Frequent celebrations are the key to enduring success.

Master Qingyan emerged from his seclusion, his cultivation having made a modest breakthrough; he had finally brushed the threshold of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm.

As soon as he stepped out of his courtyard, his senior disciple, Jiang Xuan, hurried over to find him, clearly deeply concerned about how his seclusion had gone.

Just as Master Qingyan was preparing to nonchalantly mention his progress and bask in a wave of admiration, Jiang Xuan shouted excitedly, "Master! The Fourth Junior Sister has successfully drawn Qi into her body!"

Master Qingyan instantly lost all interest in showing off his own minor advancement, immediately eager to go see the excitement—or rather, to show concern for his disciple's cultivation progress.

If someone with eight spiritual roots could draw Qi into their body, even if he were to advance to the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm right now, the shock would not surpass this event!

Surrounded by her fellow disciples, who were observing her as if she were a rare treasure, Cui Huai tried her best to suppress the corners of her mouth from turning upward. After all, what was there to be happy about in mere Qi Condensation? She had once stood with one foot already in the Tribulation Transcendence realm!

Yet, her mouth refused to listen, and as her senior sister and junior brothers showered her with praise, she couldn't help but beam.

Her Second Senior Sister, Zhao Zhixu, reached out and patted Cui Huai’s head. "To draw Qi into your body with eight spiritual roots is truly impressive, Junior Sister, but you must have suffered a great deal. It hurt so much when I first did it. Why didn't you call us to guard you yesterday? We could have looked after you."

"I had a sudden insight last night, and... I didn't have time," Cui Huai said, looking at her senior sister’s rarely stern face. Her tongue, usually so glib, failed her. Was Senior Sister angry?

"This was a sudden occurrence, but next time, remember to tell us. We might not be able to help much, but it would certainly be safer."

Her senior sister’s expression softened, and Cui Huai figured the matter was settled.

In her heart, she still felt that she, Cui Huai, never needed anyone's help, but she dutifully agreed, "Understood. Next time, I will definitely tell you all in advance."

"You suffered this time, Junior Sister. Is there anything you want to buy? I’ll buy it for you to celebrate your successful cultivation. No need to pay me back in spirit stones."

Cui Huai cast a sidelong glance at Fu Qin, who was unusually slumped against the table with his arms crossed instead of standing straight. Why wasn't he the one saying that?

If he were the one offering without expecting repayment, Cui Huai would have accepted without hesitation. After all, she would never go soft on fleecing him!

But since it was her senior sister making the offer, Cui Huai didn't want to take advantage of her, so she had to refuse with a heavy heart, "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sister, but there is no need. I lack for nothing right now."

She did lack! She lacked plenty!

She needed a good sword! A fine set of dharma robes! Delicious spirit fruits! A massive supply of rabbit feed! She lacked everything...

Her senior sister, failing to give a gift, lowered her eyes, looking a bit disappointed. "Well, tell me next time if you want anything, and I’ll make it up to you."

Cui Huai’s gaze darted repeatedly between Fu Qin and her Fifth Junior Brother, Zhu Yu. Were they really so oblivious? Were they not even considering buying her something?

It was like winking at a blind man. Fu Qin was already lost in deep thought; he had abandoned his usual upright posture precisely because he was having a mental breakdown.

Back when his junior sister hadn't started cultivating, he could barely handle her. Now that she had drawn Qi into her body, could he even survive a few exchanges with her?

When he first entered his period of weakness, Fu Qin hadn't panicked. It was the way of the phoenix; he would wait for time to pass, and he would naturally recover. Perhaps decades, perhaps centuries—he just had to wait, and he would return to his former glory, or even ascend higher.

But now, Fu Qin was no longer so relaxed. Could his recovery speed pick up the pace to keep up with his junior sister’s cultivation progress?

Fortunately, however, his junior sister was a pauper, and he was sufficiently wealthy. As her creditor, he could still hold his head high in front of her.

The other target of her suggestive glances, Zhu Yu, was playing dumb.

Spirit stones didn't fall from the sky. Every one of his was saved bit by bit, and he never made a losing deal. Giving spirit stones to Cui Huai was like feeding meat buns to a dog—they would never return.

That was absolutely impossible!

Zhu Yu just stared with wide eyes and asked curiously, "If Senior Sister can enter the path with eight spiritual roots, does that mean I might be able to cultivate as well?"

Cui Huai replied, "If there are any extra Spirit-Strengthening Pills from the Eldest Senior Brother next time, you can have a few, Junior Brother."

It wasn't that Cui Huai was being mean; it was simply the truth.

As long as one had spiritual roots, there was a possibility of cultivation, even if the chance was near zero. But without spiritual roots, the chance of entering the path of cultivation was zero.

The system hadn't dared to limit her to a mortal without spiritual roots at the start; it had only dared to stack spiritual roots onto her. That was because if it had dared to leave her without any, it would have blocked off the last possibility of negotiation.

If things had reached that point, Cui Huai would never have performed any damn missions—she would have dragged the system down to die with her immediately!

As for her youngest junior brother, rather than letting him hold onto unrealistic expectations because she had succeeded, it was better to let him know from the start that it was impossible.

Because feeling disappointment after having hope was far more painful and despairing than never having hope at all.

Of course, if her junior brother had shown a little courtesy and offered a few spirit stones, she would have phrased it more tactfully.

Zhu Yu, who was unwilling to pay a "mental protection fee," was quite resilient. After a brief moment of disappointment, he perked up. After all, he had lived as a mortal for nearly twenty years and was used to it; these strange new experiences were just an unexpected bonus.

"Senior Sister, you forget that I am a doctor. Under the guidance of our Master's aunt, although I cannot use spiritual power to make Spirit-Strengthening Pills, I have already formulated a recipe with slightly lesser effects. I forgot to tell you—because my recipe is much cheaper than the Spirit-Strengthening Pills, it has already started circulating in the town."

"Whether it's for children starting their education or scholars preparing for the imperial examinations, they are all my customers. I’ve already earned several times the amount of my entrance sponsorship fee."

"Senior Sister, you have to use your brain to earn money. If you keep failing to earn spirit stones, you should reflect on that. If it really comes down to it, I can sell you two sets of my Spirit-Strengthening medicine at a five percent discount. Eat them, and perhaps you’ll have an epiphany."

Zhu Yu had returned from his brief moment of disappointment only to kick Cui Huai into an even deeper one with just a few sentences.

Cui Huai felt like she had been stabbed. She hadn't suffered such a heavy injury in the last hundred years!

Master Qingyan and Jiang Xuan had been silently eavesdropping at the door, and only when the excitement died down did they enter.

"Since Ah-Huai has successfully entered the path today, it is a joyous occasion. You have never gathered together since you joined the sect. This time, the sect will provide the spirit stones; go to town and have a meal. Let Jiang Xuan take you; I won't go. Having come out of seclusion today, I’ve been walking around the sect and have gained new insights; it is a good time to seize the opportunity and cultivate some more."

Master Qingyan wasn't going for three reasons: first, the young ones had things to talk about among themselves; second, he truly needed to cultivate hard—if even a disciple with eight spiritual roots had entered the path, what excuse did he, as her master, have to be lazy?

And of course, the third reason: saving one person meant saving a few spirit stones.

The children were still young and should spend a little money to see the world, but he was old—he could endure.

Eldest Senior Brother Jiang Xuan touched the five spirit stones his master had just stuffed into his pocket—stones he had squeezed out of the youngest junior brother's sponsorship fees.

Five spirit stones to take four junior siblings out to eat? It would be better to have them all drink the northwest wind at the foot of the mountain; that way, he could actually turn a profit of five spirit stones!