Chapter 29

Su Lingyu went forward and pulled her out of the blanket, with a serious expression, she said, “Behave and drink the medicine. Don’t make me angry.”

Upon hearing this, Qu Panyan quickly sat up, agile like a carp, and eagerly took the bowl of herbal medicine from her, “Sister Lingyu, don’t be angry, I’ll drink it right away!”

Su Lingyu sat down slowly and silently watched her.

Qu Panyan was in a dilemma, looking at the bowl of dark and suffocating Chinese medicine, she suddenly felt a sense of solemnity in her chest.

She silently motivated herself: to live a long life, she not only needs to mind her own business but also to be free of illnesses. For a long life and to avoid making Sister Lingyu angry, she mustn’t back down, she must be brave and just do it!

With determination in her heart, she closed her eyes, pinched her nose, tilted her head back, and quickly drank the medicine. The bitter taste immediately spread in her mouth, making her whole face scrunch up, but she resisted the urge to vomit and placed the bowl back.

Su Lingyu smiled at her action and gently wiped the medicine stains from her lips, her voice warm, “Good child.”

Qu Panyan was once again charmed by this simple and gentle gesture, feeling a sweet sensation in her heart, so much so that the bitterness in her mouth seemed to lessen.

Although the Chinese medicine was bitter, Su Lingyu was sweet enough!

Su Lingyu took the damp handkerchief handed by the spirit servant and gently wiped the fine sweat from Qu Panyan’s face, making her feel refreshed.

Suddenly, Qu Panyan felt embarrassed. She had occupied Su Lingyu’s bed and sweated so much on it, yet that person was now wiping her face. She felt guilty for causing so much trouble!

She covered her face with embarrassment and her voice escaped through her fingers, sounding muffled, “Sister Lingyu, I’m sorry.”

Su Lingyu put the handkerchief back in the tray, and the spirit servant retreated on her own. Su Lingyu looked at her puzzledly, “What’s the matter?”

Qu Panyan said, “I sweated so much and dirtied Sister Lingyu’s bed…”

Su Lingyu replied, “Nonsense. Catching a chill and having a fever naturally leads to sweating.”

“Tonight, you will sleep here, and tomorrow we will move you back to your room.”

Qu Panyan’s heart instantly exploded like a dazzling firework show. She buried her face in her hands, her lips curled up high, almost bursting into laughter.

Help!

This fairy-like sister is letting me sleep in her room on her bed!

What kind of tornado-like happiness is this!

I can die without regrets!

Qu Panyan struggled to restrain herself for a while before managing to speak calmly, “Isn’t this inappropriate…”

Su Lingyu didn’t mind at all and said, “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

Qu Panyan widened the gap between her fingers, revealing a pair of bright and beautiful eyes, and asked shyly, “If I sleep here, where will Sister Lingyu sleep?”

It’s such a pity that I can’t sleep in the same bed with Su Lingyu because I’m sick!

Su Lingyu looked at her and replied, “Cultivators don’t necessarily have to sleep every night.”

Qu Panyan: “…” Damn, I forgot that this is a real cultivation world!

“But you don’t have to worry,” Su Lingyu looked at her and said, “I’ll stay here with you.”

Qu Panyan was both surprised and delighted, and she put her hand down. Su Lingyu continued in a slow voice, “Because—”

“Boom—” A deafening noise from outside interrupted what she was going to say next.

Qu Panyan’s face changed, and all the color drained from her body. She stiffened like a rigid wooden plank. After three seconds of stiffness, her instincts prompted her to seek strong protection, so she plunged into Su Lingyu’s arms and trembled uncontrollably.

Su Lingyu tenderly hugged her back, holding her tightly in her arms. Her fingers caressed through Qu Panyan’s black hair with affection, and she trailed her touch down her slender back. She lowered her head and whispered softly in her ear, “Sister Lingyu is here, don’t be afraid.”

Outside, a series of thunder roared one after another, tearing the pitch-black night sky apart, instantly illuminating it as bright as day. Inside the room, Qu Panyan had a very unpleasant expression on her face. Each thunderous sound felt as if it struck her directly, leaving her ears ringing.

She reached out a trembling hand while in Su Lingyu’s embrace and set up a silver-white soundproof barrier around them.

Suddenly, all external sounds were cut off, and her ears became quiet. At this moment, she could only hear the rhythmic and steady heartbeat of Su Lingyu—along with her own heartbeats that had suddenly accelerated in her chest.

Her pale face was instantly flushed with a shy peachy hue. She wanted to withdraw from the embrace, but her body obediently stayed still in Su Lingyu’s arms.

Su Lingyu still held her and softly asked, “Not afraid anymore?”

Qu Panyan wrapped her arms around Su Lingyu’s waist, burying her face in her embrace, and despite her blushing, she whispered, “I’m still afraid…”

Indeed, she was afraid. The soundproof barrier could only shield the thunderous noise, but it couldn’t stop her from caring about the unexpected thunder and lightning. The more she tried not to care, the more she became anxious about it. Once she was alone, her fear escalated. That’s why she usually had the soundproof barrier and Elder Shuiru or Qu Muqiu accompanying her during thunderstorms.

When she was a child, she had Qu Muqiu to accompany her, and during any thunderstorms, she could sleep while being held by her elder sister. After growing up and entering the Cangnan Sect, she was fortunate to be favored by Elder Shuiru and received her care. But she didn’t dare to trouble her too much, so she would ask Elder Shuiru to use a sleep spell on her, and then release it for her the next day.

Su Lingyu comforted her, but before she could speak, the deafening thunder outside pierced into her ears once again. 

Qu Panyan’s soundproof barrier—had disappeared.

With quick reflexes, Su Lingyu immediately cast a new soundproof barrier, isolating the next clap of thunder just in time.

Qu Panyan gazed at the void with astonishment. There were only three possibilities for the disappearance of the soundproof barrier, apart from it being shattered or voluntarily dispelled—it was due to the lack of spiritual energy support.

Lack of… spiritual energy support?

Qu Panyan withdrew from Su Lingyu’s embrace, took a deep breath, and nervously extended her hand to sense her spiritual energy. With a slight movement of her divine sense, a scarlet flame surged in the palm of her hand, dispelling her uneasiness.

It was still there; her spiritual energy was still there.

Then, the flame abruptly extinguished, catching her off guard.

Confused, Qu Panyan stared blankly, “???”

How did it extinguish?

Why did it extinguish??

Has my spiritual energy run away from home???

“Minor Heavenly Punishment,” Su Lingyu’s voice floated over slowly, “A sign of Golden Core rejection.”

Qu Panyan looked at her in extreme puzzlement.

Su Lingyu explained, “In cultivation, the goal is to integrate with the laws of heaven and earth, seeking to transform the mortal body into an immortal one. This is going against the natural order, so when breaking through certain stages, there will be two tribulations as divine punishment. But before the major heavenly tribulation, there is a concept of Minor Heavenly Punishment, such as this sign of Golden Core rejection.”

“Once the Golden Core exhibits signs of rejection, it is unable to merge with your spiritual energy. The disassociated spiritual energy will become chaotic, appearing and disappearing intermittently, and it will no longer protect your body. As a result, there is no difference between you and an ordinary person.”

“Furthermore, the cold at the Tailing Peak intensifies at night, which is why you caught a chill and developed a fever.”

Qu Panyan: “…?”

So, she was not a disgrace to the cultivation world; she’s just facing a Minor Heavenly Punishment?

Su Lingyu continued, “However, not everyone will experience Minor Heavenly Punishment. Out of ten cultivators, only three will encounter it.”

Qu Panyan: “…”

Qu Panyan’s face became as black as the bottom of a pot, it seemed that she was truly unfortunate to be plagued with this punishment.

Seeing her silent, Su Lingyu comforted her, “Don’t be upset. You’re not alone; even Elder Tianhong had experienced Minor Heavenly Punishment. After you recover from your cold, you can learn from him how to integrate your spiritual energy and Golden Core to overcome this Minor Heavenly Punishment.”

Su Lingyu had never experienced Minor Heavenly Punishment herself, but she had heard of it. After sensing the anomaly in Qu Panyan, she had consulted a few elders and studied several books from the library. They all referred to it as “Minor Heavenly Punishment,” which confirmed what she had learned from Elder Tianhong

After Qu Panyan woke up, Su Lingyu briefly mentioned it and planned to explain the matter in detail after she recovered, emphasizing that she should learn the art of integration from Elder Tianhong—no matter whether she knew about the two tribulations or not.

Knowing that Elder Tianhong had also experienced Minor Heavenly Punishment, Qu Panyan felt somewhat comforted. Though it was still tough, at least she wasn’t alone!

She hung her head and fiddled with her sleeve. The silver plum blossom patterns on her clothes shone with moonlight, looking rather beautiful. After a while, she took out the Fire Bell Silk to look at it. Without the abundant spiritual energy, the two Firebells lay lifeless in her palm, producing weak and feeble sounds.

Qu Panyan sighed heavily, silently praying that before the Minor Heavenly Punishment was over, she wouldn’t encounter a powerful figure like A Yiduo again, and also hoping that she could survive this ordeal peacefully.

In the past, having spiritual energy gave her the confidence to endure and survive. If she couldn’t persist, she would fight, and if she couldn’t win, she would use her abilities to escape. But now, without the ability to control her spiritual energy, it was as good as having none at all. Without spiritual energy, she was like a fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others, unable to strive.

However… she still had her own will.

Moreover, she could take a more proactive approach.

Qu Panyan casually stuffed the Fire Bell Silk back into her sleeve, then turned around and buried herself in Su Lingyu’s embrace. She held onto Su Lingyu’s waist with a pitiful expression, saying, “Then I won’t leave Sister Lingyu for these few days.” She even rubbed her head against Su Lingyu twice.

This sudden display of coquettishness instantly softened Su Lingyu’s expression, finding the little girl in her arms even more adorable.

Su Lingyu smiled and hugged her, speaking in a gentle tone, “Alright.”

Su Lingyu realized that she seemed to have no resistance to Qu Panyan’s coquettishness. Whenever Qu Panyan acted cute, she would melt and even her anger could be extinguished by her cuteness. The same happened when they were in the Duan family’s residence. Su Lingyu was filled with anger, but Qu Panyan’s coquettishness effortlessly extinguished it. She couldn’t even say a word of reproach and ended up asking her to explain with an emotionless expression.

Having lived for so many years, Su Lingyu never expected that she would one day be defeated by a junior’s cuteness.

Well, never mind. She couldn’t help it. After all, she really liked Qu Panyan as a junior, and even felt a bit regretful that she wasn’t a disciple of Xianmeng Sect.

But, this cultivator was actually afraid of thunder…

Su Lingyu asked, “If you’re so afraid, how will you deal with the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation in the future?”

Qu Panyan made a sound and raised her head to look at her while still in her embrace. “The ancestors of the Qu family have created many defensive artifacts…”

Su Lingyu remained noncommittal and asked calmly, “If you fear Heavenly Thunder so much, do you really have the courage to endure it when the time comes?”

Heavenly Thunder was not ordinary thunder; it was the punishment from heaven and earth for those who were close to godhood in their mortal bodies, symbolizing the wrath of heaven and earth. Normally, a Heavenly Thunder Tribulation would last for an entire night before it subsided.

Cultivators who were undergoing tribulations had to endure through the night, even if they were equipped with defensive artifacts. They had to face the Heavenly Thunder directly without escaping or hiding. If they couldn’t endure, they would fail the tribulation, lose forty percent of their cultivation, and have to continue cultivating until the next tribulation. However, if this cycle continued, the final outcome would be the scattering of their spirit and soul, disappearing forever between heaven and earth.

Qu Panyan lowered her head, not answering.

The answer was evident: she didn’t have the courage.

She was fearful of thunder even before transmigrating, an innate shadow that haunted her. As soon as she heard thunder from the sky, she would want to hide under the blanket, extremely terrified. After transmigrating, Qu Muqiu and Qu Changye had both tried to help her overcome this fear, but she couldn’t conquer it. Her innate terror made her feel extremely uneasy, and her fear only grew.

The only thing worth celebrating was that she was only afraid of thunder from the sky and not the thunder released by thunder-attributed cultivators.

Qu Panyan lowered her head and, and she said after a moment of silence, “In that case, I can only find a powerful practitioner who is kind-hearted, open-minded, and willing to become my Dao companion so that I can ask for their help… to take the thunder tribulation on my behalf….”

Dao companions are bound together by heavenly acceptance, sharing their fate and spiritual fortunes, naturally involving taking tribulations and experiencing them together. The former usually referred to the tribulation when entering a new realm, while the latter was the tribulation when breaking through to a higher plane.

Qu Panyan has always found the concept of “taking tribulations on her behalf” quite clever, as if she has found someone to carry and help her level up in a game.

As soon as she finished speaking, she faced Su Lingyu’s rebutted, “Dao companions are lifelong partners. How can you be so casual about it?”

Qu Panyan replied, “If she doesn’t mind being my Dao companion, then I’ll spend my whole life with her. It can also be considered my way of repaying her kindness.”

Su Lingyu was speechless and took her a while before saying, “In this vast world, when will you ever find such a person?”

Qu Panyan suddenly lifted her eyes to look at Su Lingyu, her eyes seemed to be filled with a brilliant galaxy, and in the next moment, the galaxy-filled eyes curved into two crescent moons. She blurted out without thinking, “I don’t know…”

“I wonder if Sister Lingyu would be willing to be my Dao companion?”

Prev / ToC / Next

---

We’re currently looking for editors, so if you’re interested at all, then please contact @Glariosa or @sinensis on discord.

Come join the Discord, where all the cool kids hang out!

Please support us on Ko-Fi. You can now read extra chapters by supporting.

Translator: Glariosa
Editor: iToon

---