Immortality begins with raising apprentices

Chapter 194 Master Slides to His Knees
"Eh……"

Xiao Shuyao's lips slowly curled upwards, revealing two tiny white teeth like those of a baby rabbit.

She gave Chen Ye a barely perceptible smile, then pursed her lips and lowered her head.

"Huh? Is this child greeting me?"

Chen Ye was unsure whether he should praise Xiao Shuyao for being very polite.

He had visited He Qi's house once before and noticed that the little girl was very timid.

Later, after becoming very close to He Qi, he understood why the little girl was timid.

When He Qi was young and impetuous, he was arrogant and had made a deadly enemy of someone.

Later, the enemy came looking for her. At this time, Shuyao was only four or five years old and did not know the wickedness of people's hearts. She was lively and active.

While playing outside, he personally led this menacing uncle into the house, only to witness his mother die tragically in a pool of blood.

Fortunately, the seeker still had some conscience and did not harm Shuyao. After killing her, he left without a trace.

This incident had a profound impact on both He Qi and his daughter. Perhaps, the reason why this late-stage Qi Refining cultivator treated people kindly in the shantytown was also influenced by this incident, and he no longer wanted to make enemies.

As for He Qi's current Daoist partner, she is his second wife.

Or perhaps they were just bed partners.

Therefore, He Qi would entrust his daughter to him.

Chen Ye looked at the timid little girl and his heart softened.

He has always been powerless against cute creatures.

"Shuyao, do you still remember the jade pendant your uncle gave you?" Chen Ye asked with a smile, getting closer to her.

Upon hearing the words "jade pendant," Xiao Shuyao subconsciously touched her neck, where a jade pendant radiating a faint, warm luster was hanging.

She nodded, but her small hand unconsciously gripped the jade pendant even tighter.

This is the Qingxin Jade that Chen Ye once gave to He Shuyao.

"Uncle will tell you a secret."

Chen Ye lowered his voice, a mysterious expression on his face.

"That jade pendant is actually a magical artifact. As long as you keep your father in your heart, it can let your father feel whether you are safe and sound from a great distance. That way, your father will feel at ease."

Xiao Shuyao's eyes widened instantly, in disbelief.

“But,” Chen Ye changed the subject, his expression hesitant, “the jade pendant seems a bit cold now, which might make Father think that Shuyao is also feeling cold.”

As he spoke, he pointed to his chest with an air of importance and coaxed, "For example... use your uncle's and Shuyao's body heat to warm the jade pendant. Why don't you... try it?"

As he spoke, Chen Ye squatted down, opened his arms, and waited for Xiao Shuyao to come to him.

Xiao Shuyao looked at him, then at the cold jade pendant in her hand.

She pouted slightly, as if she were having an internal struggle.

"Brother Ye, how come you're so skilled?"

Mao Qingzhu was stunned. As expected of Ye Di, he could easily deceive girls.

Shuyao had ignored them for the past few days, but Chen Ye's words immediately captured her attention.

She chuckled and said, "But this child is very shy, so he probably won't fall for it..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Shuyao slowly walked up to Chen Ye, hesitated, and then stretched out her arms to wrap around Chen Ye's neck.

"Sister Qingzhu, what are you saying?"

Chen Ye smiled smugly, picked up the sweet-smelling little bundle of joy, and raised his eyebrows to look at Mao Qingzhu.

"You...you're lying, it doesn't count!"

When Mao Qingzhu was looked at like that, she remembered her confident judgment just now and felt embarrassed and annoyed.

"How could I lie? If Shuyao is enjoying her time in Linsong Valley, Fellow Daoist He will surely feel much more at ease in the Three Thousand Mountains."

Chen Ye rubbed the back of Xiao Shuyao's head and said with a smile,
"Isn't that right, Xiao Shuyao?"

Xiao Shuyao then realized she had been tricked, and her face flushed red.

But now that she's already "thrown herself into his arms," ​​how can she back down?
She could only mutter softly, "Uncle, he's not a good person...put Shuyao down..."

So, one by one, they all claim to be bad guys, huh?

Chen Ye sighed. He didn't put Xiao Shuyao down, but turned around and gently handed the soft, fragrant little bundle in his arms to Mao Qingzhu.

Mao Qingzhu instinctively reached out to catch her. Perhaps because she had escaped from Chen Ye's arms, Xiao Shuyao no longer resisted as before and quickly hugged Mao Qingzhu tightly, as if afraid that her uncle would take her away again.

"Alright, Sister Qingzhu, I'm entrusting this child to you."

Chen Ye clapped his hands. "Not bad, the little girl smells so sweet and milky."

"You..."

Mao Qingzhu rolled her eyes at him, both amused and annoyed. "Brother Ye, you're such a rascal..."

She hugged Xiao Shuyao tighter, then turned her gaze back to Chen Ye and asked earnestly.
"Brother Ye, you... are you really at the ninth level of Qi Refining?"

"Yes," Chen Ye nodded, not hiding anything, "I was in seclusion for a month and luckily made a breakthrough."

"Just lucky?" Mao Qingzhu smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

The threshold from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refining has trapped countless cultivators, who have spent years or even decades without making any progress. Yet, in his mouth, it was merely a light "luck".
She scrutinized Chen Ye closely, growing increasingly alarmed with each glance.

At this moment, although Chen Ye's aura was still restrained, his every move exuded a perfect and flawless Daoist charm.

His spiritual power was so condensed that it seemed almost tangible, resonating subtly with the surrounding spiritual energy. This was no ordinary aura possessed by a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator; it was clearly a manifestation of an extremely solid foundation!
"Brother Ye, the cultivation technique you practice is probably not simple, is it? Could it be that you are practicing the technique given to you by the Fourth Elder?" Mao Qingzhu couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." Chen Ye smiled and attributed the reason to the cultivation technique given to him by the Fourth Elder.

Otherwise, it would be really hard to explain my own changes.

Of course, he wouldn't tell Mao Qingzhu that his Evergreen Skill had now advanced from the Grandmaster level to the Profound level!
[Evergreen Skill Profound Understanding: 1/6400]

Tongxuan means to understand the profound mysteries.

This is not a simple enhancement, but a qualitative transformation!
Chen Ye secretly sensed the changes within his body, his heart surging with excitement.

After the breakthrough, the spiritual power within him, both in terms of quantity and purity, was far greater than before.

More importantly, after mastering the Evergreen Technique, he was endowed with a completely new characteristic—endless vitality!
The vitality within him was stronger than ever before. It was almost alarming; ordinary flesh wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This is an ability that only Foundation Establishment stage body cultivators possess!
What's most incredible is his close connection with plants. As long as there are plants around him, he can absorb the wood elemental energy of heaven and earth to quickly recover his condition—for example, when he is seriously injured or his spiritual energy is exhausted.

"The Fourth Elder's cultivation technique... is truly wondrous and extraordinary."

Mao Qingzhu's eyes darted around, seemingly adorned with starlight, and unconsciously stared intently at Chen Ye.

The man had a well-proportioned and robust physique, which, though not ostentatious or muscular, exuded a profound and powerful sense of strength.

Yet, this body, which should have been sharp and razor-sharp, exuded a gentle and approachable warmth that stirred the heart.

Suddenly, the gentle beauty's throat moved slightly, her lips parted slightly, and she swallowed silently.

Her beautiful, jade-like face held a slightly dazed expression, like a fairy bathed in moonlight suddenly losing her composure.

Until Chen Ye cast a puzzled look at him.

She seemed to awaken from a trance, and a blush instantly swept across her fair, pear-like face.

Chen Ye was unaware of this. Although the master-level body-weighted technique did not increase his combat power, it did significantly enhance his physique.

In addition, the Evergreen Skill at the Profound level gives him a gentle temperament, which has created a perfect... or rather, a "limit-breaking" appearance in his acquired life.

This,

The real reason why Xiao Shuyao was fooled was that although she was young, she was not stupid and knew what was beautiful and ugly.

"Sister Qingzhu, has something gone wrong with my cultivation?"

Chen Ye was horrified!

Oh no! Sister Qingzhu is a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and she has always been elegant and refined with excellent manners.

If he could make her stare blankly, could it be that something went wrong with his cultivation?
The more Chen Ye thought about it, the more sense it made.

After all, the profound level cultivation techniques originally only existed in games, but now they have appeared in the cultivation world, which may conflict with the rules of heaven and earth and normal cultivation.

"Cough... It's nothing, I was just thinking about something."

Mao Qingzhu snapped out of her daze, realizing her lapse in composure. She quickly looked away, not daring to look at Chen Ye again, though her heart was pounding. She cursed herself inwardly.

What's wrong with you?
He was staring at his younger brother, completely lost in thought?
Do not……

I wasn't distracted!
He was just thinking... thinking that he would be returning to the Xu family soon, and it was time to let his younger brother Ye interact more with female cultivators so that he could find a Daoist partner in the future!
Just as Chen Ye was wondering, a clear bell rang out.

"Master, you...you still know to come out of seclusion!"

Qingjun came running from the direction of the back mountain, panting heavily.

Chen Ye's eyebrows twitched; so this little apprentice was also in the back mountain.

He had just broken through the barrier and went straight to the inner courtyard, but he did not expect that Qingjun was actually in the back mountain.

Seeing Qingjun's accusatory look, Chen Ye immediately guessed what Qingjun was thinking and asked:

"Where is your senior sister? I came out of seclusion today, why didn't I see Zhiwei?"

The little girl's eyes instantly reddened, and she gritted her teeth, saying:
"I don't know! All I know is that Master was wrong, and that's that! These past few days, Qingjun has finally realized that Master was wrong!"

"Master is wrong?" Chen Ye looked at his little disciple who was talking back to him, but instead of being angry, he nodded to himself.

In the original text, the two disciples had a falling out and became mortal enemies.

But for now, the two sisters' relationship remains the same... which makes Chen Ye quite gratified. At least his time traveling here has truly changed many things.

"Of course you're wrong!" Qingjun puffed out her little chest, clenched her fists, and wanted to teach her master a lesson. "Senior Sister... she hasn't left her room for a month! She doesn't talk to us, and all she does is cultivate every day! Master, you've hurt Senior Sister!"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, and her voice was filled with deep grievance.

"And now, Master is actually... actually coaxing another little girl. Are his two disciples less important than others? Why won't he coax Senior Sister?"

"Brother Ye..."

Mao Qingzhu held Xiao Shuyao in her arms, secretly worried that Xiao Shuyao might get hurt after hearing these words.

Besides, it's not appropriate for her, an outsider, to be present in matters between master and disciple.

“Sister Qingzhu,” Chen Ye saw through her thoughts. He turned his head and smiled gently, “Leave this to me. You take Shuyao to familiarize herself with the environment in the valley first, so that she won’t be frightened.”

"it is good."

Mao Qingzhu couldn't help but admire Ye Di's thoughtfulness. After saying that, she picked up the still somewhat bewildered Xiao Shuyao in her arms and turned to walk towards the outer valley.

The courtyard returned to silence.

Only Chen Ye remained, along with his little apprentice who still had his little face puffed out and was glaring at him angrily.

"Speak," Chen Ye walked to the stone table, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and then slowly began, "Besides this, where else do you think your teacher went wrong?"

"Master...Master shouldn't have hit Senior Sister!"

Seeing Mao Qingzhu leave, Qingjun's hard-won courage dissipated considerably, but thinking of her senior sister's appearance, she still stubbornly continued...

"Senior Sister is so good, how could she make a mistake? Besides... it was clearly Aunt Mao who gave away the jade pendant first, so why doesn't Master punish Aunt Mao? Master is biased!"

Chen Ye had to admit that Qing Jun's words were all reasonable.

Unfortunately, many things in this world cannot be solved simply by reason.

"Because your Aunt Mao is a Foundation Establishment True Person, and you will need her for your baptism later. Besides, Master still needs her support now. Even if Master suffers a loss at her hands, he can't say anything."

Chen Ye spoke slowly and methodically.

Moreover, Mao Qingzhu has helped him a lot. Not to mention anything else, the second-tier flying swords that his two disciples now wear are both thanks to her.

"Master is shameless! Master bullies the weak and fears the strong! Does having power mean you can do whatever you want to Master?"

“It’s different. Aunt Mao gave me this jade pendant because her daughter was with me, and she was worried about her… Besides, Master just mentioned the other reasons…”

"Master is making excuses."

"I didn't look for it."

"Yes, they found one! Having power means they can do whatever they want to their master!"

"Alright. Take me to see your senior sister."

"Master is still searching...wait, what did Master say?"

The little girl was stunned.

Master actually admitted it!!
“Master was indeed wrong.” Chen Ye sighed softly.

There is nothing wrong with a master disciplining his disciple.

The real problem lies in his approach to the situation.

As the saying goes, using good as bait is worse than evil.

It was only when Chen Ye was in seclusion that he belatedly realized that he had taken advantage of his disciple's feelings and tricked him into coming here.

When the disciple arrived with good intentions, he was met with punishment and beatings from his master...

Chen Ye couldn't imagine how much pain Zhiwei must have felt back then.

This child possesses an immaculate, crystal-clear body and should not fear physical suffering.

But on that day, the pain was so intense that she could barely stand.

"Master admits he was wrong..."

Qingjun muttered to herself, even doubting whether she had heard correctly.

She always felt that her master was someone who would never, ever make a mistake, let alone admit one.

He bowed his head and admitted his mistake before his all-powerful master.

The resentment and anger that arose from the punishment of her senior sister were replaced by a more complex emotion at this moment.

It was a strange mix of heartache and... a touch of pride.

Although his master can be quite bad and domineering at times, he also reflects on his mistakes and admits them.

Master is still the same... the best master in the world!

　Thank you to the fisherman who drinks porridge for the 500 coins!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)