The Spirit Boat sailed through rolling clouds.
Jiang Huai took stock of his gains from the Dragon Burial Valley Secret Realm. He first produced the Cold Jade Lingering Flower. The moment this top-tier heavenly grade medicinal herb was revealed, its fragrance permeated the entire Spirit Boat. Luo Yueguan regarded it with curiosity. Despite being the Sect Master of the Qingxuan Sect for centuries, she had rarely encountered such a potent heavenly grade spiritual medicine.
Jiang Huai’s divine soul power was currently at fifty percent. His physical injuries had only just healed, but this did not affect his pill-refining. He first laid out a pile of Spirit Stones and produced a Spirit Gathering Array disk, drawing out the Spiritual Qi from the stones and fixing it in a designated area in mid-air. He then used his divine soul to guide this Spiritual Qi, forming a Pill Formation.
“Lend me some fire,” Jiang Huai winked at Luo Yueguan.
Luo Yueguan slightly raised a finger. “I can’t refine pills. How much fire do you need?”
“It’s fine, just keep the fire burning.”
A pale white flame flickered at her fingertips. This was an exotic fire that Luo Yueguan had subdued. Although her spiritual energy was water-attributed, this fire seed did not conflict with it. The flames soon blazed beneath the Pill Formation. Using her Pill Fire, Jiang Huai refined two Cold Jade Lingering Pills, one large and one small. The larger one was for Luo Qingyu, to nourish her body, moisturize her soul, and significantly purify her cultivation level.
The smaller one, Jiang Huai casually handed to Luo Yueguan. “To nourish your body a little, want to try?”
Luo Yueguan brought the pill to her lips and took a gentle bite. Suddenly, she understood what the liquid coating the pill was that he had produced at the end of his refining process.
It was a blueberry-flavored candy coating.
Luo Yueguan felt a mix of amusement and speechlessness.
“The larger one is for Qingyu?”
“Yes, after taking it, Qingyu should be able to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage.”
Luo Qingyu’s cultivation level wasn’t particularly high, but this was not due to poor talent. She had always been consolidating her foundation. She didn’t need extremely high cultivation for anything. Luo Yueguan’s prescribed cultivation path for her was to first build an incredibly solid foundation, which would greatly benefit her future cultivation. Years ago, she had suffered from the consequences of being too hasty in her youth, spending much time after the Sixth Realm searching for spiritual medicines to compensate for the deficiencies in her source.
Jiang Huai then took out the Green Night Purple Sandalwood Flower, a medicinal herb that greatly benefited the soul. Generally, if one’s soul power was sufficient, their comprehension would increase significantly later on. He also refined two pills from it. Luo Yueguan glanced at Jiang Huai playfully. “And who are these for?”
“Junior Sisters in the sect.”
“Which Junior Sister?”
“You don’t know her.”
“Is it that Junior Sister called Wen Wanwan?”
“Qingyu told you?”
“I heard she’s very beautiful.” Luo Yueguan narrowed her eyes slightly. Jiang Huai casually brushed it off with a perfunctory “Not as beautiful as you,” before finally taking out the most important item, the Dragon Blood Spirit Flower.
“And who is this spiritual medicine for?”
“To help Master mend her old injuries,” Jiang Huai replied softly, refining this Dragon Blood Spirit Flower into a porcelain bottle of pills. The bottle contained ten pills in total, allowing Chu Xianning to take one daily to slowly nourish her body, which could heal her old injuries by thirty percent.
She had too many old injuries, some even affecting her core. This was why her cultivation had stagnated at the Eighth Realm early stage and could not progress further.
Luo Yueguan watched him put away the spiritual medicine and suddenly chuckled playfully. “You plan to hand over the pills to your Master just like that?”
“Otherwise?” Jiang Huai was taken aback.
“If I were you, I’d injure myself a bit first, make myself look covered in wounds, and then present these pills to your Master.”
A moment later, Jiang Huai understood Luo Yueguan’s meaning.
“Your Master would naturally feel incredibly heartbroken. And women, once they start feeling heartbroken, their hearts soften, and their bodies follow suit.” Luo Yueguan seemed unbothered by the idea of guiding him on how to court Chu Xianning.
Jiang Huai shook his head. “No.”
“So stupid.”
“What do you mean stupid? If Master sees that I’m really badly injured, she’ll feel very guilty.”
“That’s exactly what I want – for her to feel guilty.”
“I don’t want that. I just want Master to be happy,” Jiang Huai grumbled discontentedly. After tidying up the pills, he took out some strange medicinal materials and, with the help of Luo Yueguan’s spiritual fire, refined some special pills.
“What kind of pill is this?”
“Golden Scale Pill, used to temper the tenth level of the Immaculate Golden Body.” Jiang Huai finished refining the pills, hesitated for a moment, and put them away.
“Hmm? Why not temper it now?”
“Can’t, it’s too painful. I’ll temper it later.”
Luo Yueguan, of course, was unaware of the little scheme brewing in Jiang Huai’s mind. He was planning to show off his Immaculate Golden Body to Chu Xianning again, and perhaps, he would get to see his Master’s white and tender little feet again? Would his Master apply flower dew this time? The thought alone made him blush.
While Jiang Huai was refining pills, Bai Li sat quietly by his side. She didn’t speak, only watched intently. Her slender waist was slightly tense, and she seemed inexplicably reserved.
Jiang Huai refined pills for about one to two hours, finishing all the spiritual medicines he had harvested from the secret realm. He came to sit by Bai Li’s side and refilled her teacup. Bai Li picked up the cup and took a gentle sip.
“I’m a little sleepy,” Bai Li said, tilting her head to look at him.
“Then go sleep,” Jiang Huai replied softly.
Bai Li’s eyes stared intently at him for a few more seconds before she gently nodded. Her long eyelashes slightly drooped. She stood up and went to the room Jiang Huai had arranged for her, closing the door.
The Spirit Boat would not arrive at the Qingxuan Sect until late at night. Jiang Huai glanced at Luo Yueguan opposite him. She was seated across from him, supporting her chin with her hand, gazing at Jiang Huai. “Tell me about your friend?”
“I met her in the secret realm. We’ve explored many secret realms together. We have a very good relationship, a bond of life and death.”
“Then why not take her as a Spirit Beast?”
“Friends are friends. Who would want to turn their friend into a Spirit Beast? Isn’t that a bastard thing to do?”
“But she’s a snake demon who might transform into a dragon.” Luo Yueguan looked at him meaningfully. “Do you know what that means?”
“It means nothing is more important than her being my good friend,” Jiang Huai said, shaking his head. “Don’t mention it again.”
Seeing that Jiang Huai was about to get annoyed, Luo Yueguan dropped the subject. She began to talk about Luo Qingyu’s current situation. Luo Qingyu had learned a lot of dances from her today. Every day, she looked forward to her Jiang Huai Gege coming to Qingxuan Sect, often sitting on the mountain peak, gazing towards the distant Tian Xuan Sect.
In a few more days, she would be heading to the Immortal Spirit Secret Realm. Therefore, Jiang Huai planned to stay with her in Qingxuan Sect for a few days. He had nothing more to talk about with Luo Yueguan, so they fell into silence, both looking towards the distant sunset glow.
Jiang Huai inadvertently glanced at Luo Yueguan’s profile. The evening glow illuminated the face of the woman before him, lending her cheeks an air of sanctity. She casually turned her head, and Jiang Huai felt that there was a hint of empty loneliness in her eyes.
Was she lonely too? Jiang Huai suddenly felt a pang of curiosity.
“What I promised you last time, I’ve taught it all to Qingyu.”
“What?” Jiang Huai was stunned.
The corners of Luo Yueguan’s lips curled up. The ankle beneath her purple dress lifted slightly, and her white and tender little feet tapped lightly on his leg. She looked at him with a deliberately aggrieved expression. “You tell me what.”
“Didn’t I say I didn’t want you to teach those strange things…” Jiang Huai looked at Luo Yueguan before him with a helpless expression. But Luo Yueguan was relentless, her snow-white pointed toe tracing lightly up his calf. Luo Yueguan’s eyes playfully assessed him, quietly observing the changes in his expression. Jiang Huai extended a fingertip to stop her little foot, not allowing it to climb any higher.
“I originally thought you had the desire but not the courage, but these past few days, while sitting bored in Qingxuan Sect, I thought about it for a long time and realized that doesn’t seem to be the case.” A hint of triumph flickered in Luo Yueguan’s eyes. “You’re worried that if you take Qingyu’s body, you’ll lose all opportunity with your Master, aren’t you?”
Luo Yueguan had pierced through Jiang Huai’s thoughts. Jiang Huai was about to retort, but he stammered, unable to speak. After a long pause, he only managed to blurt out, “No!”
“Is that so? I remember when Chu Xianning came to see me a while ago, she specifically instructed me, telling me to postpone the wedding date further until you’ve recovered your cultivation. I haven’t told Qingyu about this yet, so you’ll have to coax her yourself later.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Huai was confident he could coax her, but Luo Yueguan sneered, “A man who eats from a bowl while looking at the pot is the lowest.”
“Yes, yes, yes, okay, okay, okay, you’re right, right, right, I’m the lowest.” Jiang Huai didn’t want to argue with her. Besides, she had a point, and he couldn’t refute it.
“Give my feet a massage,” Luo Yueguan’s toes poked at Jiang Huai’s palm.
“No.”
“Then next time I see you, I’ll tell your Master that you and your friend from below the mountain once hugged and slept together, and your hand was even pinching her buttocks.”
Jiang Huai’s eyes widened. “That never happened!”
“It did, I saw it.”
“No, you’re spouting nonsense.”
“Massage my feet, and I won’t spout nonsense anymore,” Luo Yueguan’s lips curved slightly.
Just as Jiang Huai was about to refuse, Luo Yueguan tilted her head. “Didn’t I help you today? Doesn’t that mean you owe me another favor?”
“…Isn’t that Master’s favor?”
“Then shall I claim it from your Master?”
“You win.” Jiang Huai raised his hand, gently grasped Luo Yueguan’s ankle, and placed her exquisite jade foot on his lap. His fingertips first gently pinched her delicate pink toes. Luo Yueguan watched him playfully, trying to glean a sliver of infatuation and greed from his eyes to satisfy her inexplicable sadistic pleasure.
But Jiang Huai’s eyes were genuinely overly serious, as if he were truly showing filial piety to an elder, respectfully and meticulously, with not a single detail to fault.
Hmph. Jiang Xiaohu had been showing filial piety to Chu Xianning for so many years; his expression management was already completely mastered.
