[Faced with your pet’s wild fantasies, you rarely—but firmly—gave them a heartfelt scolding, solemnly declaring that the path of immortality is one of personal pursuit.]
[You once believed that early Core Formation cultivators would help those who came after. But in reality, many exploit Foundation Establishment cultivators, suppressing them so harshly they fall back to Qi Refining—or even become mere mortals, doomed to serve for eternity, never to rise again.]
[Still, you didn’t speak in absolutes. After all, there is still true affection left in this world. You explained that only bonds forged through life-and-death, blood relations, or emotions that transcend boundaries could compel an early Core Formation cultivator to support a later one.]
[In response, your little pet threw his arms around your waist, pressed close, and shouted, “I trust Master the most! Master is like my mom! Mom will definitely bring me along to Core Formation!” Whether it was loyalty or sincerity, even you couldn’t quite tell.]
“The peach blossom soup is ready~~”
Su Bai lifted the lid off the pot. Instantly, a cloud of white steam rose into the air, carrying with it a rich, fragrant aroma that made one’s mouth water.
Before he could even move, Su Xiaohei had already scurried over with a bowl and chopsticks in hand.
His jet-black eyes locked onto the peach blossom soup in the pot, sparkling with anticipation, his body practically vibrating with eagerness.
Slurp—slurp—so tasty!
“Mommy’s peach blossom soup is the best~~”
Su Xiaohei smacked his lips, slurping down spoonful after spoonful as he mumbled his praise through a full mouth.
Su Bai watched him wolf down the soup and couldn’t help but smile.
Even though Xiaohei was already sixteen or seventeen, he still acted like a pure, innocent child in front of him.
“Mommy.”
“Call me Dad.”
“…Master.”
“Speak.”
“I want another bowl.”
Su Xiaohei held out his empty bowl with both hands, looking up at Su Bai with big, pitiful eyes like a starving puppy.
Su Bai couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight and sighed helplessly.
“Fine. I’ll get you another bowl.”
He ladled up the remaining peach blossom soup from the pot and stirred it gently with a wooden spoon.
Once it had cooled down a bit, he handed it over to Su Xiaohei.
Watching Xiaohei eat so happily, Su Bai reached out and ruffled his head.
“You know you could just take a Fasting Pill to stay full. Yet you insist on eating these mundane snacks.”
“Those dry old pills taste awful. Not even a bit of flavor.”
Su Xiaohei pouted and mumbled, “Mommy’s soup is a hundred times better.”
“Don’t think I didn’t hear that just because you whispered it. And how many times have I told you—call me Dad.”
“Got it, Mommy, I understand, Mommy.”
“Is your skin itching again?”
“Hehehe~”
Su Xiaohei scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“Mommy.”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you look the way you do now?”
“That’s because your Dad—me—messed up during a cultivation session back then.”
Su Bai emphasized once again, “I’m your father,” and casually summoned a water mirror.
But the moment he saw the breathtakingly beautiful face reflected in it, he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
Although he did have a habit of creating female avatars in games, seeing the simulator using such a stunning appearance still felt strange to him.
Especially every year during the sect’s grand assembly, some clueless disciples would always argue over Elder Su’s real gender after catching sight of him.
“So basically…”
Just thinking about it made a flicker of annoyance rise in Su Bai’s heart.
He reached out and pinched his little pet’s cheek with a half-smiling, half-threatening expression.
“From now on, you’d better call me Dad!”
The little pet howled in pain from the pinch but still stubbornly refused to back down, biting his teeth and calling “Mom!” instead. At most, he would compromise with “Master.”
And he even had the audacity to argue, righteous and logical, “Someone this good-looking has to be called Mom.”
“Only people who aren’t pretty should be called Dad.”
Su Bai tightened his grip a little at that, but inside, he was secretly nodding in approval.
‘As expected from the child I personally raised—purely face-driven!’
[Faced with your little pet’s refusal to accept kindness and his stubborn duck-like quibbling, you gave him a solid lesson—showing him what true fatherly love felt like.]
[The days flowed by as calmly as water. The little pet gradually settled down atop the mountain, living a routine life of cultivation, eating, and calling you “Mom.” It was as if he no longer missed the bustling excitement of the world below.]
[You weren’t surprised in the slightest—in fact, you’d expected it. Your little pet had exhausted himself during his time training down the mountain. Naturally, now he just wanted to lie around at home, like you back in your second year of high school.]
[During that time, you were full of teenage rebellion. You had sky-high ambitions and refused to walk the path your parents laid out. You thought you’d defy fate by working in a factory, become a high-ranking executive or even a CEO, and marry a rich, beautiful woman.]
[But when you actually started working, your arrogance quickly turned into a brush with death.]
[From that point on, you never resisted your parents’ plans for your future again.]
***
[Time flew by. Two years passed in the blink of an eye.]
[During that time, you focused all your attention on comprehending the Core Formation secret techniques and the Golden Core inheritance, preparing for your breakthrough to the next stage.]
[Simulated Year 43—your secluded cultivation ended.]
[And you discovered that your little pet hadn’t left the mountain once in all that time.]
[Since his last excursion down the mountain, he hadn’t requested to leave even once.]
[An inner sect elder at the Foundation Establishment stage even sent you multiple messages, emphasizing that Su Xiaohei was a promising seedling for the sect’s future and should not waste his cultivation. He urged you to counsel him properly.]
You went to find your little pet and found him leisurely napping in the peach grove, lying in the sun while gnawing on peaches.
After a brief conversation, you understood exactly what was on your little pet’s mind.
“My mom is going to become a Golden Core cultivator one day. What’s the point of me working so hard?”
Summed up in six words: Mom. Hungry. Food. Please feed me.
You almost couldn’t hold back from slapping him right then and there.
You hadn’t even eaten your fill yet, and here he was gnawing on your old bones before you even reached old age.
This little Pal didn’t know how to produce any resources—yet wanted you, the owner, to be his full-time nanny.
Absolutely outrageous!!!
***
In the peach blossom grove, petals danced in the wind like poetry, forming a picturesque scene.
A young boy lounged lazily in a peach tree, wearing light-colored robes that seemed to blend him into the pink world around him.
In his left hand, he held a worn storybook, eyes focused, his lips curling up from time to time, clearly amused by the plot.
In his right hand, he casually held a peach, occasionally taking a bite. Juices dripped freely, his face brimming with satisfaction.
“Immortality… Immortality… So many cultivators in this world, yet how many truly attain it?”
Taking another bite, Su Xiaohei looked up at the sky and muttered, “Is immortality really that important? That word ‘immortal’ still has the character for ‘person’ in it. Mom always said that the path of cultivation is inherently selfish, but if you end up alone at the end of it all… What’s the point of becoming immortal? I’d rather be a peach tree—at least the tree gets to keep its peaches for company.”
His voice was soft and low, but it echoed clearly through the grove.
It was unclear if he was speaking to himself or to someone else.
The words hung in the air for a long time before fading away.
Su Xiaohei shook his head, as if shaking off those depressing thoughts, and focused again on the book in his hand.
The book had been purchased from the mortal world by a senior disciple he’d bribed.
Mortals might lack spiritual energy, but they had endless creativity.
Just from a few bits of gossip, they could weave entire fantastical tales that captivated the imagination.
Like the one he held now: “Good Disciple, Master Really Knows He Was Wrong! Please, Just Spare Me!”
Set in a fictional cultivation world, it told the scandalous and tumultuous entanglements between a female master and her male disciple.
Defying the master, taboo love, ethical dilemmas, societal judgment, emotional betrayal—it had everything.
It was so gripping that it made your blood boil and kept you up all night!
“Xiaohei.”
A calm, gentle voice echoed from the distance.
“Mom?”
He got taste I guess?
His inspiration bruh….
If I was the master i would be nervous as hell seeing my disciple read that!