"I think Junior Sister looks so tiny and adorable like this, hehe." Mo Yu looked at Si Nansheng and chuckled.
How could a little junior sister not be cute...
Li Tianhen gave Mo Yu a thumbs-up. As expected of his disciple, his aesthetic tastes were identical to his own.
"You guys keep watch here. I'm going back to prepare some food for her; when she wakes up, she's bound to be hungry."
Li Tianhen looked at his youngest disciple with satisfaction, gave a few instructions to the other disciples, and turned to leave.
"I'd better go back with you. I'm afraid Master will cause some trouble again. Mo Lie, Mo Yu, you two stay here and watch over Junior Sister. There's a barrier set up by Master here, no one can break in."
Ye Yanqing sighed, said this to his two junior brothers, and hurried after their master.
Knowing Master's usual antics, if left to his own devices, he might end up destroying the entire house.
Seeing them walk away, Mo Lie and Mo Yu had no choice but to obediently stay by Si Nansheng's side.
A day later, Si Nansheng finally woke up, and the aura around her instantly withdrew.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was startled by a face pressed right up against hers.
Had she not known this was the territory of the Four Gods Sect, Si Nansheng would almost certainly have lashed out.
"Ah, Junior Sister is awake!" Mo Yu shouted excitedly when he saw Si Nansheng stir.
Mo Lie reached out, grabbed the collar of his robe, and yanked him back.
"Hey, hey, hey, Fourth Senior Brother, what are you doing? Let me go, let me go!" Mo Yu struggled in Mo Lie's grip.
"You were too close, you scared her," Mo Lie said flatly.
"No, I didn't! I just wanted to get closer to Junior Sister, how could I scare her?" Mo Yu crossed his arms in dissatisfaction, pouting as Mo Lie pulled him along.
Only then did Si Nansheng get a clear look at the two men in front of her.
"You look so much alike, you must be Fourth Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Brother."
"You're so smart, Junior Sister! I'm your Fifth Senior Brother, Mo Yu, and this cold fish is your Fourth Senior Brother, Mo Lie. We're twins. But back at the sect, we still address each other by our seniority. Goodness, Junior Sister, you are amazing! Master said your spirit roots and meridians had only just recovered not long ago, yet you've already reached the Foundation Establishment Realm."
Mo Yu was quite the chatterbox, squatting on the ground and smiling happily at Si Nansheng.
Si Nansheng, who had initially worried whether they would like her, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and broke into a wide smile.
"Nansheng pays her respects to Fourth Senior Brother and Fifth Senior Brother." Si Nansheng got up and respectfully cupped her fists in salute to the two seniors.
"Junior Sister needn't stand on ceremony. This is a small token from your Fourth Senior Brother." Mo Lie handed Si Nansheng a Storage Bag.
Si Nansheng swept it with her Divine Sense, and her eyes widened in shock.
Good heavens!
It was completely filled with Spirit Stones—top-grade, middle-grade, and low-grade alike.
Had her Fourth Senior Brother just given her his entire fortune?
"Fourth Senior Brother, why are you giving me so many Spirit Stones?" Si Nansheng looked at Mo Lie.
"I have no use for them, and I didn't know what you liked. I'm giving you Spirit Stones so you can buy whatever you want. If they run out, I'll give you more." Mo Lie's tone was utterly casual, leaving Si Nansheng unsure of how to refuse.
"Just accept them, Junior Sister! Your Fourth Senior Brother rarely buys anything, and besides, whenever you go out, you'll have your Fifth Senior Brother with you. I gather plenty of medicinal herbs, and I'll refine them all into Medicinal Pills for you later. Come along, Junior Sister. Master and Eldest Senior Brother went back to cook for you; they said we need to celebrate your breakthrough. Let's hurry back and eat."
Mo Yu pushed the Storage Bag into Si Nansheng's arms and pulled her along by the hand.
Mo Lie didn't say a word, quietly following behind them.
"Disciple, congratulations on a successful breakthrough and once again becoming a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm." Li Tianhen beamed at Si Nansheng.
"Thank you, Master." Si Nansheng flashed a sweet smile back at Li Tianhen.
"You're welcome, you're welcome!" Li Tianhen smiled even wider.
"Master, please, could you give me an explanation?" The smile on Si Nansheng's face remained unchanged.
"An explanation for what?" Li Tianhen asked, looking puzzled.
"An explanation of what on earth was going through your mind, feeding me something with such overwhelming Spiritual Energy? I am ignorant and didn't know the terrifying power of that item, but surely you knew, didn't you?"
Si Nansheng kept smiling pleasantly at Li Tianhen, yet for no apparent reason, it gave him goosebumps all over.
He cast a look of rescue toward his other disciples, only to find them all standing by and watching the show.
Unruly disciples!
Utterly incorrigible.
"Good disciple, if I told you I didn't mean to, would you believe me?" Li Tianhen coughed lightly, looking uneasy.
"Your 'didn't mean to' almost got me struck dead by lightning!" Si Nansheng abruptly wiped the smile off her face and glared at him with aggrieved eyes.
"No way, no way, as your master, I still have that much control." Li Tianhen patted Si Nansheng's head, smiling with zero confidence.
*I'll believe you when pigs fly, you dreadful old man!* thought Si Nansheng. *You almost made me think I was about to be struck to death by lightning.*
"Junior Sister, I reckon Master must be jealous of your talent," Mo Yu whispered, leaning close to Si Nansheng.
Si Nansheng forced an awkward laugh. Jealous of her talent?
That was truly, absolutely impossible!
With her wretched talent, who on earth could possibly be jealous?
"Junior Sister, haven't you noticed anything unusual about yourself?" Ye Yanqing asked, looking at Si Nansheng with a puzzled expression.
"What's unusual?"
"Why don't you check your Dantian first? When you broke through, the Lightning Tribulation split into two: one part struck you, and the other went straight into your Dantian."
Ye Yanqing pointed toward Si Nansheng's Dantian, and she hastily lowered her head to inspect it.
To her astonishment, alongside the sparkling little flame and the tiny snowflake, there was also a glowing purple orb pulsing with a faint, flickering light.
"Master." Si Nansheng looked at Li Tianhen.
After a brief inspection, Li Tianhen stroked his chin in feigned deep thought.
"It must be because it absorbed the Lightning Tribulation. It seems the Lightning Tribulation is beneficial to it."
"Does that mean in the future, whenever someone undergoes a tribulation, I can just stroll over and let it absorb more of the Lightning Tribulation's power? Would that—"
*Thwack!*
Before Si Nansheng could finish, she received a knock on the forehead.
"Master, with your strength, you're going to crack my skull open." Si Nansheng rubbed her head with an aggrieved expression, looking pitifully at Li Tianhen.
"Cracking it open is still better than you marching off to your death. Do you think Lightning Tribulations are something you can just go bum around in? With your current cultivation, the tribulation for advancing from the Golden Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm would blast you straight into dust."
Li Tianhen pinched Si Nansheng's little cheek. Though he didn't utter any warning words, every single syllable was a warning.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Master, I was just joking!" Si Nansheng stood on tiptoes and leaned toward Li Tianhen to relieve the pressure on her cheek.
*Everyone else:* *No, you were definitely not joking. Your eyes were shining; you genuinely had that exact thought.*
"Master, you're playing too rough. Junior Sister's face is all red from your pinching." Seeing this, Mo Yu quickly stepped forward to rescue Si Nansheng's little face from their master's demonic claws.
"Come, come, let's eat first. We can talk about everything else while we eat." Ye Yanqing was equally delighted.
Everyone was thrilled that their junior sister had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in a mere month.
"Fifth Junior Brother, Junior Sister wants to plant some Spirit Plants in the back mountain. Give her some of your Spirit Plant seeds." Ye Yanqing looked at Mo Yu.