Volume 1, Chapter 211 – Breakthrough

After Su Lanyue left, Shi Lan finally let out a sigh of relief.

After carving an aura-sealing formation around the room, Shi Lan sat on the bed, took out the phoenix blood and the Spirit-Transforming Pill, and prepared to break through to the late stage of the Earth Fiend Realm.

Her time was no longer all that ample. Of the two years required by the system’s main quest to break through to the Heavenly Astral Realm, she had only a little over one year left.

Slowly calming her internal breathing, Shi Lan placed the Spirit-Transforming Pill against her lower abdomen, then took two high-grade spirit crystals out of the Qiankun Bracelet and held them in her palms. Closing her eyes, she began drawing out the vast spiritual qi within the spirit crystals to nourish and strengthen her true qi.

Cultivating with high-grade spirit crystals was extravagantly wasteful, but Shi Lan did not feel the slightest pang of regret.

The vanguard of the demon race was no longer all that far from Xianwu City. A transfer order might come at any moment, and she needed to increase her strength as quickly as possible.

To step into the late stage of the Earth Fiend Realm, she first had to open the “Weilu Acupoint” on one side of the end of the tailbone, allowing true qi to enter the spine. Then it would climb like a dragon, rising segment by segment and consecutively breaking through twenty-three vital acupoints. Once that was done, she would have reached the perfection of the Earth Fiend Realm.

Shi Lan had already remained at the peak of the middle stage of the Earth Fiend Realm for some time. The barrier to the late stage was already tottering after enduring merely two rounds of true qi impact.

Bang!

A low muffled sound came from within Shi Lan’s body like distant thunder. Her vertebrae stretched section by section, followed by a succession of crisp crackles as muscles and bones lengthened.

An invisible wave of air swept outward, shredding the gauze bedcurtains hanging at the bedside.

When the surge reached the doorway, it was stopped by the formation she had carved earlier and gradually subsided.

The late stage of the Earth Fiend Realm was only a minor threshold. Breaking through had been fully within Shi Lan’s expectations.

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She did not open her eyes, but remained immersed in cultivation, opening the Black Domain and refining the phoenix blood.

…

“Shi Lan is back? And became a woman? Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

In a side room not far from Shi Lan’s, Shen Mingqiu frowned and looked at Shi Qinghu before asking for confirmation.

“Absolutely not.”

Shi Qinghu shook his head repeatedly.

“What happened to your clothes? Did you get into a fight? Are you hurt?”

Shen Mingqiu abruptly changed the subject, worry welling up in her eyes.

“I’m fine… I just taught some thug a lesson… Mother, you don’t need to worry.” Shi Qinghu’s gaze flickered slightly.

“Go out less these days. Don’t cause trouble for your father. This isn’t Tenglong City.”

Shen Mingqiu sighed. Thinking over what Shi Qinghu had said, her thoughts flickered for a moment, and she pieced together the general outline of what had happened.

“So that’s why Shi Lan never showed any interest in women and was always so mysterious all day long… so that’s how it is… Su Lanyue… you really do have your methods…”

Shen Mingqiu murmured under her breath. A trace of hidden anger rose in her heart, but quickly dissipated again.

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There was no point dwelling on any of this now. Whether Shi Lan had been that eldest son with the crippled body, or was now the eldest daughter, it made no difference to her.

Besides, over all these years, her status had never been much lower than Su Lanyue’s to begin with. If she kept fussing over it now, it would only make her seem petty.

Most importantly, Shi Tianlu was currently out there fighting for his life, living on the edge of the blade. If the household fell into discord, it would only increase the pressure on him.

Thinking of the current chaos outside, Shen Mingqiu could not help sighing again. When would all of this finally end?

…

By evening, Su Lanyue had someone deliver Shi Lan a dinner: two covered bowls of medicinal cuisine brewed from first-grade spirit ingredients. Shi Lan circulated her true qi twice, then refined it.

…

At dawn, Shi Lan slowly finished her cultivation.

After tidying the room, which was a complete mess, she came to the courtyard outside and began practicing the Vajra Divine Fist at a slowed tempo, absorbing the first thread of pure spiritual qi born between heaven and earth.

The spiritual qi drifting through the world was drawn in by the momentum of Shi Lan’s fists and merged into her body in a ceaseless stream, stirring up a tide of spiritual qi around her.

A man in green robes stood at the courtyard gate, staring at Shi Lan as she practiced her fist art in the courtyard, his eyes full of astonishment.

Although he had already heard it from his mother and younger brother yesterday, when he truly saw with his own eyes the elder brother who had lived under the same roof since birth turn into an elder sister, he still found it hard to accept.

Shi Lan had long since noticed Shi Yiming standing at the doorway, but she had little affection for this second younger brother and continued practicing unhurriedly.

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After watching from the side for a while, Shi Yiming was secretly shocked. It had been just over a year since they last met, yet this elder… sister of his seemed like a completely different person.

Each movement of her fist art appeared slow, yet each was wrapped in terrifying spiritual qi fluctuations, as though it concealed a monstrous force capable of crushing mountains and splitting peaks.

The feeling she gave him was simply stronger than even Father…!

What chilled Shi Yiming to the core even more was Shi Lan’s calm gaze, a calmness so complete it was almost indifferent.

A trace of alarm flashed in Shi Yiming’s eyes. His throat went dry, and a faint sheen of cold sweat quietly seeped out across his back. He found it hard to understand how such an enormous change could have happened to Shi Lan.

That change made it hard for him to connect the woman before him with the timid elder brother from his memories.

After watching for less than half a quarter-hour, Shi Yiming hurriedly turned and left, not daring to look any longer.

“Haa…”

After finishing the final movement, Shi Lan slowly withdrew her stance and let out a long breath. The gust it created swept through the courtyard and pressed down several clumps of shrubs until they rustled loudly, shaking down countless fallen leaves.

One complete set of the Vajra Divine Fist had already adjusted her blood and qi to their absolute peak.

Practicing the Vajra Divine Fist at different realms always brought Shi Lan different insights. After entering the Earth Fiend Realm, this fist art gave her an even stronger sense of incompleteness, as if something were missing.

Could it be that this fist art had follow-up sections?

Shi Lan frowned slightly and fell into thought.

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…

Outside the Shi Residence, at a street corner, a middle-aged man of about forty and a young man in his early twenties were speaking in low voices.

“Have you investigated everything clearly?” the middle-aged man asked softly.

“This Shi family came from Tenglong City on the border; they’re not natives of the Central Heaven Domain. In the whole family, only Shi Tianlu is anybody important. He’s at the perfection of the Earth Fiend Realm, joined the Demon-Suppressing Army midway, and now holds the post of thousand-man commander there. He’s not at home now, either.”

The young man spoke with complete confidence. “Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong. I’ve got an acquaintance with very wide connections; the information is absolutely reliable.”

The young man had bruises on his face, his left cheek swollen high, and he was missing two teeth, so his words leaked air and he looked rather miserable.

“The family of someone from the Demon-Suppressing Army, and you still dare set your sights on them? Are you crazy?” the middle-aged man exclaimed in a low voice.

“We’re only after money, not hurting anyone. Besides, this time the Shi family is the one in the wrong. Even if Shi Tianlu were standing here in person, he wouldn’t have anything to say.”

“No, no. An eighty-twenty split is too little. Afterward, I want forty percent.” After a brief hesitation, the middle-aged man shook his head repeatedly.

“Seventy-thirty. Take it or leave it. If not, I’ll find someone else,” the young man said, sounding somewhat impatient.

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded.