IRBTCI CH10

Chapter 10: Master Told Me to Praise Him as Handsome and Elegant

Huo Xuexiang slowly rubbed his brow and asked, “What?”

“It’s that,” Bai Lu gestured with both hands, “I went to the next peak today to get the Yuan Rejuvenation Pill, and I also want to make medicine. I used to boil medicine, and I saw that we have herbs on our mountain… Master, I’m not changing my major, I still want to learn from you.”

Learn from him? Learn to read, right?

Huo Xuexiang couldn’t help but shake his head. After a moment of surprise, he thought that given Bai Lu’s limited knowledge, there might be some misunderstanding. Still, he was speechless. “Then today, you will learn another phrase: ‘A miss is as good as a mile.'”

Bai Lu: “?”

“It’s a dan ding (elixir cauldron) or a yao lu (medicine stove). Not a lu ding (furnace cauldron),” Huo Xuexiang said sternly. “In most cases, lu ding refers to something used in room arts. A single character difference, yet the meaning is vastly different.”

“Oh,” Bai Lu understood, showing no embarrassment at all. “Hahahaha, I got it wrong! It’s so amazing how one character can change everything.”

Huo Xuexiang: “…”

Huo Xuexiang: “Do you… not understand what room arts are at all?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bai Lu had so many lessons to catch up on. “What does it mean?”

Huo Xuexiang thought for a few breaths. This matter had to be explained to Bai Lu, lest he started shouting about it outside Dianmei Peak…

“Room arts, as the name suggests, are practiced in the bedroom, cultivating through intercourse. A lu ding refers to using the other party’s physical body as a cauldron to absorb and transform spiritual energy, a one-sided consumption.”

“!” Bai Lu’s eyes widened slightly, finally showing a bit of embarrassment. Oh no, he had accidentally bothered Master just now. “Oh, no, was I a bit impolite just now…”

Huo Xuexiang didn’t speak.

It was nothing, just gave him a bit of a headache as a master.

“Master, I promise I wasn’t coveting you, please forgive me!” Bai Lu exclaimed loudly. “I just wanted a cauldron with a different shape.”

Huo Xuexiang pressed a hand to his forehead. 

“If you want to refine elixirs, Dianmei Peak has an elixir room, it’s just hidden and doesn’t connect to ground fire. If you need any cauldrons, have Qiusuo take my token to get them custom-made—but be sure to be careful with water and fire in the elixir room.”

“Okay, I understand, thank you, Master!” Bai Lu ran off like a gust of wind, his braid like a cat’s tail, sweeping past the doorway with fragmented sunlight.

Huo Xuexiang watched the shadow on the wall flash by, sighed, then after a long while, couldn’t help but chuckle softly, finding it amusing.

Although Tianxuan Peak specialized in elixir cauldrons, many peaks actually had their own independent elixir rooms. They just weren’t as complete as Tianxuan Peak’s and couldn’t connect to ground fire, making them more like an popular elective course.

After all, only in Xuan Shan Immortal Sect could elixirs be subsidized. If they were rogue cultivators outside, they might be too poor to even buy elixirs and would have to refine them themselves…

Perhaps to prevent fires and explosions, elixir rooms were usually isolated.

Dianmei Peak’s elixir room was more like a decorative piece, built during renovation but never used. It was located on a cliffside, possibly for dust prevention, and was usually hidden, which meant Bai Lu had explored all over Dianmei Peak without knowing there was an elixir room there.

After obtaining the right to use the elixir room and using his mentor’s authority to ask a senior craftsman to help make a crucible, Bai Lu’s first use of the elixir room was actually for his broom, not to immediately brew potions.

Because it was now the new moon.

Crafting a flying broom required completing corresponding steps throughout the entire lunar cycle, from new moon, first quarter, full moon, to waning crescent.

Bai Lu had mostly chosen the raw materials these days. After various experiments, he finally chose the wood of the sword plum tree as the broomstick material. He felt it was fate and wanted to give it a try.

Other materials like silver, crystal, and animal feathers were also needed to amplify magic. He had already collected all of them. For feathers, he decided to use the tail feathers of the Luoluo bird. He had tested and confirmed that these wouldn’t make people stupid and had a high-speed amplification, making them very useful. He would continue to maintain a good friendship with Luoluo in the future.

“Qiusuo, if you light the fire for me, can you?” Bai Lu asked, remembering Qiusuo was a wooden puppet.

The black-clad puppet calmly said, “Young Master, yes. If it’s elixir fire, my body should be able to burn for about six hours.”

“No, no, no,” Bai Lu choked slightly. “You misunderstood. I’m not going to use you as fuel. I mean, can you help me light a fire next to me and watch it?”

Qiusuo thought for a moment and said, “Young Master, you probably expressed yourself incorrectly.”

“I know, I know, only you have logic!” Bai Lu looked around, afraid of burning Qiusuo. “Never mind, just stand by and watch.”

The wooden puppet sat to the side resting, while Bai Lu alone laboriously carved the plum wood into a rough shape. As he carved, he wondered if he was being a bit cruel, and also what kind of wood Qiusuo was made of.

“Qiusuo, I’ve never asked you, since you’re a wooden puppet, what specific kind of wood are you?”

Qiusuo calmly replied, “During forging, because it was for Dianmei Peak, it was made from the wood of a sword plum.”

Bai Lu: “…”

“Holy cow, this isn’t your second uncle, is it?” Bai Lu said solemnly. “Why don’t you go outside? It feels too cruel to carve your relatives in front of you.”

It was also time for him to perform the ritual, avoiding everything and being undisturbed.

Bai Lu roasted the broomstick with magical flames, sprinkled the ashes from the previous broomstick onto it, and carved runes.

“Ventos voco, iter pando…” Under the moonlight, Bai Lu murmured the incantation. Although there was still a bit of communication barrier with the elements in the air, or rather, the tacit understanding was being re-established, and more magic needed to be drawn from his own body, Bai Lu still habitually chanted it. This incantation was the most resonant sound developed by witches over years of research, and it had some amplification effect.

The dazzling starlight and moonlight reflected in his green eyes, as if they could suck one’s soul in.

“Roots rising from the high mountains, leaves climbing towards the stars.

Let thunder be your skeleton, and storms shape your form.”

The runes glowed faintly, then vanished in a flash.

Success! The broomstick part.

Bai Lu felt his magic rapidly depleting but was very happy. The first step was very successful. He seemed to feel the power flowing within it, making the broomstick feel like an extension of himself.

Next was to fuse the broom head with the handle during the first quarter moon, then absorb energy until the full moon, complete the final rune carving, and test fly it during the waning crescent.

Bai Lu walked out of the elixir room, his hair disheveled tonight, feeling more at ease when performing magic.

He saw a familiar figure standing at the cliff edge under the cold moonlight, hands clasped behind his back, “gazing” into the distance.

“Master? Are you stargazing?” Bai Lu knew that many people here had a habit of stargazing. Didn’t Bai Lu himself make brooms according to the moon phases? He also often stargazed.

Huo Xuexiang turned around and, with his spiritual sense, observed Bai Lu putting down a long wooden stick, but he didn’t pay it much mind. He just said, “I’m looking at the mountains.”

“What? Let me see, let me see.” Bai Lu walked over and stood side by side with Huo Xuexiang. “…Can’t see clearly.”

It was too late, and a patch of dark clouds happened to obscure the stars and moon.

Huo Xuexiang flicked his finger, and the cloud quietly moved away, the clear moonlight brightening the mountains slightly.

The mountains undulated, with thousands of pavilions nestled within them, their scattered candlelight accumulating to form a spectacle. From afar, it looked as if the mountains themselves were a lush tree, blooming with golden fireworks.

“Aoo—Aoo—”

Pig-like squeals faintly echoed in the distance, audible even from here, indicating they must be quite loud.

“What’s that sound?” Bai Lu asked worriedly. “There’s no murder, is there?”

“It’s nothing,” Huo Xuexiang said calmly. “It’s probably a disciple from Yaoguang Peak delivering a spirit beast.”

“Boom—”

A distant thud, and a surge of heat.

“Tianxuan Peak’s cauldron exploded again.”

“How dangerous…” Bai Lu murmured, rubbing his right foot against the sand on the ground. “Master, will I learn very slowly? I still haven’t fully understood the cultivation method.”

If the cultivation method was already like this, what about the profound ancient silk scrolls?

Huo Xuexiang was not anxious about his disciple’s average progress. “Do not worry about a thousand-mile journey; the wind will carry you there. Enlightenment happens in an instant, do you remember? A realm does not arise without a mind.”

He lowered his head, noticing Bai Lu staring blankly into the distance, seemingly still deep in thought.

“Did you see the mountains?” Huo Xuexiang suddenly asked.

“Yes, I did,” Bai Lu said, then paused, suddenly noticing that a part of the mountain seemed to light up, forming the character “山” (mountain).

And its contours perfectly resembled real mountains. Mountains within mountains, overlapping, showing how the character “mountain” came to be.

Then another part lit up, and another character appeared next to “山”.

Bai Lu looked at the mountain ranges and read aloud: “Qiqu (rugged).”

Rugged, lofty peaks, valleys, constantly changing, yet all share a core.

Huo Xuexiang said: “The mountain is the body, water is the function, clouds and mist are the forms.”

After demonstrating these natural changes, Huo Xuexiang then reached out and placed his hand on Bai Lu’s hand.

Bai Lu felt a blur before his eyes. His consciousness, guided by Huo Xuexiang, entered his Purple Mansion—the place where cultivators store spiritual energy. He felt as if it were a small world, immensely vast.

Here, Huo Xuexiang demonstrated to him how spiritual energy circulated.

“To absorb spiritual energy, you must integrate it, imagine yourself as a small world as well.”

Under Huo Xuexiang’s spiritual energy guidance, Bai Lu felt as if he could also stir the spiritual energy existing in nature. He had a basic understanding of communicating with magical elements, so this wasn’t difficult. However, this was the first time Bai Lu had been able to introduce even a tiny bit of spiritual energy into his own body.

“I felt it!” Bai Lu exclaimed excitedly. Although it was only a little, it greatly boosted his confidence, almost to the point of arrogance. “Mm-hmm, it’s easy, so shall we start stargazing? Didn’t we talk about observing the celestial stars? The stars are actually quite clear today, if only there wasn’t so much light pollution…”

Facing Bai Lu’s muttering, Huo Xuexiang showed a familiar sense of helplessness.

“Silence,” Huo Xuexiang stopped him. “First look at the world below, then look at the heavens above. Listen, Yaoguang Peak’s spirit beast has given birth.”

Oh, it seemed so.

Bai Lu heard the loud-voiced spirit beast no longer howling, replaced by the whimpering of a young beast. Wow, even at such a young age, its cries sounded like thunder.

Bai Lu suddenly looked up at his Master. “Oh… what did ‘silence’ mean again?”

Huo Xuexiang smiled, touching his fluttering hair, and softly said in the wind: “It means…”

“Shhh.”

Since Master taught him hand-in-hand that day, Bai Lu had made great progress in Qi refining.

Bai Lu was very optimistic. With his background, achieving this level in such a short time meant he was a genius.

The next stage of broom crafting still required waiting for the moon phase. Once every ten days, Qiusuo wouldn’t demand his life, offering a rare period of rest. Bai Lu invited his fellow classmates to Dianmei Peak as guests. He had promised a gathering for a while and finally managed to schedule it.

Except for Liang Manggu, everyone else was visiting Dianmei Peak for the first time. “Thanks to Senior Brother Bai, otherwise we wouldn’t dare to come… I didn’t expect Dianmei Peak to be quite different from what we imagined.”

Because Bai Lu was first in his intake, everyone called him Senior Brother.

And what they meant by “different” was primarily that the place was surprisingly lively, unlike the unapproachable residence of Sword Venerable described by some senior brothers and sisters.

For instance, thoughtful guideposts appeared along the mountain path of Dianmei Peak. They were essentially withered wooden stakes with several wooden signs nailed onto them, guiding the way up the mountain, adorned with vines.

At the very top of the guideposts was a hollowed-out small wooden block, containing food, suspended by hemp rope like a swing, decorated with pine cones. Small birds would perch here to peck at the food.

Along the way, there were also chairs made of tree stumps for resting, and traces of Senior Brother Bai’s life were almost everywhere.

However, walking a bit further up, one could distantly see the plum branches imbued with sword intent, causing a sense of trance and bringing back some of the imagination of Dianmei Peak.

“This is the famous Xuan Shan Sword Plum! It is said that in the past, sword cultivators from other continents came to Xuan Shan for studies, visiting Sword Venerable at Dianmei Peak. They refused to un-sheath their swords. Unexpectedly, they got lost in the sword intent within the plum forest, going mad and trying to duel with plum blossoms.”

“What happened in the end?”

“Naturally, they admitted defeat… Otherwise, why would it be called Sword Plum?”

Unfortunately, they could no longer see the plum blossoms now, only glimpse some lingering essence from the branches and leaves.

“Don’t talk about such abstract things yet,” Bai Lu led them to the elixir room. “I’ve prepared afternoon tea for you.”

Meng Caiqing paused for a moment. “Eating here?”

Liang Manggu also complained, “I have a bad feeling about this, probably because the elixir sect’s senior brothers always take the wrong medicine.”

However, after Bai Lu had used this elixir room for a while, it had undergone significant changes. Wooden storage cabinets filled with various bottles and jars were placed in the corner. Since the temperature of the elixir room was not suitable for plants, there were no potted plants, but the wizard, who loved natural vibes, still placed knitted yarn flowers and plants.

The corner was also furnished with a table, chairs, and a carpet, turning it into a gathering place for drinking medicine… no, for drinking tea.

Junior Sister Ding Douhua even found it magical how Senior Brother Bai’s luggage kept growing.

“I’m just borrowing the stove fire here. This place isn’t just an elixir room, it’s also a cake room, okay!” And a wizard’s hut, haha. Bai Lu thought that since he was custom-ordering, besides the crucible, he also ordered many other items to save himself the trouble of finding materials to make them.

He lifted the lid of the cauldron, revealing a brightly colored pistachio mille-feuille inside. Above the golden layers of puff pastry was pale green pistachio cream, adorned with crimson raspberries. Such exquisite appearance and vibrant colors made one feel much better.

Precise dough thickness, excellent proportions—to create such a perfect mille-feuille, how profound a foundation in potionology and alchemy was needed!

Bai Lu praised himself.

“I’ve been eating the dishes you made all this time, and now I’m treating you to desserts I made. Come, have a taste.” Bai Lu said proudly.

“What kind of pastry is this? It smells so good.” Ding Douhua inhaled. “No wonder Senior Brother told us not to eat grain-abstinence pills today. But where did you get so many ingredients?”

As disciples of the light fasting realm, they only received regular meals or grain-abstinence pills delivered by puppets, with no chance to get close to the kitchen.

“Our Xuan Shan Immortal Sect possesses so many forest resources. I collected them from the outer mountains, and then I can also exchange with senior brothers and sisters from other peaks,” Bai Lu said lightly. “This is a pastry from my hometown.”

As a student abroad in the cultivation world, Bai Lu missed the food from his hometown. He served a portion to everyone and poured coffee from the pot.

Liang Manggu took a bite and felt only the fragrant, crispy, flaky layers, each piece of puff pastry bursting with nutty aroma in his mouth. The green layer, like cream yet like frost, released sweetness thickly and smoothly, enriching the unique and novel taste, making him unable to stop!

“Mm, delicious, this pastry is too delicious.” Liang Manggu praised indistinctly, munching. “I’d call Senior Brother Bai the Pastry Venerable!”

Everyone laughed knowingly. This pastry was indeed something they had never tasted, but the flavor was absolutely divine.

“Pastry Venerable, how high!”

Liang Manggu swallowed the mille-feuille, then picked up the dark drink Bai Lu had poured. It smelled rich and tasted smooth, but it was also very bitter on the palate. He wrinkled his face; this brought a very different flavor from the mille-feuille just now. “Brother Bai’s brewed medicine…?”

Bai Lu corrected him: “Beverage!”

Liang Manggu fell into thought.

“I actually think it’s pretty good.” Meng Caiqing took another sip expressionlessly, feeling it wasn’t bad at all. It wasn’t as bitter as her hard work at the Azure Cloud Platform, hehe.

“Senior Brother Bai, what is this called?”

“Coffee,” Bai Lu said. The Xuan Shan range was vast, and luckily he found coffee beans in the mountains, so he collected them to process some and try.

“Coffee? What’s it made of?” Everyone felt this must also be a language from Bai Lu’s hometown.

“A kind of dark bean,” Bai Lu simply explained the process. Apparently, although coffee beans grew among the thousands of mountains in Xuan Shan Immortal Sect, no one ate them this way.

“Then calling it ‘black bean juice’ might be easier to understand…” Meng Caiqing finished a cup and felt her spirit had improved. “Can I take some for Senior Sister to try?”

“Of course you can,” Bai Lu packed some for Meng Caiqing to take back. “This is also great for light fasting.”

Everyone enjoyed a pleasant afternoon tea. It was a rare time without cultivation-related discussions. Afterwards, they walked out of the elixir room together. Bai Lu escorted them out. Halfway, he saw Huo Xuexiang’s figure.

The others had only met Huo Xuexiang once during the exams. They stopped their steps for a moment, their hearts surging, and weakly bowed.

Regardless of whether they knew Huo Xuexiang, the more they learned after entering the sect, the more they admired him. Moreover, they had previously seen the awe-inspiring presence of the Sword Plum from afar, which further intensified their yearning for the style of the Sovereign of Heavenly Swords.

Bai Lu ran to Huo Xuexiang’s side: “Master, I reported to you that I invited my classmates over for food. I also had Qiusuo send you a portion, did you receive it?”

“I was in the plum forest; I haven’t received it yet,” Huo Xuexiang said.

Having new disciples on Dianmei Peak was already unprecedented. Bai Lu’s request to invite a bunch of… playmates, was even more unexpected to him, but he didn’t feel the need to refuse.

“Master, are you practicing your sword?” Bai Lu praised him profusely, “I just heard my classmates talking about Master’s past deeds, they’re incredible! Master is also so handsome, truly never seen before in ancient times, extraordinary in appearance, beyond praise—”

After speaking, he looked at Huo Xuexiang with anticipation.

“You’ve used the wrong allusions,” Huo Xuexiang said calmly, knowing his level. “And there’s no need for so many words. People don’t usually talk like that. To praise a man, you just say he’s handsome and elegant.”

“Okay, okay, noted!” Bai Lu nodded quickly. “Master, I’ll go see my classmates off first.”

Huo Xuexiang nodded, watching Bai Lu bounce back.

The new disciples bowed respectfully to Huo Xuexiang from a distance again, then were led down the mountain by Bai Lu.

“Did Sword Venerable give any instructions?” This was Meng Caiqing’s voice, perhaps she thought it was very quiet, but it was loud enough for even non-cultivators to hear.

“Instructions for what? Master is very kind,” Bai Lu said. “Master told me to just praise him as handsome and elegant.”

Huo Xuexiang: “…”

………………Never mind.