Chapter 64: Chapter 60: The Cost

Upon hearing that Chu Zheng could repair the Immortal Bone, Song Lingqing was stunned for a moment, but did not have much of a reaction.

She did not doubt Chu Zheng's words; there was no need for him to lie to her.

However, the recent ups and downs, the warmth and coldness of human relationships, had already put her through the mill, as if she were a stagnant pool of water, incapable of stirring the slightest ripple.

Whether the Immortal Bone could be repaired was no longer an obsession for her.

"Before repairing the Immortal Bone, I have a few things to tell you,"

Chu Zheng did not rush to begin but first gave Song Lingqing a heads-up:

"The Immortal Bone in your body is not of high quality."

Upon hearing this, Song Lingqing fell silent for a while, then nodded: "I know."

Song Lingqing's response surprised Chu Zheng for a moment:

"How did you find out?"

"After I was admitted, I practiced diligently, but I was only slightly faster than those fellow disciples with middle-grade Immortal Bones. With this speed, it would be impossible for me to enter Divine Infant before the age of two hundred, let alone the Nine Transformations of Divine Infant."

"There is no such thing as a high-quality Immortal Bone that only barely manages to enter the Spirit Spring after more than three years at the sect."

Song Lingqing lowered her gaze: "I've known there was a problem with my talent for a long time, I just didn't want to question the judgment of my teacher... Supreme Elder."

"Your Immortal Bone has suffered two heavy hits before finally shattering."

Chu Zheng pointed out the cause of the fragmentation of Song Lingqing's Immortal Bone and then hinted:

"You've mentioned you only remember being injured once. Which time the second one occurred, I presume you have an idea."

Some things didn't need to be spelled out too clearly.

Song Lingqing abruptly looked up at Chu Zheng, disbelief filling her eyes.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through her mind: Tai Xu Holy Land, Phantom Spirit Sect, Stepping Stone of Immortality, high-quality Immortal Bone, homage to Supreme, Ling Qi...

A thread gradually strung together her fragmented memories, finally forming a coherent narrative.

She instinctively took a step back, lowered her head to organize her thoughts, and only after a long while did she speak:

"I understand now."

What she had previously failed to see clearly was simply because she was too involved to be objective.

In three years at the sect, the number of times Han Yuanqing saw her could be counted on one hand, and there was no talk of guiding her cultivation.

Among the thirty-six True Disciples, she was the only one who had only the first three layers of the True Fantasy Spirit Technique.

Which sect would hold back from their True Disciples?

"Come with me,"

Chu Zheng turned and entered the thatched hut. Although he could repair it right here, he needed to choose a method that Song Lingqing could accept a bit easier.

Song Lingqing came back to her senses and followed him into the thatched hut.

Chu Zheng took out a Spirit Pill with a flip of his hand and, without waiting for Song Lingqing to see clearly, stuffed it into her mouth.

"Take it, sit down and circulate your cultivation."

Song Lingqing obediently swallowed and sat down on the ground.

Chu Zheng raised his hand to press on her Baihui point on the crown of her head, and his Yuan Qi gently moved, starting to draw in the Essence of the Great Sun, and circulated the Circuit of Qi.

He had given Song Lingqing a Blood Qi Activating Pill, a very common Lower Quality elixir capable of promoting bone and blood formation, which could recover expended Blood Qi in a short time.

Then transforming it into Yang Qi, it circulated several Grand Circulations within her body, and with the aid of the Blood Qi Activating Pill's medicinal effect, Song Lingqing would soon feel a dry mouth and a burning sensation in her limbs as hot as molten rock.

The intense reaction of her body would cause her to overlook the subtle changes in the Immortal Bone at the back of her head.

By the time this whole process was over, several hours had passed, and it was already getting dark outside.

During the practice, Chu Zheng was somewhat astounded to find that after Yuan Qi circled through Song Lingqing's body and returned to his own, there was a significant increase.

After several Grand Circulations, the change became more substantial, nearly twice as fast as when he cultivated alone.

Moreover, his body did not show any adverse reactions from absorbing too much Yang Qi.

Chu Zheng glanced at the sky and reluctantly retracted his hand.

What puzzled him was that as the Immortal Bone was restored, the information about Song Lingqing had changed.

[Song Lingqing (First Order): Former true disciple of Phantom Spirit Sect, Immortal Path Loose Cultivator, middle-grade Immortal Bone.]

Feeling Chu Zheng's hand leaving the top of her head, Song Lingqing slowly opened her eyes, and the sense of relief from the back of her head had already told her the result.

What Phantom Spirit Sect could not accomplish, Chu Zheng had done.

"How... how should I repay this favor?"

Song Lingqing felt somewhat bewildered for a moment, realizing that the favor she owed Chu Zheng was becoming a debt she could hardly repay.

Chu Zheng waved his hand dismissively, "We can talk about this later. Do you have a storage bag?"

"Ah? Yes."

Song Lingqing came back to her senses, removed the storage bag from around her waist, and handed it to Chu Zheng.

"I'll be taking this with me."

Chu Zheng weighed the storage bag in his hand, took out several magic artifacts from inside, and passed them to Song Lingqing. Without this item, he simply couldn't carry away numerous waste elixirs.

Now that Song Lingqing's Immortal Bone had been fully healed, he had no intention of staying any longer. He planned to leave tonight to avoid any unforeseen changes.

In times of war, unlike ordinary days, countless disciples come and go from the sect, and many rules have changed.

The scrutiny for entering the sect has become much stricter than in the past, but leaving the sect is now done with ease, and nobody pays any mind to an odd-jobber.

"In the north of Illusory Spirit City, there's a medical hall, with a cloth sail hanging at the front that reads 'Millennial Family Medical Skills, Magical Rejuvenation', easy to find. It's mine," Chu Zheng said.

"Behind the back room, three feet underground, I've buried a storage bag. It was originally Jiang Cunhu's. You can go and retrieve it later; there's also a sum of spirit stones in it."

Having made up his mind, Chu Zheng didn't drag his feet. He didn't even plan to return to Illusory Spirit City. By the next morning, he estimated he would be thousands of miles away.

Chu Zheng's hasty preparations led Song Lingqing to guess the reason—it was all because of her.

Repairing an Immortal Bone, a feat against the heavens, would likely cost the Holy Land dearly. If outsiders knew about it, no matter the reason, Chu Zheng would face serious trouble.

Song Lingqing said no more, silently taking the few magic artifacts and softly spoke, "I'll take my leave first."

She didn't offer to accompany Chu Zheng on his journey; what she needed to do now was to distance herself from Chu Zheng as much as possible.

......

......

After returning the divine horse, Song Lingqing didn't take another spirit beast and left the Spirit Beast Garden alone, heading to a remote peak.

This was a place where every disciple of the Phantom Spirit Sect would visit upon entry.

Because on the peak was placed the 'Stepping Stone of Immortality'.

The Stepping Stone of Immortality spanned thirty feet, deeply embedded into the ground, resembling a white jade plaza.

On normal days, few people visited here, but now one could see the figures of some disciples and even elders.

By their side, they brought newly found Immortal Seedlings from outside the sect. seaʀᴄh thё Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The arrival of Song Lingqing caused quite a stir of conversation.

The news of her demotion to Inner Sect Disciple had spread throughout the sect gate.

Song Lingqing's expression remained calm as she steadily stepped onto the Stepping Stone of Immortality.

Only a High-Quality Immortal Bone could activate the Stepping Stone of Immortality. The difference between a Middle-Quality and a Lower-Quality Immortal Bone could be determined by the speed of channeling Qi into the body.

This time, the Stepping Stone of Immortality manifested no anomalies.

Song Lingqing stood on the Stepping Stone of Immortality for the entire night, not moving until dawn broke and her hair was damp with morning dew.

She looked around, then quietly left, heading towards the Inner Sect area and hurried to a secluded bamboo forest.

This place was rarely visited by anyone, with no disciple's cave dwellings for a hundred miles, and was one of the quietest places in the entire Phantom Spirit Sect.

The reason she came here was that she remembered one of the people who had joined the sect on the same day as she had been allocated here.

It seemed... his name was Xiao Yuanqing.

Song Lingqing didn't try to hide her presence, and as soon as she arrived at the edge of the bamboo forest, a figure walked out.

Looking at the person before her, Song Lingqing's gaze grew heavy.

Late Spirit Spring Realm, much stronger than her own cultivation.

A Middle-Quality Immortal Bone could never advance at such a rate.

Such an individual would never be inconspicuous within the sect; the only explanation was that Phantom Spirit Sect intentionally concealed this person.

"Song... Senior Sister?" Xiao Yuanqing's expression was hesitant and puzzled.

Song Lingqing didn't hesitate for a moment, a trace of spiritual light flashed suddenly in her pupils. The Phantom Spirit Technique was particularly adept at the Soul-Confusing Illusion Technique, granting an overwhelming advantage in confrontations with lower-grade cultivators.

Completely unprepared, Xiao Yuanqing's mind went blank in an instant.

By the time he regained his senses, all that remained before him was a blinding sword light.

In a thunderous moment, his chest was pierced by the sword Qi, his heart shattered into a muddy mess of blood.