Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: Sis is a Savage

In the throes of agony, Song Jiulai had lost all track of time.

’Is Foundation Establishment this painful for everyone else?’

She didn’t know.

All she knew was that the pain was so intense she was about to pass out. Her body trembled uncontrollably, but through it all, she could faintly hear the system’s voice.

"It’s a good thing I had the foresight to give you that Soul Cultivation Heart Method. Otherwise, you’d be completely screwed right now."

Song Jiulai trembled, her head buzzing. It felt like an eternity before she finally managed to respond. "Quick, put on a variety show for me... I need a distraction..."

System: "..."

It actually put one on for her.

Song Jiulai watched the variety show through the pain. Whether it helped or not was debatable, but after what felt like at least four hours, the agony suddenly snapped like a taut string. In that instant, her mind went completely blank.

In an instant, an indescribable feeling of comfort followed.

The meridians in Song Jiulai’s body were completely reforged, and Spiritual Energy began to pool and circulate anew.

Her meridians were thicker and more robust than before, and the Spiritual Energy flowing into her body had reached a whole new level.

She had officially succeeded in her Foundation Establishment.

A light rain began to fall around Song Jiulai’s hut. A vast amount of Spiritual Energy spread through the air—an even purer form of it, a small reward from the Heavenly Dao for a successful Foundation Establishment.

Song Jiulai sat up and began absorbing the rain, which was formed from Spiritual Energy. A soothing sensation spread through her entire body.

It was as if the pain from before had been nothing but an illusion.

Only the throbbing in her brain remained.

But Song Jiulai could clearly feel that she had changed.

She could ’see’ something inside her head.

It was a bead.

It was identical to the one Dahuang wore.

The only difference was that this bead, located inside Song Jiulai’s brain, was now emitting a faint, hazy glow.

And Song Jiulai felt something indescribably strange about her own mind.

It was as if she could separate from her physical form to observe the inner workings of her own body.

When in doubt, ask the system. Song Jiulai was utterly shocked. "This can’t be you, can it, System?"

"Pfft, as if I’m that low-Level," the system said. "I’m not bound to your brain at all; I’m imprinted on your very soul. You wouldn’t understand it right now. It’s a good thing the Soul Cultivation Heart Method you practice strengthens the soul, otherwise you would have literally died from the pain just now. Liu Yao left you a great treasure, but she also didn’t give a damn whether you lived or died. She forcibly opened your Sea of Consciousness."

The Sea of Consciousness.

That was something only a Golden Core cultivator should begin to develop and cultivate.

With a Sea of Consciousness, a Cultivator could split off a part of their own will.

They could even observe other Cultivators at will.

They could also bind with High Level Magic Treasures, hiding them within their Sea of Consciousness and controlling them with a mere thought.

It was even more effective than a Forbidden Curse.

A Forbidden Curse can be dispelled, but a person’s will is almost impossible to erase completely, unless they are crushed by someone of a vastly higher cultivation Level.

Ultimately, with a Sea of Consciousness, as long as a single sliver of your consciousness remains, you can possess another body and tenaciously survive.

Of course, one’s own body was still the best.

"Damn, no wonder it hurt like hell." ’Forcibly skipping cultivation Levels to open a Sea of Consciousness... that’s definitely not something a normal person could endure.’

"Then this bead..."

Song Jiulai consciously tried to move the bead.

But the bead remained fixed in the center of her mind, refusing to budge an inch.

She could only feel it voraciously absorbing the Spiritual Energy within her, causing her body’s own absorption rate to skyrocket to several times faster than before.

The surrounding Spiritual Energy was nowhere near enough for her to consume.

"The bead is stabilizing your Sea of Consciousness. I can’t scan it to figure out what it is yet, mainly because your Level is too low and you’re dragging me down. That Liu Yao must be at least at the Nascent Soul Stage. Still, it’s a good thing; there are no downsides."

If it had any downsides, I would have rejected it long ago.

"So this bead is what Senior Liu Yao left behind. It actually took me straight from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment," Song Jiulai muttered, then let out a sly little laugh. "I’m the strongest in the Sect again! HAHAHAHA! I’m at the Foundation Establishment Stage now! Let’s see which ’player’ can out-grind me now!"

After she finished absorbing, Song Jiulai stood up. She could feel that her reserves of Spiritual Energy were unnaturally abundant.

She didn’t feel like a normal Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

Back in the Late-stage Qi Refining, she’d have to pop some pills after just a few moments of fighting three people.

But now, with her abundant Spiritual Energy, she felt like she could take on three Early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators at once.

Song Jiulai had a vague inkling. "Is my Spiritual Energy more profound than other people’s?"

"Yep. With a Sea of Consciousness, your Spiritual Energy will now grow exponentially. The earlier you develop one, the better," the system remarked. "You really hit the jackpot. That Liu Yao is the real deal—when she gives you treasure, she doesn’t hold back. But this... this isn’t something the average person could have handled."

’It even had other suspicions. How could its host have obtained it so coincidentally?’

"Why?"

The system said, "The force of that impact just now would have made any other Cultivator’s head explode."

They’d never have survived to reach Foundation Establishment.

It’s a fantastic treasure, but you have to be worthy of taking it.

Song Jiulai rubbed her cheeks, suddenly feeling like she’d hit the absolute jackpot on this trip to the Secret Realm.

System: "Aren’t you going to think about what would have happened if you had died just now?"

Song Jiulai didn’t care in the slightest. "Why jinx it? The point is, I’m still alive, aren’t I?"

System: "Great attitude!"

’As long as I’m still alive, it’s not a big deal.’

While she was going through her Foundation Establishment, the big yellow dog had been watching the entire time. Despite the massive fluctuations in Spiritual Energy, it just squatted to the side, observing quietly.

Song Jiulai went over and gave his head a good, hard ruffle. "Da Hu, oh, Da Hu, you’re a lucky star! Both you and your master!"

Just now, inside there, Liu Yao had told her the dog’s name was Da Hu.

Song Jiulai was still a little disappointed she couldn’t name him "Get Rich."

Da Hu seemed much happier this time, squinting his eyes and almost smiling as Song Jiulai ruffled his head.

The system said, "The really lucky one is the person who sold you the key."

If that Cultivator ever found out, he’d regret it so much his guts would tie themselves into 108 knots.

"True that," Song Jiulai nodded. "I should buy some fine meat and wine and pay him a visit one of these days."

Song Jiulai carefully placed the books she brought back from Liu Yao on her shelf.

Even though they were just ordinary books, they were still treasures. It was all thanks to Master Liuyao.

She opened the book that told Liu Yao’s story.

Suddenly, she discovered a slip of paper.

This slip of paper definitely hadn’t been there before, which surprised Song Jiulai.

’That makes no sense.’

Song Jiulai opened the slip of paper to look.

A single line was written on it.

["To this day, I still regret my mistake. My fault was not in my actions, but in not waiting until I was strong enough. Otherwise, once I had killed everyone who knew, who would have been left to question whether I was wrong?"]

Song Jiulai: "..."

System: "...And here I was thinking she’d been brainwashed. Turns out I was the one being too soft."

This was in response to Liu Yao’s earlier admission that she had done something wrong.

’So when my "sister" here said she’d made a mistake, *that’s* the kind of mistake she meant, huh.’

’She’s not just ruthless...’

’She’s a straight-up savage.’