Watching the Mountain

But here, she was only growing sweet potatoes, some fruits and vegetables from the Mortal World, and a few ornamental flowers.

The layout of the room was as clean and simple as the standard-issue Daoist Robe she wore.

To be honest, in all his time at the Profound Pure Sect, Xu Ran had rarely seen a disciple who always wore the standard-issue Daoist Robe. That included himself.

After the standard-issue Daoist Robes were distributed, most disciples never touched them again. Unless there was a major Sect event, they all wore their own preferred clothes.

Xu Ran observed her for a moment. As Jiang Ling'Er stood there with a nervous expression, his gaze fell upon her, and he quietly asked,

"Don't you have any other clothes?"

Jiang Ling'Er shook her head, replying in her soft, sweet voice,

"The clothes I was wearing when I joined the Sect are too small now. I can't fit into them anymore."

"You didn't buy any new ones?"

"There's no need. The Sect's Daoist Robes are quite nice. They're more comfortable than my old clothes, and they look better too."

Xu Ran gave a slight nod. Then, just as Jiang Ling'Er was breathing a sigh of relief, he slowly asked,

"So, what's the deal with that big yellow dog?"

At that moment, the big yellow dog was soaking in a huge wooden basin filled with hot water that gave off a rich, medicinal fragrance.

'It was obvious. Jiang Ling'Er was using the Elixirs provided by the Sect to give the big yellow dog a medicinal bath.'

Hearing this, Jiang Ling'Er's expression stiffened. She lowered her head slightly to stare at her toes, then furtively darted her eyes up to gauge Xu Ran's expression.

Seeing Xu Ran's stern expression, she agonized for a moment before stammering out an explanation:

"Xiaohui can't take the Elixirs directly, or he won't be able to withstand the medicinal power. That's why I have to dissolve the Elixirs in water and let him absorb the power slowly through a medicinal bath."

Xu Ran gave a slight nod. "I was asking why you're giving the Elixirs to him."

"I want Xiaohui to cultivate so I can raise him into a Spirit Beast," Jiang Ling'Er replied quietly.

Xu Ran nodded. "Is Xiaohui his name? He's clearly a big yellow dog, so why call him Xiaohui?"

"Jiang Xiaohui. That's the name I gave him," Jiang Ling'Er said, sounding a little proud.

Then she explained, "Xiaohui was originally a little gray puppy. He only grew bigger and turned yellow after I started giving him medicinal baths."

Since the cat was out of the bag, she no longer held anything back and explained the whole story to Xu Ran.

It turned out that before joining the Profound Pure Sect, she had been kidnapped from her home. The big yellow dog, Jiang Xiaohui, was the one who rescued her. Afterward, she ran into a Profound Pure Sect disciple on the road, who brought her to the Sect to participate in the recruitment assembly.

After hearing her story, Xu Ran felt a pang of pity for what she'd been through. At the same time, he couldn't help but think to himself, 'Just as I thought. She looks so gullible, and it turns out she really has been kidnapped before.'

He let out a helpless sigh and then said, "You gave the Elixirs to him, but what about your own cultivation? Your progress is already slow. Without the aid of Elixirs, you might be stuck at the Qi Cultivation Stage for the rest of your life."

Hearing this, Jiang Ling'Er's expression became resolute. "I haven't thought about that," she said. "I've heard that dogs have very short lives. If Xiaohui doesn't become a Spirit Beast, he'll probably get old and die before long."

"He saved my life. I can't just stand by and watch my savior die before I do."

Xu Ran watched her in silence. 'This student of mine seems a bit dense,' he thought, 'but the fact that she gave Jiang Xiaohui a medicinal bath instead of just feeding him the Elixirs shows she's not as foolish as she looks. On the contrary, she's actually quite thoughtful.'

'And she's willing to hinder her own cultivation path just to repay the life-saving debt she owes this big yellow dog, Jiang Xiaohui, by helping him evolve into a Spirit Beast.'

'It's a lot like how I was willing to delay my own cultivation to develop a high-yield Spirit Rice and repay the kindness of Senior Sister Yue.'

'As expected of my student.'

With this in mind, he quietly said to Jiang Ling'Er, "Give me your Identity Jade Talisman."

Jiang Ling'Er hesitated for a moment but still obediently took out her Identity Jade Talisman.

After taking her Identity Jade Talisman, Xu Ran pulled out his own. He made a few gestures over them and then handed hers back.

"I've loaned you five thousand Contribution Points. Go exchange them for a Spirit Fusion Pill and a Demon Cultivation Technique."

The Spirit Fusion Pill is used to awaken the spiritual intelligence of ordinary beasts, but it's exceptionally expensive. With Jiang Ling'Er's current stipend, she could never afford it, which was why she had resorted to giving Jiang Xiaohui medicinal baths.

"Master, this…" Jiang Ling'Er stared blankly at the Identity Jade Talisman in her hand. It felt heavy.

Xu Ran waved his hand dismissively. "From now on, use your own Elixirs for yourself. I'll be checking your cultivation progress. If I find you're progressing too slowly, don't blame me if I do something to Jiang Xiaohui."

Jiang Ling'Er's face went pale with panic. She immediately began nodding her head vigorously, like a little chick pecking at rice. "Don't worry, Master!" she said. "I'll definitely work hard on my cultivation!"

Watching Xu Ran's departing figure, she felt a wave of relief, incredibly glad that she had worked up the courage to greet her master back in the Scripture Pavilion.

A moment later, she turned back to the big yellow dog. "Xiaohui, did you get a good look? That's our master. You have to remember him, okay?"

"WOOF WOOF WOOF." Jiang Xiaohui wagged his tail and barked a few times.

*

*

*

Just as he returned to the entrance of his Cave Mansion, Xu Ran saw Shen Wuchen standing there, his face devoid of expression.

The moment he saw Xu Ran return, he couldn't wait to speak. "Master Xu, I object!"

"What?" Xu Ran blinked, momentarily confused.

"But I was first! How could you take her as your disciple before me?" Shen Wuchen's gaze was filled with grievance. It was one thing when Ye Qingyue had beaten him to the punch by calling Master Xu "Master," but now it had actually happened for real with someone else.

"Ah, so that's what this is about," Xu Ran said, drawing out the words.

Shen Wuchen nodded. "I'd like to make a request. In the future, after I defeat Senior Brother Zhang, can I become the senior brother and she the junior sister?"

"Why?" Xu Ran asked, finding his expression a little strange.

Shen Wuchen's face stiffened, instantly reverting to his usual arrogant mask. "No reason," he replied stiffly. "I just want to be the senior brother."

Watching his reaction, Xu Ran nodded thoughtfully. He sized him up for a moment with a peculiar look on his face.

'It seems Ye Qingyue has been taking full advantage of her 'senior sister' status these last few days,' he thought. 'Shen Wuchen's reaction makes that perfectly clear.'

Then he smiled faintly and said, "Let's talk about it after you defeat your Senior Brother Zhang. Whether you can actually beat him is still up in the air."

Shen Wuchen's face stiffened. "I will do it," he said, his expression turning stony.

With that, he bid Xu Ran farewell and turned to leave.

After leaving Xu Ran, he found Zhang Zhentian. "Fight me," he said, his face cold.

Zhang Zhentian blinked, looking at him in confusion.

Seeing his reaction, Shen Wuchen stated flatly, "I want to see the gap between us."

Hearing this, Zhang Zhentian readily agreed.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wuchen True Monarch was once again defeated by the Evergreen Sword Saint.

And this time, it took only a single strike.

"Junior Brother, did you feel the difference?" Zhang Zhentian asked, grinning at Shen Wuchen.

Shen Wuchen stared intently at Zhang Zhentian, then let out a cold snort and replied in a wooden tone:

"I understand now."

With that said, he turned and left without a second glance.

'This won't do. I have to reach the Divinity Transformation Stage as quickly as possible. Otherwise, by the time Senior Brother Zhang reaches the Nascent Soul Late Stage, I probably won't be his match even if I'm at the Divinity Transformation Stage.'

Xu Ran heard about Shen Wuchen's one-strike defeat at the hands of Zhang Zhentian, but he didn't pay it much mind.

After all, as far as Shen Wuchen was concerned, no amount of failure would ever truly break him.

Right now, he was more concerned with matters regarding the Secret Realm. Many opportunities had recently appeared within it, driving countless people into a frenzy. More importantly, he'd heard that the young couple, Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge, had also gone inside.

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