The Heavenly Street in the market was decorated with lights and colored streamers. From time to time, rogue cultivators or sect cultivators would descend from the night sky and look for weapons and pills at the stalls lined up on both sides of the street.
Ye Anping followed Bai Yuexin's steps and walked side by side with her on Heavenly Street, listening to her recounting her experiences of forging iron and swords under the tutelage of Mr. Liu of the Black Star Sect Sword Pavilion over the past years.
Master Liu of the Sword Pavilion, full name Liu Dazhu (Great Pillar). Cultivation, early stage of Deification.
Because this name was too old-fashioned, he had always been ashamed to engrave his full name on the hilt of his swords. The cultivators in the four regions basically did not know his full name.
However, if Liu Dazhu claimed to be second among the swordmasters of the four regions, then no one in the Immortal Family dared to claim to be first.
Not to mention how many famous swords he had forged in his life.
The Snow Jade Spirit Sword in Ye Anping's storage bag had traces of Mr. Liu's hammer. Just this alone was enough to give him a special honor.
"Mr. Liu is very narrow-minded. Last time I accidentally forgot to make morning tea for him, and he punished me to clean the sword-forging furnace alone, even asking me not to leave any ashes. He also asked me to pour water to wash his feet. That old man is so annoying..."
Hearing Bai Yuexin complain, Ye Anping felt helpless. He said, "Mr. Liu is a very powerful swordsman."
"Yes, yes, he is powerful... Well, the Sword Pavilion is full of big and strong male disciples. After I went there, Mr. Liu specially made a small courtyard for me to live in." She pouted and gestured with her hands. "Those disciples are so tall and burly, not as good-looking as you, Anping, and they are full of sweat odor. I feel like I'm going to stink too..."
Ye Anping squinted, smiling. "Black Star Sect's first female swordsman."
"Sounds weird..." Bai Yuexin twisted Ye Anping's face in dissatisfaction, but seeing his profile, her eyes revealed a little admiration. "Anping, you helped me, right? How did you do it?"
"Well..." Ye Anping raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean, sister?"
"Mr. Liu accepted me as his personal disciple. How did you convince him?"
Bai Yuexin looked at Ye Anping curiously. "A few years ago, the Young Master of the White Flower Sect came to visit and knelt in front of the old man's house for half a month, but Mr. Liu didn't agree. However, I went over to brew morning tea for him for ten days, and he suddenly agreed to accept me as his personal disciple."
Back then, after returning to the Black Star Sect after forming his core, he had taken a chance and asked Bai Yuexin to deliver a letter to Si Xuanji, hoping that she would give Bai Yuexin a chance for his sake.
It turned out that he still had some face.
Smiling, Ye Anping replied, "Could it be that Mr. Liu saw that you have a talent for sword-making, and that's why he accepted you as his apprentice?"
"How is that possible..." Bai Yuexin smiled helplessly, "Not to mention that Mr. Liu has never accepted a personal apprentice, I am a woman... Even if you count from the beginning of the world, the number of female sword masters can be counted on two hands, and Mr. Liu is quite rigid and conservative. If it is not for something, how could he accept me as his apprentice."
"Hmm..." Ye Anping pretended to be puzzled as he thought for a while. "Then, I have no idea. It's really strange..."
Bai Yuexin frowned and complained, pinching Ye Anping's waist. "Pretend! Still pretending!!"
Ye Anping was already in the Nascent Soul stage, so how could he be hurt by a pinch on his waist? However, he pretended to be in pain and quickly dodged to the side. "Hiss-- don't pinch me... Sister, you have been hitting with a hammer for several years, your hands are very strong, it hurts--"
"How can a Nascent Soul cultivator like you be hurt by a pinch? Humph!"
While the two were bantering, they arrived at a shop selling tools and furnaces. The shop was full of furnaces and pills on display shelves.
Ye Anping and Bai Yuexin stopped at the same time and looked up at the decorations of the storefront.
Bai Yuexin asked, "Where is Ye's Physiotherapy Shop?"
Ye Anping shrugged. "It's been closed for several years."
"The little boss ran away for only a few years, and look at him now, already a Nascent Soul cultivator."
A trace of nostalgia flashed in Bai Yuexin's eyes as she remembered a teenager in the Qi Refining stage who came to her to apply for a shop license and massaged her feet.
Bai Yuexin covered her mouth and laughed. "In a few more years, after you reach the Deification stage, I can brag in public!!! Look... that Deification cultivator once massaged my feet!"
"A few years to become a Deification cultivator; sister, you think too highly of me."
"In less than ten years, you have gone from a little Qi Refining cultivator to the Nascent Soul stage. You know... you must take care of Big Sister in the future. Don't forget that if it weren't for me signing for you, you wouldn't be able to open your store!"
Ye Anping raised his eyebrows and joked, "Sister, since when have you become so pragmatic?"
"Heh..." Bai Yuexin hugged Ye Anping's shoulders and walked forward, swaying from side to side. "But I didn't expect the Qi Refining double spiritual root Young Master to be already in the Nascent Soul stage... You can even go out and establish a sect."
"I am already the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect."
"A dandy rich Young Master."
As Bai Yuexin said this, the voices of several male cultivators who were drinking and chatting together at a tea stall on the side suddenly entered their ears.
---"Isn't the young master of the Hundred Lotus Sect engaged to the Lady of the Dragon House, Miss Li? Weren't they showing off their affection in public before? Why is he marrying this Miss Pei now?"
---"Well... He is handsome, the Young Master of a sect, and a Nascent Soul cultivator on top, so why not?"
---"I guess our Western Region can also produce a Yun Tianchong. Oh yes, Ye Tianchong... It seems that he hasn't chosen a cultivator name yet. Do you think he will be called 'Tianchong'?"
... ...
Ye Anping had a dark face while Bai Yuexin covered her mouth and laughed like a bell. "Ye Tianchong... You have so many cultivation partners~ How many are there?"
"I'm not like Yun Tianchong."
"Yes, yes... You are going to marry Sister Pei soon, right? Just in time."
Bai Yuexin let go of Ye Anping's shoulders and walked in front of him, then turned around and waved.
A ray of spiritual light flew out of her storage bag and landed on her palm, condensing into a silver-white spiritual sword with a scabbard, a hilt, and a tassel hanging on its tip.
He landed in front of the three-house courtyard where he and Xiao Yunluo lived, and he was about to push the door in...
"Young man Ye, are you back?"
An old voice came from behind him. Mr. Qi descended from the sky with his hands behind his back and landed behind him. His face was peaceful as he looked up and down at Ye Anping.
Ye Anping was puzzled. He didn't know why Mr. Qi would look for him.
He immediately cupped his hands and saluted. "Greetings, Mr. Qi."
"Come on, let's go in. I need to have a good chat with you!"
"Uh..."
Ye Anping had no reason to refuse. He quickly used the token to open the courtyard restriction and led Mr. Qi into the yard.
It was dark in the courtyard, and the doors and windows of all the rooms were tightly shut. It seemed that Xiao Yunluo was not there.
Ye Anping lit the spiritual stone lamp, took out some cakes and tea, and invited Mr. Qi to sit at the stone table in the courtyard. He was a little curious about why Mr. Qi came to look for him.
However, the next moment, Mr. Qi lifted his sleeves, took out a wooden basin from his storage bag, and used water stones and fire magic to prepare some hot water. Then, he placed it in front of him and squatted down.
"Come on... I'll wash your feet!"
?!
Ye Anping was so shocked that his eyes popped out, and he even thought he was hallucinating.
"Ah?! Mr. Qi, what are you doing?"
"Heh..." Mr. Qi sighed, smiling. Then, he simply grabbed Ye Anping's shoes, helped him take them off, and put his feet in the wooden basin. "A few days ago, Feng Yu Die came back in a rush to smirk at me and tell me that you successfully formed your Nascent Soul."
"..."
"I made a bet with that girl at the beginning. If you could successfully form your Nascent Soul, I would wash your feet myself. Now... here I am, hehe..."
"No, no, no..." Ye Anping waved his hands and pulled his feet out of the basin with resistance. "This is a joke, why do you take it seriously, Mr. Qi?"
"A man is as good as his word. A promise is a promise..." Mr. Qi frowned and grabbed his feet and pulled them back into the wooden basin. "Don't move. Washing feet is not a big deal... and your feet don't stink, leave them there!"
"Hiss---"
Ye Anping hissed, feeling awkward. He looked at Mr. Qi standing in front of him with a stiff expression. Reluctantly, he relaxed his body as if he had given up, and he let the wrinkled big hands rub and pat his young feet.
Mr. Qi had a smile on his face and seemed to enjoy himself. "You are the first person in thousands of years whose feet I have washed with my own hands."
Ye Anping didn't know what expression he should make. "I am flattered..."
"Hehe... I admit I was surprised." Mr. Qi smiled. "I didn't expect you to convince Zu Yuan to give you his spiritual root. I'm curious, how did you convince him?"
"It wasn't convincing. I thought of many ways, but I didn't use them. I can only say that the ancestor might have some affinity with me and gave me a great opportunity..."
"You are too modest... Zu Yuan and Red Moon Immortal Matriarch have always been at odds with each other, and you are a Black Star Sect disciple. I don't believe that he would give you such an opportunity just because he liked you. "
"Uh... there are some hidden secrets."
"Is it inconvenient to tell me?"
"...It is."
"Then, I won't ask." Mr. Qi shook his head and continued, "When I talked about you with the Matriarch before, she promised that after you reach the Nascent Soul stage, she would meet you. Otherwise..."
Ye Anping was embarrassed, thinking of Si Xuanji who moaned under him a few days ago, and replied, "Well, wait until I come back from the Hundred Lotus Sect. I have to prepare myself."
"Okay, come to me then, and I will take you to the Star Pavilion to meet Red Moon Matriarch. The matriarch should be your... mother-in-law, right? You and Miss Xiao..."
Ye Anping looked away with a nod. "Yeah..."
"Miss Pei and the others also returned to the Hundred Lotus Sect a few days ago. Remember to send me an invitation to your wedding. I will definitely come."
"Okay..."
"But speaking of Feng girl..." Mr. Qi lowered his head and sighed. Who knew what he was thinking about? There was a little sadness on his face, and then he looked up at Ye Anping. "How much do you know about her master the Great Taixu?"
"Uh... I know everything. Why are you asking this now?"
"I'll give you a warning." Mr. Qi raised his eyebrows. He took out a handkerchief from the storage bag, dried Ye Anping's feet, and shook off the water on his hands. "To be honest, the matter of Taixu back then was my fault. If I hadn't asked her to go to Jade Void Mountain, she wouldn't have met Yun Tianchong. Sigh..."
Ye Anping blinked, realizing that Mr. Qi probably thought he had something to do with Feng Yu Die, and he immediately replied, "Mr. Qi, Sister Feng and I are not..."
"Heh." Mr. Qi laughed as he stood up and shook off his sleeves, then put his hands behind his back. "Okay... I've said everything I need to say. You can go to the Hundred Lotus Sect at sunrise. I won't stay anymore, I still have to grade the test papers of those bastards from today."
"Alright..." Ye Anping cupped his hands and saluted, watching Mr. Qi fly away. Then, he lowered his head to look at his feet stepping on the boots, and suddenly his heart had mixed feelings.
Feng Yu Die had already gone to the Hundred Lotus Sect...
This couldn't be concealed anymore.
"Sigh..." Ye Anping sighed lightly, then returned to his room, took out more than twenty blank jade slips, and emptied his mind. Then, he wrote his invitations to the double cultivation ceremony.
"Senior Sister Bai, Xuanji, Mr. Qi, Aunt Qiu, Elder Lei, Elder Qin... Longling, Yiyi and her sisters, and Sect Master Yun... As for Commander Xu and Xiyue, they are too far away... Let's write them one by one."