Chapter 43

The one who had intervened was naturally Yi Heng.
Su Ling had been wildly swinging the shovel, and though she had managed to hit them, once Li Sheng started running, she chased after him, leaving the other one neglected. It was at this moment that Zhang Shi attempted a sneak attack, giving Yi Heng the chance to strike.
He hadn’t acted during the chaotic scuffle.
Moreover, his movements were too conspicuous for Su Ling to pretend she hadn’t noticed.
Watching Li Sheng cower behind the unconscious Zhang Shi, trembling and begging for mercy from thin air, Su Ling hoisted the shovel onto her shoulder and shouted, "Get out of here now!"
"Alright, alright, I’m going!" Li Sheng didn’t dare say another word. He nodded with his eyes shut, dropped Zhang Shi, and tried to flee.
Su Ling quickly added, "Take your mother with you, or you’ll both stay!"
On the verge of tears, Li Sheng stiffly returned, hoisted his mother onto his shoulder, and fled.
Terrified, Li Sheng ran as if he had wings, completely ignoring the weight on his back. He didn’t stop until he had reached a distant village, where he collapsed at the entrance, sweating profusely, and dropped Zhang Shi to the ground.
With a "thud," Zhang Shi’s forehead hit the compacted dirt, the pain jolting her awake. She immediately cried out, "Son! There’s a ghost!"
"Mom, we're out, we're out!" Li Sheng, pulling at the struggling Zhang Shi who was trying to scramble up from the ground and run, spoke weakly.
Only then did Zhang Shi realize they had already left Su Ling's small hut. She slumped back down weakly, wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, clutched her still aching stomach, and pounded her legs as she complained, "Oh, I knew that girl was no good, raising ghosts! She must have known all along! That damned wretch"
Sitting there with her hands on her hips, she cursed and raged, spewing all sorts of foul language, focusing on how Su Ling and the ghosts had bullied her, an elder.
"Who knows if she’s some kind of monster? Living there, she probably offered herself to a demon, and that’s why the demon protects her." Li Sheng’s stomach ached too, and his face grew even uglier. His brows furrowed, the fat on his face bunching up, his narrow eyes filled with coldness.
After cursing for a while, Zhang Shi grew tired. Looking at her son sitting beside her, she felt a wave of comfort. The chill in her body faded, and she said with relief, "Son, your mother didn’t raise you for nothing. Even in such a moment, you didn’t forget to bring me along. Don’t worry, for your future wife, I’ll make sure you get the Su family’s property!"
A flicker of guilt passed through Li Sheng’s eyes. He cleared his throat and puffed out his chest, saying, "Mom, what are you saying? I’m your son, of course I should be filial to you."
Zhang Shi immediately felt warmth in her heart, while also thinking about how to deal with Su Ling. Ghosts were scary, but poverty was even scarier. Now that a mountain of gold was right in front of her, for her son’s future, she had to get it. Besides, ghosts weren’t without their fears.
After all, even in such a moment, her son hadn’t forgotten to bring her along, such filial piety.
She had no idea that if it weren’t for Su Ling’s threat, she’d still be lying outside the bamboo hut.
Having made up her mind, Zhang Shi and Li Sheng supported each other as they left, heading back to find a Taoist priest.

After scaring off the Li mother and son, Su Ling wearily put down the hoe in her hand, took a deep breath, and looked toward the house. Hesitating for a moment, she still walked inside.
"Knock, knock, knock" She tapped on the door twice.
The door swung open on its own.
Su Ling’s breath hitched, and her heart skipped a beat. Even though she knew this was the cultivation world and the person inside the room was the infamous Demon Lord of the cultivation realm, capable of such feats, as a modern native and lifelong atheist, Su Ling felt a surge of panic. She really wasn’t that brave!
Walking in, the person inside was just as before, his collar unchanged, eyes closed, his handsome face appearing gentle and refined.
Just by his appearance, he didn’t seem like a Demon Lord at all, but more like a refined and noble gentleman, gentle as jade.
"Was it you who helped just now?"
Yi Heng gave a soft "Mm."
Su Ling smiled faintly and said softly, "Thank you for your help."
Yi Heng tilted his head slightly, not opening his eyes, yet giving Su Ling the feeling he was looking at her. His voice was light as he said, "It was just a small effort. I should be the one thanking you for saving my life."
"No need, I couldn’t just stand by and watch someone die." Su Ling smiled and was about to modestly reply when a palm-sized, crystal-clear jade pendant appeared floating in front of her.
Su Ling instinctively reached out and took the pendant that had drifted before her, then looked at him.
Yi Heng said, "I am originally a cultivator from the Spirit Realm. This object was condensed from my spiritual power and can protect you at critical moments, "
His words suddenly halted as he "saw" the woman before him touch the jade pendant. In just a few breaths, the dense spiritual energy lingering around the pendant visibly surged toward her fingertips, disappearing into her body in the blink of an eye.
Su Ling seemed completely unaware, her fair fingers holding the jade pendant as she examined it from all angles. Her sparkling eyes were filled with curiosity. "Is this condensed from spiritual energy? How does it look so real? How long can it last?
Sorry, I’ve never seen anything like this before, so I’m a bit curious. Why did you stop talking?"
Su Ling rubbed the tip of her nose, her fair cheeks flushing slightly.
This was the mortal world, where the cultivation realm was nothing but a distant legend to them. In reality, however, these legends were stories every child grew up hearing from adults.
The "Spirit Realm" was their term for the cultivation world. Su Ling wasn’t overly surprised, after all, Yi Heng had already demonstrated his abilities. But as someone who had never encountered such things before, the idea of spiritual energy being condensed into a jade pendant made her instinctively wonder: if she sold it, would that count as fraud?
She didn’t voice this thought aloud, but Yi Heng had inexplicably fallen silent mid-sentence.
Faced with Su Ling’s innocent inquiry, Yi Heng took a deep breath. Even at the moment of his death, his heart had remained steady, but now it beat with unusual intensity, causing his battered body to ache painfully. Yet, this discomfort was nothing compared to the shock of his discovery.
The entire cultivation world knew that a Natural Spirit Body was a once-in-ten-millennia rarity. It was precisely because of this that Yi Heng had faced so many trials since birth. Yet, the woman before him was also one!
A Natural Spirit Body, as the name implied, was a physique inherently capable of containing spiritual energy. Without needing to cultivate, spiritual energy would continuously flow into her body, naturally elevating her cultivation level. As long as her mental state was stable and she harbored few obsessions, she would face virtually no bottlenecks in her cultivation journey.
Everything would proceed as smoothly as if guided by nature, making her the envy of countless cultivators.
Yi Heng had cultivated in this manner, which was how he had managed to defeat the Sect Master of the Moonlight Sect and all those who had once targeted him in just a hundred years.
He had killed so many members of the Mystic Moon Sect that the sect had spared no effort in hunting him down. Yet, he had gathered demonic cultivators and retaliated, slaughtering them in return. In one ambush, the Moonlight Sect lost the majority of its disciples, all of whom were highly talented in cultivation.
After that battle, the Mystic Moon Sect suffered devastating losses, falling from its position as the leader of the righteous path to obscurity in a short span of time. In fact, during the recent siege against him, the Mystic Moon Sect hadn’t even been mentioned.
All of this was thanks to his Natural Spirit Body.
It was said that a Natural Spirit Body appeared only once in ten thousand years, something sought after but rarely obtained. Yet now, not only was he one, but even the ordinary mortal woman who had saved him was a Natural Spirit Body?
Was that even reasonable?
Could she truly not have been sent by someone?
Yi Heng’s silence filled the room with stillness. Su Ling took half a step back uneasily and whispered, "Senior?"
Yi Heng let out a low hum, his lips twitching slightly as he fought back a smile. If his guess was correct, it would be truly terrifying, and was she really a Natural Spirit Body?
Various doubts surfaced in his mind one after another, only to be suppressed again. After all, there was nothing he could do about it now. It was better to let things take their course; the truth would eventually reveal itself.
Yi Heng wanted to ask if she was willing to step into the world of cultivation, but then he suddenly remembered something.
According to the description of the Natural Spirit Body, there were two types. For men, this constitution was marked by black pupils, easily recognizable at a glance. For women, however, there were no visible signs. Only when encountering an environment abundant with spiritual energy would their bodies automatically absorb it and awaken. Once awakened, their bodies would cultivate on their own.
Su Ling was clearly the latter.
Yi Heng tentatively asked, "If you had the talent for cultivation, would you be willing to cultivate?"
Su Ling breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that he didn’t seem bothered by her earlier lapse in composure. Her expression relaxed as she thought for a moment and replied seriously, "I’m not sure. For now, I think being an ordinary person is quite nice."
She knew she could cultivate, the system wouldn’t have given her a body incapable of it. But if she could complete her tasks without cultivating, that would be even better. After all, the life of a cultivator wasn’t exactly peaceful or comfortable.
Living alone in her small bamboo hut, occasionally going out to buy supplies, self-sufficient and financially secure, the money left by her original parents was enough to last her a lifetime if she spent it wisely. Not to mention, she could also earn money by making medicine and treating patients.
Life couldn’t get much better than this. Becoming a cultivator might not compare.
Hearing her naive words, Yi Heng’s lips unconsciously curled into a faint smile. His previously suppressed mood lightened a little as he nodded and said, "Alright, keep the jade pendant."
"Okay," Su Ling nodded, blinking as she tentatively asked, "Senior, since you’re a cultivator, were the medicines I gave you unnecessary?"
"No, thank you," Yi Heng replied.
He was severely injured, and his earlier move had been forced by releasing his spiritual sense. Fortunately, his opponent was just a mortal. As for the jade pendant, it wasn’t something he had crafted recently. It was something he had made long ago, intending to give it to his junior brother.
He had thought that junior brother was the only one who understood him, and he had entrusted him with his only shred of trust. But during the great battle, that junior brother had conspired with the enemy and nearly succeeded in a surprise attack. The jade pendant had never been given away and had been casually tucked into the decorative pouch at his waist.
With his spiritual power depleted and his spiritual sense severely damaged, Yi Heng couldn’t even open his storage pouch. The items he needed for recovery were out of reach. To heal, he could only rely on the sparse spiritual energy in the mortal realm, which was far from sufficient. The medicines she had given him were still somewhat useful.
Though their effect was limited, of course.
Su Ling stepped out of the room, breathing in the fresh air. Her mood lifted instantly, and the fatigue she had felt earlier seemed to vanish. The air felt as though it was nourishing her pores.
The chirping of the chicks and the barking of the dog were close by, while the distant birdsong was crisp and pleasant. It wasn’t exactly quiet, but as Su Ling took a few steps, she paused unconsciously, suddenly sensing something,
It was as if the entire world had fallen into a profound and mysterious tranquility.
She closed her eyes, stretched out her arms, and quietly savored the moment.
Though she couldn’t see it, she vaguely felt as though something was truly nourishing her body.
It felt so comfortable that she became somewhat addicted to this sensation.
On the bamboo bed, Yi Heng opened his pitch-black eyes and stared in astonishment outside the hut. Though ordinary people couldn't see anything unusual, he could sense the thin spiritual energy around continuously gathering into the body of the woman standing in front of the house.
Such spiritual affinity, such perception, automatically drawing in spiritual energy without any guidance, was even more terrifying than his own constitution.
This was truly a Natural Spirit Body!
He sighed, his previous doubts vanishing, and thought with some emotion that this girl was probably destined to enter the stormy and blood-soaked world of cultivation.
Suddenly, Su Ling opened her eyes and hurriedly ran in one direction. Yi Heng instinctively focused his gaze and saw her place her finger, brimming with spiritual energy, onto a sprouting vegetable.
The moment the faint white spiritual energy touched the vegetable sprout, it immediately began to grow wildly. In the blink of an eye, the tiny sprout transformed into a mature, fresh cauliflower.
Su Ling withdrew her hand, looking at the vibrant green cauliflower with joy. She cupped her face and exclaimed happily, "This is amazing! I can stir-fry this with the cured sausage at home, it’s definitely going to be delicious!"
Yi Heng: "???"