The Stunning Mad Empress: The Useless Third Miss - Chapter 10

Xiao Qincheng spoke as she walked, entering a teahouse that appeared to be quite large in scale. She handed over some silver to the teahouse owner and the storyteller. Naturally, her purpose was achieved.

“Where should I go now?”

After successfully spreading the news about Nan Gongyu and Xiao Qingxue poisoning her, Xiao Qincheng didn’t know where to wander next.

“Head to the eastern suburbs. There’s a rare treasure about to emerge there. Master, you should go and absorb some of its primal energy to break through your cultivation quickly. Otherwise, relying on your mere mortal body for fighting isn’t a good idea.”

Xiao Zhenzhen, supporting her round little head with one claw and leaning lazily against Xiao Qincheng’s neck, spoke in a languid tone.

“A rare treasure?”

Xiao Qincheng raised an eyebrow, her eyes gleaming with a hint of golden light.

“Yes, a rare treasure. You’ll know once you get to the eastern suburbs. But if we delay any longer, those fools will likely notice as well. After all, when a rare treasure emerges, it generates a large amount of primal energy, which is invaluable for cultivators.”

Of course, what Xiao Zhenzhen didn’t mention was that she knew the true purpose of her master’s visit to Xiao Family Town was to search for this rare treasure. This treasure, seemingly ordinary, was actually…

But it should be fine to lure her new master to absorb some of its energy, right?

Yes, that’s how it should be.

After thinking it through, Xiao Zhenzhen directed Xiao Qincheng out of Xiao Family Town and towards the woods in the eastern suburbs. The suburbs offered a vast view, with lush trees surrounding the area.

Xiao Qincheng walked with her hands behind her back along the winding forest path, appearing casual and languid.

“There are still some decent medicinal herbs in these suburbs. Look, this is citronella grass, this is wormwood, and this is alfalfa…”

Xiao Zhenzhen, nestled on Xiao Qincheng’s shoulder, watched her master, who was fascinated by the herbs, and resignedly stored all the herbs into her personal space.

“Master, do you sense any primal energy?”

Xiao Qincheng shook her head: “Not yet.”

“Wow! My esteemed master! Why did you give me such an inept master?”

Hearing Xiao Zhenzhen’s exaggerated complaint, Xiao Qincheng herself began to doubt. Since rebuilding her dantian (energy core), she hadn’t sensed any fluctuations in the nearby primal energy. She should have already reached the first level of primal energy and used it to condense an external display of inner strength.

“I don’t know. Let’s keep going and see.”

After replying to Xiao Zhenzhen, Xiao Qincheng reached out and pulled aside the reeds in front of her, stepping through.

A single step made all the difference.

Before her lay a massive pit valley, about a hundred zhang wide and unfathomably deep.

Xiao Qincheng slightly lifted her foot and leaned forward to take a look. The vertical cliffs inside the pit seemed to have been split open by a giant axe. If not for the mist swirling around, the bottom of the pit would have been clearly visible.

“Master, there’s a faint but dense fluctuation of primal energy down there. Hidden beneath the sea of clouds is a rare treasure.”

Xiao Qincheng narrowed her eyes slightly and nodded: “Yes, I sense it too.”

“Really?”

Xiao Zhenzhen looked at Xiao Qincheng excitedly and said, “More real than a pearl!”

Xiao Qincheng smiled, her eyes flashing with delight and a hint of dominance. At that moment, every pore on her body seemed to open up. Around her, a refreshing and invigorating aura began to slowly envelop her.

“Then, Master, sit down quickly and absorb the primal energy you sense into your body, and then compress it into your dantian.”

Hearing this, Xiao Qincheng immediately crossed her legs and sat on the ground. She gathered her spiritual awareness and felt the primal energy around her begin to flow into her body. She slowly guided this energy along her meridians into her dantian…

As expected, Xiao Qincheng saw a golden vortex in her dantian, which suddenly generated a powerful suction force, quickly absorbing every bit of the primal energy she had drawn in. Delighted, Xiao Qincheng hurriedly continued to absorb the surrounding energy in the same manner.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhenzhen, squatting beside Xiao Qincheng, became restless: “Absorbing so much primal energy and still not breaking through to the first level? What’s going on?”

“Because it’s a golden dantian. Naturally, the breakthrough speed in the early stage will be much slower than those with mediocre talents.”

A cold and domineering voice came from behind.

Xiao Zhenzhen turned around abruptly and rushed over excitedly: “Esteemed Master!”

The man in a purple robe waved his hand slightly, creating a gossamer-thin barrier that enveloped Xiao Qincheng.

“Esteemed Master, I’ve missed you so much.”

Xiao Zhenzhen lay at the feet of the purple-robed man, fawningly rubbing against him. The man barely moved, sending Xiao Zhenzhen flying with a flick of his wrist.

“Whoa, Esteemed Master!”

The shadow following behind chuckled: “This divine beast cub is still so silly and adorable.”

The purple-robed man’s thin lips curled slightly, and the silver mask on his face glowed with a soft light. He took a few steps forward and stood above Xiao Qincheng, looking down at the extraordinary woman.

With a wave of his hand, the butterfly mask on Xiao Qincheng’s face fell to the side.

“Esteemed One, is this Miss Xiao?”

Shadow, who had followed closely, couldn’t help but gasp when he saw Xiao Qincheng’s face.

The purple-robed man narrowed his eyes, a faint smile flickering across his handsome features: “Yes, this is about eighty percent of her true beauty. There are still two parts of the poison left on her face. But even so, she is already倾国倾城 (a beauty that can topple a nation).”

“How… how is this possible?”

“Why not? The former matriarch of the Xiao family was already a beauty that could topple a nation. It makes sense that her daughter is like this.”

As he finished speaking,

there were two “pu-pu” sounds,

and Xiao Qincheng successfully broke through.

“Wow! Master has broken through to the first level of primal energy.”

Xiao Zhenzhen, flying back, exclaimed excitedly.

However, the sound of the breakthrough did not stop with Xiao Zhenzhen’s shout. It was followed by another two “pu-pu” sounds, and Xiao Qincheng directly broke through from the first level of primal energy to the second level. Finally, at the peak of the second level, on the verge of breaking through to the third level, it stopped just in time.

“How is this possible?”

“Why is this possible?”

Xiao Zhenzhen and Shadow exclaimed in unison, both their faces filled with astonishment.

It was common knowledge that breaking through from the first level of primal energy to the second level was the most difficult. The first level was merely about sensing primal energy and inner strength, while the second level marked the true beginning of cultivation. It was like the difference between heaven and earth.

It was well-known that Xiao Qingxue, hailed as the number one talent of the Xiao family, had spent five whole years breaking through from the first level to the second level of primal energy. Yet Xiao Qincheng had done it in just five seconds.

Moreover, Xiao Qincheng possessed a golden dantian, which inherently increased the difficulty of breaking through by more than just a little.

“Why not?”

The purple-robed man smiled, waved his hand, and injected a thread of his own primal energy through the barrier to help Xiao Qincheng consolidate her cultivation.