Chapter 194: Gratitude

[Monthly Summary: You have been mentioned eighty-one times in your diary this month, earning you five months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 56, granting you an additional 50% bonus. In total, you have earned seven and a half months of internal cultivation.]

Liu Sheng Piaoxu sensed her growing Qi cultivation, her eyes brightening.

She was almost on the verge of breaking through to the eighth level of the Grandmaster Realm. If she had received a little more reward,

even just another half month of Qi cultivation, she would have reached the eighth level.

This made Liu Sheng Piaoxu feel a little regretful, but at this moment, she became even more certain that as long as she stayed by Ye Xiu's side, she would receive even more rewards.

At the same time, Liu Sheng Piaoxu became increasingly determined to hide her true identity. After all, she was worried that if her Japanese identity were revealed, Ye Xiu might actually drive her away. Even if she didn't dare leave, her favorability would likely plummet.

"Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue. These two names appear most frequently in the diary. Besides being constantly by Ye Xiu's side, they've also developed close relationships with him."

"Also, Ye Xiu's favorability towards them is probably quite high."

"So, if I want Ye Xiu to mention them frequently in my diary, besides finding ways to stay by his side, I also have to find ways to improve his favorability towards me."

"And when it comes to improving the favorability between men and women, physical intimacy is obviously the easiest way to achieve it."

"Just like Murong Qiudi—that woman, I'm afraid Ye Xiu's favorability towards her isn't too low either,"

Liu Sheng Piaoxu thought to herself, then began to plan.

At this moment, Liu Sheng Piaoxu truly felt concerned about her background.

If she weren't Japanese, she wouldn't have to calculate so much, wouldn't have to think so much. She wouldn't have to consider so much if she wanted to get close to Ye Xiu, or even have a relationship with him.

Unlike now, she was still worried that Ye Xiu would see through her Japanese identity, and that his favorability towards her would decrease.

"Thankfully, since my sister's passing, I've been exposed to Central Plains culture. Now, I have a deep understanding of it, no less than an authentic Central Plains person. I don't have to worry about being seen through while I'm pretending," Liu Sheng Piaoxu said with a touch of relief.

"I also need to consider Ye Xiu's personality, as well as the characteristics of Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, and Murong Qiudi. After all, Dongfang Bubai, Yaoyue, and Murong Qiudi are currently the three women closest to Ye Xiu."

Liu Sheng Piaoxu took the diary and flipped through it from the beginning, pondering Ye Xiu's personality and preferences, even including Dongfang Bubai and the other three women.

This wasn't the first time Liu Sheng Piaoxu had pondered this; she had done it countless times.

But to better understand Ye Xiu, she patiently read the diary over and over again.

It could be said that among the many women who had obtained the diary, Liu Sheng Piaoxu was undoubtedly the most proficient in studying its contents.

...

And hidden away in Huayin County—or more precisely, hidden in a cave in a remote, uninhabited corner of Mount Hua—the Tianshan Child-Lao, who had rejuvenated herself and lost all her powers, was also perusing her diary.

More precisely, she was looking at her own reward.

[Monthly summary: You were mentioned forty-two times in the diary this month, earning you four months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 47, granting you an additional 10% bonus. Ultimately, you earned four months and twelve days of internal cultivation.]

Tianshan Child-Lao wasn't entirely convinced by this reward. It seemed strange that she could receive a reward simply because Ye Xiu mentioned her in the diary.

However, the thought of the diary's magical power and the information Lian Nishang had shared with her fueled her anticipation.

"Four months and twelve days of internal cultivation? Not bad, at least it would make things easier for me," she muttered.

The next moment, Tianshan Tonglao felt a surge of zhenqi emerge within her and begin to flow through her meridians. More precisely, it was the internal energy pathways of the Eight Desolate Six Combinations, Uniquely I Am Supreme technique she was cultivating.

Then, to her astonishment, she discovered that her zhenqi was rapidly expanding.

One year, two years, three years... five years... ten years... twenty years... thirty years... fifty years... ninety years.

It wasn't until ninety years of internal cultivation that the zhenqi finally stopped. In the blink of an eye, her cultivation had returned to its peak strength at

the time of her rejuvenation. Furthermore, her zhenqi continued to grow, unwavering.

One day, two days, three days...

Finally, she realized she had gained an amount of zhenqi equivalent to what she would have cultivated in a month and twelve days at her normal cultivation rate.

Crucially, this extra month and twelve days of zhenqi completely bypassed the bottleneck caused by the damage to her meridians.

Pop—

like the sound of a cork being pulled from a red wine bottle.

Tianshan Tonglao had actually achieved a breakthrough!

During this breakthrough, she felt neither the slightest bit of difficulty nor discomfort. Everything was so natural, so spontaneous, so smooth.

Furthermore, after breaking through from the ninth level of Grandmaster to the Grandmaster realm, Tianshan Tonglao didn't even pause. The refined zhenqi she'd accumulated over ninety years rapidly transformed, becoming more refined and surging. She

reached the second, third, and fourth levels of Grandmaster, only then did her zhenqi stabilize.

Sensing the surging zhenqi within her, even sensing herself leaping directly from the ninth level of Grandmaster, almost passing the Grandmaster Vajra realm, and entering the Zhixuan realm, Tianshan Tonglao felt as if she were dreaming.

"I, broke through? Just like that?" Tianshan Tonglao was bewildered and stunned.

She was supposed to rejuvenate for ninety days over the next three months.

She would lose power, then recover at a rate of one year per day, until after ninety days, all her cultivation would be restored.

But now, in the blink of an eye, not only had her power recovered, she had even broken through, becoming a Grandmaster of the Zhixuan Realm.

Tianshan Tonglao even felt that if she didn't want to destabilize her foundation, she could continue to push forward, perhaps even reaching the fifth or sixth level of the Grandmaster Realm.

"What the hell is going on?" Tianshan Tonglao muttered to herself, her mind full of questions.

She subconsciously glanced at her diary and saw the hint it had given her: it had rewarded her with four months and twelve days of cultivation.

"Wait, four months and twelve days of cultivation—my rejuvenation period is ninety days, or three months. During these three months, I'll recover a year's worth of cultivation every day. Ninety days, that's ninety years of internal energy. And then there's one month and twelve days left—this diary, it actually, actually helped me transcend the rejuvenation period?" Tianshan Tonglao's eyes widened, still in disbelief. Tianshan Tonglao

couldn't help but flip through the diary again and again, trying to figure out where this magical power came from.

Three months, ninety days of rejuvenation, was arguably the most dangerous time for Tianshan Tonglao. But now, this period had been completely skipped. Her critical period had just passed like that?

Tianshan Tonglao still found it incredible.

And the most incredible thing wasn't just that the rejuvenation period had passed in a split second; the most incredible thing was that she had actually broken through. She had actually broken through from the ninth level of Grandmaster to the fourth level of Grandmaster,

not to mention the fourth level. The damage she sustained was practically irreversible; she would never reach the level of Grandmaster.

But now, she had become a Grandmaster, completely ignoring the fundamental requirement for Grandmaster status: an intact body free of serious, irreversible damage.

Though she found it unbelievable, Tianshan Tonglao was nonetheless overjoyed at her achievement. No, it should be said she was ecstatic. She

had suddenly reached the fourth level of Grandmaster cultivation, becoming a Grandmaster at the Finger Profound Realm. It was as if she were trying to make up for all the time she had lost.

Of course, if she hadn't been frightened into obsession by Li Qiushui at the age of twenty-six, she would have been a celestial being by now.

The fourth level of Grandmaster cultivation was still far behind her normal cultivation speed.

But Tianshan Tonglao was now content, deeply satisfied.

No longer stuck at the ninth level of Grandmaster, unable to break through, she had become a Grandmaster. Her lifespan had also increased to eight hundred years, leaving her with another seven hundred years to cultivate slowly.

Tianshan Tonglao believed that with her aptitude, she would surely become a celestial being in seven hundred years.

However, she soon discovered that her realm was stuck.

Just like when she was stuck at the ninth level of the Grandmaster Realm, she was now stuck at the fourth level of the Grandmaster Realm, with no way to break through.

"So, only the rewards from the diary can allow breakthroughs, regardless of physical condition or bottlenecks? Otherwise, just like before, no matter how much zhenqi I accumulate, I won't be able to break through—" After a moment's reflection, Tianshan Tonglao understood the situation.

"So, if I want to become a celestial being, I still have to rely on Ye Xiu. This diary is still very important to me—"

After roughly understanding the situation, Tianshan Tonglao felt a little disappointed, but she quickly put it aside. She should be satisfied that she could use Ye Xiu's diary to break through to the Grandmaster level.

After all, the difference between Grandmaster and Grandmaster is enormous.

"Li Qiushui, you bitch! You never imagined my rejuvenation period would end like this!"

"You've probably come to Tianshan by now, looking for me."

"I wonder how you'd feel if you could find me."

Tianshan Tonglao thought of Li Qiushui and couldn't help but sneer in hatred.

Sometimes, Tianshan Tonglao truly hated Li Qiushui.

She'd repeatedly spared her for the sake of her master, Xiaoyaozi, but she simply wouldn't give in.

Every time she'd been rejuvenated, Li Qiushui had always interfered. Tianshan Tonglao knew she wouldn't miss this opportunity.

But now, it was almost gone. Instead, she wanted to find Li Qiushui and show her the way she was now. She wondered if Li Qiushui would be terrified to death if she saw Tianshan Tonglao, a Grandmaster at the Fingering Profound Realm.

The thought of this made her mood even happier.

"Young Ye, it seems I really owe you a favor," Tianshan Tonglao muttered as she gazed at the diary.

After all, in Tianshan Tonglao's eyes, it was Ye Xiu's mention of her in the diary that allowed her to receive the reward. Without him, she wouldn't have been able to smoothly navigate the rejuvenation phase.

Although Ye Xiu himself didn't know about the diary, it was still written by him, so Tianshan Tonglao felt she owed him a debt of gratitude.

With gratitude to Ye Xiu in her heart, Tianshan Tonglao clapped her hands and decided to leave Huashan to find Lian Nishang.

After all, she and Lian Nishang had already formed an alliance, at least in words.

It was only because she needed rejuvenation that she had to separate from Lian Nishang to prevent ambush should her martial arts skills be completely lost.

But now that she no longer needed rejuvenation and her strength had even reached a new level, she no longer needed to be separated from Lian Nishang.

Lian Nishang, meanwhile, was looking at her reward.

However, she couldn't help but frown as she gazed upon it.

[Monthly Summary: You have been mentioned thirty-six times in your diary this month. You have received three months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is now 45, and you will receive an additional 10% bonus. In total, you have received three months and nine days of internal cultivation.]

Just three months of cultivation, entering her body, did not significantly increase her strength.

After all, although Lian Nishang's current cultivation level was at the ninth level of the Grandmaster Realm, it hadn't been there long. At most, it could only be considered consolidation. To reach the perfection of the ninth level of the Grandmaster Realm would require at least two to three years. Therefore, three months of cultivation was not much for her at this point.

"I wasn't mentioned often enough, and my favorability wasn't high either. Naturally, the rewards were meager. If I could be mentioned one or two hundred times like Dongfang Bubai or Yaoyue, and have my favorability maxed out, I'd probably be a Grandmaster by now," Lian Nishang muttered.

It was precisely for this reason that Lian Nishang sought to collaborate with Tianshan Tonglao to jointly fight against Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue.

After all, with Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue around, it would be difficult for her to approach Ye Xiu, let alone improve his favorability.

More accurately, with Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue around, it would be difficult for her to bring Ye Xiu home as her "beloved husband."

Of course, Lian Nishang believed that if Ye Xiu truly became her "beloved husband," he would have to sever ties with Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue. She didn't like sharing her man with other women.

In fact, before meeting Ye Xiu, Lian Nishang had no feelings for him and hadn't considered making him her "beloved husband."

It was only after she saw Ye Xiu and realized how handsome he was, a perfect match for her taste, that she decided to make him her "beloved husband."

Then, Lian Nishang went and grabbed him.

She put away her diary, looked at Xingyun Manor, and scurried inside.

The action was so silent that no one could notice it at all.

In the backyard of Xingyun Manor, Lin Shiyin was sitting at the table, looking at the diary in front of her.

Looking at the reward given to her by the diary, Lin Shiyin couldn't help but sigh softly.

[Monthly summary, you were mentioned less than ten times in the diary this month, and you get a guaranteed one-month internal strength cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 46, and you can get an additional 10% bonus. In the end, you got one month and three days of internal strength cultivation.] It

was only one month of internal strength cultivation, and then Lin Shiyin's cultivation of the second level of the acquired realm was broken through, but it only entered the third level of the acquired realm.

At this level, there is no difference at all whether there is a breakthrough or not.

"Last month was fine. After all, I did meet Ye Xiu, so he mentioned me a few more times in his diary. But now, this month, he hasn't mentioned my name at all. So, in the end, this is the only guarantee..." Lin Shiyin muttered to herself, unable to help but sigh softly. A hint of resentment tinged in her sigh, even lingering within, a sigh that Lin Shiyin herself didn't even notice.

"So, you need to change now. You can't just go with the flow and have no opinions like before."

Just as Lin Shiyin sighed, a voice suddenly rang out, startling her. Then, she saw a very beautiful, even aggressive, woman appear in her room, gazing at her with a half-smile.

"Who are you?" Lin Shiyin asked, startled.

"I'm Lian Nishang. You should know. After all, my name is in this diary." Lian Nishang pointed at the diary in Lin Shiyin's hand.

"Hmm? You can see - you are also the owner of the diary?" Lin Shiyin suddenly realized.

"That's right." Lian Nishang was very impolite, sitting in front of Lin Shiyin, and then summoned a diary.