"Fourth Senior Sister, what does the Golden Core realm feel like?"
"The feeling of the Golden Core realm."
"That's the same as not answering at all."
"Then what's the point of asking a question that has no answer?" Lin Luoyu glanced sideways. "If you insist on an answer, you'll understand once you reach the Golden Core realm yourself."
Cui Hao shook his head with a sigh. "Fourth Senior Sister has gone bad. She's even learned to be passive-aggressive."
"I learned it all from you." Lin Luoyu's tone was calm.
On the small mountain path, Cui Hao and Lin Luoyu rode two spirit horses borrowed from the Tian Yan Sect.
Cui Hao stretched lazily. A spirit horse was truly a spirit horse—it could cover a thousand li in a day, regardless of how rugged the mountain terrain was.
Best of all, it barely needed feeding. It was incredibly convenient and could run endlessly. The only downside was that it was rather hard on the rider.
After being jostled for several days, Cui Hao felt like his brains were being shaken into mush. If he didn't talk a bit more, he'd forget how to speak by the time they reached their destination.
And then wouldn't his usefulness be cut in half the moment they arrived?
Couldn't the Tian Yan Sect's spirit horses be trained a bit better? Was it too much to ask for a smoother ride?
Having been jostled for so long, Cui Hao had given up struggling. He held the reins with one hand just to keep from falling off, while his body bounced back and forth on the horse's back, swaying like a bobblehead.
His voice was slightly muffled as he said, "Senior Sister, where exactly are we going? We've been traveling for so many days, you should at least tell me. I don't even know where we are anymore."
"We're within the Eastern Divine Continent."
Lin Luoyu looked at the wobbling Cui Hao, resisted for a moment, but still found him too much of an eyesore. "Can't you ride properly? Don't tell me a Foundation Establishment cultivator can't even manage a horse."
Cui Hao pulled on the reins at her words, straightening up:
"Eastern Divine Continent? Eldest Senior Sister hasn't returned yet, so she should theoretically also be in the Eastern Divine Continent."
"Is our destination anywhere near where Eldest Senior Sister is? If the mission isn't urgent, could we visit her? It's been a long time since we've seen Eldest Senior Sister."
Lin Luoyu hesitated slightly at this, but after a moment declined:
"Let's handle our business first. If there's time, we can visit her then."
Cui Hao immediately nodded in agreement. "As expected of Fourth Senior Sister, always speaking sense."
Lin Luoyu looked somewhat helpless. "If you have nothing nice to say, you can actually just not say anything. I won't hold it against you."
"Who says that?" Cui Hao's expression turned solemn. "I could list Fourth Senior Sister's virtues from dawn till dusk!"
Lin Luoyu raised an eyebrow at this. She knew Cui Hao was blowing hot air with his eyes closed, but she was still curious to see how many words that mouth of his could produce:
"Go ahead then. I'm listening right here."
Cui Hao cleared his throat and said with dead seriousness, "Righteous integrity!"
Lin Luoyu nodded slightly, but her gaze remained questioning.
Cui Hao nodded along, but his solemn expression instantly cracked as he repeated with a grin:
"Righteous integrity!"
"That's just one phrase?"
"I said I could talk until evening. I never said I wouldn't repeat myself."
Lin Luoyu gave Cui Hao a slightly disdainful look and tugged the reins, galloping forward.
Cui Hao pulled his reins and followed. "I'm just joking, Fourth Senior Sister!"
"You have plenty of virtues! Like doting on your junior brother, and your handwriting is beautiful, and you're so heroic and valiant, and you're really pretty..."
"Wait, wait... Fourth Senior Sister, slow down, I can't keep up."
The two spirit horses ran one after another deeper into the mountains.
However, they hadn't galloped for long before Lin Luoyu reined in her horse.
Cui Hao also pulled the reins and stopped, lifting his gaze forward.
Before them stood a somewhat dilapidated temple. Cui Hao looked up at the plaque above the temple, its ink mostly faded away, though the remaining traces of characters and the couplets on either side suggested this was likely a Mountain God Temple.
Old doors, the wind-blocking paper on them now riddled with holes like a sieve, and pillars overgrown with creeping vines and leaves.
It looked as though a single kick would bring the whole thing crashing down.
Since they were spirit horses, there was no need to tie them with reins or lead them forward. Cui Hao followed suit.
Cui Hao quickly caught up and asked curiously, "Senior Sister, are we resting here?"
"We've arrived."
Lin Luoyu answered as she reached out and pushed open the door of the dilapidated Mountain God Temple.
Cui Hao instantly understood. Master was probably inside waiting for him and Fourth Senior Sister. His eyes followed the door as it swung open.
What came into view was a half-destroyed divine statue, a small campfire burning, and someone unexpectedly warming themselves by the fire.
"Eldest Senior Sister?!" Cui Hao's face lit up with delight.
Lin Luoyu was also full of surprise. She hadn't expected their contact to be Eldest Senior Sister rather than Master.
Li Yingling sat on what looked like a board from the divine statue's pedestal, warming her hands by the fire. She raised her eyes with a bright smile and suddenly asked:
"I imagine you've heard of our sect's renowned reputation and traveled thousands of miles to pledge yourselves, yes?"
Lin Luoyu stared back completely baffled... what was Eldest Senior Sister talking about?
But Cui Hao beside her reacted quickly. He took two swift steps forward and held his hands out to the fire as well, answering with a perfectly straight face:
"I won't hide it from you, Immortal One. That is indeed the case. May I ask if someone of my humble talents could possibly join your esteemed sect?"
Li Yingling looked at the thoroughly cooperative Cui Hao and nodded with great satisfaction:
"Your qualifications are passable. You'll do as the Fifth Junior Brother."
Lin Luoyu's tense mood relaxed at this, and she stepped forward:
"So it's Eldest Senior Sister here to meet us. I thought it would be Master. It's been a long time, Eldest Senior Sister."
"What's this? Just a few years without seeing Fourth Junior Sister and you're already looking down on your Eldest Senior Sister?"
Li Yingling raised an eyebrow, then seemed to remember something.
"Stop standing and crouching. Go dismantle the divine statue's pedestal and sit down. Sit wherever you like, don't be polite."
Cui Hao stood up and readily followed his Eldest Senior Sister's instructions, dismantling the wooden boards. He even helped his Fourth Senior Sister dismantle a piece as well.
Once comfortably seated, Cui Hao finally looked puzzled:
"Eldest Senior Sister, why are you suddenly talking like Master... Are you Master in disguise, pretending to be Eldest Senior Sister to trick me?"
Li Yingling's smile was radiant. She nodded with satisfaction and laughed:
"These are the exact words Master spoke. When I first became his disciple, that's exactly what he said to me."
"I remember our sect's base back then was a broken-down temple much like this one. I slept in the front hall. Later, when your Second Senior Brother came, there was no room left, so he had to sleep in the back hall and got bitten by mosquitoes quite a few times."
"This is something I discovered by chance. I thought it was very meaningful, so I decided to meet you here."
Cui Hao looked skeptical.
"Senior Sister... you're pulling my leg, right? Joining a sect in a broken-down temple?"
"That's not all. Back then, Master even took me to steal spirit herbs from another sect, and we got chased for it."
"Your Second Senior Brother had it even worse. Even now, when I think back on it, it still feels absurd." Li Yingling poked at the campfire.
"But that's just how it was. Like a dream in the mist—in the blink of an eye, I realized so many years had passed."
Li Yingling tossed the branch in her hand into the fire and stood up:
"Believe it or not, you can verify it with Master later. I'm just here to give you coddled ones a taste of how hard things were in the sect's early days, and to help you appreciate how hard your Eldest Senior Sister had it."
"Now, there is a mission for you to carry out."
——————
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