Today, Qiu Wuji painstakingly bargained down the price of stir-fried pig liver, but Chu Ge didn't get to eat it.
Because after drinking that cup of tea, he entered a meditative state…
Qiu Wuji ate alone, sulking, and stuffed the remaining food into the refrigerator. He regretted offering him that tea before the meal; he shouldn't have presented him with that precious gift.
He should have realized it sooner. Chu Ge wasn't a cultivator like Qiu Wuji, who was constantly bathed in spiritual energy. It was more like a long-awaited rain after a drought. The sudden cleansing of spiritual energy was like suddenly breathing fresh air after being in a closed environment for a long time—the initial feeling of oxygen intoxication was normal.
He'd get used to it. The spiritual energy in that purple clay teapot was ultimately thin; once he got used to it, it would just be beneficial drinking water.
However, this was indeed quite significant. Perhaps he could achieve a breakthrough after waking from this meditative state, and maybe even break through that minor bottleneck of the Golden Bell Shield technique in one go.
Speaking of which, what was the bottleneck he faced in achieving the minor mastery of the Golden Bell Shield technique? It seems he modified it…
Why did he have to modify it like that!
Qiu Wuji sighed, ultimately deciding not to disturb Chu Ge. After thinking for a moment, he realized Chu Ge's meditation had come so suddenly that he couldn't judge how long it would last. So he posted a notification in the group chat and the pinned book review section: "Chu Ge isn't feeling well today. There will only be the morning updates, nothing else."
Truly a dedicated assistant; he'll have to get him a raise later!
The group members reacted with surprise: "Ah, Chu Ge has been going at it for almost two months! Is he exhausted?"
"Then get some rest. Don't rush things."
"What's wrong? A cold?"
Qiu Wuji felt a warmth in his heart. Despite these guys constantly criticizing Chu Ge for his short and incomplete writing style, they actually cared about him when something was wrong. Perhaps it was the trust Chu Ge had built up; there really weren't many writers as diligent as him.
"It's nothing, just a minor cold," Qiu Wuji began to lie for him. "A little rest, and I'll probably be fine by tomorrow."
"Oh, that's good...wait a minute!" The group members noticed the oversight: "Sect Leader Qiu! My Qiu Qiu! Are you really living with Chu Da?!"
Qiu Wuji panicked: "What? Are you guys going to ban me again?"
The group members pointed out: "Otherwise, how do you know so much about Chu Da's situation? Not only did you know he was sick immediately, but you also know what illness he has, how serious it is, and when he'll recover!"
"Tch, I thought it was something special," Qiu Wuji sent a disdainful emoji: "Now you guys are also..." "Got it?" Group member: "?"
"It's just that Chu Da messaged me privately, is it that hard to think about something so simple?"
"We still feel something's off... Why didn't he just say it in the group chat, but messaged you privately first and asked you to say it?" Qiu Wuji bit his lower lip, typing with increased force: "Did you all know he wanted to date me today?!"
The group was quiet for a moment, then started to rebel: "Why? Is the author so great? Can they even pre-order Qiu Qiu's work?"
"Get out of here, Qiu Qiu is mine!"
"Rebellion! Rebellion! I'm rebelling!"
Qiu Wuji activated a group-wide mute.
The world fell silent.
Qiu Wuji breathed a sigh of relief, he'd managed to fool them... at least he wasn't caught living with a female fan.
His face was still a little hot; he'd actually said "he wanted to date me" himself... Was a group-wide mute bad? Would it have a negative impact on him...? Qiu Wuji secretly glanced at the group, then quietly unmuted it. Then, seemingly fearing a potential rebellion in the group chat, she simply closed it and stopped reading.
"I'm busy now, I can't be bothered with your nonsense."
Qiu Wuji opened her document and began writing her "Qiu Wuji Autobiography."
This autobiography was much more comfortable than Chu Ge's main text; there was no pressure to update daily, she could write as much as she wanted. Qiu Wuji leisurely brewed herself a cup of spiritual tea, grabbed some milk candy, and planned to write a thousand words a day.
But she had only written a few lines, just getting into the mood, when Qiu Wuji's eyes sharpened, and a tremor ran through her heart.
Something happened to the original owner?
My original owner was taking a bath! Who's spying on me?!
... The details of Chu Ge's meditation this time were somewhat unspeakable.
Since receiving nourishment from spiritual energy, his magical power had been soaring, and Chu Ge himself instinctively felt that a breakthrough would be just around the corner.
But then he encountered a peculiar bottleneck.
Because his current fundamental technique is the Golden Bell Shield, and his Qi circulation follows the Golden Bell Shield's operational path. However, the Golden Bell Shield has reached a bottleneck and needs tempering.
How do you temper this? By poking a durian?
Or by getting beaten up? He can't take that beating!
So his magical power surged wildly towards a certain area, rushing through his meridians and acupoints, causing Chu Ge to become congested, both painful and swollen.
He felt like he couldn't possibly pass this hurdle…
In this passive meditative state, consciousness is very hazy; only the magical power is circulating, nothing else. He doesn't think about stopping, he doesn't even think about stopping; he only subconsciously searches for a solution.
Chu Ge's first instinctive reaction was to think of Qiu Wuji.
If only he could be close to her, it would definitely alleviate the pain… If he could… well, maybe he could break through, in every sense of the word…
However, Qiu Wuji wasn't by his side; his consciousness was hazy, and he couldn't even imagine what Qiu Wuji looked like.
In a hazy state of consciousness, Chu Ge seemed to see the scene he had observed while typing: Chu Tiange was talking to someone, about to enter a secret place.
Chu Ge thought with disdain, "Why are you guys watching? I'm not a male otaku! Where's my Qiuqiu?"
Oh right, Qiuqiu exists in this world too!
With a thought, the scene shifted, as if directly locking onto Qiu Wuji's location. His gaze was now on the back of Qiu Wuji's main peak in the Cloud Peak Mountains, a secluded courtyard with a pool of water.
Amidst the misty clouds, the sound of rushing water could be heard, and faint traces of snow could be seen.
Qiu Wuji was taking a bath?
Chu Ge's eyes lit up.
"Splash!" A sound of water came from the mountains. Qiu Wuji, who had been hiding in the water, looked up angrily, searching for the source of the spying.
Then he saw Chu Ge's excited face seemingly appearing faintly in the void.
Qiu Wuji: "?" The lecherous thief is you?!
Chu Ge was excited, while Qiu Wuji didn't react immediately, seeing much more...hehehe. Oh, not only that, her hiding in the water offered no cover whatsoever, completely unable to block the gaze of the Heavenly Dao. Even her protective techniques were useless; the Heavenly Dao saw everything!
"You're still looking! Still looking?"
Qiu Wuji was practically fuming. Her original body stabbed her flying sword into the sky.
It passed right through, completely unharmed.
The phantom even got closer, its expression not only wanting to see, but also wanting to get close, its expression like the drooling emojis sent by idiots in a QQ group chat.
"You really think I can't do anything to you, you lecherous thief?!" Qiu Wuji sneered, withdrawing her techniques and no longer bothering to block.
"Bang!" In the rented room, Qiu Wuji kicked open Chu Ge's door menacingly, grabbed the sitting Chu Ge, and slammed a punch into his face: "You lecherous thief, wake up!"
A faint golden light appeared, and Chu Ge tilted his head, still drooling and grinning, completely unconscious.
Seemingly sensing Qiu Wuji's touch, he unconsciously hugged her: "Qiuqiu~ my Qiuqiu~"
Qiu Wuji was furious.
They were just joking around in the group chat, and you actually took it seriously!
She grabbed his groping hand and viciously threw him over her shoulder: "Die!"
"Thump!" Chu Ge landed heavily on the ground, his groin throbbing against the floor, instantly waking him up. He curled up on the floor like a shrimp.
In the book's world, the Heavenly Dao manifested as a phantom, its hands tucked behind its back, hovering in front of Qiu Wuji.
Qiu Wuji's eyebrows furrowed, her left hand clutching her chest, and with a "smack" of her right, the Heavenly Dao vanished.
Chu Ge, curled up on the floor, opened his eyes.
Golden light solidified; the Yin Gate under the Golden Bell Shield was fully forged, achieving minor completion of the Golden Bell Shield.
Carefully looking up at Qiu Wuji, whose eyes were wide with rage, Chu Ge knew what had happened. He cautiously forced a smile and said, "Um... I broke through and need energy replenishment. I'm a little hungry." A woman's slipper sole loomed large before his eyes: "Die, Chu Ge!"