Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

"Why……"

crunch--

Zhang Ruoxue silently pushed open the door.

However, Zhang Ruoxue was not showing her alluring, snow-white body as the uncle and Zhang Xiaohan had imagined. Instead, she was dressed in Yunping's specially made Taoist robe—a black and white sailor uniform.

"Because I've already finished soaking."

With an expression of utter nonchalance, Zhang Ruoxue looked at the uncle, whose face was etched with surprise, with a hint of doubt.

No, no, no... this isn't right!

The middle-aged man blinked blankly, because the situation before him was slightly different from what he had imagined.

No—it's not just a little different, it's completely different!

"I remember I told you to soak until all your meridians expanded, your body felt warm against the current, and the water was one-third full and black before you could come out, right? Didn't you come out too early?!"

Faced with the uncle's stern questioning, Zhang Ruoxue was a little confused for a moment.

She scratched her head, pointing somewhat troubledly to the enormous bathtub in the room, and said, "I really did do as you said, Uncle... I shouldn't have come out too early, right?"

"You're joking, how could you..."

What she was about to say was immediately cut off by the uncle.

If you ask why—

The dark water in the bathtub looked as if it had been soaked in something filthy, and its depth was indeed about one-third of what it had been before.

That should be right...

But the time issue is a huge problem!

"let me see!"

Before Zhang Ruoxue could react, the uncle's seemingly restless hands began to pinch Zhang Ruoxue's shoulders, pressing and stroking them while slowly moving up her slender arms.

This action, which was tantamount to sexual harassment, made Zhang Ruoxue's face turn cold, and she almost couldn't help but kick her boss.

However, what her boss said next made her temporarily abandon this idea—

"Your meridians are expanding... your blood and qi are surging... the tendons all over your body don't look like the results someone who's just started training..."

He squatted down, grabbed Zhang Ruoxue's white thigh, and began to masturbate with a serious expression.

This action angered Zhang Xiaohan so much that she shouted.

"Woof! (You old bastard, don't take this opportunity to harass people!)"

"Quiet down." The middle-aged man glanced at Zhang Xiaohan, who was climbing up the stairs, his expression solemn. "Her health is a bit..."

Not quite right.

This wasn't the first time the uncle had seen someone else train their body. In fact, Xu Yanliu had trained her body before, and he, as her father, had supervised that training session.

However, Xu Yanliu, who already had a considerable foundation in martial arts, spent two full days absorbing the medicinal bath to expel residual toxins and waste from her body during her first body tempering session.

Yes, two days.

How long has Zhang Ruoxue been in the news?

To put it bluntly, it takes an hour.

This is no longer a matter of talent; Zhang Ruoxue definitely has a physical problem.

In fact, the problem is huge.

"You really haven't exercised before?"

After touching Zhang Ruoxue's thigh, he didn't continue like a hooligan. Instead, he stood up and stared at Zhang Ruoxue carefully.

Body forging?

Zhang Ruoxue wrinkled her nose, puzzled, and said, "I don't think so. I don't remember ever taking such a comfortable medicinal bath."

"Comfortable?"

Upon hearing those two words, the uncle almost thought he had a hearing problem.

"Wait, wait, say it again, you think this medicinal bath... is quite comfortable?"

“Yes,” Zhang Ruoxue thought the man seemed a bit strange, “but it’s quite comfortable.”

"Are you fucking insane?"

—He cursed out loud.

It's no wonder the uncle thought that way.

Because he still remembers that during those three days in the Duan Ti hospital, his daughter, Xu Yanliu, was in pain almost every second.

The process of body tempering involves forcibly removing parts of the physical body that are unsuitable for the flow of spiritual energy, and then using a medicinal bath as a guide to irrigate the meridians and other parts most suitable for the flow of spiritual energy. This process of refining and removing countless times is the first stage of body tempering, and also the most painful stage.

Unlike other physiques, the cultivation of a mortal body is the most difficult and painful. Logically speaking, very few people can endure the first body tempering, let alone cultivate a mortal body to its peak.

Historically, there are only a handful of people who have been able to temper their mortal bodies to the limit, including the Martial Emperor Gu Tianren, who founded the martial arts.

To be honest, in all his years, this was the first time he had ever heard someone say that physical exercise was very comfortable.

Is this girl not a masochist?

"What's wrong, sir... what did I do wrong?"

Seeing the uncle's bewildered expression, Zhang Ruoxue became unusually cautious.

Her current cultivation is entirely dependent on this uncle; if something were to happen to her, she might never be able to catch up with Yu Chan and the others in this lifetime…

She never intended to be someone who held others back.

At the very least, we can't let our own teachers down.

“No, I didn’t do anything wrong…” The uncle shook his head and stared helplessly at Zhang Ruoxue: “Your body is very strange. You have never experienced body tempering, but your body seems to have undergone countless destructions and reconstructions. Although this has caused you to lose some of your original qualities, it has also made your physique more pure.”

"That might be why you find this medicinal bath so comfortable..."

"Destruction and...reconstruction..."

Almost subconsciously, Zhang Ruoxue thought of her battle with Fang Yan at the Ten Thousand Sects Competition.

At that time, although it didn't sound true, Zhang Ruoxue did feel that her body seemed to undergo some indescribable change at a certain moment...

This kind of change seems to have occurred at other times as well.

—Like when practicing Wing Chun…

"Is this... a good thing?"

Zhang Ruoxue asked somewhat uncertainly.

"At present, it is indeed a good thing, after all, a body like yours that is almost purely physical is not something you can see everywhere."

"but--"

The man paused suddenly, a solemn expression gradually spreading across his face.

"While this method of destruction and reconstruction can make your body purer, it also places a heavier burden on it. It doesn't seem to be a problem now, but what if you experience another major physical trauma in the future..."

"Your physical body will likely shatter completely; after all, the physical body shatters far too many times—"

"It might be impossible to piece it back together."

……

Zhang Ruoxue nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

In fact, even if she understood, she might not remember it when the time came.

After all, she is Zhang Ruoxue, not some cunning old rogue.

She quickly put the matter out of her mind and looked at the uncle with excitement: "So what are we going to do now? I feel like I have all the energy in my body!"

"You're bursting with energy, but have nowhere to use it, huh?"

"Mmm!" Zhang Ruoxue nodded excitedly.

The uncle grinned and said, "Then let's go gather herbs. It'll be a good opportunity to use your hard-earned energy and help me expand my medicine storehouse."

"Is it for the medicine to strengthen the body next?"

"Yes, I'll give you the list later, you can go find them one by one."

"I understand!"

Full of energy, Zhang Ruoxue accepted the task of collecting herbs without the slightest hesitation.

The middle-aged man continued to lean against the wall, smiling as he looked at Zhang Ruoxue.

—This girl is really useful…

66. Problems then followed one after another.

"And then you came looking for me?"

Inside the Fragrant Pavilion.

In the distance, graceful figures were dancing to lively music, captivating the senses. Despite Xiao Chunjie's outburst, Piaoxiang Pavilion did not immediately descend into chaos. On the contrary, the guests and the women there acted as if nothing had happened.

As always, the guests drank, embraced the beauties, and watched the dance, while the maidservant, as always, drank with them and whispered sweet nothings in the ear of her old lover.

Xu Yanliu crossed her slender legs. Perhaps because she had drunk a little wine, her clothes looked a bit disheveled, revealing her delicate pink shoulders. Her long dress slipped down, revealing a hint of her exaggeratedly full breasts.

Xu Yanliu herself didn't care about this at all. Instead, she held a pale yellow piece of paper in annoyance, stared at the words on it, and frowned.

She slammed the paper covered with the names of herbs on the table, then turned to Zhang Ruoxue, who was carrying a dog, and asked, "Did that old man make you pick all of these?"

Ruoxue nodded.

"Tsk." Xu Yanliu curled her lip in disdain, her mouth drooping as she muttered, "That old geezer really treats you like a laborer. The demand for every kind of herb has almost doubled. He's a real rip-off..."

"It doubled?!" Zhang Ruoxue exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"

"Why would I lie to you for no reason?" Xu Yanliu impatiently tapped the herbal medicine list on the table with her fingers, and couldn't help but think of her old man's shameless scoundrel appearance: "That old man is used to being black-hearted. Otherwise, why do you think no one comes to our pharmacy? Most of them are driven away by his black-hearted nature."

Xu Yanliu picked up the white jade wine pot and then took out a small, exquisitely carved plate that looked like a work of art, and handed it to Zhang Ruoxue.