Half a year, like half a month, is but a fleeting moment in the world of cultivators.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Once again, winter had arrived, and Dongsheng Shenzhou was beginning to show signs of drifting snow.
Few in the cultivator world cared for the pleasure of watching snow, but the lively girls of Lingyin Valley were the exception.
“The Celestial Phenomena Sect’s forecast says there will be heavy to blizzard-level snow in the eastern part of the Great Sima Nation in the next three days. Mushuang, did you finish tying up the quilts as I told you?” Yiqin looked at her with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
“They’re all tied up, really, they’re all tied up!” Mushuang nodded her head repeatedly like a pecking chick.
“Those newly planted saplings can’t stand the wind and snow,” Yiqin tapped the tip of Mushuang’s nose,
“You have to make sure the quilts are wrapped tightly to block out the cold. If we protect these seedlings, then we can enjoy the snow and have a peaceful New Year.”
“Don’t worry, Master! Next March, I guarantee there won’t be a single peach blossom missing from the whole mountain!” Mushuang patted her chest, making a firm promise.
Yiqin glanced at Mushuang’s chest, which trembled dazzlingly, and couldn’t help but sigh, “You’ve really grown up…”
“That’s for sure,” Luyia stepped out of the scenic little house halfway up the mountain, stretching with a big yawn, her gaze flickering with a trace of envy toward Mushuang’s chest.
“Greetings, Master-Grand,” Yiqin bowed to Luyia, “You’ve come out of seclusion?”
“No, it’s just that my creditors can’t come down from the mountain, so I don’t have to hide from them anymore.” Luyia picked her ear with her little finger, flicked out a large clump of earwax, and spoke calmly.
Yiqin’s mouth twitched, “Forgive your disciple’s boldness… How much do you owe? I’ve been running the Lucky Bag business lately and saved up quite a bit. I can help you out a little.”
Luyia counted on her fingers for a while, then said, “About the same as the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce, I suppose.”
“…Cough, your disciple still needs to attend morning lessons, so I won’t trouble you further!”
Yiqin quickly dragged Mushuang away.
When the two reached the summit, the disciples of Lingyin Valley were already waiting there.
The cracks in Sword-Settling Terrace had been completely restored, but the morning lesson area at the summit was utterly changed from before.
Originally, there was only a zither platform for teaching musical instruments at Sword-Settling Terrace. Now, beside the zither platform stood a spacious new stage, with several luxurious weapon racks placed alongside.
The weapon racks held an array of powerful magic tools, completely out of tune with Lingyin Valley’s usual aesthetic.
However, the first lesson of the morning was still music theory.
Yiqin sat at the zither platform, took out her guqin, set up the sheet music, and sat upright with a gentle expression.
A gentle breeze stirred, and birds chirped in the woods, calming the heart and mind.
“Today, we will continue to play…”
“…Mkaliez.” Yiqin read the name on the music sheet with a straight face.
She had found these strange musical scores while tidying Jiang Ke’er’s room.
Besides “Mkaliez,” there were also “Unicorn”—marked with “UNICORN” in odd characters, “Dragon Rises”—”DRAGON RISES,” “I really can’t make up a name anymore”—”κrOnÑ‘,” “If you don’t smash your face on the keyboard you can’t name it, right?”—”βios,” and “Eat Shit Sawano!”…
Although she didn’t know why the names of these pieces were so full of resentment, she had to admit these scores left by Jiang Ke’er were truly interesting, opening a whole new world to her.
She tried playing them. The first time through, she frowned deeply, thinking, “What kind of heretical racket is this? So noisy, so wild, it makes your blood boil! Completely at odds with Lingyin Valley’s style of calm and restraint.”
A second time, a third…
I want to learn Mkaliez! Everyone in Lingyin Valley, everybody, get hyped! Smash those troublemaking meddlers to bits! Beat them so badly their own mothers won’t recognize them!
The happiest was Mushuang. She had always scorned music lessons before, but now she looked forward to each class.
But what made her even happier was a new course added to Lingyin Valley.
“Alright, that’s it for music theory today. Everyone… take out your Transformation Origin Pill.”
On the day after the Taiming Sect was besieged, a girl named Qiao Xiaoxian came to Yiqin and handed her a small pouch.
“This is what Jiang Ke’er asked me to give you when she was on the verge of death,” she had said.
Inside the pouch were several pill formulas and some ingredients.
“Improved Grade A Hemostatic Pill Formula,” “Improved Luo E Pill Formula”…
More than twenty formulas in all, every single one of them those high-profit pills monopolized by the Dan Sect Alliance!
But what Yiqin cared about most was the “Transformation Origin Pill” formula.
Transformation Origin Pill, once consumed, could perfectly transform one’s spiritual energy from hard to soft, with zero pill toxins and zero side effects.
This was something Jiang Ke’er had developed in the secret realm, using the “Lingyu Yan Hua” obtained there as a main ingredient.
Jiang Ke’er had also given Yiqin all the Lingyu Yan Hua she’d amassed in the secret realm.
“This foolish disciple, she hasn’t suffered my care for nothing,” Yiqin said with a wry smile, dabbing her eyes as she accepted the pouch.
This formula was priceless. With just this single pill formula, Lingyin Valley could break away from the Taiming Sect and develop into one of the most elite sects in all Shenzhou, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with giants like Battlewaste and Heavenly Gate.
And yet, Jiang Ke’er handed it to her without reservation.
Not to mention those other monopolized formulas, and the business plan for the Lucky Bag.
She wondered how Jiang Ke’er was doing now.
As morning lessons ended, the sound of weapons being sheathed filled the air, and the sweaty disciples of Lingyin Valley presented a different kind of scenery in the morning light.
“Master, now that we’re all practicing swordplay, can’t we just…?” Mushuang had always regarded the mind-nourishing class as her nemesis.
“In your dreams,” Yiqin gave her a sideways glance. “True, the music we’ve learned recently has been a bit wild, and the Transformation Origin Pill has brought great changes to Lingyin Valley… But on the long road of cultivation, without a mature mindset to support you, you won’t get far.”
Mushuang hung her head in disappointment. “Disciple understands.”
“But now, the mind-nourishing class won’t force you to become a proper lady. Who you want to be is your own choice,” Yiqin smiled.
“Before, we forced you because you couldn’t protect yourselves, and needed a pitiful appearance as a disguise to survive by clinging to the strong. But now, you don’t need that anymore. You can choose to become whoever you wish. If you want to live as boldly as your little junior sister, your Master won’t stop you.”
“Really?” Mushuang still couldn’t quite believe it, then she punched the air in excitement.
“Yes!”
“But always remember, as disciples of Lingyin Valley, we are rooted in kindness. You may have a fierce tiger in your heart, but never forget to savor the scent of roses.”
“I will obey Master’s teachings!”
Humming a little tune, Mushuang bounced off toward her small bamboo hut.
But a sudden cry along the way caught her attention.
“It’s Little Junior Sister!”
“There’s news of Little Junior Sister!”
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