"Wait!"
Before Bai Yiyi could finish, Ye Ling quickly cut in.
If he let her keep going, he had a feeling she was about to make a move.
Besides, he understood perfectly well what this so-called Void Spirit Body really was. Wasn't it just the System?
In other words, his body was already completely occupied by the System. If he wanted to cultivate, then aside from System rewards, he would have to find another path.
Perhaps because the situation was urgent, inspiration struck Ye Ling all at once. He spoke up, "Master, since my soul is already so powerful, why can't I forcibly make the spiritual energy of heaven and earth work for me?"
"Forcibly…"
Bai Yiyi frowned slightly. Her small hand propped up her sharp, white-lotus-petal-like chin as a thoughtful look appeared on her face.
Seeing this, Ye Ling quietly let out a breath of relief.
In truth, he knew his idea was nothing more than wishful thinking.
To forcibly use spiritual energy, the prerequisite was understanding it. If you did not even know what spiritual energy was, how could you possibly control it?
That was why the very first step of cultivation was drawing spiritual energy into the body. It allowed cultivators to personally experience what spiritual energy actually was.
This was not something that could be understood through explanation alone. It was like trying to describe the colors of a rainbow to a blind person.
What Ye Ling had just said was equivalent to skipping the step of cognition altogether. At the very least, for ordinary people, this was an impossible miracle. Only rare geniuses born with the innate ability to sense spiritual energy could accomplish such a thing.
If ordinary cultivators heard Ye Ling's idea, they would laugh their heads off. This fellow clearly did not understand cultivation at all.
For most cultivators, the first step of drawing qi into the body took as little as three to five days, or as long as ten days to half a month.
As for those with dull aptitude, spending half a year just to complete this step was perfectly normal.
And that was assuming they even had the aptitude for cultivation in the first place. Without it, even if someone tried to draw qi for ten thousand years, they would still remain a mere mortal, with no possibility of ever comprehending spiritual energy.
Of course, Ye Ling understood all of this. What he was doing now was simply buying time.
But…
"Feasible."
After thinking for a moment, Bai Yiyi nodded seriously. Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, she tensed up and said nervously, "I… I was thinking the same thing…"
Even as she spoke, her eyes darted away, clearly not daring to look at Ye Ling.
"…"
For a moment, Ye Ling did not know what to say. Just then, a line of small text popped up before his eyes—
[Mission Complete]
[Mission Reward: Qi Cultivation Third Level (can be claimed when the host requires it)]
[Series Mission Triggered]
[Series Mission: Is This Cultivation Reasonable? (2)]
[Mission Requirement: Establish three rapid and reasonable cultivation methods and obtain approval from the host's Master]
[Mission Reward: Elevate the host to the Foundation Establishment Stage]
[Note: This is a series mission. Upon completing all missions in the series, the host will receive a mysterious grand reward]
???
So this actually worked?
Ye Ling froze for a moment. After all, this had only been a stalling tactic. To be honest, he had never expected that such a cultivation method would actually satisfy the System's mission.
Still, using mental power to forcibly restrain the spiritual energy of heaven and earth did count as a form of cultivation. In that sense, completing the System's task was not unreasonable.
What truly exceeded Ye Ling's expectations, however, was the sheer scale of the System's "achievement," because—
He could now clearly sense the spiritual energy around him.
Was this what it meant to distort reality?
As someone whose systemic flaws had been forcibly patched up by the System, Ye Ling could not help but marvel inwardly.
"That really was what I was thinking!"
Seeing Ye Ling stay silent for so long, Bai Yiyi puffed up like an offended little cat, jutting out her lips as she spoke in an aggrieved yet cute tone. "My original intention was to have you temper your spirit first, then strengthen your body."
"This way, your cultivation speed would be much slower, but once you succeed, my good disciple, you'll be stronger than ordinary cultivators."
"Most importantly, your cultivation would have no shortcomings at all. Whether it's your soul or your physical body, both would be flawless."
When the topic turned to cultivation, Bai Yiyi unexpectedly became quite serious, and what she said did make a certain amount of sense.
But Ye Ling did not buy it at all. His expression turned cold as he asked bluntly, "Master, aren't you trying to make me liberate my body?"
"Liberating the body" sounded nice, but in reality, it meant sending him to his death.
"Huh?"
Bai Yiyi froze. Her small mouth opened and closed like a fish's as she murmured to herself,
"So that's how it can be interpreted?"
"???"
Wait… you really hadn't thought of that?
Ye Ling's understanding of Bai Yiyi's unreliability rose to a whole new level.
"No, that won't do!"
Bai Yiyi quickly shook her head, muttering to herself, "I finally managed to rope in a new disciple. How could I let him switch to cultivating a Spirit Body?"
After saying that, she seemed to snap out of it and waved her fair, tender hand at Ye Ling in a fluster. "No, no, not rope in! I—I just meant…"
"That's enough."
Ye Ling placed his hand rather disrespectfully on Bai Yiyi's shoulder and said with a complicated tone, "It really hasn't been easy."
But that remark wasn't meant for Bai Yiyi. It was meant for the Heavenly Gate Sect.
With someone like Bai Yiyi taking over, the fact that the Heavenly Gate Sect hadn't collapsed already spoke volumes about its foundation.
If his System didn't reject useless people, then with a rare talent like Bai Yiyi around, why would he ever worry about not becoming the strongest?
What a pity.
"It's really nothing…"
Bai Yiyi thought Ye Ling was sympathizing with how hard things had been for her. Those words moved her completely. A mist welled up in her beautiful wine-red eyes, and tears she couldn't hold back slipped down from the corners.
Ever since her junior sisters went out on assignments, she had been alone guarding the Heavenly Gate Sect for three whole months!
Three months!
Even her own master had never been away from her for that long. Ascension didn't count—that was an unavoidable external factor.
What's more, she had wanted to be a master for a long time!
Being a master was her, Bai Yiyi's, destiny!
Back then, whatever the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden said, her disciples had to do. Just that alone had filled her with envy, and she had long wanted to experience being a master herself.
But before ascending, her master, the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, had ordered her not to descend the mountain until she reached the Soul Formation Stage.
And even after reaching Soul Formation, she would still have to go down the mountain together with her junior sisters, afraid that this child might get deceived.
So if not for Ye Ling, she would never have had the chance to be a master at all. That was why she was so emotional now.
"That's really not necessary! Really not necessary!"
Ye Ling had not expected a single sentence to make Bai Yiyi cry. He hurriedly wiped away her tears in a fluster while laughing awkwardly. "Master, let's continue talking about cultivation."
He wasn't good at comforting girls, so changing the subject was the only thing he could do.