Chapter 71: Gentle White Snake, Charming Green Snake! Senior Brother Exits Seclusion

Time is like a white horse passing a crack, gone in an instant.

News about Lin Xuan had been circulating within the Outsider world, but as Lin Xuan went into seclusion, the news gradually fell silent.

……

In the Daoist room of Baiyun Guan, as Lin Xuan opened his eyes, a flash of electric light seemed to ignite in the room, illuminating the entire space.

However, this electric light came as quickly as it went.

His gaze was like still water, without a ripple.

But shortly after, a trace of joy appeared in Lin Xuan's eyes.

"Finally finished."

It seems what was said in the Method of Evolving the Five Elements is indeed correct.

As the progress of smelting the inner core with the Five Elements continues, it becomes slower and slower.

Although the pill fire and the inner core originate from the same source, providing a bonus to the smelting speed, the pill fire smelting the fire element took at most a month or so.

Yet this time, the wood element smelting, which even used the Yimu Divine Thunder, took a full four years or more.

Then for the remaining three, how much time will be needed?

Although with his current cultivation, his lifespan has certainly increased significantly.

But that does not mean Lin Xuan truly wants to spend that much time on this.

If it were also four years, that would be one thing.

If it requires ten or twenty years or even longer, he will need to consider whether to find other paths of cultivation.

Although he thought this, the completion of the fire and wood smelting of the inner core had indeed increased his strength quite a bit.

Although there was no clear comparison, Lin Xuan felt that he might be several times stronger now than he was four years ago.

At his level of strength, every bit of improvement requires a vast amount of time to cultivate.

Compared to others, Lin Xuan's rate of progress is terrifying.

But Lin Xuan himself is somewhat dissatisfied.

He is too eager to progress.

After standing up, he flicked the wide sleeves of his Daoist Robe, and a gust of wind rose, sweeping up the floating dust from the table and floor of the room.

The doors and windows opened automatically, and the wind blew the dust out.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Coughing sounds immediately rang out from outside the door.

When Lin Xuan walked out, the fashionably dressed Qing Bai Er She stood up, covered in dust, and stared straight at him.

There was a layer of dust on their small faces, making them look gray and dingy.

"Benefactor, you did that on purpose."

Xiao Qing pouted, her gray, dusty little face highlighting a pair of tender, pink lips.

"I forgot you were outside!"

Lin Xuan spread his hands.

"I don't believe it; clearly, when you woke up before, you knew we were outside."

Raising her hand to scratch her face, Xiao Qing shook her head.

Then, several clear finger marks were left on her face.

"Then I was wrong, I apologize!"

Lin Xuan waved his hand.

"That's more like it!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing immediately nodded, then pounced over to hug Lin Xuan's arm; Lin Xuan felt his arm being surrounded by softness.

"Benefactor, is your seclusion over?"

Xiao Bai shook her body, and a surge of Qi emerged, shaking the dust off her before she asked softly.

"Of course, wouldn't Benefactor coming out mean the seclusion is over?"

Xiao Qing said, rubbing her face against Lin Xuan's shoulder, looking very intimate.

But after only a moment, the previously dusty little face became snow-white.

And Lin Xuan's shoulder became dusty.

Then Xiao Qing giggled, let go, and hopped away to the side.

Lin Xuan shook his head helplessly, looked at the clear sky, and then his gaze fell back onto Er She.

"It seems you haven't been idle these past few years!"

"That goes without saying, we finished all the homework you left behind, Benefactor. Following your instructions, my sister and I quizzed each other and got full marks several times."

Hearing this, Xiao Qing put her hands on her hips, looking proud.

"That is truly remarkable."

Actually, Lin Xuan could see it even without being told.

Compared to the eyes from four years ago that were curious about everything and so clear they were almost foolish, the two snakes were now much like ordinary young women.

If they didn't circulate their Qi, one wouldn't even think they were Outsiders.

Just from this point, Lin Xuan knew they hadn't been negligent this time.

In fact, this was exactly what he wanted Er She to achieve.

After all, this world is a world dominated by humans.

Regardless of whether this stifles their nature, as non-humans, if Er She wants to survive well in this world, blending in is a necessary thing to do.

"Let's go, let's go out for a walk!"

Lin Xuan said, flicking his sleeves to shake off the dust the Qing She had rubbed onto him.

"Benefactor, wait a moment!"

Bai She walked behind Lin Xuan, raised her hands to gather his loose long hair, and pinned it into a bun.

"Benefactor, you really should tidy yourself up!"

After finishing, Bai She rushed in front of Ye Tian and raised her hands to help Ye Tian adjust his clothing.

Her expression was gentle, further highlighting the temperament of a virtuous wife and loving mother.

It just looked slightly familiar.

"Sister is becoming more and more like Bai Niangzi."

Xiao Qing sighed with emotion upon seeing this scene.

"You're really asking for a beating!"

Bai She turned her head to look at Xiao Qing and said upon hearing this.

But her voice was soft and weak, without a hint of severity.

Xiao Qing stuck out her tongue and stopped making a sound.

Only then did Lin Xuan suddenly realize; no wonder he felt it was familiar.

He did not refuse Bai She, nodding slightly as he looked at Bai She's face.

As Bai She helped Lin Xuan tidy his Daoist Robe, her seemingly earnest face grew even more flushed.

"Done!"

Saying this, Bai She flashed to the side, her face five shades redder than before.

"Many thanks!"

Seeing Bai She's state, Lin Xuan smiled, then stepped forward to walk ahead.

After Lin Xuan had walked two steps, Bai She's red lips parted slightly, she exhaled a breath, and subconsciously raised her hand to fan her face a few times, as if wanting to remove the burning heat from her cheeks.

"Let's go, keep up!"

Xiao Qing walked over, grabbed Bai She's arm, and followed behind Lin Xuan.

The front courtyard of Baiyun Guan.

There were not many pious believers today, and a few young Daoists were each busy with their own tasks.

Some were sweeping, some were wiping windows and pillars, and others were there to welcome guests but appeared somewhat bored due to the lack of people.

"Speaking of which, do you think that Origin Source of Qi is real?"

A Daoist who looked thin but had somewhat mischievous features stood lazily and asked the other Daoist beside him.

The two Daoists looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old.

"Senior Brother Huang Ming, you don't actually want to go down the mountain to take a look, do you? Be careful that Master doesn't beat you; it's enough if you can just master all of our techniques."

The other young Daoist was more composed and spoke up to remind him.

"How could that be? I'm just curious. The forum says the Origin Source of Qi is one of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques and is very powerful, so naturally I'm curious!"

Huang Ming raised his hand to scratch his face, his expression somewhat awkward.

"Then just wait and see; since it's so famous, there will definitely be more news later."

A voice rang out.

Huang Ming nodded upon hearing this and looked at the young Daoist beside him, "Junior Brother makes sense, I was thinking the same... hm?"

"Senior Brother Huang Ming, I didn't speak."

The young Daoist being stared at by Huang Ming looked awkward, then looked behind Huang Ming and bowed in salute.

"Senior Brother!"

Huang Ming was startled and quickly turned his head. When he saw Lin Xuan and the Er She standing not far behind him, Huang Ming first widened his eyes, then his face was filled with joy.

"Senior Brother! Senior Brother, you've come out of seclusion?"