Chapter 2: I’ve Got the Strength and the Means!
Before Li Yu could breathe a sigh of relief, a surge of spiritual energy flowed into her body.
Like a warm current in winter, or a cool breeze in summer.
Though difficult to describe precisely, it eased the dull ache in her chest.
In the novel, Si Qinglan possessed remarkable healing abilities. Even if someone were burned to a crisp, as long as their soul remained, she could bring them back. She was the undisputed best healer in the entire story.
She couldn’t keep up the act in front of such a person. Some things needed to be clarified immediately!
—System, System, are you still there?
【Yes! The system will provide the host with exclusive, one-on-one service anytime, anywhere!】
Well, aren’t you helpful…
So, what’s the situation now? Can I get a recap?
【Request received. Retrieving recap for the host.】
A moment later, a few lines of recap appeared clearly in her mind.
Li Yu quickly scanned through them, getting a general understanding of the current situation.
Three days ago, the little protagonist had just experienced her first major plot point – the Centennial Cloud Platform Trial of Mount Chao Yao.
In the early stages of the novel, only two people knew about the protagonist’s Demon Bone.
One was Si Qinglan, who had taken her to Mount Chao Yao out of kindness. The other was Li Yu, who had accepted her as her only direct disciple.
In secret, these two revered ones had worried constantly about the Demon Bone within her, reinforcing the seal that suppressed the demonic energy time and time again, all for the sake of the child’s peaceful life.
However, this seal, while suppressing the demonic energy, also hindered the flow of spiritual energy within the protagonist’s meridians, making it difficult for her spiritual roots to be nourished.
Mount Chao Yao, blessed by immortals and gods, was as rich in spiritual energy as the heavens.
Even a random mortal brought here would gain enough power to achieve minor feats after ten years.
The little protagonist had lived here for over two hundred years, yet she struggled with even the most basic spells, inevitably becoming a target of ridicule and ostracization.
That’s why the first chapter of Demon Bone opened with a mocking poem about the protagonist.
Li Yu still remembered it.
Mount Chao Yao, gathers spiritual qi,
Exalted Immortal Li Yu takes a disciple, you see.
A little waste, can’t be helped,
Wagging her tail, whimpering and yelped.
The poor “little waste” didn’t know about her Demon Bone or the seal within her. She always believed she was genuinely inept at cultivation, living in a state of self-deprecating insecurity since she could remember.
She knew that her master was the head of the Three Revered Ones of Chao Yao, the only Exalted Immortal on the mountain, always aloof and detached, never bothering with worldly affairs.
Her grievances couldn’t reach her master’s eyes.
There were so many beings on Chao Yao, but so little kindness.
For over two hundred years, only the senior brother who had stumbled upon her sobbing in the dead of night would tell her, “There’s no need to rush.”
He said that spiritual roots were like flowers, each with its own blooming season.
Others simply bloomed earlier than her; they wouldn’t necessarily be as brilliant or long-lasting.
Look at the moon, he’d said. Though not as bright or hot as the sun, it has existed for thousands, tens of thousands of years, eternally unchanging. Whether it’s cold or warm, full or waning, depends only on your mood and the season.
You are not human, your lifespan is long, you can take your time.
The senior brother was a direct disciple of Revered Lingyao, a renowned prodigy of the immortal sect, yet he was the only one willing to approach her, encourage her, and tell her that everything could be taken slowly.
After much contemplation, the little protagonist finally decided to participate in the latest Cloud Platform Trial.
The Cloud Platform Trial was the only way for outside cultivators and mountain spirits to join Mount Chao Yao. It was also an opportunity for outer disciples to ascend to the inner sect and for inner disciples to be chosen as direct disciples by the Three Revered Ones.
The little protagonist was already a disciple of Cangming Revered One and didn’t need such an opportunity.
But for her, it wasn’t an opportunity, but the first step towards self-acceptance.
A fire had been lit in her heart.
She clutched at the flame in the long night, refusing to let go even as it burned her palm.
She told herself that it didn’t matter how others mocked her, even if they broke her bones, she had to try.
And not just this time, but every hundred years, she would see how far she could go with all her effort.
This was a positive thought, the vision was grand, but reality was harsh.
Becoming the only disciple of Cangming Revered One was an opportunity many longed for their entire lives. For such an opportunity to fall into the lap of a little waste, a little waste who wasn’t even striving, naturally rubbed some people the wrong way.
So, someone deliberately used excessive force during a sparring match with her.
—Not fatal, but it damaged her heart meridian.
Thus, the renowned little waste of Chao Yao was severely injured on the Cloud Platform, the Demon Bone within her was stimulated, and the demonic energy almost broke free. If Li Yu hadn’t arrived in time, her demonic nature would have been exposed.
However, when the Cloud Platform Trial began, Li Yu was in secluded cultivation in the forbidden grounds.
Sensing the anomaly in the seal, she broke through her cultivation prematurely, causing her cultivation level to regress and inflicting significant internal injuries.
So, the reason “she” had called Si Qinglan here was most likely to discuss the matter of the protagonist’s Demon Bone.
But the original owner hadn’t left behind a single memory. Li Yu had no idea how to “discuss” the Demon Bone issue without arousing suspicion.
Perhaps she should feign ignorance and muddle through this encounter until she had a clearer picture.
With this in mind, Li Yu steeled herself, furrowed her brows, and coughed softly. Si Qinglan’s anxious voice immediately reached her ears.
“Are you alright?” she asked, immediately helping the person in her arms sit up.
“I… I’m fine…” Li Yu replied weakly, adding politely, “Qingxuan Revered One, you needn’t expend your spiritual energy on me.”
If she remembered correctly, Si Qinglan had never liked Li Yu. If it weren’t for the secret they shared, they probably wouldn’t interact at all.
Despite Si Qinglan’s casual use of “you,” as if they were close, it was actually just her habitual informality and a lack of respect.
As for Li Yu, she always addressed Si Qinglan formally, maintaining a cool distance.
It proved to be the correct approach.
With just a single sentence, her character compatibility started to increase.
“I’ve already used it, what’s the point of saying that now?” Si Qinglan withdrew her supporting hand, turned, and crossed her arms. After a moment of annoyance, she couldn’t help but turn back. “I see no other abnormalities in your body besides the disordered spiritual energy, why did you suddenly faint?”
“I don’t know…” Li Yu felt her brain working at light speed. “Perhaps it was the failed closed-door cultivation, and the backlash from repairing the seal. I’ve been feeling dizzy lately, unable to distinguish reality from illusion… Perhaps summoning you was just sleep-talking. I don’t remember the reason.”
She pondered her explanation, finding it reasonably plausible, and breathed a sigh of relief.
It had to be said, when survival instincts kicked in, the brain did work faster than usual. Even lying felt effortless.
“You suffered a backlash? Why didn’t you say so earlier…Let me see!” Si Qinglan said, her hands glowing as she moved forward to examine her.
Li Yu quickly waved her hands in refusal: “It’s fine, it’s nothing…”
She can’t look! The novel never mentioned anything about a backlash from the seal. This was just an excuse for her strange behavior. If anyone dared to look, she’d be exposed!
The situation was getting awkward. It seemed she needed to change the subject urgently.
Thinking this, Li Yu raised a hand to her forehead and coughed lightly. “It’s just my disciple…”
She sighed.
The pause, the tone, combined with the weary expression of someone completely worn down by life, conveyed a perfect sense of unspoken worry and concern—enough to make relatives want to set her up on a blind date and friends hesitate to lend her money.
Si Qinglan’s expression shifted subtly.
She opened her mouth slightly, then pursed her lips. When she spoke again, her words were noticeably more tactful.
“I know you were only angry with her for her own good, but she doesn’t know what’s inside her. The little girl just wants to prove herself.” Si Qinglan paused, then gently persuaded, “Since this incident ended without serious consequences, and she’s already badly injured, why punish her so severely?”
Li Yu was taken aback.
Was the protagonist punished in this part of the story?
She only remembered that after becoming a disciple, the protagonist had always lived with Cangming Revered One at Chaoxi Pond.
This Exalted Immortal disliked crowds and didn’t eat earthly food. For thousands of years, she had taken in only one disciple. The vast Chaoxi Pond didn’t even have a single servant disciple. It was so quiet that even a gentle breeze was audible.
Because of this, after being injured, the protagonist was left unattended. Hearing about this, the male protagonist went to care for her every day, and their relationship grew closer.
During this daily care, the male protagonist discovered that the protagonist hadn’t learned any cultivation techniques from Cangming Revered One, and he promised to personally teach her some simple spells after she recovered.
This laid the foundation for the protagonist’s later insistence on following the male protagonist to the mortal realm for training. The subsequent heartbreaking plot points that led to her blackening were all built upon this foundation.
So, the question was…
Li Yu: “Did I punish her severely?”
As soon as she spoke, she felt Si Qinglan’s utterly speechless gaze.
“No, of course not,” Si Qinglan said exasperatedly. “She’s your disciple. How you teach or punish her is none of my business.”
This tone…
Si Qinglan must have misunderstood.
Heaven and earth could bear witness, she absolutely didn’t mean to forbid anyone from commenting. She was simply curious about how “she” had punished the protagonist.
However, it had to be said, this statement seemed perfectly in line with the original character’s personality.
Although she had annoyed Si Qinglan, her character compatibility had risen back to 85%!
So, was there still a need to explain?
As Li Yu hesitated, Si Qinglan frowned, turned, and transformed into a streak of green light, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Whoa, so fast?!
As expected of an immortal, so amazing! Can I do that too?
The moment the thought arose, the system obligingly provided an instant reply.
A towering tree slowly materialized in her mind.
Its trunk was dark, its leaves a deep blue. Its vast root system was firmly planted in the boundless deep sea, surrounded by a moon-like, gentle spiritual light amidst the misty waters.
Li Yu couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is this my skill tree?”
【This is Li Yu’s spiritual root. It’s not entirely wrong for the host to understand it as a skill tree.】
“Then I’m too overpowered, starting as a max-level boss…”
Before Li Yu could finish, countless red prohibition symbols appeared on the tree.
She stared blankly for a moment, then curiously clicked on one of them.
—”Locked” popped up in large, flamboyant letters!
Her smile froze.
…You’ve got to be kidding me!
Such a huge skill tree, completely locked from top to bottom!
What does this mean? Am I not worthy?!
【Because the original owner’s cultivation was unfathomably deep, and the host has no cultivation experience, directly inheriting it would likely cause the host’s body to explode. For the host’s safety, the system has temporarily locked the original owner’s power.】
【But rest assured, host, the system will assist you in gradually adapting to this body and safely unlocking all abilities!】
“How will you assist me? Tell me more.”
【The system will gradually lift various restrictions, including the skill tree, based on the host’s “Mission Completion Rate”!】
As soon as the system finished speaking, a yellow exclamation mark appeared before Li Yu’s eyes, brightly reminding her—Time to accept the novice mission!
Li Yu: …
Things had come to this, she could only roll up her sleeves and get to work.
Bring it on! Whatever the mission, throw it at me!
I’m not a pathetic office worker anymore. I’ve got the strength and the means!
…Probably!
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