Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

After successfully establishing his foundation, Li Xiao did not rush to leave seclusion. Instead, he continued to occupy Song Yu's cave dwelling and began a year-long period of consolidation cultivation.

That year, the stone door of the quiet room was opened only a few times for Song Yu, and was never opened to the outside world again.

Inside the cave, there was no rotation of the sun and moon; only the faint light cast by the protective array of the mountain outlined the light and shadow of the two people silently cultivating on the stone wall.

Li Xiao sat cross-legged on the futon, his mind sinking into his dantian.

He could clearly "see" that the magical power that had once been like smoke and mist had now transformed into a pool of golden-red liquid spiritual energy.

With a thought, he mobilized a wisp of liquid magic power, which flowed along his meridians.

That heavy, solid, and explosive feeling was completely different from the light and airy magic power of the Qi Refining stage, like the difference between a stream and a river.

"This is Foundation Establishment..." Li Xiao murmured to himself. He tried to release this power, but found it to be like an unruly wild horse, extremely awkward to operate.

He did not lose heart. He spent three whole months, like a newborn baby learning to walk, repeatedly familiarizing himself with, refining, and mastering this brand-new power, and finally completely stabilized his cultivation at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

With cultivation stabilized, the next step is to innovate combat methods.

"Gale-force Golden Blade" was his strongest trump card during the Qi Refining stage, but using it now feels like "using a cannon to kill a mosquito."

He tried to pour his new Foundation Establishment magic into the blade without reservation, and the Tang sword, which had been with him for many years, emitted a mournful cry of being unable to bear the burden. It seemed as if fine cracks would burst out on the blade at any moment!

"No!" Li Xiao broke out in a cold sweat and quickly withdrew his magic power, tenderly stroking the blade.

This is not just a weapon, but also a cherished memory; it must not be destroyed.

He changed his approach, no longer forcibly infusing the energy, but instead using his divine sense as a carving knife to compress and purify the raging liquid magic power bit by bit, and then carefully attach it to the blade as if embroidering.

This process is extremely taxing on one's spiritual energy, akin to dancing on a knife's edge.

Each failure led to the dissipation of magical power; each adjustment required a regrouping and restart.

Sweat soaked through his blue robe, only to be evaporated by the magic power within him.

Finally, in the seventh month of his seclusion, when he once again imbued his blade with his compressed golden and fire elemental magic and unleashed a powerful strike—

"Buzz!"

A nearly solidified golden-red blade of energy shot out, carrying the heat of burning air, instantly traversing a distance of ten zhang and slamming into the solid bluestone floor of the quiet room!

There was no loud noise, only a soft "hiss" sound, like a hot knife cutting through butter, and a bottomless black crack appeared out of thin air, with golden flames still clinging to it.

"It's done... Golden Flame Blade Qi!" Li Xiao's eyes shone with astonishing brilliance.

The power of this strike is more than ten times stronger than that of a Qi Refining stage cultivator! Moreover, the blade's energy can be gathered or dispersed at will, combining offense and defense with endless applications.

The moves are mastered, but the footwork also needs improvement.

Driven by the Foundation Establishment magic, the speed of "Wild Goose Technique" increased dramatically.

Li Xiao moved swiftly and agilely within the cave, his figure so fast that only afterimages remained. He keenly noticed that each time he landed and used the momentum, his magical power would naturally release outward, forming a small vortex.

He had a sudden inspiration and tried to detonate the cyclone in the opposite direction.

"Bang!"

A tremendous force exploded beneath his feet, propelling him forward like a cannonball. He left behind a lingering afterimage, while his true form appeared ghost-like ten feet away!

"What incredible speed! Let's call it 'Instant Step'!"

This is not teleportation, but it is better than teleportation, and the energy consumption is far less than that of flying with a weapon. It can be called a divine skill for fighting and escaping!

In another quiet room separated by a wall, Song Yu's spiritual practice never ceased.

Her "Water Moon Heavenly Heart Sutra" was already incredibly fast thanks to the blessing of the Heavenly Spiritual Root, and the Spiritual Eye Stone kept her consciousness clear at all times, making her cultivation efficiency more than three times that of ordinary people.

When she encountered a bottleneck and her consciousness faltered slightly, a gentle surge of magical energy would emanate from Li Xiao next door, softly tapping into her defenses and helping her to grasp the key points.

With the aid of elixirs, her cultivation level advanced rapidly from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the peak of the middle stage, with her foundation as solid as a mountain.

Although the two were in seclusion, they seemed to be together day and night.

The cave was small, and you could hear your breathing.

Sometimes, when Li Xiao was refining pills to consolidate his cultivation, he would deliberately "accidentally" lose control of the heat. With a muffled "poof," a plume of black smoke mixed with the smell of burnt herbs would rise from the furnace.

Song Yu's suppressed giggles could always be heard from next door, like the tinkling of silver bells.

"Senior brother, you've exploded the furnace again!" She would open the stone door a crack, peek out her head, and scold her with a mix of exasperation and amusement.

"Ahem," Li Xiao said seriously, waving away the black smoke, "I was just worried that my junior sister's cultivation would be boring, so I gave you some noise to cheer you up."

Song Yu would then smile, his eyes crinkling like crescent moons.

When Li Xiao was exhausted from practicing his swordplay and his murderous aura was hard to calm, Song Yu would take out a guzheng and pluck the strings with her delicate hands.

As the melody of "Water and Cloud Zen Mind" began to play, the music, like a clear spring or moonlight, gently flowed into Li Xiao's mind, calming the restless golden fire magic power caused by the "Golden Flame Blade Qi".

Li Xiao sheathed his sword, closed his eyes, and listened, feeling a sense of peace and tranquility in his heart.

"Junior Sister's zither playing is more effective than any calming pill," he exclaimed sincerely.

As soon as the music stopped, Song Yu tilted his head to look at him: "Then you should smile more in the future, senior brother. You've been frowning a lot lately, like an old man."

Li Xiao chuckled, reached across the space between them, and ruffled her hair from a distance: "Little girl, you're even bossing your senior brother around now."

The days passed by in this peaceful and warm atmosphere, and their feelings for each other, like fine wine aged in a cave, grew more and more fragrant and rich.

A year later, spring arrived and flowers bloomed.

"Boom—" The stone door to the quiet room opened, and Li Xiao slowly walked out.

He took a deep breath of the fresh, floral-scented air, and felt the whole world become clearer than ever before. Within his dantian, a golden-red galaxy of magical energy flowed slowly, brimming with explosive power.

"Yu'er, we've been in seclusion for almost three years. It's time to go and pay our respects to our master and the others."

He walked up to Song Yu, naturally took her hand, and their fingers intertwined.

The two rode their magical artifacts into the air, transforming into two streaks of light that headed straight for the main hall of White Phoenix Peak.

The two flew on their magical artifacts and arrived at the main hall of White Phoenix Peak.

The hall was empty except for a Foundation Establishment stage disciple waiting.

"Senior Brother Li, Senior Sister Song!"

The Foundation Establishment stage disciple bowed and said, "Uncle Liu, Uncle Wei of Tianquan Peak, and Uncle Wang of Suoyan Peak, along with Senior Sister Song, Senior Brother Zhao, and dozens of Qi Refining stage disciples, left the sect half a year ago to investigate the disappearance of Senior Brother Song of Tianquan Peak in the south, and have not returned yet."

"Senior Brother Song? Which Senior Brother Song?" Li Xiao felt a chill run down his spine, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

"He is Senior Brother Song Tianxing, a true disciple of the Luoyun Sect in this generation. He has a Heavenly Spiritual Root talent and has reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment at the young age of thirty-eight. He is hailed as the disciple with the most promising chance of forming a Nascent Soul, and the sect has poured a lot of resources into him," said the disciple in charge.

"But three months ago, he suddenly disappeared while on a mission near Dengyun City in Yanzhou. His soul lamp went out, and the deputy peak master of Tianquan Peak who was protecting him also disappeared without a trace. The sect suspected that it was the work of the demonic sect, so it sent three deputy peak masters to investigate."

Li Xiao and Song Yu exchanged a glance, both seeing the unease in each other's eyes.

They had all heard of the name Song Tianxing.

That was the most outstanding disciple of the Luoyun Sect in nearly a hundred years. He possessed a Heavenly Spiritual Root and was in the late Foundation Establishment stage at the age of thirty-eight. It was said that he was about to reach the threshold of Core Formation.

The disappearance of such a person is a huge blow to the sect.

"Are my parents also in the investigation team?" Song Yu asked urgently.

"Yes, Elder Zhao is an elder of the Enforcement Hall, and he has an inescapable duty. Senior Sister Song was worried about Elder Zhao's safety, so she volunteered to go with him," the disciple said, his voice filled with admiration.

Song Yu's face turned pale.

Although her mother was a pseudo-Core Formation cultivator, in the eyes of Core Formation cultivators, she was no different from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the difference in combat strength was not significant.

This investigation involves the demonic path and is fraught with danger.

"Senior brother, are Mother and the others in danger?" She gripped Li Xiao's hand tightly, her fingertips icy cold.

"Junior sister, don't rush."

Li Xiao calmly analyzed the situation, despite his own worries. "The three deputy peak masters are all at the mid-stage of Core Formation, and their investigation team is quite strong. Moreover, Master and the others are only investigating near Dengyun City and will not venture deep into the demonic territory, so there shouldn't be any major problems. My grandmaster is experienced and will protect Master well."

Although Song Yu felt vaguely uneasy, he also knew that Li Xiao was right.

She could only nod, silently praying for her parents' safety.

"Senior brother, since Mother is not here, why don't we go to your ancestral home first?" Song Yu said with a sigh.

"Okay, junior sister." Li Xiao hugged the girl in front of him tightly.