"What? A Rogue Cultivator???" Gen Yeming froze on the spot and said in surprise, "Th-this... how is that possible?"
Xiao Hua smiled bitterly. "Of course I am a Rogue Cultivator. Otherwise... why would I have considered joining the Thunder Control Sect?"
"May I ask how old you are, Fellow Daoist?" Gen Yeming asked curiously.
"I... am probably twenty-three," Xiao Hua answered truthfully, not daring to lie.
"Oh, then Fellow Daoist Xiao must have taken some kind of appearance-preserving pill?" Gen Yeming was no longer surprised. Looking at Xiao Hua, he smiled. "You are quite fortunate, Fellow Daoist. Pills that preserve one's appearance are exceedingly difficult to find in the Cultivation World."
"Mm... perhaps." Xiao Hua's answer was vague, but a thought stirred in his heart. So that was why my appearance never seemed to change—it was the appearance-preserving pill! It must truly be hard to find, or I would have known about it long ago!
"Appearance-preserving pills?" Envy also appeared on Xue Xue's face as she stared blankly at Xiao Hua's youthful features. Of course—eternal youth was the highest realm pursued by women, whether immortal or mortal!
"Right, Fellow Daoist Xiao, you just mentioned... cultivating some kind of fire-attribute technique?" Gen Yeming asked again. "As a Rogue Cultivator, you have actually reached the tenth layer of Qi Cultivation at only twenty-three. You can be called a peerless prodigy. I am rather interested in your cultivation technique!"
"The Burning Heaven Art!" Xiao Hua replied with a smile.
"The Burning Heaven Art?" Gen Yeming pondered for a moment, then said strangely, "I... do not seem to have heard of such a technique!"
"To let Fellow Daoist Gen know, it is merely a rudimentary technique!" Xiao Hua said with an unsurprised smile.
Gen Yeming looked at Xiao Hua, seemingly weighing the truth of