A gentle breeze swept through, and the silence was so deep that even the rustling of leaves sounded loud.
Chu Xingchen stared blankly at what his disciple had written, then instinctively reached out to touch him, intending to probe with his spiritual sense.
But when he felt the mass of qi beneath his fingers, he sensed nothing at all.
Only then did he seem to come back to himself, gently patting Li Xingtian's shoulder.
The so-called price had naturally been Chu Xingchen talking nonsense. He wasn't Li Xingtian himself—he'd just felt that any method came with a price and had casually bluffed to scare Li Xingtian.
But when he actually saw the answer…
What cultivators called the spiritual soul was simply a mortal's soul.
Perhaps whether one swam upstream against the River of Time or tried to glimpse the reflections within it, both required paying a price.
Chu Xingchen asked softly, "Can you control it yourself?"
Li Xingtian shook his head.
It wasn't something one could control at will?
Chu Xingchen pressed his lips together lightly, looking at Li Xingtian's golden attribute line [Reborn].
Compared to Li Yingling's [Cultivation Genius], most of the time and from most angles, the Reborn line actually couldn't compare to the sheer power of [Cultivation Genius].
Even after being reborn, one still got crushed by one's own Eldest Senior Sister's cultivation progress.
But now it seemed…
A golden attribute line was a golden attribute line for a reason.
It was at least as strong as Li Yingling's Cultivation Genius, possibly even stronger—and to have it, one even had to pay a price.
Li Xingtian raised his hand and wrote—[This matter cannot be shared with others. I don't know why Master is unaffected by the River's waves, but if I tell anyone else, the River will ripple and fold this passage away.]
Chu Xingchen nodded slightly to show he understood, then reached out and gently patted Li Xingtian's head.
"Master has caused you worry…"
Li Xingtian pressed his lips together. Though he knew his master couldn't see, he still lowered his head and took a heavy breath.
The hand he raised to gesture trembled slightly.
Having seen the River of Time's reflections, he truly understood that it was Master who had sacrificed the most and was willing to sacrifice the most.
And if Master weren't here, the sect would truly fall apart.
[It has always been Master worrying about the disciples. This time, the only thing your disciple asks is that Master not pursue Third Junior Sister.]
Chu Xingchen continued to pat Li Xingtian's shoulder gently.
"I won't. You know I've always doted on you all. Don't worry."
"Master, you're back?" Li Yingling turned in from a corner of the corridor, her eyes lighting up when she saw Chu Xingchen and Li Xingtian. "How did you come back so quietly this time?"
The direction Li Yingling entered happened to be Li Xingtian's side.
Chu Xingchen had naturally seen Li Yingling—he could recognize his own disciple's aura. He patted Li Xingtian's shoulder once more, then smiled.
"I'm back."
"Did you bring me a gift?"
"This time was urgent. I came straight back as soon as things were handled—no time to bring you a gift. I'll make it up next time."
Li Yingling walked closer with a smile, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Then you'd better remember next time."
Chu Xingchen chuckled and nodded. "I will."
Li Xingtian stared blankly at his master, who was carrying on a fluent conversation—could he really not hear?
"I really can't hear." Chu Xingchen's gaze flicked back to Li Xingtian. "But what your Eldest Senior Sister is going to say, I can figure out with my toes."
Li Yingling's brow furrowed at this.
"Can't hear what?"
Chu Xingchen casually redirected:
"Explain to your Senior Sister."
Li Yingling looked at Li Xingtian with puzzled eyes, so Li Xingtian repeated what Bai Xuanling had said earlier.
"Master must be…"
After listening, Li Yingling spoke with certainty—but before she could finish, Chu Xingchen cut her off.
"Master isn't lying."
Li Yingling froze, her eyes fixed on Chu Xingchen. Then she suddenly shouted:
"Master is an idiot!"
Chu Xingchen smiled. A moment later, he replied:
"It's wrong to scold your master."
Li Yingling said nothing more. She threw herself directly into Chu Xingchen's arms, her head lowered, silent.
Chu Xingchen patted his eldest disciple's back gently.
"It's just a minor illusion technique. Lu Xuan and a bunch of Tribulation Transcendence cultivators are already studying it. I'm just temporarily experiencing what it's like to be deaf."
"During this time, the whole sect will truly have to rely on my reliable Eldest Disciple to manage things."
Li Yingling took a heavy breath, pulled back from his arms, and raised her hand to write with fierce precision—
[Leave it all to me. Master should take a good rest.]
Chu Xingchen smiled and nodded.
"Usually you call me lazy if I rest for even a moment. The Li Yingling of today seems to have grown up a bit."
Li Yingling raised her chin slightly, arms crossed, as if to say—Master was underestimating her.
But Li Xingtian, standing at her side, saw it clearly—his Eldest Senior Sister's eyes had already turned red.
Perhaps she too knew that Master had always been the type to share good news and hide the bad.
If it were truly something minor, why would so many people be researching it with such fanfare?
Master really only knew how to fool outsiders. Fooling family came across as clumsy.
After chatting in the corridor for a while, the three of them sat back down in the courtyard's chairs, and Bai Xuanling was called back from outside by Li Yingling.
There wasn't much to the conversation—just drinking tea brewed by Li Yingling and chatting about small recent events.
But the atmosphere was wonderful.
"Master, Eldest Senior Sister, why wasn't I invited to the sect gathering?"
Cui Hao jogged over quickly, first greeting Bai Xuanling with a smile, then sitting down quite naturally and pouring himself a cup of tea. His curious gaze darted around, as if wondering what they'd just been discussing.
Chu Xingchen looked toward Cui Hao with a slightly confused expression.
Li Yingling noticed and raised her hand to write—[This is Cui Hao.]
Chu Xingchen's gaze grew even more confused as he began to think slowly.
Everyone's eyes turned to Chu Xingchen.
Cui Hao's expression was somewhat startled.
Li Yingling knew her master wouldn't use this kind of cruel joke on people, so she quickly wrote:
[Your fifth disciple. Male. Cui Hao. Currently at Golden Core cultivation.]
Cui Hao watched Li Yingling's gestures, recognized that she was writing, and quickly asked:
"What happened to Master?"
Li Xingtian didn't need any prompting from Chu Xingchen or Li Yingling—he naturally began to explain.
After hearing the explanation, Cui Hao quickly raised his hand to write.
[Master, do you still remember me? I'm your most beloved disciple.]
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone strange as he asked Li Yingling beside him:
"This fifth disciple of mine… why does he seem to have a thick skin? Did I really take him in?"
Cui Hao's eyes went wide with shock and sorrow.
Li Yingling wrote immediately—[Took him in personally.]
"And I truly dote on him the most?"
[That's something you'd have to ask yourself, Master.]
Chu Xingchen pressed his lips together lightly, then looked at Cui Hao again.
"What have you learned after following me all this time?"
On a normal day, Cui Hao would probably blurt out something about having learned a fraction of his master's wit or half of his master's unflappable composure—anything to flatter his way around.
But this time he thought for a long while before slowly writing:
[A big family that loves each other]
Chu Xingchen burst out laughing the instant he saw the answer.
He really does look like my true disciple.
Chu Xingchen smiled and replied:
"That's way too saccharine."
Bai Xuanling burst out laughing when she heard this.
[
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