"It's fine, Sister becoming a master is destined. Didn't you see, after all the detours, we've ended up here."
Listening to Shen Xiaoyan's words, Yue Qingxin also chuckled.
Meanwhile, Zheng Wei and Sima Han were a bit confused. When were these things said? They had no idea.
Seeing the bewildered looks on Sima Han and Zheng Wei's faces, Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin found it amusing but had no intention of explaining.
After dinner, Yue Qingxin handed Sima Shuiyong over to Shen Xiaoyan to look after, while she, along with Sima Han, Yizixie, and Namu Zhong, stayed in the west wing to cultivate.
Sima Shuiyong was an sensible child. Although he always slept with Yue Qingxin at night, perhaps sensing Yue Qingxin had important matters to attend to, or because Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei were familiar faces, he showed no discomfort going to sleep with Shen Xiaoyan in the main room.
After coaxing all four children to sleep, Shen Xiaoyan told Zheng Wei, "You watch them tonight. I'll go into the space to cultivate."
"No, you saw Sima Han needed Yizixie and the others to guard him. I can't rest easy with you going alone," Zheng Wei refused without a second thought. He had experienced that kind of pain before and knew how unbearable it was, so how could he agree to Shen Xiaoyan cultivating alone?
However, Shen Xiaoyan was determined. It was precisely because she had witnessed Zheng Wei's cultivation process and knew the anxiety of watching someone endure it that she didn't want Zheng Wei to witness hers. Even if he wasn't watching, he would still be worried, but it would be slightly better.
With this thought, Shen Xiaoyan said, "Don't worry. No matter what happens, there's Luoluo. It will keep an eye on me. You just stay here and take care of the children. Just don't give me any worries."
"You..."
As soon as Zheng Wei uttered "you," Shen Xiaoyan's figure vanished before him. He looked around and realized that Luoluo, who had been lying on the bed, was also gone. It was obvious that Shen Xiaoyan had taken Luoluo into the space with her. The frustrating part was that while he could enter the space with Shen Xiaoyan, he couldn't enter it on his own without her.
Zheng Wei had no choice but to suppress his anger for the moment. It seemed this little woman was becoming bolder, daring to run into the space and hide without his permission. Hiding was fine, but he didn't believe she could refuse to come out...
With this thought, a strange smile flickered across Zheng Wei's face, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
All four children were asleep, but Zheng Wei had no intention of lying down to sleep with them. He found that after cultivating, he felt more energetic, a feeling far better than a good night's sleep. Zheng Wei took out a gourd from his space ring. The gourd contained immortal spring water. After opening the stopper and taking a sip, he sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate. This was a method he discovered today: taking a sip of immortal spring water before cultivating made his cultivation smoother.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiaoyan, having entered the space, did not immediately rush to the immortal spring. Instead, with a look of lingering fear, she patted her chest.
"What are you doing?" Luoluo watched Shen Xiaoyan's actions, completely bewildered. No one was chasing her or hitting her, so why such an expression?
"You wouldn't understand," Shen Xiaoyan mumbled softly, then said aloud, "Alright, enough nonsense. Let's go."
Luoluo stood up and waddled behind Shen Xiaoyan, its round eyes rolling towards Shen Xiaoyan's back with constant white glances. What kind of master was this? Clearly, she was the one spouting nonsense just now, yet now she was acting as if Luoluo was at fault. She was truly living too long, her skin growing thicker.
The human and the cat arrived by the immortal spring. Shen Xiaoyan took a deep breath, scooped a cup of immortal spring water with the porcelain cup in her hand, tilted her head back, and drank it all. After finishing the first cup, Shen Xiaoyan remembered that Zheng Wei had drunk two cups when he cultivated. Without hesitation, she refilled the cup and drank it all. After drinking, Shen Xiaoyan sat down cross-legged and began to run the cultivation incantation.
However, after a quarter of an hour, Shen Xiaoyan opened her tightly closed eyes and looked at Luoluo with some frustration.
"What's wrong?" Luoluo had been watching Shen Xiaoyan and felt a bit puzzled by her reaction.
"I don't feel anything," Shen Xiaoyan said helplessly.
"What do you mean?" Luoluo felt its cloak was not warm enough. What did she mean by "don't feel anything"?
"It means when I cultivate, it's like that day. I feel like I've reached the threshold, but no matter what, I can't advance even a tiny bit." Shen Xiaoyan was extremely frustrated at this moment. Clearly, she was facing the same situation as Zheng Wei, and so were Sima Han and Yue Qingxin. But why could Sima Han successfully cultivate after consuming the spirit-awakening water, and Zheng Wei could also cultivate successfully after drinking two large cups of immortal spring water? Yet, for her, there was no reaction at all? Could it be because she didn't have spirit veins? Although Shen Xiaoyan was only suspecting this and couldn't be sure, her suspicion was correct, as the fact was indeed so. The original Shen Xiaoyan had no spirit veins. The wood element spirit vein she possessed was due to her own special ability. Therefore, the cultivation methods of Zheng Wei and Sima Han were not suitable for her.
"What should I do now?" Shen Xiaoyan slumped weakly onto her knees. To cultivate, she had even left Zheng Wei behind. Now, if she had to return dejectedly and tell Zheng Wei that she couldn't cultivate successfully, she guessed she wouldn't be met with Zheng Wei's gentle authority, but rather... Thinking of Zheng Wei's speechless punishments, Shen Xiaoyan shuddered all over.
"Ugh, I can't think about it anymore," Shen Xiaoyan wailed, clutching her head.
"Why don't you try another method?" Luoluo suddenly said.
"What method?" Shen Xiaoyan looked up hopefully at Luoluo, waiting for an answer.
"Don't you have that spirit-awakening water? Drink that, and then drink more immortal spring water." Shen Xiaoyan found Luoluo's suggestion a bit amusing. Was this advice? Was it that if quality wasn't enough, quantity would win? However, thinking about it carefully, there was truly no other option now. Even if she asked Yizixie, she probably wouldn't get a definitive answer.
"Alright then, I'll try it," Shen Xiaoyan nodded. Although it seemed a bit reckless, if she tried and it didn't work, she could at least be content. Otherwise, she was unwilling to just wait indefinitely. Taking out the spirit-awakening water from her space ring, Shen Xiaoyan gazed at the liquid in the bottle for a long time.