Watching the Mountain

Seeing Xu Ran's solemn expression, Ye Qingyue quickly shook her head. "Master, do you really think he's that kind of person?"

Xu Ran thought back. Shen Wuchen was a single-minded fellow who got tongue-tied whenever he was nervous; he truly couldn't imagine someone like that bullying others.

If someone accused Shen Wuchen of putting on an act, he might believe it. But to say he was a bad person? That, he would never believe.

At this thought, he asked hesitantly, "In that case, why the sudden wish to take me as your master? Our cultivation levels are about the same right now. There's no reason for it."

'Shen Wuchen wanted me as his master because I gave him a path forward when he was at his most desperate.'

'To put it dramatically, I was his light, illuminating the path ahead.'

'And he's a steadfast person, so he wanted to formalize the help I'd given him.'

Ye Qingyue fell silent for a moment before speaking, her voice unhurried. "Master, you said it yourself—our cultivation levels are about the same right now. That's the very reason I wish to take you as my master."

"What does equivalent cultivation have to do with..." Xu Ran stopped mid-sentence, his expression suddenly stiffening. He then seemed to realize something, his eyes widening slightly as he sized up Ye Qingyue.

'For anyone else, it would be perfectly normal to still be in the Foundation Establishment Stage at around 150 years old.'

'Foundation Establishment cultivators live for three hundred years, so at her age, she's still considered young for her stage.'

'But Ye Qingyue was different. Back in the Wangyue Sect, she was a standout among the younger generation, a renowned prodigy.'

'After joining the Profound Pure Sect, she reached the Foundation Establishment Stage before she was even thirty. Now, more than a hundred years later, her cultivation is still stuck there. That's a huge problem.'

'By all rights, she should have reached the Purple Mansion Stage long ago.'

Xu Ran pondered for a moment, then looked at Ye Qingyue and asked, "Back when you saved Wuchen in the New Domain, was your foundation damaged?"

Ye Qingyue shook her head. "I was at the critical moment of coalescing my Dao Seed. In the process of saving him, my Divine Soul was injured. With both my mind and spirit damaged, I couldn't maintain the process, and my Dao Seed dissipated."

"Afterward, no matter how many times I tried, I could never coalesce the Dao Seed again."

She gently shook her head, her expression calm as she said, "There's a saying that every opportunity to break through on the path of cultivation is a fateful chance bestowed by the Great Dao. Once you miss it, the Great Dao will give that chance to someone else, and you'll never get that opportunity again in this life."

Xu Ran's thoughts churned slightly as he silently watched the calm-faced young woman before him. Few people could remain so composed after losing their chance to break through.

'All cultivation, at its core, is about progressing further. To put it simply, it's about breaking through to higher realms. To have that chance interrupted is like having your cultivation path completely severed.'

'To remain so calm after having her cultivation path severed could only mean one thing: in her heart, something was more important than cultivation itself.'

After a long silence, Xu Ran asked Ye Qingyue, "Do you plan to keep this from Wuchen forever?"

'I've always believed that a relationship is a two-way street. If one person sacrifices too much, it doesn't necessarily bring happiness to the other.'

'But that's just my opinion. I won't interfere too much in their relationship.'

Ye Qingyue looked at Xu Ran's reaction, smiled lightly, and said, "Master, you don't need to wear such a heavy expression. Have you forgotten why I came to find you?"

She gently brushed her hair back and said with a smile:

"I've thought about it. If I keep working hard, I'm still very confident that I can break through to the Purple Mansion Stage before my lifespan runs out."

"But I'm not willing to wait that long. If I continue down this path, I'll likely be stuck at the Purple Mansion Stage for the rest of my life. If I encounter some fateful opportunity, I might have a chance to reach the Core Formation Stage, but that would be the limit."

"But that's far from enough. He's already the youngest Nascent Soul True Monarch in the Cultivation Realm in the last hundred thousand years. In the future, he will go even further. He'll definitely live for a very, very long time."

"For me, even if I get lucky and break through to the Core Formation Stage, a lifespan of twelve hundred years is far from enough. I'm a bit greedy. I want more time with him, which means I have to go further—to the Nascent Soul Stage, or even the Divinity Transformation Stage."

"It's definitely impossible to do that on my current path. That's why I want to become your disciple and switch to the Flying Immortal Stream you created."

She finished, her eyes crinkling into a smile. Her tone turned playful as she said, "Master, don't underestimate me. I have Grade A Root Bone, you know. If I cultivate the Flying Immortal Stream, I imagine I won't be left too far behind him, right?"

After hearing Ye Qingyue's story, Xu Ran's heavy heart relaxed a little. Just a moment ago, when he'd heard what she said, he had almost thought this was another tragedy.

'He was incredibly glad now that he had, on a whim, researched and developed the path of the Flying Immortal Stream. Only because of that could this tragedy be averted.'

'But as soon as the thought appeared, he realized something was off.'

'Thinking about it, creating the Flying Immortal Stream had saved Shen Wuchen's cultivation path. Now, it was saving his love life, too.'

'This made him wonder... did I create the Flying Immortal Stream? Or did the world need the Flying Immortal Stream because of Shen Wuchen's existence, and it simply used me as a vessel to bring it forth?'

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