Teaching the Wrong Thing?

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Qin Yi slowly opened his eyes.

The sky had long since brightened. Faintly, he could hear the sounds of people in the Royal Palace walking about and going about their work, drifting over from afar, hazy and distant. It was like building a hut amid the human world, yet this room had become an immortal realm unto itself.

He had successfully taken the first step on the path of cultivation.

Though it was only the most basic wisp of Spiritual Energy, he knew that from this day onward, he was no longer the same.

With a beckoning gesture, the Wine Gourd bearing the Levitation Talisman flew into his hand as though tethered by an invisible cord. Before, when he used true qi to drive it, he could only barely make it work, letting it drift and bob; now that he used "magical power," it did not merely float—it shot forth like lightning.

"Object Manipulation is the most typical trait of magical power." Liusu's voice drifted over. "Before you reach a certain realm, magical power itself has no real power to harm others. Its uses lie in control: Object Manipulation, Artifact Manipulation, Control the Five Elements, Summon Wind and Rain, Attract Lightning. Its effect on strengthening your own body is rather ordinary. That is its greatest difference from your true qi, so do not think the two are more or less the same."

Sure enough, Liusu had known he would initially think the two were similar. Qin Yi grinned. "I do know the difference between a warrior and a mage."

"Warrior and mage..." Liusu savored the description twice, then understood. Slowly, it said, "Outwardly, that is indeed the case. But you must understand one thing... the foundation of cultivation is longevity. No matter how it manifests outwardly, it is merely a means of protecting oneself in pursuit of longevity. In other words, your martial path is also a means, and equally useful—whether it is true qi or staff techniques."

Qin Yi was taken aback. "So that was why you taught me martial arts before. I thought it was only a transitional measure. By what you're saying, I can keep learning it?"

"I recommend that you must keep learning it. At higher levels, you can follow the path of Martial Cultivation, focusing on the physical body and combat arts. That is itself a whole system of cultivation—otherwise, why would what you saw on Immortal Trace Mountain include wolf-tooth clubs rather than nothing but magical artifacts?"

"Right, right, that's great. Since I'm carrying you around, martial arts are what suit me best."

"What do you mean, carrying me around?!"

"Er... fine, fine. I'll enshrine you."

"Hmph. In any case, the Martial Cultivation system is rather lacking when it comes to longevity, but its combat power is extremely strong. If you cultivate both, you can enjoy the advantages of each." Liusu added, "Minghe cultivates immortal arts alone, the typical kind who values only the yang spirit and not the fleshly body. She may Summon Wind and Rain, yet if she carried a sword herself, she would wield it like she was embroidering flowers. Of course, that is not impossible either. Once cultivated to the utmost, she would still be invincible beneath the heavens. It is simply somewhat lopsided in my view. If her magical power were ever temporarily lost, even a vegetable-selling auntie on the street could straddle her and beat her up."

"..." That image was far too vivid. Wasn't that something you wanted to do yourself?

"Of course, a person's energy is limited. The path of cultivation is vast as a sea of mist; one may spend an entire lifetime without grasping even ten thousandths of it. Ordinary people truly lack the energy to cultivate both, and can only make choices. But you are different..." Liusu paused. "You were born to eat from this bowl. If even you dare not cultivate both, then no one can."

Qin Yi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Liusu..."

"Er? Hm???" Liusu was greatly startled. This seemed to be the first time Qin Yi had called it by name!

Qin Yi rose to his feet and bowed deeply before it. "Even among masters to whom one performs three kneelings and nine kowtows, few would teach as patiently and earnestly as you. Though Qin Yi has muddled through life, I still know gratitude. I swear here today that I will exhaust every ounce of my strength to help you forge a new body."

Liusu did not respond. Only after a long while did it say faintly, "Trying to use those words to block my thoughts of Body Seizing?"

Qin Yi clicked his tongue. "Enough, stop being tsundere."

"..."

"If you can forge a new body, why keep eyeing mine so hungrily..."

"Who's eyeing your body hungrily?!"

Qin Yi laughed, but then changed the subject. "If one day... someone like me truly cannot adapt to this world of great powers, and perhaps cannot even leave Southern Li... then you can take this body of mine."

Liusu fell silent.

Qin Yi walked to the doorway and looked toward Li Qinglin's residence in the distance. Judging by the sky, Chen Hour had already passed. In other words, he had spent seven or eight hours meditating, yet it had felt like only an instant.

Time raced by like this. The storms gathering over Southern Li would be decided in the blink of an eye. He wondered how well Li Qinglin had prepared.

The one who truly did not believe in great powers was Li Qinglin.

Or rather, he clearly knew they might exist, yet did not wish to believe in them.

Qin Yi, who possessed Liusu, sometimes actually felt a little sympathy for him. It was like watching Don Quixote charge at windmills.

In a daze, he also somewhat understood the lofty detachment Liusu and Minghe possessed. It truly was the distance of looking upon another species.

Minghe certainly would not converse so much with an ordinary mortal. It was not that she considered herself lofty, but that a frog in a well could not speak of the sea, nor a summer insect speak of ice—there was simply nothing to say. Why, then, was she willing to speak with him as an equal? It was only because he was "one who pursued the Dao." Regardless of his level of cultivation or status, there was no heaven-and-earth gulf between them in that dimension.

Yet deep in his heart, Qin Yi vaguely identified more with Li Qinglin—provided that what he had said over boiled wine that night had been sincere, rather than driven by selfish desire.

Because he was, in the end, still a mortal. Not yet an immortal.

He simply did not know whether, on the day his cultivation truly bore fruit, he would become like Minghe and Liusu.

Perhaps he would.

"Qin Yi, Qin Yi!" Li Qingjun came running over, lifting her skirts. Her long hair streamed behind her, and her face was full of the joy of seeing the one she loved. "You're up? I thought you and my brother had talked late into the night yesterday."

Qin Yi opened his arms, waiting for her to throw herself into them.

Honestly, seeing Li Qingjun really could make his mood brighten at once. The faint oppression and contemplation in his heart vanished beyond the clouds in an instant.

Li Qingjun stopped short before him and tilted her head. "Don't get any funny ideas. Hurry up and tell me—what shameless thing did you two conspire to do last night?"

"Drug you, of course." Qin Yi smiled. "We even made plans for how to spread the news until the whole city was in an uproar, so everyone in Southern Li would know that the Zhaoyang Princess belongs to Qin Yi. The Western Wilderness Barbarians can get lost."

Li Qingjun merely continued to look at him, without even blinking.

"What is it?" Qin Yi scratched his head in puzzlement. You couldn't possibly be taking such an obvious joke seriously...

Li Qingjun said, "Did you use some kind of beauty treatment or skincare medicine last night?"

"Huh?"

"After not seeing you for one night, you've become even better-looking. And though you're standing here without moving, you look as though you might ride the wind away at any moment."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Qin Yi finally understood what was happening. Cultivation, cultivation—his skin had not merely improved; even his bearing had changed. He surely looked a little more immortal than he had yesterday.

Li Qingjun hesitated for a moment. "Qin Yi, don't cultivate the Dao until you really ride off on the wind and leave me behind."

"Not at all." Qin Yi reached out and held her, whispering in her ear, "Didn't Father cultivate the Dao and end up with Three Thousand Beauties?"

"Pah!" Li Qingjun was indeed distracted. She stomped on the top of his shoe. "Our eight characters haven't even got their first stroke, and you're already thinking about Three Thousand Beauties!"

Qin Yi hopped while clutching his foot. "It was just an offhand comparison..."

Li Qingjun shot him a sidelong glance, a hint of a smile curling her lips. "Those offhand remarks reveal the heart most clearly. Qin Yi, you're not as much of a gentleman as you look."

Liusu gave it a like.

Qin Yi was rather astonished too. You brainless, reckless girl—how could you become so delicate when it came to something like this? Was a woman's natural talent really this terrifying? He did not bother arguing. A man who had never entertained thoughts of Three Thousand Beauties was merely a hypocrite; whether he acted on them was what mattered. There was no point arguing.

So he shamelessly wrapped his arms around her again and chuckled softly. "Of course I'm no gentleman. For instance, right now I very much want to take a bite out of Princess."

Liusu gave that a like too.

A man's growth in this regard was what truly counted as astonishingly swift. Qin Yi had been quite innocent just days ago, yet once he had a lover—tch tch—he had been remade from head to toe.

Li Qingjun let him hold her. Her face flushed as she looked at him; this time, there was none of her previous shyness. Instead, she quickly closed her eyes.

Qin Yi swallowed hard and lowered his head to kiss her.

The instant their lips met, an electric current exploded between them. Both their minds turned hazy at once, as if they were floating upon the clouds, unable to tell east from west, their souls utterly intoxicated.

Liusu leaned against the doorframe and watched. At first, she had been full of the desire to watch the show, but for some reason, the longer she watched, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Perhaps she was like a private-school teacher at this moment, seeing the students below not paying attention in class but instead whispering sweet nothings to each other. Of course that would feel uncomfortable.

Yet she had experienced the mortal world herself, and only after tasting it did she understand. This was precisely what she herself had advised Qin Yi to do. So why did she now feel as though she had taught him wrong...?