At Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge, beside the stone table by the water pond.
"Without Third Senior Sister's tea... suddenly life feels meaningless." Cui Hao set down his teacup with a soft sigh. "Master, do you think Third Senior Sister has any thoughts of returning after being away for so long?"
Chu Xingchen calmly looked at the message Xu Jin had just handed back.
After cultivating immortality, time truly felt as if it had been compressed.
He used to feel that a year was long, filled with countless things to do, but now, a year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and many matters had to be measured in years.
For example, the investigation into Zhengyin Temple had only just yielded preliminary results.
Five snowfalls had occurred since Bai Xuanling returned from Zhengyin Temple, and Bai Xuanling herself had been in closed-door cultivation for five years.
As for Yuankong, he hadn't stayed long at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge either, only remaining for a few days. Even at Foundation Establishment, he enjoyed several hearty feasts before taking his leave.
Yuankong's reason for leaving was clear—his path lay not in bitter cultivation, but in moving forward.
Perhaps the answers awaited him in valleys, deserts, among crowds, or in towns.
He would search step by step, inch by inch, for the answers in his heart, for his own sense of completion.
Truthfully, Chu Xingchen wasn't particularly fond of Yuankong's reasoning, but since he wasn't a Buddhist cultivator himself, he didn't know if this was the proper way to seek enlightenment, so he could only show respect.
Besides, when someone has a purpose, nothing they do is a waste of time—at least their happiness is real.
Before Yuankong departed, Chu Xingchen had asked him—"You're lonely and pitiful, why not join my sect as my disciple? Sweeping the mountain gates would be suitable for you."
As for the sweeping duty, he could keep it for later, and when he found his answers and felt complete, he could return to sweep the mountain gates for Chu Xingchen as repayment.
Chu Xingchen's reply was equally blunt—get lost.
Yuankong's departure this time wasn't just with a backpack on his back. Chu Xingchen had given him a spatial ring containing emergency supplies, Spirit Stones, and of course, the emergency pills and interrogation pills Chu Xingchen had refined—though they were technically the same type of pill.
No longer a child, the now slightly dark and lean Yuankong set off toward the Southern Continent—he wanted to visit his senior brother first before continuing his journey.
Yuankong understood where he wanted to go and what path he wished to walk.
Chu Xingchen wouldn't add more complications. If he really tried to keep Yuankong, there was a 99% chance he wouldn't escape.
But when a person walks their desired path, even the wind around them feels free.
A carefree heart is flawless white jade, worth more than all the treasures in the world.
Li Xingxian was already in closed-door preparation to break through to the Golden Core Realm. Lin Luoyu's progress was also quite good; as an immortal seedling, she was more than qualified. Though she couldn't match the brilliance of his senior sister and second senior brother, she was nearly at the peak of Foundation Establishment.
If Chu Xingchen were to be honest, he thought Lin Luoyu might break through her realm before Li Xingxian, though she still needed some time for focused cultivation.
Chu Xingchen was intentionally suppressing Lin Luoyu's progress, striving to make her foundation as solid as possible during the early stages.
After all, cultivation above the Golden Core Realm takes a very long time, but Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment are relatively short, and a good foundation during this stage brings many benefits for the future.
The Green Snake had also reached Foundation Establishment and acquired its innate divine ability. This time, Chu Xingchen thought he had to teach the Green Snake properly, since his talented eldest disciple and well-read third disciple were both out traveling.
His second disciple was breaking through to the Golden Core Realm, and the remaining fourth and fifth disciples had their hands full with their own cultivation, leaving only Chu Xingchen to teach personally.
But... this Green Snake was surprisingly easy to handle. It actually had inherited memories and found the divine ability familiar and simple to comprehend.
And it had grasped the basics in just a few days—faster than Li Yingling had back in the day.
At this point, Chu Xingchen had to admit this snake was indeed low-maintenance.
Chu Xingchen casually destroyed the message Xu Jin had handed back with a wave of his hand and looked at Cui Hao.
"If you're itching for a beating and must find your Third Senior Sister, I'm right here too."
Cui Hao propped up his cheek with one hand, his expression somewhat deflated. "I don't want to get beaten, I just miss Third Senior Sister's tea."
"With your cultivation progress, you might not get to drink any tea, but you'll definitely experience Third Senior Sister's motivational methods."
Chu Xingchen's expression remained calm, but he suddenly looked up at the sky, watching snowflakes drift down. Only then did he realize with a start—another year's snow had fallen.
Cui Hao's gaze followed his, and after a quick mental calculation, he spoke.
"This year's snow is earlier than usual."
Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod. "You're quite good at keeping track of time."
"Hey, just a small talent." Cui Hao smiled. "Your disciple isn't much, but I have a sharp mind and good memory."
Chu Xingchen's smile turned gentle. "In that case, Master has some questions for you."
"Please ask, Master!"
"Then calculate this—when Luoyu breaks through her realm in a few days, with your current mid Foundation Establishment level, how many days will it take you to catch up to her current level?"
Hearing this, Cui Hao's expression froze for a moment, then became somewhat aggrieved.
"Senior Brother and Senior Sister are geniuses. I'm just a big idiot, right? I've trained very hard these past few years, but they just keep pulling farther ahead...
It's just a matter of innate talent. No matter how much you tease me, I won't become a genius."
Chu Xingchen sighed softly. "If I disliked you for being slow-witted, I wouldn't have taken you as my disciple."
Cui Hao thought for a moment, then said in a small voice.
"Master, you have special training for me?"
Chu Xingchen looked as if he had found a teachable disciple. "Sometimes learn from your Second Senior Brother. I've been using my own pills like meals, and now my Golden Core Realm is more stable than your Senior Sister's.
I find it unnecessary—your Second Senior Brother can handle these pills. I don't expect you to eat so many, but two a day to fill your stomach should be fine."
Cui Hao quickly shook his head, speaking with a pained tone.
"Master, be honest with yourself—is your Second Senior Brother even normal?"
"Fine then. Stay at Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge. You can only leave for sect experience after reaching Golden Core.
Now your Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister have already made their names known; even in the Central Province, their reputations are starting to spread."
Cui Hao took a deep breath but had to admit his master's words struck a chord in his heart.
He wanted his name to spread far and wide too! To walk with an air of importance!
Cui Hao compromised without confidence.
"I'll try one pill a day..."
Just as Cui Hao's words fell, a thick blood aura erupted from Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge, instantly dyeing the sky a bloody red.
As if a heaven-spanning blood demon had descended, like the beginning of a mortal hell.
[
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