noticed the passage of time.

Either way, that sent her directly to the next course of Feng Zhihao's story. Right before the main trigger factor, which was Qingwu!

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