“Junior Martial Uncle, this is your birthday gift.” Ye Yizhou took a translucent, intangible umbrella from his qiankun bag and handed it to Zhong Wuxi. “This is the Shadowless Umbrella. The canopy is strung together from the fruits of the Shadowless Tree, which grows in the great desolate regions of the northwest, and the handle is made from the bone of a Wind Lynx. You can hide your tracks as soon as you open it.”
Zhong Wuxi asked, “Why are you not sending medicinal herbs this time?”
Painful memories instantly flooded back, leaving Ye Yizhou speechless. On the day of his four-year-old birthday banquet, his Junior Martial Uncle had eaten the herbs he gifted him, gotten drunk, and caused havoc on Jimo Peak. After his Master found out, he was grounded for an entire month. Ye Yizhou was tough and could take a beating from a Soul-Dispersing Whip, but being grounded was truly a fate worse than death.
“The past is better left unremembered,” Ye Yizhou sighed, handing the umbrella to Zhong Wuxi. “This umbrella is an heirloom of the Mo River Ye Clan, given to me by my father before I left. Today, I gift it to you, Junior Martial Uncle, with wishes for your peace and health.”
Zhong Wuxi shook his head. “It is too valuable. I cannot accept it.”
“Junior Martial Uncle, please just take it.” Ye Yizhou shoved the umbrella into Zhong Wuxi’s arms. “The herbs you gave me helped me successfully break through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Master said if I keep practicing for two more years, I can advance to the great perfection of Foundation Establishment.”
“If I can form my Golden Core before the age of twenty-three, I will not have brought shame to the sect!”
Foundation Establishment…
Zhong Wuxi supported his chin in his hands and sighed melancholically. Three years ago, he had entered the Xuanqing Sect and become the personal disciple of its Holy Monarch, successfully guiding qi into his body after only one day of effort. Yet, three years later, he remained stuck at the ninth level of Qi Refining, unable to reach Foundation Establishment. Zongzheng Lan, who was two years younger than him, had already achieved Foundation Establishment at the beginning of the year, becoming the fastest disciple in the Xuanqing Sect to do so.
“I wonder what Master thinks of this.”
Zhong Wuxi looked up at the setting sun, which was sinking toward the horizon.
“Oh no, Master is coming. Junior Martial Uncle, I am off!” Ye Yizhou saw Sect Leader Xuan Su approaching and scurried away like a mouse fleeing from a cat.
Having just received a birthday gift, Zhong Wuxi conscientiously helped his junior nephew cover his tracks. “Senior Brother Sect Leader, I am over here!”
Xuan Su walked over. “Junior Brother, I will take you back to Jimo Peak.”
“I haven’t even reached Foundation Establishment, so I cannot even fly on my sword!” Zhong Wuxi stood up indignantly, then flopped back onto his chair, as if all the strength had been drained from his body. “Senior Brother Sect Leader, am I making you all so disappointed?”
Zhong Wuxi hung his head and pursed his lips.
“Why would you think that?” Xuan Su hesitated before extending his hand to pat his Junior Brother’s head for the first time. In truth, he had no idea how to interact with this Junior Brother who looked like a dumpling of ice and snow. “You are still young; it is inevitable that your cultivation would be sluggish. But Senior Brother is not disappointed by this.”
Zhong Wuxi sat up straight, staring unblinkingly at Xuan Su. “Senior Brother Sect Leader, I heard that Junior Martial Nephew Zongzheng Lan successfully cleared the Taiyin Array the day before yesterday.”
Xuan Su nodded expressionlessly, though his gaze held a hint of admiration.
Zhong Wuxi slumped on the table, listless. “Senior Brother Sect Leader, please send a message to Master for me: I am staying at Piaomiao Peak today.”
“Hmm.”
Xuan Su nodded, cast a spell, and moments later, Xuan Ling landed on Piaomiao Peak riding her newly tamed Four-Season Green Feather Sparrow. “What do you need?”
Xuan Su sat straight and said seriously, “Pass a message to the Martial Uncle for me: Junior Brother is staying at Piaomiao Peak today.”
“Oh.”
Xuan Ling nodded, and moments later, the Fourth Elder, Xuan Mu, arrived, drunk. “What is it? Did the demons break through the sect’s protective array?”
“With the Martial Uncle sitting in command, how would the demons dare to come?” Xuan Ling kicked him. “Pass a message to the Martial Uncle; tell him Junior Brother is staying at Piaomiao Peak tonight.”
Xuan Mu sobered up instantly, sounding indignant. “When there is something good, you never think of me, but when there is a life-threatening task, you remember me immediately!”
Zhong Wuxi remained silent.
You all seem to have some misunderstandings about my Master.
Finally, he sighed. “Forget it; no need to send the message. I will go back.”
Sect Leader Xuan Su left, feeling relieved, while Xuan Ling and Xuan Mu stayed behind to keep their Junior Brother company.
“Why did you want to stay at Piaomiao Peak?” Xuan Ling patted the young boy’s soft silver hair.
Xuan Mu chimed in, “Did the Martial Uncle punish you?”
“How could the Martial Uncle punish our Junior Brother!” Xuan Ling gave Xuan Mu a side-eye. “If not for his unusual silver hair and light-colored pupils, I would have thought he was related to the Martial Uncle by blood!”
Zhong Wuxi was immersed in his own world, completely ignoring their conversation. “When will I ever break through the ninth level of Qi Refining?”
“For mortals, absorbing spiritual energy to tread the path of immortality and escaping the shackles of birth, old age, sickness, and death is an act against heaven,” Xuan Ling said. “That is why, among all living beings, only a few awaken spirit roots.”
“However, for the path of cultivation to be smooth, one needs natural talent, comprehension, and luck. You have awakened a supreme mutated Light Spirit Root; you will reach Foundation Establishment and form your Golden Core sooner or later. Perhaps you are just lacking a little luck right now.”
Zhong Wuxi frowned. “Is that so?”
Seeing how troubled he was, Xuan Mu lazily grabbed his wrist and channeled true energy into him. “Come, let me check.”
Seeing the change in his expression, Xuan Ling asked quickly, “How is it?”
Xuan Mu’s brows furrowed deeper. “The spiritual power circulating in Junior Brother’s body seems different from ours.”
Xuan Ling was startled, then quickly relaxed. “Have you forgotten? Junior Brother is not from the Qingyuan Realm; he is from the Yaoguang Realm.”
Xuan Mu slapped his forehead. “I see, drunkenness ruins everything.”
“You are not doing it right; let me.” Xuan Ling kicked him away, took Zhong Wuxi’s wrist, and channeled a wisp of true energy into him. “The Miao border’s great shaman’s medicine will cure you.”
Zhong Wuxi could not help but laugh, and the true energy in his body fluctuated with his emotions. Xuan Ling held his wrist. “Do not move.”
“Strange, Junior Brother’s cultivation has already reached the early stage of Foundation Establishment, but the spiritual power in his body seems suppressed by some unknown force.”
Xuan Mu nodded. “That is it. Junior Brother is only six; his spiritual power is too strong for his body, which is still too weak, leading to this result.”
Zhong Wuxi was puzzled. “But Zongzheng Lan successfully reached Foundation Establishment at four.”
Xuan Ling smiled helplessly. “He has the True Phoenix bloodline; he spent a hundred years in his egg before he was even born. Of course, he is different from you.”
“So that is why he grows so fast,” Zhong Wuxi realized. “But how can I solve my problem? Do I have to wait until I grow up to reach Foundation Establishment?”
Xuan Mu pointed to Zhong Wuxi’s qiankun bag. “Junior Brother, you can take one of the Dragon Bone Grasses the Martial Uncle gave you to strengthen your body.”
Zhong Wuxi’s eyes lit up.
Master had once said that one should not rely solely on herbs to improve cultivation, but as an aid, taking them at the right time could help a cultivator break through bottlenecks. Ye Yizhou had broken through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment after eating the herbs he gifted him.
Zhong Wuxi swallowed the herb. At first, he felt nothing, but a minute later, his body suddenly became extremely hot and then extremely cold. Under the impact of these two conflicting forces, Zhong Wuxi finally fainted.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying in his bed in the snow hut.
His Master was nowhere to be found, but that little creature he had not seen in a while appeared once again. It floated in the air, blinking its large eyes and staring at him furiously, its face flushed with anger.