The scene before him made Su Li’s blood boil and anger surge to his head. Inside the room, Lu Yin was just draping an inner robe over himself, barely covering the shocking, vivid bite marks on his shoulders, neck, and wrists.
Su Li was trembling with rage: the person he held at the very apex of his heart, the one he could never please enough—that dog man actually dared to bite his Master!
And he bit him so much!
“Master!” He practically threw himself forward, grabbing Lu Yin’s hands to inspect them closely.
Lu Yin clutched the loose robes at his chest and said in shock, “Su Li, do not be insolent!”
“Master, let me see! How dare he…” Su Li gripped Lu Yin’s collar tightly, his eyes blood-red.
Lu Yin raised his hand and cast a spell, slapping it squarely onto his disciple’s forehead. “Calm your mind! You were deceived by the Mirage Monster’s illusion!”
His Master’s fingertips were slightly cool, snapping Su Li out of his excessive loss of composure. He slightly loosened his grip. “I clearly saw…”
Lu Yin fully draped his ceremonial robe over himself and raised his hand to send a few streams of spiritual energy to cool Su Li down. “Mirage Monsters are most adept at creating illusions. Getting injured within one will reflect upon your soul. Moreover, the higher one’s cultivation, the easier it is to fall prey to it. Did I not send you a voice transmission? Why are you still in such a sorry state?”
Looking at his Master’s exceedingly calm demeanor, where was that sultry disposition from within the white mist?
It made sense; if it wasn’t an illusion, how could he have peeked into his Master’s room? And with so many details—the wet lips and tongue, the trembling pupils…
At this thought, Su Li’s entire body tightened, and he hurriedly reined in his mind.
“Master, these injuries…” he asked with concern. “Did Master also fall into an illusion?”
“I was entangled and bitten by ten thousand ghosts in my illusion, which is why I am injured. However, the illusion has been broken, so it is nothing.” Lu Yin tilted his head slightly, his expression completely tranquil.
Entangled by ten thousand ghosts…
Seeing his Master so open about it, Su Li pressed with concern, “Then Master should still have someone from Supreme Will Valley come and take a look.”
Lu Yin was already fully dressed. His long fingers pressed against the silver crown on his head, slowly inserting a jade hairpin to secure it. “There is no need. Cultivators struggle for a sliver of survival amidst countless perils. How can I be so delicate?
“Although this illusion was dangerous, your Master also gained some enlightenment… Looking at you,” Lu Yin revealed a faint smile, “It seems you have also gained something. Why haven’t you gone to meditate and consolidate your realm?”
Master had noticed his advancement!
Su Li scratched his head in embarrassment and excused himself, returning to his own room to meditate.
Amidst a clear state of mind, he sat cross-legged and formed a hand seal, inspecting his inner self. He saw that the Nine-Turn Golden Core in his dantian, aside from the golden dragon slowly coiling around it, now possessed an added pearlescent luster, with faint watery mists rising from it.
Is this… my Gold Spiritual Root giving birth to Water? Unlike those with a dual spiritual root, his was still a single root. However, upon this foundation, he had suddenly gained comprehension of some basic water-element spells, and his resistance to them had also increased.
As his spiritual energy drifted between his eyes, he felt a massive boost in his vision, able to perceive distant objects in minute detail.
Wait—he clearly hadn’t opened his eyes. How could he “see” distant scenes?
Those weren’t real scenes; they were his memories!
Realizing it was a memory, Su Li’s thoughts involuntarily drifted back to his Master. When he pushed the door open, the bite marks on his Master’s body were clearly visible… Wait!
If they were bites from ten thousand ghosts, the marks should be of varying sizes. But the teeth marks on Master’s body were all identical in size, and all featured two canine teeth. The red dots on both sides of the marks were perfectly clear!
That was left by a single person!
In the corner, there had even been a few strands of white fur scattered about…
With another shift in thought, Su Li recalled a strange reflection flashing across the Ice Dust Crystal Mirror on his Master’s chest. He hadn’t paid it any mind at the time, but recalling it now, it was unmistakably the reflection of a nine-tailed fox!
Su Li abruptly opened his eyes, a layer of mirage-light slowly fading from his pupils as his expression darkened.
Master… was lying again!
What he had seen was clearly reality, not an illusion! That dog man had even been hidden by Master inside the artifact on his chest at the time!
Su Li clenched his fists tightly, a murderous aura rolling off him as hatred brewed in his heart: He clearly bit Master into such a state, why does Master still protect that dog man?!
Just because he is one of Master’s Dao companions? What exactly does Master like about him?
Su Li paused, the trembling sound of the bells and his Master’s pleas for mercy echoing in his mind. It seemed that every time he witnessed his Master interacting with his Dao companions, his Master was always the one being bullied…
Could it be that Master actually enjoyed being treated so roughly?!
Su Li’s fingers twitched with a slight itch, as if wanting to viciously grab onto something and ravage it, before he gently let go.
The depths of his eyes were an unfathomable, bottomless blood-red.
The Mirage Monster’s attack receded, the eclipse ended, and the three major sects resumed their normal airship routes.
Most likely, each side assumed a grandmaster from another sect had broken through the Mirage Monster’s domain. No one knew that the Mirage Pearl had actually been absorbed by Su Li.
This time, the three major sects smoothly arrived at the entrance to the Qingpeng Secret Realm above the Endless Sea.
Waiting at the secret realm’s entrance was actually a floating cloud pavilion.
This cloud pavilion stood a full six stories high. Built directly above the ocean’s surface, it was incredibly stable, as if rising straight from ordinary ground to point toward the sun, moon, and stars. Several docking ports extended from the top floor, large enough that the airships of the three major sects could sail directly in, showing just how vast an area it covered!
After docking, as Su Li and the other disciples disembarked, they observed that the gears within the lowest floors meshed tightly together—the structure was truly ingenious and extraordinary.
“So this is Feixing Workshop’s floating pavilion! Truly, seeing it once is better than hearing about it a hundred times!” An exclamation of awe drifted past his ears.
Feixing Workshop? That group of cultivators who specialized in artifact refining?
Why were they here?
Su Li followed behind Immortal Venerable Lingyue, puzzled in his heart.
Seeming to see through Su Li’s confusion, Lu Yin said, “The Qingpeng Secret Realm is rarely opened. Since it can provide a venue for the Sect Tournament, Supreme Will Valley reasoned it would be better to explore it more thoroughly. Letting the people of Feixing Workshop explore the mines might yield unexpected surprises.
“Moreover, when the disciples exit the secret realm, they will surely have materials for artifact refining on hand. Wouldn’t it be convenient to refine them on the spot?”
Su Li nodded. “So when Master mentioned forging a Natal Sword…”
Lu Yin smiled. “Exactly. This time, a Grand Artificer will be presiding. You only need to obtain the meteoric iron, and once you exit the secret realm, it can be forged for you!”
The strong winds high in the sky howled fiercely, blowing past the hair ribbon beneath Master’s silver crown. His smiling face made Su Li’s heart soften entirely:
Master truly cares for me down to the last detail… yet I have already developed unspeakable intentions toward him…
Just at that moment, a disciple of Feixing Workshop walked over. With a face utterly devoid of a smile, he said stiffly, “Immortal Venerable Lingyue, the Workshop Master invites you over.”
Su Li could not stand people who didn’t even know how to bow. Just as he was about to speak out, Lu Yin waved his hand slightly. “Su Li, go back and rest first. I will go and return shortly.”
Saying so, his robes fluttered gracefully as he drifted away like a wisp of cold cloud.
Everyone said his Master was aloof and cold as the moon, but in truth, in Su Li’s eyes, his Master truly put on no airs at all…
Top floor of the floating cloud pavilion.
Passing through a series of mechanisms and winding corridors, they arrived before a wooden door. The Feixing Workshop disciple cupped his hands and took his leave: “The Workshop Master is just ahead. Please.”
Lu Yin paused for a moment before reaching out. The exquisite wooden door, carved with rivers of stars and the sun and moon, slowly pushed open.
At the back of the grand hall, a tall, elegant figure stood upon a red carpet, looking back with a smile.