Chapter 37: Heart's Troubles Are Hard to Resolve, Known to None

"Exalted One, since she is that woman's daughter, it is not impossible for her to refine a Life-Prolonging Pill." The person in white bowed and said.

The person on the seat did not speak upon hearing this, merely resting their chin on their hand, as if lost in thought.

"She is actually that woman's daughter? Didn't that woman use her own bloodline as a sacrifice to curse the Exalted One back then, causing the Exalted One to end up like this? How is she still alive?" A bewitching woman walked out from the darkness, knelt on one knee, and performed a salute to the person on the seat. "Why don't I go and abduct her to present to the Exalted One, to be killed or carved up, to vent the Exalted One's anger."

"You cannot!" The person in white hurriedly spoke to stop her. "Not to mention that the Yuanqing Sect has a Mountain Guarding Array that none of us from the Demon Race can enter, just the fact that the girl can refine a Life-Prolonging Pill means we cannot do anything to her."

"Then I will abduct her to refine pills for the Exalted One every day; if she is disobedient, she can also amuse me in my spare time." The bewitching woman toyed with the dagger in her hand, looking intriguing.

"You cannot!"

The person in white spoke again to stop her, and the bewitching woman could not help but feel stifled.

"This you cannot do, that you cannot do; could it be that you have other ideas about her?" The woman said this with a provocative expression.

"I am different from you; not everything can be taken as a plaything." The person in white glanced at the bewitching woman with contempt, then turned to bow and cup their hands toward the person on the seat. "That woman did indeed use this girl as a sacrifice to curse and harm the Exalted One back then, but now I do not know why she is still alive. Furthermore, according to my investigation, that woman perished in the Yellow Springs shortly after. In this subordinate's humble opinion, it is better to wait for a while."

The person on the seat moved their body slightly upon hearing this, and after a moment, waved their hand toward the space below; the person in white then bowed and concealed their figure.

……

The accumulated snow on the mountain melted by seven or eight parts after a few days, leaving only a little behind, as if reluctant to leave the world, huddled together in a desperate last stand.

After the snowfall, the mountain seemed to have been washed clean, moist everywhere, and even the creek water had gained a torrential momentum.

This snow did indeed delay many days of cultivation, but Hanyang at Hufeng Hall informed the Outer Disciples that the end-of-month martial arts demonstration would be held as scheduled.

Many disciples had quite a few complaints upon hearing this; the mountain had been sealed by snow for the past few days and classes had not been held, so everyone had only been focused on having fun and had completely forgotten about their cultivation. But this was a decision made by the Sect Leader and the Elders, so no one had any choice but to intensify their training.

Of course, while there were those who were carefree and idle, there were naturally those who were working hard in secret.

Chengkai was quite calm and composed about this.

The first martial arts demonstration had a significant impact on him, and when combined with the previous incident at the kitchen, it made him believe that the gap between himself and others was vast.

During the time the mountain was sealed, he had not been slack, still sitting in meditation and practicing martial arts every day, contemplating the Dao.

Since he was small, his master at the escort agency had taught him a principle—living in troubled times, the Jianghu is treacherous, worldly affairs are like chess, and life is like an ant. In one's life, if one cannot be strict with oneself and strive for progress, then even just staying alive is a luxury.

Therefore, in his life, he hated those who were opportunistic the most, so when someone rumored that Zhao Wuyang had cheated, he took it as the truth, which was why he could not stand him.

Such diligence was very much to the liking of Zhaoming Zhenren.

Although everyone was still only an Outer Disciple, the various Elders had already begun to take note of those who were moldable, coming to the courtyard to observe from time to time. If someone suited their fancy, they might be taken directly under their wing after being promoted to the Inner Sect, just like Qianyuan Zhenren did that day.

Of course, the disciples were naturally unaware of this.

Only those who truly cultivate can have such an honor.

Or, this person is truly an unprecedented chosen one.

But in the present world, Spirit Qi is thin, leading to defects in Spirit Roots, so how could there be any so-called peerless genius?

It is nothing more than hard work.

For those who are diligent, if there is one, there will be two.

Ever since Long Qi received the Coiling Dragon Sword Manual, he had been devoted to studying it, and in just four or five days, he had memorized most of it.

Perhaps because of the Seven-Star Longyuan, whenever he practiced the sword techniques within, it was as if he were being led by the sword, always able to perform the moves fluently.

But even so, he did not know why the subsequent sword forms always felt somewhat powerless.

Long Qi thought that it was probably because his cultivation was insufficient, so he could not unleash the power within, or perhaps his understanding of the Dao was insufficient to penetrate the mysteries within.

Seeing Long Qi like this, Liu Xia was naturally unwilling to fall behind, but he only had a Body Tempering physique and could not yet practice Witchcraft.

He had a deep self-awareness regarding this.

But compared to Long Qi, his own advantages were also obvious: regarding swordsmanship, he was the most superb among the four, after all, he had practiced at home since he was small, so it was naturally something others could not compare to.

Thus, while studying the Guiyuan Sutra with Zhao Wuyang, he had not fallen behind in his swordsmanship practice.

Relatively speaking, Zhao Wuyang had no particular strengths, and regarding swordsmanship, he only began to practice it after entering the sect.

Perhaps because he was still young, his comprehension of the Guiyuan Sutra mostly required explanation, and he was still very confused about mastering the Qi channels within his body.

However, the influence was mutual; with Long Qi taking the lead, Liu Xia as a companion, and Zhao Wuyang himself having the heart to cultivate, his schoolwork would naturally not be too bad.

But Xin Yi seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Ever since he returned from the kitchen on the day of the Winter Festival, he had been distracted, staring out the window from time to time.

Even when practicing the sword, it was the same.

Although Xin Yi's swordsmanship was somewhat far behind compared to Liu Xia's, he had never had his sword knocked out of his hand during sword practice in the past, always gripping it tightly without relaxing.

Just now, when the two were sparring, Liu Xia used a lifting move to knock the Soft Sword from his hand, which landed straight into the brick crevice, emitting a buzzing sound.

Logically speaking, the one with the highest cultivation among the four was Xin Yi; Long Qi had never doubted this.

During the previous incident at the kitchen when he was at odds with Chengkai, he hadn't even seen how Xin Yi made his move, which showed that his kung fu was remarkable.

And on the day of the martial arts demonstration when the two sparred, although the fight was a mess and laughable, and they were stopped halfway by Fuyin Zhenren, he himself had used his strength, yet Xin Yi was able to receive them one by one without changing his expression, which was enough to show that his cultivation was definitely above his own.

Perhaps, like him, the Soft Sword was not very handy, which was why he fought like that, but he definitely would not be defeated by Liu Xia.

This person was also someone who did not like to speak; being so distracted was truly abnormal.

And Xin Yi, seeing his sword knocked away, was stunned for a moment, then returned to his room alone and sat by the window, as if thinking about something else, leaving the three of them in the backyard looking at each other.

"Ahem!" Liu Xia coughed lightly to cover it up, which broke the awkward situation.

"What has happened to him lately? Why is he so absent-minded?"

Long Qi was asked with a confused expression, merely shaking his head to indicate he did not know.

"Could it be that he got a stomachache from the dumplings that day?" Zhao Wuyang looked toward the room with concern.

"Don't be foolish. I've only heard of people getting stomachaches from meat-filled dumplings; how could grass or mushrooms cause a stomachache? Besides, if he had a stomachache, why don't we see him heading to the west wing?" Long Qi sheathed the Longyuan and turned to look into the room as well.

"But he has been like this since the afternoon of the Winter Festival. Could it be that the mushrooms that day were poisonous?"

"That shouldn't be," Liu Xia quietly crept under the window to observe. "I also ate the winter bamboo shoot filling that day, and I'm perfectly fine now."

Seeing him like this, Long Qi and Zhao Wuyang followed suit, squatting at the window to look at Xin Yi, who was in a daze in the room.

"Could it be that he is homesick? Missing his wife and children?" Zhao Wuyang asked in a low voice while clinging to the window.

Long Qi rolled his eyes upon hearing this—Xin Yi had already said that day that his family had suffered a tragedy when he was young, so where would he have a wife and children...

Only a fool like Wuyang would fail to remember that.

However, looking at it now, the dumplings on the day of the Winter Festival must have stirred his childhood memories.

Long Qi thought this to himself, and his heart was clear.