Chapter 72: This Young Man Is So Calculating!

To Li Maolin, this behavior—teaching the True Method yet refusing to accept disciples—was utterly irrational; any normal cultivator would sense something was off (even a shaman charging for spells to balance karmic debt), but to Feng Xue, this was perfectly righteous!

Bodhi Ancestor told Sun Wukong this! Ma Yu told Guo Jing this! Feng Qingyang told Ling Huchong this! Pu Zhi told Zhang Xiaofan this! Great Expansion Divine Lord told Han Li this! Wang Yaozu told Li Muxuan this! Even Yao Lao and Xiao Yan initially said this!

Since childhood, from myths to wuxia, from wuxia to xianxia, even to comics, animations, and fantasy novels—he'd seen countless variations, but undeniably, those great masters all loved this tone!

In this elder's eyes, if he could see through his disguise, he must already have a sect, so he couldn't properly take a disciple—teaching him a few techniques for the sake of karmic balance or rules was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Besides, no matter if this elder was a great demon's shed skin or an ancient true immortal, he was undeniably a powerhouse; if he said it, how could Feng Xue possibly object? If he called himself a god, then whether true or not, to Feng Xue he was one!

If there's something to learn, learn it—worst case, master it and leave with a lucky break!

Feng Xue understood clearly, but Li Maolin was now stuck—this once-sharp young man had suddenly turned into a fool? You actually believe this? Didn't your sect teach you to guard against scams?

"Wait—he's from Shenxiao Sect? That's the sect known throughout the millennia as the greatest con artists! They turned the entire Northern Song Dynasty into their puppet… damn! I get it!"

Li Maolin's heart tightened—he instantly realized! This wasn't ignorance! This kid was treating him like a gullible fool!

"Damn, no wonder—the true heir of Shenxiao Sect, the sect that conned an entire dynasty's destiny! He's turning my own trick against me, trying to drain me dry! So my 'not calling him master' remark? That actually suited his plan perfectly?"

Li Maolin raised his guard against Feng Xue by two full levels—this young man was far too calculating!

No, not just this young man—his entire sect was full of old foxes, deliberately assigning two naive bodyguards to make this kid look like an easy target, full of flaws, just to lull others into complacency, making them think he was a rich, clueless mark—last night's thunder art was probably staged to create a reckless persona… damn, no wonder this sect once produced a true god-level virtual god! Such cunning!

But then Li Maolin reconsidered—and relaxed.

Calculating is good!

Let him try to con me!

It's just secret techniques and resources—he can have them!

Once I pass the Human Tribulation, won't I make him return every last bit?

"No, don't get overconfident—he's from Shenxiao Sect. Though Shenxiao has been absent for ages, their Jade Emperor–Heavenly Court system is still widely revered by the common folk. No one knows if 'that one' virtual god still exists—if he does, even after passing the Human Tribulation, I may still not be his match…"

Resetting his mindset, Li Maolin's thoughts turned nimble. No one knew how many schemes had passed between them in this brief time—only that, when the middleman returned to summon workers for installation, the two were smiling at each other.

The middleman didn't know when this man had arrived, nor did he notice one of his laborers was missing—he hurried to Feng Xue's side, reported progress, then led his men away from the estate.

At this point, Feng Xue no longer cared much about the fridge—he merely nodded, signaling the man to proceed, then turned his attention back to Li Maolin:

"May I ask your revered name, Elder?"

"I have no intention of taking you as a disciple, so you need not know my true identity. But for convenience, call me Li Xiu." Li Maolin dared not gamble whether his real name would be remembered a century from now—he made up a false name on the spot.

Feng Xue didn't mind—he wouldn't recognize any famous figures unless he'd known them in his past life—so he bowed properly and said:

"So it's Elder Li before me. I am Feng Xue, a hermit cultivator from the countryside, traveling and studying, passing through Lu City…"

"Hmph…" Li Maolin inwardly sneered—hermit? If all hermits had this kind of insight, my grave would've been dug up long ago!

But Feng Xue himself thought clearly: a rich kid pretending to be poor to woo a girl? Get caught? Romantic. A poor kid pretending to be rich? Disgusting. Likewise, if I claim to be a humble hermit and the elder doesn't believe me, he'll just think I'm modest—if I'm later exposed, I never lied. But if I fabricate some grand identity and get caught? That's a disaster.

Neither had any intention of probing further on this point—after exchanging names, they immediately moved to the main matter.

Li Maolin had expected to be drained, but by the time he roamed the world, Shenxiao Sect had become nothing but legend; its thunder art's essence had been absorbed by Zhengyi, Qingwei, and other sects. His knowledge of Shenxiao was limited to the names of their Dao scriptures, and the sole legendary top-tier virtual god ever controlled—"Shenxiao Yùqīng Wáng"—and its core principle: "internal cultivation into a core, external command of thunder." Naturally, he didn't know what Shenxiao excelled in or needed—he summarized his words and said:

"My cultivation technique is highly eclectic. What do you wish to learn?"

"Immortality!" Feng Xue answered without hesitation. Li Maolin's body jolted—

"Is this kid after my 'Corpse Liberation Immortal' method? But why? Shenxiao Sect may have a bad reputation, but it's still a righteous sect—you don't fear being hunted down in the underworld after switching to a ghost immortal. Why learn this heretical path that breaks the cycle of rebirth? Is he serious? Or testing me?"

Li Maolin pondered inwardly, but aloud said:

"The Yangshen method is the orthodox path. No one has achieved it in centuries—not due to human failure, but because the Dao has changed. To seek immortality, you must rely on fortune. Even if I taught you my technique, you'd still likely fail."

Feng Xue inwardly thought, "Again—the closer to modern times, the closer to the End Dharma era." Though he'd already anticipated this after learning no Yangshen had appeared in centuries, he still felt a pang of disappointment. But he had his lucky break—he could acquire resources across worlds—so he didn't dwell on it, and settled for a secondary goal:

"Then I want to learn the method of refining primordial qi."

Li Maolin thought inwardly: "You're certain I'm a demonic cultivator, aren't you? Even if you want to learn, you can't ask so bluntly! If I teach you directly, won't that confirm I'm a demon?" He struggled to understand what else besides demonic cultivators needed to study primordial qi refinement—but outwardly, he couldn't say so. After thinking, he replied:

"You've already cultivated spiritual power—why are you asking about primordial qi refinement?"

Feng Xue knew the question sounded odd, but he still said:

"My inherited teachings require splitting and refining the five-element primordial qi, but the method for splitting has been lost. If you have any relevant techniques, I humbly beg your instruction!"

(End of Chapter)