After Qin Qiwu left, Ye Chu had just returned control of the body to Ye Qingyi when Ye Chu’s voice rang out in her mind.
“That old man is here.”
Ye Qingyi was startled.
“Who?”
“Your cheap master, Feng Xianyun.”
Within a few breaths of the words falling, a white figure appeared at the courtyard gate.
Feng Xianyun still had that immortal aura, his moon-white Dao robe fluttering without wind, the silver strands at his temples glinting faintly in the sunlight.
His gaze swept across the courtyard, paused for a moment at the spot where Qin Qiwu had stood, then landed on Ye Qingyi.
“Master.”
Ye Qingyi quickly bowed.
Feng Xianyun nodded, walked into the courtyard, and with a casual look around, asked, “Did someone come by just now?”
‘Is Master here about Qin Qiwu?’
“Yes.”
Ye Qingyi didn’t hide it.
“Miss Qin of Guixu Pavilion came by.”
Feng Xianyun’s gaze slightly hardened.
He didn’t press further about what Qin Qiwu came for, just lightly hummed “Mm,” then sat down on a stone stool in the main courtyard and gestured for Ye Qingyi to sit as well.
“I plan to go into seclusion for a few days. Before that, I want to check on your cultivation progress.”
‘Master came all this way, not asking about Qin Qiwu, but instead asking about cultivation first?’
She had thought Feng Xianyun would press her about Qin Qiwu’s intentions.
After all, that woman’s status was evident—the young master of Guixu Pavilion, the pearl in the palm of Qin Ye, a cultivator at the Mahayana stage.
For such a figure to appear at Taiyi Sacred Sect, any sect would be nervous.
But Feng Xianyun deliberately didn’t ask.
Ye Qingyi felt a bit uneasy, but didn’t dare to ask, and honestly replied, “Master, your disciple… I suppose I’ve mastered it?”
“Mastered it?”
Feng Xianyun’s hand paused slightly.
“What did you master?”
“The Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique.”
Feng Xianyun was completely unsettled.
The Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique had only been passed to her not long ago, and she had already mastered it?
“What did you say?”
Feng Xianyun asked again in disbelief.
“The Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique? You mastered it?”
Ye Qingyi was startled by his reaction and instinctively nodded.
“When did this happen?”
“Just… now.”
Feng Xianyun fell silent.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu let out a snicker.
“Look at that old man, scared out of his wits, like he’s seen a ghost.”
Ye Qingyi said quietly in her heart, “Don’t talk nonsense. Master is just shocked.”
“No shit, of course I know it’s shock.”
Ye Chu’s tone carried a hint of smugness.
“Guess why he’s shocked? This technique has been in Taiyi Sacred Sect for tens of thousands of years, and the number of people who’ve mastered it can be counted on one hand. Someone like you who mastered it in twenty breaths? There’s never been one. Of course he’s shocked.”
‘The awesome one here is me. Why are you so smug? If you’re so proud of me, you better treat me better from now on!’
In a great mood, Ye Qingyi deliberately pretended to be shocked and asked, “That difficult?”
“What did you think?”
Ye Chu snorted.
“The Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique mainly cultivates the mind. The purer the heart, the faster the cultivation. Someone like you… at your core, you’re a good person, so it’s fast.”
“Didn’t you say Taiyi Sacred Sect is a righteous orthodox sect? Aren’t the good people here good? And only a handful have mastered it in tens of thousands of years? That’s too ridiculous.”
“If people hear that, they’ll think I’m lying.”
Ye Chu sneered.
“The definition of ‘good person’ is flexible.”
“Besides, this is a world where the strong prey on the weak. Doing good deeds doesn’t necessarily mean someone is virtuous.”
“Ever read novels? So-called righteous orthodox sects often represent decay and another kind of darkness. Good people don’t live long.”
…
‘Here he goes again. Ye Chu’s harsh cultivation world education.’
…
Feng Xianyun finally spoke, his voice a bit hoarse.
“Run through it once. Let me see.”
Ye Qingyi followed his instructions and circulated her energy.
Spiritual energy flowed inside her, and the Clarify Heart and Free Mind Technique’s mental method circulated smoothly like flowing clouds and water.
Visibly, the spiritual energy around her began to become purer and more condensed.
In just this short while, Ye Qingyi felt her strength had increased a bit, though not as much as when she first mastered it.
Feng Xianyun’s eyes grew wider and wider.
“…Good.”
He took a deep breath, his voice unable to hide his excitement.
“Good! Good!”
Three consecutive “good” words, each one louder than the last.
He took out a jade bottle and a pouch of spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on the stone table.
“These are leftover pills I made when I used to refine alchemy in my early years. They will greatly benefit your Foundation Establishment stage cultivation. Use these spirit stones for now. If they’re not enough, come to me for more.”
Ye Qingyi stared at the jade bottle and the bulging spirit stone pouch, her eyes wide.
The jade bottle was warm and smooth, with a faint scent of medicine seeping out.
One look told that the pills inside were priceless.
As for the spirit stone pouch, it was heavy, with at least ten thousand stones.
‘This is too generous! Completely unlike that evil capitalist who only forces her to train and takes the chance to beat her up under the guise of sparring!’
“Master, this is too much…”
“It’s not too much.”
Feng Xianyun waved his hand, his tone brooking no refusal.
“Your talent is even higher than I anticipated. If resources can’t keep up, it’s a waste. Take it.”
Ye Qingyi bit her lip and still accepted it.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu whistled.
“Hey, this old man is pretty generous.”
Ye Qingyi retorted in her heart, “Can you stop calling my master ‘old man’ all the time?”
“He’s over a thousand years old. What else should I call him?”
“Your actual age is much older than Master, isn’t it?”
“What do you know? A man is forever young until death. I’m different from that decrepit old geezer.”
Ye Qingyi had nothing to say.
Feng Xianyun sat for a while longer, gave a few more instructions on cultivation, then got up and left.
Before leaving, he stopped, turned back to look at Ye Qingyi, seeming to hesitate.
“Master, do you have any other instructions?”
“…Nothing.”
Feng Xianyun shook his head and turned to leave.
But the complex look in that glance was clearly caught by Ye Qingyi.
In her sea of consciousness, Ye Chu suddenly spoke.
“Guess what your master wanted to say just now?”
Ye Qingyi shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“He wanted to ask what Qin Qiwu came to see you about. But he was too embarrassed to ask.”
Ye Qingyi was startled.
“Why embarrassed?”
“Because he’s the lord of a sect, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. When he took you as a disciple, she didn’t even come to the ceremony. Now she’s coming to you on her own. If he asks too much, it would make him seem too concerned.”
Ye Chu paused.
“Besides, he’s wary of Guixu Pavilion.”
“He’s very protective of you now, afraid that Guixu Pavilion will steal you away.”
Ye Qingyi thought of the look in Feng Xianyun’s eyes when he glanced at the ground where Qin Qiwu had stood, and understood.
Guixu Pavilion—this behemoth that even a Nascent Soul stage master had to be wary of.
That Qin Qiwu…
She remembered the words that woman said before leaving—”I’ll come again.”
‘Damn it, she has to work hard to get stronger.’