Volume One, Chapter 10: The Ice Soul Heart Sutra

After an indeterminate amount of time, the two female cultivators finally returned. To Su Haoming’s surprise, their faces bore not hostility but a shared, knowing smile.

“Brother Su,” Lin Feixue began, her tone much softer than before, “I have already discussed the matter of the Foundation Establishing Pills with Miss Liu.”

“Ah?” Su Haoming was completely bewildered, unable to follow their train of thought.

Liu Ruoxi took over the conversation: “She will become our partner in cultivation. Regarding the Foundation Establishing Pills, the three of us will discuss that in detail later.”

Su Haoming was stunned, his mind a chaotic whirl. “What… does that mean?”

The two women exchanged a smile, and Liu Ruoxi spoke softly, “It means that from today onward, Miss Lin will often visit our home.”

Lin Feixue added, “Our cultivation methods share some similarities. By sparring and exchanging techniques, we can both achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

A storm of emotions churned inside Su Haoming; he had never anticipated matters unfolding in such a way. Silently, he thought, *I originally just wanted to buy the Foundation Establishing Pills. How did it turn into this situation?*

“Let’s go; it’s getting late,” Liu Ruoxi said lightly, as if the earlier conversation had no weight to her. “That’s all for today. Miss Lin, see you tomorrow.”

Lin Feixue nodded in acknowledgment. “I will bring the cultivation manual with me when I visit tomorrow.”

After Lin Feixue left, Liu Ruoxi took the still-dazed Su Haoming by the hand and stepped out of the Apricot Blossom Pavilion. Stammering, Su Haoming asked, “You… you two…”

“What, dissatisfied?” Liu Ruoxi countered, a playful smile tugging at her lips.

“N-no… it’s just… why did you suddenly…”

“Because we found some common ground,” Liu Ruoxi replied softly, clearly pleased with her answer. “As for what exactly, you’ll find out in time.”

Su Haoming wanted to ask more, but Liu Ruoxi urged him on, “Stop daydreaming. Let’s go home; we have guests coming tomorrow.”

He could only follow, his mind still clouded with confusion. As he turned, he suddenly noticed a new change on the system panel—the name Lin Feixue had appeared under the “Partner” section!

“Already? That easily?” His heart leapt with joy, but confusion quickly followed. “But… what kind of agreement did they make?”

With these questions swirling in his mind, Su Haoming followed Liu Ruoxi home. The sunset of Fengling City cast a long shadow behind him, adding a hint of mystery to his future.

Back at the mansion, Liu Ruoxi silently returned to her room. Su Haoming wanted to ask more but, seeing her unwillingness to talk, he let it go.

“Well, Lin Feixue is coming tomorrow anyway. I can ask then,” he consoled himself, though the unspoken understanding between them lingered in his thoughts.

***

Back in his own room, he immediately opened the system panel for a closer look. Sure enough, Lin Feixue’s name was prominently listed under the partner section, though her favorability rating remained at the “ordinary” level. Clearly, he would need to cultivate their relationship further.

“If two partners cultivate simultaneously, how will the bonus effects stack?” Su Haoming wondered eagerly, then activated the daily lottery feature.

The system wheel spun rapidly before coming to a stop:

[Congratulations, host has received: Immortal Golden Pill x1]

“Immortal Golden Pill?” Su Haoming read the description with interest. “Extends lifespan by fifty years, enhances constitution, and boosts comprehension. Impressive!”

As he rejoiced, a new system notification suddenly popped up:

[Number of partners reached 2; new feature unlocked: Partner Joint Cultivation]

[Partner Joint Cultivation: When two partners cultivate together in the same space, a 1.5x bonus is granted.]

Su Haoming’s heart blazed with excitement. “If Ruoxi and Lin Feixue cultivate together, then I’m going to…”

Before he could finish his thought, a sudden surge of spiritual energy shook the courtyard, followed by Liu Ruoxi’s suppressed gasp.

“Not good!” Su Haoming’s heart clenched. Without hesitation, he rushed out of his room.

Moonlight, cold and clear, bathed the courtyard.

Liu Ruoxi knelt on one knee, her hands pressed to the ground, beads of sweat glistening on her temple. A faint blue spiritual aura swirled erratically around her, forming a small cyclone that pulsed with agitation.

“Ruoxi! Are you alright?” Su Haoming hurried over but was stopped by an invisible force. The turbulent spiritual energy radiated a repelling power.

Liu Ruoxi lifted her head, teeth clenched. “I’m fine… it’s just… a cultivation mishap…”

Su Haoming was frantic. “What can I do?”

“Go to my room… on the bedside table… there’s a cyan jade bottle… bring it quickly!” She spoke with difficulty.

Without hesitation, Su Haoming dashed into Liu Ruoxi’s chamber.

Sure enough, a delicate cyan jade bottle rested on the bedside table.

Grabbing the bottle, he ran back to the courtyard, where Liu Ruoxi’s condition had worsened—she was almost engulfed by the rampaging blue spiritual energy.

“Ruoxi!” Su Haoming called out, ignoring the spiritual force’s resistance as he charged forward.

Strangely, the wild spiritual energy parted smoothly to either side as he approached, as if recognizing him.

“Open the bottle… pour it into my palm…” Liu Ruoxi’s voice was faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Wasting no time, Su Haoming uncorked the bottle and poured a few drops of a softly glowing blue liquid onto her outstretched palm.

The moment the liquid touched her skin, it transformed into a gentle blue light that seeped into her palm.

Instantly, the spiritual energy fluctuations around Liu Ruoxi intensified sharply, but after a brief moment, they quickly stabilized and receded back into her body like a tide.

She exhaled deeply, her pale complexion slowly regaining warmth.

Su Haoming finally relaxed, silently grateful for the narrow escape.

“Are you alright now?” he asked, stepping closer.

“Mm,” Liu Ruoxi nodded and slowly stood. “Thank you.”

“What exactly happened?” Su Haoming remained uneasy. “Your cultivation method…”

“Just a small accident,” Liu Ruoxi interrupted, unwilling to elaborate. “I’m still new to this and haven’t mastered control yet. Today, after talking with Lin Feixue, I wanted to see if I could merge aspects of our two methods. Didn’t expect to almost get myself into trouble.”

Now Su Haoming understood. “So, your private conversation yesterday was about cultivation methods?”

“Something like that,” Liu Ruoxi nodded gently. “Our methods have some connection—different paths but similar roots. We confirmed a few things today and gained some insights.”

“So, she’s coming tomorrow…” Su Haoming asked cautiously.

“She’ll bring the complete Ice Soul Heart Sutra,” Liu Ruoxi explained. “We plan to borrow each other’s refinements and improve together.”

Scratching his head, Su Haoming said, “Does that make me your… training partner?”