I CULTIVATED BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE DEMON LORD

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CHAPTER 20: A Shifting Situation

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Chu Li answered his question without a moment's hesitation. "I've never had any dealings with those Sky Sword Sect cultivators, and I have no interest in them whatsoever. Why would I ever deliberately provoke them?"

"Since you say so, Sister, I naturally believe you." Little Lian, back still turned to her, raised his right hand and moved it solemnly in front of himself, as though beginning some kind of formal oath.

Chu Li watched, dumbfounded, as he curled his fingers and gently pried her hand off his arm through the damp sleeve of his artemisia-green robe, and only then did it finally register: she'd spent this entire time completely forgetting to let go of his arm.

Remembering how she'd probably yanked on him a little too hard while catching her breath earlier, Chu Li flexed her fingers, embarrassed. "Sorry about that."

Little Lian suddenly turned to face her.

With the sunlight falling behind him, most of his face fell into shadow, water droplets sliding down the ends of his hair, dripping one after another onto the water in front of him, like the unsettling opening notes of something yet to come.

"Don't do that again, Sister." He paused. "Don't suddenly drag me into a river like that again."

"I understand." Relieved he hadn't pressed further about the Sky Sword Sect, Chu Li absently wrung out her still-dripping sleeve and grabbed his hand, ready to lead him toward the bank. "Let's get out of the water quickly. I can cast a water-repelling charm to dry us both off..."

She waded forward a few steps, only to find Little Lian still rooted in place, not having moved an inch.

"Aren't you coming?" Chu Li stopped, turning back to look at him, puzzled.

Little Lian's gaze traced down to their joined hands, finally settling on hers.

He said nothing, but Chu Li sensed, instinctively, that he didn't particularly want to be held by the hand right now.

Hesitating, she released her grip and turned to walk toward shore.

Only then did Little Lian silently follow after her.

Before Chu Li could even cast the spell herself, two water-repelling charms flew toward them from up ahead.

Qi Ying stood on the opposite bank, lips pursed in an expression that clearly had something to say but was holding it back.

A moment later, the three of them, plus the crane, continued on toward the bamboo grove.

Along the way, Qi Ying couldn't resist muttering to Chu Li under her breath. "You know, the first time I met you, you thought I was about to jump off a cliff and tackled me straight to the ground. And now here you are, suddenly dragging Little Lian into a river? If that river hadn't been shallow, I might have genuinely thought you two had some kind of falling-out and one of you decided to do something drastic!"

"Don't be upset." Chu Li, seated on Dandan's back, reached over and gave Qi Ying's shoulder a small rub.

"What's the point of me being upset? I'm not the one who got dragged into a river." Qi Ying gestured back behind them, lowering her voice. "You should be worrying about Little Lian instead. He used to walk protectively at your left side, and now he's fallen all the way back behind us."

Chu Li turned to look, and sure enough, the boy trailed behind Dandan, keeping a distance of at least ten feet between them.

Ever since climbing out of the river, he'd seemed even more withdrawn than when they'd first set out.

Still, Chu Li didn't lose heart. Once she got some fresh bamboo shoot and old duck soup into him that evening, she was confident it would lift his spirits again.

The Bliss Sect's bamboo grove sat tucked away in a valley to the east, rarely visited by anyone, stretching out lush and green as far as the eye could see.

The earlier storm had been a dry one, with no rain accompanying the lightning, leaving the ground entirely free of mud, which made the whole excursion feel all the more pleasant.

Qi Ying pulled a hoe from her storage ring and tossed it to Little Lian, then, glancing around, cast a quick spell at a spring bamboo shoot poking up about half a foot from the ground nearby.

With a soft "pop," the shoot came free, roots and all, landing solidly in her waiting hand.

She hoisted the shoot, longer than her own arm, over one shoulder and showed it off to Chu Li proudly. "Not bad for my first time digging up bamboo shoots, right?"

"That's nothing. I'll dig up an even more tender one." Chu Li accepted the challenge, quickly spotting a freshly emerged shoot nearby, stepping back several paces, and gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips.

Just as she was about to cast her spell, Little Lian suddenly appeared in her line of sight, seemingly unaware of her intentions, walking straight up to the very same shoot and bringing his hoe down on it.

Reacting quickly, Chu Li managed to redirect the spell, which had been strong enough to send someone flying, standing frozen in place for a good two seconds afterward, her heart still racing. She assumed they'd simply both happened to spot the same shoot and let the matter go.

Turning halfway around, she spotted another freshly emerged shoot and prepared to cast again.

But Little Lian, once more, beat her to it without a word, swinging his hoe down on the very shoot she'd had her eye on.

A little deflated, but sympathetic to how much harder digging by hoe must be for him, Chu Li simply walked off more than ten yards away and started searching for shoots in a different patch entirely.

Surely that would keep her out of his way this time.

Spotting three shoot tips clustered tightly together near the base of a bamboo stalk, Chu Li rubbed her hands together eagerly, forming a hand seal, lining up her aim with the cluster, ready to go for something bigger this time.

Just as Little Lian's figure appeared in her line of sight again, Chu Li, caught off guard, hastily tilted her fingers aside.

But the spell had already been fully charged, and it shot out in an instant before she could pull it back. All she could manage was a sharp cry of warning. "Watch out!"

The boy's back froze mid-motion.

He'd clearly heard her warning and had turned in time, but the hand holding up his hoe remained frozen midair.

The spell grazed past his hand, knocking the hoe from his grip and sending it flying, striking the bamboo stalk behind him instead, and with a resounding crack, a stalk thicker than a person's waist split clean in two.

The upper half, still heavy with leaves, crashed to the ground with a rustling sweep, kicking up a fine cloud of dust, while Little Lian stood perfectly still before the remaining stump, only his hair stirring faintly in the aftermath.

"Are you all right?" Chu Li rushed over, grabbing his hand to check. Thankfully, the spell itself hadn't struck him directly, or the impact would have torn straight through his skin.

Still, the falling hoe had grazed his knuckles on the way down, leaving a thin cut. It wasn't deep, but it stood out sharply against his pale skin.

"Don't worry, I'll just blow on it and it'll stop hurting."

Just as Chu Li reached to lift his hand, Little Lian silently pulled it away, tucking it behind his back.

"What's wrong?" She could feel the boy's mood turning cold all over again. "Are you still upset with me?"

"What right would I have to be upset with you, Sister?" Little Lian bent down, switching to his left hand to retrieve the fallen hoe from the ground, and as he straightened back up, his words drifted past her ear, deceptively light. "Even if you're not worried about wasting spiritual energy on a spell, Sister, aren't you at all worried about me drawing that energy away from you?"

"Is that why you've been racing to beat me to every shoot, and won't even let me touch you?" Understanding dawned on Chu Li, realizing he'd been worrying about her this whole time, and her tone softened accordingly. "You don't need to worry about the energy drain. Elder Yu already told me that contact this minor is perfectly fine. Otherwise, I never would have—"

"Wanted me in the first place?" Little Lian's grip tightened around the hoe's handle, dappled shadows from the surrounding bamboo leaves scattering across his face in fractured patterns.

Chu Li's mouth twitched slightly. "What I meant to say was, if that were really true, I never would have touched you so casually before now."

The two of them stood before the fallen bamboo, caught in an uneasy, unspoken standoff.

"What are the two of you doing, standing there like statues facing opposite directions?" Qi Ying approached, cradling an enormous armful of straight, freshly dug bamboo shoots, half her face obscured behind them, wobbling side to side as though she could barely see where she was going. "I've already dug up over a dozen shoots myself, and Little Lian managed two just now. Why are you still empty-handed?"

"Maybe my standards are just too particular. If I can't find one that meets them, I'd rather come away with nothing at all." Chu Li offered an awkward smile.

"It's only because I kept getting in Sister's way that she hasn't managed to catch anything." Little Lian said it lightly enough on the surface, though the remark subtly undercut her all the same.

Qi Ying seemed to have had enough, dumping the shoots in her arms onto the ground and raising an eyebrow at the two of them. "Something feels off here. Are you two actually talking about bamboo shoots right now?"

Chu Li nodded earnestly. Little Lian, meanwhile, silently scooped up the two shoots by his feet, and the two of them very nearly turned to walk off in opposite directions at the exact same moment.

"Wait, don't go yet, I want to show you both something impressive!" Qi Ying let out a whistle, and with a beat of enormous wings and a resounding cry, the crane came swooping down from above.

Dandan lifted one clawed foot and struck the ground sharply, hooking an entire bamboo shoot, not even fully emerged yet, straight out of the soil in one motion.

Qi Ying snapped her fingers, sending the shoot flying directly into Chu Li's arms, and clapped her on the shoulder proudly. "Well? Not bad, right?"

Chu Li turned the fresh shoot over in her hands, examining it, her jaw nearly dropping. "If I'd known Dandan was this good at digging up shoots, I really should have just stayed in bed today!"

Their bamboo-hunting expedition proved a resounding success.

But on the way back, the three of them, plus the crane, were stopped by Li Yuanfu.

"The rest of the disciples have already gathered at the council hall. I ask that Miss Qi and Miss Chu make their way there quickly, before the elders take notice of the delay."

Qi Ying and Chu Li exchanged a glance, and each pulled out her own message jade slip, finding a faint lingering glow still visible on the surface. Both women pressed their fingers to their temples, embarrassed. "We were out digging bamboo shoots and didn't notice the elders' message."

Only then did Chu Li understand why they'd barely seen any female disciples out and about earlier, though she still had no idea what this sudden gathering was about. "What does the sect need us for?"

Li Yuanfu offered a courteous bow. "You'll understand once you arrive."

With her plans thrown off course, Chu Li had no choice but to hand off the freshly dug shoots to Little Lian, instructing him to head back and get the old duck soup started without her.

Qi Ying gave Dandan similar instructions, telling him to safely deliver both the boy and the remaining bamboo shoots back to Chu Li's quarters.

By the time Chu Li and Qi Ying arrived at the council hall, Elder Wen was already addressing the assembled crowd.

"The sect master has decided that this year's promotion tournament for outer-sect disciples will be expanded into a sect-wide evaluation. All who pass will be promoted. All who fail will either be demoted, or stripped of their disciple status entirely."

An uproar swept through the gathered disciples.

"Why would they suddenly hold a sect-wide evaluation like this? As far as I know, this has only happened once before, and that was because of some once-in-a-millennium calamity, when resources across the whole cultivation world grew scarce, and the sect had no choice but to trim its ranks from within. What's brought this on now?"

"I heard the Demon Realm's currently leaderless, and various factions there are stirring, growing restless. The major sects across the cultivation world are apparently planning a joint expedition against the Demon Realm, and this evaluation's probably meant to prepare for that. I actually spotted some Sky Sword Sect cultivators in our sect earlier today. They were most likely here to discuss the expedition as well."

"This is a disaster. I'm only at the ninth level of Qi refining, still a ways off from breaking through to Foundation Establishment. Outer disciples already sit at the very bottom of the hierarchy as it is. If I can't pass this evaluation a month from now, does that mean I'll just have to pack up and slink back home in disgrace?"

"That's exactly why you need to push harder with your partner, and establish your foundation as soon as possible, so you can advance to inner-disciple status properly. Then you won't have anything to worry about!"

Amid the murmuring crowd, a sharp, mocking voice suddenly cut through the noise.

"You're only at the ninth level of Qi refining and you're already panicking? Chu Li's stuck at the fifth level, and she's not the slightest bit worried."

Chu Li turned toward the voice and found a female disciple dressed in a green robe, someone she vaguely recognized as one of Jin Lan's little circle of friends from the orchard.

Chu Li had no intention of engaging with her, but the woman kept right on talking.

"I'm just saying, so what if someone can throw her weight around in the rear mountains once in a while? With cultivation this weak, lingering around the sect for as long as she has, even given another five years, I doubt she'd ever manage to establish her foundation. If the sect's looking for someone to cut, it should obviously start with her!"

Before Chu Li could respond, Qi Ying had already lost her patience, stepping forward with a clenched fist. "Gu Xuan, keep your gossiping tongue to yourself and stop stirring up trouble. Have you already forgotten what happened to Jin Lan?"

"Oh, I wondered who it was. If it isn't the weirdo Qi Ying, Chu Li's dear best friend." Gu Xuan twirled the jade flute in her hand, looking Qi Ying over with lazy disdain. "I've heard plenty about that dim-witted crane of yours. Clearly takes after its owner, equally dense."

"How dare you say something like that?" Qi Ying looked ready to drive her fist straight into Gu Xuan's face out of pure fury. "I could let it slide if you insulted me, but insult Dandan, and we have a real problem!"

Gu Xuan tilted her face provocatively to one side, as though deliberately inviting the strike. "Go ahead, hit me. If you land a fist on this face, I'll have every right to report you straight to Elder Wen."

Chu Li couldn't stand by and watch this unfold any longer, determined to take Gu Xuan down a peg.

"Ah Ying," she said, a plan striking her all at once, shooting Qi Ying a meaningful, mischievous look. "If you actually throw that punch, this is going to turn into a real disaster!"

Catching Chu Li's cue instantly, Qi Ying switched to an exaggerated, wounded tone, even stomping her foot theatrically. "Little Lian, I've always treated you like my own sister, taking you shoot-digging with me, letting you ride Dandan, and yet you keep siding with outsiders? I'm officially cutting ties with you as of right now!"

Gu Xuan looked on as though watching a show unfold, spreading her hands toward the disciples flanking her. "Look at that, I hadn't even said anything yet, and they're already turning on each other. Truly a lost cause, the both of them."

The words had barely left her mouth when Chu Li threw her arms around Qi Ying, feigning tears. "Ah Ying, how could you possibly cut ties with me? I was only worried that punch might dirty your hands, to the point even the third tier of the dust-cleansing spell wouldn't be enough to wash it off!"

Everyone in the sect knew perfectly well that the third tier of the dust-cleansing spell was specifically designed to deal with decayed matter, particularly effective at removing the stubborn smell of aged, overripe fertilizer.

Gu Xuan's eyes went wide with outrage. "Who exactly are you calling fertilizer?"

Chu Li pretended not to hear, continuing to wail dramatically into Qi Ying's shoulder. "Ah Ying, even if you won't think of yourself, think of your poor Dandan! He's so particular about cleanliness. If you go home with dirty hands, he might not even want to acknowledge you as his owner anymore. And then how am I ever supposed to bum a ride on him again?"

"This is absolutely outrageous!" Gu Xuan reached for her jade flute, only for a thread of spiritual energy to snap around her wrist from behind, infuriating her further. "Who dares interfere with me?"

The people around her fell into immediate silence, and when Gu Xuan whirled around in fury, she found herself face to face with Elder Wen's stern, unimpressed expression, and every trace of her bravado deflated at once. "...This disciple greets Elder Wen."

"Bickering and causing a scene at a sect gathering. Have you no shame at all?" Elder Wen's gaze swept over the assembled group. "If you have this much energy to spare for causing trouble, you'd be better off going home and thinking carefully about how you're going to prepare for next month's evaluation. Even inner-sect disciples can be dismissed from this sect, if their conduct fails to match their standing!"

Once the gathering finally dispersed, Chu Li made her way back to her quarters alone.

Little Lian sat tending a pot of old duck soup, seemingly unaware of her return.

The fresh bamboo shoots Dandan had dug up had already been peeled and cut into small sections, waiting in a bowl to be added to the pot.

Little Lian stared intently at the golden glow of the firewood beneath the pot, thoroughly absorbed.

Chu Li hesitated for a moment, reluctant to disturb him, and quietly slipped back into the inner chamber instead.

Though Gu Xuan's provocation had ultimately backfired, leaving her humiliated in front of Elder Wen, Elder Wen herself was known for being scrupulously fair and impartial toward everyone, without exception.

If Chu Li wanted to remain in the sect, keep access to the Bliss Sect's cultivation method, and use the boy to extend her own life, she would need to give this upcoming evaluation everything she had.

The calming incense filling the room eased some of Chu Li's mounting anxiety, and it suddenly occurred to her that in all her days at the sect so far, she'd never once practiced the Bliss Sect's cultivation method properly.

Chu Li sat cross-legged on the bed, drawing on this body's memory to run through the method once in her mind, then slowly began circulating her breath.

Even without a partner present to assist her, the opening stages of the method could still be carried out on her own.

Following the first tier of the Bliss Sect's cultivation method, Chu Li quieted her mind, sensing the slow flow of spiritual energy within her body, guiding it through three full circuits along her meridians before directing it toward her heart's own pathway.

If this process went smoothly, a cultivator was meant to feel a sudden, overwhelming clarity, everything falling into place at once.

But Chu Li only felt a tight, bitter constriction in her chest, the spiritual energy seeming to catch on something, unable to continue circulating properly.

She wondered if it was simply because, despite this body having belonged to the sect for years, this was the very first time she herself had actually attempted to run the Bliss Sect's cultivation method, causing the energy to grow sluggish and sticky by the time it reached her heart's pathway. She gathered her breath slightly, trying to force the energy forward.

But before she could fully guide the spiritual energy into her heart's pathway, a sharp, metallic taste surged up her throat, and blood erupted from her mouth without warning.

Chu Li stared blankly down at the blood staining the hem of her robe, her head spinning, and felt her consciousness slipping away from her entirely.

Just as she collapsed, a pair of arms opened wide and caught her, pulling her forward into an embrace.

【Author's Note】

【Bonus scene】

Chu Li: Oh no, I faint at the sight of blood!

Ji Wuyan: Oh no, I faint over you.

Chu Li: ???

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