My Arts Evolve When Perfected

In the vast bedroom, curtains hung low, and the scent of agarwood smoke lingered. A faint, ethereal fragrance filled every corner. The mirror on the counter reflected the large bed, the Spirit Candleholder, and the Cyan Jade Pillars.

Bell Fish, having explained everything, had already departed. Jiang Qiu looked down at Snow, who tilted her head up to meet his gaze. Her mask, adorned with white flowers on a blue background, concealed all expression, revealing only a pair of large, bright eyes as clear as water droplets.

Although everyone in this world wore a mask and spoke with a ghostly inflection, making it impossible to distinguish male from female by their faces, their physiques still differed.

The girl before him was about ten years old, the bodice of her dress stretching over the faint contours of her chest. Her small, fair hands rested at her sides, and a pair of exquisite floral shoes peeked out from under her blue servant’s dress.

’Judging by my experiences in both my past and present lives, she has to be a girl.’

Jiang Qiu pursed his lips for a moment, then slowly asked, "Elder Bell Fish said you came from the last generation of the Yin Yang Summoned Life? That when you were born, snow fell across the entire Hundred Ghosts Sect, and Elder Zhao Sheng ranked you as the foremost talent and named you Snow?"

’How strange. From what I’ve seen, the Hundred Ghosts Sect places immense importance on the Yin Yang Summoned Life. Every infant who comes from there is taken by an Elder to be raised as a personal disciple.’

’How could someone once considered the genius with the greatest potential from the Yin Yang Summoned Life, the one ranked foremost among them, have fallen so low as to become a servant girl for Bell Fish?’

’Moreover, she has no trace of cultivation, just like a mortal.’

’This is the first "mortal" I’ve seen since coming to this world.’

"Yes," Snow nodded, a faint contentment brewing in her eyes, as if she were grateful just to be here today. "But I don’t remember much from when I was born. I only know that after my original master discovered I couldn’t cultivate, he was going to give me to his other personal disciple to be Refined.

Fortunately, Elder Bell Fish took a liking to me and brought me here. By becoming a servant girl and wearing a mask, I can live for a very long time."

"You can’t cultivate?"

Raising an eyebrow, Jiang Qiu grabbed her right hand. His consciousness delved into her body, and sure enough, he couldn’t find the slightest trace of cultivation. The so-called Jade Sinews were completely absent.

’Oh, wait, that’s not how it works in this world. To cultivate the Hundred Ghosts Communication Technique, one needs a Cultivation Dish, not to condense Jade Sinews within the body.’

’But Snow’s body is no different from a normal person’s. I can’t see anything special about it.’

He pushed his consciousness deeper, toward her soul...

VMM—

Suddenly, an intangible will erupted from the depths of Snow’s mind, repelling Jiang Qiu’s consciousness. His pupils sharpened as he frowned and took a long, hard look at Snow.

’With my Dao Entry Realm cultivation, I was actually unable to perceive the state of a mere mortal’s soul. This is simply unheard of.’

"Aren’t you sad that you can’t cultivate?"

Snow shook her head, her eyes curving into crescents. "It’s good enough just to be alive. I want to keep living."

At her words, Jiang Qiu’s heart trembled. For a moment, he saw in her eyes a look from his memories. Back then, in that world of ice and snow, the little girl from next door had also just wanted to live a simple life, never daring to hope for more.

Subconsciously, he raised his right hand and reached for her mask, wanting to uncover everything.

’Could I be wrong? How could there be such a coincidence in the world? So many Great Realms, yet we just happened to transmigrate to the same one?’

’But we both left through the same Great Teleportation Array. Perhaps the destination was the same?’

’But the Teleportation Array had no set coordinates; it was a random teleportation. And it’s been so many years apart...’

"Senior Brother Bai Mo, c-can you please not take off my mask?"

Her light, delicate voice seeped out from behind the blue and white floral mask, like an invisible vine wrapping around Jiang Qiu’s wrist. His fingers twitched, and his gaze met her eyes, which were overflowing with a clear light.

Snow shrank back half a step, her slender little hands tugging at the corners of her skirt. She drew her head back, the hair at her temples falling away to reveal a small, fragile neck as fair as White Jade.

"I want to live a little longer. I don’t want to shorten my life."

Her words were like a piece of Jade dropping into a still pond, the ripples scattering all of Jiang Qiu’s stray thoughts. He sighed to himself.

*Tap.*

The young man’s palm landed on her head. Snow’s small frame trembled, her fearful gaze fixed on Jiang Qiu’s dragon mask, like a little mouse pinned under a Tiger’s paw.

"I won’t take it off."

He gently patted her head a couple of times, his voice softening. "Elder Bell Fish asked you to be my Cultivation Dish. Are you truly willing?"

"Mhm," Snow nodded, her shoulders hunched. Afraid her answer wasn’t firm enough, she hurriedly added, "I am willing. Elder Bell Fish said that for someone like me who can’t even cultivate, my greatest purpose is to serve as a Cultivation Dish for the senior brothers and sisters. Maybe one day, if the Cultivator I’m bound to ascends the Yin Yang Celestial Pride List, I’ll get to go to the Yang Realm too. That would be the greatest honor of my life."

"The Yin Yang Celestial Pride List and the Yang Realm again..." he murmured, then fell silent.

’In the cultivation legacy Bell Fish gave me, it’s stated that the major sects and cultivation systems all have very high requirements for their Cultivation Dishes. Most are somewhat similar to Blue Star’s "Forged Jade Sinews" system, seeking out Treasures of Heaven and Earth to serve as Cultivation Dishes.’

’Only the Hundred Ghosts Sect forged a different path, choosing to use humans as Cultivation Dishes and walking a Dao that was once unparalleled in the world.’

’But it seems this Dao was never walked to its end, which led to the Sect’s decline. Now, it only operates within Sunset City.’

’Moreover, the disciples of the Hundred Ghosts Sect are very particular about affinity when choosing a Cultivation Dish. As long as the "feeling" of compatibility is high, the person is considered suitable.’

’The Cultivation Dish will also bear the Cultivator’s will, much like Soldier Body Integration. The further one progresses in cultivation, the more closely they will be aligned. According to the cultivation path Bell Fish provided, will the Cultivation Dish ultimately become a part of oneself?’

’But this is all just speculation and inference. Since the Ancestor left, no one has reached the stage of Dao Fusion. No one knows what ultimately becomes of the Cultivation Dish.’

’Let’s just call this the Hundred Ghosts Dao for now. But this path... can I really still cultivate it?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Qiu attempted to "Refine" Snow according to the steps of the Hundred Ghosts Communication Technique. His intention was just to test it. ’After all, with my "My Dao" already established, it should be impossible to cultivate two Great Daos at the same time, right?’

VMM—

With a single thought, the bond formed. His pupils contracted sharply.

Snatching his right hand back from Snow’s head, Jiang Qiu froze in place. He felt a ball of white spirit fire materialize from nowhere deep within his mind. In the unseen realm, a thread of fate had been tied, and at its other end was Snow, who was tilting her head and staring with wide eyes.

’Even though I’ve already entered "My Dao," I can still cultivate this "Hundred Ghosts Dao"?!’

’I had originally wanted to cultivate one of this world’s techniques to lie low for a while. I was just thinking of some ordinary technique to improve my personal strength, not a legacy technique that points directly to a Great Dao!’

’Back when Bell Fish passed the Hundred Ghosts Communication Technique to me, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to cultivate it. I was hesitating, wondering if I should choose a different path—fight my way out of here, find another sect to lie low in, and gather information.’

’And now, it turns out this path is open to me!’