One of my fairy-like friends

Liu Yunfeng paused for a moment, looked at Ming Yan, and said, "I know your heart isn't here. With your talent, you might have a better future... but I hope you don't forget that you still have me as your master and Meng Li as your junior sister."

Mingyan was taken aback. Sect Master Xia Yanming had said something similar to him before, and he had felt somewhat confused at the time. "Why did Master say such a thing?"

“I once asked Elder Li to perform a divination to predict how high you could reach. Elder Li told me he couldn’t predict it. I think if your potential were within our reach, then it would definitely be predictable. Your future achievements will far exceed our imagination. There’s not much I can teach you. Rather than letting you waste your talent in Yutai Blessed Land, it’s better to let you grow in a better place…” Liu Yunfeng sighed. “Sect Master Xia intends to send you to those holy lands of cultivation. He believes that only in such places can you fully unleash your talent… This fairy you brought back this time might be your opportunity. You must seize it.”

“Master…” Mingyan suddenly didn’t know what to say. Although he really wanted to climb higher and reach a realm that he didn’t understand at all, he felt a little bitter when he heard Liu Yunfeng say that there wasn’t much he could teach him.

"Alright, no need for further words. When you've made it big, don't forget to come visit me and help out your junior sister. That will satisfy me." Liu Yunfeng was a carefree man. He put away his sigh, patted Mingyan's shoulder, and said with a smile, "When you come back to see me, don't forget to bring me a few jugs of immortal wine."

"Master, I will definitely not let you down," Mingyan said earnestly, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"That's good."

Chapter Four: Senior Brother, Who is she?

Not long after, Xia Yanming left Mingyan's room and found the master and apprentice.

"Yunfeng, go and inform Elder Li to seal off the entire Yutai Blessed Land. Unless I go there in person, no one is allowed to leave." Xia Yanming said solemnly. "Also, go and inform the elders who are still in seclusion to come out of seclusion early. Something big may happen soon."

"Yes, Sect Master." Liu Yunfeng nodded and turned to leave.

Xia Yanming then looked at Ming Yan and said, "You should stay with Fairy Huang these days and try your best to meet her various needs. Treat Fairy Huang well. She is a benefactor in your life. As long as she remembers your kindness, it will be of great help to your cultivation."

“I understand, Sect Master.” Ming Yan nodded.

"Go back." Xia Yanming patted Ming Yan on the shoulder, then drifted away.

Mingyan was actually a little uneasy. Judging from the current situation, bringing Huang Feiyan back seemed to have brought some trouble to the sect. Perhaps he should have saved Huang Feiyan in the first place, but he shouldn't have brought her back to the sect.

Although Xia Yanming didn't blame himself, that was the reality; it had been too hasty. Mingyan sighed and returned to his residence.

Huang Feiyan remained seated on the edge of the bed, resting with her eyes closed. Only when she heard footsteps did she open her eyes and look at Ming Yan.

“Fairy sister.” Mingyan pulled up a stool and sat down. “If you have any needs, you can tell me, and I will try my best to meet them.”

Huang Feiyan nodded, stared at Ming Yan for a while, and said, "Your sect leader seems to value you very much."

"Probably. I hope I won't let him down."

Huang Feiyan smiled slightly, said nothing more, and continued to close her eyes.

Mingyan's room was very simple, with a desk, a stool, and some shelves for storing medicine bottles. There was nothing else. However, Huang Feiyan didn't make any requests, so Mingyan just sat there.

He could now faintly sense that the spiritual energy around Huang Feiyan was flowing faster. She was probably absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy to heal her injuries. Although she did not have any obvious external injuries, she was definitely seriously injured. She had been unconscious at the time and appeared extremely weak after waking up.

Mingyan calmed down and focused his attention on himself.

He has been at the Accumulated Flow realm for half a year now. After this period of consolidation and refinement, the Accumulated Flow realm has become completely stable, and it is time to seek an opportunity to break through to the Taixi realm.

The realm of Qi-drawing is actually quite easy to understand. It corresponds to four minor realms: Qi-flowing spring, Qi-accumulating stream, Tai-xi (Great Stream), and Tai-hai (Illuminating Sea). These can be seen as adjectives describing the degree of spiritual energy that can be absorbed at different realms. The Qi-flowing spring realm draws upon the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, allowing the body to use this energy. It's like opening a spring in the body, from which spiritual energy can be drawn when needed. The Qi-accumulating stream realm expands the spring, allowing for more efficient absorption of spiritual energy for one's own use. Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Tai-xi is similar. The Qi-flowing spring is like an inexhaustible source, but the absorption is limited each time. The Qi-accumulating stream is like a flowing river that gathers together, and Tai-xi becomes a continuous stream. At Tai-hai, the spiritual energy that can be absorbed is like an ocean, even more efficient and faster.

The Spring-Drawing Realm is a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative change, so it doesn't seem too difficult and doesn't require much understanding; it depends entirely on physical talent.

Just as streams accumulate to form creeks, the first spring through which a cultivator can absorb spiritual energy is located on the soles of their feet, specifically the Yongquan acupoint, which shares the same name as the Yongquan realm. Therefore, when meditating, one should sit cross-legged, lifting their feet off the ground, ideally barefoot. The higher one's cultivation level, the more springs through which one can absorb spiritual energy. For example, upon reaching the Jiliu realm, one gains two more Jiliu acupoints that can serve as springs, thus increasing the efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy. According to common sense, the more spiritual energy one can utilize, the stronger one becomes, because spiritual energy not only strengthens the body but also significantly enhances one's martial arts techniques.

Generally speaking, it's not advisable to immediately strive for the next realm after a breakthrough. For example, if you've just reached the Accumulated Flow realm, it's not suitable to immediately strive for the Taixi realm. Instead, you should consolidate your current realm. If you don't consolidate it, and you use these springs to absorb spiritual energy later, those springs, without reinforcement, are at risk of collapsing. Once they collapse, at best you'll drop in realm, and at worst you'll be unable to continue cultivating. This is because springs are like acupoints in the human body, which are relatively fragile. Once they collapse, not only will they harm your body, but your body also cannot automatically repair those acupoints. In this case, once they collapse, it means you'll never be able to step into that realm or cross this realm, essentially becoming a cripple. Therefore, consolidating your realm is absolutely necessary and should never be skipped.

Half a month ago, Mingyan began looking for an opportunity to break through to Taixi.

To reach the level of Taixi, one must naturally shape the Taixi acupoint, located at the ankle, into a spring.

This process needs to be handled very carefully, as it can be affected by various factors.

One is spiritual energy. Naturally existing spiritual energy comes in many forms, some gentle, some violent, some stable, and some unstable. If a violent or unstable spiritual energy is used to shape a spring, the spring may collapse before it is even finished.

Secondly, there's the body's ability to absorb spiritual energy. Ordinary cultivators' bodies are relatively fragile, so they absolutely cannot absorb spiritual energy too quickly when creating a spring, otherwise it will easily collapse. However, someone like Ming Yan can go a little faster because his physical condition is very good, so he doesn't have to worry about collapsing as much. But the strength of the body will change at different times. For example, women with lower cultivation levels still have menstruation. During menstruation, the body becomes fragile, and creating a spring during this time is not a wise move.

The best time to create a spring is in a place where the spiritual energy is relatively stable and gentle, and where it will not be affected by human intervention. Then, choose a time when your physical strength is at its best, and your emotions should also be stable. This is because creating a spring is an extremely delicate matter, and even a slight mistake can easily lead to various problems.

In reality, the human body has numerous acupoints, but not all of them can be used as springs. Many acupoints that cannot be molded into springs and have little impact on the body are called "flat acupoints," which can be used for training to mold springs. Of course, this can only be done after you have reached the "Yongquan" stage. Without completing the "Yongquan" stage, you cannot draw spiritual energy into your body, cannot utilize spiritual energy, and therefore cannot conduct training. So, in fact, the riskiest step into the world is the first level of "Yongquan." Either you succeed in molding it and successfully enter the world of cultivation, or you directly ruin your chances of becoming a cultivator. Of course, this is under the condition that you can feel the communication between your body and the spiritual energy of nature. Most people cannot feel spiritual energy, let alone reach the "Yongquan" stage.

Recently, it's not the best time... Summer isn't a good time for a breakthrough because the spiritual energy in summer becomes violent and unstable due to the hot weather. While the spiritual energy in winter isn't violent, it's relatively stable, but it carries a coolness that's too stimulating and doesn't do much good for creating a spring. It can easily cause some unwanted reactions in the body that affect the creation of the spring, which is quite risky. Therefore, the most suitable seasons for a breakthrough are spring and autumn.

Autumn is almost here, and it'll be about time for a breakthrough...

Mingyan opened his eyes and found that Huang Feiyan on the bed still had her eyes closed. The flow of spiritual energy around her was much faster than before. She was like a bottomless black hole, absorbing all the surrounding spiritual energy into her body. The efficiency of this absorption left Mingyan dumbfounded. It was too terrifying... The spiritual energy he usually absorbed was just a drop in the ocean compared to what Huang Feiyan was absorbing now...

Mingyan remembered his master Liu Yunfeng saying that once a cultivator breaks through to the second major realm, "Transcendent," and completes the construction of the Yinling and Yangling realms, they generally no longer need to absorb a large amount of external spiritual energy. This is because at this point, cultivators can basically generate spiritual energy from their own spiritual energy and become self-sufficient. However, Huang Feiyan is currently in a special situation. She is injured, and although Mingyan does not know the extent of her injury, it is certain that she has reached a point where she has no choice but to absorb external spiritual energy.

However, this situation did not last long. The spiritual energy that was rushing around gradually slowed down and calmed down. If it weren't for this, Mingyan would have suspected that Huang Feiyan would have sucked all the spiritual energy around his residence... Women are really terrifying, they can absorb rare earth elements just by sitting there... Cough cough, no, that's not how you should put it.

"Senior brother! Senior brother!"

Just then, a clear voice came from outside the door. It was Liu Mengli. Her footsteps were getting closer and closer. Huang Feiyan also heard Liu Mengli's voice. She looked at the door and then at Ming Yan, feeling a little strange.

Mingyan quickly stood up, intending to have Liu Mengli wait for him outside the door, but unexpectedly his door was pushed open and a petite figure flashed in.

"Senior brother, you didn't..." Liu Mengli crawled in, intending to check on Ming Yan, but found a beautiful woman in red sitting on Ming Yan's bed, with a fiery red lotus blooming between her brows. She then noticed Ming Yan standing beside her. She paused, stared at him for a moment, and whispered, "Senior brother... who... who is she?"

"Um... this is a rather complicated question. How did you get here?" Mingyan coughed lightly and immediately changed the subject.

"I saw a super huge snake in the sky over Dragon Ridge earlier! My dad said it looked like a dragon. I thought my senior brother had gone to Dragon Ridge too. I was so scared! I waited at the sect gate, but he never came. I wanted to ask Elder Li to go find you, but he took me home and locked me in." The petite and adorable Liu Mengli angrily waved her fist. "That wretched old man! My dad just came back. I heard him say my senior brother is back, but he wouldn't let me come to see you. I sneaked out! I'm so glad you're alright, senior brother!"

It was hard to imagine that these words came from an eight-year-old girl. Although she was very clingy, Liu Mengli was really worried about him. Mingyan felt a warmth in his heart. He raised his hand and rubbed Liu Mengli's head. "Senior brother is fine. You should go back quickly. Master will be worried if he finds you are missing."

"Oh..." Liu Mengli blinked, then pointed at Huang Feiyan, "Then, senior brother, who is she?"

Mingyan thought that after talking for so long, Liu Mengli had forgotten about Huang Feiyan's existence, but Liu Mengli was not so easily fooled. He coughed and said, "This is a guest of the blessed land, and can also be considered a guest of your senior brother. You can call her Sister Huang Feiyan. Also, please don't tell anyone about Sister Huang Feiyan being here with me, okay?"

"Huh? Since she's a guest of this blessed land, why can't she tell others? Why is she hiding here with you, senior brother? Senior brother, is this the sister-in-law you found for me?" Liu Mengli asked innocently and curiously with her big, innocent eyes.

Huang Feiyan's lips twitched slightly as she glanced at Ming Yan, who was sweating profusely. "You can't say things like that, Mengli..."

Chapter Five: Cultivators Don't Need to Sleep

"Then why is this...sister in senior brother's room?" Liu Mengli blinked her big eyes, which were filled with innocence and confusion. Liu Mengli's face was so cute that Ming Yan felt it was a bit absurd for a moment, because he felt that this was not a question that an 8-year-old should ask.

“Little sister, you can go back and ask your father.” Huang Feiyan finally spoke. Of course, it was not appropriate to say much about why she was here. Although Liu Mengli looked like a delicate little girl, children speak without thinking. If she were to tell others about this, it might cause some trouble. “Mingyan, you should send your junior sister back.”

Mingyan, of course, understood that he couldn't let Mengli gossip. He nodded and said, "Mengli, I'll take you back. Master will explain things to you."

Liu Mengli turned her head and quietly looked at Huang Feiyan for a while, then nodded and followed Mingyan out of Mingyan's hut.

"What is the relationship between Senior Brother and that Sister?" After leaving the hut, Mingyan led Liu Mengli by the hand toward the Elder's Courtyard where Liu Yunfeng lived, but Liu Mengli was still not giving up and continued to ask.

“Those were Senior Brother and Fudi’s guests.” Mingyan looked at Liu Mengli. “Mengli, if you don’t want Senior Brother and Fudi to get into trouble, don’t tell anyone about what happened with that lady at my place earlier.”

Liu Mengli blinked, "...Oh."

Mingyan gently patted Liu Mengli's head and smiled slightly, "I know Mengli won't cause trouble for her senior brother."

"So she's my sister-in-law?" Liu Mengli tilted her head.

“What sister-in-law…” Mingyan said helplessly, “My senior brother is just an ordinary person, while she… is from a different world than me, do you understand, Mengli?”

“Yes, I understand. My senior brother and I are from the same world.” This time, Liu Mengli nodded seriously.

Upon hearing this, Ming Yan turned his head to look at Liu Mengli. Seeing her serious expression, he couldn't help but chuckle. "That's right, you and your senior brother are from the same world."

Liu Mengli chuckled, "Don't worry, senior brother, I won't tell anyone about that sister's affair with you. Mengli won't cause you any trouble."

"Mengli is such a good girl." Mingyan pinched Liu Mengli's smooth little face and praised her.

Mingyan took Liu Mengli back to Liu Yunfeng's residence. In fact, Liu Yunfeng was not home at the moment, otherwise Liu Mengli would have had a chance to sneak out. After settling her in and telling her not to wander around, Mingyan went back.

On the way back, it was completely dark, and he didn't see many disciples along the way. Mingyan also encountered several law enforcement disciples from the Mingshi Hall, who told him that there was a curfew recently and that it would be best to rest as soon as possible.

They were all very polite to Mingyan. Mingyan's position in Yutai Blessed Land was somewhat special. He was not the youngest disciple with the highest cultivation level in the blessed land. In fact, some of the younger generation had already entered the Yinling Realm. However, many people knew that Mingyan was highly valued by the blessed land. Although there would be many dissenting voices, it was a fact that Mingyan was valued by the sect leader, so few people openly showed it.

When Mingyan returned to his residence, he found Huang Feiyan standing by the window, staring blankly at the bright moon in the night sky.

The bright moonlight shone on her red dress, making her flowing black hair seem to shimmer with silver light. Her profile was flawless, and Mingyan was almost mesmerized. She was indeed from a different world than him. Whether in terms of cultivation, status, or appearance, she was like a fairy from a celestial realm, which was very similar to her. However, he was determined and quickly came back to his senses. He did not disturb Huang Feiyan. She stood there staring at the sky, while Mingyan stood there with his eyes closed to rest.

After embarking on the path of cultivation, one does not necessarily need to sleep. Although sleep is still the best way to restore physical strength, cultivators are often unwilling to give up every moment of cultivation. Therefore, cultivators rarely sleep, at most closing their eyes. It is known that when spiritual energy circulates in the body, it is very comfortable and can help cultivators relieve fatigue.

In fact, Huang Feiyan had already noticed Ming Yan when he first entered. Although she was injured and her strength was greatly affected, she was still capable of not knowing that someone had entered the house. After all, ordinary people can hear the sound of the door opening, let alone a cultivator like her.

Huang Feiyan turned her head and found that Ming Yan was standing there with his eyes closed, resting. She couldn't help but chuckle and said, "If you want to sleep, you can sleep in the bed. You don't need to worry about me."

Mingyan opened his eyes and found Huang Feiyan looking at him. He shook his head and said, "How can we waste such a good time sleeping? Cultivators can't sleep."

"You're really diligent." Huang Feiyan appreciated this. Mingyan was somewhat similar to her because they both had goals to pursue and the desire to prove themselves, so they worked even harder. This would definitely help Mingyan go further. "By the way, you said before that you didn't know the name of the fairy who saved your life. Could you describe her appearance? Maybe I'll recognize her."

Huang Feiyan asked casually, because Mingyan didn't know the other party's strength, and at that time Mingyan was also a mortal. Perhaps the other party was just a female cultivator at the Accumulation Flow Realm, in which case she probably wouldn't recognize her. However, if the other party was a female cultivator with a similar cultivation level to hers, then she might know some clues.

"She...she was very beautiful, with almond-shaped eyes, giving off a cool and aloof feeling. I also remember that she had a unique mark between her eyebrows, just like Fairy Sister, but I was standing a little far away from her at the time and didn't see the exact shape of the mark." Mingyan didn't hide anything when he heard this. "Does Fairy Sister remember you?"

“Too blurry.” Huang Feiyan thought for a moment, then shook her head. “There are many female cultivators with marks between their eyebrows. Some are born with them, some are caused by the cultivation techniques they practice, and some simply draw them on themselves. As for phoenix eyes, they are even more common. Apart from that, are there any other characteristics?”

Mingyan shook his head. "I can't paint or write calligraphy, otherwise I could have drawn her face...sigh."

"Don't be discouraged. Do you believe in cause and effect in this world?" Huang Feiyan asked with a light laugh.

Mingyan nodded. "I've seen it in a book."

“Every cause has its effect. I believe that since she planted this ‘cause’ back then, there will definitely be the ‘effect’ of your reunion someday in the future.” Whether Huang Feiyan’s words were meant to comfort him or were true, Mingyan was willing to believe it. After all, if he had truly reached a level of cultivation sufficient to repay her, but could never meet her again in his entire life, what a great regret that would be.

So Mingyan nodded, "I also believe that sooner or later, I will meet her again."

After chatting with Mingyan for a while, Huang Feiyan sat cross-legged by the bed and began to slowly absorb the surrounding spiritual energy to heal herself. Mingyan pulled over his stool and also sat cross-legged.

Nothing was said that night, until the next morning.

The best time of day is in the morning, when the spiritual energy is at its gentlest and calmest, and the quality of spiritual energy is at its best. After circulating his spiritual energy a few times to consolidate and slightly expand the spring, Mingyan opened his eyes and found that Huang Feiyan was still sitting by the bed, but blood had seeped from the corner of her mouth and her face was slightly pale. Mingyan immediately sat up and asked, "Fairy sister, are you alright?"

Huang Feiyan opened her eyes, glanced at Ming Yan, and then shook her head. "It's nothing serious... Do you still have any of the healing medicine made from the dragon blood flower from yesterday?"

"I'll go get it right away." Ming Yan hurriedly left the room, found Liu Yunfeng, and asked Liu Yunfeng to take him to get some healing medicine and return to his room. However, when he returned to his room, he found that Huang Feiyan had fainted on the bed. Ming Yan put down the healing medicine and tried to help Huang Feiyan up, but found that her body was burning hot.

Mingyan subconsciously withdrew his hand, his expression changing slightly. This burning sensation didn't feel like a human body at all; it was more like a solid flame. It was too hot...

Fortunately, these actions seemed to wake Huang Feiyan from her coma. She looked around groggily, spotted Ming Yan, and asked weakly, "Did you bring the healing medicine?"

"Hmm..." Mingyan handed the healing medicine he had brought back to Huang Feiyan and said anxiously, "If I had known that Fairy Sister's injuries were so serious, I should have asked Master to prepare more healing medicine and put it here yesterday."

"Your sect leader asked me yesterday, and I felt my injuries were under control, so it's not your fault." After taking the healing medicine, Huang Feiyan gently shook her head, then closed her eyes. Mingyan once again felt the surrounding spiritual energy surging wildly...

Mingyan waited anxiously to the side. Huang Feiyan's face remained sickly pale, and her once alluring lips had lost much of their color. A short while later, Huang Feiyan suddenly began to cough violently. She raised her jade-like hand to cover her lips, but before she could lower it, Mingyan saw bright red blood seeping from between her fingers. His expression changed slightly. "Fairy Sister, I'll go find the Sect Master right away. He might have a solution..."

“No need…” Huang Feiyan lowered her hand, wiped the blood from her lips, and took a few deep breaths. Her eyes dimmed. “Yesterday I was poisoned by Yin poison. Unless I can find something extremely Yang and strong, everything else is in vain. Yesterday, the Dragon Blood Flower could temporarily suppress the Yin poison, but today it has lost its effect…”

"Extremely Yang and extremely strong...?" Mingyan frowned upon hearing this, then said, "Fairy sister, when that fairy saved me that day, I asked her if I could cultivate immortality. At that time, she wrapped a light thread around my wrist and said with some surprise that my constitution was very special, and my body was full of Yang energy..."

Huang Feiyan didn't take it to heart. How could a human's yang energy be higher than a dragon's? Those dragon blood flowers do contain real dragon blood... although it's very faint, even hundreds of millions of flowers wouldn't be enough to extract a single drop of complete dragon blood, but it still contains dragon blood.