When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Hua Ling: "..."

Yan Ling: "..."

The two spirits of heaven and earth looked constipated, but Chu Xianlan didn't show any strange expression and said matter-of-factly, "Is there a problem with that?"

This is a huge problem!

Yan Ling's lips twitched for a long time. She was tired of saying the word "speechless," so she simply closed her eyes and pretended to be dead.

You and your master must be seriously ill.

"Heh." Hua Ling chuckled inexplicably, her tone sarcastic. "Alright then, since there are no problems, I suggest you continue following your master like this~"

"and then?"

"After chasing after it for a while, we'll pick an auspicious day to get things done."

"...What for?"

"It's a happy occasion!"

These words were hardly polite, and Chu Xianlan almost choked, completely bewildered. "Can you be serious for once?! A master is a master... a master and disciple cannot..." hold a wedding!

"They're very serious, they just get it done!" Hua Ling shook her head with a smile. "What Xue Ling'er just said, all that talk about never abandoning each other and treating each other sincerely, you don't think that's common between ordinary master and disciple, do you?"

Chu Xianlan was speechless.

Is it...uncommon?

He's always been like this.

"If you've gone to this much for Yichen, what's so strange about him liking you and having feelings for you?"

Hua Ling stroked her chin. "Speaking of which, Yi Chen has been smitten with you for a long time, hasn't he? Even after becoming a half-demon, he only clung to you. Cough cough, didn't you really notice? You and him don't... like each other, do you?"

Xue Ling nodded obediently.

Ahhh, even the spirits of heaven and earth say so, Master... he... he likes...

In just a few hours, Chu Xianlan was repeatedly struck by the explosive impact of her inner turmoil.

It's not the kind of affection that comes from a master and disciple relationship; it's... the kind of affection that involves romantic love, a genuine... liking...

It's incredible that a celestial being, who was thought to be immune to worldly love and affection, would suddenly develop such feelings for him.

Chu Xianlan paused, involuntarily recalling certain unspeakable intimate scenes, her face flushed, and her breathing became short and rapid.

"Oh my, why is your face so red? What are you thinking about?" Hua Ling asked cheekily.

"..." Chu Xianlan's heart trembled, but she avoided Hua Ling's teasing gaze.

Hua Ling wanted to say something more, but with a creak, the bamboo house door opened again.

Yi Chen stepped into the room, his face expressionless.

The three spirits immediately shut their mouths.

A moment of silence.

Chu Xianlan was a little apprehensive.

We are all cultivators, and we didn't set up any soundproofing spells during our conversation... Could it be that our master heard everything?

He hesitated, thinking it over, and then stole another glance at his master, intending to just take a quick look, but—

They got caught red-handed!

Yi Chen did not avoid his gaze, staring intently at his disciple with deep eyes.

Chu Xianlan quickly turned her head away, wishing she could gouge out her own eyes and tell him not to look at her like that!

Even though the boy tried to cover it up by turning his head away, a gaze never left him, falling on him as if it were a tangible thing, with an extremely strong presence.

Chu Xianlan buried his head and acted like a coward to the very end, his heart pounding like a drum. He vaguely heard his master sigh softly, or perhaps not.

Soon after, the witch doctor returned with two apprentices.

The room was dimly lit, and the aroma of burning herbs filled the air, making one feel somewhat dazed.

The shaman half-closed his eyes, his fingertips forming a jade-green magic seal, while the apprentice serving beside him handed him an ancient and sharp dagger.

The witch doctor took the sharp blade and looked at the two of them:

"Gentlemen, to draw out the Gu, a cut must be made on the wrist. Who wants to go first?"

Chu Xianlan quickly offered her hand.

"I'll go first," Yi Chen said.

The witch doctor looked up. After all, they were teachers, and she could sense that Yi Chen was calm but still wary of her.

He didn't want Chu Xianlan to bear any unknown consequences, and even for such a small matter, he instinctively stood in front of his disciple.

Clearly, this has been a long-standing habit.

The witch doctor's eyes dimmed. If she had been able to protect her disciple, Qiao Yu might not have met such a tragic end.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

As the Gu worms were gradually drawn out, Chu Xianlan's heart finally settled down. "Squeak—squeak—!"

The blood-stained worms were placed in a transparent container, their slender bodies writhing at the bottom of the bottle, two of them intertwined and emitting a piercing scream.

"How disgusting!" Hua Ling stuck out her tongue; she hated bugs the most.

Chu Xianlan stared blankly at the Gu worm.

Unexpected.

The culprit that had troubled them for so long, forcing him and his master to engage in dual cultivation, was these two tiny, wretched insects.

He wondered if things would have turned out differently between him and his master if it weren't for the Life-Binding Gu.

In the past, Chu Xianlan cherished this teacher-student relationship, like a child stubbornly guarding a treasure, carefully holding onto this relationship, obeying everything, hoping that everything would remain the same and unchanging, for fear that something might go wrong, for fear that one day she would wake up and have nothing left.

When this relationship completely changes, it collapses entirely.

Chu Xianlan then realized that she wasn't as... scared as she had imagined?

Hmm? Why?

The witch doctor handed the poisonous insects to the boy, and the bloody smell in the room gradually dissipated.

After that, the witch doctor took their pulses again. Chu Xianlan let her examine her. Wood-type spiritual energy surged into her body. She didn't feel anything special; it was quite comfortable.

But the witch doctor's expression grew increasingly strange.

Finally, the witch doctor frowned slightly, his face pale, and said with a hint of regret, "You... how could you have suffered such a serious injury?"

"Me?" Chu Xianlan was taken aback. "Senior, I don't think I've ever been seriously injured."

Yi Chen raised his eyes.

Looking at the master and apprentice, the witch doctor's expression changed repeatedly. Her fingertips touched Chu Xianlan's wrist again. She almost questioned her own medical skills and judgment. How could this be...?

"Your spiritual roots were destroyed long ago, so how were you still able to... cultivate to the late Golden Core stage?"

She had practiced medicine in Peach Blossom Spring for many years and had witnessed too many shocking injuries, making her extremely sensitive to this situation.

Because the fleeing half-demons were often covered in wounds, with broken meridians, shattered dantian, and some even had their cultivation destroyed and their spiritual power dissipated, she had certainly seen them too... with their spiritual roots destroyed.

His spiritual root was destroyed, but his cultivation remained.

How is that possible?

Chu Xianlan was startled, then realized what she meant. "Huh? Is there some mistake? My spiritual root has been flawed since childhood, which is why it's somewhat special... Is that why you've misunderstood?"

The witch doctor slowly shook his head.

"No." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Young Fellow Daoist Chu, you don't have any spiritual roots in your body at all."

Spiritual root is the foundation for cultivators to draw qi into their bodies.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is vast, but not everyone can use it. Only those with spiritual roots can draw spiritual energy into their bodies, transform it into their own power, and thus embark on the path of cultivation—this is a universally acknowledged fact in the entire cultivation world.

Whether a cultivator possesses spiritual roots can be discerned even in childhood.

"But before this, other medical practitioners diagnosed my condition, and they never said anything similar," Chu Xianlan said softly, touching her dantian.

After all, due to his flawed spiritual root, he had been tormented by the medical practitioners of Baicaotang since childhood.

"That's because you're treating him in the wrong direction," the witch doctor said thoughtfully. "How could a cultivator without spiritual roots have a problem like 'spiritual root deficiency'?"

"Impossible," Yi Chen said in a deep voice upon hearing this.

He knew Chu Xianlan's situation better than anyone else. When he first came to Yujing Pavilion, it was clearly determined that she had a single-elemental metal spiritual root.

The witch doctor shook his head, his light-colored eyes seeing through the illusion to everything. "The wood, water, fire, and... metal spiritual power in his body must have been borrowed from the spirits of heaven and earth."

"Those cannot be considered true spiritual roots."

In an instant, Chu Xianlan felt a chill run down her spine.

My back was soaked with cold sweat.

Suddenly, it felt as if a thousand tiny needles were piercing my head at the same time, causing unbearable pain.

"Ah..." Chu Xianlan held her head, the scene before her eyes shaking violently.

"Holding an orchid in one's hand!"

"Hey, what's wrong with him all of a sudden!"

The screams of Hua Ling and Yan Ling were faint and distant.

In her hazy consciousness, Chu Xianlan lost control of her body and fell backward, landing in a familiar embrace.