Senior, Please Behave Yourself

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

Zhou Er successfully broke through to the eleventh level of Qi Refining, his internal mana becoming even more potent.

With his current cultivation progress, he could reach Perfection of the Twelfth Level of Qi Refining within a year.

The speed was already extremely fast, but Zhou Er was not entirely satisfied, as this meant another year of torment.

Therefore, he still needed to collect new attributes as quickly as possible to further accelerate his progress.

However, whenever he went out to browse, apart from Wanbao Pavilion, the items in other places did not have strong attribute effects, and they wasted equipment slot positions and time for solidification.

The items in Wanbao Pavilion were too valuable, and he was short on cash, unable to buy much.

However, Zhou Er's daily progress was visible to the naked eye. Even if he encountered some minor bottlenecks, he could persevere and work hard without giving up or wasting time.

This was already incomparable to ordinary people.

Even Gu Fan had failed to break through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer several times. She wanted to slack off, but he persuaded her to persevere, and she successfully broke through.

Now, his daily progress was acceptable, so Zhou Er had no intention of taking risks and continued to cultivate peacefully in Bashui Immortal City.

If one day he truly reached a dead end, he would then consider other radical methods.

During this month, Zhou Er had also paid attention to many matters.

For example, the movements of Xie Jingyi, the Second-tier Talisman Master from the Xie Family, and the recent emergence of demonic paths and Wugu Dao in Chu State.

The Wugu Dao incident had caused quite a stir. It was said that a Wugu Dao inheritor had already reached the Golden Core realm and was secretly stirring up trouble.

The Chu State sects were encircling and suppressing these Wugu Dao inheritors, while the Wugu Dao inheritors were attempting to plunder the Chu State sects' spirit lands in an effort to re-establish their lineage.

For this purpose, the Wugu Dao inheritors were recruiting other sects everywhere.

If Wugu Dao produced a Nascent Soul cultivator, it might truly be able to establish itself.

Just like the Hehuan Sect, which was also one of the thirty-three paths of the Xiantian Demon Sect, the Hehuan Dao, had managed to establish a foothold in a spirit land because it had a pair of Nascent Soul Devil Lords above it.

Now, it was slowly distancing itself from the Xiantian Demon Sect, showing signs of whitewashing itself into a neutral force.

Compared to other demonic paths with more destructive and dangerous natures, the Hehuan Dao was much gentler.

Of course, many people still regarded Hehuan Sect cultivators as demonic cultivators.

As a Qi Refining disciple who had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, Zhou Er, of course, could not comment on the general trend of the Cultivation World.

He merely used this to judge his own situation and whether the current Bashui Immortal City was safe and could continue to be his base.

Based on the current situation, although there was turmoil outside, it had little impact on Bashui Immortal City, and he could continue to cultivate peacefully for the time being.

Another half year passed, and Zhou Er's cultivation at the Eleventh Level of Qi Refining had progressed by half.

The attributes True Essence Flow and Blood Qi Abundance were also solidified.

At this time, he received news that the Talisman Masters of Bashui Immortal City would be holding a gathering in a month.

Coincidentally, Zhou Er was currently researching Second-tier Runes and had not made any breakthroughs.

When the gathering arrived, he could take the opportunity to consult those Second-tier Talisman Masters.

On the day of the gathering, Zhou Er asked Gu Fan if she wanted to go together.

Gu Fan knew that if she went, she wouldn't be able to talk to those Talisman Masters and would instead disturb Zhou Er's social interactions. Therefore, she didn't join in the fun, not wanting to cause trouble for Zhou Er.

Zhou Er didn't say anything further. He first went to find Gu Jiu, and then, along with several Gu Family Talisman Masters, headed to the gathering location.

The gathering was held in the Cave Mansion of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Xie Family. The location rotated among the various families for each gathering.

The Talisman Masters who could attend were basically from the Four Great Families of Bashui Immortal City and those associated with them.

Lone Talisman Masters were extremely rare; they mostly gathered in groups of three to five, forming small circles.

Although people from different families were subtly at odds with each other, they appeared very harmonious on the surface.

The gathering also invited many beautiful men and women who performed songs and dances for the Talisman Masters.

Most of the Talisman Masters hadn't seen each other in a long time and were interacting, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

"Cang Old Brother, weren't you wanting to ask Senior Xie Jingyi about the Water Mirror Talisman?"

Gu Jiu saw Xie Jingyi walking by not far away and gave Zhou Er a look, saying:

"That is Senior Xie Jingyi."

Zhou Er followed Gu Jiu's gaze and saw a female cultivator with a proud figure. The female cultivator had a cold and aloof expression, and a handsome male cultivator followed behind her.

Although the male cultivator looked sturdy, he was lowering his head, appearing somewhat fearful and uneasy.

"Is that Senior Xie's Dao Companion?"

Zhou Er asked doubtfully.

"Hahaha, he's just Senior Xie's Cauldron. Don't mind him."

The others said with a laugh.

Xie Jingyi had never had a Dao Companion, but she frequently changed her Cauldron.

Zhou Er, not paying attention to Xie Jingyi's lifestyle, stepped forward to strike up a conversation.

"Senior, I am Cang Er, a First-tier Talisman Master who advanced the year before last."

Zhou Er introduced himself.

A gathering was inherently a social event, so Zhou Er didn't need to be too shy.

Xie Jingyi initially didn't want to bother with a newcomer, but seeing that Zhou Er was good-looking and appeared to have ample vitality, she decided to play along with a "let's see" attitude and asked:

"You recognize me?"

"He is the Gu Family's son-in-law."

At this moment, a Xie Family member, who had met Zhou Er a few times, introduced him to Xie Jingyi.

"Roar!"

Seeing this, Xie Jingyi became even more interested.

Thus, she struck up a conversation with Zhou Er.

The others dared not disturb them and moved to other areas. The male Cauldron following behind Xie Jingyi didn't dare to speak, keeping his head down the entire time.

"Little friend Cang, it's not convenient to talk here. Why don't you come with me? I'll teach you how to draw a Water Mirror Talisman."

Saying this, Xie Jingyi led Zhou Er towards an empty room.

This was her Xie Family's Cave Mansion, and she could naturally enter and exit freely.

Zhou Er couldn't discern Xie Jingyi's intentions and could only follow her in.

This room was a guest room, usually unoccupied.

Upon seeing Zhou Er enter, Xie Jingyi immediately waved her hand to close the door, activated the Restriction, and sealed them off from the outside.

Then, with a flushed face, she said:

"Little friend Cang, let me see your Talisman Brush first."

As she spoke, she was also panting. Zhou Er didn't understand how a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could be like this.

But since she had said so, he took out his best Talisman Brush, the Snow Fox Brush that Gu Fan had given him before.

Taking the Talisman Brush, Xie Jingyi slowly kneaded it with her hands, then shook her head as if playing with it and said:

"Too thin."

Seeing her actions, Zhou Er understood and said:

"Senior Xie, I have a Dao Companion. Let's talk about this outside!"

"This party is so boring, why don't we play something more interesting?"

Xie Jingyi looked at Zhou Er, her eyes full of affection, her demeanor completely different from her usual aloofness.

"Senior, what do you want to play?"

Zhou Er put away his Talisman Brush and looked at Xie Jingyi warily.

"What do you think?"

Xie Jingyi said seductively.

Then, she took out a Dual Cultivation Technique and handed it to Zhou Er with a smile, using her artifact to propel it.

Zhou Er didn't know what it was at first. After a glance, he immediately made a decision.

"Senior, please respect yourself."

Zhou Er removed the Restriction on the room and fled the room as if he were escaping.

This Senior Xie was too wild.

The circle was truly messy.

Of course, he wouldn't dare to do anything outrageous.

This matter could be big or small.

It could be a small matter that everyone tacitly agreed to play with, or it could be a major event that would ruin his reputation.

Moreover, Zhou Er suspected that this was a test from the Gu Family for him.

Therefore, he was even less likely to do anything out of line.

"Cang Old Brother, how was your chat with Senior Xie?"

Gu Jiu asked.

"Uncle Jiu, I might be dull-witted and unable to comprehend Senior Xie's intentions,"

Zhou Er said somewhat awkwardly.

Seeing that Zhou Er was acting strangely, the Gu Family cultivators didn't press the matter further.

Afterward, the group of Talisman Masters chatted about many other things, watched the beautiful female cultivator's sword dance, ate and drank, and the party dispersed.

Zhou Er also made some new friends, but Xie Jingyi kept looking at him from time to time, making him feel extremely strange.

After returning home, Zhou Er told Gu Fan everything about the incident.

"Sister Fan, I really didn't know Senior Xie was like that. If I had, I definitely wouldn't have followed her in," Zhou Er explained.

"Why does Senior Xie act so outrageously?" Gu Fan was also a bit puzzled, and at the same time, she harbored some suspicion towards Zhou Er's words.

However, she had a way to check.

After the inspection, Gu Fan confirmed that Zhou Er wasn't lying and that nothing had happened between him and that Senior Xie. She dismissed her suspicions about him.

"Don't interact with Senior Xie in the future. And don't speak ill of Senior Xie either. This matter is, after all, not dignified," Gu Fan cautioned.

"I naturally understand," Zhou Er nodded.

He had a rough idea why Xie Jingyi could be so wild without any rumors spreading about her, and it was because of her background and status.

But this meant he lost a channel to learn the Water Mirror Talisman.

Still, not getting too deeply involved was also a good thing.

For the time being, he would focus on cultivation and break through to Foundation Establishment first.

For the next six months, Zhou Er lived a secluded life, undisturbed by others.

[Name: Zhou Er]

[Cultivation: Twelfth Level of Qi Refining (0.01%)]

[Equipment Slot (3/3): Foundation Establishment Pill, Golden Cicada Slough, Storage Bag.]

[Unsolidified Attributes: Cicada Concealment (Green), Void Breaking (White).]

[Solidified Attributes: Foundation Consolidation (White), True Essence Flow (White), Blood Qi Abundance (White)...]

Since he couldn't find any useful attributes, Zhou Er focused on cultivation, temporarily ignoring the equipment slots.

Perhaps after breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he might have better opportunities.

He had finally broken through to the Twelfth Level of Qi Refining and met the solidification condition for the Foundation Consolidation attribute, successfully solidifying it.

Now, he could start attempting Foundation Establishment. Continuing to cultivate wouldn't yield much improvement and would just be a waste of time.

He had read the Foundation Establishment experience left by Gu Fan's parents. The process of Foundation Establishment takes anywhere from three to ten days and requires choosing a good location.

The Gu Family had many seclusion chambers suitable for Foundation Establishment, where one would not be disturbed.

However, after the incident on Fanhua Island, Zhou Er harbored doubts about the Gu Family.

Within the Gu Family, there were definitely people who were unhappy with the couple.

Although the possibility was slim, it was not impossible for someone to interfere and cause trouble.

After much thought, Zhou Er decided to rent a seclusion chamber from the Wang Family, which they leased out, and spend some Spirit Stones to do so.

This was better than being backstabbed by someone from his own family.

He decided to keep this matter from Gu Fan as well, so he told her:

"Sister Fan, I plan to go home for a visit. It will take about a month."

"Go home?"

Gu Fan was a little confused.

"Yes, my old home in the Qi Kingdom. I haven't told my father about our marriage yet. I plan to inform him about it," Zhou Er said.

"I see. Do you need me to go with you?" Gu Fan asked.

Although Zhou Er was a live-in son-in-law, their relationship was very equal, and she could visit his parents as a daughter-in-law.

"Sister Fan, there's no need. I don't want matters of the Cultivation World to affect their lives," Zhou Er shook his head and said.

Hearing this, Gu Fan felt a slight displeasure, but she understood Zhou Er's intentions and did not insist. She only said:

"Then please send my regards to your parents. During your absence, I will return to Fanhua Island to stay."

After leaving Fanhua Island for a year, Gu Fan also missed home.

Bai Zhuozhuo had been home for a year and was safe. The island had also been mostly rebuilt, so it was fine for her to return now.

"Alright!"

Seeing this, Zhou Er did not object.

The next day, the two left Bashui Immortal City together and returned to Fanhua Island.

After more than a year of recuperation, Bai Zhuozhuo's strength had almost recovered, and she had adapted to her new prosthetic hand about eighty to ninety percent. Her condition was very good.

Seeing the two return, she greeted them with joy.

"Miss, Son-in-law."

Bai Zhuozhuo said with a smile.

Zhou Er nodded. After staying on Fanhua Island for a day, he left the island the next day.

Zhou Er took a detour, disguised himself, and entered Bashui Immortal City from another side.

After entering the city, Zhou Er went to find the Wang family to rent a Seclusion Chamber.

The Seclusion Chambers were charged by the day, one Spirit Stone per day, with a minimum rental period of one month. Any unused rent would be refunded after exiting seclusion.

Zhou Er first followed a Wang family member managing the Seclusion Chambers to the one he intended to rent.

These Seclusion Chambers had Second-tier Restrictions, and defensive Formations were set up around them, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter easily.

In addition, Formations imported additional Spirit Energy, ensuring that the Spirit Energy within the Seclusion Chamber remained sufficient, meeting the Spirit Energy requirements during Foundation Establishment.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think of this place?"

The Wang family member asked.

"This place is excellent."

Zhou Er considered it briefly, looked at the condition of the Seclusion Chamber, and chose this one.

"Excellent, let's sign the Contract directly!"

The Wang family member said with a smile.

Afterward, the two signed the Contract, paid one month's rent, and Zhou Er gained the right to use the Seclusion Chamber for one month.

"Fellow Daoist, after one month, we will open the Seclusion Chamber. Please estimate the time yourself and do not be late."

The Wang family member reminded him before leaving.

During seclusion, day and night might not be distinguishable, but Cultivators who have practiced for a long time have a certain sense of time.

Moreover, one month was enough for three attempts.

Zhou Er nodded, closed the door of the Seclusion Chamber, and activated the Restriction.

"It's a pity I didn't find more Foundation Establishment Spirit Items, otherwise the probability of Foundation Establishment could have been increased."

Zhou Er thought.

However, Foundation Establishment Spirit Items were not easy to find.

Rather than wasting time searching for Foundation Establishment Spirit Items, it was better to try his luck now and take a gamble.

Taking out the Foundation Establishment Pill, Zhou Er prepared himself, carefully recalled the Foundation Establishment experience and insights he had read before, sat cross-legged for a long time, swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill in one gulp, and began Refining.