“No! No! Nononononononononono. I would never dare do such a thing. I am an upright cultivator. I would never go as far as to peep on a woman in the southern mountains where the hidden hot springs are located.” The old man shook his hands back and forth, his face completely pale. He had not even realized he had just given himself up due to his own stupidity.

“Oh… so how did you know it was in the south? Hmmm? How did you know it was a hidden hot spring? Hmmm? I guess I should just kill you now and destroy your soul!” Elder Nishikawa dragged the old man off into the sky. The old man screamed for help, but no one was going to come. 

Elder Li scratched his head. He had no idea what Elder Nishikawa did to the old man to make him so frightened, but he was glad things were easily taken care of. “Now then….” He looked over at the sky within the barrier and frowned. “Those little girls scare the hell out of me. I hope they survive.”

- - -

“That’s right, circulate your demonic qi around their qi. Slowly integrate it into the qi itself. Do not try to push it only small strands at a time. The process will take time, but it will form a false core as long as they are able to spin their qi as I told them.” Delia was giving Yuki instructions as Yuki was helping Nana form her false primordial core. Delia was assisting Silvia while keeping an eye on Nana’s progress. The success rate was now seventy percent because Yuki was helping, and Delia did not have to split the workload as she had planned. She could have helped them one by one, but the time it took to form a false core varied, and she could not risk them running out of time here in the myriad pools. The pools were the perfect place to shatter a core and rebuild it into a false primordial one. As such, she did not wish for these girls to miss this chance.

“Good. Just like that. Keep it slow. The rest is up to them. We only need to keep doing what we are doing. While the demonic qi will be rejected on the final formation, it is still necessary to use demonic qi in the formation process.” Delia meant that the bodies who have always taken in spiritual qi will reject the demonic qi as the false primordial core forms, and it will be expelled from their bodies. 

For Yuki, who was doing her best to keep a steady constant stream of demonic qi merging into the spiritual qi that was slowly swirling around in Nana’s dantian, time seemed to pass very, very slowly.

Beads of sweat formed over her brow as she rested her hand on Nana’s back. She was lucky she was still naked, and the cool breeze was keeping her from being too hot, or else she was afraid she would end up covered in sweat. 

A week and a half later, Delia, who was no better off than Yuki, finally let out a relieved sigh. “Okay, we can stop. They just need to finish the formation.” 

Yuki fell backward on the cool stone and let out a sigh of relief. She was glad she was able to help with this. While it was not easy, she had learned a lot about manipulating her demonic qi, which can also be applied to spiritual qi. This ability to easily manipulate qis will come in handy when she does other things later on. 

“Yuki, open your mouth.” Delia’s soft yet warm voice entered Yuki’s ears. Yuki had her eyes closed but still complied with what Delia said. Soon, she felt a cool sweat sensation filling her mouth. She slowly opened her eyes to see a small porcelain bottle tipped over her mouth and a golden liquid flowing into her mouth.

The cooling sensation slipped down her throat and spread throughout her body. She felt completely refreshed, as if she had not done any work at all. “Delia, this is?”

“This is very rare, but it comes from a tri-stinger wasp queen. It’s the honey that normally only the queen can eat. I just happened to get some one day and had it on me. I figured with how cute you were, you would like sweet things. It is very good for the body and will help you consolidate your cultivation. So let it spread its nourishment throughout your body.” Delia replied.

“Thank you. But Delia, why are you so kind to me? I know you say you love me, but why? I still do not understand.” Yuki really did not get it. Delia came here and said she fell in love at first sight, but why? Why did she come here in the first place?

“I do not know how to answer. I just know I wish to be with you and want to protect you. When you grow stronger and are able to protect yourself, I will walk at your side as your equal.” Yuki was her destined one. There were no ands, its, or buts about it. But there seemed to be more to it than Delia was letting on. Something that only Delia knew and did not plan to tell anyone.