When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Pei Fang'an then briefly explained the affairs of the Thousand Refinement Hall before hurriedly pulling Yi Chen away, clearly having other matters to attend to.

As soon as the two elders left, Xiao Huandu plopped down on the edge of the bed and gave Chu Xianlan a thumbs up: "You're really something, kid. You've got plenty of strength and tricks up your sleeve. I was wondering why you weren't in a hurry before. Turns out you were preparing this kind of scheme to make Immortal Lord Jixue refuse to accept disciples! First, you feigned weakness by getting injured, then you threw yourself into his arms. Tsk tsk tsk, I admire you, brother."

Xiao Huandu mimicked in a strange manner: "I'm just a disciple, it's impossible for me to interfere with Master's thoughts."

Chu Xianlan's hand holding the teacup suddenly trembled.

I almost spat out my tea.

I wasn't thinking clearly just now, and in a moment of impulse, I pounced on him without considering the consequences. Fortunately, my master didn't blame me. Thinking about it now, I'm so embarrassed I could dig my toes into the ground.

Zhu Ling glanced sideways, her long, narrow eyes looking over. "Don't make a fuss. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

"Cough cough cough! It's not what you think," Chu Xianlan choked violently, turning her head to ask Zhu Ling, "Senior Sister Zhu, how long... have I been unconscious?"

"Two days."

Zhu Ling sat lazily to one side, legs crossed, holding a thick booklet in her hands. Her light blue silk skirt swayed with her movements, and silver bells tied to her ankles and wrists made a soft tinkling sound from time to time. She had a fair and lovely baby face, but she was always expressionless, her eyes full of lifelessness, as if she had no energy.

The place they are currently in is the Hundred Herbs Hall, which is in charge of medicine under the Taiyi Sect.

"We've investigated the matter at the Discipline Hall," Xiao Huandu said, crossing his legs and swaying his head. "A disciple next door lost control of his spiritual fire while smelting something, which wouldn't normally be a big deal. But lately, the weather has been dry, and you have too many materials and semi-finished products piled up over there. A spark caused it to explode."

"Fortunately, no one was seriously injured; most of the injuries were superficial. You were the closest and were knocked unconscious by the shockwave."

After saying that, he continued to gloat.

"Did you hear that? You were the only one who was unconscious for two days. Now your self-inflicted injury ploy is really convincing."

Chu Xianlan took a deep breath and began to seriously consider whether it would be more satisfying to splash tea in this guy's face or to just throw it at him.

Xiao Huandu, quick-witted and agile, snatched the teacup from his hand and whistled.

"Don't repay kindness with enmity. If I hadn't tipped you off quickly, would you be lying here so comfortably?"

It turned out that after the explosion at Qianlian Hall, Xiao Huandu rushed to the guest room for help immediately. At that time, Yi Chen was discussing the matter of taking on disciples with Yuan Hou and others. Upon hearing that Chu Xianlan was in trouble, he left immediately.

When everyone arrived at the scene, the flames that had been raging in the Thousand Refinements Hall had been extinguished by ice. An accident that could have spread into a disaster was resolved in an instant.

After listening, Chu Xianlan lowered her eyes and fell into deep thought.

So at that time, the matter of the master accepting disciples was indeed being discussed in the guest room.

But what if... his precognitive dream wasn't real? What if it didn't come true this time? Maybe it was just a completely unrelated nightmare? Just a coincidence, and perhaps reality will be different?

Coincidence, yes, it must be a coincidence!

How could such an absurd thing come true!

Clinging to her last shred of hope, Chu Xianlan asked in a strange tone, "Then... what were they discussing in the guest room? Did you hear it all?"

"Huh?" Xiao Huandu was shocked that this was the focus of his attention.

Are you that jealous?

Do you really want to get to the bottom of this?

Tsk tsk tsk, my brother is really stubborn. He pretended not to be jealous before, but now he even wants to know such details.

"You can't hear the specifics, of course," Xiao Huandu said, keeping everyone in suspense, "but... that fourth prince has quite a loud voice; I could hear him yelling from far away outside."

Chu Xianlan hurriedly asked, "What did he say?"

Xiao Huandu gathered his emotions for a moment, then suddenly strode forward, stomped his foot, stood in the center of the room, looked up with a face full of grief and indignation, and roared at the sky:

"Could it be that Immortal Lord Jixue only intends to take Chu Xianlan as his disciple in this lifetime?!"

"In terms of swordsmanship talent, I believe I am second to none among my peers! You! Since you can accept a disciple who is unrelated to weapon crafting, why can't you accept me?!"

The lingering sound echoed around the beam.

Chu Xianlan: "..."

Zhu Ling: "Pfft."

While Xiao Huandu was completely immersed in his art, unable to extricate himself, Chu Xianlan's heart sank completely, as these words formed vivid images in his mind.

He has seen them all.

Not a coincidence.

Chu Xianlan immediately pressed, "Where is Ji Cheng'an now?"

Zhu Ling replied, "Next door."

Ji Cheng'an remains unconscious, his meridians have been shaken, and the outside world is unaware of how he was injured.

Something flashed through her mind, and Chu Xianlan's expression worsened.

He knew the reason, of course. Ji Cheng'an was seriously injured because of his master's spiritual power pressure. A Golden Core cultivator naturally couldn't withstand the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, even if it was only for a few breaths.

If the events in my dream come true one by one, then won't the subsequent developments also continue along the trajectory of my dream?

So... that really was a precognitive dream. He saw what was about to happen: his master would not only be coveted by others, but would also lose all his spiritual power.

This is clearly unreasonable.

This is so absurd, it shouldn't be believed.

During Ji Cheng'an's convalescence at the Taiyi Sect, the image of Yi Chen constantly lingered in his mind. Yi Chen's face was dignified and jade-like, his white robes trailing on the ground. The more unattainable he seemed, the more Ji Cheng'an yearned to drag him down to the mortal realm. He wanted that snow-white skin to blush with passion, to have those indifferent eyes shimmer with a mesmerizing light. This celestial being should be transformed into a soft, warm object, settling in his palm…

A blush creeps up my cheeks... My eyes are shimmering with tears... A soft, warm embrace...

"...It's over." Chu Xianlan said slowly.

"Huh? What?" Xiao Huandu thought he'd lost his mind. "What's over?"

Suddenly, Chu Xianlan jumped out of bed as if she had gone mad. Without even putting on her coat, she slipped on her shoes and rushed out the door, startling the two people in the room.

"Where is he going? Will he come back for dinner?" Xiao Huandu murmured.

-

Meanwhile, at the other end of Baicaotang.

Pei Fang'an rubbed his forehead, feeling that he had worried more these past few days than in the past ten years. Unfortunately, neither of his two junior brothers could share the burden; one was in seclusion year-round, detached from worldly affairs, and the other was somewhere enjoying himself.

First, Qianlian Hall was severely damaged and needed to be rebuilt, and now Ji Cheng'an has become a hot potato.

"Junior brother, if you had stopped even a moment later, this child would have truly died from shattered meridians." Pei Fang'an sighed helplessly. "Even if the Fourth Prince's words and actions were inappropriate, there was absolutely no need for him to take action personally. I would have handled it for you."

Fortunately, Lord Yuan was as shrewd as a monkey and knew he was in the wrong, so he did not send the news of Ji Cheng'an's injury back to the palace, saving him a lot of trouble in explaining.

Given the current situation, Ji Cheng'an absolutely cannot return to the palace now. If the outside world finds out that he returned severely injured after only two days at the Taiyi Sect, who knows what kind of rumors will spread.

Yi Chen's gaze fell on the lotus pond in the distance, his eyes slightly vacant.

Pei Fang'an's old habit of nagging kicked in. Not caring whether Yi Chen was listening or not, he rubbed his forehead and rambled on, "Children pampered in the palace are inevitably spoiled. This lesson should teach them a lesson. In terms of aptitude alone, that child is indeed outstanding, and his water spirit root is compatible with your ice spirit root…Are you really not going to reconsider?"

Yi Chen said casually, "Xianlan just said she was unwilling."

Pei Fang'an: "..."

No, you are the master. Whether you accept someone or not is up to you. What does it have to do with your disciple?

They can't even come up with a better excuse for being perfunctory.