“Then stand right there and don’t move. Let Xiaoyin use ‘Falling Leaves’ to pluck every single one of your scales, and then we’ll see if you’re annoyed or not,” Li Xue said crossly.
Chi Ze shuddered at the thought. That wouldn’t be fun at all—it would hurt like hell. He quickly changed the subject, turning to Ling Xiaoyin. “Why don’t you ask the young master to refine a whip for you? Or perhaps you could try some human wood-attribute spells? Like Wood Lightning or Entangling Vines!”
Li Lin nodded in agreement. “It’s settled then. Xiaoyin’s Dharma treasure shall be a whip!”
Li Xue was the one who came up with the name ‘Exquisite Whip,’ and Ling Xiaoyin loved it. In addition to the Exquisite Whip, Li Lin also refined the Glazed Phoenix Bell for Zifeng and the Luminous Phoenix Cup for Zihuang.
Originally, Li Lin had wanted to refine a Dharma treasure for his mother that could launch spiritual sense attacks. Unfortunately, the materials were difficult to find. Furthermore, his current smithing skills were limited; spiritual sense weapons were best crafted using the Condensation Method, so he had no choice but to set the idea aside.
By this point, everyone possessed a high-grade Dharma treasure, and all were satisfied.
The abundance of wood-attribute energy caused the quality of spiritual qi within the Dream Realm to improve significantly. Li Xue soon broke through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm. Li Lin, however, broke through even earlier than she did. In a mere five years, his smithing skills had reached the level of a master. This was no feat achieved through shortcuts, but the result of tireless practice. Naturally, his cultivation grew rapidly alongside his craft.
Adding to the collective joy, Yu Ming finally faced his Golden Core Tribulation after eight years of secluded cultivation. Hei Yan was the most overjoyed of all; as Yu Ming’s spirit beast, he had spent more time apart from his master than together, to the point that many people mistook him for Li Lin’s beast.
“Xiao Ming, this is the high-grade wood-attribute Dharma treasure, the Cloud-Perching Hook. It’s suitable for a man,” Li Xue said, presenting the gift. Neither she nor Xiaoyin cared for such a weapon.
“Thank you,” Yu Ming said. He then turned to Ling Xiaoyin and added, “I must also thank Xiaoyin. If your advancement hadn’t caused the wood-attribute qi in the Dream Realm to sublimate, I wouldn’t have formed my core so quickly!”
“Heehee, Brother Xiao Ming, you have to take me out to play later!” Ling Xiaoyin’s face was flushed pink, never for a moment forgetting her desire to explore.
“Alright, I’ll take you out to play!” Yu Ming picked up Ling Xiaoyin, bid farewell to Li Xue and the others, and exited the Dream Realm.
Inside the Hall of Profound Splendor, Perfected Jingyuan was deeply moved to see Yu Ming. His eldest disciple had also reached the Golden Core stage; the student had truly surpassed the master. Every disciple he had taken in was exceptional.
Then, his eyes widened as he caught sight of Ling Xiaoyin. His hand trembled as he pointed at her. “She... is she the Junior Sister? Did she suffer a cultivation deviation?”
Li Xue and Li Lin’s travels had been announced to the outside world as a period of secluded cultivation, a secret kept even from Perfected Jingyuan. He had firmly believed they were both in seclusion. Suddenly seeing a small face that looked exactly like Li Xue’s, he assumed she had suffered a setback in her training that had caused her body to shrink.
Yu Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Most people would assume the girl was Li Xue’s child upon seeing her; only someone like Perfected Jingyuan would jump to something as dire as cultivation deviation.
“Her name is Li Xiaoyin,” Yu Ming explained, using the name they had agreed upon in the Dream Realm. Whenever Xiaoyin went out to play, she would use the surname Li and be introduced as Li Xue’s daughter.
“Hello, Uncle!” Xiaoyin greeted Perfected Jingyuan with natural familiarity. She had heard the others say that everyone here was on their side.
Perfected Jingyuan was highly suspicious, but he could only keep his doubts to himself for now. They had already received a voice transmission from Daoist Yuhong; everything would be made clear once they reached the Hall of Jade Brilliance.
Daoist Yuhong was very pleased with Yu Ming’s advancement. He was also startled to see Ling Xiaoyin, but as a Nascent Soul Daoist, he had weathered many storms. He did not believe for a moment that Li Xue would have a daughter with another man and bring her to a foreign planet after having already formed a soul-bond with Li Ran.
“Well, tell me. What is going on?” Daoist Yuhong asked with an air of practiced calm.
Yu Ming said helplessly, “Xiaoyin is a spirit body. Before she took human form, the only person she had seen was Sister Li, and she also received a drop of Sister Li’s essence blood. That is why she looks like this after her transformation.”
At this, both Daoist Yuhong and Perfected Jingyuan stood up abruptly.
“A spirit body?!” Daoist Yuhong looked at Ling Xiaoyin with wonder. He had never seen a spirit body on Mangyun Star. He reached out and picked her up.
Xiaoyin naturally wrapped her small arms around Daoist Yuhong’s neck and said sweetly, “Hello, Grandmaster Grandpa! Mommy said Grandmaster Grandpa is the best!”
Daoist Yuhong was delighted. “Did your mother really say that? I’m surprised she didn’t speak ill of me!”
Xiaoyin thought for a moment and said, “Mommy said if I call you Grandmaster Grandpa, you’ll give me fun Dharma treasures!”
Daoist Yuhong was caught between laughter and tears. He knew that girl wouldn’t have anything truly nice to say. However, looking at the face that was identical to Li Xue’s, he felt a deep sense of affection. “Alright, then Grandmaster Grandpa will take you to pick one out!”
Perfected Jingyuan sighed in amazement. “I never expected her to be a spirit body. Truly miraculous!” He thought to himself that spirit bodies were said to require tens of thousands of years of cultivation to take human form. For his Junior Sister to encounter one was a stroke of incredible luck; no wonder her cultivation progressed so quickly.
In the cultivation world, anyone who reached the Golden Core stage within a hundred and fifty years was considered a genius. Yu Ming had now become one of the most outstanding Golden Core disciples of the Cloud Might Sect, receiving the Daoist title ‘Perfected Qingming.’
Ling Xiaoyin returned to the main hall in high spirits, clutching a purple silk ribbon and playing with it incessantly. When Yu Ming and Perfected Jingyuan looked closer, they saw it was only a high-grade magical tool. Xiaoyin had spent all that time picking, yet instead of a Dharma treasure, she had chosen a mere tool.
Daoist Yuhong said helplessly, “The little girl thought those Dharma treasures weren’t pretty enough. She took a liking to this magical tool instead. Sigh!”
Perfected Jingyuan and Yu Ming were speechless. They figured it was just a child’s temperament—she only cared about things that looked nice.
Seeing that Daoist Yuhong was in a good mood, Yu Ming asked, “Grandmaster, you will be attending the Technique Grand Assembly, won’t you?”
“Indeed. How could I miss such a grand event?” Yuhong replied.
“Sister Li sent word back asking me to bring Xiaoyin to find her,” Yu Ming took the opportunity to say.
Yuhong rolled his eyes at him. “Your realm hasn’t even stabilized yet, and you’re already thinking about running off to play!”
Yu Ming quickly added, “I will enter seclusion immediately. I’ll have to trouble Grandmaster with Xiaoyin for now.”
“Go on, go on. Leave the little girl with me. I won’t mistreat her,” Yuhong said, waving him off.
Yu Ming bowed respectfully and exited the Hall of Jade Brilliance.
Perfected Jingyuan could no longer sit still. He couldn’t make heads or tails of their conversation. “Master, what Technique Grand Assembly? Where is Junior Sister? Is she not in seclusion?”
Daoist Yuhong didn’t bother explaining. He simply tossed a jade slip to Jingyuan. His disciple was so focused on alchemy that he didn’t realize the earth-shattering changes occurring on Mangyun Star. The man was truly too honest for his own good.
As Perfected Jingyuan scanned the contents of the jade slip, his usual composure vanished, and he was left reeling in shock.
