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Back then, his comprehension was exceptional, yet he never grasped that elusive, ethereal secret during the second layer of Qi Refinement. This child… possessing such insight, yet with such innate talent… Thinking of that talent, Mo Shubai couldn’t help but sigh softly. The other young disciples must be considering the same, for their eyes dimmed noticeably.

Song Chi hadn’t expected that after just a few strokes of the qin, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, she would unexpectedly sense a chilling murderous intent. Then, with several crisp sounds, a small section of fiery thorn bush was cleanly severed right before her eyes.

That fiery thorn was extremely tough, and to neatly slice it in one go with her sword took some effort. Indeed, the mystery of the musical cultivation lay here.

Her excitement was uncontrollable, and she blurted out a startled exclamation. But then she remembered that she had damaged a spiritual plant—the fiery thorn bush. Though not precious within the Azure Sword Sect, it was still terribly costly to her. Her meager spiritual stones were nowhere near enough to compensate.

Just as she was clutching a handful of fiery thorn, troubled and anxious, an inspector came over from nearby to check on task progress. Seeing her predicament, the inspector swiftly approached, opened the barrier, and sternly questioned her.

“How can you, a junior disciple, still be in the herb garden at dusk?”

“Hm? You even damaged the fiery thorn bush!”

Then his eyes suddenly narrowed, and Song Chi barely had time to turn and hide the cut section of thorn.

She could only sigh inwardly and bow respectfully, “I, your disciple, unintentionally damaged the fiery thorn bush and am willing to accept punishment.”

The inspector, seeing her sincere admission, replied calmly, “Then you shall compensate with five hundred mid-grade spiritual stones.”

“Five hundred mid-grade spiritual stones!” Song Chi nearly gasped for breath. In her previous life, she never worried about money or even thought much of it. But in this lifetime, she fully understood the hardship of being penniless.

“This is the sect’s rule. Do you think I’m lying to you?” The inspector grew angry at her disbelief.

Song Chi hastened to deny, and indeed, the inspector was not deceiving her. She just felt a pang of regret over the expense.

On Mo Shubai’s side, seeing Song Chi’s pale face as she was about to retrieve spiritual stones from her storage ring, he recalled Song Chi’s family background and how she had been the most diligent in completing tasks these past two months, rushing out of the classroom with determination.

He felt a pang of pity and quietly appeared opposite her.

“I instructed this disciple to cultivate immortality arts using fiery thorn, which led to the damage,” he said.

Upon seeing him, the inspector immediately saluted. “So it is Young Master Shubai. Since you say so, there will be no punishment.”

Mo Shubai then whispered, “The sect’s rules are rules. I will cover the loss myself.”

“Such… how can I dare…” the inspector stammered, but Mo Shubai insisted with a wave, and the inspector left, relieved.

“Immortal Teacher’s great kindness, your disciple will never forget!” Song Chi said with utmost flattery as soon as the inspector left.

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She even bowed deeply, her joy nearly overflowing.

Mo Shubai couldn’t help but smile and motioned for her to rise.

The two left the barrier, and Song Chi asked, “Immortal Teacher, were you taking a stroll nearby?”

“…Yes.”

“Your taste is truly extraordinary. This herb garden… the shade is dense and green, the clear stream winds around—it really is a beautiful scene.”

She was flattering him, though the nearby forest was covered in small barriers for the herb gardens, and only the mountain tops had such lush trees. Moreover, it was early winter; even the trees bore a deep, somber green. The scenery was, at best, mediocre.

For those five hundred mid-grade spiritual stones, she was willing to say anything.

Mo Shubai found it amusing and didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.

They chatted awkwardly about the nearby scenery until approaching the garden’s entrance, where a female disciple who had just completed a task saw them and gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.

Song Chi grew uneasy, as if she wished to vanish without a trace from beside him.

Knowing how sect disciples loved to spread rumors, Mo Shubai was speechless.

“You should return early and not work on tasks so late,” he advised.

“Yes, your disciple will escort Immortal Teacher,” she replied.

Even escorting him so formally… Mo Shubai vanished silently.

Perhaps because Song Chi had bowed so respectfully, only after he disappeared did she stand and run off. The girls hiding afar, who had been watching the spectacle, sighed in disappointment and left the herb garden valley.

Mo Shubai turned to investigate and found those unruly young men had the audacity to follow them to the valley entrance. Only after he disappeared did they leave.

He whispered to Jiang Linyue, telling him to go to his Listening Spring Pavilion, then visited the Azure Cloud Pavilion to instruct that any spiritual plants damaged by Song Chi during tasks should not be blamed on her; all losses would be charged to him.

In truth, he barely used any spiritual stones.

Because Song Chi, having learned from her mistakes, chose tasks involving uprooting root herbs for Gold Spirit Root attack training—but all failed.

She concluded two reasons: first, capturing that mystical spiritual energy seemed linked to the musician’s emotions and surroundings. In the fiery thorn barrier, she had secretly tried once, feeling excited, which connected her emotions to that mystical power, resulting in accidental success. Later, after dozens of attempts, success was rare and weak, so she gave up.

Second, capturing that mystical energy seemed easier within the barriers of the sect’s founding ancestor, Qingxiao Immortal Lord. This ancestor’s musical cultivation achievements were unparalleled millennia ago, and his barrier designs surely had purpose.

In any case, Song Chi increasingly sensed the connection between the Water and Wood Spirit Roots and that mystic dusty aura during tasks.

Since she knew how the Gold Spirit Root linked to attack effects, she decided to first solidify the basics with the Water and Wood Spirit Roots, exploring one step at a time.

Thus, she continued as a task enthusiast, shuttling ceaselessly between musical cultivation spirit plant barriers.

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At first, doing two tasks daily was exhausting. Later, she began adjusting the spiritual energy distribution of each melody to capture the mystical aura. Gradually, she discerned the energy allocation of various low-level musical pieces and could complete three to four musical tasks before nightfall.

She had thought she’d need to rely on family aid to buy Refining Dust Pills for cultivation. But with the surge in task volume and the doubling of spiritual stones and points, she not only didn’t need her family’s stones but even accumulated a small surplus.

Of course, just a little.

The ancient musical cultivation master seemed to possess a pair of eyes that could foresee everything to come—even inflation. Song Chi’s crazy task efforts barely sufficed to buy Refining Dust Pills for cultivation and daily expenses.

A year later, Song Chi’s cultivation reached the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. The original two-hour morning culture class was split, with one hour dedicated to Instant Steps and combat techniques.

This time, it wasn’t Mo Shubai teaching their Guihai class but Immortal Teacher You Qin. She was a gentle, graceful woman and a Golden Core musical cultivator. Reportedly, she was a concubine disciple of the Snow Qiao Venerable, but as he had been traveling for years, she had yet to perform the formal apprenticeship ceremony.

However, Mo Shubai introduced her as a junior sister.

Though You Qin was mild-tempered, she was extremely strict with disciples. Her Instant Steps were so exquisite that even the privileged sons and daughters like Ye Qingyu showed mild surprise and soon held her in great respect.

You Qin taught only two Instant Step techniques: the Azure Flash and the Flowing Cloud Trace.

Azure Flash was as fast as lightning, highly mobile, perfect for combat. Musical cultivators specialized in battlefield control; especially early on when attack power was weak, a swift Instant Step technique was vital.

However, this technique’s footwork was extraordinarily complex. Song Chi learned that sword and alchemy cultivators’ Instant Steps weren’t nearly as intricate. Only the Linglong Sect’s dance-based combat footwork could rival musical cultivation’s.

This technique was especially suited to disciples with Gold, Water, and Wood Spirit Roots and was personally created by their founding ancestor.

The footwork seemed to sense that mystical aura as well, and You Qin was another who deeply understood it. Only by true comprehension could one master this Instant Step’s brilliance.

You Qin’s steps were like the wind—swift as lightning, and as beautiful as a trembling blue lotus in mist. Watching her was a great pleasure.

But learning it was painful. For three months, Song Chi, like others, spent her time falling repeatedly, since the technique involved mid-air Instant Steps, with feet barely touching the ground.

The other technique’s name suited it: flowing cloud. It was truly elegant, but only that. It seemed like a step for coordination with others.

How to coordinate? You Qin was brilliant, but left them to discover that themselves.

In cultivation, the word “comprehend” was vital; without it, one might as well perish.

In short, since this was the ancestor’s design for musical cultivators, though Song Chi’s novice eyes found it too ornate and impractical, she worked hard to train in it.

She focused especially on the Azure Flash. Benefiting from a year of musical spirit plant task exploration, she quickly adjusted spiritual energy parameters and adapted to both techniques.

Still, like others, she feigned clumsiness for half a year before gradually mastering them.

During this time, Ye Qingyu, that scoundrel, once gave her a mocking eye-roll and sneaked past, cursing her for pretending.

But that boy’s mouth was foul; she didn’t bother to quarrel.