Ten days passed, and Su Ye finally managed to master the first layer of the 《Formless Art》.
With dark circles under his eyes, he threw himself before Chen Huaizhi, his voice carrying a hint of a sob. “Elder Chen, am I a lost cause? My junior sister mastered the first layer in a single day, but it took me a whole ten days!”
Chen Huaizhi: “...”
Back in the day, it had taken him an entire year to learn the first layer, and he had ultimately abandoned it because he found it too useless.
And yet, this brat had mastered it in ten days and was actually here crying about it?
Looking at Su Ye's expression, which practically screamed, “I'm so stupid, I've let the sect down,” the corner of Chen Huaizhi's mouth twitched. He silently closed his eyes and pretended to nap.
He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to resist cracking the boy's skull open.
Seeing that Elder Chen remained silent, Su Ye felt even more inadequate. He turned around and immediately went back into seclusion to charge toward the second layer.
No, if he didn't work harder, he wouldn't even be able to see his junior sister's shadow anymore!
On the other hand, Xue Mingzhao's days were going incredibly smoothly.
Aside from going to Ji Anzhi's place on time every day to freeload meals, she spent the rest of her time messing with Li Buqi.
She had even specifically given her mature female persona a name—Liu Ruyan.
Initially, Li Buqi had called her “Fairy” this and “Fairy” that, his voice so dripping with affection that it gave her goosebumps. She had strictly ordered him to call her “Fellow Daoist Liu” instead.
As it turned out, this fellow's skin was thicker than a city wall. He smoothly switched to calling her “Sister Ruyan,” and it rolled off his tongue with utmost ease.
Once, she casually remarked, “The cleanliness of the sect is rather concerning.”
The very next day, Li Buqi actually swept the entire sect from the mountain gate all the way to the latrines. Exhausted and panting like a dog, he specifically ran over to dangle in front of her, practically begging for praise.
Xue Mingzhao's shoulders shook as she held back her laughter. Keeping her face stiff, she nodded. “Senior Brother is indeed very capable.”
Li Buqi was instantly fully revived on the spot, wishing he could scrub the entire sect three more times.
A couple of days later, Xue Mingzhao rested her chin on her hand and sighed. “Lately, I've always been short of a few spirit plants for alchemy. It's quite a hassle.”
Li Buqi immediately wanted to charge into Mu Tianqing's spirit fields. He had already lifted his foot when he suddenly froze—Sister Ruyan had said she didn't like people with bad character!
Stealing was out of the question. How could he, Li Buqi, be that kind of person?
Thus, he blocked the entrance of Mu Tianqing's cave dwelling, wailing and throwing a tantrum for an entire day and night. Mu Tianqing was so disrupted that he couldn't focus on his seclusion. In the end, with a dark face, he allocated a small, rundown corner of his spirit fields to Li Buqi, telling him to grow his own plants.
Xue Mingzhao casually praised, “All-rounder cultivators are so handsome. They can perform alchemy, draw talismans, and forge artifacts. It's so amazing!”
Li Buqi was instantly pumped full of adrenaline.
One day he would scurry over to Xu Qingyan's place to learn alchemy, the next day he would squat at Wen Shuxian's door begging to learn how to draw talismans, and the day after that he would carry a forging furnace and run to Su Mingyuan. He ended up annoying every single elder in the sect.
After causing such a chaotic ruckus for half a month, Xue Mingzhao had her fill of fun. She locked her courtyard gate and went into seclusion to charge toward the second layer of the 《Formless Art》: Breath Concealment.
This layer allowed one to adjust their spiritual energy and aura at will, or even completely conceal all spiritual energy around their body.
The most difficult part of this was learning to perceive and distinguish the characteristics of different spiritual energy auras. However, with the heaven-defying existence of her Chaos Spiritual Root, she achieved great mastery effortlessly.
While she was in seclusion for several days, the outside world had already turned upside down.
Having not seen Sister Ruyan for several days, Li Buqi waited anxiously outside his fifth junior brother's cave dwelling every day, nearly turning into a living fossil on the steps.
Squatting on the spot, he pondered over and over where he had fallen short, wondering if he had annoyed Sister Ruyan and caused her to hide from him.
With a heavy heart, he turned his head and saw Ji Anzhi, who was harboring resentment but dared not speak. The more Li Buqi looked at him, the more of an eyesore he became, leaving him with nowhere to vent his frustration.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he had a sudden realization!
Perhaps Sister Ruyan wanted to spend time alone with him, but Ji Anzhi was always in the way whenever she visited. Since girls were shy and couldn't bring themselves to say it directly, she had simply stopped coming altogether!
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. He pestered Su Mingyuan relentlessly to carve out a new cave dwelling for him, even pounding his chest and promising, “I will definitely cultivate properly from now on and absolutely won't sneak down the mountain!”
Su Mingyuan's head throbbed. Believing this was just another one of his antics, he flatly refused.
To his surprise, Li Buqi grew anxious and raised his hand to make an oath. “I swear upon my Dao Heart—”
“I'll build it for you!” Su Mingyuan shrieked in fright, lunging forward to cover his mouth.
How could a Dao Heart oath be made so casually?
If violated, his cultivation base and foundation would be completely damaged. It was utter madness!
In the end, Su Mingyuan had no choice but to hold his nose and carve out a small cave dwelling for him not far from Qi Wuyang's residence.
This would also allow Qi Wuyang to keep a close eye on this troublemaker.
Once this matter spread, the entire sect came to know of it.
The Sect Master's third disciple, Li Buqi, had fallen hard for a mysterious fairy named Liu Ruyan, and he had completely lost his mind.
Having witnessed the entire truth from start to finish, Ji Anzhi lived in constant fear and anxiety every day.
Watching his third senior brother's antics escalate, he had only one thought: “We're doomed. Once the truth comes to light, Third Senior Brother is going to stew both me and Junior Sister alive.”
Not daring to say a word, he buried his head and redoubled his efforts in cultivation.
Every extra layer of strength counted; perhaps it would hurt less when the beating finally came.
When Xue Mingzhao finished her cultivation and pushed open her courtyard gate, she immediately spotted Li Buqi waiting outside.
Xue Mingzhao's heart skipped a beat, and she secretly cried out in alarm. “Don't tell me he found out the truth so quickly and came to settle the score?”
To her surprise, Li Buqi abandoned his usual boisterous demeanor. He clasped his hands in a rare, proper greeting and spoke in a refined, polite tone, “Greetings, Seventh Junior Sister.”
However, his entire body was stiff, and his fingers kept picking at the edge of his sleeve, making his every movement look incredibly awkward.
Xue Mingzhao raised an eyebrow. “Did Third Senior Brother come all this way specifically to find me for something?”
Li Buqi put on the air of a gentle senior brother. “Ever since Junior Sister joined the sect, I, as your senior brother, haven't shown you proper care.”
With that, he produced a box. “I heard from Fifth Junior Brother that you like pastries and snacks. I made this Dew Crystal Cake myself. I hope you like it.”
Xue Mingzhao took it, pinched a piece, and popped it into her mouth. Good grief, wasn't this obviously Fifth Senior Brother's handiwork?
Seeing her eat it, Li Buqi engaged in some awkward small talk before suddenly changing the subject. He looked up at the sky, pretending to be casual. “By the way, your good friend, Fairy Liu Ruyan... why haven't I seen her at Fifth Junior Brother's place lately?”
Xue Mingzhao's hand paused mid-bite.
“—Uh-oh. She remembered now. She had made up a lie saying Liu Ruyan was her good friend, so of course Third Senior Brother would come looking for her.”
Seeing her eating without speaking, Li Buqi grew slightly anxious. “Fifth Junior Brother has brought it up several times and insisted I come ask. He misses Fairy Liu dearly after not seeing her for so long.”
Xue Mingzhao rolled her eyes inwardly and spoke in a leisurely tone, “Sister Ruyan has been busy tending to her spirit plants these past few days. She'll be over in a couple of days.”
Li Buqi's eyes lit up instantly, though he still tried to act calm and composed. “I see. Then I shall take my leave.”
He then solemnly clasped his hands, turned around, and walked away with steps so light he almost tripped over his own feet.
Xue Mingzhao: “......”
Love truly makes people unrecognizable.
And one-sided love drives people even more insane.
Rate on N.U.
