Chapter 51

Cultivation was a mysterious thing, especially formations.
They were even more baffling to Su Ling than cultivation itself.
Yi Heng announced he was going to set up a formation, then asked Su Ling to find a few smooth stones. After nurturing them with spiritual energy for just a few minutes, he took the stones, walked around the courtyard, and finally stood in front of the vegetable patch, seemingly forming a hand seal.
Then, turning his head, he told Su Ling: "It's done. As long as the courtyard gate remains closed, no one will be able to find this place."
Su Ling: "???"
She stared blankly at Yi Heng, who gave her a faint smile and said kindly, "If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Su Ling nodded eagerly, her face full of longing: "I want to learn!"
Of course, she had to master such a miraculous skill.
Yi Heng chuckled softly: "This is the most basic level. It won't stop anyone with a bit of cultivation, but ordinary mortals won't be able to see through it. Still, it's good that you're willing to learn. Formation masters and alchemists are the professions in the spirit realm that never lack spirit stones. Once you learn, you won't have to worry even if you're on your own in the future."
Su Ling, greedy as a snake trying to swallow an elephant, asked: "Can I learn both at the same time?"
"That depends on your ability." Yi Heng didn't refuse and generously nodded.
Su Ling was so happy she felt like floating, but soon plummeted into despair. Wanting to master more skills meant investing more energy. Before she even started, the flood of information Yi Heng transmitted left her dizzy and disoriented. She collapsed onto the bed, utterly drained.
Fortunately, in the cultivation world, books were rarely used. Whatever was needed could be transmitted through spiritual sense or carved onto jade slips, which could be activated to pour the knowledge directly into one's mind.
But knowing how to use it wasn't as simple as just having the information.
These complex and profound subjects required first memorization, then understanding, and finally practice. If any step was mishandled, it could lead to complete failure.
In the midst of all this, Su Ling couldn't help but let her mind wander: Yi Heng could directly transmit knowledge through spiritual sense, just how much had he mastered?
She smacked her lips, envious for a moment, then dove back into the sea of knowledge.
Until her head throbbed with pain and her stomach growled with hunger, she finally snapped back to consciousness, dazedly thinking: It's time to cook.
Nowadays, all household matters were handled by Granny Li, who also took care of grocery shopping and ingredient preparation. Thus, Su Ling only needed to decide what to eat and then heat it up, making things much more convenient.
Just then, a few birds flew across the sky, chirping noisily. Instead of leaving immediately, they circled above the bamboo hut, their calls tinged with curiosity, as if puzzled by the sudden disappearance of the tasty treats that were usually available there.
It was like being hidden in a mist, they knew it was right there, yet they couldn’t reach it.
Su Ling’s eyes lit up. She formed hand seals, and the spiritual energy stored in her dantian quickly surged to her fingertips. A sharp strand of spiritual energy shot toward the birds, splitting into several strands as it neared them, swiftly wrapping around their necks. With a forceful tug, a series of crisp crack sounds echoed.
The birds, caught completely off guard, plummeted straight from the sky and hit the ground with a loud thud!
Granny Li was fetching water for the evening meal when she suddenly saw the birds fall. Startled, she hurriedly stepped back and glanced nervously toward the hut.
Sure enough, she saw the young girl in a light-colored long dress standing cheerfully at the doorway, looking completely unfazed. Realizing it was an immortal’s technique, Granny Li knew there was no need to be afraid.
“Miss, are we going to cook these?” Granny Li asked softly.
Having been here for many days, she clearly understood one thing: if her mistress took action, it was either because someone was disturbing her or because of food.
Su Ling nodded. “Yes, please help me clean them. I’ll start the fire.”
“Of course, of course.” Granny Li quickly nodded and deftly picked up the five fallen birds.
While in the air, the birds had looked quite small, about the size of sparrows, but upon landing, they turned out to be rather sizable, comparable to half-grown chicks. With Su Ling’s appetite, one small chicken plus some vegetables would leave her quite full.
Su Ling was always generous, sharing one bird with Granny Li, along with vegetables from the garden. As a result, Granny Li, who hadn’t been here long, already looked much younger than when she first arrived.
It was just that she usually kept a low profile, so no one noticed. Otherwise, the number of people coming to seek apprenticeship and a chance at immortality would be countless.

Su Ling really liked a dish from the fast-food restaurants in her original world, Orleans roasted chicken.
Of course, in this cultivation world, making Orleans marinade was beyond her current abilities, but roasting a chicken was still doable.
The only issue was the lack of time. To save time, Su Ling prepared the marinade in advance. As soon as the first bird was cleaned, she divided her spiritual energy into extremely fine threads, inserting them into the bird’s body while infusing them with the prepared marinade. This allowed the flavors to penetrate deeply.
The threads were so fine that they were barely visible on the bird’s flesh.
However, this process was incredibly meticulous and exhausting, requiring Su Ling’s full concentration.
While Su Ling was cooking, Yi Heng emerged midway through his recovery. He had been in seclusion for half a month, but his body was still not fully healed. As a cultivator at the late-stage Soul Transformation realm, the amount of spiritual energy he required was immense, far beyond what this mortal world could provide.
Thus, the half-month of seclusion had only barely healed his external injuries. While he appeared no different from an ordinary person on the surface, the damage to his meridians, dantian, and sea of consciousness remained largely untreated. In his spare time while instructing Su Ling, he focused on repairing his body.
Logically speaking, he should have taken Su Ling and left the mortal world. After all, he was the Demon Lord, with countless capable subordinates at his disposal. Even if he were severely injured, finding a loyal subordinate to protect him would have been no issue.
The righteous path posed no real threat, but Yi Heng subconsciously resisted revealing his dark side.
Moreover, in this small bamboo hut, Yi Heng experienced an unprecedented sense of tranquility. There were no storms of blood and violence from the cultivation world, no back-and-forth assassinations. The most troubling matter here was probably, what to eat today?
Having tasted this warmth, Yi Heng naturally had no desire to leave.
For instance, at this moment, after cultivating for a while and feeling much better, he stepped out of his room. Yet, as soon as he emerged and saw Su Ling sweating profusely while using spiritual energy to handle ingredients, the corner of Yi Heng’s mouth twitched.
Though he had witnessed his disciple treating her exceptional talent and heavenly gifts in this manner more than once, each time he couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
How could a cultivator be so gluttonous?!
In truth, while Su Ling hadn’t yet reached the stage of abstaining from food, the sensation of hunger was already distant from her. Unless she went without eating for an extended period, any feeling of hunger was mostly driven by subconscious habits.
Sometimes, Yi Heng felt an urge to pry open his disciple’s head and see what she was thinking, or to scold her a little. But every time he saw her radiant, satisfied smile, all words of reprimand died in his throat, unspeakable.
Yi Heng sighed inwardly as he watched his disciple bustling about. Unable to resist, he walked over. Yet, the moment she turned to look at him, he instinctively curved his lips into a gentle smile and asked softly, “Do you need any help?”
Su Ling waved her hand generously. “No need, Master. Just watch, I guarantee it’ll be super delicious!”
She swiftly massaged the bird inside and out, ensuring it had absorbed all the necessary flavors, then took a pre-prepared stick and skewered the bird. At the same time, she infused a bit of spiritual energy into the stick to prevent it from being burned by the spiritually enhanced flames.
The already prepared fire was burning steadily. Su Ling sat beside it, forming hand seals as a continuous stream of spiritual energy flowed from her palms into the flames. The fire immediately grew much fiercer than before, and soon, the moisture on the brown-marinated bird evaporated as oils began to seep out.
A short while later, the second bird was cleaned and prepared. Su Ling began multitasking, especially since the first bird was already emitting a rich, savory aroma under the intense heat.
Her internal reserves of spiritual energy weren’t vast, but precisely because of this, she would enter meditation to absorb spiritual energy each time she depleted it. After repeating this process several times, it became evident that her speed of absorbing spiritual energy was increasing, and the amount she could gather was growing as well.
Unknowingly, the spiritual energy around her suddenly surged, her movements becoming even more fluid, and her endurance in channeling spiritual power grew stronger.
In just a short time, Su Ling had advanced to the second level of Qi Refining!
Yi Heng had initially intended to help, but upon witnessing this scene, his breath hitched for a moment. He remained silent, quietly waiting as she busied herself, all while pondering one thing.
It seemed that whenever Su Ling was making or thinking about her favorite delicacies, she became exceptionally immersed. For others, entering a meditative state even once in a lifetime was considered a great fortune, yet for her, it was as effortless as eating or drinking.
If she could maintain this state, she might have to leave the mortal world in less than half a year.
Because she was about to build her foundation.

After the bamboo hut was concealed by the formation, it grew even quieter.
Yi Heng stood with his arms crossed, his wide sleeves swaying gently in the breeze, his dark hair flowing freely. Leaning against the wall, he quietly watched the girl in the courtyard, fully absorbed in preparing her food.
As time passed, the two birds were now nearly roasted to perfection, their rich aroma spreading throughout the courtyard. The two dogs had drooled so much that a small puddle had formed beneath them. They hesitated, wanting to approach but too afraid of Yi Heng’s presence to come closer. Pitifully, they lay nearby, softly whimpering “ao wu, ao wu,” hoping their owner would take pity on them and toss them a bone or two.
In such a tranquil atmosphere, Yi Heng’s heart felt unusually at ease. His slender fingers, resting on his crossed arms, tapped lightly in contentment.
However, there is always someone to disrupt such peace.
Yi Heng’s ears twitched slightly as he ‘looked’ in a certain direction. A young man in a long robe came stumbling over, and upon spotting the people in the courtyard, his eyes lit up with obvious delight. He exclaimed joyfully, “Miss, I’ve finally found you!!!”
Yi Heng’s fingers stilled. His spiritual sense swept over both Su Ling and the young man, his thin lips pressing together as a faint chill emanated from him.