CH 82

Nie Zhen'er lowered her head and dully uttered. "Mistress, this Disciple has no objection."



Hearing Nie Zhen'er was reflecting on the back mountain caused Chao Gan Yun to be in an exceptional mood for the next couple of days.



In total, Luan Qing Xiao had three disciples. The eldest disciple died many years ago, the second apprentice is Chao Gan Yun, and the young apprentice is Nie Zhen'er, who was also Luan Qing Xiao's only direct disciple.



The hatred Chao Gan Yun had for Nie Zhen'er originated from Luan Qing Xiao's favoritism.



Obviously, she came to the Shang Qing Palace a month earlier than Nie Zhen'er. Moreover, she even had better natural qualifications than Nie Zhen'er, yet Luan Qing Xiao only accepted Nie Zhen'er as a direct disciple.



Every time she saw Luan Qing Xiao, she would have to show her respect by kneeling. Every day, she trembles in the fear that she might do something to make Luan Qing Xiao unhappy. However, Nie Zhen'er never had to kneel when facing Luan Qing Xiao. She could say whatever she wanted in front of Luan Qing Xiao, and even dared to sneak down the mountain behind Luan Qing Xiao's back.



Although Luan Qing Xiao punished Nie Zhen'er this time, it was only self reflecting in the back mountain for a month. Except for being a little bored there, Nie Zhen'er won't receive any other pains.



Nevertheless, Chao Gan Yun was already quite satisfied. Following that, she will make Mistress lose faith in Nie Zhen'er little by little until she gives up on her. In the best case scenario, she would be expelled from the Mistress' wing. Then she will become the only disciple in the Fan Chun Hall and Mistress' attention will naturally fall on her.



Within the smoky Fan Chun Hall, Luan Qing Xiao opened her eyes and found it was pitch black outside.



The place where Shang Qing Palace is located feels like spring regardless of the actual seasons, while the back mountain was eerily cold at night. Since Nie Zhen'er's cultivation had only reached the third level of Qi Training and is also a Pure Yin Physique, what seems like an easy punishment for others, felt like years to her.



Luan Qing Xiao got up and waved her sleeves to extinguish the candles in Fan Chun Hall before walking out of the main hall.



Outside the Fan Chun Hall, there were two outer disciples guarding the entrance. When they saw Luan Qing Xiao, they bowed and greeted."Hello, Elder Luan."



Luan Qing Xiao nodded. "I'm heading out for a bit. This hall will be restricted so foreigners  can't get in, you guys can take the time to cultivate."



"Yes, many thanks Elder Luan." The two outer disciples were pleasantly surprised.



At night, in order to guard against invaders, there will be outer disciples standing guard in various halls of the Shang Qing Palace. When daytime arrives, then they are released from duty.



While this position seemed hard, it was a chance that many outside disciples fought for.



There are a total of five halls in the Shang Qing Palace, which are built on the five mountains that contain the densest qi. Standing outside the hall for an entire night, even if the disciples don’t focus on cultivating, the qi is automatically absorbed by the body was already worth five days of cultivating by outer disciples elsewhere.



If they can focus on cultivating for one night here, it will definitely be worth a month of practicing outside!



Luan Qing Xiao’s body disappeared as she flew on her long to the back mountain.



In the back mountain, no stars can be seen, only the cold wind blew. Luan Qing Xiao held the mother spirit jade, and the jade showed Nie Zhen'er was currently in the cave.



Scanning around, Luan Qing Xiao moved aside the branches of a bush and saw a half-person-high cave



"Is there anyone out there?" Nie Zhen'er's weak and fearful voice came from inside.



Luan Qing Xiao didn't answer. Instead, she bent down and entered the cave with a luminous pearl.



Seeing the faint light of the pearl and a black shadow on the cave wall, Nie Zhen’er retreated in fear until her back was pressed against the wall. There was no more space for her to escape.



"Who are you? Why aren't you speaking?" Nie Zhen'er shouted sternly. "I warn you, my Mistress is Elder Luan Qing Xiao of Shang Qing Palace’s Fan Chun Hall. If you don't speak, I’ll tell Mistress to let her- let her lock you up. "



"Heh." Luan Qing Xiao couldn't help but chuckle.



She walked straight in front of Nie Zhen'er and returned the luminous pearl into her storage space. Afterwards she stretched out her hand to tug Nie Zhen'er's hand. Since Nie Zhen'er was weak, she was unable to resist and fell crookedly into Luan Qing Xiao's arms.



"You, you let me go! My Mistress won’t let you go!" Nie Zhen'er struggled to squirm her way out.



Luan Qing Xiao pinched the back of her neck and pressed her face on her shoulder.



Nie Zhen'er didn't understand what this person was going to do. Internally, she was terrified as her body trembled slightly.



But after a while, the person hugging her didn't make any more movements and Nie Zhen'er's cold body gradually warmed up.



Eventually, Nie Zhen'er didn't feel as nervous and scared. She let out a small sigh of relief, and caused the tip of her nose to sweep across the person's collar. Suddenly, a very familiar fragrance caught her attention. It seemed to be… … the Ga Leng incense.



The Ga Leng incense was Luan Qing Xiao's own special blend, so it was only available at the Fan Chun Hall in Shang Qing Palace. Only her Mistress Luan Qing Xiao, her Second Senior Sister Chao Gan Yun, or herself have the opportunity to enter the Fan Chun Hall to obtain the fragrance.



In order to verify her thinking, Nie Zhen'er lowered her head and sniffed her own body. There was no smell of the Jia Leng incense.



Was it Second Senior Sister Chao Gan Yun or Luan Qing Xiao who was sent to the back mountain holding her to warm herself?



Nie Zhen'er raised her head in a daze. She wanted to take a look at her face as the top of her hair brushed across the person's chin. Without any lighting, she could only see darkness. 



"Why aren’t you speaking?" Nie Zhen'er questioned.



Luan Qing Xiao pinched the back of her neck again and gently pressed down on her raised head.



Because she can’t expose her identity. Too much OOC will collapse this world.



With her face buried in a soft fabric, the Jia Leng incense became more intense.



Second Senior Sister Chao Gan Yun usually only wears the normal clothes of the inner disciple. It was rather stylish, but the material is a bit hard and definitely not such a soft texture.



However, Mistress wears a light cyan robe all year round. Recalling the soft feeling like a cloud earlier that day in Mistress’ embrace, it was just like the touch right now!



It’s Mistress, the person warming her up now must be Mistress!



Mistress probably felt reluctant after issuing her the punishment, because she was afraid she couldn’t handle the cold, so she came to the back mountain to look for her at night.



As for why Mistress won’t speak... … It’s probably to maintain her dignity as the Mistress.



The gears in Nie Zhen'er's little head turned. She had already figured out a reason for Luan Qing Xiao’s lack of action.



Mistress is so kind towards me!



Nie Zhen'er lamented.



Since Mistress didn't want her to find out, then she’ll pretend she didn't know her.



Luan Qing Xiao thought Nie Zhen'er would still struggle. She didn’t expect Nie Zhen'er would suddenly take the initiative to hug her and even softly whispered, "Thank you".



A faint smile appeared on Luan Qing Xiao's face.



【Ding! The female lead's affection value towards Host is 10%! Wow, Host dada is so awesome~]



Luan Qing Xiao: It's not that I'm awesome. Zhen’er is the awesome one, she can always easily recognize me.



Luan Qing Xiao gently patted Nie Zhen'er's head, causing Nie Zhen'er to feel very safe. She closed her eyes tiredly and muttered. "I'm going to sleep." Then, she fell asleep as soon as she finished speaking.



At dawn, Luan Qing Xiao let go of Nie Zhen'er and left the back mountain.



As an elder of the Shang Qing Palace, Luan Qing Xiao not only had to cultivate to improve her cultivation, she also had to handle some chores, such as the disciple selection every three years or to receive visitors from other sects.



Cultivation was divided into the Daoist and the Demonic paths. The Daoist stages are divided into Qi Training, Foundation Building, Golden Core, Primordial Yuan, Nascent Void and Immortal Ascension.



The Demonic stages are divided into Qi Gathering, Condensing Core, All Devouring, Primordial Demon, Fragmenting Void and Immortal Ascension.



The reason why Demonic Cultivation was called demonic is because the speed of the Demonic Cultivation was extremely fast. However, their mentality is more unstable, meaning it is easier for them to lose control of themselves. In addition, there are many cruel cultivation methods on the demonic path, such as replenishing oneself through the life force of others. In order to improve their own cultivation base, the person whose energy being sucked usually will become an empty husk.



Demon cultivators are not tolerated by the Heavens. When overcoming their tribulation and ascending, they experience sixty-eight more Heavenly lighting than Dao cultivators with each one being more powerful than the previous one. Almost no demon cultivator managed to survive.



Therefore, many demon cultivators in order not to die during the tribulation will straighten their cultivation once their cultivation level rises to Primordial Demon or Fragmenting Void. Even if they don’t practice, their cultivation level will continue to improve.



Compared to Demonic Cultivation, it was a hundred times more difficult to improve their cultivation base for the Daotist path. Daoist cultivation not only needs to temper the body, but also their mentality. Moreover, it has extremely high requirements for physical aptitude. People with jumbled spirit roots may not be able to grow as quickly as  people with a single spirit root even if they work thousands of times harder.



Demonic Cultivation uses absorption: one person supplements, while the other reaps all the benefits. Daoist cultivation utilizes dual cultivation, where two people mix their spiritual consciousness and both improve their cultivation.



In the cultivation continent, there are two special physiques; Pure Yang Physique and Pure yin Physique.



The Pure Yang Physique is suitable for Daoist cultivation. Most of them also have a single spirit role, which makes them a rare one in a century genius.



Whereas the Pure Yin Physique makes a good furnace. Whether it is the Demonic Cultivation’s absorption or the Daoist Cultivation’s dual cultivation, people can gain significant benefits from the Pure Yin Physique.



Nie Zhen'er is the potential furnace that the original owner has sought for Bai Li Yuan Yu for many years. The original owner carefully raised Nie Zhen'er and kept her innocent and ignorant of world affairs. She was only waiting for her to turn 18 before gifting her to Bai Ze Zong’s Supreme Elder.



It's just that the original owner didn't expect Bai Li Yuan Yu, who had been stuck for more than two hundred years at this bottleneck, would suddenly break through and experience his tribulation. Nor did she expect that Bai Li Yuan Yu would die under the Heavenly thunder.



When Luan Qing Xiao entered the world, the original owner had just received the news, Bai Li Yuan Yu had failed to cross his Tribulation, causing her mental state to drop drastically. Fortunately, after Luan Qing Xiao took possession of this body, she quickly stabilized her Dao heart.



She was a person with a firm heart to begin with. Therefore with only a day of cultivating, the middle stage of Primordial Yuan bottleneck the original owner was stuck at had loosened slightly.



When Luan Qing Xiao returned from the back mountain, she didn't have time to practice as there was a steward requesting a visit.



Luan Qing Xiao met the steward in the Fan Chun Hall. The steward knelt down and courteously greeted, "Paying respects to Elder Luan."



"Bei Ling is back?" Bei Ling was the inner disciple sent by the Shang Qing Palace to different regions to recruit new disciples with spiritual roots.



The steward raised his head and smiled, "Yes, Elder Luan. This time, Bei Ling has discovered a considerable amount of talented seedlings. Currently, she’s waiting at the Heavenly Ascending Steps for your arrival."



Luan Qing Xiao stood up, her movement fairy-like. "Let me see how good these seedlings are."