Chapter 66: The Metaphysics Master Is an Internet Celebrity 5

Mu Yin was uncertain about many things, but her suspicions alone told her that if it really was as she guessed, then dealing with Hong Bo was her responsibility. After all, had it not been for her, Hong Bo would never have become a ghost; and from the looks of it, he wasn’t an ordinary ghost either. If she failed to handle him quickly, he might eventually become a king of ghosts, and half of his evil deeds would be hers to bear.

The thought made Mu Yin restless, and she had the urge to rush out and find Hong Bo to destroy him at once. But she reflected on her own abilities, which were still lacking. While she could force him to retreat, eliminating him entirely was not so simple.

It would be wiser to cultivate patiently and acquire some real power first. Mu Yin was unaware that Hong Bo had been wounded by her cleansing talisman, and now, with his injuries compounded, he was temporarily incapable of causing further harm. For the next month, Mu Yin stayed home ostensibly to recover, but in truth she was cultivating.

With the presence of primordial energy, her cultivation advanced swiftly. She had already completed the stage of refining essence into qi and reached the second stage, refining qi into spirit. Though the difference was in cultivation, it actually lay in the meridians she operated: the inner qi in the first stage circulated through the Governing and Conception vessels, while the second stage required opening all eight extraordinary meridians.

The more meridians she activated, the purer and greater her true energy became. Mu Yin’s method was rather unrefined; she paid little attention to the meaning behind the mental techniques, simply moving energy through her body to convert it into her own true essence.

Thus, although she had reached the stage of refining qi into spirit, she still didn’t fully grasp it. She only knew that once her lower dantian was opened, the energy within her body formed a self-sustaining cycle. It absorbed not only external energy, but also drew in some of the energy her body originally would have lost.

One manifestation of this was that her menstrual period stopped. Regardless of gender, essence and qi are vital energies formed from one’s life force. If they’re insufficient, the body becomes weak. Yet a person’s essence is constantly leaking; especially during sexual activity, without dual cultivation techniques, this is the greatest drain.

Aging itself is due to the continuous loss of essence and qi. After one begins cultivation, the internal energy cycle absorbs and transforms surrounding energy, including the essence that would have been lost, thus prolonging life and delaying aging.

For women, menstruation is a form of essence leakage; after all, the egg carries the potential for the next generation, which consumes a great deal of life force. The loss of essence is considerable.

It wasn’t that she would never menstruate again, but the interval would lengthen. With her cultivation, it would occur roughly every three months. Mu Yin was quite satisfied with this, but when Mother Liu discovered it, she was frightened.

“Lingling, take this and check. If it’s really... we’ll go to the hospital and have it taken care of.” Mother Liu came to Mu Yin’s room, her cast already removed, though she was still forbidden from walking.

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“Mom, I’m fine.” Seeing her mother hand her a pregnancy test, Mu Yin was speechless and quickly waved it away.

“Lingling, don’t be afraid. If you need to go, I’ll go with you,” Mother Liu reassured, thinking her daughter was worried about being judged.

“Mom, I’m really not pregnant.” Mu Yin was helpless. She hadn’t expected her lengthened menstrual cycle would cause such a misunderstanding. Knowing she would eventually reveal her study of metaphysics, she explained, “Actually, it’s because I’ve been learning a metaphysical practice. It hasn’t stopped my period, just extended the cycle.”

“Metaphysics?” Mother Liu knew a little about such things.

“Yes. The truth is, when I said I didn’t know why Hong Bo became like that, I lied. He was turned that way by the girls he harmed; maybe I was disoriented from the attack and saw them. After I got home, I looked it up on the metaphysics forum, found a basic entry-level guide, started learning, thinking that if that pervert died and became a ghost, I’d have a way to handle it. Turns out I picked it up quite easily.” Mu Yin offered herself a plausible excuse.

“Are you serious?” Mother Liu was half-convinced, but didn’t doubt the metaphysics itself, as it wasn’t a secret.

“Of course.” Mu Yin nodded, then took out a talisman paper and brush she’d bought online, and drew a talisman—the cleansing charm, though not activated with special abilities, its effect was no different from others. “This is a cleansing charm. After dinner, burn it and you’ll see.”

Mother Liu decided to try it. After dinner, she didn’t let the robot wash the dishes but went into the kitchen herself, lit the talisman with a lighter, and immediately felt a glow. All the kitchen’s grime, including the range hood, was suddenly spotless.

“It really works!” Mother Liu ran out joyfully.

“What are you so excited about?” Father Liu couldn’t help but ask, seeing her like this.

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“Hey, Old Liu, our daughter is now one of the metaphysical practitioners,” Mother Liu said proudly. While such people weren’t considered superior, they were still respected—after all, only metaphysical practitioners could deal with monsters and ghosts.

So, although there was no formal hierarchy, metaphysics held high status in the eyes of outsiders. Fortunately, the country’s governance was sound and hadn’t allowed them to become superior to ordinary citizens. Metaphysics could deal with the supernatural, but not with high-tech weaponry.

Now that their daughter was a metaphysical practitioner, they needn’t worry about previous troubles. Although they’d tried to hide it, and the police didn’t reveal the victim’s name, anyone with influence could find out. Their daughter’s life would have been ruined, but as a practitioner, things changed.

Just as you can’t afford to offend doctors—you never know when you’ll need them—so too you can’t offend metaphysical practitioners. You never know when you’ll need their help, and it’s even easier for them to destroy a family than for doctors. Offending them is worse.

If someone could marry a metaphysical practitioner, they’d be delighted. With Mu Yin’s new identity, her past would no longer matter.

Mu Yin had no idea what her mother was thinking. She was busy fielding her father’s questions about how she’d learned metaphysics, relying once more on her old excuse.

“What stage are you at now?” Father Liu asked.

“Hmm, refining qi into spirit,” Mu Yin replied.

“So fast?” Father Liu was somewhat knowledgeable; he had once tried to learn, but hadn’t succeeded.