A goddess dwells in my heart.

Chapter 12 Senior Sister Needs to Take Out Her Dowry

The goddess agreed to formally ally with Lu Zheji. Apart from the matter of transferring spiritual power mouth-to-mouth, which neither of them mentioned, she was willing to spare no effort in helping him in other matters.

Assisted spellcasting requires unlocking more chains, and even if it is unlocked, it might become useless due to the risk of a direct confrontation. Fortunately, the power leveling skill is still usable.

Lu Zheji only needs to focus on honing his martial arts skills; he can leave the matter of circulating his qi to the goddess.

Men and women working together makes the work less tiring.

In addition, the goddess has another layer of hidden assistance.

His past failures and extremely poor memory were due to a weak spirit. His brain shouldn't have any problems, but it was like a device with its storage full, the system could only run slowly, and each time the memory was full, it could only clear some cache.

Therefore, he could only barely remember events from the last three years. But the goddess resided in his sea of ​​consciousness, witnessing his previous life; in a sense, she was like an external hard drive, remembering for him those past events that should have been forgotten.

In high spirits, Lu Zheji practiced his punches and kicks for a while longer, the sound of his fists whistling echoing in the courtyard for a long time.

He didn't finish his practice and return to his room until the night was deep and the moon was high in the sky.

Pushing open the door, he saw the copy of "The Great Compendium of Demon Heart Consumption" that Su Wan Ning had left behind that evening lying quietly on the table. He picked it up casually and decided to read it before bed.

The book is not thick, and there are a few lines of preface on the title page. The gist of the book is that it includes the types, effects and taboos of demon hearts in the world for cultivators to refer to.

Lu Zheji turned the pages one by one and found that the book was quite detailed, explaining things like how the heart of the Golden-Winged Eagle could improve eyesight, the heart of the Earth Dragon could strengthen bones, and the heart of the Ice Toad could enhance cold-attribute spiritual power...

The characteristics, methods of consumption, and mutual restraints of various demon hearts are all listed, which is of great benefit to him who possesses the demon heart.

He silently noted down those powerful and vigorous demon beast races, planning to hunt these species specifically in the future to maximize the benefits of demonizing your heart.

When he turned to the second half of the book, he found that Su Wanning had marked one of the pages with a bookmark.

"Although demon hearts are spiritual materials of heaven and earth, the hearts of ordinary birds and beasts that have not yet entered the realm of cultivation are merely harmful demonic powers and offer no benefit to cultivators. Do not consume them."

"Those who can profit from this are only the demon race and demon cultivators who practice demonic arts."

Lu Zheji turned a few more pages and realized he had made a huge mistake.

Because demon hearts are considered spiritual materials, he naturally assumed that the hearts of beasts that had not yet transformed into demons were also spiritual materials. It turns out that what's useful to cultivators from a demon heart is its spiritual essence; the demonic energy itself is merely a side effect and impurity.

While the demonic energy of a beast heart is insufficient and its side effects are much smaller compared to a demon heart, its value lies solely in the essence of flesh and blood, making it not worthwhile to ingest demonic energy for it.

The author even marvels at the wonders of nature in the book, noting that all the demonic energy is concentrated in the hearts of beasts, meaning that for ordinary people, as long as the heart is removed, the rest is harmless flesh.

Lu Zheji closed the book, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Back at Dou Niu Manor, I wanted to buy beef heart separately, but my senior sister interrupted me directly."

The goddess's voice came from her sea of ​​consciousness, still clear and cold: "So that's how it is. She mistook you for a heretic practicing demonic arts."

In a sense, that's not wrong. The true nature of demonizing your heart is probably the method of demon cultivation.

Even if your junior brother falls into evil ways, are you still going to follow him and help him do evil?

Haji Ning, you bastard...

Lu Zheji immediately got up, put on his outer robe, and went outside.

Although Su Wanning has her own cave dwelling in Chang'an, as his personal physician, she usually lives in his small courtyard.

He walked out of the room, went to the door next door, and knocked.

"Junior Sister, are you asleep?"

After a moment of silence, Su Wan Ning's soft, sweet voice came through the room: "Junior brother, your senior sister is already asleep, snore snore snore..."

Lu Zheji: "..."

Can you stop acting cute, junior sister?

He knocked on the door again: "Junior Sister, I have something important to discuss. What's the meaning behind that book of yours?"

There was a moment of silence inside, followed by a rustling sound, the soft rustling of bare feet stepping on the ground.

Soon, the door creaked open a crack, revealing Su Wan Ning's cautious face.

"Junior brother, you're not here to silence your senior sister, are you?"

Lu Zheji glared at her irritably: "Knowing I'm here to silence you, why did you still open the door?"

Su Wan Ning stuck out her tongue and said matter-of-factly, "Because Junior Brother can't beat me yet."

After saying that, she opened the door and stepped aside to let him in.

The room was elegantly and neatly arranged. A desk stood by the window, upon which lay several medical books and a tea set. In the corner, a bronze incense burner emitted wisps of fragrant smoke, the aroma sweet yet not cloying.

Su Wan Ning was wearing only a thin nightgown. The moon-white gauze fabric, illuminated by the candlelight, revealed a hazy, dreamlike quality, outlining the girl's youthful and delicate features in a way that was both indistinct and visible.

She was barefoot, her small feet bare on the wooden board, snow-white and delicate, her toes round like pearls, with a faint pink tinge.

The girl took two steps inside with her back to him, then sighed softly, "But who knows what will happen in the future."

"Hey, hey, hey, is this joke never going to end?"

Su Wanning turned around and looked up at him: "Junior Brother, do you think this is a joke? Yes, the current Junior Brother would never lay a hand on me, so it's just a joke. But what about the future?"

Lu Zheji was taken aback.

Su Wan Ning continued softly, "The imperial family is the most ruthless place. Junior Brother isn't as foolish as before. Although you still chat and laugh with your senior sister, your senior sister has already sensed that you've changed. How could your senior sister know what you'll become in the future?"

There was no blame in her tone, only a hint of inexplicable melancholy.

Lu Zheji's heart softened, but he said seriously, "I remember all the kindness my junior sister has shown me. If one day I ever make her shed tears, then I will—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a burst of laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Su Wanning laughed so hard she bent over, her whole body trembling.

"Junior brother, you've been tricked! I was just teasing you, and you actually took it seriously! Hahahaha!"

Lu Zheji was tricked into using his ultimate skill by a basic attack, and stood frozen in place, looking at the girl who was laughing so hard that her lips twitched violently.

After laughing enough, Su Wan Ning straightened up. The lingering smile still graced her face as she poked his chest with a slender finger, her tone suddenly becoming coquettish:

"It's all my fault, Junior Brother. You won't tell your Senior Sister what's wrong. I could tell you were troubled the day I gave you the medicinal bath. What could have happened that made you resort to such a crooked path as demon cultivation? If it's just because you don't want to be separated from your Senior Sister, then your Senior Sister is going to spank you."

As she spoke, she approached Lu Zheji, raising her hand as if to strike.

Lu Zheji hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should inform Su Wanning.

In that moment of hesitation, Su Wan Ning had already pressed herself against him.

The warmth of the girl's delicate body emanated through her thin dress, soft and comforting.

She was petite, barely reaching his chest. She buried her face in his chest and asked softly, "Can't we really tell Senior Sister, Junior Brother?"

The delicate fragrance from the girl's hair mingled with the incense in the room, creating a strangely intoxicating effect.

Well, since your demonic transformation is already complete, you won't improve much in the next few days anyway. There's no need to hide it from her any longer now.

Lu Zheji sighed and told Su Wanning everything about the cruelty of the Prince of Zhenbei and the failed investment by that important figure. He only omitted the reason why he couldn't cast spells after the narrow path sword fight, saying that something went wrong after he broke through to the second realm, and his magical holy body was ruined.

After listening to him finish speaking, Su Wan Ning remained silent for a moment, then pulled his wrist and placed three fingers on his pulse point.

A moment later, she frowned.

"Where exactly did the problem go wrong... Junior Brother's body appears perfectly normal to me; I can't see the slightest sign of anything amiss."

"You're just a relative, don't you have any self-awareness about your medical skills?" Lu Zheji smirked. "If you can't tell, then so be it, no need to force it."

"This is a sacred body!" Su Wan Ning raised her face, her almond-shaped eyes filled with disbelief. "From genius to good-for-nothing, Junior Brother, you're too calm, aren't you?"

Lu Zheji shrugged: "I've been a good-for-nothing for so many years, I'm used to it. Besides, after my mind cleared up, I feel pretty good. I seem to be born with the talent of a martial arts cultivator, and perhaps that great cultivator will also recognize my talent."

Su Wan Ning blinked, then suddenly patted her chest: "If she doesn't accept, then your senior sister will help you pay off your debt!"

Lu Zheji exclaimed in astonishment, "Junior Sister, you're so rich?"

Su Wan Ning sighed: "Senior sister, my talent is limited, and my family's power has nothing to do with me. They just gave me a sum of money to live on. But as for the five elemental spirit items, senior sister will probably have to take out her entire dowry."

Lu Zheji's Adam's apple bobbed slightly: "Senior Sister..."

Before she could finish speaking, Su Wan Ning opened her arms and hugged him again.

She pressed her cheek against his chest and rubbed it gently. "Who told you to be raised by your senior sister? If your senior sister doesn't help you, who else can she help?"

Lu Zheji suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

This feeling is like a student who owes money to online loans, and the debt collectors are blocking the door of the house, but the mother doesn't say a word of blame, but silently plans to sell the house to pay off the debt.