Jiang Rongyue: I Understand.

From then on, Li Shishi was diligently cultivating in Mount Taixu, was different from Jiang Rongyue, who was extremely oblivious in this regard. She keenly noticed that the Immortal Chi Yuan's attire and hairstyle were no longer as unchanging as before.

Time, which seemed to have stopped more than 50,000 years ago, was once again turned forward, and the immortal was exploring, little by little, the charm and possibilities that he was meant to possess at the right time.

The smile that appeared when her lips curled up, the gentle yet cool demeanor in her eyes, the slender figure hidden in the undulating curves of her dress, and the delicate fingers that twirled a strand of her winter-gray hair—all these were unforgettable sights.

Later, Li Shishi heard Xiao Xuan say that for thousands of years, the immortals would repeatedly wear the clothes they made themselves in the closet, with almost no difference in style or design. If you randomly picked a few scenes from different periods over several hundred years, it would be hard to imagine that this person had lived through such a long period of time.

For example, this is especially true for embellishments like hair accessories.

She only had a hairpin to hold her long hair in place, which she seemed to use until it was old and decayed with time. In fact, after she later materialized the Udu-dust into a hairpin, she no longer changed even this object.

The immortals live a thousand years like a single day.

But the boy's arrival turned that day into a thousand years.

From then on, her world flowed again, became vibrant again, and regained its meaning of life.

Li Shishi didn't know the true past of the Immortal Chi Yuan, but she could still glean some of his temperament from glimpses of history. She thought Su Su must be very important to the immortal.

It was so important that it effortlessly broke the long-standing stagnation.

Even a complete bystander can sense the delicate and gentle sweetness in the atmosphere between the two in their daily lives.

It was as if a deity had broken free of its clay form and entered the bustling world of mortals, tinged with the warmth of fireworks yet possessing an innate transcendence.

The little girl hugged the ancient sword she had recently been using as a pillow. She leaned against a pillar in the corridor, sitting on the cool bluestone slab, feeling the breeze ruffling her hair. She comfortably half-closed her eyes, dozing off, her mind wandering to random thoughts.

Her biggest form of entertainment lately has been watching Su Su and Chi Yuan being affectionate. Apart from taking a bath with Jiang Rongyue and chatting with Xiao Xuan to listen to gossip, all she does is endless training and Qi cultivation, which has left her feeling listless and dispirited during her spare moments.

Half-asleep, half-awake, her mind was filled with fragments of life on Mount Taixu, as gentle as a summer stream, like a lullaby playing automatically, gradually deepening her drowsiness. Her eyelids drooped, completely covering her pale pupils under the reflected light...

Jiang Rongyue stood on the edge of the roof, gazing at the distant Cloud Cliff Sea. The shimmering silver flowers and flowing streams under the light seemed to overlap with the clouds and the sky, creating a fantastic and magnificent scene. The gentle sound of flowing water reached her ears, repeatedly washing over her Mind Lake along with the rhythm of the Sword Heart Technique, just like the shallow breathing of the girl under the eaves, peaceful and serene.

This kind of life is good.

The girl's fingertips brushed against the fair skin of her wrist, her eyes lowered, as if she had glimpsed the faint blue veins on it, a poignant picture torn to pieces in the mountains and forests, and her lips slightly upturned.

Her fate had been fraught with twists and turns under that power, yet she still couldn't find a way out.

But fortunately, the arrival of one person disrupted the established Karma and effect and variables of the world, allowing him to reach an ending that was once forever out of reach.

Therefore, the training instructions given by the Grand Martial Uncle must be carried out properly.

Jiang Rongyue picked up the rough sword carved from the dry firewood beside her, and before she leaped down, the intense killing intent, almost tangible, directly woke the girl from her dream.

She subconsciously slid the Xuanyuan Sword from her bosom into her palm, and with a twist of her strength, the Heaven and Earth Qi naturally burst forth from her dantian to her wrist. The skill given by her muscle instincts was perfectly displayed at this moment. All the power gathered in one place, causing the sword to slash horizontally, tearing through the invisible transparent strike.

Looking at the devastating scene where the edges were torn apart by the scattered gusts of wind, Li Shishi immediately forgot about the timing of her attack and began to fight and retreat while seeking cover.

Damn it, I'll make you pay it all back when you take a shower!

Despite her lofty ambitions, the instructor's nonchalant, slow pace and barely visible sword swings forced her to flee in a pitiful and disheveled state.

Jiang Rongyue casually flipped the wooden sword that moved between her five fingers, slicing the opponent's intermittent sword energy into pieces. She watched as the opponent's increasingly skilled and agile figure remained unchanged in the frequency of his steps, but subtly altered the output of the Qi of Heaven and Earth Qi.

She could clearly see that Shishi had improved a lot since she first arrived at Mount Taixu. Whether it was physical fitness, the application and control of Qi techniques, the instinctive adaptation to the initiation from her Grand Martial Uncle, or her mental habits for combat, she had made great progress.

Even though they are all capable of being cut down with a single sword strike, there are indeed huge differences between them.

If a comparison must be made, this once frail Courtesan was once powerless to even kill a chicken, could now be considered a top-tier expert among third-rate martial artists in the martial arts world.

After all, most of the people stuck in the world were third-rate figures who couldn't gather the Heaven and Earth Qi in the outside world. If you had to say, Li Shishi was already considered a disciple in the martial arts sects who could leave the mountain to travel. She began to embark on journeys alone or with companions to witness the world firsthand and make her own way in it.

However, the reason why those people with such a low level of skill would even set off on the road is...

Firstly, because they didn't have a femme fatale like Li Shishi who was prone to causing trouble.

Secondly, the level that can be reached by conventional talent and time accumulation is basically only third-rate; to go any higher, one would have to reach the upper echelons of a typical sect.

Su Qing'an's requirement for Li Shishi to descend the mountain was entirely based on the standard that she could survive under the attack of Emperor-class Demon.

The young girl, with her C-rank Valkyrie talent, naturally faced immense difficulty and hardship in leaping to the level of A-rank to S-rank Valkyrie in a short period of time. She was subjected to grueling training from the very beginning and never had a good day.

In reality, it's just a requirement.

Su Qing'an knew perfectly well where Li Shishi's limits lay. If she didn't receive Ji Lin's inheritance and obtain the Stigmata to enhance her Qi Technique talent and initial physical attributes, she would have absolutely no chance of reaching the required level.

Such training is merely a necessary means to accelerate growth. When the opponent is trained to the limit and can no longer make any progress in a short period of time, it is time to let them go down the mountain.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Rongyue, as if carrying a kitten, lifted Li Shishi by the neck and placed the limp girl, who was still clutching her sword, on the jade bed. She expressionlessly tore open the tattered fabric of the beauty's clothes, letting large swathes of white skin come into view, unmoved.

Li Shishi felt the refreshing sensation of her body directly contacting the air. Her waist trembled slightly, but she quickly became accustomed to it, her shyness fading away. She began to blink and steal glances at the indifferent-looking girl.

She felt incredibly tired on Mount Taixu; everyone she met seemed unable to smile, and she could count the number of times she laughed each day on one hand. They were all so serious. She weakly and listlessly complained:

"If you ruin these clothes like this, Xiao Xuan will cry."

Jiang Rongyue explained in a serious tone:

"Senior Xiao Xuan only makes clothes for Master himself. The one you're wearing, Shishi, was mass-produced from that strange loom by just putting a few pieces of cloth in. There are more than a dozen identical ones in the wardrobe, so she won't cry when she sees it."

The girl looked at Li Shishi lying obediently on the bed, her lips slightly upturned. As she spoke, she picked up the towel next to her, soaked it in the wooden tub, wrung it out halfway, and used it to wipe the other's beautifully shaped back. Her fingertips felt the subtle twitching of the other's muscles through the fabric, and her eyes took in the sight of the fair skin blushing slightly. She smiled but remained silent.

Knowing that the other party's fondness for lively atmospheres and aversion to silence would be revealed without any concealment in front of her, she deliberately followed her usual habit of not speaking, and simply waited silently for the Courtesan to finally start chattering away.

Completely unaware that she had been thoroughly exposed, the girl pursed her lips, and after only a moment of patience, said with dissatisfaction:

"That's just a... metaphor."

"I was just saying we should be gentler with girls. How can you just tear off a girl's clothes like that? You should at least say something."

She then felt that if the other person always started by saying "I'm going to take your clothes off" beforehand, it would only make things worse, and it would feel like torture. So, slightly annoyed, she chose to end the conversation.

"Rongyue is exactly what Xiaoxuan called a blockhead."

"You always hit so hard, I'll get my revenge later."

Jiang Rongyue was speechless upon hearing this; the other party's retaliation was truly insignificant to her.

But to avoid upsetting the Courtesan, who had become increasingly childish after being freed from her shackles, she simply applied a cool, light ointment to the area along the spine, slightly increasing the pressure with her fingertips. As this diverted her attention, she changed the subject:

Have you seen any villagers living in Mount Taixu these days?

Li Shishi frowned slightly at the pain, but immediately calmed down under the other person's skillful massage techniques, as if her fur had been stroked, and lazily complained:

"Where would I have time to go play in Mount Taixu? I'm either practicing Qi cultivation techniques or doing stance training. I'm constantly cultivating and also facing your sneak attack. I certainly haven't seen those villagers."

"So, did you see anything interesting?"

Jiang Rongyue said:

I don't know if this counts as interesting.

"It's just that recently a new outsider has appeared in the villages in the mountains. The villagers seem to have not seen an outsider for decades, and they are quite welcoming."

Li Shishi rolled her eyes and asked curiously:

"What kind of person was that? Did you see him?"

Jiang Rongyue thought for a moment and replied:

"I met him once, but most of the information I have comes from the villagers' conversations. The man had lost all his family members, was about an adult, and claimed that his hometown had been robbed by bandits, and he accidentally stepped into a maze while fleeing into the mountains."

"My master said the probability of such an incident is very low, but over the years, there have been quite a few similar cases, and his attitude remains the same: let it go."

The girl persisted, asking:

"So what's your opinion? What kind of person do you think he is?"

Jiang Rongyue replied:

"I can tell he's probably killed someone before, but he doesn't dare look me in the eye. He lacks courage but has seen blood. Plus, I saw a long spear and a standard military knife when I accompanied Senior Xiao Xuan on patrol of the mountains. His true identity is most likely a soldier."

She considered the potential war zones and the route to Mount Taixu, adding:

"They are deserters who fled from the battlefield."

"After the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were taken by the Liao Kingdom, the Great Song lost its most valuable horse-breeding land, and the Liao cavalry deployment greatly increased. It is estimated that on some battlefields now, infantrymen will have to use long spears to deal with those heavily armored cavalrymen."

"Given the mandatory conscription policy in surrounding cities, it's no surprise that deserters are emerging."

Li Shishi sighed:

"But if they try to escape and are caught, they will be beheaded and their heads displayed to the public."

"After thinking it over, it's not surprising that he came to Mount Taixu."

Jiang Rongyue's tone was indifferent:

"In the villages at the foot of the mountain, there are people like this everywhere."

"As you travel the world, you will encounter more displacement and unavoidable situations. War is the instigator of all this, but what lies behind it is the uncontrollable desire in the depths of human nature."

Li Shishi didn't dislike this kind of lecturing; she simply gestured for the other person to apply the ointment faster and said:

"I bet that soldier is still thinking about going down the mountain."

Jiang Rongyue asked:

"Why? Because on Mount Taixu, there is no worry about food or drink, and no external threats; it is a paradise rarely found in this world."

"The villagers there have lived in Mount Taixu for generations and are very willing to accept us. This simple and natural atmosphere is a kind of beauty that cannot be experienced outside the area."

"And if he leaves the mountains, he will likely never have the chance to set foot here again in his lifetime."

Li Shishi replied matter-of-factly:

"Because the world is so vast. You said he's only just come of age and has luckily escaped to Mount Taixu. After a while of peaceful life, he'll probably miss the prosperity of the outside world again."

"After all, people tend to have wishful thinking. If someone is forcibly conscripted in an emergency, and the battlefield is so chaotic, even if they return to their hometown after a few months away, they might not be in any danger."

"Besides, who knows if he has any relatives left? If he has parents to support and siblings to rely on, it's actually quite normal for him to want to return to the outside world."

"And perhaps, he initially came to Mount Taixu with the idea of hiding away from the outside world so he could go home."

Jiang Rongyue said:

You're right.

Upon hearing this, the girl suddenly remembered something. She wasn't interested in the soldier's thoughts, but she suddenly realized that she might be able to use this to gain the ability to let people enter and leave Mount Taixu.

The maze of Mount Taixu is essentially a special magnetic field, a large area constructed by manipulating the Heaven and Earth Qi with instruments. As long as the correct code—a specific Honkai Energy band—is entered locally, the maze, which originally confuses human senses, can temporarily lose its function, allowing normal entry and exit.

Theoretically speaking, it doesn't matter whether she possesses this frequency band or not.

Because the maze cannot interfere with those whose intuition transcends the ordinary and who can accurately perceive the Heaven and Earth Qi.

Jiang Rongyue was not concerned with the passive illusion array of Mount Taixu, but... her master's idea of establishing a sect could be of some help in this regard.

Fu Hua made no secret of her desire to establish her own sect.

After all, once the power is established, Jiang Rongyue, as the immortal's chief disciple, will have a lot of affairs and responsibilities to shoulder. Knowing a little about it in advance and being mentally prepared is a good thing.

In Jiang Rongyue's view, since her master had not made any moves for thousands of years, the sect he was about to establish was certainly not some random force with only a few members.

However, recruiting many disciples and establishing a complete and well-established power is not a simple matter.

Even though the Immortal Chi Yuan's reputation is widespread, she hasn't been able to truly appear before the world for a long time. Moreover, she is just one person, and with her detached nature, conveying messages is not as convenient and simple as the entire world being thrown into turmoil and the people discussing it when the imperial court issues an order.

The news of Mount Taixu recruiting disciples could only reach the surrounding area at most, and might not even go very far before disappearing without a trace.

Most people will probably just take it as a joke.

After all, given Master's personality, he would never deliberately use his abilities to create a strange Celestial Phenomenon as proof just so the world would know this information.

We can't exactly have her personally travel all over the world to take on disciples one by one in such a Buddhist-like manner, can we?

The idea of building up power is a joke.

Although the current trend seems to suggest that this is indeed the case, the fact that the Immortal Chi Yuan himself doesn't care about his reputation doesn't mean that Jiang Rongyue, who has been in the martial arts world for a long time and has been influenced by its concepts, would think that she is completely indifferent.

In the girl's opinion, this was unfair to her master.

The opening of Mount Taixu to accept disciples should have been a joyous occasion, with people from all directions flocking to pay their respects and the world in a frenzy. How could it have ended in such a desolate and bleak manner?

She had been struggling with this matter just like Su Qing'an these past few days, but most of the solutions she came up with were rejected by her master.

One of the most constructive and feasible methods is to use the local manpower of Mount Taixu to establish a branch in the outside world, acting as the mouthpiece of the Immortal Chi Yuan, to find ways to spread the news through worldly means, and also to build up the true prototype of a force.

These villagers, who were born and raised in Mount Taixu, grew up hearing the legends and stories of the Immortal Chi Yuan. If we were to use a religious analogy, they would be natural believers. There is no better manpower than these.

She became even more convinced of this after hearing that these people planned to carve a statue of an immortal on that extremely dangerous cliff.

But given Fu Hua's personality, she wouldn't be willing to guide the villagers to do things for her in this way.

However, if they obtained the frequency band code that would allow them to freely enter and exit Mount Taixu, there would be room for maneuver in this matter.

Jiang Rongyue lowered her eyes.

Since Master dislikes doing things this way, then she can do it in his place.