Chapter 112: Master and Disciple

In the time that followed, Li Guanxuan remained largely confined to his residence at Ping'an Garden, living a reclusive life.

Since the immortal energy derived from dual cultivation was needed for his own progress, the task of maturing the Dragon Scale Fruit fell almost entirely to Qin Jiyue.

Qin Jiyue did not mind. She had already reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment. Although she could have used pills like the Tianyuan Pill or the Huangting Pill to force a breakthrough to the seventh level, it would have diminished her chances of forming a Golden Core, so she was in no hurry. By allowing her cultivation to progress naturally, she would face no bottlenecks when the time came to form her core. Moreover, assisting Chen Yinshan at this moment was of the utmost importance.

Two years passed.

Li Guanxuan occasionally used his Wood-attribute immortal energy to nourish the Dragon Scale Fruit, while his Gold and Fire-attribute energies were dedicated to his own cultivation. In just two years, the three-hundred-year-old Dragon Scale Fruit had been ripened to five hundred years. This was only possible because Qin Jiyue had poured all of her immortal energy into it for two years, supplemented by Li Guanxuan’s Wood-attribute energy.

...

At the Wanyuan Pavilion in the No. 1 Market.

Li Guanxuan knew he could no longer leave Silver Maple City casually. If something were to happen, he would be forced to act, which would immediately expose his identity and invite endless trouble from the Thunder Fire Sect and the Water Ink Pavilion. Therefore, the arduous task of delivering the five-hundred-year-old Dragon Scale Fruit to Chen Yinshan in the Hundred Thousand Mountains had to be entrusted to his beautiful master.

As a seasoned master at the peak of Foundation Establishment who also possessed two third-tier puppets, Liu Xiaoxian was undoubtedly the best candidate.

He walked into the room, which was filled with the fragrance of flowers. Liu Xiaoxian was in her usual languid posture, reclining on an armchair. Her spiritual sense flicked a spiritual fruit into her mouth while she read an illustrated book with great interest. When Li Guanxuan approached, she closed the book and cast a sidelong, disdainful glance at her sneaky, precious disciple.

"What are you doing?" Liu Xiaoxian asked tartly.

"What is Master reading?" Li Guanxuan asked with curiosity.

"None of your business!" Liu Xiaoxian snorted, hiding the book away without a trace.

Li Guanxuan smiled, not thinking much of it. He had not forgotten that his master was a woman who practiced mind-reading. Such women were terrifying; if one had any improper thoughts, they would be immediately "publicly executed." However, Li Guanxuan had already figured out a countermeasure while at home: as long as his spiritual sense was stronger than Liu Xiaoxian's, her mind-reading would be ineffective. After all, her technique only worked on those with weaker spiritual sense than her own.

Li Guanxuan walked over and conscientiously began to massage his master's shoulders. "Master, I have a small favor to ask, and I hope you can help me."

"What kind of favor?" Liu Xiaoxian asked lazily.

"There is a storage ring I need delivered to Chen Yinshan in the Hundred Thousand Mountains," Li Guanxuan said. "The contents are vital to his life and safety. I don't trust anyone else with it, so I have to shamelessly ask for your help."

His massage technique had been perfected during his dual cultivation sessions. By observing Liu Xiaoxian’s reactions and expressions, he knew exactly where her "sweet spots" were. With a slight increase in pressure, he drew a lovely, soft moan from her. Even though the green-robed sword cultivator was a veteran of many battles, his heart still skipped a beat when such a sound came from a mature, charming woman more luscious than a peach.

Li Guanxuan kept his expression neutral. Fortunately, his spiritual sense was now comparable to the peak of Foundation Establishment, and Liu Xiaoxian could no longer easily perceive his thoughts or movements as she once could—unless she was staring directly at him.

"Alright, no problem." Liu Xiaoxian narrowed her sultry, beautiful eyes, a comfortable moan escaping her lips. "Harder."

Li Guanxuan adjusted his technique with ease. Through her loose Daoist robe, he could perfectly see the terrifying contours of a G-tier powerhouse. He then looked at his nose and focused on his heart, pretending to see nothing.

"Cao Feng has likely guessed that the Li-surnamed sword cultivator in the Red Lotus Mountain Range is you," Liu Xiaoxian said softly, her eyes closed in enjoyment.

Li Guanxuan was not surprised. He nodded slightly and said, "Yes, I suspected as much. Between Master's peak Foundation Establishment puppet, Jiyue’s demonic aura, my absence for two years, and my breakthrough to the fifth level... all these things would make Cao Feng suspect I went to the Red Lotus Mountain Range."

He could hide his affairs from others, but not from Cao Feng, who knew him well. After all, the sword cultivator in the Red Lotus Mountain Range had a female demonic cultivator as a companion, both were sword cultivators, and they possessed numerous talismans and pills as trump cards—these facts were enough for Cao Feng to suspect that the cultivator was Li Guanxuan himself.

"What do you plan to do? Play dumb or confess?" Liu Xiaoxian asked.

"If he asks, I will confess. If he doesn't, I won't blather about it," Li Guanxuan laughed.

Liu Xiaoxian fell silent. This was just how she interacted with Li Guanxuan. Her precious disciple’s cultivation speed at the Foundation Establishment stage was simply too fast. If she remembered correctly, Li Guanxuan would be seventy-one years old in about two or three months. From his successful Foundation Establishment until now, only twelve or thirteen years had passed, yet he was already a powerful cultivator at the fifth level. One had to know that his base spiritual root aptitude was a low-grade four-element root. With such aptitude, one wouldn't even dream of reaching the fifth level of Foundation Establishment in less than seventy or eighty years.

"Fine. Give me the ring, and I'll deliver it to the Hundred Thousand Mountains later," Liu Xiaoxian said, stretching lazily. "I will leave a clone at the Wanyuan Pavilion in the No. 1 Market. If you have time, you should come and guide their talisman techniques."

She didn't dare hope that Li Guanxuan would pour out all his knowledge regarding alchemy. Besides, if he revealed too much, it wouldn't fit her precious disciple’s character. She didn't need to force him.

"Understood," Li Guanxuan readily agreed.

Liu Xiaoxian warned, "By the way, the Thunder Fire Sect's ancestor, Lei Gongwang, personally went to the Red Lotus Mountain Range and explicitly pointed out that the Li-surnamed sword cultivator came from the Li family of sword immortals in Daheng. Before you have the strength to contend with a True Person, never reveal your identity or aura, lest you be targeted by the Thunder Fire Sect. As for the Wanyuan Pavilion, don't worry. Only myself, Xiao Zheng, and Xiao Li know your details; no one else knows, not even Fugui. You don't need to worry about the peak Foundation Establishment puppet; the Wanyuan Pavilion has many such puppets, and Lei Gongwang couldn't possibly suspect me."

Hearing this, Li Guanxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had anticipated that True Person Lei would visit the Red Lotus Mountain Range, but he hadn't expected the man to actually recognize the Qingxuan Sword Intent.

"I've caused you trouble, Master," Li Guanxuan said apologetically. A peak Foundation Establishment puppet was indeed a source of potential trouble for Liu Xiaoxian.

"Small matter," Liu Xiaoxian waved it off dismissively. "Killing and fighting are normal in the cultivation world. Besides, Yan Mingyao and Bai Wei of the Water Ink Pavilion were indeed being too overbearing. In short, these so-called sect cultivators lack discipline. I am even happier that you were able to make them suffer such a big loss. After all, you are my only disciple."

Li Guanxuan felt a touch of emotion. Although the cultivation world was full of sinister hearts and self-interest, the people he had met—Chen Yinshan, Zheng Huangjin, and Liu Xiaoxian—had all been kind to him.

"Once I reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment, perhaps I will be able to fend off a True Person with talismans and mechanism arts," Li Guanxuan said, looking at Liu Xiaoxian earnestly. He spoke from the heart: "But I still hope to help Master form a Golden Core and become a True Person. That way, the threat of a True Person will be greatly reduced for us, and at least we won't have to fear the Thunder Fire Sect so much."

"Do you really think a Golden Core is that easy to form?" Liu Xiaoxian shook her head helplessly. "I've been stuck at the peak of Foundation Establishment for about ninety years. While I could form a standard core, the future prospects of reaching the Nascent Soul stage would require great fortune. With my temperament, I’m not willing to go hunting for such fortune. I would rather wait for an opportunity to smoothly form a Golden Core, which would make the effort and cost of reaching the Nascent Soul stage much lower... However, this depends on one's own destiny; it cannot be forced."

Li Guanxuan was enlightened. So, Liu Xiaoxian could have formed a core long ago. She had refrained from doing so because she was aiming for a higher-quality Golden Core. After all, forming a Golden Core meant a high probability of reaching the Nascent Soul stage. The Golden Core was, in essence, the seed of a Nascent Soul.

"So, even a high-grade Golden Essence Pill wouldn't tempt you," Li Guanxuan whispered. He knew her character well; she was inherently lazy, unwilling to fight unless necessary, and highly adaptable. If she encountered real trouble, she would likely choose to avoid it rather than confront it. Of course, she only seemed willing to put in the effort when it concerned him. Perhaps because he was her only disciple...

Liu Xiaoxian nodded slightly. "Yes. Without other opportunities or heavenly treasures, only a top-grade Golden Essence Pill, or perhaps a Purple Gold Pill, would give me a ten-out-of-ten chance to form a Golden Core."

A Purple Gold Pill... Li Guanxuan clicked his tongue in secret. That was something only those with a top-grade dual-element earth spirit root or a single top-grade heaven spirit root could hope to condense. A True Person who formed a Purple Gold Pill had a near-certain chance of reaching the Nascent Soul stage and becoming a True Monarch. And even better than the Purple Gold Pill was the legendary Glazed Golden Core, said to be condensable only by those with a single top-grade heaven spirit root and an innate precious body—true children of destiny who were seeds of the Spirit Severing stage, even potentially becoming immortals.

No wonder his master had delayed forming her core; she was plotting for a Golden Core, or even a Purple Gold Pill. Li Guanxuan sighed at the limitations of his own perspective. But it was only natural—in his view, a cultivator who formed a standard core was already remarkable. Who would bother plotting for such high-quality cores? That was practically gambling with one's lifespan. A great Foundation Establishment cultivator had an average lifespan of 240 years; living to 250 or 260 was the absolute limit. To aim for such high-quality cores would take at least 150 years—and that was just a baseline!

Liu Xiaoxian read his thoughts and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. My liquid mana has already begun to solidify. Even without a top-grade Golden Essence Pill, I can form a Golden Core within sixty years."

Li Guanxuan nodded. Sixty years was not very long for him. As long as there were no dangers, he could cultivate slowly. However, Cao Feng had connections with many True Persons, but favors would eventually run out. If the Thunder Fire Sect traced things back to him, it was uncertain whether Cao Feng would protect him at all costs.

*I must improve my cultivation and strive to reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. Once I reach that realm, I can progress steadily...* Li Guanxuan thought to himself. Relying on oneself was better than relying on others; that was his rule of life.

Liu Xiaoxian turned to look at him, reading the worry in his heart. A flicker of tenderness crossed her eyes. She stood up, opened her arms, and hugged her precious disciple, comforting him: "Don't worry. As long as you don't act, that True Person Lei will never trace it to you. Cultivate steadily—it is better than rapid improvement. Your goal shouldn't just be the Nascent Soul, but at least the Spirit Severing stage."

Li Guanxuan was startled as the unique scent of the beautiful woman filled his senses. His chest felt as if it were pressed against a bundle of cotton, incredibly soft... Under the intense stimulation, he resolutely wrapped his arms around her slender, charming waist. He had to admit, as a G-tier powerhouse, Liu Xiaoxian had no excess fat; her waist was perfectly toned—not fat, not thin—the waist of a man's dreams.

At this moment, Li Guanxuan pushed his spiritual sense to the limit to avoid having his thoughts overheard by his mind-reading master.

*Master knows I have three beautiful wives and concubines at home, yet she acts so intimately with me. Could it be as Jiyue said... that she intends to dual cultivate with me and use my immortal fate to form her core?* Li Guanxuan thought. *Perhaps she doesn't think that way. After all, to a mature fairy of over a hundred years, this might just be a pure hug from a master to her precious disciple, while comforting a weak student.*

*Besides, I don't know how she feels about me. If it doesn't meet the requirements, dual cultivation would have no benefit... that would just be a waste of energy!*

"Why did you suddenly strengthen your spiritual sense? Are you guarding against me?" Liu Xiaoxian suddenly looked up into his eyes, her autumn-water eyes full of confusion.

Li Guanxuan steadied his mind, looked down into those beautiful, charming eyes, and answered solemnly: "No, I just had a sudden realization, and my spiritual sense grew automatically. Master, please don't overthink it."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"This is the first time I've heard of someone's spiritual sense growing automatically. Don't try to fool me."

"I love you too much to ever fool you, Master."

"Hehe, is that so? Then, is Master's waist soft or not?"

"..."

"Soft, just the right amount of soft."

"..."

"Master! I am just being honest to prove I am not lying!"

"You scoundrel! You even dare to take advantage of your master?!"

(End of chapter)