Open a group to change your life

Chapter 20 Immortal Qi Refining Conference

After browsing the immortal group for a while, Liang Junjie posted his recent cultivation insights, including his self-summary of experiences, combat insights, and so on.

Huo Chuyu then posted in the group: "Little Liang is about to break through. To celebrate, I have modified the cultivation technique in the group and officially named it 'Diu Jiu Ni'. The spiritual energy secret realm will be opened at noon."

Liang Junjie looked at the message with a puzzled expression.

"Master, how do I open this?"

"It's a secret~" Huo Chuyu made a shushing gesture at Liang Junjie, looking strangely cute.

Meanwhile, someone in the immortal group had already reacted. "Senior Chu Yuxin, are you serious? The name of this cultivation technique..."

In the living room, Huo Chuyu sat cross-legged on the sofa, the light from her phone screen reflecting on her giggling face.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she sent long messages in the group chat, describing them vividly:

Chu Yuxin: "Asking about a name? Brilliant! The three characters 'Diu Jiu Ni' are taken from an ancient dialect. 'Jiu' is a spirit bird, also implying gathering. 'Diu' means to empty or abandon, and 'Ni' refers to one's own attachments. Put together, it means: Abandon the stubborn 'jiu bird' in your heart, let go of your ego, and spiritual power can come and go freely, gathering into a sea!"

"Those who practice this method will experience unusual phenomena in the early stages—a slight warmth in the lower abdomen, what sounds like birdsong, and a tendency to crave grains."

"When you reach the initial stage, you might see faint bird shadows circling your body while circulating your spiritual energy, lasting for three breaths. If you cultivate to a deeper level... it's said that you can briefly conjure spiritual feathers and increase your speed by 30%! Of course, for now, everyone in the group, let's aim to hear birdsong for the time being~ (covering mouth and laughing emoji)"

The group chat immediately erupted in a frenzy of this half-true, half-false, half-deceptive yet somewhat serious explanation, with questions and exclamations flying everywhere.

However, a few wise people in the group expressed disbelief, and they all sent an emoji of a mysterious elementary school student pushing up his glasses.

On the other side, Liang Junjie was silently dragged by Yu Xueji to the smaller balcony used for drying clothes. She pulled the glass door shut behind her, separating the living room from the space where Huo Chuyu was secretly laughing at her phone screen.

But can they really be separated?

A few pieces of clothing hung out to dry on the balcony, swaying gently. Morning light filtered through the iron railings, casting interplay of light and shadow on her face.

She didn't let go, still gripping his upper arm with her fingertips applying slight pressure.

"Master said you're almost at the mid-stage?" She looked up at him, her gaze meeting his.

"Soon." Liang Junjie nodded, feeling the warmth of her fingertips seeping through her thin sleeves.

He dared not move. When calm, the sword meridian within him flowed like a dormant stream, but with emotional contact or large-scale physical contact, even the slightest fluctuation would cause it to tremble involuntarily, like a thirsty man yearning for release. He had to control himself more carefully.

Yu Xueji stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly snorted and raised her other hand to give his arm a light pinch, more like a way of venting her frustration than playful fighting.

Liang Junjie: "..."

He was a little dazed, but the sensation on his arm was clear; his sword meridians had been slightly disturbed by the sudden attack.

A slight burning sensation slid down his veins, but he forcibly suppressed it.

He couldn't figure out what her "humph" and pinch meant. Was she blaming him for cultivating too quickly? Or something else?

"What are you humming about?" he finally couldn't help but ask, his tone helpless.

"It's nothing." Yu Xueji looked away, gazing at the hazy sky outside the balcony, and loosened her grip.

"I just think you're really lucky."

Then her voice lowered a notch, "Your master is so dedicated to helping you, he even saved the time he would have spent fooling around in the group chat to pave the way for you."

Liang Junjie could hear the bitterness in her voice, or rather, her worry.

Her angry attack in the kitchen just now, and her words to him many years ago when she rejected him: "I don't want to be a burden to you."

"It wasn't luck."

He carefully chose his words, and in a calm state, his tone softened as he spoke, "It's a price. None of the help my master gave me came easily."

He subconsciously rubbed the spot where she had pinched him earlier. "Just like last night, my meridians were almost ruptured by the sword energy. This mid-stage... it's probably not that simple either."

Yu Xueji turned her head, her gaze falling on his arm, which he was unconsciously rubbing, where the scratch marks from her fingers still remained. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just pursed them.

Silence fell between the two, with only the faint sound of Huo Chuyu's feignedly profound chuckle as she typed into her phone in the living room, and the constant buzzing of messages in the group chat.

The silence wasn't entirely awkward, but it was filled with unspoken words.

Liang Junjie could sense that she wasn't really angry or jealous, but rather seemed lost and helpless.

Perhaps it was also the bewilderment at his unconventional cultivation progress, the bewilderment at Huo Chuyu's mysterious and unpredictable methods, and perhaps the bewilderment at the sudden closeness between them, yet the distance created by their drastically different paths.

"Then you..." Yu Xueji finally spoke again, her voice much softer, "Be careful. Don't let that talking nonsense lead you astray."

She wanted to lighten the somber atmosphere with playful banter.

Liang Junjie felt a slight warmth in his heart.

"Um."

He nodded. "I will. You too. Don't worry too much about those people in the group. You can spar with me anytime."

After saying that, Liang Junjie hesitated and then added:

"Although our mentor is sometimes unreliable, he is very strong."

"understood."

Yu Xueji regained her usual aloofness, turned around and opened the glass door, "Let's go, let's see how much more Master can fool those people in the Immortal Group."

She walked back to the living room first, her figure slender.

Liang Junjie followed behind, still feeling the pinch on his arm, but the sword meridian within his body had completely subsided.

He suddenly felt that Yu Xueji's direct, even somewhat crude, concern made him feel more at ease than Huo Chuyu's roundabout way of helping him.

"Hey~ the two young lovers actually came back? Aren't they following Master around anymore?"

Huo Chuyu laughed and scolded, "How could a mere balcony possibly block the hearing of a Nascent Soul cultivator? Besides, these two people were speaking quite loudly, and the glass door couldn't block the sound at all."

"Master! What are you saying?!" Yu Xueji's face flushed instantly. Although she said that, her eyes were indeed a little dazed.

Liang Junjie stood to the side and calmly said, "Master, my junior sister and I are nothing."

Although both of them said the same thing—that they weren't—their faces were completely red.

"Alright, alright, get ready, I'm about to open the secret realm."

After saying that, Huo Chuyu posted a link in the group.

"Click the link to automatically enter the cultivation secret realm."

Chu Yuxin sent a "Come quickly" emoji in the group.

Liang Junjie clicked the link, and the next moment, he was teleported away.

"!!!" Yu Xueji was stunned.