What's wrong with a snake that just wants to cultivate and transform?

Ji Yuebai lay quietly on the bed, her long lashes casting faint shadows on her fair skin. The light from outside the window, refracted through the ice blocks, bathed her in a beautiful, dreamlike glow.

The ice blocks, a product of the ice-sealing talisman from the cultivation world, were of excellent quality and hadn’t melted even after a whole night. Xu Nian thought for a moment, then quickly stored the ice blocks in her storage bag for future emergencies.

With her tail, she gently checked Ji Yuebai’s forehead. Her body temperature had returned to normal.

Just as she was about to leave, she met Ji Yuebai’s clear, shallow eyes, looking steadily at her.

Xu Nian felt uneasy. She turned to leave but found her tail caught by Ji Yuebai’s fingers, causing her to tremble slightly.

She hadn’t yet figured out how to explain the events of the previous night, as she hadn’t intended to act that way towards Ji.

However, she heard Ji Yuebai’s voice, slightly hoarse, “Why is your tail injured?”

Xu Nian instinctively pulled her tail back. She couldn’t very well tell Ji Yuebai she got it while out robbing and was slashed with a knife. Her eyes darted around as she feigned a sad and guilty expression, “Last night, two flower thieves tried to break in. I tried to stop them but got slashed by their knife. It’s my fault for not discovering them sooner and failing to protect you from the incense…” She played the part of the victim, hoping to gain some sympathy.

While talking, Xu Nian covertly observed Ji Yuebai’s expression. She saw her eyes turn icy as she propped herself up with her sword, which scared Xu Nian into a shiver. Was Ji Yuebai going to reprimand her for failing to repay kindness, possibly even attack her?

Remembering her dream from the previous night, Xu Nian subconsciously lowered her body, preparing to flee if necessary.

Ji Yuebai, looking down at her, spoke with a chilling tone, “Where are those flower thieves? I’ll kill them.”

Xu Nian paused, then quickly held her back, explaining, “They’ve already been captured by the town patrol, probably locked up in the jail by now.”

Hearing this, Ji Yuebai sheathed her sword, the murderous aura around her dissipating.

Momentarily, Ji Yuebai gently cradled Xu Nian’s tail in her fingers, her voice much softer, “Does it still hurt?”

Xu Nian was about to say it didn’t hurt anymore, but then saw an opportunity to garner some sympathy. If Ji Yuebai ever regained her memories and remembered her, Xu Nian would at least have her sufferings to show.

So, she pretended to wince, her voice delicate and weak, “It still hurts… blowing on it might help.”

Catching Ji Yuebai’s seemingly stunned reaction, Xu Nian realized she might have overacted, given her snake form. She laughed awkwardly, “It’s okay, a few days of applying spiritual herbs will do.” As she spoke, she tried to retract her tail, attempting to act as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, Ji Yuebai lowered her head, and her silky, dark hair cascaded down, tickling Xu Nian’s snake body. Gently, Ji Yuebai brushed the bothersome strands behind her ear and leaned closer to Xu Nian’s injured tail.

Her pale pink lips parted slightly as she gently blew on the wound on Xu Nian’s tail.

A light, ticklish sensation traveled from the tip of Xu Nian’s tail, causing her to involuntarily shiver. Her eyes involuntarily drifted towards Ji Yuebai.

From Xu Nian’s perspective, Ji Yuebai’s profile was almost perfect. Her long lashes cast a delicate shadow down her nose, adding grace to her features.

Even in such a simple act, Ji Yuebai retained an ethereal, celestial quality. Her beauty was even more captivating, almost intoxicating.

In contrast, Xu Nian’s snake body seemed so grotesque. The scales were peeling and raised, exposing the raw flesh underneath. The sight of her dirty tail against Ji Yuebai’s pristine and delicate fingertips was a stark contrast. Xu Nian suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of inferiority and despair.

Unable to bear it any longer, Xu Nian turned her head away.

Ji Yuebai asked with concern, “Does it still hurt?”

Xu Nian, unable to hide her sadness, responded, “It hurts, it hurts a lot.”

Ji Yuebai, unsure of what to do and seeing Xu Nian in such a state for the first time, became flustered. She awkwardly comforted, “It’s alright, I’ll blow on it again, and it won’t hurt.”

Xu Nian, worried that letting Ji Yuebai blow again might make her feel even worse, quickly stood up and said, “Maybe the blowing earlier did help. I don’t feel any pain now, thanks to you.”

Ji Yuebai looked at her with deep eyes. “Really?”

Xu Nian assured her with a flick of her tail, “Look, it doesn’t hurt at all now.”

Relieved, Ji Yuebai said, “Then that’s good.”

Xu Nian felt a pang of guilt.

However, this guilt didn’t last long, as it was soon replaced by immense joy.

During the day, Xu Nian found a secluded, uninhabited area in the mountains and thoroughly searched through Qi Shaochen’s storage bag. Just as she had expected, this cunning man was quite wealthy. She wondered where he had acquired such a vast number of spiritual stones. After counting for quite some time, she found there were as many as fifty thousand stones, enough to support her cultivation for decades.

The storage bag itself was also a treasure, offering a space as expansive as a grand palace’s garden. Without hesitation, Xu Nian transferred all the contents of her old storage bag into this new, larger one, feeling as though she had traded an old rifle for a cannon. She would no longer have to worry about running out of storage space.

Inside, Xu Nian found an array of talismans and artifacts: ice-sealing talismans, rain-summoning talismans, swift wind talismans, teleportation talismans, and more—a thick stack of them, along with various swords, weapons, and odd, unidentified magical artifacts. She surmised these must have been looted. Additionally, there were many unrecognizable jars and containers. Upon opening one, she felt a surge of rich spiritual energy, suggesting their value, even though she didn’t know their specific uses. They seemed like good items she might sell at a low price after her transformation.

Among the heap of magical items, she unearthed something particularly impressive: a small, walnut-sized courtyard, complete with front and back yards and a grand seven-section mansion. It had little bridges over flowing water and rockery corridors, with an overall design that was both intricate and luxurious. Xu Nian guessed it was a housing-type magical treasure that could expand to full size. She tried infusing it with spiritual power, but the courtyard only trembled without activating.

Xu Nian realized her spiritual power wasn’t sufficient. After some thought, she began to feed spiritual stones into it. Even after dozens were inserted, the magical artifact showed no significant reaction. She felt a bit of heartache for the wasted stones but also thought that since she had already invested this much, she had to see some results. So, with a hardened heart, she put in many more spiritual stones.

It wasn’t until after several hundred spiritual stones were used that the miniature courtyard suddenly enlarged. In an instant, the majestic courtyard appeared before Xu Nian. The original tiny base now hovered in mid-air like a control center, displaying the structure of the courtyard and allowing for layout adjustments. A flick of Xu Nian’s tail at the control center, and the rockery corridor changed direction.

What was even more fascinating was that beside the control core, there was a camouflage option. She gave it a try, and in an instant, the once splendid compound blended with the surrounding rocks and vegetation, appearing as an inconspicuous mountain range from the outside. Overjoyed, Xu Nian felt like she had struck gold. From now on, she could just find a remote mountain forest to hide and cultivate in peace, without worrying about her lair being discovered.

Entering the grand courtyard through a gate visible only to her, Xu Nian fell in love with every aspect of it. From the antique design to the exquisite decorations, everything captivated her. She touched here and there with her tail, overwhelmed with excitement. She spun and danced with closed eyes, then dashed towards the main building, finding its lavish decor far surpassing the Baibao Pavilion she had admired before.

The floor was covered with fur from a fifth-rank snow-white silver fox. The furniture, made of high-grade golden-threaded nanmu wood, and the sheer curtains leading to the side rooms were of rare silkworm silk, decorated with beaded curtains of precious pearls. There were countless valuable small items, like the Wine Immortal Pot on the table that endlessly produced exquisite wine, and the Life Bottle that could change the flowers inside at will, filling the air with a rich spiritual aroma. Xu Nian marveled at these treasures for a long time, utterly amazed.

She discovered that operating the courtyard didn’t require hundreds of spiritual stones each time. Beneath the control center was a progress bar, like an energy level. When she put away the courtyard, the energy level remained unchanged. When activating and displaying the courtyard, the energy bar slowly and evenly decreased. Adding spiritual stones to the control center replenished the energy. However, using the disguise feature doubled the rate of energy consumption.

This meant that if Xu Nian wanted to use the courtyard for cultivation while maintaining its disguise, she would need to spend about five hundred spiritual stones every half month, amounting to twelve thousand stones per year. With her current total wealth of just sixty thousand stones, she would deplete her resources in just five years, sustaining only the courtyard’s operation. Realizing this, Xu Nian decided against using it as her primary cultivation base for the time being, thinking of it more as a luxurious retreat for occasional indulgence.