Chapter 78 - 49: 2 Months Later, A Visitor at Huang Bamboo Temple

Chapter 78: Chapter 49: 2 Months Later, A Visitor at Huang Bamboo Temple

"Senior Brother, I’ve figured it out," Mu Xiaoyu said earnestly. "As the saying goes, short-term pain is better than long-term suffering!"

She clenched her fists, her face full of determination. "I have decided! From now on, I will devote all my energy to cultivation! I will reach the Fourth Layer as soon as possible!"

"Good! What great ambition, Junior Sister!" Li Yinsheng nodded approvingly.

Mu Xiaoyu looked a little smug.

"Well, since you have such grand aspirations, Junior Sister, why don’t we postpone tomorrow’s break until after you break through to the Fourth Layer?" Li Yinsheng suggested.

"No, no, no! I still need to rest tomorrow!"

Mu Xiaoyu shook her head repeatedly. Looking at her expression, Li Yinsheng felt like she might burst into tears of panic at any moment.

"Alright, alright, we’ll rest. Balancing work and rest, knowing when to push and when to relax—that is also beneficial to cultivation." Li Yinsheng shook his head and smiled.

Mu Xiaoyu, who had been on the verge of crying, finally relaxed.

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. After tomorrow’s rest, I will redouble my efforts in cultivation and reach the Fourth Layer as soon as possible!" she promised. "Even if I have to sacrifice some time practicing the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword to cultivate the Qingxuan Scripture, I won’t hesitate!"

Mu Xiaoyu made this statement with immense resolve. In her experience, practicing cultivation techniques was much more exhausting than practicing swordsmanship. The more time she spent on cultivation, the more fatigued she became.

"That won’t do!" Li Yinsheng immediately interjected anxiously. "You can’t slack off on the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword either!"

Two months later, inside Xuanzhen Temple.

Mu Xiaoyu was still practicing in front of the main hall. For the past two months, she hadn’t taken a single day off.

Compared to when she first entered Xuanzhen Temple over four months ago, every punch and step she threw now generated a fierce gust of wind. At first glance, she already possessed the imposing aura of a mortal martial arts master.

Of course, even if they were only comparing martial arts, few so-called martial arts masters in the mortal realm could rival his junior sister now.

The Quenching Essence Lock on her body had increased from five hundred pounds—its weight when she first reached the Third Layer—to a staggering eight hundred pounds. In other words, she had been cultivating, eating, and sleeping under a constant burden of eight hundred pounds.

Although she had never formally studied martial arts, with this level of Physique and brute strength, she could easily beat a seasoned martial arts master to a pulp with wild punches alone. And if Magic was taken into account, his junior sister could already go on an unrivaled rampage through heavily armored elite cavalry in the mortal world.

Perhaps it was because her Cultivation had improved, but her progress in practicing the Yin Yang Light-Splitting Sword had also accelerated slightly.

Li Yinsheng originally estimated that she would barely be able to form the sixteenth Sword Light within two months. Yet right now, she had already mastered the seventeenth, and the eighteenth was likely not far off. As a result, he had collected another eight years of Cultivation, bringing the True Blood Secret Scripture a few steps closer to the Ninth Layer.

As for his junior sister, possessing such Cultivation and Sword Technique at her age was already considered quite good among her peers. If compared by actual training time, her progress was truly astonishing. But after all, she had started cultivating far too late.

If she wanted to shine at next year’s Shifeng Conference and Lesser Yang Dao Examination, her current strength was still far from enough.

Li Yinsheng had limited knowledge of the Shifeng Conference, so it was hard to say for certain. But at least for the Lesser Yang Dao Examination, with his junior sister’s current strength, she probably only had a thirty percent chance of securing a D Class ranking.

However, he wasn’t particularly anxious. The Lesser Yang Dao Examination wasn’t until the end of next year, leaving them with more than a year to prepare. It had only been over four months since she joined the temple, and he had already nurtured her to this level. Who knew what she could achieve in another year?

Watching his junior sister cultivate so diligently—driven entirely by a burst of enthusiasm and the burning desire to be rid of the Quenching Essence Lock—Li Yinsheng nodded in satisfaction.

He then turned and walked toward a distant area that had been specially ringed with stones. Right in the center of that stone circle grew a newly sprouted, emerald-green seedling. It was only an inch tall, looking much like a bean sprout.

Two months ago, right after returning to the temple, he and Mu Xiaoyu had planted the pit of that peach. Afterward, he had even activated the temple’s Spirit Refining Array, channeling all of the excess Spirit Charm into the peach pit.

Two months had passed, and it had only grown this tiny sprout. At this rate, it might not grow large enough to bear fruit even in decades.

Li Yinsheng drew a stream of clear water from the well, making it fall like a gentle drizzle over the peach seedling. He actually wasn’t entirely sure if this peach tree needed frequent watering. After all, the experience of growing a regular peach tree shouldn’t exactly apply to this kind of Spirit Plant. But since his regular watering over this period hadn’t shown any detrimental effects on the peach seedling, he figured he might as well continue.

He treated it simply as gardening, a way to cultivate his mind and refine his character.

He wondered if cultivating in that Grotto Heaven for so long had caused it, but he felt his mindset had indeed changed a bit. For example, after playing chess with Vice Temple Master Huang, he had developed a bit of interest in the game, something he had never cared about before. Even watering the peach tree right now served as a relaxing pastime for him.

Unfortunately, there were only two other people in the temple besides him. His junior sister was busy cultivating and had no time to play chess with him, which usually took an hour or two.

Martial Uncle had plenty of free time, but as expected of a Daoist, her Chess Skill was far too superb, countless times higher than that of Vice Temple Master Huang. Li Yinsheng had once sought her out for a game, only to be utterly routed and left scrambling in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn. It had been quite a miserable defeat.

With such a massive disparity in their skills, he reckoned that even if they played again, it would only be a matter of Martial Uncle holding back her strength, dumbing down her plays, and accommodating him. Therefore, even though Martial Uncle had repeatedly told him after that game that he could come back for another round—claiming she wasn’t actually that good—Li Yinsheng felt too embarrassed to agree.

He wasn’t a child anymore; having his Martial Uncle coax him through a game of chess was just too humiliating.

When it came to chess, it was only truly interesting when playing against an evenly matched opponent like Vice Temple Master Huang.