Cherish life, stay away from storybooks.

Lingyu read through the "Taisu Purple Cloud Heart Sutra" from the Immortal Book again and again, and by the time she could recite it fluently, daylight had already filled the sky. She put away the Immortal Book and the luminous pearl, sitting at the mouth of the cave, pondering whether she should turn back to find her companions.

She had already made a decision about this, only postponing action because it was too dark at night. But now, she realized that the spiritual energy here was abundant, making it an excellent place to cultivate. Moreover, the Immortal Book had revealed a profound cultivation method, which made her hesitate.

Staying here seemed quite a good choice. After all, Han Funing had said that if he sent her a message, she would have to return immediately. Rather than searching for excuses to leave later, why not part ways now? This way, she could use the time to focus on her cultivation; the stronger her abilities, the better she could protect herself. As for the task, if she couldn't collect enough, she could simply ask Han Funing for more. Since he chose her as a partner, he wouldn't let her be punished, would he? As long as she wasn't punished, she didn't care much about the rewards—dealing with Han Funing was her priority.

With this reasoning, Lingyu was increasingly disinclined to seek out Zhang Qingshu and the others. There were four of them, yet they still hadn't found this place, nor could she reach them with the signal talisman—most likely, they were already lost. The Western Luo Forest was vast, and once separated, it was almost impossible to meet again. As she was alone, going back would not only be unsafe but probably fruitless.

After a moment's thought, Lingyu made her decision. Since fate had led her here, she might as well stay. This was a great opportunity: the cave offered safety, the spiritual energy was rich, and she could hunt demon beasts to feed the Immortal Book. Who knew? Perhaps by feeding it, new words would appear on the second page.

Indeed, it was strange. The "Taisu Purple Cloud Heart Sutra" contained several thousand words, yet a single page of the Immortal Book could hold it all. Who could guess how much the entire book could contain?

Having made up her mind, Lingyu began to consider how to pass the next two months. As for lodging, this cave was quite suitable—a decent place to reside. Food wasn’t an issue either; the forest teemed with wild beasts, and she still had plenty of dried rations. Cultivation would be even more convenient with such dense spiritual energy—where else could she find a place like this? The only drawback was the lack of company. Two months in solitude—she wondered if she’d go mad from loneliness.

Wait! Lingyu suddenly remembered Abi, whom she’d shut away in the Spirit-Capturing Pouch. Although Abi was a demon—and a rather foolish one—she would serve as company. But having swallowed Abi’s essence pearl, Lingyu would have to find a way to resolve that first...

She didn’t ponder for long. With a clap of her hands, Lingyu opened the Spirit-Capturing Pouch and released Abi.

After ten days inside the pouch, Abi emerged dazed and barely able to maintain her human form. Lingyu gave her a vitalizing pill, and only after a good while did Abi’s complexion improve.

Regaining her strength, Abi returned to her human form, and immediately began to scold Lingyu: "You almost suffocated me! Couldn’t you let me out for some air?"

A spirit beast would not die inside the pouch, but would fall into a deep sleep; if kept too long, it would suffer essence loss. Fortunately, Abi hadn’t been inside for long, so her essence was intact—she was just terribly stifled.

Lingyu arched her eyebrows and hefted the Kanli Sword. "Did you just call me 'old hag'?"

Abi shrank back at the sight of the sword and stammered, "I... I didn’t mean it..."

"Words can bring disaster," Lingyu said slowly. "Calling you a foolish demon is no exaggeration. With this attitude, you might trick some hapless mortal, but you’d never survive among your own kind!"

"Why wouldn’t I survive?" Abi tried to sound fierce, but her courage failed her.

Lingyu stood up and circled her twice, her tone full of disdain. "You lack sense, have no understanding of social ways, and your cultivation is pitiful. What makes you think you can survive?"

Abi was stunned. "How do I lack sense? Besides, how dangerous can this world possibly be?"

Lingyu rubbed her forehead. "You owe Boss Qi a great debt. With your wits, you can only survive in his household!"

Abi was completely baffled.

Lingyu could not bear such folly any longer. "Do you not know that spirits prey upon each other?"

"Huh?" Abi truly didn’t know. She’d only gained intelligence recently, had been taken home by Boss Qi, and then captured by Lingyu. Her knowledge of the spirit world was extremely limited.

"You’re lucky to be alive," Lingyu shook her head and sighed. She took a bead from her sleeve and tossed it to Abi. "Here, your possession."

Abi caught it blankly, and when she realized what it was, she cried out in alarm, "Why does my inner core look like this?"

"Inner core?" Lingyu was focused on something else entirely. She stared at Abi in astonishment. "This is your inner core?"

Abi nodded hesitantly.

"Do you have any common sense?" Lingyu exclaimed. "Very few demon beasts possess inner cores, and most of their cultivation is stored within. Once the core leaves the body, the beast is ruined. But your cultivation is unchanged, and this bead contains not a trace of true essence. You’ve been separated from it for days and are still lively—what kind of inner core is this?"

Abi looked extremely guilty and stammered, "But, in human storybooks, it says spirits can spit out their inner cores to perform spells..."

"What stories have you been reading?"

"...White Lady..."

Another poor soul misled by storybooks. Lingyu covered her face. When she was a child, she’d spent her days in teahouses and theaters, later bringing the tales of immortals and legends into her cultivation studies. It had taken half a year at the Daoist palace to set her straight. Those stories were nothing but entertainment—how could they be taken seriously? But she’d been a mere mortal child then; Abi, as a spirit, ought to know better. To think she’d learned her knowledge of cultivation from human storybooks...

If not for Abi’s usefulness, Lingyu would have thrown the foolish demon into the Western Luo Forest to fend for herself—she was simply too stupid!

Still, it was just as well. Lingyu quickly composed herself; this way, she could proceed with her plan.

"I advise you," she said solemnly, "to cherish your life and stay away from storybooks."

Abi looked utterly bewildered. "But since I took human form, I’ve only met a few other spirits. They all avoid me. If I don’t read storybooks, how am I supposed to learn about cultivation?"

With your third-level Qi Refining cultivation, you might only scare off ordinary spirits; they’re just afraid of becoming your food, so of course they keep away!

Lingyu muttered this to herself but kept a serious expression. "I can teach you, but I have conditions."

"Really?" Abi’s eyes brightened. "I didn’t take you for a good person."

"I have conditions," Lingyu repeated, too tired for small talk. "I’ll teach you to cultivate if you become my spirit beast."

"Ah!" Abi immediately bristled. "I knew it! You don’t look like a good person at all. You want to take advantage of me!"

Lingyu glanced at her with unconcealed disdain. "You should be grateful you ran into me. Anyone else would have forced you to submit long ago—no point in all this talk."

"Why don’t you force me, then?" Abi asked. "Is it because you can’t?"

Not bad, the fool could be clever at times. Lingyu replied, "Of course! Cultivators have two swords hanging over their heads—karma and merit. Handle these badly, and you risk inner demons and tribulation. I may be a sword cultivator, but I started as a Daoist, so I must be careful."

"But don’t others—?"

"Not everyone cares about karma and merit," Lingyu rolled her eyes. "Many cultivators, limited by their talents, don’t worry about such things."

"Oh..." Abi thought about this, then asked, "What are the benefits of being your spirit beast? What would I have to do?"

"I’ll teach you cultivation. That’s the benefit. As long as you follow me and behave, I’ll protect you. In return, you help me with what you can."

"I see," Abi considered. "It’s pretty much like with Qi Junqing—he fed and clothed me, after all..."

Lingyu couldn’t be bothered to explain further; as long as Abi understood it that way.

"Fine, fine then..." Abi agreed hesitantly. "Anyway, after leaving the Qi family, I haven’t known what to do."

Lingyu was about to speak when Abi added, "But you have to promise not to betray me like Qi Junqing did. Otherwise, I’ll turn on you!"

"If we make a master-servant contract, it can only be broken if we both agree. Is that enough for you?"

"A master-servant contract? What’s that?" Abi asked again.

...

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