Chapter 58: Making Advancements
Chapter 58: Making Advancements
"You have been here for two days. Don’t you have to return to the outside world?" Little Pink asked from where it was perched on top of the wooden shelf next to the huge window.
Xiang Ling, who was sitting on the bed in a lotus position with her eyes closed, didn’t bother to answer. Though it had been two days inside her space, barely two hours passed in the outside world.
"Master?"
"I’m not your master." Xiang Ling responded without opening her eyes and continued to cultivate.
"Sooner or later you will accept me as your spirit beast. It’s just a matter of time." Little Pink mumbled in a barely audible voice but Xiang Ling heard it loud and clear because of her sharpened hearing sense.
"Who told you that?" Xiang Ling asked as she channeled the spiritual energy within her body. With her eyes closed, she could almost imagine herself cultivating in the beautiful abyss of the Celestial Realm where all her fellow stars cultivated. The world she was seeing behind her closed eyes was created based on her memory of the Celestial Abyss.
"It was Her Majesty. She told me that I’m such a rare beast that no one in their right mind would let me slip from their hands." Little Pink replied excitedly as if it was extremely proud after getting praised by the Heavenly Empress.
Listening to the little beast’s words, Xiang Ling was unable to hold back her scoff. "If you are that great, why didn’t your dear Empress keep you for herself?" She asked.
Little Pink remained silent for way too long that Xiang Ling decided to continue, not caring about how her words would make the little beast feel. She didn’t trust anyone related to the Heavenly Empress. "And let me warn you. Don’t keep your hopes up. I’m in no mood for charity. I won’t take a spirit beast that will be of no help to me."
In response to her harsh statement, Xiang Ling heard Little Pink scoffing in unhappiness but it didn’t say anything for a while. After a few moments of silence had passed between the two, the little beast finally spoke again, "I’m sure you will accept me."
A smile threatened to bloom on Xiang Ling’s lips but she caught herself at the very last moment. "We will see" - was all she said before she resumed cultivating.
A few more minutes of silence must have passed before Little Pink spoke again. "Master, I almost forgot to tell you about this. Since you successfully helped the refugees of Lizhou village and earned their appreciation, you have made significant advances in completing some of the wishes of the previous owner of your body - to earn the respect of people, and have loyal people around."
Little Pink’s sudden change in topic successfully grabbed all of Xiang Ling’s attention and her eyes immediately flew open. Her gaze landed on the little beast and she quickly asked, "And?" Sure there was something more to come.
A smile appeared on Little Pink’s cute face as it revealed the rest of the information without wasting any more time. "Though you haven’t completed any of her wishes completely, you still have made quite some progress. As a result, Her Majesty has decided to give you the chance to unseal one of the areas. You can decide and let me know."
A huge smile bloomed on Xiang Ling’s lips and her eyes twinkled with excitement. This was probably the only good thing she had heard ever since coming to the Mortal Realm. Feeling extremely excited, she asked, "So, can you unseal the Herb Valley?"
The look that Little Pink gave her answered Xiang Ling’s question even before it spoke. "Don’t be ridiculous, Master. The Herb Valley is such a huge part of this space. You will not only get access to it but also to the Herb Cottage and all the medicines and medical records you have stored there. You are asking for way too much for such a small accomplishment."
Xiang Ling thought about what Little Pink just said and asked, "Can’t you just open the Herb fields then? Don’t open the cottage."
The cottage was the real deal as it not only carried hundreds of rare books and scrolls containing medical records on herbs, poisons, and other medical-related subjects, but it also stored the rare pill cauldrons and collection of pills that she had produced during the past several hundreds of years.
However, Xiang Ling knew that she wouldn’t get access to the cottage without completely fulfilling one of the wishes. That was why she decided to bargain for the Herb fields. As long as she had access to an unlimited supply of herbs, she could make pills and elixirs all over again.
Little Pink didn’t deny it immediately and appeared unsure. A moment or two later, it finally replied, "Let me ask Her Majesty first. If she agrees, then consider yourself lucky. Still, you should tell me another area that you would like to open just in case you can’t get access to Herb fields yet."
Xiang Ling thought about what other areas of her space could prove beneficial to her for the time being. She had a huge vegetable garden, poultry farm, and fruit orchards but she could do without them. It wouldn’t be hard for her to grow vegetables in the Chen Manor and the rest of the rations could be bought from the market.
After thinking for a while, she answered, "If the Herb fields can’t be opened yet, I want you to ask for permission to open the Three Caves located behind the Spring Cottage."
Little Pink nodded its head in understanding before it fluttered its wings and took off. It flew out of the window and disappeared. If Xiang Ling hadn’t already found out its secret, she would have thought that it was heading to the Heaven Realm to talk with Her Majesty.
Since the refugees had already left for their village and she was in no mood to cross paths with her husbands just yet, she decided to cultivate for a few more days in her space.