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

On the way back to Yujing Pavilion, Chu Xianlan asked Hua Ling and Xue Ling, "Will lending me your spiritual power have any negative effects on you?"

"No way," Hua Ling said, a snack she'd gotten from Master Zhiyue dangling from her mouth. "The body of a spirit of heaven and earth is like a container. As long as the surrounding spiritual energy is abundant, a continuous stream of spiritual energy from heaven and earth will enter our bodies. But the container is ultimately limited in size, and we can neither absorb nor exhale excess spiritual energy."

She licked the crumbs off her fingertips and continued, "So, we naturally use all sorts of methods to consume spiritual energy, like those flower sea illusions I created before, uh, and this thing, it's snowing all day long," the flower spirit pointed at the snow spirit, "These are all ways to consume spiritual energy, otherwise it would be so uncomfortable to hold it in."

Chu Xianlan asked, "But didn't you say you were very weak? Even your roots were burned off."

Hua Ling was shocked upon hearing this!

I almost spat out the pastry, and cold sweat slowly broke out on my forehead.

Oh no, I let it slip!

The high-level materials she tricked from Pei Fang'an were so nourishing that she completely forgot she was still portraying herself as a sickly person and was relying on the eight-character mantra of "spiritual power exhausted, about to die" to freeload off Chu Xianlan!

A spiritual crisis!

Hua Ling's eyes darted around in a panic, the snack in her hand suddenly lost its appeal, and her small body slowly floated to the ground.

He clutched his chest, his breath coming in barely a whisper.

"Oh dear... I've been talking too much, it's really tiring... I'm suddenly feeling unwell..."

Xue Ling sat quietly on Chu Xianlan's shoulder, watching her performance, when she suddenly whispered, "She got it from Uncle Pei..."

"Aaaaaahh ...

Before she could finish speaking, Hua Ling suddenly sat up in a fright, grabbed Xue Ling's arm, and in the blink of an eye, she quickly slipped away a long distance.

The two noisy little creatures ran away, and all was quiet except for the master and apprentice.

As the moonlight shone down, the white pear trees along the road stood quietly in the twilight, a layer of snow clinging to their branches, while the silhouette of the Jade Capital Pavilion appeared and disappeared in the night in the distance.

Chu Xianlan had walked this road countless times; he could reach the end with his eyes closed. He stood with his hands behind his back, his tone light and cheerful as he spoke:

"Master, it turns out my spiritual root is not flawed."

The last syllable of his voice held a hint of laughter, like a spring finally welling up from beneath the ice, overflowing the frozen soil of his heart.

The boy turned his head to the side, the moonlight reflecting off the tip of his nose, his bright and intelligent eyebrows curving into a beautiful arc, the small mole under his eyebrows trembling slightly, his beautiful eyes seeming to contain shattered stars, shimmering with a faint light.

After the long-standing knot in my heart was untied, all I felt was a sense of relief and ease.

It was an extremely clear smile that left Yi Chen momentarily stunned.

He remembered that Chu Xianlan wasn't this cheerful when he was young. He was very stubborn, and even though he was just a child, he always tried to act mature and dignified.

Before Yi Chen even knew how to be a master, he took on the responsibility of a fragile life.

He had thought it would be a very troublesome matter, but in reality, Chu Xianlan didn't cause him much worry.

At only seven years old, he was able to take good care of himself in his daily life. He never asked for help with things he could handle on his own, and he was surprisingly independent.

The same applies to spiritual practice and sword training.

Bamboo swords are the lightest, wooden swords are moderately light, and iron swords are acceptable. Most beginner disciples use swords without spiritual power as practice swords, imitating the moves in the sword manual.

Chu Xianlan learned very quickly, her talent was so good that even Yi Chen was a little surprised. In less than half a year, she mastered a set of basic sword techniques and even Pei Fang'an, who occasionally came to visit, praised her repeatedly, saying that this child was really good.

When Chu Xianlan had been at Yujing Pavilion for a full year, the master and disciple still rarely communicated. One day, Yi Chen found him a lightweight metal spirit sword.

"Thank you, Master." The young boy swallowed, his eyes filled with surprise and joy. This was his first spirit sword.

Chu Xianlan gripped the sword hilt tightly, imitating her master's manner, and tried to infuse the metal elemental energy within her body into the sword.

The spirit sword was obtained, but its light dimmed.

Chu Xianlan was stunned.

He tried again, but there was still no response. He tried a thousand times, but the result was the same. Even the finest spirit sword was useless in his hands; it was just a lump of scrap metal.

No, it's not just the sword.

He later tried knives, guns, daggers, and all weapons that required spiritual power to operate, but none of them worked; they could not be awakened by his spiritual power.

He was a disciple of a sword cultivator, yet he could not wield a sword.

That was the first time Chu Xianlan showed his breakdown in front of Yi Chen. He was in a very bad state at the time. When he came to his senses, he had already smashed all his weapons on the ground, his whole body was trembling, and tears were falling like a broken string. He said in a sob, "Master, I'm sorry."

The moment those words left his lips, it seemed as if he had shattered the mask of the "perfect disciple" that he had painstakingly maintained for so long.

Chu Xianlan felt that someone as useless as him would never be noticed by Immortal Lord Jixue, and he was bound to be expelled from Jade Capital Pavilion.

The child was crying his eyes out, and Yi Chen stood frozen in place. He knew what he should say, whether to offer words of advice like a master or to comfort him like a master, but he was not yet good at playing the role of a master, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Yi Chen picked up the scattered weapons one by one and gathered them aside.

Then, he reached out and touched the boy's wet cheeks, carefully wiping them for him, first with his fingers, then with the back of his hand, and finally with his own sleeve.

"Don't rush," Yi Chen addressed himself as "Master" for the first time, "If you can't master the way of the sword, I will find another method for you."

"Waaah... Waaah, Master..." Little Chu Xianlan hugged him tightly, unable to hold back her sobs as she nestled in his neck. Her hot tears soaked his clothes and clung to Yi Chen's skin, feeling cool and wet.

Now, the young man is a fine and promising talent, in the prime of his life.

Chu Xianlan grew into a person loved by everyone, and those around him called him senior brother, fellow Daoist, and good friend. He had the pure admiration of his fellow disciples, the equal appreciation of his comrades, and the unreserved trust of his close friends.

Yi Chen realized that his disciple had long since broken free from his protection, his wings had grown stronger, and the world he saw was no longer the world of Yujing Pavilion.

But why break away?

He heard a voice inside his head asking him a question.

"Master, Master?" Chu Xianlan stopped and tilted her head. "Did you hear me?"

The sound seemed to come from a very far place, and Yi Chen instantly came back to his senses.

He stopped and nodded slightly.

"This disciple is preparing to go into seclusion in the Mirror Spirit Realm tonight to try out the application of these two new spiritual powers, striking while the iron is hot." Chu Xianlan did not notice her master's momentary lapse in concentration just now. Her eyes were bright, and her tone was filled with eager excitement.

The Mirror Spirit Realm is a secluded secret realm within the Taiyi Sect, where different levels of demonic beast phantoms are automatically generated. Disciples usually practice their skills here.

Yi Chen said, "Okay."

Chu Xianlan nodded, then reached into her sleeve and touched it, her movements seeming a little hesitant.

"This trip will probably take more than half a month." He bit his lip, leaving a faint tooth mark. "Before I leave, I want to... give Master something first."

The boy held the glass box in both hands and solemnly handed it to Yi Chen.

"This is a magical artifact that I made myself. Would you be willing to accept it?"

Snowflakes fall like pear blossoms in the evening glow, and the lights are dim and hazy.

Fine snowflakes fell on the boy's dark hair, but Chu Xianlan himself didn't notice. Because he was so nervous, a faint blush gradually rose on his cheeks.

Yi Chen stared at this scene, completely stunned.