Yang Ning actually doesn't have a very good relationship with Shen Shuibei.
Although, strictly speaking, they are biological sisters, conceived by the Dao of the Sun and Moon True Lead Cauldron and Luo Fu Niangniang.
Luo Fu Niangniang is most skilled in the transformation of Yin and Yang energies.
The Sun and Moon True Lead Cauldron, on the other hand, swallows and exhales the sun and moon, with the sun and moon of eight million worlds rising and setting within its body, and it has already mastered the Dao of the sun and moon's movements.
These two used their own Dao to conceive the essence of the sun and moon, which resulted in Shen Shuibei and Yang Ning.
Luo Fu Niangniang's surname is Shen, and the Sun and Moon True Lead Cauldron named itself with the surname Yang.
However, due to inheriting different aspects of the two Daos, their personalities are also different.
Shen Shuibei is introverted and gentle, while Yang Ning is outgoing and strong. This personality conflict has always made Yang Ning dislike Shen Shuibei's plant-like way of living.
It's really like a tree, standing still, swaying in the wind.
But now, it seems a bit different.
Shen Shuibei doesn't seem as soft as before?
So, Yang Ning asked, "Have you figured it out?"
Shen Shuibei shook her head: "I always knew what to do; it's just that now it's our turn."
"Good to know you know what you're doing. So, what are your plans now that you're back?" Yang Ning put her hand on Shen Shuibei's shoulder and gently pushed.
This push revealed a crack in the cave heaven, and the two of them left the cave heaven together, appearing on the outside of the Spirit Peak.
The Spirit Peak is a beautiful place, with clear mountains and water, and vibrant life.
Yang Ning found a stone and sat down, gazing at the nearby mountain scenery.
Shen Shuibei also sat down beside her and asked, "Have you recovered to the Fifth Rank?"
Yang Ning replied, "My injuries weren't as severe as yours. Once I fully refine the Sun Essence, I should be able to stabilize at the Fifth Rank. Besides me, Granny Mei is also... As for the others, they probably didn't survive."
"Granny Mei... It's good that she's still alive." Shen Shuibei sighed.
Luo Fu Mountain has thirty-two layers of heaven surrounding it, each layer being a Fourth Rank world.
The world masters of these worlds are Fourth Rank, and Granny Mei is one of them.
In other words, Luo Fu Mountain still has a Fourth Rank survivor.
Whether out of affection or the current situation, this "It's good" was heartfelt.
Then, she continued, "If Granny Mei is still alive, can we repay some of the karmic debts to Wu Deity Mountain in advance? I still remember many of the techniques I developed myself, which could help Wu Deity Mountain understand some details of the Dao, perhaps reducing the burden on the Lady."
Shen Shuibei discussed these matters.
Yang Ning was surprised: "It looks like you really have figured it out. So, what are you thinking?"
Shen Shuibei nodded and began to explain her thoughts: "I need to tell you what I learned on the way."
"First, I think we should... wait, let me think, I forgot a bit." Shen Shuibei's words got stuck.
It was that feeling of forgetting a word when you're about to write it or suddenly losing your memory when you're about to speak.
Yang Ning's expression immediately turned suspicious.
She frowned and asked, "You seem a bit off."
Shen Shuibei tilted her head: "Isn't this normal? I already said—"
She hadn't finished her sentence.
But Yang Ning interrupted her: "Your mind has been influenced by the River of Time, dropping to the Eighth Rank. Is the impact that significant?"
"Influence? I don't know what impact there is." Shen Shuibei shook her head.
"You and I are naturally immortal, but you're not anymore. You're more impatient than I am now." Yang Ning said, "Have you been influenced by the mortal mind?"
"Mortal mind...?" Shen Shuibei was puzzled.
"Can you understand this?" Yang Ning waved her hand, and countless symbols emerged.
These symbols were the Yin and Yang trigrams that Shen Shuibei was very familiar with.
These Yin and Yang trigrams can be combined in different ways to form different hexagrams, ultimately expressing different meanings.
It is a highly efficient way of communication, often used in the Dao sect to exchange techniques.
Shen Shuibei was naturally very skilled at these things, and she could even form arrays with Yin and Yang trigrams to harness natural forces.
However, suddenly, she found it difficult to read them.
"Realized it yet? You're at the Eighth Rank now?" Yang Ning asked.
"Yes... Yes, I'm at the Eighth Rank. My Spiritual Essence is regressing." Shen Shuibei frowned, looking worried.
Indeed, she realized the problem.
As previously mentioned, as the Yin Essence of the Sun and Moon True Lead Cauldron, she was born naturally immortal.
The River of Time had no effect on her.
From the moment she was born, she could naturally resist external influences.
She was immune to illness, evil, and all kinds of harm.
Later, she cultivated an Immaculate Body, and the external River of Time had almost no effect on her. She could easily resist aging through the regeneration of her body.
But now, the situation is different.
Her Immaculate Body is broken, and even after a hasty repair, it's like a leaky house.
Her Spiritual Essence is exposed to the world, suffering the same damage as mortals.
"I... am aging?" Shen Shuibei raised her hand and touched her face.
Her face was still as soft as before, but she could feel something was off.
There were signs of aging on her skin.
Yes, it's natural to have signs of aging, after all, she and Li Qi have been traveling for almost two years.
In two years, Li Qi has grown to the Eighth Rank.
For the previous Shen Shuibei, a moment of daydreaming could last more than two years, and her concept of time was completely overshadowed by her immortal nature.
So, she felt that these two years of life were particularly fulfilling, doing a lot of things.
The reason is simple.
The time perception of immortals and mortals is fundamentally different.
Even if Shen Shuibei thought she was still an immortal, she had actually changed.
She could no longer daydream for two years.
She could no longer view the world from the perspective of an immortal.
Even her body was changing.
The change in lifespan naturally affects the mind.
A creature that lives from morning to evening can never share the same perspective as an immortal who exists forever, nor can it think in the same way.
In other words, Shen Shuibei's liveliness, talkativeness, and ability to communicate with others while being with Li Qi were not because she was kind.
It was because she was gradually becoming a mortal.
Yang Ning stood up, patted Shen Shuibei's shoulder, and looked worried: "Your willingness to help is good, but now is not the time. You need to cultivate again. You can't participate in those matters now. Leave it to me and Granny Mei."
However, Yang Ning then asked, "If you return to the Seventh Rank now, can you recover your immortality with your injuries?"
This was a subtle question.
Normally, reaching the Seventh Rank grants immortality, allowing one to exist forever as long as they are not destroyed by external forces. The small world within the body can resist the erosion of the River of Time, or the "Bitter Sea."
But can Shen Shuibei recover her immortality after reaching the Seventh Rank?
Shen Shuibei thought she could.
But after being reminded by Yang Ning, she carefully considered it.
Probably... uncertain.
It has been mentioned several times that the body is like a ship, and the True Spirit resides within.
This ship sails through an existence that is difficult to perceive.
In the Li Dao(Reason and Principle), it is called spacetime, the fourth dimension of time independent of the three-dimensional space, the root of all movement. Movement causes "chaos," ultimately leading to destruction.
In the Dao sect, it is called the River of Time, where the flow of time erodes everything, causing chaos.
In the Buddhist sect, it is called the Bitter Sea, where all things sink and cannot be freed, only enlightenment can transcend.
In the Wu Dao, it is simply seen as the natural wear and tear of all things, a part of the natural cycle, where the worn parts will eventually join new life, maintaining balance.
Reaching the Seventh Rank allows one to exist forever because each Dao tradition has its own solution.
Based on their theories, different methods have been developed to either prevent the ship from deteriorating or to accelerate its renewal, allowing it to exist indefinitely without major storms.
It's not that you become immortal at the Seventh Rank.
It's that at the Seventh Rank, you have the qualifications to learn and use these methods to infinitely extend your life.
The problem lies here.
Can Shen Shuibei recover her immortality and repair her Immaculate Body after reaching the Seventh Rank?
Difficult.
Even at the Seventh Rank, her injuries will likely continue to shorten her lifespan, and even with the methods to extend life, the gap cannot be closed.
Shen Shuibei's ship has too many leaks, and ordinary methods are unlikely to fix them.
She was once a Fifth Rank, but upon Yang Ning's reminder, she immediately realized this.
Her expression became heavy.
At this moment, Yang Ning said to Shen Shui Bi, "We still need the help of the Wu Deity Mountain. Otherwise, your aging might be unstoppable. You should calculate your remaining lifespan, but I guess it shouldn't exceed five hundred years."
Five hundred years sounds like a lot, but for them, this is a matter of life and death.
Upon hearing this, Shen Shui Bi anxiously grabbed Yang Ning, "No, we can't seek help from the Wu Deity Mountain. We have to find a way ourselves!"
"Your Majesty has already borne too much karma. If we continue to ask the Wu Deity Mountain for help, there might not be a Luofu Mountain in the future, only a Luofu branch of the Wu Deity Mountain," Shen Shui Bi said anxiously.
"What can we do? Even though you have five hundred years left, you know how hard it is to reverse aging?" Yang Ning glared at her and scolded.
Aging is indeed very hard to reverse.
Why do many cultivators look so old?
Because when they reach the stage of immortality, they are already so aged that some are too lazy to change their appearance and walk around in their aged form, while others, who are more concerned about their appearance, reshape their bodies to look younger.
Yes, they can reshape their bodies.
But what about the true spirit?
The body is just a vessel. As the vessel gradually deteriorates, it damages the passenger inside, which is the consciousness and thoughts, commonly known as the 'true spirit.'
The body can be reshaped, but the aging of the true spirit genuinely affects thinking speed.
For example, Shen Shui Bi.
She has only aged for two years, and she already finds it difficult to interpret the Yin-Yang trigrams, even forgetting characters when writing.
This is a very terrifying thing for someone who is naturally immortal, as their true spirit should be in the most perfect state.
But now, this perfect state has been broken.
The true spirit ages due to the damage of the body and exposure to the flow of time, which is normally irreversible.
Although it can be restored through some means, all of these methods are extremely difficult.
Either a powerful being must intervene, or rare and precious materials are needed, and neither is easy.
Yang Ning knew that Shen Shui Bi meant to give up on treatment.
That's why she was so angry.
However, Shen Shui Bi replied, "A few years are not important. We can find a way."
Yang Ning's anger flared up, and she scolded without hesitation, "A few years? Your Majesty will sleep for at least a hundred years. What will you do then? A hundred years, what can be done? I can't even refine the Great Sun in a hundred years, let alone help you!"
Shen Shui Bi seemed to be a bit angry too. The usually gentle and weak woman retorted sharply, "What do you want me to do?"
"Seeking help from the Wu Deity Mountain now will only burden Your Majesty with even more karma. How can she repay it?"
"What does Luofu Mountain have left to repay this karma? Do you want to use the Daoist opportunity of the Cave Master to repay it?"
Shen Shui Bi was not as emotionally intense as Yang Ning. She was more like a soft nail, without any particularly angry tone, just calmly asking the question.
But this question left Yang Ning speechless, and even the Golden Crow had nothing to say.
What can be used to repay?
The Daoist opportunity of the Sun and Moon True Lead Cauldron?
Could she even say that?
The two fell into silence.
The wind blew around them, stirring their hair and lifting their clothes, in a bright and sunny day.
But no matter how bright the sunlight, it couldn't dispel the gloom in their hearts.
After several minutes, Shen Shui Bi sighed and said, "Let's make the most of the time while my true spirit is only slightly slowed down."
"I will start refining pills soon and compile the cultivation techniques and Daoist principles that I have not written down but have memorized. These things should allow us to live here without being criticized."
In fact, no one criticized them. The Wu Deity Mountain desired Daoist opportunities, but they were not so petty in such a place and did not intend to charge them.
But living under someone else's roof comes with its own feelings. Even if the host didn't say anything, Luofu Mountain had its own dignity.
Now, Shen Shui Bi was preparing to use her past savings to pay the 'rent.'
Yang Ning used to only enjoy fighting and killing, not research.
Only Shen Shui Bi had once spent her days studying these things, but back then, it was out of personal interest. Many of her studies were kept in her mind and not shared with others.
But now, she was preparing to sell all her past efforts and hobbies for money.