Senior Brother, I am Junior Sister

He casually pulled over a cushion to sit on and gestured for Pan Yun to sit down as well.

It was then, in the morning mist, that he explained to her what they were practicing. "Primordial energy, there's primordial energy between heaven and earth, and there's primordial energy within the human body. Cultivating the Dao, cultivating the body, cultivating the spirit—besides drawing upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth and the essence derived from food, one should also refine the primordial energy within one's own body.

Each set of cultivation techniques refines energy differently, and the Kun Yuan Gong is particularly demanding. In the latter half of the form, you must combine the absorbed primordial energy of heaven and earth with your internal primordial energy. After circulating it through the Heavenly Cycle, it is stored in the Dantian and completely transformed into Qi within your Dantian. Because this Qi contains your own refined primordial energy, you have greater control over it.

Then, you guide the Qi from your Dantian to circulate throughout your body, practicing the Circulation Cultivation. This not only strengthens your meridians but also uses it to fortify your internal organs."

Wang Fei Yin sighed, "This set of cultivation techniques not only cultivates the meridians internally but also strengthens the body externally. When you achieve great success in the future, your body will be like a bronze wall and an iron fortress, unified inside and out. It will take great effort to kill you. Cough, cough, of course, we cultivators are benevolent beings and generally do not engage in such lawless acts."

Pan Yun pondered, committing his words to memory one by one.

Seeing her listening intently, Wang Fei Yin smiled slightly and elaborated further, "However, the set of cultivation techniques you are currently practicing does not combine internal and external primordial energy. The path of the latter half of the technique has also changed, causing much of the energy you absorb to dissipate before it reaches your Dantian.

Some of this energy scatters throughout your limbs and body, while some escapes outwards. Although the energy scattered throughout your limbs and body can nourish and strengthen your physique to a certain extent, it is far less effective than the orderly nourishment and training you would achieve by summoning your refined Qi."

Pan Yun understood. The biggest problems with her current cultivation technique were its low utilization rate and insufficient internal training.

Wang Fei Yin looked at her and said, "I see you've made some progress in your cultivation, but your physique is underdeveloped, and your internal organs are weak, even slightly weaker than a normal person's. This is most likely due to the cultivation technique. Therefore, you should switch to this one as soon as possible and focus on strengthening your body before proceeding further."

Pan Yun felt a pang of injustice for her current cultivation technique. Her gaze flickered to the black cat squatting beside her, and she scoffed inwardly.

If it weren't for the Spirit Being, she could have strengthened her body even with just the dissipated spiritual energy, let alone after her cultivation had succeeded and her body had improved.

Pan Yun didn't explain. Instead, she accepted the half-volume of the cultivation technique and bowed respectfully, "Thank you, Daoist priest. Pan Yun will definitely practice diligently and correct the cultivation technique."

Wang Fei Yin stroked his beard and smiled, "Good, good. Come ask me again if you have any problems. This set of cultivation techniques is more difficult to practice than others and is quite potent. I could tell from the Qi you were inhaling and exhaling yesterday."

Pan Yun's initial movements were correct; this part involved attracting and absorbing Qi. However, after entering her body, only a small portion followed the correct meridians, and the subsequent techniques went astray.

The more Wang Fei Yin thought about it, the stranger it seemed. "Could it be that this child has been targeted by some unscrupulous evil cultivator who, knowing your talent, is using you to test a new technique?"

Otherwise, who would be so wicked as to tamper with only the latter half of the form?

Pan Yun opened her mouth, unable to speak. She suspected that too many ancient texts had been lost from her previous life, and perhaps only one or two moves remained. The predecessors had then devised ways to supplement the latter half. Although it wasn't ideal, at least everyone could practice it.

Alas, thinking of the predecessors in her previous life, they were quite pitiable. At that time, they had to fight wars, cope with sudden environmental changes, and deal with the sudden appearance of monsters and ghosts. Being able to supplement this half-form of cultivation was already quite good.

"Forget that old teacher of yours; I'll find you a new one," Wang Fei Yin said enthusiastically, "I have a second junior brother who is kind, gentle, and learned with great talent. Shall I accept you as his junior disciple on his behalf?"

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun immediately composed herself and sat up straight, saying with a solemn expression, "Senior Brother, I had a dream last night. I dreamt of Mountain God Pan Gong, and he wants to take me as his personal disciple."

Wang Fei Yin looked bewildered. "What?"

"It's true. Not only did I dream of Mountain God Pan Gong, but I also dreamt of Lingbao Tianzun. He also wanted to take me as his disciple. Unfortunately, he said his true form could not remain in the mortal realm for long, so he yielded me to Pan Gong, allowing Pan Gong to take me as his personal disciple."

Wang Fei Yin: ...

He opened and closed his mouth several times, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say, so he simply closed it.

Pan Yun looked at him with longing and called out, "Senior Brother?"

Wang Fei Yin wearily raised his hand. "Don't, don't call me Senior Brother. Give me a moment to think."

After thinking for a moment, he earnestly advised Pan Yun, "You are so young and of the same generation as Miao Zhen and Miao He. Wouldn't it be nice to have them as companions? And you have so many elders to care for you."

Pan Yun said with a serious expression, "Senior Brother, I am already eight years old. Because I was frail since childhood, I am particularly understanding. Among my siblings, we are especially fraternal. I will take good care of my two junior nieces, Miao Zhen and Miao He. I am grown now and do not need special care from Senior Brothers and Sisters. I will treat Senior Brothers and Sisters with the same fraternal respect as I treat my elder brothers at home."

Pan Yun nodded earnestly at Wang Fei Yin. "I am very understanding, Senior Brother, really!"

Your current request is quite unreasonable.

Seeing that he was reluctant, Pan Yun said, "Senior Brother, you don't believe I dreamt of Pan Gong?"

Wang Fei Yin merely smiled and remained silent.

Pan Yun then sighed, "I know it sounds bizarre, but it's true. Lingbao Tianzun likes me very much and even bestowed a divine ability upon me, serving as a witness for my Master and me."

Good heavens, in the span of a single sentence, she went from Pan Gong to Master?

Seeing her looking at him expectantly, Wang Fei Yin could only indulge her and asked proactively, "What divine ability did Lingbao Tianzun give you?"

Pan Yun immediately replied, "Language of All Things!"

"What?"

"It's the ability to communicate with all things. As long as it's a sentient being, whether it's livestock or plants, I can commune with it. Lingbao Tianzun said this divine ability is called the Language of All Things."

Wang Fei Yin was quite certain that Lingbao Tianzun did not possess such a divine ability. Even if he could communicate with all things, it wouldn't be called that.

This name was most likely something she came up with herself.

However, even if it wasn't a blessing from Lingbao Tianzun, the divine ability might still exist, so...

Wang Fei Yin stood up, half-believing, half-doubting, "Then let's go test your divine ability."

Pan Yun immediately stood up. "How do we test it? Senior Brother, how about we test it with my cat? I'll have it meow, and then I'll tell you what it's saying."

Wang Fei Yin nodded. "Alright, try it."

Pan Yun nudged the black cat with her toe, prompting it to get up from its lying position. "Say hello to Senior Brother."

"Meow—you idiot, he doesn't believe you at all."

Pan Yun smiled unchanged and translated for Wang Fei Yin, "It says it really likes Mount Sanqing and wants to stay on Mount Sanqing to cultivate the Dao. It likes Senior Brother the most because he radiates a harmonious aura."

Wang Fei Yin: "Just a few meows and it said all that?"

Pan Yun nodded. "Isn't that right? It talks a lot. Sometimes I even find it noisy."

Wang Fei Yin felt he couldn't follow her lead and proactively said, "Let's find some other animals."

However, their Sanqing Temple didn't even raise a chicken, making it impossible to find any animals. Wang Fei Yin led her towards the mountain peak. The terrain there was flatter, with dense trees, and beneath them lay relatively soft leaf litter and soil.

As they walked, Wang Fei Yin explained, "Mount Sanqing is mostly granite. The entire mountain is hard rock. Trees grow between the rocks, and over time, fallen leaves and soil accumulated. After thousands of years, this entire mountain became lush and green.

There are more plants up here, so birds and beasts often come here to forage."

Wang Fei Yin skillfully led her upward. In the grass, a pheasant, startled, flapped its wings and flew away. Wang Fei Yin caught it with one hand.

The pheasant squawked and clucked erratically.

Wang Fei Yin looked at Pan Yun with veiled anticipation.

Pan Yun: "...She's calling for her mom, 'Mom, help, help.'"

Wang Fei Yin was silent for a moment. He couldn't say she was wrong, so he let the pheasant go.

The pheasant, still clucking and cursing, flapped its wings and stumbled away.

Pan Yun: "She's cursing you, Senior Brother."

"You can skip translating that."

Pan Yun changed the subject, "Senior Brother, do you want to try other animals?"

"No need." Wang Fei Yin also realized that he didn't know if she could communicate with all things, because he couldn't.

At most, he could tell that last night her divine sense had attached itself to the black cat to eavesdrop.

But that was a human soul, so he could detect it. He wasn't very familiar with animals.

So, how could he be sure her translations were true?

The two stared at each other. Wang Fei Yin asked, "Do you really want to become Mountain God Pan Gong's disciple?"

Pan Yun nodded repeatedly, "Mainly, I want to be Senior Brother's Junior Sister."

"If you become Yin Song's disciple, I'll be your Martial Uncle, and I'll still raise you."

Pan Yun shook her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Wang Fei Yin, "Senior Brother, Master really accepted me as a disciple. If you don't believe me, ask Master in your dreams tonight."

How could a disciple be as close as a junior sister? There was a layer between them.

Wang Fei Yin: "Fine, then I'll accept you as my Master's fifth disciple on his behalf."

Pan Yun happily agreed and called out, "Senior Brother!"

Wang Fei Yin rubbed his temples and waved his hand, leading her back.

Smoke curled from the kitchen chimneys, and steam billowed. As soon as they entered the kitchen courtyard, the young man following Tao Ji had already set out the long table. He was holding a stack of bowls and chopsticks. Seeing the two, he greeted them enthusiastically, "Martial Uncle, Junior Sister, breakfast is ready."

The young man put down the bowls and chopsticks and cupped his fists. "Junior Sister, this Daoist priest Tao Yanbai is your Third Senior Brother."

Wang Fei Yin said, "Don't call her that. This is your Junior Martial Uncle."

"Huh?" The young man looked stunned.

Tao Ji, hearing this from the kitchen, rushed out holding a wooden spoon, his eyes wide with grief and indignation. "What? Senior Brother, what did you just say?"

Xuan Miao and others also came over from various places.

Wang Fei Yin said, "It's good you're all here. Now that everyone's present, let me formally introduce you. This is my fifth disciple, accepted on Master's behalf. She is your Junior Martial Uncle, Pan Yun. Third Brother, Fourth Brother, this is your Junior Sister. She's young, so you'll need to look after her in the future."

Tao Ji's lips trembled. "Senior Brother, I know her talent is good, but... there's no need to make her our Junior Sister, is there? You could have taken her as your disciple!"

Wang Fei Yin: "I'm not suited to be a teacher."