Budding

"Wuwuwu~~~ I want chicken legs!"

"Wuwuwu~~~ I want chicken wings!"

"Wuwuwu~~~ Even a chicken foot to gnaw on would be better than being here!"

"Master~~~ Mistress~~~ Yao'er is so hungry! I'm going to starve to death!"

Yao'er, with her hair a mess and her face smudged, lay listlessly on the stone couch. A thick layer of yam and solomon's seal skins, along with a pile of fruit peels and cores, lay around her. She weakly patted her stomach, staring blankly at the large, square hole in the stone chamber ceiling. She sighed to the heavens, "So, pounding rocks takes so much energy? And when it takes so much energy, I eat this much! Wuwu, I'm so hungry! How did the three months' worth of food prepared for me get eaten up in just a few days?"

On the bamboo mat on the ground, the original large pile of solomon's seal, yams, and various fruits had dwindled to just three or five pine nuts lying there pitifully. Yao'er gazed at the few pine nuts, the light in her eyes turning green. Her body moved suddenly, and she reached out to grab at the bamboo mat in the air, then quickly pulled her hand back. She wailed to the heavens, "There are still two months left! Two months, eating only these few pine nuts! I'll starve to death, I'll starve to death, I'll starve to death! Little Junior Brother~~~ Senior Sister misses you so much~~~ and your roasted chicken!"

After grumbling to herself for a long time, Yao'er weakly sat up, staring blankly at the few pine nuts.

"One, two, three~~~" Yao'er's small mouth opened, and a thin stream of clear saliva slowly dripped down the corner of her mouth. She widened her eyes and asked herself, a little strangely, "Why do these pine nuts all look like chicken legs to me? Wuwu, Little Junior Brother, you damn guy, wuwu, Senior Sister is starving here, and you won't send any food?"

Clutching the purple jade tablet containing the Great Luo Pill Scripture tightly, Yao'er rubbed it vigorously, then suddenly cried out to the heavens, "Ah~~~ I'm starving~~~ I can't take it anymore! Master, I've memorized it all!"

Casually tucking the purple jade tablet into her belt, Yao'er clapped her hands together and softly chanted a spell. A Palm Lightning, trailing a ten-foot-long bolt of lightning, struck towards the stone door of the cave. With a muffled 'buzz', the stone door flashed with iridescent light, easily dissolving the Palm Lightning. The protective formation activated, and a message had already been sent to Dan Fusheng, who was guarding the cave entrance.

Before long, the triple stone doors boomed open, and Dan Fusheng, along with seven other old Daoists, slowly walked in. Dan Fusheng glanced at the messy stone chamber littered with all sorts of fruit peels and cores, his face twitched, and he asked with a dry laugh, "Yao'er, why did you send the message? Is it that~ hehe, this food isn't enough?" The other old Daoists kept straight faces, adopting the demeanor of enlightened masters. They all held their heads high, staring blankly at the huge hole in the ceiling of the stone chamber—how long would it take to pound through a stone chamber protected by a formation like this?

Yao'er excitedly pounced in front of Dan Fusheng, casually shoving the purple jade tablet into his hand, and clapped her hands with joy, saying, "Master, it's not that the food isn't enough, it's that Yao'er has memorized the Great Luo Pill Scripture completely! Hehe, now that Yao'er has memorized it, I can leave the cave, right? Master, Yao'er is going to find Little Junior Brother first!" Before her voice had even faded, Yao'er had already leaped out, like a monkey, clinging to the small trees and long vines on the cliff in front of the cave dwelling, and swung down lightly.

"Memo~memorized it?" Dan Fusheng tightly gripped the jade tablet, his mouth agape, staring blankly at his equally stunned fellow disciples.

"Memorized it? Impossible!" one old Daoist shouted indignantly. "If Yao'er memorized the Great Luo Pill Scripture in just twenty-seven days! Then, doesn't that mean we're all pigs?"

"Absolutely impossible!" another old Daoist roared angrily. "The Great Luo Pill Scripture encompasses everything, including various pill rooms, spiritual techniques, hand seals, cultivation methods, and even the experiences of our Great Luo Pill Dao's top senior alchemists. How could it be memorized in just twenty-seven days? There's no logic to it, absolutely no logic! Hmm, we still need to catch Yao'er and make her diligently meditate for another two months!" The old Daoist's eyes darted around, clearly not thinking of anything good.

The other old Daoists chimed in with their opinions. In short, their consensus was: it was impossible for anyone to be so intelligent as to fully digest the Great Luo Pill Scripture in a mere twenty-seven days. Therefore, for the sake of their faces as senior uncles, junior uncles, and even more senior grand-uncles and grand-aunts, Yao'er must continue to stay in the cave dwelling to meditate on the Great Luo Pill Scripture. She absolutely could not be allowed out until the full three months had passed.

Dan Fusheng's face twitched again. He cocked his eye, glancing sideways at his fellow disciples, and said angrily, "Say that to Danxia!" He casually stuffed the jade tablet into the hand of a senior disciple, flicked his sleeves with his hands behind his back, summoned a cloud, and floated away.

"Reason with Junior Sister Danxia?" The few old Daoists looked at each other, then suddenly chuckled dryly, "Our Great Luo Pill Dao is truly fortunate to have a talented disciple like Nephew Yao'er!"

"Little Junior Brother~~~ Little Junior Brother~~~ Senior Sister misses you to death!" Yao'er desperately swallowed her saliva as she used her movement techniques to rush towards the maple forest where Lin Xiao lived. Along the way, countless disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao saw a girl, her clothes stained with various fruit juices, looking like a beggar, her hair a mess like a madwoman, with a terrifying green light in her eyes, constantly muttering to herself as she ran straight ahead.

The Spring Return Valley was protected by a mountain-guarding formation, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to intrude. The disciples of the Great Luo Pill Dao, seeing Yao'er running wildly like this, had no intention of stopping her. They all assumed she was another disciple picked up from outside by some senior uncle or junior uncle. This sort of thing happened every few years. The elders of the Great Luo Pill Dao were very soft-hearted. Whenever they went out to travel, they would always bring back some astonishing individuals. These patrolling disciples were already used to it.

She ran all the way to the outside of the maple forest where Lin Xiao lived. Even with Yao'er's profound cultivation, she was a little out of breath. She pressed her hands against her rumbling stomach and shouted repeatedly, "Little Junior Brother, Little Junior Brother~ Senior Sister is hungry, hurry, hurry, what delicious food~~~ Uh, is that a flying sword?"

A red light shot up from the maple forest, soaring a hundred feet high, then made a ninety-degree turn and shot back to the ground with a 'swoosh'. With a muffled 'bang', the ground even trembled slightly. Yao'er, full of curiosity, flew towards where the sword light had landed. After a few leaps, she arrived deep in the maple forest, only to see Lin Xiao, covered in dirt, crawling out of a human-shaped hole in the ground, cursing. He stumbled forward a few steps, sat down on the ground with a thud, and gasped for breath!

"Little Junior Brother!" Yao'er excitedly jumped onto Lin Xiao's back and started grabbing and hitting his head.

Lin Xiao, caught off guard by Yao'er's rough handling, instinctively swung the Crimson Dragon Sword in his hand as if to strike the person on his back. Fortunately, he recognized Yao'er's voice. The long sword had only been swung out about a foot when it abruptly stopped. Feeling a stinging sensation on his scalp, Lin Xiao couldn't help but drop the sword and hug his head with both hands, begging, "Yao'er, stop messing around, stop messing around! You only mess up my hair, but you can never help me tie my topknot again!"

"Eh?" Yao'er happily ruffled Lin Xiao's hair until it was as messy as hers. Hearing Lin Xiao's complaint suddenly, she climbed down from his back indignantly, sat close to him on the ground, and asked angrily, "Are you saying Senior Sister Yao'er is useless?"

Lin Xiao's heart trembled. He remembered his numerous miserable experiences over the past two years. His face was immediately covered with a fawning smile. "Where did Senior Sister say that? Whoever dares to say Senior Sister Yao'er is useless, Junior Brother will never forgive them! Uh, weren't you in seclusion meditating on the Great Luo Pill Scripture? How did you come out so early?" As he asked this, both Lin Xiao and Yao'er wore incredibly secretive smiles. Lin Xiao stared blankly at Yao'er, and Yao'er stared blankly at Lin Xiao. The two of them suddenly burst into laughter!

"Hehe, hehe! Yao'er is so smart and clever, how much effort does it take to meditate on the Great Luo Pill Scripture?" Yao'er laughed so hard she almost fell over. She carefully examined Lin Xiao, then suddenly exclaimed in horror, "Ah! It's only been a few days, Little Junior Brother, why have you become so fair? Uh, your appearance has changed a bit too! Hmm, the scent on your body has also faded a lot? Why, hmm, you smell a bit like a newborn monkey on the mountain? Strange, strange, what happened to you?"

Others often only noticed Lin Xiao's skin becoming fairer and his appearance changing slightly after forming his Golden Core. However, perhaps only Yao'er could notice the change in Lin Xiao's scent. Only Yao'er, with her clear and transparent spirit like a clear spring, only Yao'er, who was very close to Lin Xiao, would notice that Lin Xiao's scent had become somewhat like that of a newborn infant.

Just as Lin Xiao was about to explain the miraculous encounters he had experienced in these past few days, Yao'er suddenly grabbed Lin Xiao's Daoist robe with a mournful face, her eyes wide open, and cried out loudly, "Wuwu, Senior Sister is going to die! How can you wear a yellow Daoist robe? How can you wear a yellow Daoist robe? Wuwu, Yao'er's cultivation is higher than yours, and I'm only wearing a blue robe!"

Clutching Lin Xiao's yellow Daoist robe, Yao'er glared at Lin Xiao with gritted teeth for a moment, then suddenly wiped her face fiercely with Lin Xiao's robe, smearing all the dust onto it. Only then did she laugh gleefully. She patted Lin Xiao's head forcefully and shouted, "Little Junior Brother, quickly confess, how did you trick those elders and get a yellow robe?"

"Uh? What do you mean 'trick'?" Lin Xiao looked at Yao'er with a pained expression, helplessly, and softly recounted everything that had happened to him recently.

"Ah?" Yao'er was stunned, dumbfounded, and froze. Her smiling face turned red with anger. She suddenly reached out with both hands, grabbed Lin Xiao's face fiercely, and twisted it hard. "Little Junior Brother! Lin Xiao! It's one thing that you got first place in the sect competition, but you even dared to form a Golden Core! Heavens, Master said I have a chance to form a Golden Core at fifty, and he already praised me as a rare genius. You, you, you, how old are you now? Senior Sister, Senior Sister, Senior Sister, I don't want to live anymore!"

She gnashed her teeth and twisted Lin Xiao's face, but Lin Xiao's body, tempered by heavenly fire, was unfazed by the strength of Yao'er's hands. However, just to please Yao'er, Lin Xiao deliberately made a pained expression, his mouth stretched into a thin slit, and he constantly begged for mercy.

After roughly tormenting Lin Xiao for a while, Yao'er suddenly became cheerful again. She released Lin Xiao's face and exclaimed with joy, "So, Little Junior Brother has also formed a Golden Core and is now a true expert! Ah, I couldn't get the things I wanted to eat before, but now Little Junior Brother can help Yao'er get them."

Her little tongue constantly licked her lips, and Yao'er said enthusiastically, "Black Jade Carvings, Emerald Light Thunder Pigeons, Great Wind Eagles, mmm, roasting them must be delicious."

Lin Xiao's face darkened. He looked at the enthusiastic Yao'er, and his body couldn't help but feel a chill. The three exotic birds Yao'er mentioned were all powerful demonic birds, each with strength close to the Golden Core Stage, and possessing extremely excellent flying skills. Ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators might not be able to catch up to them even with their flying swords, let alone a little newbie like him who had just crashed his flying sword into the ground! It should be said that among the elders of the Dan generation in the Great Luo Pill Dao, there were not many who could catch up to these three exotic birds with their swords!

Yao'er, however, paid no mind to what Lin Xiao was thinking. She simply said with great excitement, "Also, the white fish in the cold pond behind the mountain, mmm, I've wanted to eat them for over ten years, but unfortunately, I've never been able to catch them. Hmm, Little Junior Brother~~~" Yao'er's face moved closer to Lin Xiao's, her large eyes glistening with water, and she looked pitifully.

Lin Xiao had an excellent temper, and he doted on Yao'er immensely. Naturally, he would not go against Yao'er's wishes in these matters. Even though he knew that the cold pond behind the mountain was not a good place, Lin Xiao could only nod repeatedly with a bitter expression. He promised Yao'er that he would roast Black Jade Carvings, Emerald Light Thunder Pigeons, and Great Wind Eagles for her in the future, and then boil white fish soup.

Yao'er patted Lin Xiao's head with satisfaction and affectionately rubbed his ears. Lin Xiao's words made her extremely happy. She suddenly felt that it was a very good thing that Lin Xiao had become a Golden Core expert! Having a Golden Core stage follower was unique among the thousands of disciples in the Great Luo Pill Dao, how prestigious!

Tilting her head and looking at Lin Xiao's handsome and ethereal face, Yao'er's expression suddenly turned gloomy. She glared fiercely at Lin Xiao and twisted his ear hard for a full 180 degrees. Lin Xiao let out a strange cry and tilted his head, feeling as if his ear was about to be twisted off. He shouted, "Yao'er, what did I do now?"

Yao'er reprimanded him fiercely, "The fruits of the Midnight Orchid, you must help Senior Sister Hua harvest them properly this time. Hmm, and when the Beauty-Nourishing Pill is refined, give me a portion!"

Lin Xiao's hair stood on end. He looked at Yao'er with extreme horror, not understanding why Yao'er was also interested in the Beauty-Nourishing Pill. Currently, only Danxia and Hua Feng'er valued the Midnight Orchid extremely. If Yao'er were added to the mix, and if Lin Xiao made any mistakes the next time he harvested the Midnight Orchid fruits... Lin Xiao dared not imagine his fate!

However, in Yao'er's hazy heart, which was not stained by any dust, a trace of shadow suddenly emerged. "Little Junior Brother has already formed a Golden Core, so he will maintain his current appearance for at least five hundred years! Wuwu, Senior Sister said I might form a Golden Core at fifty? Then, won't I look like Senior Sister does now? Wuwu, Yao'er wants to eat the Beauty-Nourishing Pill!"

For the first time in her life, Yao'er understood one of the emotions that humans should possess: joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry, thought, grief, etc. It was as if a crack of light had split the chaotic space with an axe, illuminating Yao'er's heart. Her mind, which had been dormant for twenty years, showed signs of spiritual intelligence bursting forth. This was undoubtedly Lin Xiao's doing.

Once her spiritual intelligence awakened, Yao'er's innate talent, which was several times greater than that of ordinary people, would be fully unlocked. Her cultivation progress would then be rapid, and Lin Xiao would likely not be able to catch up to her.

What Dan Fusheng meant by Yao'er potentially forming a Golden Core at fifty was merely because Yao'er's spiritual intelligence had not yet awakened, and she was unable to utilize her extremely profound innate foundation. Once Yao'er's spiritual intelligence awakened, no one could predict what achievements she would make. Even in today's world where spiritual energy is becoming increasingly scarce, Yao'er's cultivation progress would likely set a record in the cultivation world.

Lin Xiao stared blankly at Yao'er, and Yao'er stared blankly at Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao's heart was filled with only sweetness and warmth. During the days Yao'er was confined to the stone chamber to meditate on the Great Luo Pill Scripture, Lin Xiao had been quite restless. Today, his mind finally felt at ease.

Yao'er's heart, however, was filled with complexity. Various flavors of sourness, sweetness, bitterness, and spiciness, which she had never understood before, surged into her heart due to her slight worry about her appearance.

Pouting her small mouth, Yao'er let out a soft hum and, for the first time, proactively hugged Lin Xiao's head and gently kissed his lips.

Triggered by that thread of worry, Yao'er understood for the first time in her life what 'love' was.

This vague affection filled Yao'er's heart with warmth. She really liked this feeling that made her feel all warm and energetic.

Within the maple forest, warm affection echoed. But this faint warmth was interrupted by Yao'er's startled cry.

With a soft 'pop,' Yao'er and Lin Xiao's lips parted. She looked at Lin Xiao with a pained expression, frowning, "Junior Brother, I'm so hungry! Hurry and get me something to eat!"

"Oh!" Lin Xiao obediently stood up, grabbed the Crimson Dragon Sword, and was about to head to the back mountain. Yao'er, however, snatched the Crimson Dragon Sword away, giggling, "Let Senior Sister have a go! Hehe, a flying sword! Master said he'd give me a flying sword once I broke through the eleventh level of the Five Elements Spirit Arts! Sigh, Senior Sister is only at the tenth level, still a long way to go. Flying sword, flying sword! You're so beautiful, why don't you stop following Junior Brother and follow Yao'er instead!"

Lin Xiao rolled his eyes, shook his head, and lightly flicked a Divine Speed Art. His body turned into a wisp of green smoke and streaked towards the back mountain.

Yao'er stared blankly at Lin Xiao's rapidly departing back, then suddenly jumped up, "Idiot, Yao'er wanted to go too! Are you planning to roast pheasants in the maple forest again? Boohoo, he runs so fast!"

Her little head drooped. Yao'er took a deep breath, also flicking a Divine Speed Art. Moving at less than twenty percent of Lin Xiao's speed, she left a hazy afterimage as she chased after him.

'Dong~dong~dong~'!

The golden bell on Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall rang again. After every three rings, it paused slightly, then rang three more times, repeating this nine times. This was the signal to summon all disciples above the Golden Core Stage within the Great Luo Pill Dao!

Lin Xiao was not familiar with this signal. After hearing the bell, he continued to sprint towards the back mountain for over ten miles before suddenly realizing, "Ah, this is the signal to summon us!" Even now, Lin Xiao still lacked the awareness of being a Golden Core Stage disciple.

With a hawk-like flip, he drew a hazy green streak in the air. Lin Xiao let out a long cry and, using the Divine Speed Art, rushed towards Pill Qi Lingxiao Hall.

Yao'er watched blankly as Lin Xiao, his feet not touching the ground, sped past three feet above it. She suddenly shouted, "Junior Brother, why don't you just fly your sword?" She raised the Crimson Dragon Sword high.

Lin Xiao's body trembled, and he almost fell to the ground. Fly his sword? He feared that he, Lin Xiao, would make a complete fool of himself in front of all his fellow disciples. A cultivator at the Golden Core Stage crashing into a pillar while flying his sword would surely be a topic of amusing gossip for a hundred years!

Gritting his teeth and pretending not to hear Yao'er's shouts, Lin Xiao yelled, "Yao'er, go wait for me at the back mountain. I'll be right back after I deal with Sect Leader Uncle-Master!"

Yao'er dazedly mumbled an 'Oh,' waved the Crimson Dragon Sword, and then suddenly, with a smile, muttered to herself, "I could never catch those pheasants before, but with this precious sword this time, Yao'er will see where you can escape to!" Her eyes lit up with joy as she swung the precious sword, creating a faint red glow, and swiftly headed towards the bamboo forest in the back mountain. (To be continued)