After completing the refinement of the several magical tools Nie Li had entrusted to him, Nie Shiyun settled into a period of peaceful cultivation. Half a year passed in this manner before news finally arrived regarding Zhai Bairong.
Upon hearing that he had successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, the heavy stone weighing on Nie Shiyun’s heart finally dropped.
Coincidentally, over the past six months, he had nearly exhausted his reserves of fire-attribute pills and spiritual herbs. Not only had his own cultivation risen steadily, but Little Sparrow’s exotic flame had also grown significantly stronger. With the flame’s assistance, using the same materials and techniques, the grade of the magical tools he produced could now directly ascend by a minor sub-rank compared to before.
"Senior Nie."
"Ah, Senior Brother Nie has come out of seclusion."
Nie Shiyun had not visited the front mountain for a long time. As he appeared in the courtyard, the disciples passing by greeted him politely one after another.
The news of Zhai Bairong’s advancement had not yet spread, and the disciples of Yunqing Pavilion were entirely unaware of it. Seeing that he did not seem to be there just for a casual stroll, one speculated, "If you are looking for Elder Nie and Junior Brother Xuan Yang, they went down the mountain today. They probably won't be back until evening."
Nie Shiyun gave an "oh" of understanding. "You have all met the Junior Brother?"
The two disciples looked at each other and nodded. "Indeed. Elder Nie keeps him by his side every day. He even comes to the artifact-crafting classes, so we see him all the time."
He hadn't expected his father to take the boy to artifact-crafting classes; he was truly being attentive. Nie Shiyun continued, "And has he achieved any small success in artifact crafting?"
One of the disciples immediately wore a bitter smile upon hearing this question. "Originally, he would explode two furnaces a day. Later, it became only one furnace a day..."
Nie Shiyun’s eyelid twitched. The other disciple hurriedly interrupted, "Later, Elder Nie said that Junior Brother is still young and not yet suited to begin artifact crafting, so he let him follow the other elders in the sect to learn swordsmanship. I heard he’s practicing quite well..."
Regardless of age, exploding two furnaces a day indicated that Meiqiu possessed a reverse-talent for artifact crafting that was truly extraordinary.
Both artifact crafting and alchemy required a calm mind. Operations had to be precise down to the smallest detail, and the furnace fire had to be controlled with extreme care. Although Meiqiu was a fire-attribute demonic beast, his temperament was unfortunately far too careless and reckless. Nie Shiyun had already guessed he wouldn't be suited for artifact crafting. However, since he was being raised like a child and was a member of Yunqing Pavilion, Nie Shiyun had still wanted him to try learning it. Now, he could finally give up on that idea.
"Practicing the sword is also quite good."
The disciples in the sect were somewhat puzzled. Yunqing Pavilion focused primarily on artifact crafting. The Elder had picked up a child who had no talent for the craft, yet his cultivation was outstanding—such a small child already possessed a Qi Condensation cultivation. They wondered if he would be snatched away by some other great sect in the future.
Nie Shiyun originally thought of going to the town at the foot of the mountain to find the two, but he ran into Nie Xingan halfway. Having not seen each other for a while, the two brothers went to have tea and chat for a bit. As the sky gradually darkened, Nie Shiyun gave up on the idea of searching for them and waited peacefully at the front mountain for their return.
"Fellow Daoist Zhai has advanced to Nascent Soul? That is truly good news. I offer my congratulations to him from here."
"I will pass it on. In a few days, the news will likely be flying everywhere..."
As the two were speaking, Nie Li and Meiqiu returned.
"You're out of seclusion?" Nie Li exclaimed in surprise as he entered and saw Nie Shiyun sitting in the front hall.
Meiqiu had his mouth stuffed full of candied haws, and a spiritual food bag containing meat buns hung from his waist. He let out a few muffled "mhm-grunts" toward Nie Shiyun.
Children naturally lacked a defined figure, but Meiqiu had eaten himself even rounder during this period. His chubby arms looked like two segments of tender lotus root. Nie Shiyun didn't know if he had shifted back to his original form recently; at this rate, it was hard to say if he would even be able to fly in the future.
"Father, you cannot let him eat so recklessly," Nie Shiyun said helplessly.
Nie Xingan looked between the two and stayed silent. In truth, he also felt that his uncle’s catering for Meiqiu was a bit too generous. Most cultivators did not care much for the desires of the palate, and with spiritual energy maintaining their bodies in their prime, very few ever grew fat. If this wasn't stopped, Meiqiu was going to become the exception.
"Xuan Yang is still young; eating a bit more won't hurt. Besides, a few months ago, I handed him over to the sect elders to learn some swordsmanship. His daily exertion is quite high," Nie Li couldn't help but make excuses for the little ball.
"I heard. He was exploding furnaces every day in the sect. Seeing there was no saving him, he switched professions. I'll supplement some spirit stones into Yunqing Pavilion's treasury later," Nie Shiyun said with a sigh.
"It’s just a small amount of money, we aren't lacking that much," Nie Xingan said politely. He was the one primarily in charge of the sect's expenses and affairs.
Meiqiu finally swallowed a hawthorn berry. Choking slightly, he patted his chest and said urgently, "Although I don't seem to have much talent for artifact crafting, the person teaching me the sword said I learn very quickly!"
This was the truth. Meiqiu had felt quite melancholy after his last useless spat with Little Sparrow, which had sparked his interest in learning to use a magical tool. He already possessed cultivation equivalent to a Golden Core cultivator, though it was being forcibly suppressed. Being a demonic beast, his physical capabilities were naturally superior to humans. Nie Li had personally refined a Small Fire-Copper Sword for him, and he had mastered it within a few days.
"When Bairong comes, I'll have him teach you a few moves," Nie Shiyun said.
"Has he advanced!" Meiqiu asked loudly as soon as he heard Nie Shiyun mention Zhai Bairong.
"He has successfully advanced to Nascent Soul." Whenever Nie Shiyun mentioned Zhai Bairong, his eyes were filled with smiles.
Meiqiu was naturally happy to hear this and shouted with joy. Nie Li was startled, not expecting the advancement to be so smooth. He couldn't help but lament that Zhai Bairong was truly a favored son of heaven, quite unlike their older generation who had to crawl up slowly.
Nie Shiyun planned to prepare a congratulatory gift and personally visit the Yingyue Sect. Although he had no favorable feelings toward the Yingyue Sect, since they had sent someone to congratulate him when he advanced, it would be improper not to return the gesture now.
However, once he went there, whether Zhai Bairong would run away with him was not something the Yingyue Sect could control. The jump from Golden Core to Nascent Soul was a significant threshold; a cultivator's status and degree of freedom within a sect usually increased by more than just a little bit after advancing.
"Speaking of which, I actually did obtain something." Nie Li slapped his thigh and took out an item to give to Nie Shiyun.
"Thousand-Year Willow Wood..." Nie Shiyun said in surprise. He remembered Nie Li saying he would keep an eye out for those five types of thousand-year spiritual wood for Zhai Bairong. He hadn't expected that after only half a year, one would actually be found. Nie Li claimed it wasn't much trouble—he had simply happened to see it with a fellow Daoist who came to Yunqing Pavilion to request a tool refinement and bought it. Nevertheless, Nie Shiyun was deeply grateful, knowing his father had truly taken the matter to heart.
Since it was a gift from Nie Li, Nie Shiyun did not stand on ceremony. He nodded, accepted it, and thanked his father on Zhai Bairong's behalf.
"By the way, I received this news not long ago as well. Xuan'er’s elder sister, Qi Miaohan, is also preparing to sprint for the Nascent Soul stage," Nie Li informed Nie Shiyun privately.
"She hasn't been seen leaving her sect since returning from the Cold Heaven Secret Realm. It seems she is truly focusing on her cultivation this time," Nie Xingan remarked matter-of-factly.
"That child is also a genius; otherwise, she wouldn't have been scouted by the Pinyin Pavilion. She was young and ignorant before, but it seems she's going to start exerting herself now," Nie Li said with great emotion. He sighed inwardly; young Nascent Soul cultivators were appearing one after another. Such a prosperous scene hadn't been seen for hundreds of years. It seemed it would soon be the era of these juniors.
Nie Shiyun couldn't help but wonder: had Qi Miaohan truly changed her temperament, or had she simply realized the truth after being ganged up on and endangered several times in the secret realm—that if one isn't strong, they will get beaten? Given her competitive nature, Nie Shiyun guessed it was likely the latter.
In the original work, Qi Miaohan was supposed to have died at the hands of Duan Mingyu and his companions. In this world, not only had she taken first place in the Immortal Cultivation Grand Assembly, but she was also about to advance to Nascent Soul. This made Nie Shiyun feel as if a lifetime had passed.
"She better hurry up. Junior Sister Xuan'er and Junior Brother Du Zhi are still waiting for her to come out of seclusion..." Nie Xingan shook his head and smiled.
"What's going on with those two?" Nie Shiyun asked.
Nie Xingan let out a short "ah" and shut his mouth.
Nie Shiyun looked at him in confusion. Since coming out of seclusion, he had only stayed home for a short while, taken a trip to the southeast coast, and then entered seclusion for another half year... Why did it feel as if he had slept for ten years and now knew nothing?
Nie Li sighed and said to Nie Xingan, "They told you not to let it slip, and now look."
He turned to Nie Shiyun and said, "Don't blame your Junior Sister and the others for keeping it from you. Young people are thin-skinned. They said they've received much care from you normally, and if they told you so early, it would feel like they were pressuring you to spend time preparing gifts, which they felt bad about. They were planning to wait for Qi Miaohan to come out of seclusion, then send out the invitations once everything was arranged. You'd just have to show up and enjoy the feast..."
Nie Li rambled through a long explanation, and it took Nie Shiyun a moment to understand—Qi Xuan'er and Du Zhi were actually getting married!
The last time he saw Qi Xuan'er and Du Zhi, the two were still acting all shy and awkward. Who would have thought they would skip straight to the finish line in the blink of an eye?
"They've already become Dao companions?" Nie Shiyun was shocked, though his surprise was mostly composed of joy.
"Not officially yet... ahem, those two youngsters have rather old-fashioned ideas. But that's fine too," Nie Li said vaguely.
Nie Xingan, being a single man, felt somewhat embarrassed hearing Nie Li speak this way. However, Nie Shiyun was a modern person at heart; he found nothing strange about it and followed the conversation naturally.
In fact, based on Nie Shiyun's understanding, Du Zhi wasn't "old-fashioned" in the original work—he was even a bit naturally shameless. But thinking about it, he was a youth growing up and entering the outside world for the first time; his concepts weren't fixed and relied entirely on the influence of his surroundings. The cultivation world was much more open than the ordinary ancient mortal world; female cultivators could travel freely, and romance was a matter of free will. However, Qi Xuan'er was a relatively conservative woman, so Du Zhi, whose heart and eyes were full of his beloved, had been influenced by her temperament.
"To think they didn't want to accept my wedding gift. They're too naive," Nie Shiyun joked with a light snort.
Nie Xingan said awkwardly, "...Please, whatever you do, don't say I'm the one who let it slip."
The group discussed for a while the pink bubbles surrounding the two juniors—bubbles they usually tried to hide but which everyone else saw clearly. One could only say the sweet and sour scent of love was overflowing.
Nie Xingan felt quite guilty toward Qi Xuan'er and Du Zhi for letting the secret slip, so after chatting for a bit, he hurriedly departed. While the others were talking, Meiqiu had been sitting on Nie Shiyun’s lap devouring buns. Now, seeing that Nie Xingan—who didn't know his true form was a bird—had left, he quickly transformed into his original shape to show off his feathers to Nie Shiyun.
"This is truly... sleek and glossy." Nie Shiyun looked at Meiqiu’s feathers, which were so black they reflected light, even to the tips of his tail feathers. His body, which had rounded out by two sizes, was covered in black plumage. He didn't know how much nutrition he had been fed over the past six months, but under the light of the oil lamp, he emitted a shimmering, refracted glow in the dimness.
Perhaps this was what they called "a kaleidoscope of black."
Meiqiu felt that "sleek and glossy" was a good compliment for feathers and accepted it happily.
"I'm going to the Yingyue Sect in a while. Your identity is sensitive, so it's best if you don't go there. Stay and study hard in Yunqing Pavilion," Nie Shiyun patted Meiqiu’s little head.
Although Meiqiu was gradually getting used to disguising himself as a human, he still felt lingering fear from the previous warning that "humans like to use phoenix blood and organs for medicine." After learning that phoenix feathers were also valuable, he became even more afraid and made sure to maintain his disguise perfectly every day.
"Alright. But will you bring Zhai Bairong back?"
"I will. When the time comes, I'll have him check your swordsmanship," Nie Shiyun promised. If Qi Miaohan had only started her sprint for the Nascent Soul stage now, given her personality, she should be out within a few months regardless of the result. When Yunqing Pavilion sent out the invitations, she would surely drop everything to come. Nie Shiyun figured he only needed to spend some time at the Yingyue Sect and then use the excuse of attending the wedding to bring Zhai Bairong back.
***
