As soon as the words left her mouth, Tai Lingxuan immediately felt a surge of regret.
What was she saying to him?
How foolish—such a flimsy excuse, not just weak, but utterly… clumsy.
For a moment, Tai Lingxuan was so flustered, she couldn’t even find the words to scold herself.
Yuyang must think she’s speaking nonsense.
What was she thinking, what was she hoping for?
Clearly, she shouldn’t let something like this happen… She had already resolved not to make the same mistake again… Yet, yet…
That surging tide of emotion, the impulse to draw closer, the emptiness only he could fill… Such feelings, impossible to restrain.
Tai Lingxuan closed her eyes; she didn’t dare to see what kind of expression Chen Yuyang wore at this moment, and her slightly parted lips couldn’t utter another word of explanation.
However, Chen Yuyang sat at the head of the bed, a teasing look on his face: “Master, did you have a nightmare by yourself?”
“Nightmare…”
Tai Lingxuan repeated unconsciously, looking at the young man in surprise.
“As if your master would ever… A nightmare, right, that’s it, I had a terrible dream.”
Tai Lingxuan instinctively wanted to deny it, but immediately realized this was the perfect excuse she needed.
Besides, weren’t all her worries about the future as suffocating as a nightmare?
“I knew it.”
Chen Yuyang smiled easily.
“You brat, why are you so happy when your master has a nightmare?”
“I was just thinking, Master, you’re human after all.”
Tai Lingxuan couldn’t help but roll her eyes: “What kind of talk is that? What do you mean, ‘I’m human too’? When did I ever look like something else?”
“Disciple doesn’t mean that Master looks inhuman, but rather, perhaps because of your status and pride, even when you have feelings, you never tell anyone. No matter the time, all worries are buried in your heart. Even when you’re troubled, you never show it on your face.”
Tai Lingxuan was momentarily speechless.
But what Chen Yuyang said was true.
Since becoming the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect, she hadn’t revealed her true feelings in a long, long time.
Was it that she wasn’t suffering, wasn’t tired, didn’t feel pressure?
Impossible.
The Hehuan Sect’s reputation was bad, and she supported it alone.
How could that not be exhausting?
Now it’s better, now that she’s reached the Integration Realm, others look at her with respect.
But back then, when she first succeeded the position, only just stepping into the Nascent Soul stage, she had endured countless cold looks and criticisms at the sect meetings.
Over these years, not only did she fail to recruit disciples, but the sect was also extremely poor.
Even providing cultivation resources for her handful of disciples was a struggle.
But Tai Lingxuan had never told anyone about this—she simply bore it herself and found her own solutions.
She never expected that this child, Yuyang, had seen it all…
As she thought about it, Tai Lingxuan couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.
But what Tai Lingxuan didn’t know was—
She wasn’t the first one Chen Yuyang had noticed this about.
The first to realize this was Gu Qiushui.
Back then, it was for this very reason that Gu Qiushui didn’t want to trouble Tai Lingxuan any further, so she chose to endure the backlash of her yin-yang imbalance on her own.
Chen Yuyang only became aware of all this when he helped Gu Qiushui alleviate her symptoms.
Afterwards, that’s why Chen Yuyang showed an interest and talent for alchemy, beginning to help ease the sect’s financial burden.
Gazing at the youth for a long time, Tai Lingxuan’s heart churned with emotion.
Yuyang was right.
She was, in the end, just a person.
She too needed an outlet, needed someone she could confide in.
Perhaps, Yuyang was just right for that role.
Certainly, he was her disciple.
And yes, he wasn’t that old.
But at the same time, he was her man.
In this world, there was no one more intimately connected to her than him.
If she couldn’t even open her heart to him, who else could she speak to about her frustrations and sorrows?
Thinking this, Tai Lingxuan took a deep breath, sat up straight, and looked at the young man as she began: “Yuyang, your master has actually been worrying about that great war three years from now.”
“Why worry about that now, Master?”
Chen Yuyang frowned slightly, his face filled with confusion as he asked back.
“It’s just, I can’t help but think about it. You know, our Hehuan Sect is still too weak…” Tai Lingxuan’s voice faltered.
“So what?”
Chen Yuyang countered.
Seeing that the youth seemed to have no understanding of the gravity, Tai Lingxuan hesitated, wondering if she should explain in detail—the stakes for the Hehuan Sect, the dire straits they could face in the worst case.
While she was hesitating, Chen Yuyang continued: “Above us, there are hundreds of sects, and even the Seven Great Sects.”
“Master, your strength may not be weak, but at best, you rank in the top fifty of the Northern Region’s powerhouses.”
“To put it bluntly, in a real war, it won’t be up to you to decide its course.”
“If the sky falls, the tallest ones will hold it up. If the demon race and demon beasts are to be wiped out, it will start with them.”
“Even if the war goes badly, our Hehuan Sect will have plenty of time to flee the Northern Region.”
“So, I don’t know what Master is so worried about. If anyone should be concerned, it should be the Seven Great Sects.”
“Besides, this battle is not necessarily a loss for us. In fact, I believe this could be an opportunity for the Hehuan Sect to grow.”
Chen Yuyang’s words left Tai Lingxuan with her mouth agape in surprise.
He was right.
If the Seven Great Sects weren’t worried, why should she be?
Her strength wasn’t at the very top—at most, on par with a demon king from the demon race.
During battle, she would likely face opponents at a similar level.
Against such opponents, even if she wasn’t their match, she was more than capable of protecting herself.
Even if they lost the war, the Hehuan Sect, being small and having little property, could flee more easily than others.
“Opportunity? How could this be an opportunity?”
Tai Lingxuan quickly asked.
“It’s simple, Master. After a great war, even if we win, it will come at a great cost. The structure of the Northern Region could be reshuffled.”
“Some sects will be severely weakened, and it’s not impossible for them to fall into decline.”
“Master, your strength is not mediocre—it’s just that not many know it right now. But if you make a name for yourself in the war, our Hehuan Sect will be renowned. When we open our doors to new disciples, I believe countless people will flock to us. With careful selection and training, even if we don’t become top-tier, growing into a mid-sized sect is entirely possible.”
At the very least, at this moment, Chen Yuyang already had an extremely detailed development plan in mind.
Cultivators are drawn to strength.
If your name is great and your strength renowned, they will respect you.
Tai Lingxuan pursed her lips, but frowned.
“As you say, recruitment will be easy then. But will our Hehuan Sect be able to properly train them? If we can’t provide sufficient cultivation resources, complaints will abound and they might even abandon our sect.”
“Does Master truly believe that, with this disciple here, earning spirit stones is such a difficult thing?”
Chen Yuyang replied confidently with a smile.
He was now a “Third-grade” Alchemist.
Most of the pills cultivators need fall within that rank.
Most importantly, his pill concoctions never failed—quality was high, yield was great.
So long as he was willing to refine without restraint, supporting the economy of a mid-sized sect was no issue at all.
At worst, he could just “break through” to become a fourth-grade Alchemist.
“This…” Hearing this, Tai Lingxuan was also moved.
Indeed, if Yuyang were to refine pills, referencing the situation with the Condensed Gold Pill, even if not many, just one batch per month, the sect could gain twenty or thirty thousand top-grade spirit stones each year.
But immediately, Tai Lingxuan shook her head, her tone turning serious.
“It’s just… that would delay your own cultivation. Besides, all these pills are refined by you—how could the sect take them all?”
“Even in the Pill Sect, when disciples refine pills for the sect, they’re allowed to take about thirty percent of the finished pills as compensation.”
“If you, Yuyang, take nothing at all and give everything, even I would feel uneasy.”
“Master saved my life and raised me with care.”
“If I can help the sect grow, fulfill your wishes, even if I take nothing, I do so willingly.”
Chen Yuyang answered solemnly.
“As for cultivation, Master needn’t worry. My spiritual strength is innately strong; alchemy doesn’t cost me enough to affect my cultivation.”
Of course, Chen Yuyang didn’t say—
He already saw Tai Lingxuan as “one of his own.”
For his own people, putting in a little extra effort was no big deal.
If he wasn’t still keeping a low profile, growing steadily and avoiding the covetous eyes and persecution of others, he could simply pull out a handful of spirit stones from his Sumeru Consciousness Sea and that would be enough for the sect for a hundred years.
“Yuyang, you…”
To Chen Yuyang, this was only natural.
But when Tai Lingxuan heard this, her eyes grew red and her nose tingled with emotion.
This child…
So considerate it hurt her heart.
He was willing to give up his own future and interests just for her, for her dream of reviving the sect…
Suddenly, Tai Lingxuan pulled the youth into her arms, hugging him tightly.
“You child… The matters of the sect’s growth, your master will handle. For the next few years, just focus on your cultivation and don’t worry about anything else.”
“Your master will also do her best to earn spirit stones.”
“When the time comes, if we truly run out, we’ll discuss it again, discuss it again.”
Tai Lingxuan muttered on.
Meanwhile, as Chen Yuyang felt her embrace, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Someone as sincere as his master was rare indeed.
In a hundred lifetimes and a hundred trials, he’d joined many sects, but few had left a deep impression on him.
Usually, once he showed some value, it would quickly provoke the jealousy of fellow disciples, or the elders would ruthlessly extract his worth without caring about his future.
He felt nothing for those sects, so once he reached a certain level, he’d leave behind what he felt was adequate compensation and depart.
Sects like the Hehuan Sect, masters like hers, senior and junior sisters as pure as them—in the cultivation world, they were truly a rarity.
But…
Chen Yuyang liked being one of the rare few.
Just as Chen Yuyang rested on that soft chest, feeling moved while simply enjoying the moment, a soft voice, trembling slightly, slipped into his ear.
“Yuyang…”
“You… are you willing to… dual cultivate with your master?”