CH 85

A few months later, Luan Qing Xiao heard news about Ying Yuan Yu from Chao Gan Yun.



"You mean Ying Yuan Yu ate a stalk of celestial grass which changed him  from a jumbled spirit root to a single fire root?" Luan Qing Xiao asked indifferently.



Chao Gan Yun respectfully stated, "Yes, Mistress. This Disciple heard from Guan Xue. This morning, this Disciple and Senior Sister Guan went to Elixir Peak to harvest some medicine. Guan Xue said that the palace lord praised Yuan Yu for his good fortune and how his future will be immeasurable. Palace Lord also is planning to accept Yuan Yu as his direct disciple." Saying the last sentence, Chao Gan Yun’s tone held obvious envy.



Guan Xue was Shang Qing Palace Lord, Jing Meng Jun's eldest disciple, what she said naturally was credible.



Luan Qing Xiao replied, "I understand."



Chao Gan Yun lowered her head in disappointment. Mistress's next sentence must be to let her go back and strengthen her cultivation.



"Since you already reach Foundation Building, it’s about time for you to have your own weapon. I have a Crescent Cloud Scimitar here; take it and head to the Scripture Hall to find an appropriate sword technique for practice. Three months later, the Shang Qing Palace disciples will battle against each other. I can’t count on Zhen'er or Meng Tong, so I can only rely on you to win honor.” Luan Qing Xiao’s tone was still cold, but her every single word made Chao Gan Yun elated. She hurriedly bent down and stretched out her hands to accept the scimitar. Her hands trembled slightly with excitement, "Yes, This Disciple will definitely live up to Mistress' expectations!"



Chao Gan Yun’s heart, which has been overcasted for more than ten years, saw the sun for the first time today. Mistress actually said she couldn’t count on Nie Zhen’er or Hui Meng Tong and depend on herself to win her honor. Her daily hard work was not in vain, it turns out Mistress saw everything!



When Chao Gan Yun left Fan Chun Hall, she felt she was stepping Cloud Nine every step of the way.



Nie Zhen'er accidentally overslept and was rushing up the Fan Chun Hall. Midway, she unintentionally collided into Chao Gan Yun.



Nie Zhen'er asked Chao Gan Yun curiously, "Second Senior Sister, what happened to you?" Her whole person seemed to be in a trance. Plus, there was a peculiar smile on her face.



Being grabbed by Nie Zhen'er and shook by her arm, Chao Gan Yun finally broke free from her daze.



"It's Zhen'er ah, are you looking for Mistress?" Chao Gan Yun vowed that she had never thought Nie Zhen'er's beautiful face was so pleasing to the eye in the past ten years.



Nie Zhen'er nodded, "Second Senior Sister, what's in your hand?"



Chao Gan Yun was hugging it tightly, and only the golden edge was exposed. Although Nie Zhen'er couldn’t see the object at all, she knew it was something good.



"This?" Chao Gan Yun generously showed the scimitar, "This was given to me by Mistress, it’s called Crescent Cloud Scimitar. There is even a cloud in the name. Doesn't it match me perfectly?" Chao Gan Yun beamed triumphantly.



Nie Zhen'er touched the cold blade enviously, "It's a beautiful knife. Mistress has never given me such a good weapon."



Chao Gan Yun patted Nie Zhen'er's shoulder comfortingly, "When you reach Foundation Building, Mistress will definitely give you a weapon. Until then, cultivate hard."



"I have to wait until Foundation Building?" It took Nie Zhen'er more than half a year of great difficulty to reach the fourth level of Qi Training. The higher the cultivation is, the more difficult it is. She felt for her to reach Foundation Building, it won’t happen anything soon in the foreseeable future.



Chao Gan Yun looked at Nie Zhen'er's disappointed appearance and was secretly happy. "I have something to do, I’ll be leaving first. You should go in quickly, don't let the Mistress wait for you."



When Nie Zhen'er approached the Fan Chun Hall, Luan Qing Xiao could sense her presence. She didn't know what she and Chao Gan Yun talked about, but after entering Fan Chun Hall, Nie Zhen’er appeared listless and sluggish.



Luan Qing Xiao noticed it, but didn't say anything. Instead, she guided her to cultivate as usual.

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Nie Zhen'er endured it for a long time. However in the end, she still couldn't hold it back. She pulled Luan Qing Xiao's long sleeves as she raised her head, "Mistress, you gave Second Senior Sister a scimitar..."



"That's right." Luan Qing Xiao watched her clear apricot eyes fill with a white mist and furrowed her brows, "Little vinegar, cough, when you become a Foundation Building, I will give you a weapon too."



Initially, she wanted to say "little vinegar bucket", but suddenly realized she couldn't OOC. Therefore, she changed her words on the spot.



"Second Senior Sister's weapon is called Crescent Moon Scimitar, and her name also has a cloud character. In the future, my weapon also has to contain the character, Zhen." Nie Zhen'er pushed her luck and drilled into Luan Qing Xiao's embrace, "Mistress, alright?"



Luan Qing Xiao, "... … En." Her disciple is really adorable and acts cute. What else can she say besides agreeing?



Nie Zhen’er heard Luan Qing Xiao’s response. She had just smiled, when she was worrying about another thing. "This Disciple’s spiritual roots are jumbled, causing my cultivating speed to be extremely slow. Senior Sister is a triple spiritual root of water, wood and earth. For her to reach Foundation Building, it only took her 20 years. I have metal, wood, fire, wood and earth roots in my body and it already took more than ten years for me to get to the fourth level of Qi Training… … Mistress, can I really cultivate to Foundation Building?" Nie Zhen'er was very unconfident in herself.



"Of course, you can." Luan Qing Xiao confidently assured her.



In fact, she has already started collecting the elixirs for refining a Foundation Building Pill. As long as Nie Zhen'er was over 18 years old when taking the pill, her cultivation base will soon be able to break through Foundation Building.



Although the foundation of this kind of cultivating is unstable, as long as she dual cultivates more with her in the future and uses her divine sense to help her stabilize the foundation, with Nie Zhen'er's Pure Yin Physique, she will definitely be able to advance rapidly.



By then, she didn't know how happy this little girl would be.



Nie Zhen'er narrowed her eyes pleasantly, "Since Mistress said Zhen'er will do, Zhen'er will definitely do it. Zhen'er wants to improve her cultivation, so she will live for a long time and stay with Mistress for a long long time."



Luan Qing Xiao's indifferent face softened as she patted the top of Nie Zhen'er's hair.



The Qi Training cultivation is the same as ordinary people, meaning they can live up to 100 years at most. After reaching Foundation Building, their life span will increase to 200 years. The Golden Core has a lifespan of 500 years, while the Primordial Yuan will have a life span of 1,000 years... ...The higher the cultivation is, the longer the life expectancy is, until they become an immortal and obtain eternal life.



Although Hui Meng Tong was young, she was extremely talented. She entered Qi Training in one month and Foundation Building in three months. Her cultivation speed was not much worse than the previous Luan Qing Xiao's speed.



After Hui Meng Tong successfully reached Foundation Building, Luan Qing Xiao also presented her with a spiritual weapon——Dream Seeking Hairpin.



The person who was the most shocked by Hui Meng Tong was Chao Gan Yun.



In the Shang Qing Palace Grand Competition, only disciples with a foundation cultivation level or above can participate. Originally, the only one disciple under the Mistress who was eligible to participate in the competition was her. Yet Hui Meng Tong chose this exact moment to break through into Foundation Building, causing Chao Gan Yun to feel a strong sense of crisis. She could hardly concentrate on cultivating because of this. When she went to see Luan Qing Xiao before the competition, the haggardness on her face couldn’t be hidden.



Once she entered the Foundation Building, Hui Meng Tong began to stay at the Fan Chun Hall to cultivate every afternoon. Originally, Chao Gan Yun could stay here too, but she was too afraid of Luan Qing Xiao. Facing Luan Qing Xiao in Fan Chun Hall, her cultivation speed wasn’t even half of what it could be at her courtyard. So Chao Gan Yun asked Luan Qin Xiao for permission to practice in her yard instead.



Walking into the Fan Chun Hall, Chao Gan Yun saw Hui Meng Tong's focused appearance. Her heart became even more flustered. "This Disciple pays respect to Mistress." Chao Gan Yun pressed her forehead against the cold ground.



"Gan Yun probably heard about your Little Junior Sister's breakthrough to Foundation Building, right? This time, you and Meng Tong will participate together in the Grand Competition. Since she is still young and has a lot of things she doesn't understand, as her Senior Sister, you should watch over more."



"Yes, Mistress. Mistress, Gan Yun would like to ask Mistress to agree to one thing." Chao Gan Yun's heart was pounding.



"What's the matter?"



"There are still ten days to go before the Grand Competition and the qi in Fan Chun Hall is the densest, this Disciple wants to stay at Fan Chun Hall to cultivate. Requesting Mistress to give permission."



"How difficult is this? If you want to, you can come here to practice here anytime."



"Thank you, Mistress." Chao Gan Yun got up from the ground with pale lips. "This Disciple will come tomorrow morning and will be leaving first."



"Go ahead."



Luan Qing Xiao looked at Chao Gan Yun's back and sighed. Chao Gan Yun was too heavily impacted by external influences. Right now at Foundation Building, no harm can be seen. After reaching Golden Core however, people with this type of personality are more easily susceptible to the demonic path and be led astray.



The Shang Qing Palace Grand Competition is irrelevant to Nie Zhen'er, this Qi Training cultivator. However, what made her depressed was that she had no chance to be alone with Luan Qing Xiao on the days following up to the Grand Competition.



Returning to her small courtyard at night, Nie Zhen'er lay for a long time and couldn't sleep. There was no moonlight tonight, so she couldn't even imagine Mistress holding herself.



Nie Zhen'er tossed and turned until she finally couldn't help but get up from the bed. She decided to find Mistress.



After reaching Nascent Void, Luan Qing Xiao hardly needs sleep so Luan Qing Xiao usually practices in the Fan Chun Hall at night.



When Nie Zhen'er came to the Fan Chun Hall and wanted to enter, she was stopped by the two outer disciples outside the door. "Elder Luan has ordered that no one is allowed to enter the Fan Chun Hall at night."



Nie Zhen'er said, "I am Mistress’ direct disciple. I am definitely not included in the 'no one'. If you don't believe me, go and ask Mistress."



The two outer disciples didn't dare to look directly at Nie Zhen'er's beauty, they lowered their heads, "Elder Luan is cultivating, you can't disturb her."



Nie Zhen'er glanced at the gate close at hand and suddenly shouted, "Mistress——Mistress——"



The outer disciples can stop her from letting in, but they didn’t dare to prevent her from shouting.



When Luan Qing Xiao heard the first "Mistress”, she thought she was hallucinating because she missed Nie Zhen'er too much. It was only until she heard the second and third call, she immediately realized that Nie Zhen'er was really outside the Fan Chun Hall at the moment.



Luan Qing Xiao opened the gate and walked to the outside of the hall. The two outer disciples immediately bent down to plead guilty. Luan Qing Xiao waved her hands, "I don’t blame you guys. I can only blame myself for doting on this disciple too much and developing her temperament to be like this."



"Mistress~" Nie Zhen'er walked over and pulled Luan Qing Xiao's long sleeves.



Luan Qing Xiao let her pull her sleeves. Looking at her helplessly, she asked. "Zhen’er, why did you come here in the middle of the night?"



Shifting up along her sleeve, Nie Zhen'er hugged Luan Qing Xiao's arm. "Mistress, there is no moonlight tonight, so I can’t fall asleep."



Luan Qing Xiao led her inside Fan Chun Hall and faintly said after closing the gate. "How does having no moonlight tonight relate to you not being able to sleep?"



"Of course there is a connection." Nie Zhen'er sat on the ta next to Luan Qing Xiao, "I imagine the moonlight to be Mistress, so holding onto the moonlight every night is like hugging  Mistress. But there is no moonlight tonight..."



Nie Zhen'er leaned her head on Luan Qing Xiao's shoulder. "Without the moonlight, I can't deceive myself. Zhen'er been tossing and turning, but I still can't sleep at all, so I can only come seek the real Mistress."



Luan Qing Xiao: "... …" She really wanted to ask who Nie Zhen'er's learned her flirting from.



"Okay, you can rest here tonight." Luan Qing Xiao whispered to herself ten times internally, "You can't OOC" before finally restrained her eager heart.



"Mistress, can you sleep, hugging Zhen'er?" Nie Zhen'er stared at Luan Qing Xiao with bright eyes.



Luan Qing Xiao sighed. Then, she flipped her sleeves to extinguish the candles in the hall and lay down holding Nie Zhen'er, "Sleep obediently, don't mess around."



Nie Zhen'er continued, "Mistress, can you pat me and coax me to sleep?"



With every step Luan Qing Xiao retreated, she tried to justify her actions: If it were the original owner, she would definitely agree. Since Bai Li Yuan Yu is already dead, she will definitely keep the furnace for herself to enjoy. Isn’t it perfect to start cultivating their feelings right now?



Luan Qing Xiao patted Nie Zhen'er's waist lightly as she thought: What she did was what the original owner wanted to do? What OOC, that didn't exist at all.



Fortunately, this was Nie Zhen'er's last request. After Luan Qing Xiao patted her a few times, Nie Zhen'er couldn't resist falling into a deep sleep.



Luan Qing Xiao caressed the top of Nie Zhen'er's head and fretted: Such a delicate darling, only she will be able to pamper her.



Early the next morning, Chao Gan Yun came to Fan Chun Hall with tired dark circles under her eyes.



She had her head lowered. Walking into the hall, she bowed and greeted Luan Qing Xiao. "Mistress."



Luan Qing Xiao nodded, "Although cultivation is important, but you can’t exceed the limits of your body too much. Your current state isn’t suitable for cultivation. How about you go back and rest? Then come back in the afternoon just like Meng Tong."



When Chao Gan Yun heard Hui Meng Tong's name, she tried to open her eyes wider to make herself seem more energetic. "Answering Mistress, the Grand Competition is coming soon. It is better for this Disciple to practice hard."



Luan Qing Xiao remained silent.



Not hearing Luan Qing Xiao's answer, Chao Gan Yun couldn't help but raise her head to peek at her, only to see a figure curled up on Mistress's ta.



Chao Gan Yun: "!"



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Notes:

ta (榻): a popular style of bed in Ancient China that looks like a low couch with a handrail on either side

cloud in the name: In Chao Gan Yun’s name, the Yun character means cloud

little vinegar bucket (醋桶): slang to affectionately call someone out for being jealous