The Beauty Cultivation Technique

The bookworm in Ji Yaoge's hand is also known as a Bai Yu. Bai Yu are long and thin, resembling fish, with three tails and two antennae. Normally, they are only about an inch long and silver-gray, feeding on book pages. However, the one in Ji Yaoge’s hand was the size of a baby’s palm, pale gold with a slight translucence, its back scales carrying ginkgo patterns, six tails, four antennae, and pitch-black eyes. Unlike ordinary bookworms, it must have been cultivating for many years, turning into a yao (妖) creature.

Ji Yaoge had never heard of low-intelligence creatures like bookworms being able to cultivate.

"Stupid mortal, let go of me!" The bookworm's four slender antennae twitched. It spoke even though its mouth didn't move.

"You can talk? How many years have you been cultivating?" Ji Yaoge didn’t want to hold the bug any longer and flicked it onto the cabinet. Just as it tried to escape, she pressed a finger on its back.

The bookworm was furious, its six legs flailing. "Take your disgusting hand off me! I've been cultivating for 3,600 years, longer than your great-great-great-grandfather. I’m probably your ancestor’s peer."

Ji Yaoge kept pressing on it. "3,600 years?" She was astonished. Normally, 3,600 years of cultivation would at least be at the late Nascent Soul or early Transformation stage. But no matter how she looked, this bookworm didn’t seem to have that level of cultivation. "Even for a yao, you should’ve taken human form by now. Show me."

"You’re the yao! Your whole family are yao!" The bookworm fumed. "Why should I take human form? You humans are ugly and clumsy. How can you compare to my handsome golden armor and regal appearance? No way!"

"...," Ji Yaoge was speechless.

"What’s with that look? Are you saying I'm wrong? Don’t you think I’m not beautiful?" The bookworm saw the disdain in her eyes.

"...," Beauty standards differ between species. Ji Yaoge realized they would never agree on this, so she quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here? How long have you been hiding?"

The bookworm suddenly went silent, its black eyes glinting. Its six needle-like tails curled like a scorpion's stinger, aiming to sting Ji Yaoge's hand. Ji Yaoge quickly withdrew her hand, avoiding the sting, but the bug used the opportunity to dart away, disappearing in a flash of golden light.

Not a word left behind.

The room returned to silence, as if the bookworm had never appeared.

Ji Yaoge paced the room, unable to find where the bug had hidden. A round table and stools sat in the center of the library. She sat down, poured herself some tea, and slowly said, "There’s a bookworm in the library. I guess I’ll need to bring in some insect-repelling herbs tomorrow, maybe spray some ant and bug liquid, and place some thousand-year camphor balls. It would be best to add a couple of green-faced spiders..."

"You cruel girl! I have no grudge against you, so why are you trying to kill me?"

The golden light flashed overhead, and the bookworm reappeared, its antennae and tails trembling with rage.

Insect-repelling herbs, ant and bug liquid, camphor balls—those were all used to exterminate pests. As for green-faced spiders, they were Bai Yu's natural enemies. After 3,600 years of cultivation, these things couldn’t kill him, but they would harm his cultivation. Besides, green-faced spiders were hideous...

He didn’t want to see one!

Ji Yaoge covered her mouth, gesturing with her eyes. "Sit."

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"Hmph!" The bookworm angrily smacked onto the table opposite her.

"I am Ji Yaoge. May I know your name?" She asked politely, bowing slightly.

"I am Gao Ba Dou."

"Uh," Ji Yaoge coughed, clenching her fist to cover her mouth. "Gao Ba Dou, as in talented and learned?"

"Hmph, I’ve roamed the sea of books for 3,600 years and read millions of books. Do I not deserve such a name?" Gao Ba Dou said proudly.

"Of course you do," Ji Yaoge agreed. "I’m just curious. How have you been cultivating for 3,600 years, and why are you hiding here?"

After her question, Ji Yaoge swore she saw contempt in the bug's eyes.

"Being a Bai Yu, I naturally eat books," Gao Ba Dou began to tell his story.

————

One person and one bug sat across the table, conversing.

Gao Ba Dou was originally an ordinary bookworm in a human palace library, fond of nibbling on books. By sheer luck, he survived several extermination attempts. When his lifespan was nearly up, a batch of cultivation jade slips was secretly stored in the library. After sneaking in, he absorbed the spiritual energy within the jade slips, gaining weak intelligence within ten years and starting to cultivate.

"You humans only absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, not knowing the pure and profound spiritual essence contained in books..." Gao Ba Dou sighed.

To Ji Yaoge, it sounded more like a gourmet talking about food.

After discovering he could absorb the spiritual essence from books, Gao Ba Dou used it as sustenance. Cultivation books are the distilled wisdom of predecessors, containing spiritual essence different from ordinary spiritual energy. Normal people couldn't sense it, but Gao Ba Dou could consume it. Once the essence was depleted, the book was essentially read and couldn't be consumed again. This method didn’t harm the books but reduced their number for Gao Ba Dou. The palace library couldn't satisfy his needs, but he was lucky to be taken to the cultivation world inside a jade slip, starting his carefree days in the libraries of Wan Hua Immortal World.

He couldn’t count how many libraries he’d stayed in or how many cultivation books he’d nibbled on. Each day, he would feast on spiritual essence, hibernating when no books were available. From a tiny bookworm, he slowly evolved into the Bookworm Immortal.

Nobody thought a bookworm could cultivate, and since he avoided battles and could hide his aura, he remained undetected for 3,600 years until tonight.

"This place is truly poor. No new books for years. I’m starving, my scales have lost their luster." Gao Ba Dou fumed.

A hundred years ago, he was brought into the Chi Xiu Palace library with a jade slip. Realizing the place was poor and the books were low-level, he hibernated. Three days ago, new books arrived, and he couldn’t resist, revealing himself and getting caught by Ji Yaoge.

"Sorry about that," Ji Yaoge apologized insincerely.

"I’ve told my story. Now it’s your turn." Gao Ba Dou's antennae twitched as he spoke.

"There’s not much to tell, just a low-level cultivator from Mei Sect," Ji Yaoge said casually.

"Don’t lie to me, girl. In my 3,600 years, I haven’t learned much magic, but I’ve mastered the art of recognizing spirits." Gao Ba Dou's voice grew raspy and ethereal. "You’re not Ji Yaoge."

Seeing through her in an instant.

Ji Yaoge stiffened but remained calm. "Is that so?"

"Is that girl dead?" Gao Ba Dou asked, somewhat sentimental.

Ji Yaoge paused for a long time before replying, "Yes, sort of."

"Did you kill her?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, when I found her, she was already just a body."

"I knew it. Who would choose her for spirit seizing? That girl was pitiful..." Gao Ba Dou sighed but soon laughed darkly. "But you’re even more pitiful, choosing such a useless body for rebirth. You might as well have died and reincarnated."

"...," Ji Yaoge was troubled by this, her face darkening. "What’s wrong with her body?"

"She worked here for over ten years. Though we never met, I recognized her. I once examined her body while she was asleep. She has a unique constitution called a Double Void Body."

"What does Double Void mean?" Ji Yaoge asked.

"First, void of emotions; second, void of spirit. Unlike normal people, she has no emotions, making her detached, which is rare and valuable for cultivation, as it requires strong will and detachment from love and hate. But she also has a void spirit body, meaning her meridians are blocked, and her consciousness is muddled, making it impossible to absorb spiritual energy and cultivate," Gao Ba Dou explained. "You seem smart, so let me advise you. With this body, forget about cultivation. Either live comfortably or cut your throat and start over."

"...," Ji Yaoge was silent for a long time. "Is there really no other way?"

Gao Ba Dou saw her determination, his black eyes staring at her. "Since you’ve seen my true form, we’re fated. If you trust me, let me examine your primordial spirit."

Ji Yaoge hesitated but nodded. Trust didn’t matter; things couldn’t get worse.

Gao Ba Dou, gaining her consent, flew up and landed on her head, extending two antennae into the cinnabar mark on her brow.

Ji Yaoge closed her eyes, feeling only a slight itch on her forehead, nothing else.

After a while, she heard him mutter, "Hmm, missing one of three souls. Your spirit isn’t complete."

"Which soul is missing?" Ji Yaoge was puzzled. Since her rebirth, she hadn’t felt anything amiss. Instead of anger and resentment, she felt calm.

"You’re missing the Hidden Essence Soul."

"Hidden Essence...," Ji Yaoge frowned. "That governs emotions, love, and intimacy."

No wonder she felt so calm.

"What does that mean?"

"Missing one of three souls means your spirit isn’t whole. Over time, you could become unstable and go mad." Gao Ba Dou withdrew his antennae, flying back to the table. "Cutting your throat isn’t an option. Without a complete spirit, if you reincarnate, you might be born a fool."

Ji Yaoge felt worse. Another problem on top of everything else. Even death wasn’t an option.

"Is there really no cultivation method for me?" she asked after a long silence.

Accepting her situation, she sought solutions. In the cultivation world, strength was everything. To retrieve her missing soul, she needed to be strong, making cultivation essential.

"There’s none, at least not in this room," Gao Ba Dou dismissed her immediately.

Ji Yaoge fell silent, but Gao Ba Dou suddenly exclaimed, "Wait, there is one..."

Her eyes lit up. "Where?"

"I can give you the book, but you must promise to take me out of this poor place and find a big library," Gao Ba Dou negotiated.

"Agreed," Ji Yaoge said without hesitation.

Gao Ba Dou cackled, flying to the base of a bookshelf. "Come, take it."

Ji Yaoge approached, seeing a damaged bookshelf with a gray jade slip propping it up. She questioned with her eyes—who would use a precious cultivation manual as a prop?

"Pick it up and see. I believe it’s the most suitable method for you," Gao Ba Dou urged.

Half-believing, Ji Yaoge crouched beside the bookshelf, propping it up with her shoulder and quickly pulling out the jade slip. The bookshelf wobbled, and she had to support it with her back, holding the slip in her hands, concentrating to probe it.

Quickly, an old book appeared in her mind.

On the cover was a scantily clad woman, next to vulgar red characters—"The Beauty Cultivation Technique." It looked like a manual for erotic art.

She quickly closed her mind, glaring at Gao Ba Dou.

Gao Ba Dou flew up. "Don’t look at me like that. I know what you’re thinking. This is the best method I could find for you. You’re not attractive, the plainest I’ve ever seen. If you can't cultivate, become a beauty. Maybe you’ll find a powerful cultivator willing to help you..."

Before he finished, Ji Yaoge threw the jade slip at him.

Gao Ba Dou darted higher, but Ji Yaoge stood silently, staring at him until he felt uneasy.

"Don’t be mad... This is a rare method, with strong spiritual fluctuations, but it’s sealed by powerful restrictions. I couldn't access its true content. In 3,600 years, it's the only method I couldn’t absorb."

Ji Yaoge couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.