One mutated sword spirit root, and one wind-attribute variant spirit root.
His family was truly overflowing with talent.
It wasn't just that the Wendao Sect's fortune was flourishing; it was as if his family's ancestral peak was emitting green smoke from all the blessings.
However... Xu Xian's mood didn't seem particularly high.
It likely had something to do with Li Qingshan.
Lu Yuan couldn't be bothered to dwell on it, but as they walked, he couldn't help but offer Xu Xian some advice.
"Your family's bloodline is so powerful. Why don't you consider taking advantage of your youth and low cultivation level to marry a few wives and have more children?"
Xu Xian rolled his eyes at him and said nothing.
Lu Yuan continued, "If you're going to have them, do it early. Your cultivation is low now, so the probability of leaving descendants is higher. Once you actually reach the great ascension or tribulation transcendence stages, it won't be so easy to procreate."
Xu Xian walked on in silence, offering no response.
Lu Yuan kept nagging, providing a serious analysis. "I've seen a few girls in the sect who seem quite suitable. That Senior Sister of yours has wide hips; she's clearly built for childbearing. It's just that her cultivation is too high and she's a bit older."
"Hmm... Wen Qingxue is alright. Her cultivation isn't too high, and her genes are good, but her chest is too small. It might be hard on the children in the future."
"Don't even consider Yao Xiaoxiao. That girl has poor eyesight, and that trace of yin qi in her isn't stable."
"The most suitable one is that girl named Lin Qianqian. She's young, has a great figure, and is at the perfect age for childbearing..."
Xu Xian's cheek twitched. This was beyond absurd.
"If all else fails, just cast a wide net. Hook up with whoever you see. Don't worry about your kidneys; deer blood is the best tonic. I have plenty of blood, I'll back you up..."
Xu Xian glanced sideways at him. "Lu Yuan!"
"What?"
"Don't you think you're talking a bit too much today?"
Lu Yuan looked bewildered. "Am I?"
Xu Xian said crossly, "Shut your mouth, or I'll find a herd of female deer for you and make you breed every single day until you've had your fill."
Lu Yuan instinctively shuddered.
He fell silent immediately.
That image was not something he dared to dwell on.
After a short while.
By the side of the Heart Inquiry Pool, the Elders arrived one after another, waiting for the second inquiry, the Heart Inquiry, to begin.
Li Qingshan was in high spirits, looking incredibly smug.
Xu Xian, on the other hand, was stroking his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
He had only met Xia Chu Yi once, back when she was two years old. In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed, and the little girl was already twelve.
And she even had a spirit root.
This whole thing felt a bit surreal.
He wasn't surprised that Li Qingshan had brought her back.
After all, the girl's name had been given to her by Li Qingshan.
It was just that his family had produced two top-tier cultivation prodigies across two generations, which made even him start to wonder.
Could it be that his ancestral grave really was emitting green smoke?
He would have to find time to go back and take a look.
As everything was nearly ready over at the Heart Inquiry Forest.
Ye Xianyu arrived uninvited once again, drifting onto the high platform like an ethereal immortal descending to the mortal realm.
The Elders rose to greet her, paying their respects one by one.
They thought to themselves, 'Is she here to snatch the fruit again?'
Li Qingshan, however, was not happy at all. He looked as if he were facing a great enemy.
A bad premonition welled up within him.
As for Xu Xian, he felt neither good nor bad about it, simply asking, "Senior Sister, why are you here?"
Ye Xianyu smiled and countered, "Why can't I be here?"
"Uh!"
Ye Xianyu motioned for Xu Xian to move aside, then sat down herself.
Xu Xian motioned for Lu Yuan to move, then sat down himself.
Lu Yuan stood next to Li Qingshan, his blood-red eyes staring fixedly at him through the ribbon.
He stared and stared...
And stared some more...
Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and glanced at him.
"In your dreams!"
Lu Yuan licked his lips. Considering the other party was at the seventh stage, he endured it.
He crouched behind the others, feeling sullen.
His status here was truly low.
He secretly vowed that once he fully recovered and returned to his peak, he would definitely trample all these people under his feet.
Today's humiliation would be repaid a hundredfold.
Xu Xian asked again, "Senior Sister, what exactly are you here for?"
Ye Xianyu said lazily, "I heard Xiaoshan abducted your niece, so I came to take a look."
Li Qingshan and Xu Xian retorted almost in unison:
"What do you mean 'abducted'?"
"What do you mean 'abducted'?"
Ye Xianyu looked at Xu Xian, then at Li Qingshan, and asked, "Is that not the case?"
Xu Xian stared straight at Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan was displeased and laughed in exasperation. "Why are you looking at me like that? I told you, I didn't abduct her. I didn't, I didn't! Do you think everyone is like you, unable to tell good from bad?"
Xu Xian thought about it...
True!
He had returned to the village years ago, and the little girl had seen him.
Influenced by him, Chu Yi might have actually longed for cultivation since she was a child.
Li Qingshan continued to grumble, "No good deed goes unpunished. If I hadn't brought you back then, would you have the achievements you have now? Your niece has a wind-attribute variant spirit root, and you, as her uncle, knew nothing about it. If it weren't for me, this child's talent would have been buried. And yet you're glaring at me."
Xu Xian felt a bit numb...
Ye Xianyu chimed in, "Little Eleven, this is indeed your fault."
Xu Xian felt completely numb...
There was no better way to describe being rendered speechless!
Seeing that Xu Xian couldn't speak, Li Qingshan, still unsatisfied, took the opportunity to shift his fire toward Ye Xianyu, questioning her:
"And you. Normally, a disciple shouldn't criticize their master, but today I have to say a few words to you."
Ye Xianyu was bewildered and said innocently, "What did I do?"
Li Qingshan said righteously, "Don't just show up whenever you hear about a good prospect. Last time you forced a Little Junior Martial Uncle on me, and now you want to give me a Little Junior Sister?"
Ye Xianyu tilted her head and asked blankly, "Are you sick?"
Li Qingshan gave a cold laugh. "Let's make this clear. You can watch the show all you want, but I'm the one who brought her back. No one is allowed to snatch her from me, not even you, my master."
The Elders remained silent, staying out of it and just enjoying the spectacle.
From the side, Xu Xian watched the two of them argue, quite enjoying the scene.
Fighting over a disciple?
This was interesting.
Ye Xianyu naturally knew her disciple's temperament and thoughts. Adopting a 'dead pig unafraid of boiling water' attitude, she said, "I can't control that. If the child insists on choosing me, there's nothing I can do."
"Can't you just refuse to take her?"
"She has a wind-attribute variant spirit root. Why wouldn't I take her? Am I stupid?"
"You..."
"Even between master and disciple, accounts must be settled clearly. It's a fair competition."
"I'm the one who brought her back."
Ye Xianyu emphasized heavily, "No, you abducted her."
Li Qingshan was so angry he laughed. "Heh... fine. Fair competition it is. Anyway, I'm the one who gave this child her name. Do you think I'm afraid of you? Just don't go pulling any sneaky little tricks."
Seeing his confidence, Ye Xianyu was momentarily uncertain.
If that was the case, she might not actually be able to win this fight.
As she was pondering, she caught a glimpse of Xu Xian grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes lit up as she suddenly had an idea. She scoffed:
"What are you laughing at? Do you really want your niece to take him as her master?"
Xu Xian shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I don't have a problem with it."
Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes, feeling slightly smug.
Ye Xianyu quickly began digging up old grievances for Xu Xian. "Then you'd better think carefully. You know better than anyone what kind of person Li Qingshan is. Can your niece really learn anything good from him? She'll probably spend every day putting on airs. Also, don't you remember how many times you've tricked him? Don't you worry he'll take his frustration out on your niece, or use her to threaten you? And don't forget how you entered the sect in the first place. Think about it yourself..."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xian immediately turned serious. Thinking about it carefully, she was right.
He instantly said, "That definitely won't do. I don't agree!"
Li Qingshan was amused and immediately countered, "Are you listening to her nonsense? Have you forgotten how she treated you? All that talk about 'the greater the responsibility, the greater the power.' She just makes you take responsibility without giving you any benefits. She draws such a big cake for you, but you can't even get a single bite. All she knows is how to preach. Think about it yourself—who was it that tore your umbrella? If your niece follows her, I'm telling you, she'll have sixteen lifetimes of bad luck. If you want to know how she's tricked me, just ask around. Everyone has seen it."
Xu Xian thought about it, and yeah, following Ye Xianyu would definitely mean suffering for the sake of suffering.
Not to mention Li Qingshan; he had experienced that firsthand as well.
Looking at Ye Xianyu, he shook his head like a rattle.
"She definitely can't follow you. Who knows how much more bitterness she'd have to eat?"
Rate on N.U.
