As the edge of the sky turned a pale fish-belly white, Xia Yueyou crawled out of her sleeping bag, smoothed down her clothes, and walked over to a flat patch of ground at the cave entrance. She sat down cross-legged and began to absorb spiritual power.
The foundation of a whole day is laid in the morning; dawn is the moment when Spiritual Energy is most concentrated of the entire day. She had been doing this for twelve years.
At age six, her grandfather had demanded that she begin practicing martial arts. When she achieved some minor mastery at age twelve, her grandfather began teaching her immortality cultivation.
It was a pity that Spiritual Energy was now exhausted; after ten years of cultivating immortality, she had only reached Qi Refining Level 4. Of course, she still had to go to school along the way, so she did not have much time for cultivation.
Yet yesterday, just by taking a bite of the apple Xuanchen gave her, she had broken through to Qi Refining Level 5!
This fully demonstrated that no matter how long one worked hard, the results could never compare to the gains of using a cheat for a single moment.
As her Cultivation Formula operated, wisps of faint mist gathered around her body and were slowly drawn into her lower dantian.
High up in a large tree, Xuanchen watched the young maiden cultivating below with a smile in his eyes. With a grasp of his palm, the boundless Spiritual Energy within this primeval forest rapidly converged toward her.
This maneuver completely shattered the composure of the demon clan hiding in the forest, yet they dared not say a word, feeling utterly aggrieved to the extreme.
Sensing the boundless Spiritual Energy surrounding her, Xia Yueyou's brow twitched as she operated her Cultivation Formula with all her might to absorb it.
Yet her Cultivation Formula's grade was ultimately too low; after a full hour, she had barely reached the Qi Refining Level 5 Mid-stage.
She ended her cultivation, opened her eyes to see Xuanchen leaning against the tree trunk and smiling at her, stood up and walked toward him, and stopped just one step away, staring at him intensely.
"Little You'er, staring at me like this—could it be that you've fallen for me? I wouldn't mind offering myself to you in return, you know."
Xuanchen reached out to flick a strand of hair hanging across his forehead, speaking in a tone that was half-serious and half-joking.
Xia Yueyou remained unfazed by yet another new nickname he had given her, asking in confusion instead, "Why did you do that?"
"Do what?" he feigned ignorance."First you readily gave me a precious Second-grade Spirit Herb, and then you gave me a spirit fruit filled with pure spiritual power. Now you're even helping me cultivate immortality. What on earth is your motive?"
Xia Yueyou listed them out one by one. Although she had traded three favors for the spirit herb, those conditions were as trivial as child's play; in her place, she would never have made such a trade.
"Of course it's to trick you into becoming mine and to lust after your body," Xuanchen replied frivolously.
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
She certainly wasn't going to buy such a lame excuse. Though she didn't know how strong he was, he was definitely no lower than the Foundation Establishment Realm!
According to her grandfather, beings of that caliber could be counted in the double digits across the entire Huaxia. They were peak powerhouses who could have any woman they wanted.
She was somewhat attractive, but she wasn't necessarily worth such treatment from a Foundation Establishment expert. Outer appearance didn't hold that much value in the eyes of cultivators.
Xuanchen looked at her, knowing what she was thinking even without using the Heart-Communication Technique. He took half a step forward and reached out his right hand to gently lift her rounded, dainty chin.
Xia Yueyou's body went rigid. Her fists clenched and loosened, loosened and clenched again, unsure of how to react. To her strange surprise, she found that she didn't actually dislike his actions in her heart.
Xuanchen leaned in slightly until the distance between their lips was only two fists apart, then softly said, "Little You'er, I'm a worldly man, and I simply covet your looks and your body. Want to know the reason? Well, I'll tell you once you achieve Golden Core Formation."
"Bang!"
Xia Yueyou struck his chest with a heavy punch, turned around, and walked toward the cave. In her heart lingered an inexplicable sense of loss, though she didn't know why.
Golden Core Formation? You must be kidding; that was probably decades or a century away. This guy clearly had no intention of telling her.
The little loli hiding at the cave entrance instantly flashed over to the sleeping bag, pretending she had just woken up.
Xuanchen gently rubbed the spot where he had been punched, a comfortable smile spreading across his face. Once they had packed up and eaten breakfast, they resumed their journey.In about five or six hours, they would be able to walk out of this primitive forest. Xuanchen was still lazily sprawled on little You'er's back, letting her carry him as she walked.
The little loli was very envious; she also wanted someone to carry her, but in order to be able to cultivate, she could only grit her teeth and persevere.
...
In Kyoto, Huaxia, within a quaint courtyard, a loud crash startled the birds playing in the tree branches.
Lín Fēng looked at the shattered solid wood and red bricks before him, feeling extremely terrified, deeply afraid that his grandfather's palm strike would land on him.
After returning, he had exaggerated and twisted the events in the forest when telling his grandfather, causing his grandfather to fly into a rage and smash a hundred-jin solid wood coffee table with a single palm strike.
"Hmph! What a heartless little girl from the Xia family. Since she dares to be so ruthless, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Lín Zhèntiān's eyes were filled with calculation. Naturally, he knew what kind of character his younger grandson had—the matter certainly wasn't as exaggerated as he claimed. But so what? Old man Xia hadn't woken up yet anyway.
"Grandfather, what should we do about Xia Yueyou?" Lín Fēng asked cautiously. No matter how much arrogance he possessed, he didn't dare to act presumptuously in front of his grandfather.
Lín Zhèntiān pondered and said, "That little girl probably won't find any spirit herbs, but she might not necessarily die in there either. Just to be safe, I will send people to intercept and kill her!"
"As for you, practice your cultivation honestly. Clean up the two Xia family bodyguards you brought back; our Lín family has no use for fence-sitters!"
"I understand, grandfather." Lín Fēng obediently acknowledged the command, then hurried away.
After his younger grandson left, a strange smile appeared at the corner of Lín Zhèntiān's mouth, and he muttered to himself, "Old Xia, oh Old Xia, you mustn't blame me, hehehehe..."
...
"Ah! We've finally made it out!"
Murong Xue raised both hands high in a gesture of embracing the sky, opening her little mouth and shouting loudly, as if wanting to release all the fatigue of traversing the mountains over the past few days.
"Uncle, when will you let me cultivate?" The little loli asked with bright, sparkling eyes, staring at Xuanchen, who was still on her older sister's back.
"Simple, stand still."
The little loli immediately stood properly, not even moving her eyeballs.
With a light chuckle, Xuanchen got down from You'er's back, his palm aimed at Murong Xue as he drew inward through the air. Suddenly, wisps of black qi gushed out from within her body, ultimately transforming into a black talisman.
Xia Yueyou's pupils constricted, and she blurted out, "Dispersing-Spirit Absolute-Immortal Talisman!"
"Sister, what is this?" The little loli looked somewhat blankly at the black rune in front of her.
With a complex expression, Xia Yueyou hesitated with what she wanted to say, and finally let out a soft sigh.
She said, "Xiao Xue, your inability to cultivate was caused by someone artificially. This talisman can merge deep into your flesh and blood, making your body like a funnel that cannot store spiritual power."
Murong Xue was stunned. She never expected that her dream of immortality had been artificially cut off by someone else.
Her mind raced wildly, racking her brains, yet she had no idea who could have planted the talisman on her.
"Xiao Xue, don't be sad. Sister will definitely help you find the culprit!" Xia Yueyou stepped forward, pulling her into her arms and gently comforting her.
Aside from her grandfather, Xiao Xue was the person closest to her—even her parents couldn't compare. If anyone dared to harm Xiao Xue, no matter who they were, she would make them pay a heavy price!
"Little You'er, did you forget again that I'm here? Since I can take out this talisman, naturally I can find out who planted it."
Looking at the two beauties hugging each other, Xuanchen spoke with a sour tone, though he knew that little loli's relationship with You'er meant he couldn't just go and pull them apart.
"Xuanchen, do you really have a way to know who planted the talisman?" Xia Yueyou's eyes lit up in an instant, and she asked with a very hopeful tone.