Family Turmoil Chapter 15: The Sleeping Seed

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The greedy consumption of the stone bead finally slowed to a halt. When the last trace of the chaotic medicinal power was drawn from Wanqing Mu’s body and fed back into himself, Chu Xing felt an unprecedented surge of strength fill his entire being, stirring his spirit profoundly.

He immediately withdrew his palm, the fingertips still lingering with an astonishing slick warmth. Instinctively rubbing his fingers together, a peculiar scent—a blend of herbal fragrance and feminine essence—wafted to his nostrils, lingering irresistibly and stirring an inexplicable flutter in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Xing forced himself to calm down and cautiously checked Wanqing Mu’s breathing. It was steady, deep, and strong. The exquisite face, once pale, now bore a touch of delicate flush. Long lashes, like butterfly wings, cast faint shadows under the cold moonlight, adding a serene softness to her otherwise icy countenance.

Clearly, she was out of danger, though her body, having undergone a profound upheaval, had fallen into a deep sleep. Chu Xing finally exhaled deeply and relaxed, leaning against the cold stone wall, his back drenched in cold sweat.

Watching the sleeping woman quietly, a flood of emotions overwhelmed him, leaving him somewhat dazed. Was this still the aloof inner sect prodigy who had regarded him as worthless? The cold-eyed senior sister in the alchemy hall’s storeroom who would attack him without warning?

Now, she had shed that icy defense, lying defenseless before him, fragile like a water lily dotted with dew after a storm—untouchable.

Unbidden, the vivid memories of their intense encounter flashed through Chu Xing’s mind: the slipping purple dress, the fleeting glimpse of snow-white skin, the soft warmth against his palm, and the astonishing heat and slickness beneath his hand...

His mouth felt dry, his heart inexplicably racing, and his face grew flushed. In all his life, this was the first time he’d come so close to a woman, especially one revered by countless disciples of the Mystical Star Pavilion as a distant, untouchable senior sister.

“Damn it all,” Chu Xing muttered bitterly, rubbing his throbbing temples as he tried to shake these untimely images from his mind. He admitted Wanqing Mu was breathtakingly beautiful, but that beauty was edged with danger. This seemingly tranquil water lily could awaken at any moment into a sharp sword capable of cutting him down.

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Despite his feelings, after a brief lapse of distraction, Chu Xing quickly pulled his scattered thoughts back to reality. Though young, three years of hardship at the bottom had forged in him a calmness and rationality far beyond his peers. Beauty was alluring, but survival was the primary concern.

He began to calmly calculate his path forward. At the seventh tier of Body Refinement, his strength had indeed increased greatly, but so had the cost of cultivation.

The energy from the rotten leaves in the Herbal Valley was now as ineffective as a drop in the ocean. Continuing to absorb them would be pointless. Though the Contribution Hall was improving, his meager contributions were insufficient to exchange for anything valuable.

His only steady income was the three contribution points earned daily by clearing medicinal residue in the Herbal Valley, plus the five points he managed to extort from Zhao Hu.

As for the woman beside him...

Chu Xing glanced again at Wanqing Mu, now asleep, his gaze clear and resolute. He immediately extinguished the foolish thought of relying on her as a long-term source of support. This was a fluke, a stroke of luck; who knew what might happen next time? Entrusting his life and future to such an unpredictable woman was the height of folly.

It seemed his cultivation resources had reached another bottleneck. Chu Xing frowned slightly but felt no impatience; years of hardship had tempered his urgency.

He stood and walked to the other side of the cave, his eyes resting on the small medicinal garden he had personally cultivated. Squatting down, he looked at the seeds he had planted. They lay quietly in the black soil moistened by the spirit spring water. Though some had been revived, their vitality remained dim and uncertain, ready to fade again at any moment.

Growing spirit herbs required time—that was common knowledge. Even with the spirit spring, it would take months before they matured. Time he did not have.

Chu Xing’s gaze shifted between the soil and his palm, deep in thought.

The stone bead could grant life to withered seeds...

And now, as a seventh-tier Body Refinement cultivator, his prime energy was far greater than before. If he used this stronger energy to activate the stone bead, could it bring about a qualitative change in these seeds?

With this thought, Chu Xing’s heart stirred. He resolved to test it immediately.

Without hesitation, he crouched again before the medicinal garden, gently suspending his palm above the soil covering the most ordinary seed.

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He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and fully immersed his spirit into his dantian. Then he summoned his seventh-tier Body Refinement energy, channeling it through the stone bead, transforming it into a pure, vital life force which he carefully infused into the soil beneath.

Hum...

The seed, once utterly lifeless, suddenly trembled the instant it touched that energy!

Chu Xing could clearly feel a fierce thirst for life emanating from within the seed. Its shriveled shell subtly began to plump, imperceptibly yet steadily. A thread finer than a hair but unyieldingly tenacious took root deep inside.

Maybe it really could work!

His heart leapt with joy, a spark of hope lighting his eyes. This path was viable!

Without hesitation, he increased the flow of energy.

The seed, like a hungry infant, greedily absorbed the life force, its vitality growing stronger by the moment. Even its hard shell started to glow faintly with a delicate green hue.

The seed was alive—and healthier than ever. Chu Xing sensed its yearning to break through the soil, ready to sprout at any moment.

However, just as he brimmed with anticipation, expecting a miracle, the vigorous life force suddenly halted upon reaching a certain limit.

The seed stopped absorbing.

It lay quietly in the soil, like a satiated child—alive, yet motionless.

“What’s going on?”

Chu Xing was stunned. He tried feeding it energy again, but the pure vitality merely circled the seed, unable to penetrate further.

Unwilling to believe it, he tried another seed, but the result was the same.

He injected his energy into every seed in the garden one by one. Dozens of once-dead seeds were revived to a vigorous state in the same manner.

Yet, none could progress beyond that limit.