Li Ze felt the situation turn slightly awkward, and he pulled his hand away from Man Xiaomin.
Lin Xiaoye voiced her doubt, “But how can you guarantee, Fellow Daoist, that you can help all of us break through to the Dao Realm?”
Hearing this, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
Reaching the Dao Realm was incredibly simple for him; Li Ze possessed various methods to facilitate that advancement.
Li Ze then produced three blank sheets of yellow cinnabar paper, activating both his fingers and his Divine Sense simultaneously.
In an instant, three life-saving protective talismans were complete.
The three women were so stunned they couldn’t speak, their faces filled with disbelief.
Protective talismans were extremely complex.
Only powerful experts at the Dan Realm or above could draw them.
“These three protective talismans can block a single fatal blow from anyone within the Dao Realm. I’m giving them to you!”
They cradled the yellow talismans in their hands, feeling a sense of wonder.
They finally believed him.
“From now on, the three of you can simply refer to me as Young Master!”
“Yes, Young Master!”
Once the secret realm completely closed, only the five of them remained within it.
They could not leave, and those outside could not enter.
“We shall settle down here!”
The five of them arrived at a flat, grassy clearing at the foot of Burial Dao Peak.
There were several maple trees nearby, situated next to a small stream.
“There are ten years until the next time the secret realm opens, so we must build houses for ourselves to live in!”
The meadow at the foot of Burial Dao Peak glowed softly under the setting sun, and the babbling stream sounded like the music of a zither.
Li Ze stood beneath a maple tree, a strand of green light condensing at his fingertip.
“Backing onto a dragon pulse and facing a spiritual stream, this place gathers Qi and conceals the wind. It is the perfect spot for Foundation Establishment.”
Before his voice finished echoing, the long spear in his sleeve hummed as it flew out, its tip tapping the ground.
A turquoise light rippled outward like waves; the sod turned over automatically, boulders shifted, and in an instant, the foundations for three stone houses were set.
Man Xiaomin’s eyes widened.
“Young Master’s methods… are even more efficient than those of the Foundation Establishment elders!”
She hurriedly called out to Lin Xiaoye and Daiyu, “Quick! Go to the forest and gather some flexible vines to weave the roofs!”
“Wait a moment.”
Li Ze tossed three talisman papers into the air.
“These are Earth-Fixing Talismans. Placing them on the eaves will prevent erosion from wind and rain.”
The talismans turned into golden powder and merged into the wooden frames, causing the stone houses to glow faintly.
Cai Xiaonu drifted to the stream to wash her hands, splashing a handful of water toward the foundation.
“Earth and stone sustain each other, while water energy nourishes the spirit. Houses built this way are truly comfortable to live in.”
Li Ze noticed the mud spots on the tip of her nose.
He flicked his finger, sending a gentle breeze to brush past her, blowing away the stray hairs on her forehead.
“Xiaonu is quite thoughtful.”
Three days passed, and the stone houses had begun to take shape.
Man Xiaomin hummed a small tune while weaving straw mats, Lin Xiaoye simmered spiritual rice porridge at the hearth, and Daiyu clumsily shaved wooden stakes to make a fence.
Cai Xiaonu, however, remained by Li Ze’s side at all times, helping him grind Spiritual Pulse Essence Cores into powder.
Li Ze noticed the expectation in her eyes and suddenly covered the back of her hand with his palm.
“Concentrate. Feel the flow of spiritual energy within this essence core.”
The young girl’s fingertips trembled as a warm current of air traveled through the meridians of her wrist.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
“It’s… it’s like a stream running over my ankles.”
“Remember this feeling.”
Li Ze withdrew his hand.
“Come to the east house tomorrow at 5:00 AM.”
The Dragon Pond of Burial Dao Peak was as still as a mirror.
Li Ze sat cross-legged in the center of the pond, two Spiritual Pulse Essence Cores hovering around him as colored light wove into a cocoon.
Pure spiritual power poured into him like a spring tide, washing away the clogged impurities in his meridians inch by inch.
Three days later, the turquoise glow around him suddenly exploded, and the pond water reflected the fluctuations of his cultivation at Dao Realm Level 2.
As the essence cores crumbled into dust, he opened his eyes, a golden light flashing through them before vanishing.
When he descended the mountain, the twilight had already dyed the maple leaves red.
Li Ze’s footsteps suddenly paused — the candle light shone through the window paper of the east house.
Cai Xiaonu was sitting in meditation with her eyes closed, sweat beading on her forehead.
He pointed from a distance, sending a strand of pure spiritual power into the crown of her head.
The girl’s body jolted, and her originally chaotic spiritual breath instantly settled into her dantian.
“Senior!” Cai Xiaonu woke with a start, her voice carrying a hint of a sob.
“I… I have been stuck at the bottleneck of Spirit Realm Level 9 for three days…”
“You are too impatient.”
Li Ze sat cross-legged across from her, tracing a spiritual rune with his finger.
“Spiritual power is like a stream. It collapses if blocked, but grows if diverted.”
He guided her palm to press against his own dantian.
“Feel the rhythm of the Dao Realm’s spiritual power circulation.”
Cai Xiaonu’s palm pressed against his clothes, and she could feel the warm skin beneath the fabric.
Her ears burned, but her Divine Sense followed his guidance into the sea of spirit — that vortex of spiritual power was as vast as a galaxy, yet a thin stream gently wrapped around her agitated spiritual breath.
When the clock struck Midnight, a light crack echoed inside her body.
The barrier of Spirit Realm Level 9 shattered instantly.
When Li Ze withdrew his hand, her cheeks were burning.
“Thank… thank you, Senior.”
“You have the source of the Angel Wings within you,” Li Ze said, placing a medicinal pill into her palm.
“Swallow this. Tomorrow, when you practice the third level of the Cloud Seven Signs, your wings will naturally generate protective astral qi.”
Outside, Man Xiaomin held a bundle of firewood and peeked at the shadows on the window, muttering, “Why does Junior Sister Xiaonu always get private instruction from the Young Master?”
Lin Xiaoye pulled on her sleeve.
“Don’t say too much. The Young Master has his own reasons.”
Early the next morning, Li Ze spread out a jade slip on a bluestone in the courtyard.
The three women stood respectfully below the steps, while Cai Xiaonu sat on a stone stool beside him.
“The way of Foundation Establishment prioritizes the state of mind.”
Li Ze pointed toward Man Xiaomin.
“Your spiritual roots are mixed, so you need the Five Elements Soul-Returning Scripture to harmonize them. Every day at midnight, face north and breathe, drawing the Ren Water energy into your Shanzhong acupoint.”
Man Xiaomin happily noted it down, but then saw Li Ze take out another jade talisman and press it into her palm.
“Crush this in an emergency; it can block a single strike from the Dao Realm.”
Turning to Lin Xiaoye, Li Ze’s expression softened slightly.
“Your heart meridians have an old injury. Was it caused by forcibly rushing your meridians when you were young?”
Seeing her nod in shock, three purple lingzhi mushrooms flew from his sleeve.
“Boil these with stream water and consume them. After seven days, you may begin practicing the Green Wood Heart Scripture.”
Daiyu nervously twisted the corner of her clothes.
“Young Master, I… I can never remember the mnemonics…”
Li Ze suddenly laughed and swept his whisk lightly across her forehead.
“In that case, I will give you a Divine Sense brand.”
Daiyu felt her body lighten, and the diagrams of the Tortoise Breath Guidance Art clearly appeared in her mind.
“All of you, go.”
Li Ze waved his sleeve to dismiss the three of them, leaving only Cai Xiaonu behind.
“You, come with me.”
Deep within the bamboo forest on the back of the mountain, Li Ze set up a soundproofing boundary.
He took out the remnants of a green lotus petal and ground them into powder.
“Your foundation is too weak. You need a medicinal bath to solidify your base.”
The stream water condensed into a ball in his palm, and the petals dissolved into green waves.
Cai Xiaonu removed her outer garment and stepped into the water.
Amidst the swirling mist, Li Ze’s fingertips brushed over the scars on her back.
“Did it hurt that day outside the Xuanhuang Tower?”
The girl shook her head, water droplets sliding down his knuckles.
“With Senior here, Xiaonu is not afraid.”
After three days of medicinal baths, Cai Xiaonu’s spiritual power had reached the peak of Level 9.
While Li Ze was teaching her how to control the Angel Wings, Man Xiaomin was drying medicinal herbs in the courtyard when she suddenly saw white feathers take flight into the sky.
Cai Xiaonu hung 3 feet in the air, her wings scattering starlight that made the entire bamboo forest look as if it were drenched in moonlight.
Li Ze stood with his hands behind his back beneath a tree, his robes fluttering.
“When retracting your wings, you must use your waist as the axis. Do not be stiff.”
“Yes!”
Cai Xiaonu dove down, but she stumbled just before landing.
Li Ze reached out and grabbed her waist, and the girl tumbled into his arms.
The medicinal basket in Man Xiaomin’s hand hit the ground with a thud.
Lin Xiaoye quickly dragged her behind the woodpile.
When Li Ze let go, the tips of Cai Xiaonu’s ears were red enough to bleed.
“Sorry… I’m sorry, Senior.”
“It’s fine.”
A green lotus made of spiritual power condensed at his fingertip.
“A calm heart makes for stable wings. Try again.”
On the evening of the tenth day, Li Ze finished his seclusion at the Dragon Pond.
On his way back, he saw the courtyard brightly lit, and the three women were laughing and jumping around a stone table.
Cai Xiaonu ran over holding a coarse ceramic bowl, the spiritual rice porridge inside steaming hot.
“Senior! Sister Xiaomin gathered glowing mushrooms, Sister Ye stewed a spiritual rabbit, and Daiyu even made osmanthus cakes!”
As Li Ze sat down, Man Xiaomin served him attentively.
“Young Master, try this! I followed your instructions and simmered it with Ren Water energy for half an hour!”
Lin Xiaoye quietly pushed the most tender piece of rabbit meat into his bowl.
Li Ze, however, pushed the cakes toward Cai Xiaonu.
“You exhausted your spirit practicing with your wings today. Eat more.”
Under the flickering candlelight, the three women exchanged glances.
Man Xiaomin suddenly knelt straight.
“Young Master! When I was drawing Qi last night, I felt a warm current surging in my dantian!”
Lin Xiaoye and Daiyu also nodded with tears in their eyes — their bottlenecks had finally loosened.
Li Ze nodded.
“Your foundations are now correct. You should reach Level 9 within half a month.”
His gaze shifted to Cai Xiaonu and paused.
“Can your wings condense 3 inches of astral qi now?”
The girl nodded, her Angel Wings floating half a foot behind her, glowing with a moonlight-like luster.
Li Ze suddenly stood up and tapped her forehead.
“Open your Divine Sense.”
Cai Xiaonu felt a massive amount of information flood her mind — it was the complete Taixu Sword-Control Manual!
She was so startled she knocked over her bowl.
“This… this is a Dao Realm secret technique!”
“Since you possess the source of the Angel Wings, you need a high-level cultivation method to match them.”
Li Ze wiped the porridge stains from the back of her hand, his voice low.
“Remember, this manual must not be shared with outsiders. If you encounter people from the Green Sword Sect in the future, a single sword strike will be enough to slay any cultivator below the Profound Soul Realm.”
Man Xiaomin stared at Cai Xiaonu’s reddening ears, her nails digging into her palms.
As Lin Xiaoye pulled on her sleeve, she heard her whisper, “If only I also had a Young Master who would wipe my hands…”
In the dead of night, Li Ze sat alone on the edge of the cliff.
Cai Xiaonu approached carrying medicinal tea, seeing him staring at the surging blood clouds outside the secret realm.
“Is Senior worried about the sect war?”
“I was thinking,” Li Ze took the tea, the steam blurring the sharpness in his eyes, “when we leave seclusion ten years from now, with what kind of posture should I face the Green Sword Sect?”
Inside his sleeve, the Soul-Locking Banner trembled slightly, and the shadow of a figure kneeling on the banner’s surface rattled its chains — the restriction on Li Quan’s remnant soul had been completely ground away.
Cai Xiaonu suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Xiaonu will become strong! Strong enough to help Senior slay all his enemies!”
The girl’s palm was burning hot, and Li Ze turned his hand over to cover hers.
“Good. Tomorrow, I will teach you the Broken Array Thirteen Forms.”
The mountain wind swept through the maple forest, blowing the overlapping robes of the two people on the cliff.
Ten years of time began to settle from this single cup of medicinal tea.
In the distance, the lights in the three stone houses gradually went out, leaving only the window of the east house showing two figures leaning together to study a jade slip, turning the long night into a sea of stars.