No!
Su Li struggled frantically in his mind!
Master had treated him so well; how could he perform such a rebellious act of sheer ingratitude?!
Su Li, you’ve truly gone mad!
He clenched his fists so hard that his clean, neatly trimmed fingernails dug deeply into his palms.
Under the osmanthus tree, the remarkably handsome youth stood with blood-red eyes, staring fixedly at the wisps of smoke billowing from the top of Jiyun Pavilion until late into the night.
Su Li had indeed fallen ill.
Lu Yin rushed to Zhumeng Residence to take Su Li’s pulse, frowning as he said, “The Yin and Yang within your body are out of balance. If left unregulated, you are practically going to succumb to heart-demons!”
With a flick of his wrist, Lu Yin produced a porcelain bottle, from which a rich herbal aroma wafted out: “I refined this according to the Medical Immortal’s prescription. Hurry up and take it.”
The red porcelain bottle rested in Master’s fair palm, making his smooth, white skin look even softer… tempting one to covet it.
“Master…” Su Li murmured softly, the youth’s usually steady and clear voice carrying a raspy edge, “I won’t take it.”
“How old are you, throwing a tantrum like this?” Lu Yin’s elegant brows knitted tightly.
Su Li felt alternating waves of heat and cold all over his body. He mumbled in a daze, “I won’t take it.”
At the thought of those several dog men coming in and out of Master’s bedchamber and towers over the past few days, his heart ached unbearable, his entire body swelling as if on the verge of splitting open.
Lu Yin reached out across the air, and a cup of spiritual tea flew into his palm. His actions were gentle yet carried an irresistible firmness: “Open your mouth.”
Su Li refused to open his mouth.
Lu Yin then helped him sit up, placing a pale, slender palm against Su Li’s back, sending waves of cool air coursing through his meridians—Master was infusing him with spiritual energy! Su Li couldn’t help leaning into Lu Yin’s embrace. So fragrant, so comfortable… I want more!
A finger carrying a faint osmanthus fragrance pressed against his lips. Su Li’s lips were scalding hot; in his daze, touching the cool, sweet fingertip, he couldn’t help repeatedly licking his lips.
He opened his mouth eagerly, not only swallowing the medicinal pill but also curling his fiery tongue tightly around that snow-white fingertip, longing to swallow it whole in one bite!
“…Mm.” Lu Yin withdrew his hand, shaking his head helplessly.
As the pill slid down his throat, the burning heat in Su Li’s body instantly subsided quite a bit. Coupled with Immortal Respecter Lingyue’s protective spiritual energy, Su Li gradually regained clarity from his dazed state. Once his mind cleared up and he recognized his current situation, his whole body went stiff: How on earth did I end up leaning in Master’s arms like this?!
Thank goodness he snapped out of it early; a moment later, and his arms would have wrapped around Master’s waist!
Lu Yin patted him: “It’s good that you’re awake. At least my spending half the night pulling Lingwei Grass in the Demon Realm wasn’t in vain.”
What?!
Master actually ran off to the Demon Realm to gather herbs for his sake?!
Su Li felt a wave of comfort in his heart, so overwhelming he didn’t know what to do. It was like a long-drought-stricken land being nourished by a trickle of water, flowing into every bone and limb.
He even entertained a ridiculous conjecture: The Spiritual Realm and the Demon Realm have always been at odds. Could Master have associated with that demon cultivator precisely to enter the Demon Realm?
Master yielded to the demon cultivator all for my sake!
Su Li instantly felt deeply guilty and bitter: I must grow stronger. I must become strong enough so that Master’s eyes hold only me!
As the thought rose, Su Li’s body temperature surged once more—only this time, his entire body floated upward into the air.
Lu Yin: “?”
Su Li sat cross-legged in mid-air with ease as a burst of golden light exploded around him, with faint wind-and-thunder golden dragons swirling around his body—he was breaking through to the Golden Core stage!
So all those previous discomforts and the imbalance of Yin and Yang were actually partly due to an overflow of spiritual energy.
Truly worthy of being a child of the Heavenly Dao…
Lu Yin formed hand seals, sending out spiritual light like dispersing mist to begin protecting his disciple’s breakthrough.
Above Lingyue Pavilion, clouds parted and the sun rose, filling the sky with rosy light and endless extraordinary phenomena. Everything heralded that the inner core Su Li formed was the supreme Nine-Turn Golden Dragon Core. Thousands of luan birds chirped in unison, descending to bestow their blessings upon this child of the Heavenly Dao for his successful breakthrough.
After reaching the Golden Core stage, Su Li seemed to have become an entirely different person. The young man who was already extraordinarily handsome and noble now possessed a far more steady aura and a condensed pressure. If the junior brothers had previously bowed and respectfully called him “Senior Brother” out of admiration for his demeanor or his status in Lingyue Pavilion, now they genuinely submitted to his sheer strength when calling him “Chief Senior Brother.”
A Golden Core cultivator under twenty years of age stood far ahead of all the “proud favorites of heaven” across all immortal sects. In smaller sects, a Golden Core cultivator could become an elder, sitting as an equal alongside the sect master.
Even his master, Immortal Respecter Lingyue, had formed his Golden Core ten years later than he did.
“This boy is destined for great things in the future!” Many grand cultivators stroked their beards and declared so with certainty.
And what was this Golden Core master, Su Li, doing at this moment?
To everyone’s surprise, this star disciple of the sect was currently kneeling on a soft cushion, meticulously massaging his Master Lingyue’s… waist.
Lu Yin was draped in a thin blanket over his snow-white inner robe, yet even so, when hands pressed down, one could feel his slender waist was tight and firm—not to mention below that slender waist, where the curves rose and fell fully, suggesting a texture just as resilient and supple as his waist.
Su Li’s eyes darkened by a few shades.
Lu Yin said helplessly: “If others knew that the Golden Core genius of my Lingyue Pavilion was actually giving his master a massage, wouldn’t they laugh at me for envying talent and suppressing my own disciple?”
Scalding spiritual energy surged from Su Li’s large palms, pressing down along his master’s meridians: “My ability to form a Golden Core is entirely thanks to Master picking Lingwei Grass for me by the Styx River in the Demon Realm, even suffering cold Qi in your waist that damaged your immortal body because of it. If this counts as suppressing a disciple, then let them suppress theirs like this as well.”
Following his words, the force of his massage gradually grew heavier. The surging heat caused Lu Yin to break into a thin layer of sweat, and a faint patch of moisture actually spread beneath his palm, making one involuntarily imagine what a sight it would be if drops of sweat rolled down this mutton-fat, jade-like skin.
“Mm…” Lu Yin let out a low moan of uncertain comfort or discomfort. He turned his head slightly, exposing only a sharp jawline through his scattered ink-black hair, though the small mole by his lips was remarkably vivid. “Lighter… Are you trying to break your master’s waist?”
Su Li’s eyes darkened, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
Did Master have any idea that his words sounded half like a reprimand and half like a complaint, practically like a spoiled tantrum coated in honey?
How he wished he could lean down against his master’s ear and say without an ounce of mercy: “Break it? Master is right. How do you want it broken? Is it %#$@#, or %$#@#?”
And then, watching his cold, sacred master open his eyes in flustered helplessness over his filthy, dirty words, he would fiercely kiss that small mole and those eyelashes…
The fantasy was snuffed out the moment it was triggered, forcefully suppressed back into the depths of his heart.
After reaching the Golden Core stage, those improper desires toward his master seemed to vanish from the surface. Yet only Su Li knew that these were merely hidden deep within himself.
Just waiting for the right opportunity.
At this moment, another message talisman flew over: “Immortal Respecter Lingyue, disciples from Feixing Workshop have arrived to pay their respects.”
Feixing Workshop was a famous artifact-refining sect in the cultivation world. Their shops spanned the entire land, and every item they produced was guaranteed to be a fine artifact. Although they were still considered a second-tier sect compared to Linghua Sect, no sect dared to look down on them.
However, the people of Feixing Workshop were all obsessed with artifact refining, and their social interactions were often extremely sharp and abrasive.
In other words, they had low emotional intelligence and didn’t know how to conduct themselves.
Furthermore, Lingyue Pavilion had always been cold and distant. Immortal Respecter Lingyue’s artifact, the Ice-Dust Mirror, was also refined by himself, and there had never been any rumor of him having dealings with anyone from Feixing Workshop.
“Why come to pay respects so suddenly without sending a formal visiting card in advance?” Su Li spoke into the transmission talisman.
The other party did not reply, simply switching to a wave-shaped, deep-blue transmission talisman that scattered into stars in mid-air as it flew in: “Immortal Respecter Lingyue, this was specially sent by our Workshop Master.”
The implied meaning was: since it was sent by the Workshop Master, it naturally didn’t need a visiting card to enter.
Su Li was displeased: “How can you be so rude?! Flying transmission talismans around carelessly—stand down!”
Lu Yin, however, raised his finger and said softly: “Since it’s from the Workshop Master, bring it in.” He turned his head, “Su Li, step out for a moment. Master needs to change clothes.”
Although Su Li was angry that his rare “master-and-disciple time” had been interrupted, he still lowered his head and stepped out.
Su Li sat in the main hall. The disciples of Feixing Workshop entered Lingyue Pavilion, yet said nothing, merely leaving a gift box behind before turning and stepping out, not even waiting for Lu Yin.
Su Li: “…”
I knew they had straightforward tempers, but are all of them like this?
Truly rude to the extreme!
An ice-blue gift box lay on the table, with a letter crookedly pressed beneath it.
Su Li: At least set the letter straight!
It’s practically a desecration of Master!
He extended his finger to pull the crooked letter straight. Yet the moment he moved, the letter flew right up, tracing a ripple in mid-air as if unrolling a landscape scroll over a river, with the characters written upon it: “Thinking of you day after day yet unable to see you, drinking from the same river alongside you.”
Su Li’s pupils trembled violently! If he hadn’t pulled his fingers back quickly, he would have nearly crushed the letter to pieces!
So… was the Workshop Master of Feixing Workshop actually an admirer of Master?!
Su Li stared fixedly at it, longing to burn a hole through that eyesore.
With a sour feeling in his heart, Su Li waved his hand, and the letter automatically flew back onto the table.
Almost at the exact same time, Lu Yin walked out from the inner hall.
Su Li: “!”
Did Master see me touch his letter?
Immortal Respecter Lingyue flicked his sleeves and sat down, his cold gaze sweeping over. Su Li braced himself under his gaze.
Then he heard his master say in a cold, clear voice: “Open it and take a look.”
Master saw it! He must have seen it to say that!
Su Li snapped his head up: “Master, I… Master, please don’t be angry.”
Lu Yin, however, slightly widened his beautiful eyes. He usually maintained an iceberg face, so subtle expressions on him were exceptionally captivating: “Why should I be angry?”
With a flick of his finger, the gift box opened, revealing a scabbard lying inside:
Ancient and majestic in design, with clean, elegant lines, inlaid with fine ice-blue crystals blooming like a lotus.
“This is…” Su Li was stunned.
His master smiled faintly: “It’s a birthday gift for you.”