Girls with Glasses Are Great! A Mysterious Inheritance

"We can try!"

Ye Qingzhou's hand had been some distance from Ye Xinlan, but now he pushed it forward and pressed it directly against her lower abdomen. "Hold your breath and focus. I'll use my Dou Qi to guide you through a cycle. That's faster than finding problems and pointing them out."

That push sent a shock through Ye Xinlan's entire body.

But his words put her at ease, and she was no longer nervous.

Ye Qingzhou slowly began injecting his Dou Qi.

Before long, he noticed something interesting.

Wherever his Dou Qi circulated, the flow sped up noticeably. This showed that the power of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was indeed suited to the Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture, though it might also be suited to all fire- and Wood Attribute cultivation methods.

Or perhaps it could enhance cultivation in every respect.

Interesting, Ye Qingzhou mused. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame can purify all things under heaven and wash away every impurity. That's why my physical talent improved.

If my Dou Qi keeps carrying this wisp of power as it circulates through her body, will her meridians and Dou Qi also be gradually cleansed?

Although the effect would certainly be much weaker than refining the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame directly, over time, it could improve her physique and talent too.

If Ye Zhong hadn't been standing nearby, Ye Qingzhou would have liked to use the power of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame to conduct a little experiment on Ye Xinlan, to see whether it could noticeably improve her talent too.

Given the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's purifying properties, even a small amount of feedback might help her temper her Dou Qi and clear her meridians, taking her cultivation speed to the next level.

But the thought only flashed through his mind.

A power like the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame could not be exposed in the slightest.

Using his own Dou Qi, which carried the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, to help Ye Xinlan improve her cultivation was the most he could do for now.

If he became a true expert in the future, it wouldn't be too late to experiment with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's power then. At that point, he could use it to nurture capable subordinates and reward those whose talent wasn't top-tier but who had helped him early on.

"S-so fast. It feels so good."

"Cousin is amazing! Is this what it feels like to lie back and be carried to victory!?"

Ye Xinlan was the most sensitive to the changes in her own body.

After Ye Qingzhou's consciousness entered her body, she not only grew increasingly proficient with the cultivation method, but her Dou Qi also circulated more and more smoothly, as though a gentle force were clearing a path through her body.

Beside the stone table, Ye Zhong set down his teacup, his gaze turning slightly grave. "This boy truly is extraordinary. He can even accelerate Xin Lan's cultivation. It must be because of his powerful soul force."

Ye Zhong had clearly gotten the wrong idea, but the result was the same.

What amazed Ye Zhong even more was that Ye Qingzhou was cultivating himself while guiding Ye Xinlan.

He could sense that Ye Qingzhou's Dou Qi was constantly circulating, slowly but steadily, like a furnace burning over a gentle flame, silently and ceaselessly tempering his own cultivation.

In other words, the boy's "guidance" not only didn't delay his own cultivation, but the process of repeatedly explaining the cultivation method's circulation route also made his understanding of the Crimson Flame Bodhi Scripture more proficient.

"This feels like dual cultivation."

Ye Zhong's eyes lit up. Not only did he need to focus on nurturing Ye Qingzhou, but he also needed to nurture the relationship between him and Ye Xinlan. That would leave him with even fewer worries.

Time slipped quietly by. By the time Ye Xinlan finished cultivating and opened her eyes, four hours had passed.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes shone brightly. "Cousin, cultivation went especially smoothly today. I was at least thirty percent faster than yesterday!"

"And..."

She carefully felt it out and spoke with some uncertainty.

"I have a feeling it's not because I've gotten a better grasp of the cultivation method."

"It should be because my Dou Qi was guiding yours." Ye Qingzhou didn't intend to explain too much. "Since this method works, I'll teach you this way from tomorrow onward."

"Mm-hmm. Sorry for the trouble, Cousin." Ye Xinlan nodded, her face full of admiration.

"It's nothing." Ye Qingzhou smiled calmly. "We agreed that you'd give me a pill, and I'd be your teacher for a year."

"Not all teachers are alike." Ye Xinlan shook her head gently. "With a teacher as thoughtful and attentive as you, Cousin, I'm the one who got the better deal."

Ye Zhong watched the two whispering together, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. "You two, stop flirting over there. You'll have plenty of time for that later. Come with this old man and attend to proper business first."

Ye Xinlan's pretty face turned bright red in an instant. She stamped her foot without thinking and protested, "Grandpa, what are you saying!?"

"Who's-who's flirting!?"

She protested, but the tips of her ears were already crimson, and even her neck had taken on a faint pink hue.

Ye Qingzhou sensed what Ye Zhong was trying to do and saw nothing wrong with it.

A young girl's blush was more telling than any confession, and he was the one reaping all the benefits anyway.

He quite liked Ye Xinlan, this girl with glasses and her contrasting sides.

Ye Zhong stopped teasing Ye Xinlan and raised his right hand, beckoning gently at the empty air.

The space around them twisted slightly. Ye Qingzhou's pupils contracted as he felt a gentle field of force envelop him.

The next instant, the scenery beneath his feet abruptly blurred, and wind howled past his ears. He instinctively closed his eyes and used his soul force to sense his surroundings.

A few breaths later, he opened his eyes again to find the scene before him had come back into focus.

"Tearing open space and traveling a short distance."

"As expected of a Dou Zong!"

Ye Qingzhou yearned for it.

The Dou Zong level was the true starting point for a cultivator to transcend the ordinary.

Before that, even a Dou Emperor was merely at the limit of an ordinary person, without having undergone a fundamental transformation.

Ye Qingzhou looked up and saw four large characters, "Ye Clan Ancestral Hall," carved in a masterful hand above the entrance to the ancient, unadorned hall before him.

The ancestral hall? I've never been here before.

Ye Qingzhou stared at the Ye Clan Ancestral Hall. He felt that every stroke contained an indescribable charm, with the faintest glimmers of light flowing between them.

The next instant, his consciousness suddenly reeled.

The scenery before him warped and twisted as though ripples had spread across water.

Ye Zhong's back, Ye Xinlan's profile, the stone steps before the ancestral hall's gates-everything seemed to lie behind a rippling curtain of water.

His body was clearly still standing where it was, yet his consciousness seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, plunging into another void.

The disorientation lasted only a moment. Ye Qingzhou quickly came to his senses, only to find himself in a completely unfamiliar space.

There was no heaven or earth here. A pale golden mist filled the surroundings, as though he were in an ocean formed from soul force.

"Where is this?" Ye Qingzhou looked around warily.

Instinct told him there was no danger here, but he remained wary of the unfamiliar surroundings.

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame Seed surfaced in the depths of his soul to protect him, keeping his thoughts clear.

Just then, an aged voice suddenly sounded from the depths of the space, low and distant, as though it had crossed a thousand years to reach his ears.

"At last, one of my descendants has managed to come here."