Song Yishi had been cultivating for three hours before she finally stopped driving her killer move.
She exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi and opened her eyes, only to see a wisp of hazy, misty vapor — vague and indistinct — flowing from her arms down to her calves and then rising to settle at her chest.
Song Yishi carefully observed the scale of the vapor, her heart swelling with joy. "At this rate, I only need about half a month more of cultivation before I can successfully master the Flowing Water Does Not Rot defensive killer move."
"Strange — why was the effect of this cultivation session noticeably greater than before? Was it just my imagination?"
Song Yishi shook her head slightly.
She then checked her Immortal Essence reserves.
Her Immortal Essence was far from sufficient, and her Immortal Essence Stones were running even lower.
"Sigh, Heavenly Court was the source of all Immortal Essence Stones. Once they stopped distributing them, the entire market saw a sharp decline. I've at least been secretly subsidized by Grandfather — for other Gu Immortals, things must be even harder!"
Song Yishi sighed.
If she had plenty of Immortal Essence Stones, she would have spent them right now to rapidly replenish her Immortal Essence and continue cultivating the Flowing Water Does Not Rot killer move.
Instead, she had to slow down and let her Immortal Aperture's origin produce Immortal Essence on its own. Only once it reached a certain scale could she resume cultivation.
"After I master the Flowing Water Does Not Rot killer move, I'll move on to the Flowing Water Is Ruthless killer move. My family's Flowing Water Inheritance is our signature — famous throughout the Eastern Sea, and outstanding even when compared across the entire Five Regions. Passive defensive means are inherently rare; as a rule, Gu Immortals can usually only cultivate one type, making it extremely difficult to master multiple passive defensive techniques simultaneously."
"But our family's Flowing Water Inheritance was conceived with ingenious design and masterful ingenuity. Because its core is unified, it allows for the layering of multiple passive defensive killer moves."
At this thought, Song Yishi felt a faint flush of pride.
But she swiftly suppressed the emotion.
"Sigh, I'm still far from where I need to be."
"Once I master the Flowing Water Is Ruthless killer move, I'll immediately undergo my tribulation and advance to the Seventh Transformation."
"Three Venerables locked in standoff, two heavens intertwined in confusion, war raging across the Five Regions — it could break out any day now!"
Song Yishi had originally been a favored daughter of heaven — doted on by her grandfather, supported by her clan, never lacking cultivation resources, and her stunning beauty made her one of the six recognized great beauties of the Eastern Sea.
But those carefree days were gone forever.
The situation was changing too quickly, completely erasing the sense of security Song Yishi had once felt. As of now, every single Righteous Path superpower in the Eastern Sea had defected to Fang Yuan — something that would have been utterly unimaginable before!
The mounting external pressure spurred Song Yishi on, giving this favored daughter of heaven a fierce determination to cultivate.
Especially a few days ago, when a letter arrived from the Song family's Supreme Great Elder — that is, Song Yishi's own grandfather, Song Qiyuan — bringing with it a very different kind of jolt.
Though the letter from Song Qiyuan had been rambling and verbose, it ultimately mentioned that the Unity of Heaven and Earth Great Love Alliance had issued an order: a batch of merman Gu Immortals was to be selected from the Merman King's Court to enter the Supreme Immortal Aperture to live and cultivate.
Though Fang Yuan had not specified a male-to-female ratio among the merman Gu Immortals, the Merman King's Court had deliberately chosen the most beautiful and most graceful female immortals.
Coupled with the fact that Fang Yuan himself had never taken a consort — having faced enormous external pressure ever since his debut, only reaching Venerable status now and standing against Heavenly Court and Eternal Heaven head-on, thus seeing his pressures greatly diminished —
Song Qiyuan followed this thread and brought up Giant Sun Immortal Venerable.
Back then, Giant Sun Immortal Venerable had recruited beauties from all over the world after ascending to Venerable, establishing five great harems.
He then mentioned the other Venerables as well.
Among the ten great Venerables, all had companions, though some more than others.
Even Star Constellation Immortal Venerable, who had never married, seemed to have once been involved in a love affair with some non-human Gu Immortal…
Song Qiyuan had subtly and tactfully floated an idea — though his main intention was to feel out his granddaughter's thoughts.
"If Great Love Immortal Venerable intends to choose a female companion, the Song family would offer me up?!" At first, Song Yishi had been furious.
But after a few days, her emotions stabilized and she began thinking calmly: "Grandfather wouldn't force me like this. He merely hinted at the possibility. Everything ultimately depends on my own wishes."
"However, if Great Love Immortal Venerable were to issue a direct order — gathering beauties from all corners, just as Giant Sun Immortal Venerable once did — how could I possibly escape? How could the Song family even protect me?"
The proud Song Yishi, who had always carried herself like a swan, was filled with bitterness and helplessness upon realizing this.
"If such a situation comes to pass, I cannot burden the family that raised me and nurtured me. Grandfather loves and supports me so — he secretly gave me the Water Clothing Immortal Gu before. Without that Immortal Gu, how could I have refined my killer moves and cultivated the Flowing Water Inheritance so smoothly? And how could I repay him? Because of my own unwillingness, bring catastrophic ruin upon the Song family?"
"How could I be so selfish?" At this thought, a surge of guilt rose unbidden in Song Yishi's heart.
She followed this line of reasoning one step further.
"Suppose Great Love Immortal Venerable does have such intentions. For the sake of my family, I would certainly offer myself. Then why wait until that moment? Why not take the initiative? If sacrificing myself could make this happen, the Song family would surely prosper and flourish!"
"Sigh, enough of this…"
Fang Yuan had no idea that his simple, straightforward order had been twisted beyond its original intent once it reached his subordinates.
Nor did he know the tangled thoughts running through Song Yishi's mind. He was busy pondering his recent gains.
While Song Yishi had been cultivating, Fang Yuan had quietly acted — using the Refinement Path dao marks surrounding the Sea of Poetic Inspiration to grant Song Yishi a subtle boost.
He had only tested the waters, barely so much as breathing on it, and yet the results of Song Yishi's cultivation session had increased by more than ten percent.
"If I went all out, Song Yishi's cultivation efficiency would skyrocket by dozens of times!"
"She cultivates the Water Path, and because it involves passive defensive techniques, it brushes against the edge of the Refinement Path. If she were refining Gu in earnest, my influence would be even deeper."