Who said anything about not eating?
Tu Xiao tossed the used jade platter into the cleaning basin of the dining hall, where it instantly became clean and bright.
A body with a full stomach felt light and agile—how could anyone survive without eating the grains of the five cereals?
He couldn’t fall asleep. Tossing and turning on the bed, Tu Xiao got up and put on his shoes.
Diagonally across from the bed was a tea table, upon which a newly placed flower vase sat. The flower petals displayed a pale blue shade, casting a warm glow under the dim lighting.
This was a flower Shizun had given him; he changed the sweet dew for it every single day without ever forgetting a single time.
Looking at the flower, he couldn’t help letting his mind wander, resolving to achieve foundation establishment as soon as possible. Such a wonderful Shizun shouldn’t be matched with a disciple as poor as him.
It felt as though after consuming the medicine refined by Shizun, his memory had improved tremendously. The Heart Sutra that used to require reading twice to memorize could now be completely remembered in a single read—could it be that he had awakened a photographic memory skill?
Moving as his heart desired, settling his vital energy into his lower dantian, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing, concentrating his mind and calming his spirit…
After focusing on cultivation, he always felt as light as a swallow, and the quality of his sleep had improved so much that he spent the entire night without a single dream.
Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, summer transitioned into winter. If not for the white flakes drifting through the air, he wouldn’t even have realized that it had started snowing. A snowflake landed on his palm, instantly turning into water before transforming into a block of ice once more only this time, he didn’t know who he was going to show the ice cube to.
This time, he didn’t even need to recite an incantation before the ice formed right in his hand.
“Break!”
The ice in his palm was rapidly projected outward like a fierce, howling gale and rainstorm, ultimately nailing itself into a distant bamboo tree. The bamboo grove shook violently as emerald-green leaves scattered all over the ground. He had grown this powerful already.
Inside the dining hall, Granny spotted the young boy from afar. He was the youngest and shortest person on Xinjing Mountain, making him hard to miss.
Furthermore, whenever he came by, not a single speck of food or leftover dishes was ever left behind. Who wouldn’t love a well-behaved child who loved to eat? Watching the kid transform from skin and bones into someone with a sturdier build who seemed to have grown a bit taller as well,
she felt a deep sense of inner gratification and an immense sense of achievement.
“What are you eating today?”
Granny asked with a kind smile; though her hair was completely white, she had almost no wrinkles visible on her face.
“Granny made chicken drumsticks today, and also your favorite Green Mood ice pop.”
With that, she looked at the dazed boy, guessing seven or eight parts of what was on his mind.
However, she wasn’t in a hurry. Bending down, she whispered softly into the boy’s ear: “Only you get one ~ Don’t be unhappy anymore.”
Tu Xiao felt a stirring within his heart; unhappy emotions were contagious, and Granny was extremely good to him, always saving the delicious treats just for him.
“Thank you ~”
With a smile from Tu Xiao, the dimples at the corners of his lips became increasingly prominent now that he had put on a little flesh on his face.
“Granny, don’t worry even if I’m unhappy, it won’t affect my appetite for stuffing my face in the slightest.”
Before she finished speaking, he had already sat down hugging a basin larger than a bowl.
“Is little Xiaoxiao unhappy?”
Sitting across the table, Granny propped her chin in her hands and squinted her eyes as she asked.
His action of eating a chicken drumstick paused for a moment; shaking his head, he replied that he wasn’t.
“Let Granny guess could it be that the Immortal hasn’t returned yet, and little Xiaoxiao misses him?”
Granny had guessed half right, because it wasn’t just missing him.
Gently and tenderly, Granny stroked the stray locks of hair scattered across Tu Xiao’s forehead, carefully tucking them behind his ear.
“Since little Xiaoxiao is so cute, the Immortal is definitely thinking of you and keeping you in his heart, and he’ll be back sooner or later.”
Chewing the meat in his mouth, Tu Xiao lowered his gaze in silence.
On his way back to Jingzi Mountain, his path was blocked by a group of troublemaking disciples. Among them were even two individuals who had previously been beaten to tears by him—the reason he had thrashed them back then was because their foul mouths uttered unpleasant truths that made people sick to their stomachs.
The cold wind howled, whipping dead leaves through the air as an atmosphere of tit-for-tat confrontation permeated the space.
You can lose anything, but you can’t lose your momentum.
With his robes fluttering in the wind and a stern expression, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared straight ahead. The eight opponents on the opposite side formed a surrounding encirclement, their eyes brimming with provocative intent, clearly having no intention of showing the slightest bit of fellow-disciple leniency.
“Don’t think you’re all that just because you’re Bai Chen’s disciple! You’re just a wet-behind-the-ears little kid who doesn’t understand a damn thing. Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson so you learn not to be so arrogant and ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, and realize that positions should go to those who are capable!”
The speaker wore a look of utter disdain, holding this nominal little grand-uncle in absolute contempt.
Forming hand seals with both hands, he unleashed a torrential wave of scorching flames that surged forward like an angry dragon. The other seven made their moves simultaneously, weaving lightning bolts, wind blades, and earth spikes into a web that bombarded the center with overwhelming force.
Tu Xiao’s gaze turned chillingly cold. With his ten fingers flying in intricate patterns, the mist surrounding his body instantly condensed into ice.
“Freezing!”
His tone was ordinary as the ground froze instantaneously, countless ice shards bursting forth from the earth to pierce toward all directions like sharp swords. The flames were swallowed by dark ice, and the lightning shattered amidst the bone-chilling cold. Flashing forward, he stepped across the ice, and with a sweep of his sleeves, beads of water across the sky transformed into razor-sharp icicles.
“Break!”
With a low shout, the attack whizzed through several opponents’ protective spiritual energy barriers. Fresh blood splattered onto the frosted ground in a gruesome sight.
“Water Control!”
One person was blasted flying several meters away by the sheer palm force of a water pillar, crashing into the bamboo grove; another wanted to counterattack, but the ice layer beneath his feet exploded violently, freezing half his body solid and rendering him completely unable to move.
The remaining individuals roared as they channeled their spiritual power, only to see Tu Xiao clench his five fingers into a fist. The bitter cold contracted sharply, freezing all of their spellcasting techniques completely solid!
The reason his spellcraft had advanced by leaps and bounds was because he had resorted to a forbidden technique from the Pavilion of Scriptures that was strictly forbidden from being used, instantly elevating his spiritual power to its absolute peak.
As a negative teaching example, forbidden techniques were naturally forbidden from being used.
Standard cultivation methods emphasized advancing step by step, whereas forbidden techniques fostered premature growth through pulling up seedlings, harming others without benefiting oneself.
Enduring and forcefully swallowing down the metallic taste of blood that threatened to gush up from his chest, his eye sockets turned crimson. Looking like an eerie ghost under the horrified, disbelieving gaze of the leading disciple, he spoke in a sinister tone: “Bai Chen’s disciple is naturally amazing do you really think you can bully me with just your pathetic selves? Useless pieces of trash, what good are you for? If you refuse to accept it, go die then.”
Never had they imagined a ten-year-old child could be so vicious; they had merely wanted to stir up trouble, not throw their lives away.
“What do you want to do? Murdering a fellow disciple even if you’re Bai Chen’s disciple, according to Rule One Hundred and One of the mountain code, your cultivation will be completely crippled and you’ll be cast out of the mountain gates to fend for yourself!”
“Hehehehehehe…” Tu Xiao laughed coldly. He hadn’t planned on killing them anyway.
“You guys were the ones who came looking for trouble, grouping up in packs—who exactly is breaking the mountain gates’ rules? If I died right here, those exact words would be thrown right back at you.”
Mid-sentence, the pupils of the people on the ground dilated in shock.
Tu Xiao couldn’t suppress a massive mouthful of fresh blood, which spewed out as he frowned and stared at the crimson red staining his hands.
He already knew that surviving properly was difficult, and it became even harder when Bai Chen wasn’t around. If only he could turn himself into a little trinket and hang off Bai Chen’s body, life would be so simple.
Seeing this scene before them, the people on the ground were scared out of their wits, their faces still stained with the lingering warmth of the freshly sprayed blood. Things had actually escalated to an irredeemable situation; they had merely wanted to knock the kid down a peg or two, and even if the Four Honored Lords found out, it should have just been considered sparring among mountain peers where they lost control of their strength.
Immortal Hengchen only had a single disciple no matter how he died, it wouldn’t happen quietly without anyone knowing. How could they possibly cover this up?
He couldn’t die.
With remarkable tacit understanding, the eight individuals rushed over to protect the very person who had just tried to teach Tu Xiao a lesson, using their own bodies as cushions to catch the kneeling, collapsing figure.
“What do we do? Throw him down the mountain.”
“He still has breath left, are you trying to make him stop breathing entirely? Inform Shizun first the two of you better not say anything, otherwise if Shizun loses his temper, we’re all completely finished.”
The cold wind sighed mournfully, kicking up scattered ice shards across the ground. The victor had been decided, yet not a single person walked away unscathed.