Opening the spiritual apertures could only be considered the warm-up before the main act. Han Jie was using it to familiarize himself with the procedure, so that when it came time to excavate the soul space, he could finish as quickly as possible and spare Meng Qingtong a little more pain.
But the agony caused by injury to the soul was by no means comparable to wounds of the flesh.
Moreover, physical pain could be evaded by the body’s self-preservation mechanism, by passing out. Pain of the soul, however, was inescapable. One could only endure it head-on.
If he had not known that Meng Qingtong truly trained every night by overdrawing herself, and had built up sufficient resistance to this sort of pain, Han Jie would not have dared to use it.
Even so, seeing Meng Qingtong’s current state, he still could not help feeling a little distressed.
This girl was simply too… stubborn.
After the two spiritual apertures were opened, aside from constant muffled groans, her body did not make even a slightly larger movement. Even when the pain made her muscles spasm and her legs twitch, her divine sense was still forcing itself to joke around.
It had only been about twenty minutes, yet the sofa cover beneath her was already soaked through with sweat. Amid her loosened long hair, her little face trembled faintly with each breath, deathly pale. The effect of the mouthguard was clearly not as good as she had expected. One could plainly see a trickle of blood hanging from the corner of her lips; something inside must have torn.
“Is it done?”
She still chose to transmit through divine sense and did not remove the mouthguard. She herself knew very well that if she spoke with her mouth now, she would definitely be unable to make a normal sound.
“Stabilize the new spiritual apertures and take a breather while you’re at it. What comes next will hurt more, and last longer. You need to be prepared.” Han Jie had seen plenty of grand scenes between life and death; the pity in his heart would not become a reason to stop. Only, in the end, his tone carried a bit more gentleness.
“I’m ready.” She lifted her head slightly, brushed aside her drenched black hair, pulled over a cushion, and rested it beneath her. She had clenched too tightly when the pain struck just now, and her hands were still trembling faintly, but she stubbornly repeated over the frequency, “I’m ready. We can continue. No problem.”
“Don’t force yourself. The pain of the soul has no upper limit, and even I can’t judge exactly how much you can endure. When to stop depends entirely on your own response.”
With clear eyes, she sent him an unmistakable smile. “If I don’t force myself, how will I know where my limits are? If I don’t know what my so-called limits are, how am I supposed to break through myself? Isn’t cultivation a process of constantly surpassing oneself? No matter how strong the pain of the soul is, you’re not going to take my life. I’m afraid of dying. And precisely because I’m afraid of dying, I can’t be afraid of pain.”
Han Jie gazed at her for a moment, thinking that she had sweated this much from the pain, yet had not shed a single tear. Were the women of this era already so strong?
Once divine sense was connected, even thoughts one did not intend to send over would still be sensed by the other party to some extent. What was more, Meng Qingtong’s sensitivity when it came to him was almost at the level of mind-reading.
Her eyes shifted slightly, and she teased, “What, are you disappointed to see I haven’t cried? Then I’m going to have to suspect you deliberately made it extra painful just to see me shed tears.”
Han Jie stared at her and did not answer.
As if trying to distract herself, she continued rambling, “If I’d known you were going to stare like that, I should’ve changed my outfit. Right now, biting on a mouthguard makes me look like I’ve got a bit in my mouth. I might as well have switched it for a bamboo tube and pretended to be an anime heroine. At least it’d be a little more pleasing to the eye.”
Knowing that her interests were eclectic and that she lived every day to the fullest, Han Jie did not respond to this self-talk he could not understand. He merely waited quietly. Only when he estimated that she had more or less recovered did he place his finger above her navel again and press down gently.
If opening a spiritual aperture was as difficult as digging a hole in a patch of soft mud with the perfect position, shape, and depth, then opening up a soul space was roughly equivalent to excavating a fully furnished, finely decorated villa in that same soft mud, while also ensuring that the load-bearing parts were neither too strong nor too weak. If they were too strong, the owner would be unable to expand it later; if they were too weak, it would collapse within a few days.
Therefore, he had to reduce interference. “Next, it will hurt more than before, but I hope you can endure even better.”
“Because you’re afraid of being distracted?”
“Mm.”
Meng Qingtong’s divine sense rippled with a hint of pleasure. “Oh my, if I’m in so much pain that I can’t take it, I’ll make you lose focus?”
Han Jie glared at her and said directly, “If I lose focus, you’ll suffer more.”
She shook her head, raised her brows, and even bit down hard on the mouthguard in her mouth. Still, her reply through divine sense was honest enough. “Got it. I promise I’ll do my utmost to endure.”
Han Jie took several deep breaths, lowered his eyes, quietly activated a Clear Heart Talisman and stuck it inside his clothes, then began.
“Mmgh!” Meng Qingtong’s waist and back abruptly went taut. Her hands no longer dared to clasp each other; instead, they separated and gripped the sofa cover on both sides with deathly force. With a ripping sound, she tore open two gashes on the spot.
She mobilized all the spiritual power in her body and actually managed to forcibly suppress the instinctive reaction brought on by the pain. With veins pulsing on her forehead, she endured with everything she had.
In an instant, sweat poured out like slurry. Her pajamas became drenched, clinging to her body in crumpled folds, even taking on a faint translucence.
This time, Meng Qingtong’s divine sense finally fell silent.
Presumably, she no longer had the strength to spare on muttering anything.
More than half an hour later, Han Jie lifted his hand slightly, wiped the sweat with his forearm, and let out a breath.
Meng Qingtong’s body suddenly went slack. She collapsed limply, tilted her head back, and furrowed her brows. Only now did an expression of unbearable pain appear on her face. Even her divine sense transmission had weakened somewhat. “Is… is it done?”
Han Jie sighed. “I very much want to say it’s already done. Unfortunately, I’ve only set up the framework.”
“Then… can I… rest a little?”
He glanced at the wall clock, hesitated briefly, and said, “No more than five minutes.”
“Haa…” Meng Qingtong hurriedly removed the mouthguard, rolled off the sofa while panting heavily, and staggered into the kitchen. She picked up the kettle and gulped water straight from the spout.
Then she picked up a kitchen knife and, facing that old wooden chopping board, chopped down again and again. Her eyes were red, her teeth clenched, as though she had an irreconcilable blood feud with that chopping board.
After hacking at it dozens of times in rapid succession, she pulled out a tissue to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, bent sideways over the sink to rinse her mouth, then walked back quickly. She lay down on the sofa, picked up the mouthguard, stuffed it into her mouth, and after biting down tightly, closed her eyes.
She said nothing.
As if afraid that the moment she opened her mouth, her resolve would waver.
There was still sweat in the shallow groove between her abdominal muscles. When his fingertip rested on it, it was as though he had touched a patch of congealed honey—moist and resilient.
People always unconsciously measured others by their own standards, and Han Jie was no exception.
Therefore, he admitted that at this moment, he was actually a little regretful.
He had only thought that Meng Qingtong was a good seedling, and that since they would be cooperating long-term, and he had a good impression of her as a companion, he ought to help her take a further step. Yet he had forgotten that in a world with thin spiritual qi, everyone’s soul was naturally poor in foundation. Even if Meng Qingtong was among the best here, she still could not compare to the inner disciples carefully selected by Sanxing Guayue Mountain.
This meant that the suffering she had to endure far exceeded Han Jie’s previous estimate.
But matters had already reached this point. Giving up halfway would only waste all prior effort. He could only gather his mind, continue urging his spiritual power, and begin the subsequent work.
Forty minutes later, Meng Qingtong took her second rest.
She no longer had the strength to drink water herself, and asked Han Jie in a trembling voice to bring her a cup. Her hands shook so badly that she spilled quite a bit onto herself.
The sofa cover had already been torn down by her into seventeen or eighteen strips, and five holes had been clawed into the inner cushion by her bare hands. When she met Han Jie’s eyes, her gaze was somewhat unfocused and vacant.
But she was still enduring better than when the spiritual apertures were opened, enduring so as not to distract Han Jie.
By this point, Han Jie’s pity had already turned into admiration.
He thought that even if it were him back then, when his chest had been filled with hatred, he would not have been able to go this far.
He shook his head, casting away memories he did not wish to touch, changed to another Clear Heart Talisman, and began the third stage of the procedure.
More than an hour later, Han Jie withdrew his hand and said softly, “Do you still remember the incantation from earlier?”
Meng Qingtong nodded almost imperceptibly. Aside from that, every joint in her slender body seemed to have gone completely limp.
Han Jie stared at her faintly trembling lower abdomen. Only after confirming that she had not lost consciousness, and that her spiritual power was already circulating in the correct manner, nurturing that space which should not belong to this world, did he finally let out a full breath of relief and go to the bathroom to shower.
With the existence of things like water heaters and showerheads, there truly was no need to extravagantly use spiritual power anymore. When he picked up the soap and held it to his nose for a light sniff, Han Jie could not help thinking: could it be that the abundant spiritual power of his original world had instead become a shackle on human development?
If there was a world where spiritual power did not exist at all, what kind of lives would the people there lead?
Knowing that Meng Qingtong did not like being seen in a wretched state, he dawdled in the bathroom for a while longer. Only when he heard movement from the sofa did he casually wave away the remaining water on his body, dress neatly, and walk out.
“How do you feel? Is there anything about the incantation you don’t understand?”
Meng Qingtong sat weakly on the sofa, holding between two fingers one of the talismans she possessed in greatest quantity—a Transposition Talisman.
She looked up at him, a weak smile appearing on her bloodless face. Then her wrist slowly sank, and she drew the talisman toward the space before her.
A soft glow flashed lightly. That talisman had already vanished.
Han Jie raised his brows in surprise. “You can already store things?”
Meng Qingtong’s smile grew increasingly smug. With a brush of her fingers, the talisman appeared again, and she waved it left and right as if showing off.
“You’ve grasped it quickly enough.” He could not help feeling somewhat gratified, rarely experiencing the joy a master felt upon receiving a satisfactory disciple. “Still, you should remember that biting off more than you can chew is unwise. The urgent task now is to stabilize your space as quickly as possible and become familiar with the method of storing and retrieving. In the early stage, if it can hold ten parts, store seven. Don’t stuff it too full.”
“I understand.” Her voice was slightly hoarse, utterly different from usual. Combined with her damp long hair scattered on both sides and the gradually returning color in her honey-moist cheeks, it somehow added a few traces of subtle charm.
Seeing that her condition was still acceptable, Han Jie chose a bedroom, lay down, took out his phone, and assumed a posture that very much had the feeling of “integrating into the era,” entering a state of rest.
Meng Qingtong remained in the living room, tirelessly putting that talisman away and taking it out again and again, carefully experiencing each tremor of the soul, the stifling sense of distension, and the strange burden born along with storing it.
Very soon, she had become thoroughly proficient. She even came up with a few cool, flashy storing motions for herself, thinking that if it did not need to be kept secret, using this for magic tricks would truly be invincible under heaven.
She lay collapsed on the sofa practicing until the sweat on her body was nearly dry. At last, she accumulated a bit of strength, forced herself to climb up, and supported herself against the wall as she walked toward the bathroom.
Glancing at Han Jie, who was lying comfortably on the bed looking at his phone, she opened her mouth, wanting to ask something. But after hesitating for a moment, she did not speak, and first dragged her feet, which could barely lift from the ground, over to shower.
Every tendon and muscle ached as though about to snap. This shower took Meng Qingtong a full hour and more.
Under the comfort of the hot water, the physical strength drained dry by intense pain finally recovered somewhat.
Her pajamas were thrown into the washing machine, so she had no choice but to change into the last outfit she had brought. It was a summer outfit for going out, a somewhat more formal short-sleeved blouse and pleated skirt. It was quite cool, so when she came out, she turned the air conditioner up by two degrees.
“What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll have someone deliver the ingredients.” She tied her wet hair into a braid that hung behind her to dry as it swayed, then went to lean against the frame at Han Jie’s doorway and asked very dutifully.
Han Jie had already given what he ought to give. Then she had to be proactive and enthusiastic enough when paying interest.
Han Jie said lazily, “Rest. Before going to the Liu family, we’ll eat outside.”
“You’re looking down on me again.” Meng Qingtong raised her hand and slapped the doorframe twice. “See? I’ve got strength now. I’d have no problem tossing a wok.”
Han Jie glanced at her and smiled. “Then make something simple. Don’t delay the time you arranged with Liu Song.”
“Oh. Right, you… don’t have anything you want to say to me?”
Hearing this, Han Jie’s gaze finally left the phone and landed on her calm expression.
“I’ve already warned you about what needed warning.”
“I know.” Meng Qingtong still stood at the doorway, neither willing to leave nor coming in. “I’ve memorized every single point firmly. I know how much this helps me, and I will never forget it. I won’t count this as part of our cooperation. This is something extra I owe you. So, is there nothing else?”
Han Jie sighed, set his phone aside, and used an idiom he had just learned with a bit of helplessness. “We only truly got to know each other yesterday, yet why do I feel like you’re a roundworm in my stomach?”
She curled her lip in disdain. “Have you ever seen a roundworm as good-looking as me? Besides, your thoughts are much easier to guess than that sarcastic, menopausal nursery teacher we had back then. So, now that the hole in my soul has been completely dug open by you, whatever you found and saw inside, aren’t you going to tell me, the person involved?”
“Can I say that I don’t know what you’re talking about?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?”
Han Jie smiled. “Knowing that much won’t do you any good.”
Meng Qingtong stared at him stubbornly. “Whether it does me any good or not is for me to judge.”
“All right.” He yielded a step and said, “I did take advantage of this opportunity to inspect the situation inside your soul. I also did indeed discover some things, but those have nothing to do with you. If I haven’t guessed wrong, they should be aimed at me. I simply haven’t figured out what that old friend intends by doing this.”
Meng Qingtong looked puzzled. “You’re saying that the thing in my soul that causes me to attract evil demons was very likely arranged by someone to target you?”
“Do you still remember the Demon Emperor I mentioned to you?”
“I remember. The ancestor of evil demons, undying and indestructible. If I get its true name later, I’ll definitely write it on the first page of the encyclopedia. Consider it my way of hanging it on the city gate for you.” Her brows drew together as she realized something. “What is it? Is it related to it?”
“I can only sense a faint, vague connection.” Han Jie looked toward her lower abdomen and said softly, “But the thing buried inside is indeed its. Apart from it, no one else would be qualified to use it.”
“What thing?”
After a brief hesitation, he slowly said, “The Myriad Demon Lure.”