Chapter Fifteen: A Mother Like a Wild Buffalo

In the ancient mountains, a figure as strong as a wild ox wandered through the forest.

Yes, Song Liyao had come to this small secret realm once again to explore.

Although her husband had scolded her last time and she had promised not to come to such dangerous places, she still picked up her spirit sword and ventured in alone.

Despite the danger, she had chosen the timing carefully, trying to minimize the risk—she understood that much.

Lately, she had believed her cultivation breakthrough would only reach the Foundation Establishment stage at most, but now she had leapt a whole level, directly aiming for the Golden Core!

Though she was somewhat confused, she was convinced that it was the awakening of her father’s bloodline inheritance. Heaven had not forsaken her; now she finally had the strength to protect her family.

The long night had been one of the two most agonizing moments of her life.

She looked at her eldest child’s dark, bruised face with growing fear, but she couldn’t find the words to express her feelings. All she could recall was her mother’s dying wish to prepare a spirit coffin.

So, seeing her eldest’s condition, she calculated that the spirit stones her husband had brought back last time should be enough to buy a sturdy spirit coffin.

Her mother had told her that when her father died, his head and body were separated. They couldn’t even afford a spirit coffin and would be treated as wandering souls by the previous generation of immortals, unable to reincarnate.

Before her mother passed, she had instructed Song Liyao to prepare a spirit coffin for her, but she had struggled to gather enough spirit stones.

She had even taken out her dowry money, and it still wasn’t enough. After borrowing some, she finally bought one, allowing her mother to rest in peace.

Without a dowry and with no one interested, she was left alone until Brother Xu appeared.

Now, wielding her spirit sword in the forest and practicing sword techniques beneath a cliff, the cold spring water surged over her body, yet she seemed impervious to pain, unable to unleash the pain within her heart.

Her fragile husband had vomited much blood from overwhelming anxiety last night, leaving her restless.

Her mother had told her to obtain the tendons and gallbladder of a flood dragon, to stew and swallow them to replenish vitality and blood qi. She had to find them.

Being married to her husband was her greatest fortune across three lifetimes; she did not want to lose him.

Her husband was unlike any other man—kind and gentle. He patiently taught her things she didn’t know without ever scolding or hitting her. She felt like the happiest woman in the world.

If the price of marriage was waiting for such a good man, she was willing to wait.

Her husband was the finest man, not disdainful of her unlike the graceful female cultivators, nor of her martial skills that surpassed many men.

She watched her own figure leap forward, the passing glances in her mind drafting a complete map of the forest.

Her mother had always told her that her father was an unparalleled hero, a first-rate martial cultivator who could slash through tens of thousands of horses and fight against hundreds alone.

Now, she was beginning to believe her mother’s words; otherwise, how would she know which path led to which spirit beast?

Her spiritual power was far from enough to cover such a vast secret realm.

The cliffs were like small streams, easy to cross with a single step.

Taking strides of ten zhang, she dashed toward a crystal-clear deep pool where an abandoned, old black flood dragon was said to reside.

The noon sun blazed fiercely as Song Liyao submerged beneath the water, hiding among the swaying aquatic plants. She saw the black flood dragon circling at the bottom of the pool.

It was only when the sun slowly moved westward that she surfaced, gasping for air, her scarred chest heaving painfully.

She hoisted a massive black flood dragon from the depths, leaping out of the pool, restoring the previously calm water to stillness.

Unlike other female cultivators with delicate features, her victorious smile shone even more brilliantly in the sunset’s glow.

Her heart was filled with joy; for the first time, she felt that those like her—low-tier cultivators—could defeat seemingly powerful enemies.

What did it matter to have a lower-tier spiritual root? Even a low-tier root could break through its limits and rise to the highest tier!

She had been mocked for being different from other female cultivators and had gradually started to doubt herself, closing off her heart.

But today, in life-or-death combat with the black flood dragon, her mind was clear and decisive enough to identify its fatal weakness: the injured spine was the key to her killing strike.

She was certain she had inherited her father’s powerful bloodline. She was no unlucky old maid doomed to a hard fate.

She married her husband and, after eating the black flood dragon’s gallbladder, was sure she could change his constitution, allowing them both to thrive eternally on the path.

Her mind now seemed clearer than ever, and she felt boundless strength. The dangers she once couldn’t understand now seemed to have been protected against by her father in heaven.

Otherwise, she would have died countless times over by now.

She cleaned the black flood dragon thoroughly, wrapped its tendons and gallbladder in a mustard seed pouch, and was surprised at how smoothly her return had gone.

Though her injuries looked severe, they were mostly superficial and would heal in a few days. This was already very fortunate.

After performing a cleansing talisman to purify herself and changing into a fresh set of clothes, she exited the secret realm.

On the way back, she still wanted to conceal her past and her sudden surge in strength. After all, she was now so powerful, she feared her husband might feel uneasy.

Men, after all, always had some pride.

She could tell that although her husband harbored resentment toward his mother, he still hoped to win the favor of that White Lotus.

That White Lotus pretended to be gentle and well-mannered; she must learn to do the same and not frighten her fragile husband.

She also thought that once her husband consumed the black flood dragon’s gallbladder and recovered, growing stronger, maybe they could try for another son.

All the children at home were girls; her eldest had to care for her sisters alone, which was too exhausting. Another son to help fight would be better.

Only after Song Liyao left the secret realm did a huge adult black-brown bear, similar to the one she had hunted last time, slowly emerge.

“Wow, that terrifying woman is finally gone!”

...

On a midsummer evening, the air was thick with lingering heat.

Jiang Haohau drank the spiritual rock goat milk porridge her second sister had prepared, sweat dripping down her little bottom.

Second sister had also made a bowl for big brother, who was injured and needed nourishment.

Sister Jiang Yunyun was so determined she wouldn’t drink a drop herself, even as drool threatened to fall into Jiang Haohau’s bowl.

Her saliva-stained sleeves were once again purified by a cleansing talisman, restoring them to spotless cleanliness, making it seem as if the drooling little girl wasn’t her at all.

She looked with satisfaction at her new magical shoes, standing proudly before the fiery red-crowned, seven-clawed red spirit pheasant at home, competing in beauty as if she were another refreshed, hungry little hen.

Even at the last moment of feeding, she refused to drink a single sip, her determined gaze as if ready to join the party!

Jiang Haohau couldn’t help but admire her silly second sister. Though she had many little flaws—like any ordinary little girl she loved to look pretty, was vain, and had an unpleasant mouth; she even liked to tease the mysterious one, playing little tricks and schemes, and was somewhat vain—she always had a soft heart and kindness to her name.