But Dongfang Cangwu paid no mind to Yan Jiaojiao's little worries, instead sitting on the stone bed, his small chin lifted as he watched her.
Yan Jiaojiao came to her senses and quickly took out the small silver fish from the vase, presenting them to him like a treasure, "I caught them, I'll cook them for you now."
Although the cave was bare, Yan Jiaojiao's spiritual jade space was equipped with everything, and anything missing could be substituted.
Thus, Yan Jiaojiao started a fire in the wind cave, using a golden basin as a pot and a jade hairpin as a spatula. Fortunately, she found gold and silver bowls and spoons, and even some grains and seasonings. With a bit of fussing, a steaming bowl of silver fish soup was finally ready.
The aroma wafted through the entire wind cave and was carried by the wind to drift far away. Shui Ling, without needing to eat, was so tempted that she circled the silver fish soup, contentedly inhaling the scattered fragrance.
The little black dog also sat up. Yan Jiaojiao served him a bowl, but he remained unmoved, only proudly lifting his small head.
Yan Jiaojiao resigned herself to picking up a spoon and feeding him herself. Only then did the little black dog lower his noble head and begin to eat.
As soon as it entered his mouth, the lingering fragrance and tenderness melted away, truly leaving an unforgettable aftertaste.
Seeing the little black dog's eyes light up, Yan Jiaojiao proudly said, "Is my cooking better than Uncle Pang's?"
Dongfang Cangwu lowered his gaze to look at Yan Jiaojiao. Her face seemed to be written with the words "seeking praise." Dongfang Cangwu nodded subtly, and Yan Jiaojiao immediately beamed, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and she fed him even more diligently.
For some reason, Dongfang Cangwu's heart felt a warmth.
So he decided to stay in the wind cave for a while longer. Of course, Dongfang Cangwu's reason was to occasionally taste this delicious food, and absolutely not because he couldn't bear to leave Yan Jiaojiao.
The pot of silver fish soup, with the two of them taking spoonfuls, was finished in no time.
Yan Jiaojiao tidied up and looked at Shui Ling, who was floating in the air, swaying with the wind. This fellow was clearly asleep, its crystalline body still absorbing spiritual energy. Yan Jiaojiao was incredibly envious.
However, to improve one's physique and achieve a body that could absorb spiritual energy at will, one had to first reach the Green level of cultivation. At this moment, Yan Jiaojiao had no other option but to cultivate harder.
Looking again at the little black dog lying on the stone bed, she saw that he had also closed his eyes and was fast asleep. Thinking of his extraordinary talent and powerful magic, he naturally didn't need to worry about advancing his cultivation.
Yan Jiaojiao couldn't help but sigh again. She decided not to sleep and resumed her meditation, completely embodying the spirit of a relentless worker.
And so, day after day, Yan Jiaojiao's life consisted of cultivation, and occasionally cooking when the little black dog craved something to eat and brought back ingredients.
After all, ever since she was almost discovered by Xuan Chen last time, Yan Jiaojiao didn't dare to venture out of the wind cave carelessly.
Every day, the little black dog would take Shui Ling to soak in the cold pool, while Yan Jiaojiao diligently cultivated alone in the wind cave. Her days were not too difficult.
However, on the day of the annual sect assessment at Gunan Academy, Yan Jiaojiao left the mountain cave.
She gazed at the bustling scene in the Gunan Square from afar, a sense of melancholy filling her heart. Thinking that her recovery plan would be delayed for another year, Yan Jiaojiao angrily turned back and buried herself in cultivation.
Perhaps due to excessive worry and long-term cultivation day and night, this time, while circulating her spiritual energy, she was momentarily careless and channeled it into the wrong meridians. Instantly, the previously smooth spiritual energy began to surge erratically, with some even colliding with stagnant spiritual energy. The two energies clashed, and Yan Jiaojiao was in unbearable pain.
In moments, Yan Jiaojiao was covered in sweat. But no matter how she tried to guide the spiritual energy, the disordered energy could not return to its proper place; it even began to flow in reverse through her meridians!
Yan Jiaojiao knew it was bad. If this continued, even if she didn't fall into qi deviation, her core would be damaged. This was something she had painstakingly rebuilt, and she absolutely did not want to go through it again.
But the more anxious she became, the more chaotic the spiritual energy in Yan Jiaojiao's meridians grew. She could neither stop nor soothe the spiritual energy. Under the surge of blood and qi, blood began to seep from the corners of her mouth.
At this critical moment, a dark figure flashed into the wind cave from outside – it was Dongfang Cangwu, who had transformed into human form.
When the little black dog was summoned, if he could transform into human form, it meant that Yan Jiaojiao was extremely weak, except when she was in a deep sleep.
And at this moment, Yan Jiaojiao was indeed on the verge of death from the reverse flow of spiritual energy. Dongfang Cangwu sensed the abnormality from a distance and immediately returned to her side.
"You'll be so stupid you'll die eventually, getting into qi deviation just by meditating!" Dongfang Cangwu understood the situation at a glance and couldn't help but say this.
However, Yan Jiaojiao's mind was in chaos. Hearing Dongfang Cangwu's words, everything was hazy, and she couldn't comprehend their meaning at all.
Dongfang Cangwu's chest began to ache. Their bloodlines were connected, and the more critical Yan Jiaojiao's condition, the more intensely Dongfang Cangwu felt the pain. He immediately sat down cross-legged behind her, placed his palms on her back, and channeled his spiritual energy into her body.
As soon as the powerful spiritual energy entered her body, it forcefully suppressed the reversing spiritual energy and guided it to flow in the correct direction.
The spiritual energy gradually stabilized, and Yan Jiaojiao's pain lessened, her consciousness gradually returning. She could even feel someone guiding her spiritual energy's circulation.
However, Dongfang Cangwu's cultivation path was different from the mental cultivation method Yan Jiaojiao practiced, it was a completely new way of cultivation. Yet, she could clearly feel that the spiritual energy was circulating more smoothly, and she was absorbing more spiritual energy from the outside.
Yan Jiaojiao unconsciously etched the direction of the spiritual energy's circulation into her mind, again and again. The powerful spiritual energy sensed her intention to remember and deliberately slowed down, allowing Yan Jiaojiao to see clearly.
Until the last wisp of spiritual energy was tamed, Yan Jiaojiao felt a sense of utter comfort, and the two large palms behind her disappeared.
Yan Jiaojiao quickly withdrew her posture and turned around, only to see the little black dog innocently squatting behind her.
"It was you?" Yan Jiaojiao asked, bewildered. "Little Black, you can transform into human form, can't you?"
The little black dog bared his teeth. Dongfang Cangwu couldn't help but grumble in his heart: Yes, but thanks to you, I can't freely change into human form unless I'm away from you for more than a day.
Seeing that Little Black was unharmed, and noticing him looking towards the entrance of the wind cave, Yan Jiaojiao's gaze turned to the distance: "You mean someone from outside has entered? Could it be Xuan Chen?"
After all, apart from Xuan Chen, it seemed no one else in Gunan Academy could freely enter the wind cave.
Yan Jiaojiao was just puzzled. Why would Xuan Chen save her and teach her a new cultivation technique?
Dongfang Cangwu froze. Well, he had worked hard for nothing. This woman was truly going to be stupid to death!