By the time Liu Fengying returned to Gongdao Village from Wancheng, Mo Xiaoman had just completed an arduous trial—what could even be called a painful metamorphosis.

In her past life, Mo Xiaoman had loved watching movies and TV. She wasn’t picky about the genre—be it domestic or foreign, romance or idol dramas, mysteries, fantasies, sci-fi, historical, or modern—she watched whatever she came across. She had a vague understanding of the legendary Bone Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Forging, but experiencing it for real felt like a total rip-off. It was a true life-or-death struggle, like taking a round trip through the gates of hell and back!

In truth, she knew she shouldn’t complain and ought to be grateful. ’This was the Black Mountain Spirit Lord showing great mercy by helping me. If he had been too lazy to offer guidance, if he hadn’t intervened, who knows how long it would have taken for me to make this kind of progress!’

The aftermath of the incident with Xiao Feng made Xiao Man feel with deep conviction that she had no choice but to become stronger. Goaded on by who-knows-who, Mo Xiaoqiang completely ignored Secretary Mo’s warnings. He and Mo Xiaoneng would lie in wait near Xiao Man’s courtyard gate, and as soon as no one was around, they would hurl rocks at her gate and into her yard. If Xiao Man wanted to step outside, she’d have to wear a pot on her head, or else she’d risk getting her own head split open!

She was practically trapped!

The militia platoon leader had chased them off twice, and other adults who passed by and saw Mo Xiaoqiang causing trouble would yell at him. But he always came back. Soon, some of the village’s other troublemakers started joining him, throwing rocks in bursts. The constant PINGING and PONGING was so relentless that even the elderly and children from the houses behind hers no longer dared to come over to draw water.

They didn’t dare to come when Grandpa was home, but the moment he left, they were back!

Xiao Man was furious, but Grandma just kept her cooped up inside, constantly calling her back and forbidding her from going into the courtyard, terrified she would be hit by a rock.

Fueled by her anger, Xiao Man’s resolve to pursue her Cultivation only hardened. In addition to drinking massive amounts of spiritual spring water, she spent three straight days and nights practicing. During the day, she stayed in her room; at night, she went to the grain-drying area in the center of her courtyard, practicing the Five Animals Qigong with single-minded, tireless devotion.

Around five o’clock on the morning of the third night, Xiao Man finished her fiftieth repetition of the Five Animals Qigong. As she sat on the grain-drying ground for her Breathing Regulation, she felt a slight heat bloom in the palm of her left hand. With a jolt of intuition, her form flickered. When she opened her eyes and focused, she found herself already inside the Treasure Pearl Space!

Xiao Man pinched her own thigh, then patted her cheeks, a mix of shock and joy flooding her. ’It’s not just a wisp of my consciousness this time—my whole body is here! My actual body is here!’

’Didn’t the Spirit Lord say he would only summon me in two months, right before he dissipated? Could this be because of how hard I’ve been training these last few days?’

Seeing no sign of the Spirit Lord, Xiao Man pressed her palms together in a respectful bow and called out, "Xiao Man is here to see you, Spirit Lord!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"This is your space. There’s no need for such formalities."

The Spirit Lord materialized, still suspended in mid-air. His voice was lazy, but his tone was cheerful. He was probably delighted to see Xiao Man treating him like a deity.

The Spirit Lord then had Xiao Man perform her Five Animals Qigong for him on a large, flat rock. He didn’t say much, only offering a few pointers on the snake form. When Xiao Man tried it again, she immediately felt a vast difference and benefited immensely.

The Spirit Lord wasn’t a curious being. He didn’t even ask what had happened to Xiao Man. He merely noted that her constitution had indeed grown stronger and that she had entered the Treasure Pearl Space through her own will this time. He added that her recent days of hard training were nothing special—many on the path of Cultivation worked far harder than she did. However, her method of chugging massive amounts of spiritual spring water was both bloating and troublesome. It was so stupid, he could hardly bear to watch.

Xiao Man grumbled internally, ’Well, this is the best I can do right now, what do you expect? And this space has so many restrictions. There’s clearly good stuff here, but I’m not allowed to touch it!’

The Spirit Lord beckoned to Xiao Man, leading her from the edge of Little Spring Lake up to the third-to-last tier of the spiritual springs. Pointing to a swirling eddy in the water, he said, "Right there. With your current constitution, you can take a drink! Just one!"

Xiao Man glanced down at Little Spring Lake, then counted the tiers going up. "This is... the third tier up," she said hesitantly. "This spiritual spring... can I really handle it? Won’t my body just explode?"

The Spirit Lord flicked his sleeve. "I am only offering you this guidance because your method is so stupid I can’t bear to watch it any longer. If you don’t trust me, then don’t drink. Fine, I’ll have been meddling for nothing!"

"Hey! Hey! Don’t go! I’ll drink it! And, uh, if anything happens... Spirit Lord, you know what they say: saving a life builds more merit than building a seven-story pagoda!"

The Spirit Lord snorted. "Enough nonsense. If you’re going to drink, do it now. Once the time is up, you won’t be able to drink it even if you want to! Because of the unique geography here, the upper and lower springs swirl and neutralize each other. For two hours, the water at the very center will remain perfectly still, making it ideal for you to drink. A single mouthful is more potent than drinking all of Little Spring Lake! I will remain here to guide your Breathing Regulation and energy circulation to temper your muscles and bones. You won’t die!"

How could Xiao Man dare to delay after hearing that? With a quick "thank you," she bent down, cupped the spiritual spring water in her hands, and, just as the Spirit Lord had instructed, took a single mouthful!

The moment that single mouthful of spiritual spring water went down, Xiao Man felt an uncontrollable power instantly fill her body, as if she were a balloon being inflated to its limit. This power felt like it was about to burst her from the inside out! An excruciating, soul-tearing pain washed over her. Xiao Man clenched her jaw, but she couldn’t bear it. She stumbled and fell, rolling into Big Spring Lake. The Spirit Lord remained indifferent, hovering in mid-air and watching her coldly. He paid no mind to her agony, simply stating, "If you don’t want your body to explode, do exactly as I say!"

Xiao Man fought to stay conscious, refusing to let the pain make her faint. Trembling all over, she crawled onto the large rock by the lake and sat down properly. She formed a hand seal, closed her eyes, and focused her mind, following the Spirit Lord’s continuous instructions to guide the rampaging power within her...

After about an hour, the immense pain began to subside, eventually vanishing completely. Xiao Man herself couldn’t even recall how she had gotten through it, nor did she remember when the Spirit Lord’s voice had stopped. When she opened her eyes, he was nowhere to be seen. A foul stench filled her nostrils. She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow but smeared off a layer of "black mud."

Xiao Man froze. She looked down at herself and was completely dumbstruck. ’Did this stinking, black, gooey filth really come out of my body? Oh, heavens, no, it can’t be, it can’t be!’

’Anyway, the Spirit Lord is just a wisp of Divine Sense. He was probably driven off by my stench.’ The little mud-person, Mo Xiaoman, leaped to her feet and, with a SPLASH, jumped into Big Spring Lake. Once in the water, she stripped off her clothes, washed them clean, and spread them out to dry on a Taihu rock. Then, completely naked, she swam freely in the lake, just swimming and swimming...

But she didn’t dare to play for too long, worried that dawn would break in the outside world and Grandma would panic when she couldn’t find her. Once her clothes felt about half-dry, Xiao Man put them back on. On a whim, she bent down and wrapped her arms around the large, round Taihu rock she had used to dry her clothes—it was as wide as a small table, about seventy or eighty centimeters in diameter. To her astonishment, she lifted it! She could even walk a few steps back and forth while holding it!

Xiao Man stood stunned for a moment. ’That mouthful of spiritual spring water and the agony I went through... it really worked! I’m stronger! It’s practically Divine Power! This rock has to weigh at least eighty or ninety pounds. If I can lift it this easily, it means I don’t have to be afraid of that little punk, Xiaoqiang, anymore!’

Xiao Man was overjoyed. Figuring the Spirit Lord wasn’t going to reappear, she didn’t bother bidding him farewell. Her eyes fell upon the elegant lotus flowers standing tall in Little Spring Lake, and an idea sparked in her mind. But she reminded herself not to be greedy and to take things slow. She ran over, steadied a verdant green stalk, and carefully pinched off a fingernail-sized piece of a lotus leaf. Clenching it tightly in her hand, she closed her eyes, chanted a silent mantra, and vanished.

After Xiao Man departed, a shadowy figure drifted out from behind Feilai Peak. Gazing at the spot where she had vanished, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. ’I told myself I wouldn’t get entangled with these mortals again, yet I still couldn’t resist helping her. Oh, whatever. The girl is too weak and too foolish; I just couldn’t bear to watch. This is the last time!’