Threats and Opportunities

"I was about to go to sleep, but I don't think I can now."

Warm, soft breath brushed his nose. Half helpless and half indulgent, Luo Fanchen extended a finger and tapped Mo Xue's forehead.

"And you. You've been diligent with your cultivation and sword practice these past few days. You should get some proper rest."

"It's all Master Luo's fault."

Mo Xue lowered her almond-shaped eyes, her pale hands clutching Luo Fanchen's robe until the fabric wrinkled.

"My fault?"

"The bear meat Master Luo brought back smells so good it's driving me out of my mind. How am I supposed to sleep?"

Mo Xue pouted as she mumbled, then shyly buried half her face against Luo Fanchen's chest. She kept sniffing until Pine Sandalwood Fragrance filled her nose, and only then did her heart settle a little.

The bold, heady aroma of the Golden Roar Bear's meat still occupied her thoughts. Its pure fleshly essence and abundant spiritual energy had kept her tossing and turning half the night, unable to sleep.

Several times, she had wanted to sneak off and steal some, but she had forced herself to resist. When she could bear it no longer, she had crawled into Master Luo's bed to breathe in his scent and ease the craving.

"Greedy girl. Don't worry, you'll get to eat it."

Luo Fanchen smiled. The hot, moist breath spilling from her lips tickled his chest.

He reached out and gently pinched Mo Xue's soft cheek. She raised her chin in protest and grumbled, "Master Luo still treats me like a child."

"A proper lady wouldn't crawl into someone else's bed in the middle of the night."

"Then I'd rather be a child."

Mo Xue bashfully lowered her head and let Master Luo fuss over her. The tension in her brow eased, and her almond-shaped eyes narrowed to slits.

"Master Luo... are we going to leave?"

Mo Xue pursed her lips, a flicker of unease in her eyes. But she also wanted him to know she supported him. "Wherever Master Luo goes, Qiu Yun and I will go too."

"I'll handle it properly. Don't worry."

Luo Fanchen rested his hand on Mo Xue's head, stroking it as he gently combed his fingers through her silken black hair.

She rubbed her cheek against his chest with obvious pleasure and murmured, "I believe in you, Master Luo. Once I join the Dao Sect, even Foundation Establishment cultivators won't be able to bully you."

"Reach Foundation Establishment first, you greedy kitten."

Tenderness filled Luo Fanchen's eyes. He held Mo Xue loosely and watched sleep gradually soften her little face and steady her breathing.

Mo Xue was not merely craving food. The uncertainty surrounding that Foundation Establishment cultivator had unsettled her. She had instinctively sought someone to lean on, while making clear that she supported him with all her heart.

Her progress is so fast. After she eats the Golden Roar Bear, she'll probably reach the second level of Qi Refining. Mo Xue really can join the Dao Sect.

Luo Fanchen moved carefully, shifting Mo Xue to his left so her head rested in the crook of his arm and she could sleep more comfortably.

Of the Conception Vessel's twenty-four acupoints, Mo Xue had already opened twenty-two, reaching the Tiantu acupoint.

Once she broke through to the second level of Qi Refining and obtained the high-grade Mystic Method, the Heavenly Heart Art, she would begin to have real fighting strength.

The Treasure Pavilion probably means me no harm. Otherwise, that pavilion master could have sent a few late-stage Qi Refining cultivators to seize the initiative and capture me.

What that pavilion master has done... feels more like a gesture of goodwill.

Luo Fanchen pursed his lips in thought. After weighing the matter again and again, he settled on three key points and confirmed that the situation was highly favorable to him.

First, the Treasure Pavilion's master feared the Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art—or rather, the sect behind it.

Second, the pavilion master did not know which sect the art belonged to, but could tell that Yi Wood True Essence bore the characteristics of a Dao Sect Arcane Canon.

Third, the pavilion master did not know Luo Fanchen had stolen the art. Nor would the pavilion master instinctively believe a Rogue Cultivator could steal a Dao Sect's inherited Arcane Canon. In the pavilion master's eyes, Luo Fanchen was no different from a Dao Sect disciple traveling incognito.

So the Treasure Pavilion's master is doing all this simply to invest early in a Dao Sect disciple?

Luo Fanchen murmured soundlessly. At last, the other party's behavior made sense.

Take the Clear River Sect, for example. Its sect-guarding art was the high-grade Law Scroll, the Supreme Benevolent Deep-Flowing Art, which could be cultivated as far as Core Formation. Its inherited art was the Cloudwater Heavenly Essence Art.

Only the finest inner disciples and True Disciples could study that art, and its demands on talent and compatibility were exceedingly high. Often, only one in a hundred succeeded in comprehending it.

A disciple who comprehended the inherited art could be called a future pillar of the sect.

If such a disciple matured, they would surely command a territory and become one of the sect's own with real authority.

The Treasure Pavilion's master had taken Luo Fanchen for an orthodox Dao Sect disciple who had comprehended an inherited art and had invested in him ahead of time.

Perhaps... I'm a genius? No, who am I kidding?

Luo Fanchen muttered under his breath. The requirements for inheriting a Law Scroll were stringent enough, let alone an Arcane Canon that formed the foundation of a Dao Sect.

Fortunately, he knew his own limits. He was well aware of how poor his Five-Element Spirit Root aptitude was.

According to rumor, a Dao Sect possessed several secondary arts for protecting the Dao in addition to its founding Arcane Canon.

Powerful as an Arcane Canon was, its requirements for comprehension were far too exacting. Even in a flourishing Dao Sect, only a handful of cultivators in each generation could fully grasp it.

The remaining cultivators might have no chance with the Arcane Canon, but they were still rare talents who made up the bulk of the Dao Sect. Such sects usually had several secondary arts for protecting the Dao that those cultivators could switch to.

Those secondary arts ranged from low- to high-grade Dao Scriptures. Their requirements for comprehension were forgiving and made no harsh demands on aptitude.

Is the Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art a secondary art inherited from a Dao Sect in another wild region?

However Luo Fanchen considered it, that was the only possibility.

Secondary arts fell far short of a sect-guarding Arcane Canon. Even so, several generations of Spirit Transformation masters had created them by extracting and adapting the Arcane Canon's essence, leaving them with some of its characteristics.

The Treasure Pavilion itself was merely a subordinate force of the Incense Burning Sect, and the master of its Flying Cloud Market branch was only at Foundation Establishment. It was only reasonable that the pavilion master could not identify a secondary art derived from an Arcane Canon in another wild region.

The advantage is mine. As long as I avoid meeting the Treasure Pavilion's master face-to-face, I won't give myself away.

Luo Fanchen grew a little excited. This matter was both a danger and an opportunity. If he handled it well, he could secure enough resources to support Mo Xue's cultivation.

Once Mo Xue joined the Dao Sect, even if his deception came to light, the Treasure Pavilion, as an outsider, would have to swallow the grievance in silence before the Dao Sect's might.

I'll take the gamble. At worst, Mo Xue can give the Flying Cloud Market branch first priority for future business. Then neither side will owe the other.

Luo Fanchen smiled faintly. His fingertips traced Mo Xue's peaceful sleeping face, then tucked a damp lock of hair away from the corner of her mouth and behind her ear.

They can think of it as investing in you.

With his greatest worry laid to rest, Luo Fanchen felt exhausted in body and mind. He was ready to fall asleep holding Mo Xue.

He had just closed his eyes when a chilly breeze stirred outside the window. The bedding rustled and shifted, and something cool, smooth, and silky pressed against his skin.

Luo Fanchen froze and opened his eyes at once. From beneath the covers, on the other side of the sleeping Mo Xue, a fluffy little head emerged. Mist filled the beautiful eyes that stared straight at him.

"Q-Qiu Yun?"

Luo Fanchen faltered. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Qiu Yun's fair face was flushed crimson, and pink spread down her long, pale neck and up to her earlobes. Her dewy eyes were so full of longing they seemed ready to spill springwater.

"U-Uncle Luo, I can't hold out anymore."

Qiu Yun's breath was as fragrant as hidden orchids. Her pretty face was dazed, and her cherry lips glistened. Clear bite marks showed she had been restraining herself for a long time.

The Wraiths in the Soul Banner had long since been exhausted. With no soul power to replenish her reserves while she was busy refining Puppets, she had naturally spent more than she could recover. Today, the Golden Roar Bear had awakened her appetite, and once it started, she could no longer contain it.

"Don't do anything reckless. Mo Xue only just fell asleep."

Luo Fanchen was at a loss. Afraid of waking Mo Xue, he did not dare struggle much.

"I can't... I can't hold back anymore, Uncle Luo. Please. I've already covered my sister's ears with soul power."

Qiu Yun panted softly. Burying her flushed face against him, she nipped haphazardly at Luo Fanchen's collarbone and neck, as though searching for the spot where breaking his skin would hurt him least.

The touch was damp and soft, sending tingles through him amid faint threads of pain, like lightning shooting straight to the crown of his head.

His hands even went a little numb. Afraid of waking Mo Xue, he let Qiu Yun suck at his skin for the moment.

"M-Master Luo..."

Mo Xue murmured softly. Her head rested on Luo Fanchen's forearm, and the way she curled against him severely limited his movement.

Whatever pleasant thing the girl was dreaming of, a serene, contented smile appeared on her face.