Chapter 31: The Passionate Beginning of the Ladybug Month

"Wow, it smells so good!"

The main door was pushed open, and Gu Caiyi, wearing a silk nightgown, let out a sigh of admiration.

Facing her, Luo Chen was sitting at the doorway, holding a large porcelain bowl and shoveling spiritual rice into his mouth.

A few pieces of bright red beef were placed on one side of the bowl. As he shoveled the rice, the beef quivered enticingly.

"Did you make it yourself?"

Looking at the woman standing in front of him, staring intently at the pieces of beef, Luo Chen tentatively asked.

"Want a piece?"

"Sure!"

Damn, you're really not shy at all!

Watching the largest piece of beef enter that rosy little mouth under the influence of spiritual energy, Luo Chen felt like crying.

To reward himself for his hard work today, he had deliberately cut an extra two liang of meat, and now it was all in this woman's mouth.

Worse still, she was at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation, leaving him no place to complain.

It's all my fault for being so talkative!

"Mmm, soft and tender, fragrant and spicy, with a faint herbal flavor that not only locks in the juices but also contains a rich spiritual energy."

Gu Caiyi squinted her eyes, savoring the bite of beef.

"I didn't expect you to be so good at living frugally. Your cooking skills are far better than those of the chefs at Tianxiang Tower, and even match those of the spiritual chefs at the Zhongding family."

After a few compliments, she noticed Luo Chen quickly shoveling the food in his bowl.

She playfully tapped his head, both amused and exasperated.

"Is one piece of beef really that big a deal?"

Gulp!

"Hungry, just hungry, don't misunderstand, Sister Caiyi."

Gu Caiyi licked her lips, still savoring the taste.

"I'm not eating for free. I found out that the yin energy in Dahuang Market is just seeping through an array formation and isn't harmful. As long as you don't stay there for too long, it won't affect you at all."

"How long is too long?" Luo Chen asked urgently.

"At least a month, if you're in a closed retreat without moving."

Luo Chen let out a huge sigh of relief.

Last night, he had been somewhat anxious while hugging his thick quilt to sleep.

Cultivation was already difficult enough; if the yin energy damaged his foundation, it would be a real disaster.

Feeling relieved, he naturally slowed down his eating.

His gaze even had the leisure to follow Gu Caiyi's graceful figure.

Under the control of spiritual energy, a wooden bucket drew a bucket of water from the corner of the yard. She bent down, and the clear water splashed on her face.

When she lifted her head, the water droplets on her face sparkled in the sunlight, creating a beautiful, colorful effect.

"Beautiful, right?"

"Beautiful!"

"Ha ha ha"

Forgive Luo Chen for not knowing what adjectives to use; he could only describe the clear and charming laughter with the sound of a hen laying eggs.

Gu Caiyi sat on a swing under a tree in the west wing of the courtyard, suddenly feeling a bit melancholic. "They all say I'm beautiful, but they also say I don't meet the requirements for joining the Huanhuan Sect."

What are the requirements for joining the Huanhuan Sect?

Don't they just look at age and spiritual roots?

Gu Caiyi didn't say, sitting on a swing that clearly looked like it was built for a child, her waist and hips tightly stretched, forming a peach-like contour.

Swinging back and forth, her unadorned face gazed at the sky, looking somewhat lonely.

Luo Chen realized that Gu Caiyi was different from Bai Meiling and Feng Xia. She was more like some of the cultivators he had met who were chasing the Foundation Establishment stage.

There were many such people among the itinerant cultivators, but not that many.

Because most of them would gradually become庸俗 (vulgar) and preoccupied with making a living in their difficult circumstances.

And in the daily grind, they would forget their original intention of pursuing the Great Dao and the Foundation Establishment.

Luo Chen was also a vulgar person, but he often reminded himself that the purpose of refining pills to earn spirit stones was not for the stones themselves, but to buy enough resources to pursue immortality.

"When did you come back this morning? I didn't hear any sound."

"I came back at the hour of Yin last night."

The hour of Yin is roughly between 3 and 5 in the morning.

Compared to coming home at the hour of Mao before, it was about two hours earlier.

No wonder he didn't hear anything.

"It's been like this for the past two months. Those ladybugs are especially passionate at the beginning of the month, all flocking to Tianxiang Tower."

Ladybugs?

Pimps, right!

"Then after a few days, whether they run out of spirit stones or lose their energy, they slink back home."

Wait, the beginning of the month?

Luo Chen seemed to realize something and subconsciously avoided looking at Gu Caiyi.

"Actually, it's not so bad for us who dance and play music, but it's tough for the sisters who do the flesh trade. They tell Mama they're especially tired at the beginning of the month and want to take their holidays then."

A certain man laughed awkwardly, saying nothing.

He stared at the few grains of rice left in his bowl, picking them up one by one and putting them in his mouth.

"Of course, the sisters earn more. Some have already planned to save enough spirit stones to move to another market and find a honest itinerant cultivator to marry. They hope to have a child with spiritual roots, who can join a major sect and achieve Foundation Establishment and Core Formation in the future."

Luo Chen lowered his head, drawing circles with his fingers.

I really should thank them on behalf of the honest itinerant cultivators.

"Why aren't you talking? Don't you like hearing about Tianxiang Tower?" Gu Caiyi suddenly turned her head to look at him.

Luo Chen quickly waved his hands. "How could I? I just haven't eaten pork and don't know how to respond."

"Heh, you little guy!" Gu Caiyi laughed slyly and then warned, "If you want to achieve Foundation Establishment, it's best not to lose your essence before then."

Luo Chen nodded.

He was quite familiar with this matter.

Most cultivation techniques set a golden lock in the Qi Cultivation stage to ensure that low-level disciples don't lose their essence.

The Changchun Technique also has similar warnings.

"By the way, I have a question." Luo Chen felt a bit embarrassed. "How do cultivators in the inner city practice spells that require constant release and practice, like Fireball or Giant Sword?"

Gu Caiyi looked at him strangely. "Just practice them. How else would you solve it?"

"No, I mean spells that require constant release and practice, like Fireball or Giant Sword, which are large-scale attacks."

Luo Chen said with a troubled expression. "The place is too small and it can easily disturb the residents."

"The inner city strictly prohibits fighting. Why are you learning those spells? Shouldn't you always keep your spiritual energy full to strive for higher realms?" Gu Caiyi was puzzled.

Luo Chen found it even more strange. "Spells and magical artifacts are means to protect the Dao. Shouldn't they be mastered proficiently?"

"Besides, the inner city isn't absolutely safe, right?"

"Okay, the inner city does have a few idiots who challenge the rules of the Yuding Sword Sect every year, so it's not absolutely safe."

Gu Caiyi shrugged and gave Luo Chen the answer he wanted.

"From what I know, cultivators in the inner city who want to practice powerful spells either go out of the city to desolate mountains or empty fields, or go to the Yuding Sword Pavilion's dueling platform."

"Dueling platform?"

"Yes, it's charged, starting at one spirit stone per session. If you want an opponent to practice with, the price is a hundred times higher."

Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.

So the Yuding Sword Sect is also so greedy for money!

Perhaps seeing that Luo Chen was short of money, Gu Caiyi offered another solution.

"There's no one in the courtyard during the day. You can practice in the corner of the wall, as long as you replenish the soil and don't let Senior Sun find out."

(End of Chapter)