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Qin Shu listened to this unconventional response, and a sense of powerlessness rose in her heart. Her mind kept repeating one phrase: Wen Chi is unreliable...

She sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, took out her communication jade slip, and asked another question.

[Dear immortal masters, how do I choose a cultivation technique? Can it be changed after selection?]

As it turned out, there were always enthusiastic individuals willing to help, regardless of the era. Qin Shu didn't have to wait long before someone replied.

[Choosing a technique is mutual. As you choose it, it also chooses you.]

[Are you new? To switch techniques, you'd have to disperse all your previous cultivation and start over.]

...

Qin Shu read through all the responses from beginning to end. While she seemed to understand some parts, she still felt confused.

What did they mean by as you choose it, it also chooses you?

She scratched the little strands of hair at the back of her head.

Forget it—if she couldn't figure it out, she'd just try it out for herself.

With so many techniques before her, she picked one at random.

"Great Leaf Technique?"

Judging by the name, it seemed to be a wood-element technique. She opened the first page, and a gentle green light immediately spread out.

Her wood spiritual root value was quite low, so the technique seemed to be shrouded in a faint mist, making it difficult for her to see the written content clearly.

"So this is how it's chosen?" Qin Shu muttered to herself.

She put the book back and carefully picked another, this time a fire-element technique. This time, she could see the contents.

She thought she had found her destined technique, but when she tried circulating her spiritual energy according to the instructions, it collapsed the moment it gathered.

Qin Shu frowned. Couldn't she use fire techniques either?

Or was it just this one? She tried another fire-element technique, but the same thing happened.

She thought of her earth spiritual root and tried an earth-element technique, but it didn't work either.

Now, Qin Shu was truly perplexed. If fire, wood, and earth techniques didn't work, then what was suitable for her?

Should she try a metal or water technique instead?

She sat cross-legged in the hall, remaining there until the sky outside turned dark. No one came to check on her.

The moonlight streamed in through the window, forming a neat square of light on the floor.

Suddenly, Qin Shu had a thought. Since no one was here, why did she have to return to her cave dwelling?

Flying back and forth on the green leaf cost her five low-grade spirit stones each way. It would be better to stay here until her cultivation progressed sufficiently.

Compared to her cave dwelling, the sect's Transmission Hall seemed much safer.

Besides, her cave dwelling had already been taken over by that giant snake. Living here would save her from being bullied.

She moved closer to the window, ensuring that the moonlight fell on her, then closed her eyes contentedly, focusing on cultivating.

Although the hall lacked a spiritual gathering array, there was no giant snake competing with her for spiritual energy, so her absorption rate wasn't slow.

She finished refining her Governor Vessel and successfully advanced to the third level of Qi Refining.

Feeling the abundant power within her, Qin Shu was quite satisfied.

Now, when she flew on the green leaf, it probably wouldn't cost her five low-grade spirit stones anymore.

She opened her eyes but found that the scenery around her had changed.

For some reason, she was once again in that lavish golden room. Looking down at her lap, she saw a book titled Transmission Guide resting there.

Qin Shu figured that since basic techniques could be used up to the fifth level of Qi Refining, she had plenty of time to decide on a suitable one, so she wasn't in a hurry.

She stayed in the hall, practicing her swordsmanship when her mental energy allowed and cultivating in the room when it didn't. When her mental energy was replenished, she would open the Transmission Guide again to enter the mysterious space.

Three months passed like this.

One day, Qin Shu opened the Transmission Guide again and noticed that the golden figure across from her had changed its sword moves.

Delighted, she realized she must have mastered the basic sword techniques and was ready to learn proper sword moves!

The set contained only seven moves, but Qin Shu found them dazzling to watch. She barely managed to follow along twice before stopping.

Though the sword moves looked simple, performing them was exhausting. After just two rounds, she was forcibly ejected from the space.

After resting for a while with her eyes closed, Qin Shu realized it had been three months since she left Lingxiao Peak. It was time to check in.

She flew her green leaf back to her mountain and plunged straight into the pond behind her cave dwelling.

After happily playing in the water for a while, she prepared to remove her wet clothes for a proper bath, but then she remembered the giant snake she had abandoned for three months...

What if someone saw her? How embarrassing would that be?

Even though her current body had just turned eleven, she couldn't get past the awkwardness in her heart.

Sighing, she climbed out of the pond and used her purple spiritual energy to create a ring of fire around herself, drying her clothes in an instant.

Pushing open the door to her cave dwelling, she was greeted by a gray, dusty scene.

The dust hanging in the air made Qin Shu sneeze. She squinted, wrinkled her nose, and waved her hand to clear the dust.

Once her vision cleared, she saw something unexpected: a figure lying on the stone bed she had imagined to be empty.

Instinctively, Qin Shu closed the door behind her and turned back to examine the snake on the bed.

Its dark robe was covered in dust, and spiderwebs had even formed on its tail.

A foul stench of decay wafted from its tail, and Qin Shu was scared half to death.

Could it be... that she had let the snake die?

If it had died because she hadn't returned in three months, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.

She cautiously approached, raising a trembling hand to check for breath under Xie Shiyuan's nose.

Before her hand got close, she felt her whole body flung backward. With a loud smack, she hit the stone wall.

Qin Shu was in so much pain she felt like her bones were about to break.

As she struggled to get up, she turned to look at the man on the stone bed.

The dust in the cave had vanished, and he now sat at the edge of the bed, glaring at her with a sinister expression.

"You still remember to come back?" he said coldly.

Qin Shu froze, clutching her almost-broken waist, and muttered an apology. "Sorry."

But as soon as the words left her mouth, her brow furrowed.

Something felt off. She had been away cultivating—why did his words make her feel like a neglectful scoundrel who abandoned his wife and never came home?

"Cultivation is timeless! It's only been three months. Do you have to be so angry? My waist is almost broken!" Qin Shu mustered her courage to complain.

When Xie Shiyuan sensed her presence earlier, he had restrained his strength; otherwise, she might not have survived.