Qin Ran was quite irresponsible. He fed Chasing the Wind Li Shiyin's food, causing the poor little cat to vomit uncontrollably by the river for over half an hour. It was a pitiful sight.
"Really? Is it that scary?" Li Shiyin looked at him uncertainly and asked.
Qin Ran glanced at her without answering, hoping she would have some idea herself.
As the night grew later, the bright moon hung in the sky and the stars shone brightly, dotting the entire night sky.
Qin Ran checked the time and said, "Let's start."
Following his words, Li Shiyin walked into the spell formation and sat down cross-legged.
"The moon is so round tonight, its glow like water, so the timing isn't ideal," said Qin Ran, taking out a spirit stone and walking to the edge of the eye of the formation. "If you're a little more patient and wait for the next few days to pass, the power of the stars will be much richer then, and it will be somewhat easier to transform the energy vortex."
As he spoke, he placed the spirit stone in the eye of the formation. In a flash, clear light began to flow, rising from the ground and forming a thin film, enclosing Li Shiyin like a tent, with specks of light gathering in the air, like fireflies, crashing into the clear light.
"The concentration of the stellar power isn't too bad, but you'll still need to absorb it slowly. Too fast, and accidents could happen," he cautioned. "You absolutely must not break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. The stellar power will temper your spiritual power vortex, so after successfully converting the vortex, it's best if your cultivation level drops a bit.
"Also, the stellar power is just an aid in the end. Cultivating with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is the proper path."
Speaking thus, he watched the spell formation slowly retreat, falling back to sit in a chair.
Exhausted from vomiting, Chasing the Wind stumbled over, clawing up his pant leg to curl up in his lap, shifting around to find a comfortable spot.
Qin Ran lifted Chasing the Wind's paws and played with them in his hands. Despite being cat-sized, Chasing the Wind was a Profound Nether Spirit Tiger, so his paws were over twice as thick as a regular cat's, pleasantly plump to play with. He spread Chasing the Wind's paw pads, and the sharp claws popped out. Reaching out to test the claws, they were exceptionally keen, radiating a threatening edge. When Chasing the Wind had climbed up earlier, those claws had pierced through his pants and stabbed his calves painfully. He pondered whether he should trim Chasing the Wind's claws.
Inside the formation, Li Shiyin sat cross-legged, eyes closed, circulating her cultivation technique to guide the stellar power into her body.
The scattered stellar power felt icy cold at first. But as more stellar power gathered, it would slowly heat up, eventually becoming scorching, seemingly carrying the power of the sun.
The stellar power was like fire, steaming her inner spiritual power. The stellar power was like sand, grinding her dantian's energy vortex. The stellar power flowed like water, strengthening her bones and flesh.
Circulating the spiritual power mixed with stellar power felt very rough, hot, and uncomfortable. To Li Shiyin, it felt like she had been thrown into a desert, tormented by scorching heat and sandy gusts.
She didn't know how much time passed before the stars fully settled in her dantian, and her vortex became like a nebula, dotted with stellar power like the stars in a nebula.
At this point, her spiritual power, now completely fused with stellar power, felt mildly cool when circulating in her body. The stellar power no longer wore down her physique, instead nourishing her physique.
Li Shiyin discovered that as her master said, her cultivation level had indeed dropped. She had previously been a step away from mid-Foundation Establishment, but now there was quite some distance again.
However, she could clearly sense that her spiritual power was more refined now, and more... resilient? Her muscles also felt somewhat stronger.
Her cultivation had fallen, but her actual strength had grown.
The full sky of stars was like a river, the bright moon like a boat, and the wispy clouds were like the silk scarves of maidens frolicking in the starry river. The scarves waved at the people below. In front of a wooden house, on a broad lawn, two people sat facing each other, one leaning back in a chair, a cat in his arms, the other sitting cross-legged on the grass, a wisp of clear light drawing down the starry river.
The darkness was like a lady's thin, gauzy skirt, veiling the eyes, obscuring sight. In the distant forest, night owls shrieked as they hunted, while in the nearby bushes, crickets chirped their courtship songs. The night was noisy, the night was quiet.
The night wind was damp and cool, while the cat in his arms was warm. Qin Ran held the cat, watching a tributary split off from the river of stars overhead, cascading down like a waterfall, from the starry sky to the grass. It was an awe-inspiring yet heartwarming scene.
Summer nights were actually cool. Watching the moon gradually approach the western mountains, the stars blinking out one by one, the sunlight stabbing through in the east heralding the sun's descent, in that span of time, whatever emotions and insights Qin Ran gained were limited to himself.
The starry river overhead faded away, and the stabilized inner cultivation opened Li Shiyin's eyes. Through the hazy formation, she saw the first ray of dawn fall on her master's face. Foolish master didn't shy away, allowing the sunlight to blind him.
She got to her feet, leaping out of the formation in one step. Under the morning light, she raised her fists, which shone with stellar radiance, and shouted loudly, "Master! I succeeded!"
Li Shiyin's figure blocked the sunlight. Qin Ran's squinting eyes opened a sliver to look over, as if seeing Garz sama flexing under the first ray of dawn. Facing the sun with glowing fists raised, that lass was a bona fide villain with consummate devilish arts.
"Why shout? I'm not deaf! If you succeeded, go take a bath. You reek." Qin Ran spoke flatly, heartlessly damping the silly disciple's excitement.
"Huh?" Li Shiyin froze, lowering her head for a sniff. She did indeed reek, as if not having bathed for years. On closer look, her clothes had some grey and black stains.
"The stellar power refines the physique, expelling the impurities from the body. That's why," Qin Ran explained evenly. "Although you've soaked in many medicinal baths, making your body very tough already, this upgrade is still quite significant."
Li Shiyin came to her senses, understanding why. The rough tomboy also had a sense of propriety, blushing as she dashed into the house and straight for the bathroom.
"Your strength has risen tremendously. Pay attention to control, don't break anything..." Qin Ran's voice chased Li Shiyin into the house, but before he could finish, Li Shiyin's shriek came from inside, having clearly already broken something.
Qin Ran's face darkened with anger, securing the cat before striding into the house. He discovered the stairs had one broken step from Li Shiyin stomping up them.
Chasing up the stairs, more screams came from the bathroom. Clearly she had wrecked some of its facilities. Leaning against the hallway wall with a black face, he coldly called towards the bathroom, "That's because your strength rose too fast. Keep digging the pond today! If you can't control your power well, don't stop."
"Noooo Master..." came Li Shiyin's miserable wail from the bathroom.
Qin Ran ignored it and continued, "I'm going to catch up on sleep. Make your own lunch too today!"
"Master..."