Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 190 Where Did You Hide My Fourth Junior Sister?

Zhang Chengdao's spiritual root is milky white, and does not belong to any of the five elements.

At first, he didn't know what it meant. But later, in order to organize the various books he had drawn and the various classics in the [Book House] and [Academy], and to list the spells, supernatural powers and cultivation techniques separately, he read a lot of books and brushed up on a lot of common knowledge about cultivating immortality.

The white spiritual root is one of the few spiritual roots that transcends the Five Elements, encompassing all things, hence it is also known as the "Myriad Spiritual Root".

As the name suggests, Zhang Chengdao, who possesses the Myriad Spiritual Roots, can cultivate almost any type of cultivation technique, manual, or magical ability!
The rarity of this kind of spiritual root is probably among the top tier in all major cultivation novels!

However, don't misunderstand. Besides the Myriad Manifestations Spiritual Root, there are many other precious spiritual roots that are comparable to it, such as the Yin-Yang Spiritual Root and the Chaos Spiritual Root. Moreover, the latter have protagonists with surnames like Bai, Han, and Luo appearing in their respective worlds to demonstrate how powerful these spiritual roots are. Compared to them, the Myriad Manifestations Spiritual Root is not so special.

Another advantage of this type of spiritual root is that the spiritual power it generates is relatively inclusive, preventing situations where a fire spiritual root is helpless against a water spiritual root.

In other words, Zhang Chengdao didn't need to worry at all about whether his spiritual power would harm Tang Xiaoyu; he just needed to be careful not to overeat her.

The two of them, one lying down and the other standing, spent three days refining the "Blood Demon Pearl" before finally finishing the process.

Unexpectedly, Tang Xiaoyu, who refined the "Blood Demon Pearl," not only survived but also actually "rejuvenated." Without needing to disguise herself, she looked like a young girl of sixteen or eighteen, with a rosy complexion and a light figure.

After refining the herbs, Zhang Chengdao, who had eaten a bellyful of immortal dew grass, immediately ran off to rest.

Tang Xiaoyu, on the other hand, vaguely sensed the changes in herself and couldn't wait to sit down in front of the dressing table and observe herself in the bronze mirror.

Her skin was smooth and delicate, but it looked rather pale.

Her eyes were bright and sparkling, but Tang Xiaoyu felt as if there was a fierceness in them that she had never seen before, and she wondered if it was just her imagination.

"Blood Demon Orb"...

Can it really make people young again?!
Tang Xiaoyu touched her face, still somewhat incredulous.

No wonder the Blood Demon was willing to defy the world to cultivate the Blood Demon Technique, hoping to maintain his youth and live forever. Who wouldn't want that?

The thought had just crossed Tang Xiaoyu's mind when she suddenly froze.

How could I have such thoughts?!

Immediately, she remembered what her master had said before he left—

"Although you can refine and use this inner core for now, it contains too much malevolent and evil energy, which may affect your mind. If you sense anything amiss, you can cultivate by the Heavenly Pool. The sooner you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, the sooner you will have the confidence to shatter the core. Only an inner core formed by yourself and a breakthrough achieved through tribulation are truly recognized by the Heavenly Dao. You must not become obsessed with the temporary benefits of this fake core and abandon the true path of immortality..."

Recalling Zhang Chengdao's earnest instructions, Tang Xiaoyu felt a chill run down her spine.

The evil energy within this "Blood Demon Pearl" has actually affected me to this extent!
It seems I need to find a way to stabilize my emotions and avoid emotional fluctuations.

As long as one's mind is stable, one will not be easily affected by evil thoughts within the inner elixir!
Just as I was thinking this, there was a knock on the door.

"Junior sister! Are you all better now!" It was the voice of the second senior sister, Murong Ruyan.

Tang Xiaoyu had lived for over three hundred years, so unlike the other disciples, she was not as afraid of Murong Ruyan, who was always cold and seemed to have a bad temper.

In fact, she had long seen through Murong Ruyan's cold exterior but warm heart, and that she also had some childlike thoughts.

Just like now, she was the first fellow disciple to knock on the door. Although her tone was stiff, the concern in it was not hard to tell.

Tang Xiaoyu responded through the door, then took a few steps in place to adjust to her young and healthy body before slowly opening the door.

"Thank you for your concern, Second Senior Sister. I'm all better now. Although this method has many side effects, it did save my life!"

As soon as the door was opened, Murong Ruyan froze on the spot.

The old lady I remembered as having white hair, a wrinkled face, and a somewhat stout figure has turned into a young woman in her late teens!

Even more exaggeratedly, this girl had rosy lips and upturned eyes. Although her eyes had a hint of wickedness, they didn't look repulsive; instead, they added a touch of allure.

This……

Is this really my legendary fourth junior sister who has lived for 321 years?!
Her eyes widened as she looked Tang Xiaoyu up and down in disbelief.

Where did you hide my fourth junior sister?!

If Tang Xiaoyu's voice hadn't been exactly the same as her voice after she disguised herself, she would have suspected that an outsider had entered the sect and that her fourth junior sister had secretly hidden a younger sister in her room!
Realizing her gaze had been rather impolite, Murong Ruyan tried to break the awkward silence, stammering, "Junior Sister, the change is... quite significant..."

Tang Xiaoyu couldn't help but touch her face again and said, "I never thought that even my physical body would change. Master is indeed a true immortal on land, truly amazing!"

"Anyway, now that my junior sister is alright, how about we have hot pot together tonight?"

Murong Ruyan quickly remembered her important matter—she had been entrusted by her two junior brothers to invite Tang Xiaoyu to have hot pot together!
The way of eating "hot pot" was invented by our master in the past. Before the Immortal Gathering, when there weren't many people on the mountain, everyone often got together to eat hot pot.

Each time, the broth for the spicy hot pot was provided by the chef, and Murong Ruyan found the taste quite similar to the boiled fish she had occasionally eaten before. The mushroom broth, on the other hand, was made by everyone themselves, using wild mushrooms picked from the mountains, which were then cooked together to create a fresh and delicious soup base.

At that time, about ten people sat around two low tables in the courtyard of the thatched hut. The vegetables were from the farmland and some wild vegetables dug from the mountains. The meat was mutton that the master had frozen solid with ice magic and sliced ​​off piece by piece. Later, the eldest brother learned this method and often did it with his Night Talk Sword. Every time the master watched, he would want to say something but then stop himself.

Unfortunately, the eldest brother wasn't here, and it was too embarrassing to ask the master to slice the mutton. So, the fifth brother, who had never eaten hot pot before, followed the third brother's instructions and used a woodworking knife to slice it. Although it was much thinner and more even than what the master and the eldest brother sliced, it still didn't taste quite right...

Gathering together for hot pot was a "team building activity" that everyone hadn't done in a long time. Originally, Murong Ruyan just wanted to invite a small group of direct disciples from the sect to eat together. Unexpectedly, after being polite to her master, she received the order to "hold a hot pot festival for the Baishi Immortal Sect"!

Eating hot pot can be considered a holiday? Are you kidding me?!

(End of this chapter)