Su Mingyuan smiled and retrieved a lotus-leaf-shaped flying spiritual artifact from his storage ring.
The surface of the leaf was a translucent pale emerald, with a faint, shimmering white light flowing through its veins, which were clearly defined and laced with silver patterns. Unfurled, it was about two meters wide, hovering lightly in mid-air like a fresh lotus leaf just plucked from a pond.
“This Azure Ripple Leaf is a flying dharma treasure. It's light, beautiful, and perfect for female cultivators. You only need to channel spiritual energy into it to control it.”
He then handed over a silver storage ring.
“This storage ring has ten cubic meters of space inside, which is plenty for storing miscellaneous items for now. Use these two for the time being, and once Master finds something better, I will replace them for you.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Xue Mingzhao accepted them with both hands, her eyes filled with excitement.
This was the first time in this life—no, in both of her lives combined—that she had her own storage ring.
She slipped the ring onto her finger and stroked it repeatedly, unable to put it down.
In her dantian, the Chaos Spiritual Root clicked its tongue. “Getting this happy over a trash ring with only ten cubic meters of space? If you were given a portable grotto-heaven in the future, wouldn't you just ascend on the spot?”
Ignoring it, Xue Mingzhao happily put the Azure Ripple Leaf into her storage ring as well.
“Your disciple will definitely cultivate diligently and get you a super-sized spirit boat in the future!”
Su Mingyuan could only shake his head, amused by her words. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkled with laughter, but his heart felt warm.
This child wasn't even at Foundation Establishment yet, and she was already thinking of showing him filial piety.
“You might as well thank me instead of him,” the Chaos Spiritual Root snorted, its tone incredibly arrogant. “Kneel down and give me two proper kowtows. If I'm in a good mood, I can make you break through to Foundation Establishment directly.”
Xue Mingzhao ignored it completely. This transparent bead talked way too much.
After leaving Su Mingyuan's place, Xue Mingzhao could not wait to ride her newly acquired Azure Ripple Leaf straight to the Library Pavilion.
Having a flying dharma treasure was truly different. It was both stable and light. As she flew, her sleeves fluttered in the wind, making her feel like she finally looked like a proper cultivator.
Chen Huaizhi was lying on his rocking chair with his eyes closed, resting. He knew who it was the moment he heard the footsteps.
This girl kept running to his place all day long when she had nothing to do. She had just returned books yesterday and was back again today, being even more diligent than the disciples in the sect who could actually cultivate.
A smug voice soon sounded beside his ear. “Good morning, Elder Chen!”
“It's not early,” he said, not even opening his eyelids.
Xue Mingzhao didn't stand on ceremony either, walking straight inside on her own.
Chen Huaizhi kept his eyes closed. The rocking chair swayed slowly twice, then suddenly came to a halt.
He snapped his eyes open, glanced back at her, and his gaze froze. “You can cultivate now?”
“You have sharp eyes, Elder,” Xue Mingzhao turned around with a smile, a hint of smugness in her tone that she couldn't hide even if she tried.
“The third level of Qi Condensation. I don't know what happened either. I just went back and took a nap yesterday, and suddenly I could cultivate. Sigh, I was originally prepared to be a mortal for the rest of my life. Now I have to wake up early to cultivate again. It's such a hassle.”
Chen Huaizhi didn't have the mind to care about her smugness; a tempest was already raging in his heart.
Yesterday, this girl didn't have a single trace of spiritual energy, but today, the fluctuations of spiritual energy from her body were already at the third level of Qi Condensation.
Going from a mortal to the third level of Qi Condensation overnight was something he had never seen before in all his long years of life.
Yet, his expression remained as calm as a breeze. Stroking his beard, he offered a mild warning, “The greatest taboo in cultivation is arrogance. Stabilizing your Dao Heart and practicing diligently is the only right path.”
For once, Xue Mingzhao didn't talk back. She lowered her gaze and swept it across Chen Huaizhi's dantian.
A brown spiritual bead hung in the center of his dantian, enveloped by layers of deep blue light.
High-grade earth spiritual root, ninth level of Nascent Soul.
“You are right, Elder. I came to pick a few books suitable for cultivation.”
With a wave of Chen Huaizhi's hand, several books flew out from the bookshelves and landed steadily in her hands.
As usual, Xue Mingzhao carried the books over to a table by the window and sat down.
She had just turned to the first page when Chen Huaizhi's voice drifted over in a leisurely manner. “Next month, the Qingyu Mystic Realm will open. All disciples below the eighth level of Foundation Establishment can enter.”
Xue Mingzhao looked up.
Chen Huaizhi didn't look at her. Using his spiritual energy, he lifted another book and sent it to her table. Then, he leaned back in his rocking chair to continue resting with his eyes closed, saying casually, “There is a stalk of Dragon Scale Grass inside, which can be used to refine a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. It will be beneficial for your future Foundation Establishment.”
Xue Mingzhao looked down at the extra book on the table.
《An Annotative Record of the Qingyu Mystic Realm》
She looked up at the old man resting his eyes on the rocking chair, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly.
This old man might look cold on the outside, but he actually cared quite a bit about others.
She opened the book and scanned through it quickly. The text laid it out very clearly: the spiritual energy inside was sparse, and spiritual plants were rare and difficult to find. Even if high-grade spiritual herbs occasionally appeared, they were hidden deep within dangerous areas. The demon beasts inside were mostly low-grade Tier One or Tier Two species, with relatively gentle temperaments and low aggression.
Simply put, it was a beginner's dungeon.
Xue Mingzhao closed the book, recalling the plot of the original novel in her mind.
After Shen Chaoyue was brought back to the Heavenly Origin Sect by Huang Siqi, Huang Siqi personally acted to repair her shattered spiritual root.
But even though it was repaired, her cultivation was completely gone, meaning she had to start training all over again from scratch.
Coincidentally, the Qingyu Mystic Realm opened during that time. Shen Chaoyue and Yun Yanchen entered to gain experience, only to stumble into the deepest parts of the mystic realm. There, they accidentally obtained an ancient inheritance, and using an ancient secret technique, she forcefully refined her high-grade gold spiritual root into a supreme-grade one.
What was even more absurd was the spiritual plants in the mystic realm.
The book claimed that spiritual plants in the mystic realm were scarce, but during the time Shen Chaoyue entered, the mystic realm went absolutely wild. Spiritual plants popped up batch after batch, in too many varieties to count.
Those of a hundred years old were everywhere, and those of a thousand years old were not even rare. One could step on a valuable specimen with every two steps. Anyone who didn't know better would think the entire mystic realm had been holding itself back for eight hundred years just waiting for her arrival.
While others entered the mystic realm for training, the female lead entered to stock up.
Xue Mingzhao lowered her head and spun the silver storage ring on her finger.
Ten cubic meters of space... she wondered if it would be enough to hold everything.
Xue Mingzhao had just turned another page when a lazy voice crashed down from above her head.
“So you're that third-level Qi Condensation disciple my master just took in?”
Xue Mingzhao: ...For a sect with so few people, news in the Grand Primordium Sect sure traveled fast.
She looked up to see a youth leaning crookedly against the doorframe of the Library Pavilion. His sharp eyebrows slanted toward his temples, and he possessed a pair of peach blossom eyes with slightly upturned corners.
A rogue smile played on his lips. His pitch-black hair was casually tied behind his head, with a few loose strands hanging down the side of his face. His entire being exuded an arrogance that seemed to look down on the entire world.
Xue Mingzhao quietly swept her gaze over his dantian.
High-grade water spiritual root, ninth level of Foundation Establishment.
She fell silent for a brief moment.
With how arrogant he was acting, anyone who didn't know better would think he had already reached Soul Transformation.
He scanned Xue Mingzhao from head to toe and let out a sneer. “You don't look like anything special.”
Taking a step forward, he sized her up condescendingly. “The third level of Qi Condensation overnight? I bet you have some treasure hidden on you that conceals your cultivation, specifically meant to trick these old fogies.”
On the rocking chair, Chen Huaizhi's eyelids twitched. Old fogies? Does that include me too?
Xue Mingzhao closed her book, stood up, and bowed properly.
The smile on her face was sweet enough to squeeze honey out of on the spot. “Greetings, Third Senior Brother. Meeting you for the first time, you are indeed exactly as I imagined. With your outstanding talent and handsome looks, you will surely comprehend the great Dao in the future.”
Li Buqi raised an eyebrow. Her mouth is quite sweet?
Before the rogue smile on his lips could fully spread, he heard his junior sister change her tone.
“But,” Xue Mingzhao tilted her head, her voice filled with sincere confusion, “perhaps Third Senior Brother hasn't seen many geniuses. After all, while a high-grade spiritual root is decent, compared to a supreme-grade one, your vision will indeed be somewhat limited.”
The smile on Li Buqi's face froze for a split second.
As if she hadn't noticed, Xue Mingzhao sighed again. “There's nothing we can do about it. Geniuses are always lonely, and it's normal to be misunderstood. You don't have to blame yourself too much, Senior Brother. You aren't a genius, so it's only natural that you don't understand.”
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