VHSTS CH6

Circulating his cultivation technique, absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, guiding it through the meridians and tendons across his entire body for one minor circulation cycle, and then one major circulation cycle—repeating this process eighty-one times constituted a single, ordinary cultivation session for a normal cultivator.

Ever since the day of his rebirth, while rushing back to Taihua Mountain, Luo Jianqing had discovered that he could no longer absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth as he used to. If the spiritual qi of heaven and earth were likened to naive, innocent children possessing immense power, then in the past, they had loved playing with Luo Jianqing, who possessed transcendent spiritual roots; now, however, they avoided him like the plague.

No matter how Luo Jianqing circulated his cultivation technique, not a single wisp of spiritual qi existed within three zhang of his body.

The technique Luo Jianqing cultivated was Yuxiao Peak’s peerless, closely guarded secret manual, the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record. It was the highest confidential scripture of all Taihua Mountain; it was said that the founding patriarch of Taihua Mountain had cultivated this very mental cultivation method and ultimately ascended to immortality by relying on it.

There was nothing wrong with the Nine Lotuses True Heart Record whatsoever, yet this spiritual qi simply refused to draw near his body.

Sitting upright on his meditation cushion, Luo Jianqing pondered for a long time, yet still failed to arrive at an answer. When he had just been reborn, his cultivation had been firmly stabilized at the mid-stage of Golden Core; now, however, he had already dropped down to the very threshold of the mid-stage Golden Core realm. If things continued like this, he would likely fall back to the early stage of Golden Core within a year.

After meditating inside his bamboo cottage for a month, Luo Jianqing stood up and looked out at the vast azure sky, a sudden thought striking him…

“Could it be that the Heavenly Dao no longer tolerates me?”

Naturally, the Heavenly Dao could not answer him, yet the cultivation realm inside his body—which could no longer advance and was slowly declining—had already given Luo Jianqing his answer.

However, Luo Jianqing wasn’t particularly angry. He had long since hated this unjust Heavenly Dao to the bone. Although he knew his world was merely a book, cultivators cultivated their true hearts and their true selves—so what if it was a book? He, Luo Jianqing, was still Luo Jianqing, and certainly not the person described in that book as “possessing nothing but a pretty face, yet foul-hearted and consumed by jealousy.”

…Ahem, well, perhaps he was a little prone to jealousy.

Without dwelling on it further, seeing that the new disciples’ first practical expedition was not far off, Luo Jianqing packed a few essential items into his storage ring and set out to fetch the command token from the elder in charge of the expedition.

After obtaining Taihua Mountain’s team-leader token, Luo Jianqing had just descended from Cangshuang Peak when he spotted a ball of fiery light flying across the horizon from afar. Subconsciously, he turned around to walk away, yet before he had even taken two steps, an aggrieved huff sounded behind him: “Shixiong, is it really necessary to turn and run the moment you see me?”

Luo Jianqing let out two dry laughs before finally turning around helplessly to look at his little shimei.

Clad in a fiery red gauze dress, she had a tiny face no larger than a palm, round apricot eyes, and slender willow-leaf brows knitted tightly together. She looked exceedingly charming and delicate, yet her spoiled, willful personality stripped this little shimei of any feminine gentleness—instead, she was spirited and unrestrained like the blazing sun hanging high in the sky, radiating boundless brilliance.

The seven eldest disciples of Taihua Mountain’s seven peaks were known across the younger generation of the cultivation world as the famous Seven Scions of Taihua Mountain.

Among them, although Luo Jianqing was not the oldest in age, his cultivation was the highest, earning him the title of Eldest Shixiong. The other six were currently all at the early stage of Golden Core; out in the wider world, any one of them could establish their own sect, yet on Taihua Mountain, they still belonged to the disciple generation.

Luo Jianqing let out a long sigh and said, “Shimei, I simply didn’t see you.”

Mu Tianxin didn’t believe him for a second, pouting her lips as she said, “Shixiong, you used to call me by my name—you never called me ‘shimei’.”

As she spoke, Mu Tianxin took another step forward, forcing Luo Jianqing to take a step back. Mu Tianxin stepped forward again, and Luo Jianqing retreated again. Just like that, one advancing and the other retreating along the plank road at the foot of Cangshuang Peak, they were nearly back on Cangshuang Peak itself. Seeing several shidi and shimei watching them curiously, Luo Jianqing finally halted his steps, composed his expression, and asked, “Xin’er, did you need something from me?”

The instant she heard “Xin’er,” the dainty young girl immediately beamed with joy. Feigning composure, she coughed twice to hide her delight and said, “Shixiong, I heard you’re leading the new disciples’ expedition in my place this time, so I specially refined some medicinal pills for you. Be sure to stay safe on the road.”

Taking the three small jade bottles his little shimei handed over, Luo Jianqing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “That’s it?”

Mu Tianxin nodded emphatically. “That’s it.” As soon as the words left her lips, a radiant smile bloomed across her face. Her large eyes stared fixedly at Luo Jianqing while her hands twisted nervously beneath her sleeves, seemingly worried that Luo Jianqing might refuse her goodwill.

Gazing at the jade bottles for a moment, Luo Jianqing stored them away into his storage ring and said, “Shimei, if I recall correctly, Fourth Shidi asked you to refine a third-grade medicinal pill for him. Since you spent your time refining pills for me, what about Fourth Shidi’s pill?”

Mu Tianxin waved a hand dismissively, speaking with domineering nonchalance, “Let that fellow Xie Zizhuo keep waiting.”

Luo Jianqing couldn’t help laughing. “Shimei?”

In the very next instant, Mu Tianxin smiled sweetly once more, showing no trace of the little tyrant she had acted like just seconds ago.

The two chatted on the mountain path of Cangshuang Peak for a little while longer. Since Mu Tianxin was also in a hurry to return and refine another cauldron of pills, she didn’t linger. Before leaving, however, she gazed at Luo Jianqing reluctantly for a long time, turning back to look twice with every three steps she took.

When she reached the end of the mountain path, the red-clad girl suddenly stopped in her tracks, turned around to face Luo Jianqing, and called out loudly, “Shixiong, tell me, did I owe you a debt in my past life? Me liking you is my business, and you not liking me is your business. From now on, don’t use having someone you like as an excuse to reject me anymore—it hurts my heart.”

Barely had her words fallen when that streak of vivid red shot into the sky at blinding speed, leaving Luo Jianqing standing rooted to the spot, dumbfounded and unable to react for a long time.

Amidst the steep, rugged mountain path, Luo Jianqing lifted his gaze to stare at the direction where that flash of red had vanished for a long while before finally shaking his head lightly.

He retrieved those three bottles of medicinal pills from his storage ring—two bottles were second-grade pills, and one bottle was actually third-grade pills. Even as the direct eldest disciple of Qinglan Peak, refining third-grade pills was no easy feat for little shimei. To produce so many high-grade medicinal pills within a single month, little shimei… must have gone without proper rest for quite some time.

Recalling her slightly bloodshot eyes from moments ago, Luo Jianqing let out a silent sigh.

“It wasn’t you who owed me. In our past life… it was I who owed you.”

His murmured words drowned in the air, unheard by anyone. A streak of blue-green light suddenly rose, shooting straight from Cangshuang Peak toward Yuxiao Peak as Luo Jianqing returned to his bamboo cottage. He resumed his closed-door meditation, searching for a way to resolve the issue of “no longer being tolerated by the Heavenly Dao.”

Perhaps he could not reciprocate his little shimei’s feelings, yet at the very least, he could guarantee one thing: “Shimei, I will never let anyone bully you again.”
__

A month slipped by in a flash. Luo Jianqing recalled the Shuangfu Sword back between his eyebrows, causing a blue-green sword mark to appear on his forehead once more. He changed out of his white Taihua Mountain Yuxiao Peak uniform, donned a simple, lightweight blue-green brocade robe, and stepped out the door.

As he left Yuxiao Peak, Luo Jianqing looked back toward the bamboo cottage at the summit. Only after a long pause did he withdraw his gaze and fly away.

This batch of newly inducted disciples totaled twenty-four in number—the largest intake in a century. A practical expedition was something every new disciple had to undergo. This time, the leading shixiong was Luo Jianqing, while the sect had also dispatched four Foundation Establishment disciples to accompany Luo Jianqing in guiding the newcomers.

Twelve shidi and shimei had already been led away by those four Foundation Establishment disciples. When Luo Jianqing arrived at the teleportation array, the remaining twelve disciples all blinked their wide eyes and stared straight at him, their gazes filled with curiosity, reverence, admiration, and gratitude…

Huh? Gratitude?!

Luo Jianqing turned his head to look, only to see little Liu Xiaoxiao waving at him nonstop and mouthing silently: “Thank you, Big Sister.”

Luo Jianqing: “…”

Even if you don’t say it out loud, he can still tell what you’re saying, alright?!

Luo Jianqing lowered his gaze to look at these twelve new disciples, directly ignoring little Liu Xiaoxiao’s scorching stare. With one hand clasped behind his back, a cool, composed aura radiated outward from him, weighing down on this bunch of little turnips until they could barely breathe.

Luo Jianqing spoke indifferently, “Everyone, step onto the teleportation array and hold hands—do not let go under any circumstances. You have all entered the Qi Refining stage, so entering the teleportation array will only cause slight dizziness and blurred vision; simply endure it until it passes. Now, step up one by one.”

The little turnips nodded obediently, trotting onto the teleportation array one after another.

Once the last person had stepped on, Luo Jianqing walked up and stood at the front of the twelve disciples. He turned his head to look at the two disciples operating the teleportation array and gave a slight nod. The two cupped their hands in salute, addressing him as “Eldest Shixiong,” before beginning to place spirit stones into the grooves to activate the array.

White light flooded the world in an instant. Vast, surging spiritual qi soared into the heavens, enveloping Luo Jianqing and the twelve little turnips within. The pressure of such a teleportation array was naturally trivial to Luo Jianqing, yet to the little turnip-heads, it was a powerful surge of spiritual force. Seeing that one of the little turnips was on the verge of being unable to bear it, Luo Jianqing shook his head helplessly and swept his sleeve to block a portion of the spiritual pressure for that child.

In the very next second, that little turnip looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, nodding furiously in gratitude.

Luo Jianqing: “…I just happened to lend a hand.”

The little turnip nodded earnestly. “Thank you, Shixiong, thank you, Shixiong!”

Watching the little turnip’s deeply moved expression, Luo Jianqing felt amused, yet a faint sense of warmth also stirred within his chest.

The teleportation array did not activate quickly, yet just as the thirteen of them were genuinely about to be teleported away, a streak of golden sword light flashed across the horizon, and Luo Jianqing heard a voice transmission echo inside his mind: “Jianqing, did Weishi not tell you to focus wholeheartedly on your cultivation?”

The voice was as cold and aloof as ever, yet somehow, Luo Jianqing actually detected a hint of urgency within it.

When that voice resounded inside his heart, Luo Jianqing’s entire body first jolted before he slowly calmed his emotions, sending a voice transmission back: “Shifu, as the Eldest Shixiong of Taihua Mountain, it is only right that I lead the new disciples on their practical expedition.”

After a long silence, Xuanlingzi’s voice sounded low and heavy: “Jianqing, you truly insist on leaving?”

Luo Jianqing gritted his teeth and replied, “Shifu, the teleportation array has already activated.”

After waiting a few breaths, Luo Jianqing thought his Shifu no longer wished to speak to him. Unexpectedly, a streak of golden sword light suddenly shot straight toward the space between his eyebrows. Luo Jianqing’s eyes contracted, and he was just about to draw his sword to resist when Xuanlingzi’s cool, indifferent voice echoed in his mind once more: “This cinnabar mark carries a wisp of Weishi’s spiritual sense. If you dare slack off in your cultivation along the way, Weishi will naturally know.”