Chapter 58: Sharp as Tender Bamboo Shoots, Round as the Bright Moon!

After giving her instructions as the Peak Master, Yu Wan turned and went back into seclusion. However, before she withdrew, she left a spiritual message for Cao Xuan, arranging for Senior Sister Li to oversee his instruction. She added that in half a month, she herself would emerge to assess his progress.

She had worried about many things beforehand, but when it came time to actually teach, Yu Wan found it surprisingly simple. The main reason was that Li Yao, her first and most senior disciple, could act as teacher in her stead. For minor matters, Li Yao could handle them; for major cultivation questions, Yu Wan would step in herself.

That was the way of things—before starting, everything seemed daunting. But once begun, solutions would present themselves. On a whim, Yu Wan had summoned Li Yao, intending only to have her help Cao Xuan familiarize himself with the Talisman Peak. It just so happened that their conversation drifted to cultivation. As Li Yao had already mastered the “Scripture of Clouded Runes,” she was more than qualified to teach.

Before entering seclusion, Yu Wan even thought to herself, “Not only am I teaching Cao Xuan, but I’m also giving Li Yao early experience in leading Talisman Peak—killing two birds with one stone. I truly am a genius!”

…

When Li Yao entered the main hall and saw Cao Xuan, who wore a simple azure robe embroidered with two patterns and possessed quite an unremarkable appearance, she didn’t judge him by his looks. Instead, a hint of curiosity surfaced.

“Strange, I don’t recognize him at all!”

Li Yao had been brought to the mountain by Yu Wan herself and had practically grown up on Talisman Peak. To her, every blade of grass and tree was intimately familiar. Aside from Jiu Ping, a prodigy at the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement, there were several other geniuses at the late eighth and early ninth levels.

Though she’d heard the name Cao Xuan, it hadn’t rung a bell. She had wondered if perhaps he was a disciple she’d forgotten, who had recently broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

One thing was certain: when it came to cultivation, Li Yao’s insights were beyond reproach. Jiu Ping might be a prodigy, but others could always catch up.

“So it wasn’t my memory failing me—he really is a newcomer!”

Resting her chin on her hand, Li Yao tilted her head, watching Cao Xuan. At that moment, Cao Xuan had just finished converting his entire body’s true essence, and the talisman Yu Wan had left for him was now refined into his dantian, ready to be observed at any time.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a field of snowy white. It turned out that as Li Yao bent forward, the loose collar of her plain azure dress fell open.

Cao Xuan, having tasted such pleasures with Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru, was hardly the bashful sort who would avert his eyes in embarrassment. Instead, he calmly and intently admired the view.

“Sharp as spring bamboo, round as a bright moon, skin like congealed cream, flawless and fair…”

He offered his critique with utmost seriousness. Li Yao, at first, didn’t catch on. Following his gaze downward, she innocently said, “Junior Brother Cao, you’re awake. I’m your senior sister Li—ah! Scoundrel!”

A crisp slap rang out.

…

Talisman Peak was lush and charming, its scenery beautiful. Cao Xuan now sported a swollen welt high on his right cheek, yet he followed Li Yao with a calm expression.

“Hmph!”

Li Yao, meanwhile, had lost her usual scholarly composure, huffing with embarrassment as she led the way. Truth be told, being seen by Cao Xuan left her one part ashamed, one part unsettled, and one part secretly pleased.

Don’t misunderstand—Cao Xuan’s gaze held no lewdness, something Li Yao, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, could sense clearly enough. Girls appreciate beauty, and sincere compliments are always pleasant to hear. Cao Xuan’s words had come out spontaneously, honest and uncontrived.

Her only real annoyance was that her body had become an object of artistic critique for her junior brother—hence her confusion of shame, awkwardness, and a dash of secret delight.

“Senior Sister, I meant no harm,” Cao Xuan said earnestly. “After finishing my cultivation, I merely commented on the beautiful sight that suddenly appeared before my eyes—it was instinctive.”

“You’re still talking?” Li Yao stamped her foot, turning around, her face flushed with shame and anger.

Cao Xuan raised his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll say no more!”

He produced a jade slip. “Let this serve as my apology, Senior Sister. Will you accept it?”

Still flustered, Li Yao snatched the slip from his hand. “Junior Brother, you’re too smooth-tongued to be trustworthy!”

But as she glanced at its contents, her tone changed. “Wait, isn’t this the ‘Scripture of Clouded Runes’ annotated by Master?”

She hurriedly tried to return it. “I can’t accept this, Junior Brother—without it, how will you continue your cultivation?”

Cao Xuan smiled faintly, tapping his forehead. “I have an eidetic memory, Senior Sister. Everything is already stored up here.”

“Besides, I believe you must have a copy as well, so it’s not a rare gift. It’s just a small token of thanks for the beautiful sight I was privileged to witness.”

Li Yao’s cheeks flushed. “You’re still talking!” But she didn’t refuse. Indeed, the jade slip’s true value was mostly symbolic; the annotations varied with each disciple, and she herself was only a step away from full mastery.

Whether it was that comment from Cao Xuan or not, Li Yao thought, “He’s seen it; he shouldn’t get away with it for nothing!”

Unbeknownst to her, Cao Xuan was now focused on his system interface.

Name: Li Yao
Spiritual Root Attribute: Eight-refinement Root
Multiplier: 50x

Indeed, Li Yao was like Senior Sister Ye Caixuan, with a fiftyfold multiplier. Spiritual roots ranged from one to nine refinements, with every three refinements marking a distinct class. An eight-refinement root was high-grade, just below the supreme class of nine.

Still, though eight was less than nine, Li Yao, with her eight-refinement root, matched Ye Caixuan’s fiftyfold return, which spoke to her extraordinary potential. She couldn’t compare to Master Yu Wan, whose unique trait “Butterfly’s Grace” gave her an eightyfold multiplier, but there was merit to be found.

“It probably has to do with how early she broke through to Foundation Establishment,” Cao Xuan mused. He had realized that the system’s multiplier was tied to potential—the greater the potential, the higher the multiplier. Special traits added to this, but that was another matter.

Li Yao, with her eight-refinement root, must have achieved Foundation Establishment even earlier than Ye Caixuan.

Cao Xuan didn’t know it, but his guess was correct. Both Ye Caixuan and Li Yao were at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, but the former had only just entered it, while the latter was on the verge of breaking through to late Foundation Establishment.

Regardless of whether Li Yao perfected her “Scripture of Clouded Runes,” she had an excellent chance of advancing within the year. If she managed to secure a place in the Azure Cloud Misty Cavern’s secret realm, she might even attain the Golden Core stage within twenty years.

Li Yao, distracted by Cao Xuan’s teasing, simply stowed the jade slip away in her storage pouch. Seeing this, Cao Xuan’s eyes brightened. “Success!”

His gaze grew unfocused as he stared into the void.

Ding~ Successfully gifted Li Yao the annotated “Scripture of Clouded Runes.” Cashback processing...