Martial Nephew, There Is No Need to Suppress Yourself So Much...

Rao Yuexi rose gracefully, her long, jade-like legs wrapped in black silk stockings swaying beneath her skirt.

With willowy steps, Rao Yuexi stopped before Pei Yuhan. Her slender fingers lightly traced across Pei Yuhan's chest, and the pill fragrance lingering at her fingertips curled around his nose, carrying a soul-stirring scent.

Pei Yuhan's lowered brows furrowed slightly. His body swayed involuntarily, yet in the end, he did not dodge away.

"Martial Aunt, what are you...?"

"Martial Nephew, this Martial Aunt of yours has run into a few bottlenecks in her cultivation lately~"

The cold detachment had vanished from Rao Yuexi's voice, replaced by seductive allure and a faintly pleading tone. Her sweet, birdlike voice tugged at Pei Yuhan's heart.

A snow-white Gu insect appeared at Rao Yuexi's pale fingertip, tightly coiling around her slender finger.

"Martial Aunt's bottleneck is like this Moth Silk Entanglement Gu—the more it struggles, the tighter it binds. I truly cannot overcome this hurdle on my own."

Then, Rao Yuexi swept out her hand, and a ball of flame rose in the distance. The Gu insect flew straight toward it.

A moth flying into the flame, reduced to ashes and smoke.

"Yet this Gu insect simply loves throwing itself at firelight."

"Especially... someone like Martial Nephew, whose entire body radiates pure Yang Fire."

"You will surely help Martial Aunt reach an even higher realm."

A trace of unease rose in Pei Yuhan's heart. He had expected Martial Aunt Rao to make things difficult for him, but he had never imagined... that her condition would be so excessive!

But now, everyone in the sect despised him. Coupled with the sect deliberately suppressing his ability to accept missions, and with his junior sister having reached the point where she desperately needed spirit stones, he had no choice but to seek out Martial Aunt Rao again.

Pei Yuhan knew that only because he had truly reached the end of the road had he come to Martial Aunt Rao. It was indeed a deeply shameful thing to do...

If even he gave up searching for his master, then his master would truly be finished!

Feeling the restless little hand at his lower abdomen, Pei Yuhan took a deep breath. He touched the storage ring his master had given him when he reached Foundation Establishment, suppressed the unease in his heart, and said:

"If Martial Aunt needs anything, so long as it is within this nephew's ability, this nephew will certainly give his all to help!"

"After all, I have always regarded Martial Aunt as an elder I respect as much as my master!"

Upon hearing Pei Yuhan's final words, the gentle look on Rao Yuexi's face turned cold.

"Is Martial Nephew using Junior Sister Jiang to warn me?"

"When Junior Sister Jiang vanished, Martial Aunt also went out to search for her. But the elder's divination had long since made everything clear."

"Even if Martial Nephew keeps sending resources into that Mystic Mirror, has the other end of the Mystic Mirror ever sent back a single reply?"

Her teasing, seductive tone reverted to its original stern chill.

"Martial Nephew deceived the sect and formed a Gray Core, burying his own path of cultivation. Must Junior Sister Lu also end up like you before you are satisfied?"

Pei Yuhan inhaled the rich pill fragrance emanating from Rao Yuexi's body and subconsciously swallowed, his gaze somewhat evasive.

He had never thought that way, but what he was doing now was exactly as Martial Aunt had said. Not only had he ruined himself, he had also dragged down his junior sister for a full thirty years...

"This nephew understands what Martial Aunt means. This matter..."

"Then Martial Nephew is willing to assist Martial Aunt's cultivation, yes~?"

"Martial Aunt, even if I must climb mountains of blades or plunge into seas of fire, no matter how precious the materials may be, this nephew is willing to try for Martial Aunt!"

"Is that so? Martial Nephew's promise truly moves Martial Aunt."

"But Martial Nephew is merely a Gray Core cultivator. No matter how formidable your swordsmanship may be, it holds no appeal for Martial Aunt."

"What Martial Nephew speaks of carries not the slightest attraction for me."

Pei Yuhan fell silent. With only early Core Formation cultivation, he truly could not offer any condition that would interest Martial Aunt Rao.

After all, he was only a Gray Core cultivator, and the sect was deliberately suppressing him. He truly had no qualifications left to ask Martial Aunt for help with anything.

In the end, he was nothing but trash now...

At that thought, Pei Yuhan recalled the humiliation and submission of the past thirty years, and a trace of grievance welled up in his heart.

Master... your disciple... is truly so tired.

A bitter smile touched Pei Yuhan's lips, and his eyes reddened slightly. He sincerely bowed to the woman before him, his tone earnest.

"This nephew understands. I abruptly came to disturb Martial Aunt this time, yet I am merely a Gray Core cultivator. Making such a request truly offended Martial Aunt. I shall take my leave first..."

Thirty years had passed, and even Martial Aunt—the one closest to his master—had ultimately changed...

And he had actually dragged his junior sister down for thirty years... Not only had he failed to find his master, he had also ruined his junior sister's path of cultivation...

A slender, soft finger pressed against Pei Yuhan's lips, stopping the words he was about to finish. The finger still carried the pill fragrance from her earlier alchemy...

It should be the medicinal scent of some precious spirit ingredient—the Stone Nanling Flower.

"Martial Nephew, leaving in such a hurry... Do you truly intend to let your junior sister become a Gray Core cultivator like you, then wander aimlessly with Martial Nephew in search of Junior Sister Jiang?"

Rao Yuexi's tone became gentle, though it was laced with threat.

"Does Martial Nephew truly intend to give up this opportunity, then go seek out some other elder?"

There was a trace of mockery in Rao Yuexi's voice.

"How many of them are still willing to see you?"

Pei Yuhan's heart ached with bitterness. Aside from a few elders of high rank and great authority whom he had yet to seek out, he had tried almost everyone.

Whether it was deliberate obstruction, reluctant refusals, or simply avoiding him outright and ignoring him...

Along the way, he had heard no shortage of gossip and voices belittling him.

As long as... he could find his master...

This was the last hope in Pei Yuhan's heart. Scenes from his childhood surfaced one after another in his mind...

Back then, he had just succeeded in Foundation Establishment. A soft palm gently stroked his head, and his master's warm face seemed as though it had been only yesterday.

"If Nephew Disciple does not wish to ask, then you may leave..." Rao Yuexi interrupted Pei Yuhan's thoughts.

"Martial Aunt... I..."

The corners of Rao Yuexi's lips curled slightly, like a petty person triumphant in success. Her shapely body suddenly turned, her wide sleeve sweeping across the pill furnace on the table.

The faint glow of Samadhi True Fire cast their figures upon the gauze curtains. Their entwined shadows looked exactly like the qi-union illustrations in ancient texts.

Rao Yuexi watched with satisfaction as the young sword cultivator's back abruptly stiffened.

"Nephew Disciple, Junior Sister Jiang informed me long ago that your constitution is a Peak Yang Energy Dao Body, the Solar Dao Body that vanished ten thousand years ago. She asked me to help refine pills to suppress your Yang Fire..."

"For thirty years now, Nephew Disciple, you must have stopped taking those pills long ago, yes?"

"While Junior Sister Jiang was still here, she could use her cultivation to suppress it for you. But... Junior Sister Jiang has been gone for thirty years. Nephew Disciple Pei, have you shown faint signs of being unable to keep it suppressed?"

Seeing Pei Yuhan's expression grow increasingly uncomfortable, Rao Yuexi had no intention of stopping.

"Nephew Disciple Pei, do you understand that it is better to guide than to block? Besides, such matters are the innate nature of all living things—naturally an indispensable experience in cultivation. Perhaps..."

At 24:00 tomorrow morning, one update plus three more—four updates in total.