Chapter 161: Addiction.

Ye Xiu, just about to rest and sleep, suddenly stiffened. Someone had acupunctured his acupoints, rendering him unable to move.

This familiar feeling left Ye Xiu a bit startled, yet also a touch of anticipation.

Then, Dongfang Bubai, dressed in red, appeared before Ye Xiu.

The moment Ye Xiu had long awaited finally began.

Although Ye Xiu didn't know why Dongfang Bubai had come instead of Yao Yue, he didn't bother to find out. He simply enjoyed himself. The only thing Ye Xiu found regrettable was that he was still on the back foot, the passive opponent.

...

[Monthly summary: You have been mentioned sixty-one times in your diary this month. You have gained six months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 65, and you can receive an additional double bonus. Ultimately, you have gained one year and six months of internal cultivation. You also gain the special martial art, "Mind Control."] As

the internal energy accumulated from a year of cultivation surged into her body, Jiang Yuyan felt that she was now infinitely more powerful than before.

After all, before this, she had only cultivated her internal energy for two months. One month was a bonus from the diary's previous visit, and the remaining month was the result of painstaking training after receiving the martial arts.

Now, the diary directly granted her a year and a half of cultivation, which was already 7.5 times her original internal energy. Jiang Yuyan naturally felt that she had become even more powerful than before.

After receiving this year and a half of internal energy, Jiang Yuyan's cultivation also broke through to the fourth level of the Acquired Realm.

Jiang Yuyan's talent for martial arts was quite remarkable. Despite only beginning to practice at such an old age, her progress was still quite impressive, even significantly higher than Ye Xiu's before receiving the diary.

With Jiang Yuyan's aptitude, even without the diary, she would have been able to break through to the Xiantian realm in just a few years through normal martial arts training.

But internal energy cultivation was only one aspect of the puzzle. The special martial arts she had obtained, the "Mind Control Technique," sparked a new light in Jiang Yuyan's eyes. The Mind

Control Technique was a unique martial art that stood apart from ordinary martial arts.

This mind-controlling technique primarily cultivates mental strength. It has no effect on the cultivation of internal gong, or even external gong techniques. However, it can increase a person's mental strength.

Once the mind-controlling technique is mastered and mental strength is enhanced, the practitioner can suggest, hypnotize, or manipulate others, turning them into their puppets.

In a sense, this martial art can be considered quite sinister.

After Jiang Yuyan acquired this skill, her first thought was to use it to control Yao Yue and Dongfang Bubai. However, Jiang Yuyan quickly regained her composure, realizing that controlling Yao Yue and Dongfang Bubai with her current strength was simply impossible.

In other words, among the women around Ye Xiu, Jiang Yuyan felt that after successfully mastering the mind-controlling technique, she would at best be able to control Qu Feiyan.

After all, besides herself, Qu Feiyan and Yi Lin were the only two people around Ye Xiu who had not yet reached the Xiantian realm and were still post-natal warriors.

Yi Lin, while seemingly soft and gentle, seemingly easy to bully, actually recites scriptures daily. While she doesn't cultivate spiritual power through martial arts, the repetitive, tedious recitation of various scriptures has tempered her spiritual strength. Simply speaking, the purity and tenacity of her spiritual power surpasses even Yue Lingshan, who is at the Xiantian realm.

Therefore, even Jiang Yuyan's mind-controlling technique, even if cultivated to perfection, would likely have no effect on Yi Lin.

The only other person is Qu Feiyan. Although Qu Feiyan was one of the first people mentioned in Ye Xiu's diary, for various reasons, Ye Xiu's favorability towards her has only recently begun to improve. Even before that, Ye Xiu rarely mentioned her name. Each reward she received was a guaranteed minimum of one month's cultivation. As a result, Qu Feiyan's current cultivation level is only slightly better than Jiang Yuyan's, at the fifth level of the Acquired Realm. Qu Feiyan

's cultivation level is not high, and she is still young, only twelve or thirteen years old, and has yet to establish herself. So if Jiang Yuyan mastered the art of mind control and wanted to use it to hypnotize or control her, Qu Feiyan would really have no way to resist.

"It doesn't matter. Although my mind control technique isn't good enough right now, as long as I'm strong enough, sooner or later, even Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue will bow down to me." Jiang Yuyan's eyes gleamed with ambition.

...

[Monthly Summary: You've been mentioned one hundred and ninety-one times in your diary this month. You've gained one year and seven months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 80, and you can receive an additional fivefold bonus. Ultimately, you've achieved nine years and six months of internal cultivation. You've also gained the bonus martial art "Nine Yin Manual, Part One."]

Huang Rong had been eagerly anticipating this reward. After reading Ye Xiu's diary entry today, she couldn't help but beam with joy.

Nine and a half years of cultivation was enough to elevate her cultivation to another level.

As these nine and a half years of cultivation flowed into her body, everything felt perfectly natural, as if Huang Rong herself had cultivated for nine and a half years. Her Qi flowed effortlessly, without a trace of awkwardness. Simultaneously, her cultivation began to rapidly soar.

Originally at the eighth level of the Xiantian realm, Huang Rong quickly broke through to the ninth level.

This surge of true qi then disregarded the bottleneck between the Xiantian realm and the Grandmaster realm, propelling Huang Rong's cultivation to a rapid rise.

Grandmaster level one, then two, then three... Grandmaster level six. Only then did Huang Rong's cultivation stabilize.

It must be said that Huang Rong's talent for cultivation was truly exceptional; her aptitude was in fact on par with Dongfang Bubai and Yao Yue.

However, Huang Rong's personality was more lively and her thoughts more complex than theirs, making it relatively difficult for her to settle down and focus on her cultivation. If she followed a routine, even with her exceptional talent, she would never have become a peerless master.

But now, the diary was acting as a cheat, in disguise, aiding Huang Rong's cultivation.

Nine and a half years was enough time for Huang Rong to ascend directly from the eighth level of the Xiantian realm to the sixth level of the Grandmaster realm.

Looking at her own progress, Huang Rong was overjoyed.

Although her current cultivation level couldn't compare to Dongfang Bubai and Yao Yue, Huang Rong's level of cultivation was already high enough to be considered a master.

Furthermore, Huang Rong desperately wanted to find her father, Huang Yaoshi.

Huang Yaoshi, after all, was only at the ninth level of the Grandmaster Realm and hadn't yet reached the Grandmaster realm.

Huang Rong felt that within a month, and after receiving a reward, her cultivation level would surpass her father's.

Huang Rong desperately wanted to find her father and show him her current level of cultivation.

Huang Rong could almost see Huang Yaoshi's astonishment.

Besides her cultivation level, the diary also rewarded her with a martial art from the "Nine Yin Manual, Part One."

Upon seeing this, Huang Rong's joy was even greater than if she had reached the sixth level of the Grandmaster Realm.

Huang Rong knew that her father, Huang Yaoshi, held the Nine Yin Manual in high regard.

Huang Rong's original escape from Peach Blossom Island was due to curiosity leading her to seek out the Old Boy, who then revealed to her that her father deeply valued the Nine Yin Scriptures.

Therefore, Huang Rong was eager to place the first chapter of the Nine Yin Scriptures before Huang Yaoshi, to see his expression.

...

[Monthly Summary: Your diary mentions you ninety-three times this month, granting you nine months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is now 73, allowing you to receive an additional double bonus. Finally, you have achieved two years and three months of internal cultivation, and your proficiency in the Wind God Leg has been slightly enhanced.]

After receiving the reward, Yue Lingshan successfully broke through to the second level of the Xiantian realm. Her control over the Wind God Leg also increased to a certain degree, even reaching the entry level of the martial art.

With Yue Lingshan's second-level Xiantian cultivation, coupled with the entry-level Wind God Leg, she could face even ordinary Xiantian fourth or fifth-level masters without losing.

After all, the Wind God Leg is a Grandmaster-level martial art. Yue Lingshan has decent aptitude for it, but with her natural talent, she might not even reach even

a minor level of mastery in her lifetime. Even if she were to master the Wind God Leg, she wouldn't know how many years it would take. Therefore, with the Wind God Leg mastery, Yue Lingshan's strength increased dramatically.

She was quite satisfied with this growth, but within that satisfaction, she felt a certain envy towards Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, and Huang Rong.

While she felt the rewards she received were decent, they were still far inferior to those of Dongfang Bubai and the others.

However, Yue Lingshan was aware of the close relationship between Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, and Ye Xiu, so she was merely envious, not jealous.

However, she could not help but feel a bit jealous of Huang Rong. After all, Huang Rong was younger than her, and they didn't have that close a relationship. Yet, Huang Rong received more rewards and was more powerful than her. But she had no way to change that.

However, when Yue Lingshan thought about the current Huashan situation, it seemed that besides her parents, only Ye Xiu surpassed her in strength.

Yue Lingshan even felt that even her senior brother, Linghu Chong, might not be able to surpass her.

Therefore, she could be said to be the fourth most skilled master in the Huashan Sect—no, with the hidden Feng Qingyang, she was in the top five.

This thought brightened Yue Lingshan's mood, even though there were only a few remaining members of the Huashan Sect.

...

[Monthly Summary: You have been mentioned 112 times in your diary this month, gaining 11 months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 69, which grants you an additional double bonus. In total, you have gained one year and nine months of internal cultivation. You also gained the bonus skill, "Bone-Dissolving Palm."]

Qu Feiyan was so happy she almost cried when she received this reward.

For three months, she had only received the guaranteed one-month internal cultivation bonus each time, and nothing else.

Now, not only had she been awarded a year and nine months of internal energy, but she had also been given a palm technique. As for the idea that the Bone-Dissolving Palm was a sinister martial art, Qu Feiyan didn't care at all. After all, she herself was from the Sun and Moon Sect, a sect others called evil. She had followed Qu Yang around the world since she was a child, and had seen all sorts of devious ways, so she wasn't averse to unorthodox martial arts.

What's more, the Bone-Dissolving Palm is extremely powerful. Anyone hit by it will have their bones become as soft as cotton, and their death will be extremely tragic. Qu Feiyan is of course very fond of this kind of martial arts.

"Sure enough, I knew that staying in Ye Xiu's presence would net me more benefits. Just like this time, he mentioned me more often in his diary, and my favorability with him has improved significantly. That's why I'm able to get so many rewards." "

However, Ye Xiu will be returning to Huashan soon. After that, I won't be able to hang around him as often as I do now. Will he forget about me? Will he stop mentioning me in his diary?"

"I only have three taels of silver on me right now. It's not enough to ask Ye Xiu to go to a brothel and ask for an Oiran, so my favorability won't improve."

"No, I have to think of a way."

"However, I can just join the Huashan Sect and become Yue Buqun—Ning Zhongze—my disciple, and become Ye Xiu's junior sister. That way, our relationship will be closer, and I'll be around him more often."

"Great, that's a good idea. Decision. When I get back to Huayin County, I'll go directly to the Huashan Sect to become his disciple!"

Qu Feiyan felt increasingly proud, feeling that she had come up with a brilliant idea.

...

And Yi Lin, back at the inn, was still unaware of the diary's existence.

Although Yilin's constant presence around Ye Xiu and the others had given her a deeper understanding of him, her affection for him had unknowingly grown rapidly. To the point where, while reciting Buddhist scriptures, she often thought of Ye Xiu, even occasionally gazing blankly at him.

Yet, Yilin remained unaware that her affection for Ye Xiu was amiss.

She remained the same innocent little nun, except that in her mind, besides the Buddhist scriptures and her sister, there was another figure.

Today, Yilin had gone to bed early, and while she slept, a surge of inner strength infused her, increasing her strength. Meanwhile, in her dreams, a new memory emerged: a martial arts technique called the Bodhi Heart Sutra.

However, since all this happened while Yilin slept, she had no reaction.

...

And far away in Huashan, Ning Zhongze also received her reward.

[Monthly Summary: You were mentioned one hundred and sixty-two times in your diary this month, gaining one year and four months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is now 79, granting you an additional double bonus. Ultimately, you gained four years of internal cultivation. You also received the additional martial art "Flowers and Money Raining from the Sky."]

Speaking of Ning Zhongze, her martial arts talent is quite impressive, but compared to prodigies like Yao Yue, Dongfang Bubai, and Huang Rong, she lags far behind.

With Ning Zhongze's talent, if everything goes smoothly, without any additional support, her ultimate ceiling would likely be just barely breaking through to the Grandmaster realm. Overall, her aptitude is only slightly better than her old father-in-law, Yue Buqun. It

was only because of the diary that Ning Zhongze successfully reached the Grandmaster realm.

After four years of internal cultivation, although she didn't reach the second level of Grandmaster, she was only a step away from breaking through.

Even in terms of internal cultivation alone, Ning Zhongze had already surpassed Yue Buqun.

Ning Zhongze even cultivated the Wind God Leg, so in terms of combat power, she was no less capable than Yue Buqun, who had castrated himself to cultivate the Sword Manual of Exorcism.

Ning Zhongze was delighted with her own strength, and she didn't even feel any envy towards Dongfang Bubai and the others. Even the envy was very subtle. Ning Zhongze was completely satisfied with her own situation and the current state of Huashan.

Despite the current lack of disciples, Huashan had completely met Ning Zhongze's expectations.

The only person Ning Zhongze found somewhat distressing was Yue Buqun.

Especially now that Ning Zhongze had achieved strength comparable to Yue Buqun's, she was at a loss for words.

Yue Buqun's various schemes, culminating in his self-castration to cultivate his sword skills, ultimately proved no match for her.

She felt that Yue Buqun's castration had been in vain.

Especially since Yue Buqun claimed he castrated himself in order to break through his cultivation level, and then protect Ye Xiu, preventing him from dying prematurely.

But now, Ye Xiu's cultivation had long surpassed Yue Buqun's! Ning Zhongze, having castrated himself, didn't dare tell Yue Buqun that Ye Xiu's strength had surpassed his. She feared Yue Buqun wouldn't be able to withstand such a devastating blow, considering he'd already lost himself.

"Ah, I hope Senior Brother can find a way around it," Ning Zhongze muttered to herself.

And Ning Zhongze was worried about Yue Buqun. She—he was currently hiding in his secret room.

But what had once been a bare, empty room was now filled with a wealth of items. There

was a mirror that looked remarkably clear, and a dressing table, upon which lay a comb, a rouge box, red paper, red string, and other items.

These were all items Yue Buqun had secretly moved into the room during this time.

Originally, Yue Buqun had never imagined he would end up like this.

After Yue Buqun castrated himself to practice sword, he thought that since he had already castrated himself, he might as well continue to practice, at least it would enhance his strength.

But the more he practiced, the weirder Yue Buqun's condition became.

Moreover, Yue Buqun was a little addicted to practicing the Sword Manual of Exorcism, even though he realized that something was wrong with him. But Yue Buqun couldn't stop, and he didn't even want to stop, as if he was obsessed or possessed.

Some people can't understand this kind of addiction, just like some people who don't like sports can't understand those who are addicted to running, cycling, and weightlifting. Running and other sports are so painful, how can they be addictive?

But in fact, people are addicted, and they just feel that sports like running are particularly comfortable.