Chapter 143: Chapter 122: The Difficulty of Foundation Establishment

The two chatted for a while, and Lü Zhong drank three cups of Spirit Tea.

At first, the Spirit Tea didn’t seem like much, only that it was exceptionally pleasant to drink.

But when the Spiritual Qi began to disperse from the tea, he realized he had truly hit the jackpot. The effect was no less than the first time he had taken an Origin-Nurturing Pill. His meridians were already brimming with abundant Spiritual Qi, and refining it would surely lead to a considerable increase in his cultivation.

"Alright, my dear disciple, if you have something to say, just say it," Shuini said, gracefully setting down her cup with a smile. "Don’t tell me you only came to visit your master today to freeload off my Spirit Tea."

"To be honest, this disciple did come with a request." Lü Zhong had originally just stopped by on a whim, but hearing his master of convenience’s words, a bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.

After organizing his thoughts, he presented a stack of original manuscripts for a story.

"These are some stories this disciple wrote in his spare time. They’re currently quite popular in Yongling City. Please accept them, Master!"

"Oh?" Shuini’s interest was piqued, her expression no longer as languid as before.

She magically drew the manuscripts into her hand. As she read them, the smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by a look of slight astonishment. She couldn’t help but study this disciple of hers carefully before finally speaking after a long moment. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"So you’re the one who wrote these stories?"

Before she even finished speaking, Shuini waved her hand, and a pile of books instantly appeared on the floor.

They were, surprisingly, all first-edition originals.

Looking up, Shuini gazed at Lü Zhong again. A flicker of mock resentment appeared in her eyes but vanished just as quickly, replaced by her usual beaming smile. She put the manuscripts into her Storage Bag and said:

"Your master will graciously accept this kind gift from my dear disciple."

"In the future, if you run into any trouble, my dear disciple, feel free to use my name."

She paused, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes, yet her voice remained gentle. "Within the Heling Sect’s territory, no one would dare to provoke me."

Lü Zhong’s eye twitched. ’This master of convenience is just as pragmatic as I thought.’

At the same time, he was ecstatic!

As long as he remained under the protection of his nominal master, he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone targeting his books. If another family like the Niu Family of Donghui Ridge got any greedy ideas, they would first have to consider whether they could bear the consequences of offending Shuini, the Heling Sect’s foremost Foundation Establishment disciple.

Putting on an expression of overwhelming gratitude, Lü Zhong bowed deeply, clasping his hands. "Thank you, Master!"

"No need for thanks. If you hadn’t come today, my dear disciple, your master was planning to go find you anyway," Shuini said with a wave of her hand, already engrossed in the stories. "It’s not every day I take on a disciple. How could I let him be bullied so easily?"

Her words sounded like she was just placating him.

Yet for some reason, Lü Zhong felt that what his master of convenience said was actually the truth.

’Does such a good master really exist in this world?’

Lü Zhong found it hard to believe.

Throughout his journey, he had witnessed tragedies firsthand—Dao Companions turning on each other, brothers slaughtering one another.

In truth, Lü Zhong had always been secretly wary of his nominal master. The act of handing over the manuscripts was, in essence, just a transaction to trade for Shuini’s protection.

He had even been prepared to hand over most of the profits from his books for it.

But now...

There was no easy answer to this, so Lü Zhong decided not to dwell on it.

’Time will tell.’

...

Leaving Shuini Cave Mansion, Lü Zhong walked to a covered bridge, performed the hand seal for the Light Body Skill, and leaped over the railing.

He wasn’t jumping for fun. Li Hejun and the other woman weren’t qualified to enter the sect’s mountain gate and had been settled in Wangxian Town below. He planned to resume the printing of his books, so he needed to make a trip down.

Gliding through the air, he understood what it felt like to use a Flying Spell.

It was a feeling of unrestrained freedom.

No wonder so many Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were obsessed with Flying Spells.

As he descended, the Cloud Qi enveloping him began to dissipate, revealing a poetic landscape of green mountains and clear waters. Right beside a babbling brook, a bustling town came into view.

The town was built on a hillside, connected by a wide, winding stone-paved road.

One end of the road led to Yongling City.

The other end extended toward the peaks of Heling Mountain, linked by a series of covered bridges. The path was dotted with marvelous waterfalls and led directly above the sea of clouds to the Heling Sect’s mountain gate at the summit.

This path was named Wangxian Road and was prepared for those seeking the Immortal Path. If they managed to reach the summit, they theoretically had a chance to be accepted by the Heling Sect.

Of course, that was only in theory.

Landing on the stone road, Lü Zhong headed for the address the two women had left him.

Wangxian Town was quite bustling, no less so than Qingliu Ruins on market day. There were stalls selling all sorts of handcrafted trinkets, vendors offering various raw herbs and materials, and even many Small Spiritual Objects useful to cultivators.

Window shopping, he quickly passed through the lively market and arrived in front of a one-story house.

Just then, Lü Zhong let out a soft sound of surprise.

He had kept his Qi Observation Skill active, and right now, his vision only showed the aura of a single person.

The Spiritual Light was extremely faint, clearly belonging to the mortal, Li Hejun.

A thought came to him. He shook his head and pushed the door open.

Inside, Li Hejun’s face was flushed, a clear sign she had just finished her practice.

Seeing Lü Zhong enter, she quickly got off the bed and curtsied. "Hejun greets you, Master!"

"Mm, you may rise."

Lü Zhong looked at Li Hejun, whose clothes were in slight disarray, but felt not the slightest ripple in his heart.

His gaze swept past her, taking in the entire room at a glance.

"Where’s Hong Fu?"

"She..." Li Hejun hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, "Hong Fu left without a word seven days ago. Hejun doesn’t know where she went either."

"Oh. Then don’t worry about her," Lü Zhong said indifferently.

He had originally thought of making some use of her, but since she left of her own accord, he’d let her be.