13: Chapter 13 A Sip of the Great Dao Elixir, and the Soul Ascends to Heaven!

Immortal Venerable... He... He actually wants to bestow Great Dao Nectar upon me?!

Ye Qingyao's delicate body trembled imperceptibly, and she froze on the spot.

She raised her eyes and looked at Su Changge.

His gaze was calm and rippleless, and that nonchalance seemed to be saying: It's just a cup of water, is it worth such a fuss?

A test!

This must be the Immortal Venerable's test for me!

To see whether my Dao Heart would falter or if I could remain composed when faced with such a Heaven-Defying divine object!

Ye Qingyao bit the tip of her tongue with her pearly teeth, using the stinging pain to force herself to calm down.

She curtsied gracefully toward Su Changge, her voice carrying a faint, nearly imperceptible tremble due to her intense suppression.

"Junior Ye Qingyao thanks Senior for bestowing a seat and for bestowing water."

Every word was filled with respect from the depths of her Soul.

Only after speaking did she dare to move, taking light lotus steps toward the small stone stool opposite Su Changge.

She didn't sit down immediately.

Instead, she first reached out her fair hands and solemnly smoothed out non-existent wrinkles on her white dress.

Then, she sat down gently, occupying only a third of the stone stool.

Her posture was perfectly upright.

Her posture was humble to the extreme, like a palace maid who had just entered the court to meet the Sovereign, fearing that even the slightest flaw would profane the supreme being before her.

Su Changge looked at her like this, his brows almost knitting together.

"What's wrong with this girl?"

"I told her to sit, so she should just sit. Bowing and then tidying her clothes... it's like she's going to some award ceremony."

"Does my little broken courtyard even deserve such grand etiquette?"

He muttered to himself, unable to understand her train of thought.

Forget it, no point in overthinking it.

He picked up the only spare wooden cup on the table and filled it with plain boiled water from the clay pot nearby.

The cup was carved from scraps while he was chopping wood, and the water in the pot was mountain spring water that had been boiled and then cooled.

He casually pushed the wooden cup in front of Ye Qingyao.

"Drink up."

Ye Qingyao's breath hitched at that moment.

Her gaze was fixed intently on the cup of water.

The water in the cup was crystal clear, reflecting specks of golden light under the afternoon sun.

However, in her Divine Sense perception, this wasn't water at all!

Inside the cup, a phantom image of a Golden Lotus, condensed from pure Dao Rhyme, was slowly blooming and rotating.

An endless aura of life emanated from it, causing every cell in her body, from her hair to her toes, to cheer and leap in joy!

She reached out with both hands.

Her movement wasn't like taking a cup of water, but like holding up a rare, legendary sacred object.

As the wooden cup touched her hands, a warm sensation flowed through her fingertips, instantly spreading through her entire body.

She brought the wooden cup closer.

An indescribable fragrance entered her nostrils.

The fragrance seemed capable of washing away the dust in the depths of her Soul.

She closed her eyes and, with the reverence of a pilgrim, parted her vermilion lips and took a small sip.

The plain boiled water slid down her throat.

[Ding! Target detected drinking "Water of the Great Dao." System special effect: Taste Deception, activated!]

[Special effect: Soul Cleansing (Psychological Suggestion Version), activated!]

The moment the water entered her mouth!

Boom—!

A vast torrent originating from the source of life exploded violently in the depths of her Divine Soul!

This energy was domineering beyond compare, yet as gentle as a spring breeze, frantically washing away the last bit of friction between her Soul and this Physical Body.

The Soul-Body Incompatibility that had plagued her for three whole months and caused her nightly torment was as fragile as thin paper before this power.

It didn't even last for a single breath before being completely crushed and swept away!

At this moment, her Divine Soul and this brand-new Physical Body achieved a harmonious and flawless perfect fit!

"Mmm..."

A feeling of extreme comfort almost made her moan uncontrollably.

Her Soul felt as if it were soaking in the warmest spring of life, and every thought became clearer and more unobstructed than ever before.

But this was only the beginning!

After cleansing her Divine Soul, that miraculous energy poured into her entire body without stopping, washing through her Meridians and reshaping her Root Bone!

The previously dormant Spiritual Power in her body was like a sun being dropped into it, instantly boiling and surging!

Crack!

A crisp, faint sound exploded within her mental world.

The indestructible Ninth Level of Qi Refining Bottleneck that had trapped her for so long shattered at the sound!

Tenth Level of Qi Refining!

Eleventh Level of Qi Refining!

Twelfth Level of Qi Refining! Great Perfection!

Just one step away from drawing Qi into her body and building a supreme Dao Base!

Ye Qingyao's heart was no longer just a stormy sea, but a shock akin to the birth and death of the Universe!

She screamed inwardly.

"The Law of Life! This water contains the complete Law of Life!"

"This isn't nectar! This is the Origin of Life that can drive even immortals and gods mad! This is the Creation God Spring that can reverse life and death!"

What test? What Heart-Nature?

Before such a supreme divine object, all pretenses seemed pale and ridiculous!

She suddenly opened her eyes, greed and longing burning in them, staring intently at the remaining half-cup of "divine water."

She tilted her snowy white neck back and gulped down the rest of the divine water in one go!

After finishing, she licked her crimson lips, her beautiful face flushed with an intoxicating red from the impact of the energy and her excessive excitement, her Phoenix eyes shimmering with moisture.

Su Changge watched the whole process dumbfounded.

From her initial restraint and reserve to her closed-eyed intoxication, and finally to her gulping it down like a whale—she looked as if she hadn't had water in eight hundred years.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

"Good heavens, is this girl really that thirsty? Does the Sect withhold food and not even give her enough water to drink?"

Ye Qingyao slowly put down the wooden cup and looked at Su Changge again.

That gaze had completely changed.

It was no longer awe; it was no longer fear.

It was a gaze that looked up at faith, stared at a deity, and found the only light in life.

It was fervent and devout, enough to melt steel.

The last one-in-a-billion trace of doubt in her heart had also vanished into thin air.

She was two hundred percent, ten thousand percent certain.

The man before her, who had let her drink a cup of plain boiled water, was a... Hidden Immortal Venerable that she couldn't even begin to imagine!

And she had seized the greatest and only Opportunity of her life!