Li Tianhen looked at the tearful Si Nansheng and raised a hand to check her Dantian.
As a result, Li Tianhen froze as well.
In all his experience, he had never seen such spirit roots.
Inside Si Nansheng's Dantian was a half-bloomed cyan lotus, above which floated eight clusters of light in different colors.
Ordinary people's spirit roots didn't look like this, did they?
"Master, am I still normal?" Si Nansheng looked at Li Tianhen, on the verge of tears.
"I suppose you are normal... more or less." Li Tianhen said slowly.
He had never seen spirit roots like these, nor did he know whether they could be considered normal.
However, he could sense that the Spiritual Energy in Si Nansheng's Dantian was abundant, so there shouldn't be any major problems.
He checked her Meridians once more and immediately looked at her in astonishment.
Not only had all her Meridians recovered, but they were also much wider than those of ordinary people.
Could it be because of those spirit herbs and flowers she had consumed?
"Master, you sound extremely unconvincing when you call that normal!" The corners of Si Nansheng's mouth twitched.
What should she do when she felt her Master was a bit unreliable?
"Ahem, I can't help it; your master has genuinely never seen such spirit roots before!" Li Tianhen shrugged awkwardly.
"Ah? Even you haven't seen them, Master? Am I a lost cause then?" Si Nansheng whimpered, looking as if the sky was falling.
"Aside from their shape being different from others, there are no other abnormalities. Don't worry too much. If anything goes wrong, let me know right away. Now that your spirit roots and Meridians have been repaired, you must cultivate diligently from now on. If you find you cannot keep going, tell me, and I will go find some Spirit-Refining Grass for you."
Li Tianhen patted Si Nansheng on the head, and she nodded.
Living a new life, she had never once thought of giving up. So what if she had an eight-attribute spirit root? She would still reach the highest realm all the same!
"Master, can these spirit roots of mine be rated for quality?" Si Nansheng looked at Li Tianhen.
"They should count as Superior Grade Spirit Roots, right?" Li Tianhen propped his chin with one hand and gazed at her spirit roots.
To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such spirit roots, but he could still gauge their quality.
All eight attribute spirit roots were of the same quality; even though they were Superior Grade Spirit Roots, this was exceptionally advantageous for Si Nansheng.
"When you first arrived, I didn't know what to give you. Now that you can cultivate, I can finally present you with your initiation gift. Keep these things safe, and tell me if you ever lack anything."
Li Tianhen took out a Storage Bag and had Si Nansheng accept it. She hesitated for a moment before putting the Storage Bag away.
"There is also this stuff. I don't know if it will be of any use to you, so take a look for yourself." Seeing that Si Nansheng had put away the Storage Bag, Li Tianhen produced two more boxes.
One box radiated a freezing aura, while the other radiated a scorching aura.
"Master, what's inside these?" Feeling that they were dangerous, Si Nansheng did not reach out and instead looked at Li Tianhen.
"A Fire Spirit and an Ice Spirit. They were originally meant for your senior brothers; your second and fifth senior brothers both have Fire Spirit Roots, but they deferred to one another, and neither accepted the Fire Spirit. As for the Ice Spirit, it was originally meant for your fourth senior brother, but both his water and ice dual-attribute spirit roots are Superior Grade Spirit Roots. If he were to use the Ice Spirit, the quality balance of his dual spirit roots would be shattered, rendering the Ice Spirit useless. See if it is of any use to you."
Li Tianhen opened the boxes containing the Ice Spirit and the Fire Spirit. Before Si Nansheng could even get close, light blue and red lights intertwined and rushed straight into her Dantian.
"Mas... Master..." Si Nansheng stared blankly at her abdomen, and as if sensing something, she sat cross-legged.
A sheet of flames instantly enveloped Si Nansheng, while a wave of frost rose up in tandem.
Li Tianhen's eyes widened sharply. The flames inside the ice did not vanish; instead, they seemed to burn even more fiercely.
"Just what kind of monster have I taken in as a disciple?" Li Tianhen let out a slow sigh.
Li Tianhen no longer had the mood to read books or drink tea, and simply stared longingly at Si Nansheng.
As the flames and frost gradually faded, Si Nansheng's aura climbed all the way from Qi Refining Realm Layer 1 to Qi Refining Realm Layer 6.
"Master, my spirit roots have changed again." The moment she opened her eyes, what concerned Si Nansheng was not her cultivation realm, but her spirit roots.
Li Tianhen checked Si Nansheng's spirit roots.
While the original red and white light clusters shone even more brilliantly, the sights within the light clusters also became clear.
In the center of the Fire Spirit Root appeared a tiny, swaying flame.
In the center of the Ice Spirit Root appeared a slowly rotating ice flower.
Both were constantly radiating Spiritual Energy, causing Li Tianhen's eyes to light up abruptly.
"Disciple, do you know what your cultivation level is now?" Li Tianhen looked down at Si Nansheng, and she hurriedly checked her own cultivation.
"Qi Refining Realm Layer 6?"
Goodness gracious, what kind of cultivation speed was this?
"That's right, you are already at Qi Refining Realm Layer 6. Not only has your cultivation improved, but the quality of the fire and ice attributes in your spirit roots has also been elevated to the Superior Grade. That being the case, when the Secret Realm trials open in a little over two months, you will go together with your fourth and fifth senior brothers."
"Master, may I go?"
Si Nansheng's eyes lit up instantly.
She had been wondering how she could manage to get into the Secret Realm.
She never expected her master to bring it up first.
This saved her a lot of talking.
"Of course you can go. You are my disciple, why wouldn't you be able to? However, no one can know about your cultivation for the time being."
As he spoke, Li Tianhen began trying to think of something he could use to help his precious disciple conceal her cultivation.
To have destroyed her spirit roots and severed her Meridians not long ago, only to cultivate to Qi Refining Realm Layer 7—wouldn't that scare people to death?
He was afraid someone would steal his disciple away from him!
"Huh?" He turned his gaze back to Si Nansheng.
She had just been at Qi Refining Realm Layer 6—how had she somehow become Qi Refining Realm Layer 2 in the blink of an eye?
"Master, it seems the Fire Spirit and the Ice Spirit are helping me conceal my aura. This way, can anyone else discover my true cultivation?"
Si Nansheng looked down at her abdomen and asked Li Tianhen.
Li Tianhen snapped out of it: "No... they won't. This is very good."
Even he hadn't noticed it, so presumably no one else would be able to discover it either.
"I have already notified your fourth and fifth senior brothers to return. Before going to the Secret Realm, you should get well acquainted with them."
Li Tianhen looked at his youngest disciple and nodded in satisfaction.
Back then, he had only taken her in because he saw that the little girl had a tenacious character and because she had previously bestowed him with the grace of medicinal herbs.
He never expected her to turn out to be a little monster!
"Got it, Master. Then I'll head back to cultivate first."
"Wait, you need to step out with me first."
"Master, where are we going?"
"To the Shengtian Sect to take back your Soul Lamp. Since you are no longer a member of the Shengtian Sect, your Soul Lamp naturally cannot remain there."
Actually, Li Tianhen had planned to make a trip to the Shengtian Sect a few days ago.
Yet, thinking that his little disciple would surely want to retrieve what belonged to her in person, he had kept waiting for Si Nansheng.
"Soul Lamp?" Si Nansheng felt a sharp pain in her heart.
"Yes. With your Soul Lamp here, I can rest easy when you go on distant journeys." Li Tianhen raised a hand and patted Si Nansheng's little head.
"There's no need for Master to go."
"Why?"