“What are you shy about?”
“Can’t you just say what you want directly?” Qi Huang asked reflexively.
“Stop the nonsense, come if you want, don’t if you don’t,” Cheng Hong Ling said somewhat angrily.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming right away!” Qi Huang was startled and quickly rushed out of the room.
In the blink of an eye, Qi Huang appeared at the main body’s door and reached out to knock.
“Just come in, why are you dawdling?” Cheng Hong Ling’s impatient voice sounded.
“Yes!” Qi Huang smiled awkwardly, quickly pushed open the door and entered the room. The first thing that struck her was a refreshing faint fragrance. It not only contained the scent of Jinming Flower but also a girl’s body fragrance, making it sweet and fragrant.
Qi Huang took a deep breath greedily and her gaze swept around. She was quickly attracted to Cheng Hong Ling, who was sitting in front of the dressing table.
Cheng Hong Ling was elegantly seated on a stool, her back to the door. She was only draped in a translucent thin gauze. Under the bright candlelight, the spring scenery within was dimly revealed. Her fair back had a thin red strap that went from her chest to her waist, tied into an exquisite butterfly knot, accentuating her slender willow waist as if it could be held in one’s hand. Below, her hips exaggeratedly expanded outwards, forming a plump peachy buttock, even wider than her shoulders. From behind, she looked like a perfect葫芦 (gourd) shape.
Qi Huang’s breathing stopped, her eyes fixated. Although she had the exact same figure, the thought that her main body was the peerless immortal beauty she used to look up to made her extremely excited.
“Close the door,” Cheng Hong Ling commanded without turning her head.
“Oh… oh oh…” Qi Huang responded foolishly, then turned absentmindedly to close the door. She then stood awkwardly, a perfect description of her current state being timid and lustful.
“Why are you standing there like an idiot? Come here!” Cheng Hong Ling turned around elegantly. As the thin gauze she was wearing was not fastened at the waist, the spring scenery in front was completely exposed. Her flawless skin, set against the narrow red traditional Chinese undervest, seemed to shimmer with light, blindingly white. The exquisite rose embroidery on the undervest added infinite charm.
Qi Huang’s eyes almost popped out. However, she then fearfully averted her eyes, a visible blush appearing on her face: “You… you should put on your clothes first!”
“I’m not shy, why are you shy? You’re my clone, do I need to be so careful when I’m with myself?” Cheng Hong Ling crossed her legs and swayed leisurely, then changed the subject: “Unless you don’t think you’re my clone!”
Qi Huang was once again stumped. After struggling for a long time, she could only give a sigh of resignation: “Alright, do as you please, it’s not like I’m losing out anyway.”
“Hmph!” Cheng Hong Ling smiled in satisfaction, then got to the point: “I asked you here about your cultivation.”
“What problem? Are you envious of my cultivation speed? It’s okay, I still have a few ghost tomatoes here, you can try them again.” Qi Huang took out a few ghost tomatoes and offered them as if presenting a treasure. However, when she saw the scenery in front of Cheng Hong Ling’s chest, she guiltily averted her eyes again.
“Keep them for tomato and egg stir-fry!” Cheng Hong Ling leaned back cautiously, then said: “I mean, you have a cultivation problem, don’t you understand?”
Qi Huang fell silent. She knew what her main body was referring to.
“You only cultivate your spiritual sense and not your true qi. Your strength grows rapidly. Although it seems successful in the short term, what about the future? Your true cultivation level is only at the Juling Realm. As time passes, this body will gradually age until death,” Cheng Hong Ling reminded her sternly.
Qi Huang did not refute, as she also knew this was an objective fact.
“But there’s nothing I can do. I only inherited a set of skin from you, plus the influence of a Venting Powder, so my cultivation speed is extremely slow. If nothing unexpected happens, I probably won’t have the chance to break through to the Body Refining Realm in this lifetime,” Qi Huang explained helplessly. She also wanted to increase her cultivation level, as it was related to the growth speed of the ghost tomatoes, but the objective conditions did not allow it.
“So, we need to find a way to solve this, we can’t just wait,” Cheng Hong Ling said.
“I’ve thought about it. Actually, there’s a very simple way to solve this problem. Once you reach the Shentong Realm, you can cultivate a stronger body for me again, and from then on, we’ll follow this approach. As long as your cultivation speed is fast enough, I won’t die of old age,” Qi Huang stated her thoughts.
“Shentong Realm?” Cheng Hong Ling smiled noncommittally, then said: “You know, I’m only at Huashen Realm Layer 2 right now. Each subsequent layer will consume exponentially more time and energy. It will definitely take at least two hundred years to reach the Shentong Realm. And your cultivation level is only Juling Realm, with a life limit of only 150 years. Can you wait until then?”
Qi Huang was rendered speechless. She was, after all, someone who had seen the world and knew that her main body was not exaggerating. Once a cultivator reached the Huashen Realm, the difficulty of cultivation was not comparable to before. Even with ample resources provided by her, it would definitely not be something Cheng Hong Ling could achieve in a few decades.
“There are too many trivial matters now, we’ll figure out a solution later,” Qi Feng pondered for a moment and said.
“Later? Do you know I’m already 18 years old? That means your body is also 18. Once a girl passes this age, her body will stop growing and will gradually age. If left unchecked, the difference in our appearance will only grow larger. I don’t want to go out with a clone who has a wrinkled face,” Cheng Hong Ling insisted, as girls are generally concerned about their appearance.
“Then what do you suggest? I can’t do anything anyway!” Qi Feng sat down on a chair, resigned to fate.
“I really have a way to speed up my cultivation!” Cheng Hong Ling’s lips curled up triumphantly.
“What way?” Qi Feng quickly inquired.
“Body-Substitution Technique!” Cheng Hong Ling said profoundly.
“Body-Substitution Technique? I haven’t heard of it. How does it substitute?” Qi Feng asked blankly.
“Let me ask you, what factors affect a cultivator’s cultivation speed? I’m talking about ordinary cultivators, not your unorthodox methods,” Cheng Hong Ling asked back instead of answering.
“Bloodline, cultivation method, and talent,” Qi Feng replied without hesitation, then quickly added: “And spiritual sense.”
“Correct, bloodline is a cultivator’s starting point, the cultivation method is the path she chooses, and talent determines how far she can go. As for the strength of spiritual sense, it means how fast she can go. After all, the circulation of true qi in the body relies on the牵动 (pulling) of spiritual sense. The faster the true qi circulates, the faster the rate of absorbing spiritual energy,” Cheng Hong Ling explained carefully.
Qi Feng nodded subconsciously, as this was a truth understood by every cultivator.
“And your spiritual sense has already reached the Tianqiao Realm. If you were to control my body for cultivation, my strength would increase more than tenfold,” Cheng Hong Ling’s beautiful eyes lit up.
“Makes sense!” Qi Feng’s eyes lit up, but then she frowned: “But the problem is, I’m just your soul. How can I control your body?”
“This is what I call the Body-Substitution Technique! In the cultivation world, there is a cultivation technique that allows the life soul and the three souls and seven vital souls to temporarily exchange positions,” Cheng Hong Ling said, her words shocking.
“Really? That would be great! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Qi Feng was overjoyed. If this method really worked, she could help her main body improve her strength to the greatest extent.
“Because there are preconditions for executing this Body-Substitution Technique,” Cheng Hong Ling endured and said.
