I Like Master Luo

Chapter 49: I Like Master Luo (First Update; Thanks to Lord Kang for the Silver Tip~)

Late that night, the Spirit Stone in Luo Fanchen's palm crumbled to dust. He slowly ended his cultivation and let out a long breath of stale air.

Just as he had expected, the Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art was excellent at nourishing the Lung Viscera. Although his last spirit-devouring session had damaged several Meridians, it had also driven his Soul Power and Yi Wood True Essence through the Meridians of his organs.

As a result, in just half a month, he had opened another major acupoint. His True Essence had officially entered the Yangjiao Acupoint.

His Yi Wood True Essence had performed just as well with the auxiliary acupoints: he had successfully opened the first one.

"My progress is lightning-fast. Could my foundation be unstable?"

Delight showed on Luo Fanchen's face. He had broken through two levels in six months, advancing faster than an ordinary cultivator with a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root. Even a Dao Sect disciple would have done no better.

Was the Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art, which deserved most of the credit, truly just a secondary art?

At that thought, he summoned the Eight Desolations Record of the Demoness.

[Name: Luo Fanchen]

[Lifespan: 31/70]

[Spirit Root: Five-Element Spiritual Root]

[Cultivation: Fifth Level of Qi Refining]

[Cultivation Art: Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art, Third Level (40/300)]

[Techniques: Flame Curse Art, proficient; Great Sage Perfected Person Banner Method, novice (40/300)]

[First-Rank Low-Grade Talisman Maker (300/300); must craft a First-Rank Mid-Grade Talisman to advance]

[Available Demonesses to bind: 1; accumulated Admiration Points: 150]

"Improving the cultivation art is too inefficient. I'd better use the remaining Admiration Points on the banner method and strengthen my fighting techniques."

Luo Fanchen murmured to himself. At present, it took four Admiration Points to gain one point of proficiency in the Lesser Yang Wood-Transforming Art.

The banner method was much better. It only took two.

He had gathered most of the Demonic Treasures needed for the Soul Banner's ascension ritual. Once he maxed out his proficiency, the banner could ascend a second time. It would then integrate eight techniques and make their effects available to him.

In other words, bolstered by the power of the Soul Essence, the Soul Banner could take any form he imagined.

He set aside fifty points of proficiency for the Flame Curse Art and his other unorthodox techniques, then put everything else into the Soul Banner.

None of those techniques were especially advanced. Now that his cultivation had soared, circulating his qi was effortless. In one go, fifty points brought the Flame Curse Art, Golden Cicada Escape, and Smoke Cloud Escape to full proficiency at the advanced stage.

Yi Wood True Essence coursed ceaselessly through his Meridians. The improvements did not finish until the latter half of the night.

[Techniques: Smoke Cloud Escape (advanced); Flame Curse Art (advanced); Golden Cicada Escape (advanced)]

[Great Sage Perfected Person Banner Method, novice (90/300)]

Luo Fanchen stretched. He was delighted, though his Meridians felt slightly swollen and sore, and fatigue had begun to weigh on his mind.

The techniques might not have been first-rate, but paired with Yi Wood True Essence, they still gave his combat strength a considerable boost. If he met a Demonic Cultivator at the same level now, he finally had the confidence to clash with them.

Luo Fanchen was very satisfied. His only regret was that Mo Xue's admiration value remained at two.

The girl's growing admiration seemed to have hit a bottleneck. He had a few guesses: his recent actions and strength might not have given Mo Xue enough of a sense of security, and the step from two to three was a crucial transformation.

One meant friend, two meant family or a loved one. What could three mean? It was so hard to guess.

Luo Fanchen sighed. After twenty years of arduous cultivation, he had always been slow when it came to relationships and feelings. He could only start by making her feel safer.

He still needed to focus on himself and improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Setting the thought aside, Luo Fanchen circulated his qi through dozens of Lesser Celestial Circuits over the course of the night. His injured Meridians had only just healed, and he was exhausted. He lay down fully clothed and fell fast asleep.

Ever since he had obtained the Soul Banner, he could safely leave the watch to Qiu Yun. He rested much easier that way.

Qiu Yun was so dependable.

"Swish, swish... rustle, rustle..."

Half an hour later, the campfire crackled outside the cave. A ghostly shadow crept timidly across the ground. In the heat shimmer, it stretched longer and longer until it covered Luo Fanchen's entire body.

A little head peeked shyly out of the ground. Her lovely face was faintly flushed, and mist glimmered in her watery eyes. Beneath her timidity lay a trace of longing.

Qiu Yun bit her lip and did her best to suppress the increasingly feverish breaths in her throat as she edged toward Uncle Luo.

She couldn't hold out any longer. The Baleful Pill was vicious, its resentment intense. Resisting it consumed a great deal of her Soul Power. She urgently needed Uncle Luo's essence blood to steady her mind.

She glanced left and right like a guilty thief. Her form slowly rose from the ground and floated before Uncle Luo. Her pale hand trembled as she reached for his collar, but just as her fingertips were about to touch it, another slender, fair hand seized her wrist.

"Well, look at this little thief. Oh—it's Qiu Yun~"

"S-sister?"

Qiu Yun felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She jerked her hand back as if shocked, but could not pull free.

She had forgotten that she could switch freely between a physical form and a Soul Body.

"Qiu Yun, do you hate me?"

Mo Xue's brows drooped, and her lips pressed into a faint, bitter curve. "I don't want Qiu Yun to hate me."

"Can we talk?"

"I..."

Qiu Yun's pale throat bobbed incessantly. For a long moment, she kept glancing at Uncle Luo's neck, swallowing desperately.

She tugged at the corners of her mouth and said, aggrieved and helpless, "Does it have to be now?"

"Whose fault is it for always hiding from me?"

Mo Xue gave a soft snort. Tightening her grip on Qiu Yun's wrist, she pulled her to her side and half dragged her out of the cave, every inch the commanding elder sister.

Qiu Yun's lips parted and closed feebly. Her gaze lingered on the skin of Uncle Luo's neck. She could have wept.

In the end, she did not have the courage to defy her elder sister outright.

"Does Qiu Yun hate me?"

"How could I?"

Qiu Yun's thoughts were in chaos. The hunger deep in her soul was slowly gnawing away at her mind, leaving her words disjointed. Before she could finish, Mo Xue continued on her own.

"But I don't want Qiu Yun to hate me. I like Qiu Yun very much. I can't bear the thought of life without her."

Mo Xue pulled Qiu Yun down beside her and met her little sister's eyes with a sword-sharp gaze.

She was poor at expressing herself and sensitive at heart. Yet when it came to someone she truly cherished, she could lay bare every thought without reservation.

"Big Sister, how could I hate you? It's just..."

"Is it because of Master Luo?"

Mo Xue's little face was earnest. Qiu Yun's eyes darted away, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Who else could it be?

Uncle Luo was the only person either she or Sister Mo Xue could rely on. But how could she compare with Mo Xue?

Mo Xue had a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root and an exceptional gift for swordsmanship. One day, she would enter the Dao Sect and stand out from the crowd. She had also known Uncle Luo longer. In fact, it was thanks to Mo Xue that Uncle Luo had agreed to take Qiu Yun in at all.

And Qiu Yun? She was only a disembodied soul, with no one to depend on, forced to fight off the erosion of evil thoughts day after day.

Fear and panic gripped her. Her fierce sense of inferiority gave rise to jealousy. No matter how hard she tried to suppress them, guilt-ridden thoughts kept welling up alongside those evil impulses.

Mo Xue deserved to be cherished above all others. But... why couldn't Qiu Yun be cherished too?

"Hah... haah..."

Qiu Yun's breath came hot and ragged. The fierce longing deep in her soul was breaking down her will.

Without essence blood to keep them in check, the negative emotions buried in her mind seemed to have found an opening. They were about to burst free.

Mo Xue folded her arms across her chest, a faint smile lifting the corners of her narrow eyes.

Qiu Yun noticed the smallest things, but she was too stubborn and kept everything bottled up. Mo Xue had watched her for a long time. Only when Qiu Yun slipped into Uncle Luo's bedding at night to replenish herself with his essence blood did her emotions visibly stir.

Only now could they truly lay their hearts bare.

Forgive me, Qiu Yun. I won't make you suffer like this again.

Mo Xue apologized silently. Watching her little sister's lovely face tighten as resentment rose within her made Mo Xue's heart ache.

"Mo Xue... Sister Mo Xue, what do you think of Uncle Luo?"

"What do I think? Hmm."

Mo Xue rubbed her chin with her knuckles. After a moment's thought, she answered earnestly, "I like Master Luo."

Qiu Yun's little face went still. As she pressed her lips tightly together, her teeth left tender red marks on them.

So that was how it was?

(End of chapter)