No Comparison, No Harm

Having been at the Joyous Union Sect for so long, Tang Yu has often flirted with the female disciples.

This was my first time practicing spiritual cultivation.

The Joyous Union Sect teaches its disciples the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, hoping to cultivate shared interests and hobbies through these arts.

To put it nicely, it's like finding a kindred spirit amidst mountains and flowing water.

To put it bluntly, they're birds of a feather.

Once the two parties reach a certain level of compatibility, they can connect on a spiritual level.

Only then can the Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art truly take effect.

The mutual complementation of Yin and Yang between the two greatly increases their cultivation speed!

At this moment, Tang Yu felt an indescribable joy surging through her soul.

Many people say that spiritual happiness is more important than material happiness.

Tang Yu used to think this was a good excuse for not having money.

Now he has to admit that he was being superficial; spiritual pleasures truly far surpass material ones.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn has elapsed.

The two finished their cultivation with rosy cheeks.

The moment the fair-skinned and beautiful female cultivator opened her eyes.

He broke through the bottleneck of the Golden Core stage, which had been stagnant for ten years, and immediately entered the Nascent Soul stage!

This surprised and delighted her. She turned to look at Tang Yu, who was a meter away, and opened her mouth.

"My lord, I've broken through to a higher realm... Grandmaster Uncle???"

After discovering that the man standing beside her was not her Daoist partner Ma Shitu, but her grandmaster Tang Yu.

Hu Lingbao's lips parted slightly, her face showing a hint of panic, and she felt completely numb.

I just had a spiritual connection with myself.

Could it be my grandmaster uncle???

No wonder she said that her spiritual practice time today was ten or even nine times longer than usual.

It wasn't him after all...

A subtle atmosphere instantly enveloped the two of them.

Tang Yu exclaimed with a guilty look.

"Bao'er, your grand-uncle just happened to pass by and was so engrossed in playing the zither that he subconsciously joined in a duet with you. I never expected it to turn out like this... How am I going to explain this to Xiao Ma?"

Hu Lingbao never expected this to happen.

The entire Joyous Union Sect only knew that their grandmaster's painting skills were superb.

No one knew that he was so skilled in music that a casual tune could resonate with him so deeply.

After a moment of panic, Hu Lingbao, her mind in turmoil, bit her lip and said...

"Grandmaster Uncle, let's pretend Zhi Shi never happened. I hope you won't tell anyone!"

"Of course, Bao'er, don't worry. Your grandmaster will definitely not let your reputation be tarnished. I swear on the Great Dao that I will never tell anyone about Zhi Shi."

Tang Yu raised his hand and swore an oath with a serious expression.

"Thank you, Grandmaster Uncle. I'll head back to my cave to rest now."

Hu Lingbao bowed and then hurriedly flew away with his zither, not even feeling the joy of breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

After returning to her cave, she was restless for a while.

Zhi Shi were truly beyond her expectations; how could this grandmaster uncle be so compatible with her?

She couldn't even imagine what would happen if Shitu found out about this.

As she pondered, she suddenly recalled the blissful moment of spiritual communion, and her heart inexplicably raced.

This feeling... is quite special.

Meanwhile, Ma Shitu and his companions in the Artifact Refining Hall were being forced by Elder Hu to do hard labor.

"You guys just need to finish making rubbings of these five thousand jade tubes. You can do more if you want; the more you do, the more you'll earn this month."

Elder Hu lay down on a wooden rocking chair and gave his instructions.

He didn't know why his Uncle-Master Tang Yu had sent a message just now.

They said they'd assign these guys some hard work, the kind that would take several hours to finish.

He didn't care about these things, and instead picked up his Uncle Tang Yu's jade scroll painting and examined it carefully.

Ma Shitu and his group worked tirelessly for a full five hours, holding their breath in frustration.

After finishing his work, Ma Shitu was exhausted.

This is like repeating something meaningless and detrimental to cultivation for hours on end.

Who could stand that?

After finishing his work, he said goodbye to a few lackeys and flew to the Qin Academy to find his Daoist partner.

When they arrived, their Daoist partner was nowhere to be seen.

He rushed back to his cave, and sure enough, his Daoist partner was cultivating there.

Seeing Ma Shitu return, Hu Lingbao tried to calm his expression and smiled faintly.

"Where did you go? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"We've been dragged into the Artifact Refining Hall to do hard labor. Before that bastard Tang Yu came, our Hehuan Sect Joyous Union Sect just fine. Now that he's here, everything has changed. When has the Artifact Refining Hall ever made us core disciples do hard labor before?"

Ma Shitu's words were full of resentment.

"Why are you saying that, Grandmaster Uncle? He's doing it for the good of our Joyous Union Sect."

He overheard Ma Shitu complaining about Tang Yu behind his back.

Hu Lingbao couldn't help but retort a couple of times, and for some reason, she suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

This was also the first time Ma Shitu had complained about Tang Yu in front of Hu Lingbao.

Seeing that Hu Lingbao was still speaking up for Tang Yu, he felt extremely frustrated but couldn't find a reason to refute her.

After all, from the perspective of the disciples of the Joyous Union Sect, Tang Yu was indeed a major contributor to the Joyous Union Sect's rise.

"I was just complaining casually, alright, let's continue cultivating... You've broken through???"

Ma Shitu then suddenly realized that his Daoist partner had actually broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

This surprised Ma Shitu.

They were both disciples who entered the Joyous Union Sect in the same batch.

Because they got along well, the two became cultivation partners early on, and their cultivation levels improved in sync.

He's currently stuck at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

But Hu Lingbao quietly broke through first???

"Yes, I suddenly had an epiphany while playing the zither today and successfully broke through. It's a pity you weren't here. If you were, we could have broken through together."

Hu Lingbao panicked for a moment, but fortunately, she had been thinking about how to answer these questions and already had a plan.

"Opportunity knocks but once, and I need to break through quickly. I can't fall behind you by a whole realm."

Ma Shitu laughed and pulled Hu Lingbao to sit cross-legged. The two began to cultivate their souls by circulating the Joyous Union Yin-Yang Art.

Three minutes later, Ma Shitu, looking refreshed, ended his cultivation state, feeling that his internal cultivation had increased slightly.

"I didn't expect that your breakthrough would benefit me as well; my cultivation today was much more effective than usual."

Ma Shitu said with a look of satisfaction.

"It's good that it works."

Hu Lingbao forced a smile, but felt a hollow sense of loss in his heart.

"What's wrong? You seem a little upset?"

Sensing Hu Lingbao's emotions, Ma Shitu over, put his arm around his Daoist partner's shoulder, and asked softly.

"No, why would I be in a bad mood? I'm just thinking about cultivating supernatural powers."

Hu Lingbao quickly came up with an excuse.

She couldn't possibly say that her bad mood was because they were so deeply connected.

Grandmaster Tang Yu's cultivation time was ten times longer than his, and the results must have been ten times better, right?

"There's no rush to create your own supernatural abilities. We can work on them together once I reach the Nascent Soul stage."

Ma Shitu laughed heartily, then twisted his neck, feeling a strange heaviness on his head.

After Ma Shitu left the cave.

Hu Lingbao, sitting on the edge of the bed, sighed softly, seemingly lost in thought.

Even after leaving the music academy, Tang Yu still felt a lingering sense of nostalgia.

As a man who detests conflict, Tang Yu really loved this kind of gentle and peaceful revenge.

"These traitors are still somewhat useful."

Tang Yu chuckled, planning to arrange things with them later; they were incredibly useful for spreading false information.

After returning to her Cluster Jade Pavilion, Tang Yu, feeling refreshed, took a stroll and went to check out the hot springs Cluster Jade Pavilion.

This hot spring was dug by Zhao Dashun and his companion. They used an array to introduce spiritual spring water from the earth's veins, and it cost several hundred high-grade spirit stones.

After experiencing the pure spiritual energy contained in the hot spring water.

Tang Yu took off her clothes and was about to jump in.

But then he thought, it's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone.

It just so happens that Senior Sister Nangong promised to give me a back rub last time.

So he wrapped a large towel around himself and walked casually toward the courtyard where Nangong Ying lived.

Nangong Ying has been living in the Cluster Jade Pavilion for some time now.

Even many disciples within the sect were discussing this matter privately.

They believe that the Heartless Patriarch married his most beloved junior to Tang Yu, his prized disciple, as a Daoist partner.

Tang Yu was deeply angered by these rumors.

Why don't they mention that the Ancestor promised Senior Sister Liu to him?

How heartbroken must Senior Sister Liu be, all alone, to hear these words?

After running to the courtyard where Nangong Ying lived, Tang Yu knocked on the door and called out.

"Is my wise, beautiful, and most beautiful legs-holding Senior Sister Nine Heavens Continent here?"

"Yes, yes, I'm drawing. Come in."

Nangong Ying's happy laughter came from inside the room; she was clearly pleased with Tang Yu's praise.

Tang Yu walked in casually, pushed open the door of a room, and saw Nangong Ying concentrating on painting.

The bamboo basket next to it was filled with a lot of waste paper.

These were clearly works that Nangong Ying was not very satisfied with.

Tang Yu picked up two sheets and looked at them, finding that some details were not drawn well.

Under Tang Yu's careful tutelage, Nangong Ying's skills in drawing erotic pictures improved rapidly, but she was still a little behind Tang Yu in terms of skill.

"Junior brother, look what else you have... Oh dear, junior brother, why are you dressed like that?"

Nangong Ying took the painting she had just finished and handed it to Tang Yu, asking him to take a look and see if there was anything that needed improvement.

As a result, they saw that Tang Yu was wearing a large towel around her waist.

This made her feel a little embarrassed to look directly at him.

"I was planning to go to the hot springs, and then I remembered that you promised to scrub my back last time, so I came to find you."

Tang Yu chuckled, casually picked up Nangong Ying's painting, looked at it, and pointed out a few minor details.

"Is that all that needs to be changed? Have I made a lot of progress?"

Hearing that Tang Yu had only pointed out such a small detail this time, Nangong Ying asked with a little excitement.

"Hmm, great progress. Just four words away from becoming the number one female painter of the Nine Heavens Continent."

Which four characters?

"It's just around the corner!"

Not understanding the deeper meaning, Nangong Ying was somewhat excited. After putting the painting away, she pushed Tang Yu and said.

"Come on, come on, your senior sister keeps her word, I'll give you a back rub."

"Okay, but have you ever given someone a back massage, senior sister?"

"No."

"Do you know how to rub it?"

"Isn't it just rubbing it a few times with a towel?"

Nangong Ying asked, puzzled.

As a descendant of the Nangong Clan and possessing such outstanding talent in cultivation, it's already quite remarkable that she could even have a superficial understanding of the things that maids do.

"There's an art to it. When we paint, we need to know a little about everything so that the artwork we present to the audience can be truly comprehensive."

Tang Yu said with great distress, "How about I teach you later? You lie down and I'll rub it for you once, then you'll know?"

Nangong Ying was about to agree subconsciously, then glared at him and said...

"That won't do. If I let you scrub my back, then you'll see everything."

"How can a cultivator be confined to the physical body? Senior sister, your vision is too narrow."

Tang Yu shook her head and sighed.

Nangong Ying spat a few times and ignored Tang Yu; she wasn't stupid!

After reaching the hot spring, Tang Yu jumped into the water and lay down on the edge, handing a bath towel to Nangong Ying.

Nangong Ying took off her shoes and sat by the hot spring pool, rubbing Tang Yu's back like a little maid, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Junior brother, I feel like you're different from other cultivators."

"Because I'm Yingjun?"

Tang Yu asked with a smile.

"No, you are quite good-looking, it's just that you seem to pursue something different from other cultivators."

Nangong Ying shook her head.

Other cultivators only talk about the Great Dao and cultivation.

Despite his extraordinary talent, Junior Brother Tang Yu doesn't seem to care much about cultivating his mind.

After breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, I never saw him cultivate anymore, but he did a lot of miscellaneous things instead.

In this respect, she felt that she and her junior brother Tang Yu were somewhat similar.

"Only Senior Sister Nangong truly understands me."

Tang Yu reached out and patted Nangong Ying's thigh in approval.

Nangong Ying struck his hand with a burst of true energy, knocking it to the side.

After helping to scrub her back and arms, Nangong Ying threw down the bath towel, stood up, and stretched.

"Alright! Mission accomplished! Junior brother, you can soak in your bath anytime, I'm going back to painting!"

"Wait a minute, senior sister, we're not done yet."

Tang Yu stood up and untied the last towel from her body.

"No way!!! You said you'd rub my back, not this!!!"

Nangong Ying glanced at him, her face flushed red, and was about to run away. Her junior brother was becoming more and more shameless lately.

He saw this silly girl and tried to run away.

Tang Yu shouted at the top of her lungs from behind.

"But didn't you want to improve your drawing skills? Your biggest problem right now is still with the figures."

"When drawing female characters, you can depict their figures very well because you will refer to your own."

"But when you draw male characters, you're obviously not very realistic, so my junior brother is willing to sacrifice himself, even with tears in his eyes, to improve your drawing skills."

"Senior sister, you may doubt my character, but please don't let your junior brother's good intentions go to waste."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Ying had already run to the door, stopped mid-air with her foot raised.

Then she looked back.

After taking a few glances, I still couldn't quite accept it; my heart was pounding and burning.

"I... I... I understand, goodbye, junior brother!"

After trying hard to remember this image.

Nangong Ying had to admit that compared to her own work, her paintings were indeed not realistic enough.

She ran back to her courtyard, intending to record this scene for future reference when drawing.

Tang Yu felt a little regretful; Senior Sister Nangong was still too shy.

If it were Senior Sister Liu... I'd probably be sent flying off the Cluster Jade Pavilion.

Adhering to the principle of treating everyone equally.

After soaking comfortably for a while, Tang Yu took out a bunny girl outfit from her storage ring.

I'm planning to go find Senior Sister Liu and try to persuade her to give it a try as a model.