After a time, there was a loud splashing sound, and a veil of mist rose up around Hua Qiyue's body. The mist was light blue and slashed beautifully across the gloomy sky.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the sky as a beam of light descended on Tianpi!
In just two hours of cultivating Spirit Summoning Art, her Qi Art had advanced to the bottom tier of Oracle Profound!
Hua Qiyue slowly opened her eyes.
A slow clap sounded across the hot spring.
"Hua Qiyue, you are, indeed, a genius. So strong, to have progressed by one standard in merely two hours!"
Tianpi laughed giddily, as if he had progressed, instead of Hua Qiyue.
She pursed her lips slightly, clasping her hands together to absorb the spiritual qi once more.
Instead of returning to the outside world, she spent the night cultivating her skills diligently in the hot spring.
She knew that she needed to be at least at the Soil Absorbant standard to cultivate in the hot spring. Her Qi Art was at its pinnacle that night, to the extent that it shocked even Tianpi.
When she returned to the outside world, Hua Qiyue discovered that it was already daytime. However, she was not tired at all, with plenty of energy to use.
Through the morning light, Hua Qiyue looked at Tianci, who was sleeping on her arm.
Having drunk the Long Red Ginseng soup for just a few days, the little boy's scars had disappeared.
Suddenly, he tightened his grip on Hua Qiyue's clothes and cried out.
Hua Qiyue teared up. He must be dreaming of her in her previous life, dreaming of those devious women torturing him.
She had been foolish to believe in Zhou Zhicheng. The damage dealt to the heart was much more serious than that to the body.
Hua Qiyue touched Tianci's face. His face was as smooth as an egg but his brows were tightened like a worm as his body shook violently.
Tianci screamed. Immediately, she hugged him, kissing his forehead softly. "Tianci, mum is here. Don't be afraid… don't be afraid. No one can hurt you!"
Still asleep, Tianci stopped shivering. However, this had alerted Lvxin and Youshui, who ran in just in time to observe their mistress caressing the little boy's back.
The morning sunlight shone on Tianci's little face, making him seem even cuter.
Hua Qiyue instructed Lvxin to close the curtains and darken the room. The little boy went back to his calm slumber.
The hatred in her heart was like a flood, almost drowning her patience. But she knew that the most important objective now was to cure Tianci's throat.
She would have plenty of chance for revenge later; the monsters who did this to her son would come to her.
For the next two weeks, Hua Qiyue brought Tianci to Prince Nan's mansion every three days to get rid of the toxins.
Every time Hua Qiyue brought Tianci to him, Yun Shimo would take Tianci straight to the treatment room without looking at her, and his pharmacy apprentice would block Hua Qiyue from entering.
After what happened last time, Huq Qiyue wouldn't interfere again. Besides, Tianci was familiar with Yun Shimo now and had stopped screaming during treatment.
Whenever he left the treatment room, Yun Shimo's assistants would stand between and Hua Qiyue, as if preventing her from touching him.
While Tianci was being treated, Hua Qiyue would cultivate in the mysterious world of the gourd. It was typically only half an hour, but every minute spent cultivating was precious to her.
In the meantime, Second Madame, Third Madame, and Hua Mengshi were quite obedient. They seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to strike, and Hua Qiyue had asked for the recovered Nanny Wang to spy on Second Madame for her.
Hua Qiyue knew that the calmness was only a pretense, as Hua Mengshi would not let this matter rest.
When Madame Hua came back from Philanthropy Temple, she requested to spend more time with Hua Qiyue. So, Hua Qiyue would spend the bulk of her days with her son and Madame Hua, quietly cultivating in her free time.
Not only had her Qi Art progressed to Soaring Cloud standard, her Spirit Summoning Art had reached the bottom second level.
But the happiest person during this time was Tianpi. Every time Hu Qiyue saw him, he was humming. She recognized the tune — it was an old song called "Flower Finding Moon".
The name of the song was just a word away from her name, and had been composed over a thousand years ago. The music was melodious and bold.
Even after a thousand years, this song was still well loved by many.
Hua Qiyue didn't think too hard about it, focusing instead on her cultivation.
The Ji family was world-renowned in the medical field. Even though women seldom achieved much in Qi Art, Hua Qiyue knew that there must be prodigies planning to attend the competition.
Thus, she kept cultivating and making herself stronger.
The day before the registration deadline, Hua Qiyue sat in the hot spring at night, clasping her hands as huge amounts of spiritual qi entered her body.
Tianpi sat next to the hot spring, a piece of grass in his mouth, glancing at Hua Qiyue.
She worked hard every single time. The tediousness of cultivation could only be understood by those who had done it.
During cultivation, one would be incredibly tired. However, if one was successful, one would feel incredibly relaxed afterward.
If one was not successful, one would be even more tired.
Many women were unable to endure such fatigue of cultivation, and some had gone mad from the pressure.
But Hua Qiyue was strong, completely unafraid of the pain and suffering brought about by cultivation.
She closed her eyes tightly, the hot spring water coupling with the strong emergence of spiritual qi making her face bright red.
The spiritual qi levels jumped around constantly, causing her face to turn from red to pale, from blue to black. Tianpi was worried. Yes, she was a genius, but every time she did this, she was risking her life!
Hua Qiyue felt as if all the cells in her entire body were pushed apart as a tangy taste rose up her throat, and blood poured out of her mouth.
Tianpi's handsome face tightened. He barely stopped himself from leaping into the pond.
He was already more than 700 years old, so patience was second nature. He knew that all those who succeeded in the past had faced challenges and defeats in both their physical and mental state. How could those who did not pass through this barrier succeed?
She needed to endure this by herself...
Tianpi took the grass out of his mouth, turned around, and walked away.
The sky was brighter than before, as a ray of light morning sunshine penetrated the cloud, landing on the barren plain.
Tianpi kept walking until he heard a loud thud from behind him.
He turned back immediately, with unconcealable shock in his eyes. As he turned back, he could feel few water droplets hit his face and saw a geyser erupt like a silver pillar that was round and straight, shining with silvery light.
The fountain was bathed in green light, and Tianpi's jaw dropped as the water pillar suddenly disappeared.
"Genius, genius... haha, the genius of the genius! Only 12 days, and you are of Dragon Diagram standard. Amazing! Outstanding! Haha!" Tianpi laughed crazily.
Hua Qiyue walked out of the hot spring, her whole body wet as she had entirely entered the mysterious world this time, with her real physical body.
Normally, she only entered the world inside the gourd with her mind. However, at a higher level of Qi Art, she would need to use her real body, or the cultivation would be so slow that she would never be able to reach Soaring Cloud standard.
Tianpi watched, enraptured, as she walked out of the water, her wet dress clinging to her curves, and her lips flush from the exertion of cultivation.
"Thank you, Master, for your teachings. Enjoy the hot spring!"
As she spoke, she pressed her green jade gourd at her waist and returned to the living room of Cuihua Court in the Hua Mansion.
It was already past sunrise, and Tianci and Lvxin were playing behind on the other side of the curtain. Looking at her drenched clothes, she decided to change. At least she didn't need to bathe.
Youshui was shocked to find Hua Qiyue awake as she walked in. "Miss, when did you wake up?"
She'd left orders that she wasn't to be disturbed, and Tianci had been sleeping in the guest room with Lvxin. After playing for many days with her servants, Tianci was no longer scared of them.
The friendly Lvxin and Youshui loved Tianci.
"Just now. Help me with my hair."
Youshui nodded and fetched a comb.
"Later today, I'm going to sign up."
"Sign up?"
"Yes, for the Ji family's martial arts tournament."
Youshui's eyes widened; she must have misheard.
"Miss, what did you say?"