Back Then Was Back Then, Now Is Now

"Ah... ah!"

While Ye Kong rested with his eyes closed and Jinjiu Master pondered how to be a good grandson, Wen Qingxuan, who was refining an Elixir in the distance, suddenly let out a miserable cry. Her body trembled incessantly as great clouds of steam rose from her.

"What's going on? What happened to her? Did she eat an Elixir she can't digest?" Jinjiu Master turned and asked.

Ye Kong examined her carefully before saying in a low voice:

"This Elixir cleanses the tendons and marrow, burns the heart, and tempers the spirit. Simply put, it burns you from the inside out once—burn first, nourish afterward. Judging by her condition, her physical foundation isn't strong enough. The burning hurts her."

"What? This girl's physical foundation is that poor?"

"I didn't expect a genius from the Wen Family of the Northern Region to have such a weak body. Damn it, how does the Wen Clan even raise its younger generation?

"But it's not a major problem. The Elixir's medicinal power will protect her internal organs. Nothing serious will happen."

With his eyes closed and a hand pressed to his forehead, Ye Kong felt that there was indeed a reason Wen Qingxuan had been unable to defeat Ji Xuan in the early stages of the original story. What kind of foundation was this? Compared to ordinary geniuses, it was practically negligible!

A favored daughter of a Heavenly Sovereign family, the Little Phoenix of her clan—she was simply dragging down the prestige of those titles.

"Are you sure?"

Jinjiu Master was still somewhat uneasy. After all, he had once become a monk. It would be bad if something really went wrong. They were honest people—every coin paid had to be worth its value.

Ye Kong rubbed Jinjiu Master's head and reassured him, "When I was cultivating Lion's Roar, I ate three Green Lion Golden Pills in one go and was perfectly fine.

"This is nothing. I'll just feed her another, milder Elixir to balance it out."

With that, Ye Kong flashed to Wen Qingxuan's side, took out a Jadeite Pill, and fed it into her mouth. He then said to Xiuling, whose face was full of anxiety, "Go get some water for your boss. Get ready to help her wash up."

Rather than obediently leaving at once, Xiuling stared at Ye Kong warily, resentment clear on her face.

"Can you guarantee that Sister Qingxuan will be all right?"

"I can! I guarantee it! If I can't, I'll call the senior monk to save her."

Ye Kong took out a Golden Jade Pendant and waved it before Xiuling. Gentle Buddha energy overflowed from his hand and covered Wen Qingxuan's brow. The Buddha energy flowed into the meridians of her body, helping her suppress the two medicinal powers within.

The Elixir Ye Kong had just given Wen Qingxuan specialized in treating internal injuries. It was like a quiet, deep-flowing stream, while the Phoenix Plume Golden Pill from before was violently potent, like towering waves surging across the sea. The two could balance each other perfectly.

Based on Ye Kong's personal experience, the chemical reaction caused by taking these two Elixirs together could greatly benefit the body. However, the person taking them had to remain conscious and guide part of the medicinal power to converge.

In Wen Qingxuan's current state, she could not be relied upon. Once she woke up, she would waste at least thirty to forty percent of the medicinal power. He could only help her himself.

"I overestimated your physical strength earlier and gave you an unsuitable Elixir. That was my mistake as your teacher. I must reflect on it, examine myself, apologize, and summarize my errors."

After saying this, Ye Kong gathered his emotions and patiently guided her.

"But now that you've already taken the Elixirs, do your best to stay conscious. Absorb all the medicinal power from both of them, and I guarantee you'll benefit immensely. Until you become a Supreme, no one at the same level will be able to defeat you.

"Of course, that's assuming you don't encounter a monster like me."

Xiuling, who had not yet gone far, nearly turned back and glared at Ye Kong upon hearing that.

Was that something a teacher should say to a student?! Couldn't he tell even one kind lie?

Wen Qingxuan, whose body had only just stabilized, let out a muffled groan. Her eyelids trembled violently, making it clear just how agitated she was.

"When I first began cultivating, my master told me that Buddhist cultivators can only rise above others by enduring the bitterest hardships.

"That's why our methods of tempering the body have always been extremely domineering and brutal. Earlier, I made the mistake of relying on experience and failed to teach according to your aptitude."

"In my future instruction, I guarantee I'll analyze each situation individually. I won't skim even a drop of your Supreme Spirit Liquid. Just pay on time afterward, and don't file a complaint against me or ruin my reputation. It's best if we both do well and cooperate for mutual benefit."

"Besides, you wouldn't want those monks to know that you can't even digest a tiny Elixir properly, would you?

"That would be terribly embarrassing where we come from. It would be even worse if certain bigmouths spread it around."

Wen Qingxuan's slender shoulders shook, and her fists clenched tighter.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Ye Kong felt that she seemed to grit her teeth again. Her sweat-soaked face scrunched up even more deeply.

Mm, she had to be strengthening her resolve to withstand the medicinal power's impact on her body. It seemed that while his cheap disciple's talent was not much to speak of, her willpower was quite impressive.

Unfortunately, he had only charged her ten thousand Supreme Spirit Liquid. If he had asked for more, she probably would not even have dared to write an IOU.

About half an hour later, Ye Kong withdrew his somewhat sore right arm. He shook out the wrist that had held the same position for nearly half an hour, let out a slight breath of relief, and said to Xiuling, who had prepared the water beside them, "All right, her condition has completely stabilized. Just help her wash up after she wakes. I'm going to rest for a while."

Leaving those words behind, Ye Kong beckoned Jinjiu Master and strode away. He had no interest in watching a woman bathe. After all, the invincible Divine Beast, River Crab, existed in this world.

An hour later, a vigorous, powerful figure landed before Ye Kong, who was resting with his eyes closed. A cold smile hung at the corner of her lips, as though she were ready to devour someone.

"Teacher, did you rest well?"

"Not bad, I suppose. But you really take forever to bathe. I even had time to sleep."

Ye Kong rubbed his bleary eyes and yawned, feeling that women bathing was simply a waste of life.

"May I ask, Teacher, do you think my talent is very poor?"

Ignoring her smile, which looked dangerous but was actually worth nothing, Ye Kong answered truthfully, "Compared to me, it's very poor. Compared to the monks I've met, it's below average."

"But we Buddhist cultivators have always emphasized bodily cultivation and value being hard to kill. It's normal that you don't pursue that. And a genius like me is exceedingly rare even in this temple's history."

At this point, Ye Kong slowly rose, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to walk as he said gravely, "Back then was back then, now is now. Don't treat back then as now!

"I don't know how much praise and affection you received at home before, but here with me, you truly are weak."

"I won't deny that the elders poured vast resources into me, allowing me to gain my current strength.

"But when we little monks were used as punching bags by the senior monks and thrown into volcanic cauldrons to temper our bodies, the suffering we endured was beyond anything you could imagine."

"So..."

His white robes flashed, and Ye Kong appeared behind Wen Qingxuan. With his back to her, he said slowly, "Out of respect for your ten thousand Supreme Spirit Liquid, I will do my best to teach you over the coming period. But the experience definitely won't be pleasant."

"Of course, you may refuse. Just write me another IOU for three hundred Supreme Spirit Liquid. When I take money, I always insist on willing payment and fair dealing."

"Now, tell me your..."

"I choose the first option!" Before Ye Kong could smoothly finish speaking, Wen Qingxuan cut him off, making his expression stiffen for a moment.

"Fine, then. The first lesson starts now: learning how to brew a medicinal bath!"

Ye Kong took a golden, three-legged medicinal cauldron from his Mustard Seed Bracelet. It stood one zhang and six chi tall and three zhang across. With a bang, he slammed it onto the ground and said, "Where we come from, besides eating good things, the most important methods of tempering the body are ascetic practices like being struck by lightning and descending into volcanoes. Conditions here are poor, so we can only prepare a relatively gentle medicinal bath.

"We'll throw you into the cauldron and boil you together with the medicinal pills. Once you can bathe peacefully in the pot, you'll have succeeded."

"Start preparing. Go gather firewood first—the more, the better. Otherwise, it won't boil."

Wen Qingxuan: "...(⊙_⊙)"

Was he asking me to find firewood so I could boil myself?

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