This was, of course, a joke. Li Fei remained silent, merely pursing her lips and smiling.
Seeing her smile, sweet, Qingyue Zhenren couldn’t help but feel a fondness for her. Most female cultivators tended to be quite proud; even Zhao Min, who often admonished Li Fei to smile more, usually wore a frosty expression. A girl who loved to laugh like this was bound to endear herself to others.
Dongyang Zhenren insisted on questioning Chongyi Zhenren about how he had taught Li Fei. How could a girl with such mediocre talent be taught to this level? Did he possess some secret cultivation method?
Chongyi Zhenren chuckled, “Dongyang, there are countless people with spiritual roots in the world. Cultivation doesn’t necessarily have to follow a specific path to be correct. Most people must break through various bottlenecks, but that doesn’t mean everyone must follow the same route. Li Fei’s cultivation has already surpassed the bottleneck.”
Surpassed the bottleneck? That was simply unheard of!
Chongyi Zhenren felt quite emotional. When he first took Li Fei as a disciple, he merely wanted to understand why this child, with average talent, could pass the trials of the Chufeng Academy. Little did he know that after five years of teaching, he increasingly sensed her unique constitution and cultivation method, which set her apart from others.
Li Fei’s abilities were remarkably balanced. In the context of the sect, being average meant mediocrity. The sect never valued mediocrity; it pursued excellence in different spiritual root attributes. What allowed her to transform the mundane into the extraordinary was her immense spiritual energy and her far more agile ability to manipulate it than ordinary people. The arduous training at the beginning was also his way of testing her limits. Maintaining five different celestial techniques on five puppets simultaneously was something no one dared to ask of their disciples, yet she accomplished it—not only did she do it, but she also improved with each attempt.
Even though her abilities in isolating the five elements were not particularly outstanding, when combined, they were truly remarkable. Who would have thought that a significant flaw could become the greatest strength?
He genuinely wanted to see how far this child could grow. Taking her as a disciple was also a way for him to broaden his horizons, moving beyond outdated cultivation methods. For an immortal, broadening one’s perspective could sometimes lead to significant advancements. In recent days, the furnace had been subtly vibrating, hinting at a potential breakthrough. If he could overcome this lingering bottleneck that had lasted for decades, his power would advance further.
“I can’t tell you how I taught her,” Chongyi Zhenren chuckled. The uniqueness of Li Fei’s constitution and spiritual roots was a crucial secret; the fewer people who knew, the better. “I will be entering seclusion at the peak soon, Dongyang. I’ll trouble you to send her to Liliang Valley.”
The two elders immediately showed expressions of envy. One must understand that becoming immortal meant that entering seclusion often indicated a breakthrough. For cultivators of their level and status, even a slight breakthrough was extremely difficult. Just look at Xingzheng Guan’s Zhenyunzi, who had been stuck at a bottleneck for nearly sixty years, with his power even beginning to regress. It was truly enviable that Chongyi could achieve a breakthrough.
“Then we wish you an early exit from seclusion and further advancement in your cultivation,” the two elders said, filled with emotion as they left. It seemed that taking on a disciple was also a highly beneficial matter for the master. This year, the situation of the academy’s disciples was uncertain; he needed to carefully select one.
Once Li Fei saw them leave, she plopped down on the ground, barely catching her breath when Zhao Min’s dissatisfied voice rang out, “What kind of posture is that? Sit up straight!”
After five years of teaching, she had managed to change her external demeanor but not her internal nature. In front of outsiders, she was quite obedient, but as soon as she returned, her true self was revealed!
Li Fei forced a smile. “Senior Sister, I’m exhausted. Let me rest a bit before I sit like a proper lady.”
She hadn’t slept much in the past ten days with her master at Shacui Marsh. Despite its pleasant name, Shacui Marsh was a swamp where she couldn’t find a single dry spot to sleep. The marsh was home to various ferocious beasts; while the monsters feared her, the beasts did not. A moment of carelessness could lead to being swallowed whole. She hadn’t managed to get a decent night’s sleep in ten days and was on the verge of fainting from exhaustion.
Seeing her drowsy expression, Zhao Min frowned and shook her head. “What kind of behavior is this? It’s still bright out, and Master is here! Get up!”
Chongyi Zhenren said softly, “Let her go back to her room to sleep. There’s no need for cultivation today.”
After all, she was still a sixteen-year-old girl. A few days without sleep was too much for her. She had already worked very hard, and as her master, he wouldn’t be so harsh as to demand more.
Li Fei slept soundly in her room until late at night, waking up from hunger. On the table lay a few vegetarian buns, surely left for her by Senior Sister Zhao Min. Senior Sister was so kind! Although her master treated her well, he was ultimately a man and couldn’t be expected to be attentive to every detail. If it weren’t for Senior Sister Zhao Min, she would have felt incredibly lonely at Jueyu Peak.
Thinking of Senior Sister Zhao Min’s kindness, Li Fei resolved that even when alone, she would never eat in a rush. Instead, she elegantly finished a plate of buns.
After a satisfying burp, she noticed shadows moving on the table. It was Bai Li Gelin’s massage technique. At first, this girl hardly wrote to her, but after sending her a few pages of letters every few days for over two years, their interactions gradually increased.
Li Fei leaned closer to the table and saw a line of writing: “I’ve tamed a centipede spirit as a mount. I’ll show it to you next time.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. This girl had tamed a centipede spirit as a mount. She wondered if Ji Tongzhou would turn pale and avoid her upon seeing it.
Speaking of Ji Tongzhou, it seemed he had also gone somewhere special to cultivate with his master. It had been over six months since she last heard from him. The last letter he sent was filled with disdain for Lei Xiuyuan, who had been stuck in the Dan Cave for over two years without coming out.
Next to the oil lamp was another letter from Ye Ye and Changyue, who had just sent it. They had all learned the sect’s message technique and no longer needed to rely on message birds to deliver letters. Two years ago, Gelin not only began frequent correspondence with her but also started writing to Ye Ye and the others. Their words were still cheerful, indicating that they had likely moved past their previous grievances, which was quite reassuring.
In Ye Ye’s letter, he mentioned that he and Changyue would soon be taken by their respective masters to different places for focused cultivation, and they might not be able to communicate for a while. He urged everyone to take care of themselves. For these newly initiated disciples, the first five years were a crucial stage. Those with good talent would likely break through their first bottleneck during this period, and their masters naturally placed great importance on it.
The second bottleneck varied from person to person; some could break through in one or two years, while others might take decades. As time went on, the differences in disciples’ talents became increasingly apparent. When they were accepted into the sect, everyone had exceptional talent, but there was still a distinction between the outstanding and the ordinary. Breaking through three bottlenecks qualified one to become a direct disciple. Hu Jiaping had broken through three bottlenecks within ten years, becoming the youngest direct disciple under Guangwei Zhenren, and gaining considerable fame.
What kind of person would Xiuyuan be when he finally emerged from the Dan Cave after three years…?
Li Fei stared blankly for a while, wondering how Xiuyuan had changed. Sometimes she dreamed of him suddenly emerging from the Dan Cave, but in her dreams, she could never see his face. She imagined he must have grown taller. The last time she saw him, she had shot up quickly, and they were nearly the same height. Now that Xiuyuan was almost eighteen if he were still the same height as her, it would be quite embarrassing.
However, she thought that Xiuyuan might not recognize her. She had changed so much in these three years.
After turning thirteen, she didn’t know what happened, but every month she would shed her skin. What began as a terrifying and helpless experience had gradually become routine. However, with each shedding, her appearance changed month by month, and even she could see significant differences. Gradually, it felt as if she had changed faces. By the time she turned fifteen, although she still shed skin every month, the changes in her appearance began to slow down, and recently, she hadn’t changed at all.
What expression would he have when he saw her? Would he be like those male disciples from Yaoguang Peak, staring at her with wide eyes? Or would he be indifferent, as he had been before?
She was no longer the naive eleven-year-old girl who didn’t care about her appearance. She had started to pay attention to it. At one moment, she felt excited thinking about Xiuyuan finally coming out; at another moment, she worried he might not recognize her, feeling a mix of anxiety and disappointment. After thinking it over, she could no longer sleep, so she decided to spread out some paper and write replies to everyone.
Two days later, after finishing a morning of cultivation, Li Fei wiped her sweat and headed back. Suddenly, she spotted several disciples from Yaoguang Peak loitering outside the corridor—had they come without even eating lunch? How ridiculous! Li Fei glanced at them and ignored them. Over the years, her attitude towards these people had shifted from initial rejection and disgust to indifference. If it weren’t for Senior Sister stopping her from losing her temper, she would have long since wanted to hit someone.
Later, the Senior Sister mentioned to their master that he should manage the disciples of Yaoguang Peak, so they wouldn’t turn the cultivation area into such a mess. In response, their master said, “It’s human nature to admire beauty. You can manage ten, but you can’t manage a hundred or a thousand. They don’t have any ulterior motives; what’s the big deal? My Chongyi disciples are exceptionally beautiful, and they should be seen openly.”
With their master saying this, they could only continue to ignore them.
Just as Li Fei was about to push the door open, she suddenly heard a male disciple softly say, “Li Fei, Junior Sister… aren’t you coming to Yaoguang Peak today? Xiuyuan came out of the Dan Cave this morning.”
She nearly jumped up, exclaiming, “He came out?”
The few disciples nodded, and before they knew it, the usually gentle and smiling little beauty had taken off, soaring through the air without a care for her image. They had never seen anyone fly so fast; in the blink of an eye, she had vanished into the horizon. They had originally hoped to accompany her, but now they were left dumbfounded.
Li Fei didn’t even have time to eat before she rushed to Yaoguang Peak, only to find the disciples’ quarters empty, with not a single person in sight. Was Lei Xiuyuan not there? Had he gone to eat? Or was he sleeping?
Suddenly, she heard voices at the peak and hurried over, only to see many disciples gathered in front of Yaoguang Hall. Guangwei Zhenren was there, discussing something with several direct disciples. The long-missed Hu Jiaping was also nearby, looking just as he had three years ago, smiling without a care.
She quickly scanned the area but couldn’t find any male disciples resembling Lei Xiuyuan. Instead, several male disciples noticed her standing there in a daze and immediately surrounded her, each one exceptionally delighted, asking, “Why did Junior Sister Li Fei suddenly come? Have you eaten yet?”
Li Fei felt overwhelmed. As she saw more and more male disciples gathering around her, she suddenly darkened her expression and shouted, “Everyone, step aside!”
Suddenly, she heard someone chuckle from a short distance behind her. Turning around, she saw a young man in disciple robes standing on a slope, looking at her. He still had those familiar, misty eyes, but now they held a hint of sharpness. Perhaps due to three years spent in the Dan Cave without seeing the sun, his complexion appeared slightly pale, yet he exuded no signs of illness. Three years had passed, and the once frail boy who resembled a girl had grown into a tall, elegant young man. Although he bore a striking resemblance to his former self, he now seemed quite unfamiliar, as if the boy who had been full of thorns and viewed everyone as fools had been hidden away somewhere.
Li Fei hurried towards him, but halfway there, she inexplicably stopped. She tilted her head, staring at him, and whispered, “…Xiuyuan?”
The Lei Xiuyuan she could never see clearly in her dreams now stood right in front of her. He had changed so much, yet it wasn’t the kind of change she had imagined. Her mind felt a bit muddled; she was both happy and unfamiliar with him, leaving her frozen in place.
Lei Xiuyuan slowly approached her, looking down at her for a moment before suddenly breaking into a gentle smile. He reached out and patted her head, mimicking the same gesture from their childhood: “Why have you gotten shorter again?”
—