The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - Chapter 12

The orb of light was hazy, its outline indistinct, like swirling stars. Moments later, the faint golden lightning dissipated, the tea fell back into the cup without a single drop splashing out, as if it had never gathered at all.

Chu Zaishuang held the teacup, unable to resist rubbing her eyes. “Did I just see that right?”

[I saw it too, there was a water-and-lightning orb!] Xiao Shi, not knowing what the orb was, could only describe it succinctly.

Since contracting Soul Separation Syndrome, Chu Zaishuang had never successfully performed a technique. She hurriedly rose from the chessboard, glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, and sneaked behind a tree.

A gentle breeze stirred, rippling the water. The large tree stood close against a rocky cliff, the stones and trunk forming a barrier-usually a place to stash miscellaneous items, with many bamboo baskets scattered about.

Chu Zaishuang crouched in a corner, still holding the teacup, and chanted, “Spring unites the six directions, all things find their place, myriad phenomena are empty, one spirit alone appears.”

The water’s surface trembled, but no orb appeared.

“Golden mechanism, flying lightning, emptiness begets brightness, round and spinning, neither mist nor smoke.”

Still, the teacup showed no reaction.

[Huh, why isn’t it working? Maybe you have to sing it?]

“That can’t be it. Some people don’t even need to recite anything to perform techniques, singing shouldn’t matter…” Suddenly inspired, Chu Zaishuang took a deep breath and tried, “Spring unites the six directions, all things find their place, myriad phenomena are empty, one spirit alone appears!”

As soon as she finished speaking, the orb of light responded, crackling as it shot out of the water, streaked with electricity, shining brilliantly in the air.

[It worked!] Xiao Shi saw the water-and-lightning orb clearly, then wondered, [But why is there lightning? Weren’t you using the Rippling Water Technique?]

The Rippling Water Technique was supposed to condense the Primordial Spirit Flower from clear water-there was no reason for golden lightning to appear.

Chu Zaishuang suddenly understood. “Because I was silently reciting the Golden Lightning Technique. Turns out, it only works when I use both at the same time.”

Cultivators didn’t always need to speak aloud to perform techniques. As the saying went, the heart moves with intention, intention arises from the heart. Only beginners often recited incantations to guide their mindset and intent. Once proficient, a mere turn of thought would naturally release the technique.

Now, it was hard to say whether this was the Rippling Water Technique or the Golden Lightning Technique-the two techniques had been combined by her. For the first time, she had mastered the art of Gathering Qi and Condensing Essence, and she could faintly sense her spiritual energy increasing, feeling quite intrigued.

[I think I can feel the gathering of Qi too.]

“But what’s the principle behind this?” Chu Zaishuang pulled a bamboo basket over, lifted the lid, and began searching through various books. “I remember my brother once said that a cultivator can’t perform techniques just by gathering Qi; there must be a foundation to carry it, only then can it be released. That’s the importance of condensing essence. But after I got sick, my parents checked with spiritual energy and said I didn’t have a Dao Heart.”

Spiritual energy was like something intangible, while the Dao Heart was like something tangible. Only when the intangible and tangible were in harmony could one turn the intangible into the tangible, releasing spiritual energy as a technique. Without a Dao Heart, there was nowhere for spiritual energy to settle-this was why she couldn’t perform techniques.

But now, it seemed she had a Dao Heart.

[What are you looking for?]

“There should be some of my childhood books here. My brother once taught me basic cultivation, but I don’t know where they ended up.”

Chu Zaishuang took out the chess manuals from the bamboo basket one by one, but soon realized this was too slow. She simply dumped everything out and began searching for the introductory books while sitting on the ground.

There were all sorts of odds and ends in the basket. Once overturned, everything spilled out: a small wooden sword made by her father, a little jade pendant from her mother, a fishnet her brother had woven, a jar of roast duck seasoning from Aunt Sun, and more, all in a messy pile. She searched for the books absentmindedly, occasionally fiddling with the various items, playing with them with great interest.

[That’s enough, aren’t you looking for a book?] Xiao Shi reminded her. [You really should fix your habit of never throwing away old things. These bamboo baskets are about to burst.]

“I am looking, I am! If I don’t keep them, what if I need them someday?” Chu Zaishuang argued. “See, now the old books are coming in handy.”

Before long, she found the introductory cultivation book, which recorded various Gathering Qi and Condensing Essence techniques, including the Rippling Water Technique. Chu Zaishuang quickly flipped through it, picked out two techniques, and combined them as she had before.

“Wood stands firm in the marsh, flourishing in its place, at peace with the ordinary, following the path of the heart.”

The two new techniques were combined, but the ground remained flat-nothing happened.

“That’s strange, what’s going wrong? Is it not enough to use them at the same time?” She was completely at a loss, and casually recited, “Spring unites the six directions, all things find their place, myriad phenomena are empty, one spirit alone appears.”

All around was silent, still no reaction.

She tried again: “Golden mechanism, flying lightning, emptiness begets brightness, round and spinning, neither mist nor smoke.”

From the damp earth, a sprout of green emerged, its leaves gradually unfurling. Lightning flashed from the leaf tips, gathering into a flowing orb of light!

The Wood Marsh Technique and Golden Lightning Technique worked together!

Chu Zaishuang hurriedly continued flipping through the book. After several experiments, she gradually figured out the pattern-the key was to use the Golden Lightning Technique. Other techniques combined were ineffective; only when used with the Golden Lightning Technique could she succeed.

Yet the Golden Lightning Technique had been taught to her by Fei Wanghuai, and she had no idea where he had learned it.

“I’m doomed. If I go ask him, wouldn’t I be walking right into his trap?” Chu Zaishuang held up the teacup, carefully observing the orb of light, and fretted, “I just told him I didn’t have a Dao Heart, and now I’ve managed to condense this. If he finds out I lied, I’ll be asking for trouble.”

Fei Wanghuai was a stickler-a smiling tiger. He’d surely hold it against her, and just thinking about it gave her a headache.

[If we can figure out where the Golden Lightning Technique comes from, maybe we can cultivate properly.]

Chu Zaishuang suddenly realized, quickly withdrawing her hand to disperse the orb. “Wait, but should I even cultivate?”

She’d been driven by curiosity, eager to uncover the principles behind the techniques, which was why she’d spent half the day experimenting so enthusiastically. Now, her excitement had faded, her mind cooled, and she slipped back into her usual state of indifference and lack of motivation.
[Since we’re already here, and since we have Dao Heart, why not just…]

“My Dao Heart is just a ball of light, not in the form of a Primordial Spirit Flower. It’s obviously abnormal,” Chu Zaishuang analyzed. “Besides, my constitution is special. Before I got sick, my cultivation was extremely slow. If I really put in effort, it would be very troublesome-it’s twice the effort for half the result compared to others.”

[What do you mean?]

She slumped to the ground, like a little fish stranded on the shore: “Otherwise, let’s just forget about it right here, lose our memory of this matter. Just thinking about it is exhausting.”

Xiao Shi: [?]

Xiao Shi: [There is no difficulty in the world, as long as you’re willing to give up?]

“But I do kind of want to know what my Primordial Spirit Flower is. It has nothing to do with cultivation; I just want to understand myself,” Chu Zaishuang silently recited in her heart. The tea liquid condensed into a ball of light, slowly flying into her palm, illuminating her apricot eyes. “The book says that the Primordial Spirit Flower is the true heart of a cultivator’s sea of consciousness, outlining a person’s genuine nature. No matter how much one hides behind words and actions, the Primordial Spirit Flower cannot lie.”

Chu Bingxiao’s is a lotus-upright and open, neither clinging nor branching. Fei Wanghuai’s is Rosa Multiflora-late-blooming in the spring chill, gathering fragrance along the way. Their Primordial Spirit Flowers, more or less, depict their true selves, sharing an inner commonality.

The universe is infinite, the world vast; humans are but a grain in a great barn. As insignificant as she is, does she also have a profusion of flowers reflected within? What would her flower language be?

She had no interest in soaring through the heavens or profound duels-she simply wanted to use the Primordial Spirit Flower to understand herself.

Xiao Shi pondered for a moment, then suggested: [Then why not just focus on Gathering Qi and Condensing Essence? Isn’t it said that the reason you can’t form a proper Primordial Spirit Flower is because your technique is unrefined? Once you sculpt the ball of light into a flower and see it clearly, the matter is settled. Wouldn’t that work?]

She blinked: “Makes sense. Anyway, my cultivation is low, so I can only use basic techniques. I couldn’t learn anything harder even if I tried.”

No sooner said than done, Chu Zaishuang got up, holding her teacup and practicing repeatedly. Before long, she became proficient in the two techniques, able to use them freely. She was now at the early stage of Three Leaves, slowly Gathering Qi with the Golden Lightning Technique. When her cultivation rose higher, maybe she could finally condense a flower.

Her constitution was special, so her progress in cultivation was as slow as a crawling turtle. Fortunately, there was no rush-she could take her time.

She was a good-for-nothing, but extremely patient. Since she was useless, reading all manner of useless books and doing all sorts of useless things was perfectly reasonable-no need to expect much in return.

This also meant that, for anything, she either didn’t do it at all, or she persisted for a long time. Whether it was studying chess manuals or learning to roast duck, as long as she had an initial push, even the dullest things became enjoyable.

The Golden Lightning Technique was no exception.

*

Deep into the night, a single lamp flickered. Inside the room, a ghostly blue flame danced-it was the means by which a demon cultivator sent messages.

Fei Wanghuai had finished his lessons for the day. Suddenly recalling the events of the day, he asked abruptly, “Bone Elder, is there really anyone in this world who can see through a person’s heart at a glance?”

Bone Elder was puzzled: “Your Highness, do you mean by technique, or…”

“I pride myself on not giving anything away, and I treat her decently, but she seems to suspect me,” Fei Wanghuai frowned. “Though things are calm for now, I still feel powerless.”

He mulled over the confrontation from earlier, unable to figure out what had given him away. He had followed the advice of mortals at the foot of the mountain-offering Osmanthus Bun, holding back during sword practice, shielding her from Lu Hewei-yet she seemed unmoved, even listened to Lu Hewei, and had no trust in him at all.

If he wanted to uncover her cards, he had to make her drop her guard. But though she appeared obedient and docile, she actually controlled the rhythm between them. She seemed to be led by him, but at the critical moment, she would slip away-clearly she was just humoring him.

She called herself a good-for-nothing, but treated him as a fool.

“Your Highness, the Charm Clan has always excelled at weaving illusions and beguiling hearts. Your mother once said, ‘When falsehood is made real, reality becomes false; where there is nothing, something appears, and where there is something, nothing returns.’ The most powerful illusion is one that feels completely natural-even the caster believes it. Bone Elder said, “In truth, you don’t trust your own words and actions, so how could the other party not notice?”

“Because of Soul Transmission Dream, you have emotions toward her, so you push too hard, which easily arouses her suspicion.”

Fei Wanghuai smiled faintly: “Heh, she’s the one trying to assassinate me, and you want me to have no feelings?”

“If you can’t endure small things, you’ll ruin great plans. The tighter you grip the sand in your hand, the faster it slips away. When you can control your impulses of joy and anger, perhaps that’s when the illusion becomes reality.”

The night wind was cold, occasionally rattling the wooden window. The white-robed youth leaned against the bedside, silent for a long time after hearing these words, as if pondering something. The sapphire necklace at his neck gleamed coldly, set against his collarbone, making his skin appear jade-white, like blue ink flowing over rice paper.

“Setting aside Soul Transmission Dream, is there really nothing she’s good at, as the future Supreme Immortal Realm Sovereign?”

“Good at?”

Bone Elder gently suggested, “Yes. If you temporarily set aside your hatred and honestly examine her strengths and weaknesses, you might find the key to breaking the deadlock.”

Fei Wanghuai lowered his eyelids, thought for a long time, and replied, “She’s good at irritating me.”

“What?”

He counted on his fingers and calmly replied, “She’s eloquent and good at irritating me with words. Her chess skills are superb-she irritates me with chess. She pretends to be obedient and sensible-she irritates me with her uselessness. She’s overly perceptive and clever-she irritates me by listening to petty people.”

The more he thought about it, the more he realized-she was just good at irritating him.

“…”

Bone Elder was speechless for a moment. He had intended to persuade the other to let go of his emotions and act calmly, but now felt he was doing a pointless job.

He sighed deeply: “Your Highness, I feel for your situation, but your words still carry hatred for her.”