Chapter 244: A Polite Refusal

Chapter 244: A Polite Refusal

After a thorough discussion, the situation became clear.

The Holy Land of Jade Pool had already gathered four types of mutated single spiritual roots, with only the Profound Water Root missing.

Single spiritual root cultivators were already incredibly rare, and those with a mutated single spiritual root were even scarcer. While there was a slight possibility of more than one appearing at the same time, as far as anyone knew, the only known cultivator who had awakened a Profound Water Root upon reaching the Golden Core stage was Li Qingran.

That meant the Holy Land had only two options—either capture Li Qingran or wait for another Profound Water Root cultivator to emerge.

For now, this meant that Yue Qianchi was safe, at least in the short term.

“This damn Holy Land of Jade Pool…” Chen Huaian frowned deeply. “They must have some secret method for pinpointing cultivators with special talents. That means finding Li Qingran is just a matter of time.”

Since this involved Li Qingran’s safety, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

Keeping her hidden inside the small world would prevent the Holy Land from finding her, but what was the difference between that and a caged bird?

As a responsible master, he couldn’t just lock his disciple away. His duty wasn’t to imprison her but to ensure she had the ability to protect herself. Or, at the very least, he needed to find some artifact that could disguise her Profound Water Root.

“Heavenly Fate Calculation! Keeping her hidden in a small world is too rigid. Is there a more flexible, convenient solution?”

The Cangyun Realm was in turmoil.

【Heavenly Fate Calculation Complete.】

【Yes, there is.】

【Please increase Li Qingran’s cultivation realm. Upon reaching the mid-Golden Core stage, she will receive a Supreme Battle Order Blind Box, which has a chance of containing an item that can disguise her Profound Water Root as an ordinary Water Root. If the player is unsure, an additional 50 million ¥ can be spent for a targeted draw!】

“…50 million for a guaranteed pull? That’s some serious daylight robbery!”

Chen Huaian’s face turned green.

He had thought that with 1 billion in funds, he could finally spend freely and even relax for a while.

But after the small secret realm expedition, his expenses had skyrocketed.

The elders and disciples of the Sword Pavilion had all returned to their respective cultivation abodes, and the three direct disciples were gravely injured, taken back by their elders for healing.

As for restoring their talents… that was a problem for another day.

Neither Su Qinian nor the other elders had asked anything of him.

After all, their Dantians had been shattered, their spiritual roots stripped, and their Dao bodies destroyed.

Recovering from such devastation was nearly impossible.

Just the

Primordial Heaven-Mending Pill

required to restore a Dantian was already something he had no leads on.

The elders remained silent—not because they didn’t want to burden Chen Huaian, but because they didn’t want to pressure him.

Chen Huaian, on the other hand, also kept quiet—not because he lacked the funds, but because he had already made up his mind.

He wasn’t the type to make empty promises.

He would only bring up a solution when he had one.

Watching Chen Huaian muttering to himself by the cliffside, Mo Shumei shivered.

“Does your master always talk to himself like this?” She rubbed her arms. “They say the stronger a cultivator is, the weirder their personality gets… Is he hiding some strange habit or something?”

“Master is comprehending the Dao,” Li Qingran declared seriously, hands on her hips.

“It’s like a chess player strategizing against an imaginary opponent. It may seem like he’s talking to himself, but in reality, he’s engaging in a profound discussion with another version of himself about the Grand Dao!”

“…That’s a bit much, don’t you think?!”

“Of course! My master is incredible!”

Mo Shumei had never had a master.

Before practicing demonic arts, she had cultivated her family’s techniques.

After turning to demonic cultivation, she had learned everything haphazardly from the

Great Lamentation Sutra

, taking a wild, unstructured approach.

Whenever she hit a bottleneck, she’d ask the demonic blade for guidance. And since the blade was a notorious liar, she learned to do the opposite of whatever it suggested. That method usually worked.

She had never known what it was like to have a master.

—

“This matter settled, I must leave temporarily.”

With a flash, Chen Huaian appeared before Li Qingran, retrieving an icy-cold “chicken tendon” from his player inventory.

“This is the

Profound Yin Sword Bone

, a treasure I happened to acquire. Since you have yet to condense your sword bone, why not use this?”

Li Qingran blinked in confusion as she accepted the

Profound Yin Sword Bone

.

She could immediately sense its perfect compatibility with her

Profound Water Root

and

Taiyin Dao Body

.

A sword bone—an ultimate manifestation of a sword cultivator’s comprehension of sword intent.

The Pavilion Master and the four elders of the Sword Pavilion all possessed sword bones.

With such an advantage, they were guaranteed to reach the Unity stage in the future.

A sword bone signified a deeper understanding of the sword than most Nascent Soul cultivators, making them far more powerful than ordinary practitioners of the same realm.

【Hiss—! Just what kind of godly existence is this Sword Pavilion Ancestor?! He’s casually handing out sword bones?! This is insane!】

Soul Abyss’s voice rang out in Mo Shumei’s mind.

“…What? Is this thing that impressive?”

【Of course it is!】

Soul Abyss scoffed.

【Listen, if you could condense a blade bone or a blade heart from your blade intent, you wouldn’t even need to cultivate the

Great Lamentation Sutra

to suppress me effortlessly! And yet, this Sword Pavilion Ancestor not only extracted a sword bone but is actually gifting it to his disciple?! Absolutely terrifying!】

—

“Master, I cannot accept this sword bone.”

After a moment of hesitation, Li Qingran respectfully held the “chicken tendon” with both hands and returned it to Chen Huaian.

“Why?”

Chen Huaian paused, deliberately adopting a displeased tone.

“Did I not tell you that you are never to refuse a gift from me?”

“I do not dare disobey Master’s commands.”

Li Qingran bit her lip, lowered herself into a deep bow, and then lifted her gaze, eyes filled with unwavering determination.

“But in matters of cultivation, Master has already given me so much—helping me decipher techniques and providing countless resources.

“But a sword bone is different from a spiritual root or a Dantian. It is the embodiment of a cultivator’s understanding of their own Dao… I wish to forge my own path and condense my own sword bone.”

She bowed again, lowering herself even further, and did not rise.

She knew she might never catch up to her master’s swordsmanship in her lifetime.

But if she simply followed his footsteps, she would forever be the little girl hiding behind him, relying on his protection.

Being protected felt nice.

But that wasn’t what she wanted.

She wanted to walk her own path.

To one day stand beside her master as his equal.

And perhaps—even if the odds were laughably small—one day, she might be able to protect him instead.

—

HUM—!

A pure aura erupted from the top of Li Qingran’s head.

Three ethereal flowers bloomed in succession.

The five energies within her consciousness coalesced and spread throughout her limbs and bones.

At that moment, her already resilient meridians glowed as if coated in golden glass.

Her Dantian, previously unstable after her Golden Core breakthrough, expanded significantly, stabilizing her cultivation realm in an instant.

—

【Three Flowers Atop the Crown! Five Energies Converging to the Origin! Epiphany… Her Dao Heart is crystal clear!】

—

In Mo Shumei’s mind, Soul Abyss let out a twisted, envious wail.

【WHY?! Why wasn’t it her who picked me up back then?!】

The demonic cultivator’s lips twitched.

Then, without hesitation, she grabbed Soul Abyss and stomped on it.

—

Chen Huaian silently observed the girl before him, her figure subtly emanating Dao resonance.

For the first time, a twinge of guilt surfaced in his heart.

Had he been too focused on pushing what he thought was best onto her?

He had never stopped to consider what

she

truly wanted.

She wasn’t some lifeless doll for him to dress up.

Nor was she a paper-cutout waifu to be controlled.

She was Li Qingran.

A living, breathing girl of the Cangyun Realm.

Unique.

With a soul of her own.

—

“…Alright.”

Chen Huaian withdrew the

Profound Yin Sword Bone

.

Under the girl’s careful gaze, he reached out and gently ruffled her hair.

Neither of them noticed—

That this time, the hand he used was not an avatar.

For the first time, they could truly feel each other’s presence.

—

“Master… you’re not mad at me?”

Li Qingran looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“I’m not mad.”

“You won’t kick me out?”

“I won’t.”

“Hehe~ Master is the best.”