Daji's Cultivation

"How did it go?"

After dealing with his foolish son, Di Xin returned to the Longevity Immortal Palace—not to indulge in the things he loved, but to watch Tushan Qiong teach Su Daji how to cultivate.

"Great King, you're really good to your little sister."

Tushan Qiong casually pinched Su Daji's cheek, leaving behind a faint red mark. Su Daji instinctively drew back, her gaze darting about as if she was clearly somewhat afraid.

"Great King~"

Upon seeing Di Xin, Su Daji rose happily and took two or three steps to hide behind him. She tugged at his sleeve and refused to let go.

"Are you afraid your sister will eat you again? Hahahaha!"

Tushan Qiong laughed so hard she leaned backward, her slender waist swaying wildly.

"But the Great King wouldn't agree, would he?"

"Then stop teasing her."

Di Xin clasped Su Daji's soft little hand and led her toward a jade table.

"I've already ordered the imperial kitchen to serve the meal. It's all food you two like. Cultivation is a long-term undertaking, so there's no need to rush."

"Yes."

Su Daji lowered her head in acknowledgment, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum. She cast a quick glance at Di Xin's face with her phoenix eyes, and her cheeks instantly flushed bright red. She was utterly bashful.

"If the Great King were ever one-tenth or one-twentieth as good to me as he is to little sister Daji, I'd be satisfied. Alas, I'm afraid it will always be wishful thinking on my part. Boo-hoo-hoo..."

Tushan Qiong swayed her hips and walked toward Di Xin with every ounce of charm she possessed. She reached out to embrace him from behind and buried her head against his shoulder.

"Great King, it's time to eat."

Hearing this, Daji's face grew even redder, and she lowered her head further until her chin touched the softness.

The corner of Di Xin's mouth twitched several times despite himself. This fox spirit had become addicted to sucking his yang energy!

"Eat properly. I still have other matters for you to handle."

"The Great King is truly heartless. Once he leaves the bed, he doesn't even recognize his fox."

Tushan Qiong licked her lips, slid down from behind Di Xin, and sat beside the table, her entire body radiating resentment.

"I'm so envious of little sister Daji. She was born with such beautiful skin. Even though we're both women, I want to cherish her a little more."

"I still have one Phoenix Inner Core."

Why did this perfectly good fox spirit have to grow a mouth?

Di Xin glanced at Tushan Qiong and spoke unhurriedly.

Tushan Qiong narrowed her eyes slightly, immediately sat upright at the table, and beamed foolishly at Di Xin with her mouth shut, displaying the essence of a fox to perfection.

The King Zhou household's utterly ordinary lunch ended in an utterly ordinary setting. After receiving Di Xin's promise of the Phoenix Inner Core, Tushan Qiong no longer treated teaching Su Daji perfunctorily.

"Though little sister is human, she carries a trace of my Qing Qiu bloodline. She can therefore cultivate my Qing Qiu art—the Nine-Tailed Immortal Scripture.

"Although the foxes of Qing Qiu are demons, what we cultivate is also the orthodox art of Xuanmen!

"Refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit back into emptiness, and refining emptiness into the Dao—these are the stages of the mortal realm. Using essence, qi, and spirit as the foundation, one refines them with spiritual energy into a light, clear, formless substance formed from their union. That is magical power. As magical power circulates with the River Chariot and accumulates until it is full, one can refine an Inner Core! From then on, one sheds mortality and becomes an immortal!

"The immortal realm consists of the True Immortal, Golden Immortal, Taiyi Loose Immortal, Taiyi Golden Immortal, and Grand Unity Golden Immortal realms. As for anything higher, I don't know either. (The Five Immortals—Heaven, Earth, Human, Divine, and Ghost—are paths of cultivation, not cultivation realms here.)

"Among them, True Immortals and Golden Immortals must continue refining and accumulating magical power, open the mysterious gates within the five viscera, nurture the five qi within the chest, condense qi to give birth to spirit, and transform spirit into a divine nature. This is called Five Qi Towards Origin.

"I have cultivated for a thousand years, and I am only at the True Immortal realm."

"Then... then what about the Great King?"

Su Daji listened with rapt attention and asked without thinking.

"Oh? So little sister is more concerned about the Great King."

Tushan Qiong teased Daji for a couple of sentences. Only after seeing her blush again did she continue.

"Strictly speaking, the Great King doesn't possess the slightest cultivation."

"Ah?"

Su Daji cried out in shock and looked at Di Xin in disbelief.

"N-no way."

"It's true that I don't possess the slightest cultivation, because I've never cultivated, and I don't know any orthodox Xuanmen arts."

Di Xin helplessly shrugged. Seeing Daji's curious expression, he continued.

"I temper my own qi and blood and practice body-hardening. I follow the path of the ancient Wu Clan. In terms of combat power, I'm somewhat stronger than your Sister Qiong."

"Little sister is still far from all that. First, I'll use my magical power to help activate the bloodline within you and let you enter the path of cultivation. It would be a shame for this body, born from the favor of Heaven and Earth, to grow old."

Tushan Qiong picked up the conversation and turned back with a smile, natural allure radiating from her.

"Great King, would you like to see how I help little sister Daji activate her bloodline? We won't be wearing any clothes."

"Ahem! Since it's inconvenient, I'll take my leave first."

It wasn't that Di Xin, this lecherous old pervert, had suddenly become a gentleman. It was that once the two of them began, they couldn't be disturbed. But faced with such a situation, what man could possibly hold himself back?

After walking out of the hall, Di Xin listened to the entire rear palace descending into chaos because of his decree. He left behind an order that no one was to disturb them and a clone, then silently departed the royal palace.

"Little sister, it seems he truly cherishes you."

Tushan Qiong hooked a thumb beneath Daji's chin and examined her carefully again and again. Such peerless beauty was top-tier even in Qing Qiu. She truly was a masterpiece of nature.

Although Daji wasn't used to it, she still felt an instinctive fear of Tushan Qiong and didn't dare struggle free for the moment.

"Let's begin."

"D-do we not need to take our clothes off?"

"I was lying to you."

"Ah?"

"Martial Uncle, weren't we going to Qiu Ming Mountain Jiameng Pass? How did we end up at Wuyi Mountain?"

Looking at the undulating mountains around them, Wen Zhong voiced the doubt in his heart.

After the grand banquet at the Xianqing Hall, Kong Xuan had invited him to come along under the pretext of visiting Huo Ling Shengmu. Yet from the very beginning, they had not been heading toward Jiameng Pass.

After wandering around Wuyi Mountain for three days, Wen Zhong finally couldn't hold himself back.

"Ahem, Nephew, your Martial Uncle is going to meet a junior. I have to bring some gift, don't I? But I've stayed hidden among humans for so long and haven't traveled around much, so I'm a little short on cash."

Kong Xuan coughed twice. As the saying went, even a hero could be defeated by a lack of money. With his purse empty, he could no longer concern himself with his pride and had come to Wuyi Mountain in search of treasure.

"Di Xin once told me while drinking that Wuyi Mountain contains a precious tea tree. It's considered top-grade even among the Innate Spiritual Roots."

Kong Xuan gave Wen Zhong a look that said you understand, then activated the bloodline within his body and carefully sensed the mountain's aura of treasures as he continued forward. Wen Zhong followed behind him, both amused and helpless. He had never imagined this was the reason.

Half a day later

"Found it! No, wait... why does this feeling seem more like an Innate Spiritual Treasure?"

Kong Xuan stopped before two "ordinary" trees standing a thousand zhang tall, his expression somewhat puzzled.

"Whatever. Five-Colored Divine Light, go!"

The Five-Colored Divine Light rose into the air. With a single sweep, the two giant trees vanished. The surrounding scenery shifted repeatedly, and two voices approached from far away.

"Who dares intrude upon our cave dwelling?"

"Xiao Sheng and Cao Bao are here!"