Volume 5, Chapter 275 – I Don’t Want to Be an Imperial Consort (Part 3)

“What? Even if she’s cured, she still won’t be able to cultivate?”

Ruan Lingyu exclaimed in shock, while the others froze in place.

“For cultivators, a decade or two passes in the blink of an eye, time isn’t the issue. But why wouldn’t she be able to cultivate even after being cured?” Xu Mei pressed further.

“Well… because the estimate of ten or so years was just my optimistic guess. In reality, it might take even longer. Over time, the Qi-Leaking Powder will fuse with her flesh and blood, turning her body into a spirit-repelling constitution. Any spiritual energy that enters will automatically dissipate!”

Mu Ruoyi awkwardly explained.

“If that’s the case, why should I even bother getting treated? It’s not like I rely on qi to fight anyway.”

Qi Huang was overjoyed. Right now, all she wanted was to focus on growing vegetables. For her, cultivating true qi was nothing but a burden, and she had been struggling to find an excuse to dismiss her main body’s demands. Now, the perfect justification had fallen into her lap.

The group exchanged glances. Everyone was aware of Qi Huang’s peculiar circumstances, so they weren’t sure whether they should try to persuade her or not.

“Sister Mu, I’d like to ask you something. If the Qi-Leaking Powder remains in her system, will it affect her health?”

Cheng Hongling pondered for a moment before posing the question.

“The Qi-Leaking Powder itself won’t harm her health, but…” Mu Ruoyi hesitated.

“But what?”

Cheng Hongling immediately pressed for an answer, shedding her usual aloof demeanor entirely.

“There’s too much Qi-Leaking Powder in her body, she can’t expel it naturally. If she ever plans to marry and have children… it’s likely the condition will be passed down to the next generation.”

Mu Ruoyi’s expression turned grave as she spoke.

“Huh? Marry? Can a doppelgänger even marry separately?”

Shen Yuan gasped in disbelief.

“Don’t make a fuss. This isn’t uncommon in the cultivation world. After all, everyone wants a piece of superior bloodlines.”

Yun Fei, the second senior sister, chided her with a reproachful glance.

“But a doppelgänger isn’t an independent entity, right? The main body and the doppelgänger marrying different men, isn’t that just bizarre? Cuckolds would be overjoyed.”

Shen Yuan retorted.

“Even though the main body and the doppelgänger share the same soul, they still inhabit two separate bodies. I doubt cuckolds would find much joy in that.”

Ruan Lingyu rolled her eyes prettily.

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After some consideration, the group nodded in agreement. After all, whether something counted as infidelity depended on physical relations, not spiritual connections.

“In that case, if she really does pass the Qi-Leaking Powder to her children someday, wouldn’t that be a huge problem?”

Xu Mei voiced her concern, her brow furrowed with worry.

“No worries. I don’t plan on having kids anyway.”

Qi Huang immediately declared her stance.

“Are you sure?”

Mu Ruoyi pressed. Every person had possessiveness, this was her future wife’s doppelgänger, after all. She didn’t want to share her with another man.

“Of course! Aren’t you my husband? Unless… you can make me pregnant?”

Qi Huang teased.

“Uh…”

Mu Ruoyi’s face instantly flushed crimson. Despite everything, she was still a girl. Such a bold statement, even if meant as a joke, was deeply embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Cheng Hongling’s expression abruptly turned icy, her eyes glinting with faint but unmistakable killing intent.

Mu Ruoyi suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She instinctively tightened her collar, inadvertently accentuating her already terrifyingly voluptuous curves.

“If you’re sick, you should get treated!”

Cheng Hongling directed her words at the doppelgänger, though her true target was obvious. “After all, you have way too much free time on your hands, all you do is grow vegetables.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with growing vegetables? It’s a skilled craft!”

Qi Huang blinked in confusion, scrambling for a defense. She had initially planned to argue that it was crucial for her strength, but with so many outsiders present, she couldn’t very well announce that. Besides, given how many times she had already poisoned her main body, she doubted anyone would believe her now.

“Using your own blood to grow vegetables—only someone like you would come up with that.”

Cheng Hongling rolled her beautiful eyes.

“What? She uses blood to grow vegetables?”

Mu Ruoyi was stunned, and the others wore similarly shocked expressions.

“Yes. Ever since gaining the Profound Ice True Qi, this girl has been using her blood to grow crops. As you know, the Water Exquisite Art has growth-accelerating properties.”

Cheng Hongling explained.

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“Our junior sister is this outrageous? It seems that auntie has been far too lenient with her.”

Su Qingying, ever the sharp-tongued girl, didn’t miss the chance to throw in a jab.

“By the way, Little Sister Qi Huang, I should remind you, because of the Qi-Leaking Powder, you no longer have Profound Ice True Qi in your system. The growth-enhancing effects of your blood will gradually fade. So, growing vegetables won’t be as easy for you from now on.”

Mu Ruoyi suddenly recalled this detail and kindly warned her.

“What?! That won’t do! I can give up cultivation, but I absolutely cannot give up growing vegetables!”

Qi Huang shot up from her sickbed as if resurrected. Ghost tomatoes were her only path to power. Without her special fertilizer, her growth rate would plummet.

“In her mind, growing vegetables is more important than cultivation?”

Miao Xiang asked dumbfounded, and the group exchanged bewildered looks.

“She’s mentally ill. Don’t overthink it.”

Su Qingying snarked from the side.

“Treat me! You must treat me! Sister Ruoyi, is there any way to quickly expel the Qi-Leaking Powder from my body?”

Qi Huang urgently pressed, now more anxious than anyone else.

“Weren’t you just acting like it didn’t matter?”

Cheng Hongling coldly mocked.

“You’re overthinking it. Like I said, there’s no antidote for Qi-Leaking Powder. If you manage to purge it within your lifetime, you should thank the heavens. ‘Quickly’? Forget about it.”

Mu Ruoyi pronounced Qi Huang’s sentence like a judge delivering a verdict.

“Aiya! Without fertilizer, what am I supposed to do with all my crops?!”

Qi Huang sighed in despair. Only now did she realize she had underestimated the severity of the situation.

“What a pity. If only you weren’t a doppelgänger, then there’d be an easy solution.”

Mu Ruoyi sympathetically remarked.

“Oh? What do you mean?”

Qi Huang perked up immediately.

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“You must have heard that when cultivators refine doppelgängers, they can split away their flaws—illnesses, injuries, toxins, and the like. Qi-Leaking Powder is no exception. So, it’s not actually that threatening to cultivators at the Incarnation Realm or above. Of course, that’s assuming they can still refine doppelgängers.”

Mu Ruoyi explained.

“Ah! Why didn’t I think of that? So smart in some ways, yet so dense in others!”

Qi Huang smacked her own forehead, then excitedly turned to her main body.

Cheng Hongling’s beautiful eyes widened instantly. She knew the doppelgänger’s background—this solution was practically tailor-made for her.

“But what does that matter? You’re already a doppelgänger. How can you refine another one?”

Mu Ruoyi asked, puzzled.

“I’m mentally ill. Don’t take me too seriously.”

Qi Huang brushed it off casually, inwardly gloating, ‘Who says a doppelgänger can’t refine another doppelgänger?’

“Why does she keep saying she’s mentally ill?”

Mu Ruoyi looked around in confusion.

“Ah, Junior Martial Niece Mu, you don’t know, she doesn’t have a brain.”

Xu Mei sighed from the side, then recounted the earlier incident. Unbeknownst to her, what she had seen was merely Qi Huang’s substitute, the Heavenly Surge Soul fragment.

“No wonder!”

Mu Ruoyi shook her head in pity, her delicate face filled with sympathy.

Qi Huang, however, was too absorbed in her excitement to care. She was long used to this kind of treatment.

With the matter settled, Qi Huang quickly asked Mu Ruoyi to write down the medicinal ingredients her main body needed.

“There are five ingredients in total. I’ll prescribe a month’s dosage first. Our Shuiyu Valley has three of them, but the other two will need to be purchased separately. Just be prepared, each qian ¹ 1 qian = ~3.125 grams of these herbs will likely cost at least one tael of silver.”

Mu Ruoyi handed the prescription to Qi Huang.

“No problem! I’ve got money!”

After scanning the list, Qi Huang confidently declared. The monthly dosage required a few dozen jin ² 1 jin = 500 gram/1.1 lbs of the three herbs, totaling a few thousand taels, a sum she could easily afford now.

No one was particularly surprised. After all, Qi Huang’s “cat tear trafficking” was an open secret in the Honghua Sect. She had undoubtedly made a tidy profit.

“Since these herbs are so expensive, we can’t possibly take them for free. How much do the three herbs cost in total? Calculate it, and I’ll pay you in full upfront.”

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Cheng Hongling spoke up. She understood perfectly well that her relationship with the Shuiyu Valley’s Holy Maiden was purely transactional, it wouldn’t last. Thus, it was best not to owe too many favors.

“No need. Why stand on ceremony between us?”

Mu Ruoyi naturally declined. These two girls were her “food”, after all. Having already lost one, she had to ensure the other remained intact. In a way, she was helping herself.

Cheng Hongling wasn’t one for excessive words. Seeing Mu Ruoyi’s insistence, she temporarily dropped the matter, resolving to repay the favor in the future.

Once Qi Huang learned how to resolve her own problem, she immediately returned to her room to put the plan into action. Now that her divine sense had reached the Divine Ability Realm, she could refine two more doppelgängers.

“Which of you seven remaining siblings is willing to become my third doppelgänger?”

Qi Huang entered her Sea of Consciousness and posed the question, then added, “But I’ll warn you upfront, this doppelgänger will need to bear the Qi-Leaking Powder for me. That means once manifested, it won’t be able to cultivate.”

The soul fragments exchanged glances. None dared to step forward. Freedom was important, but the price of being unable to cultivate was simply too steep.

“As the second brother, if I don’t step into hell, who will? I’ll do it!”

The Earthly Soul bravely stepped forward. Even if this doppelgänger couldn’t cultivate, his divine sense was already at the Incarnation Realm. Once manifested, he would still be a formidable force.

“Well said, Second Brother! I won’t forget your sacrifice.”

Qi Huang immediately praised him, then began refining her third doppelgänger.

Meanwhile, at the Dong residence, the Dong family of three—Prefect Dong, his wife, and their son—were having lunch when Dong Yu suddenly burst into inexplicable giggles.

“Little Yu, what’s gotten into you lately? Why do you keep laughing like an idiot?”

Madam Dong couldn’t help but ask, amused.

“Did something good happen? Share it with your old man.”

Prefect Dong set down his chopsticks, looking at his son with interest.

“Father, Mother… I think Qi Huang likes me!”

Dong Yu dropped the bombshell without a hint of shame.