Fairy, don't go! I have a mod.

He kept touching me... and almost... cough cough...

Lin Yanluo suppressed the inexplicable unease in her heart, and while the memory was still fresh, she quickly spread out a new sheet of paper and picked up a charcoal pencil to start drawing.

The dimensions, curves, and outlines that I had just felt with my own hands were transferred to the paper stroke by stroke. The more I drew, the smoother it became, and soon I had sketched a clear template.

She put down her charcoal pencil and caught a glimpse of Mu Tianmiao still standing beside her, his expression still that of a lecherous lecher, with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were unfocused, clearly still lost in some indescribable memories.

"Alright, alright, you should just leave now."

Lin Yanluo flipped the manuscript over and placed it face down on the table, her tone carrying a hint of disdain and a barely perceptible trace of panic.

"I'll call you when I'm done... Seriously... Hurry up, you piece of trash!"

Mu Tianmiao was brought back to his senses by her shout. He quickly clasped his hands in thanks and turned to leave.

My legs were still a little weak when I walked out of the weapon-refining pavilion.

It was already evening, and the furnace fires in the weapon-refining pavilion were gradually going out. The apprentices had finished work long ago.

In the vast attic, only a lone lamp remained lit in the corner.

The warm yellow light shone on the workbench, illuminating the newly drawn template and the mosquito dragon materials piled up next to it.

Lin Yanluo sat alone in the chair, her short legs dangling over the edge of the chair as she picked up the blueprint and looked at it again and again.

The charcoal pencil outline was clear and crisp, and every curve was precisely in accordance with the dimensions I had just measured, without the slightest error.

Her gaze lingered on the blueprints for a long time before slowly shifting to the sorted dragon pearls and spirit jade marrow beside them.

She bit her lower lip, her fingers unconsciously touching the sachet around her neck, her fingertips tracing the brocade fabric.

She was all alone in the weapon-refining pavilion, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat, which had not yet fully calmed down.

She put down the blueprints, glanced down at her skirt, and awkwardly pressed her legs together.

Then she raised her hands to cover her burning cheeks, letting out a very soft murmur through her fingers.

"Damn it...it makes me all sticky..."

Chapter Fifteen: I Am the Way

When Mu Tianmiao returned to her room, it was already completely dark.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, formed a mudra with his hands, and slowly closed his eyes.

No matter how many messy things happened during the day.

He was hung up and beaten by his master, and dragged into a secret room by Lin Yanluo, his mind filled with all sorts of erotic images.

Once you begin cultivation, all these things must be cleared away.

He never slacks off in his cultivation; this is an unwavering rule.

He never used his sleep time; he spent all his time meditating in the quiet of the night, day after day, year after year.

Silent all night.

The next morning, as the first rays of dawn shone through the window, Mu Tianmiao opened her eyes.

He looked down at his hands, then examined the circulation of spiritual energy in his dantian, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

His cultivation level advanced a little further, and the barrier of the Golden Core Peak showed signs of loosening.

At this rate, he should be able to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within this year.

Mu Tianmiao arrived at his master's bedroom as usual, straightened his clothes, and said loudly, "Disciple greets Master."

"Come in," Li Xizhao's voice came from inside the hall.

He pushed open the door and entered. Li Xizhao was already sitting upright on the soft couch, holding an ancient book in his hands.

Today she did not wear that veil, her face was bare, and her eyes and brows were as cool and aloof as ever.

She raised her eyes and glanced at him, her gaze sweeping over him in a single glance, revealing the flow of spiritual energy in his dantian.

His cultivation level has improved significantly.

Several cracks have appeared in the barrier at the peak of the Golden Core stage, and the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage is just around the corner.

Li Xizhao withdrew his gaze, his face expressionless, but he was secretly satisfied.

No matter how carefree and unreliable this disciple usually was, he never slacked off in the slightest when it came to cultivation.

Meditate when you should meditate, practice swordsmanship when you should practice swordsmanship, without fail.

No matter how many romantic entanglements he gets into outside, he still comes back and sits in meditation obediently.

She has lived in the cultivation world for nearly a thousand years and has seen countless geniuses.

But very few people can balance playfulness and the Daoist mind so perfectly like him.

She actually really liked this disciple and was very satisfied with him.

But she would never say those words aloud.

Li Xizhao put down the ancient book, picked up the teacup and took a sip. Suddenly, he thought of something and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Compared to this kid who hangs around in front of her every day and annoys her half to death every few days, her eldest apprentice, who hasn't been seen for thirty years, is the one who really makes her feel frustrated.

This wasn't the first time Mu Tianmiao had seen this expression on her master's face.

His brows were slightly furrowed, his gaze was unfocused, and the corners of his mouth were slightly downturned, as if a long-forgotten matter was stuck in his heart, something he couldn't utter or swallow.

Every time his master showed this expression, he knew that she was thinking about his eldest sister again.

"Is Master still thinking about Senior Sister?" he asked tentatively.

"So, what kind of person is this senior sister of mine whom I've never met before?"

Li Xizhao did not answer, but only sighed softly.

She closed her eyes, her consciousness sinking into the depths of her soul to sense the soul imprint she had planted herself.

That is the mark that every master leaves on their personally taught disciple. The mark remains as long as the person is alive, and it shatters when the person dies.

She had sensed this mark countless times over the past thirty years, and it was always there, always intact, and this time was no exception.

Instead of weakening, it became even more intense than the last time it was sensed, burning like a blazing star.

She's reached the Distraction Stage. That girl has already broken through to the Distraction Stage...

Li Xizhao opened his eyes, his gaze passing through the window to the distant layers of clouds, his voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible hint of melancholy.

"Since you're still alive and your cultivation has improved, why haven't you come back for so long..."

Li Xizhao remained silent for a moment, then suddenly shook his head gently.

“That girl…”

She spoke, her voice carrying an indescribable complexity.

"She's a cunning little devil who never tells the truth. She only ever says what I want to hear in front of me, hehe..."

Mu Tianmiao raised an eyebrow slightly.

This assessment surprised him somewhat.

The master hates people who are two-faced the most. Every time he comes back after causing trouble outside, the first thing he does is to be forced by the master to tell the whole truth without leaving out a single word.

A disciple who is full of sweet talk should, in theory, be the least likable to his master.

"A person who says one thing and means another."

Li Xizhao seemed to see through his doubts and continued.

“Logically speaking, it is difficult to go far on the path of cultivation. If one’s heart is not clear and one’s mind is not enlightened, it will be more and more difficult to make progress as one goes higher.”

Her gaze fell on the sea of ​​clouds outside the window, illuminated by the morning light, and her tone suddenly softened.

"But the pain and hatred in that girl's heart were greater than the sky. She said nothing, let no one share her burden, and carried everything on her own..."

"Are you still... striving for your own goals?"

Mu Tianmiao listened quietly without interrupting.

He had never seen his master speak of someone in such a tone, a tone that was a mixture of heartache and helplessness, and a mixture of helplessness and pride.

It was as if she was talking about something that both worried her and made her extremely certain.

In fact, both Mu Tianmiao and Li Xizhao had heard that name in recent years.

Guan Jiu'er.

The mischievous witch Guan Jiu'er.

The name is becoming increasingly widespread across other continents.

Accompanied by various stories, some true and some false.

Murder for treasure, committing all sorts of atrocities...

In every version of the rumors, that woman is portrayed as unscrupulous and lawless.

The righteous sects avoided her like the plague, while the demonic forces both hated and feared her.

When Li Xizhao and Mu Tianmiao heard this name, their feelings were much more complicated than those of others.

That was the eldest disciple of the Immortal Shadow Sect, the disciple whom their master was most proud of and missed the most.

Li Xizhao snapped out of his thoughts, suddenly turned to look at Mu Tianmiao, and asked...

"Xiao Mu, what is your Dao?"

Mu Tianmiao was taken aback.

"Your senior sister once said that her path was to make me happy, haha, but that was just an excuse to fob me off; she didn't want to say it."

"And what about you, Xiao Mu?"

This problem came too suddenly, jumping from one thought to another without any transition in between.

Looking into his master's serious eyes, he knew this was not a casual question, but something she truly wanted to know.

He scratched his head and thought for a moment.

The Dao is something every cultivator must confront.

Some seek immortality, some seek invincibility, some seek to save the world, and some seek to attain enlightenment and ascend to heaven.

Guan Jiu'er's path, as Master just said, is to make her, as her master, happy and joyful.

Master said that's not the Way, it's just an excuse to escape.

What is his Dao?

He had never seriously thought about this question.

"My path..."

Mu Tianmiao organized his thoughts, put down the hand that was scratching his head, and spoke casually but not perfunctorily.

"It's about...doing whatever you want...leaving no regrets!"

What do the great principles of the world have to do with me?

"I am free, I am the Tao!"

Li Xizhao was stunned after hearing this.

She stared blankly at the disciple in front of her, at the matter-of-fact and shameless expression on his face.

Then she suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard she was doubled over, tears welling up in her eyes.

The laughter was clear and cheerful, echoing through the walls of the bedchamber and making the window frames tremble slightly.

"It really is...it's exactly like me!"

Li Xizhao's laughter echoed in the bedchamber for a long time before gradually subsiding.

She rose from the soft couch, her flowing, wide-sleeved dress billowing like waves, and a surge of powerful spiritual energy suddenly erupted around her, like a sudden gust of wind or a raging sea.

At that moment, all the lamps in the entire palace burst into brilliant light.

The aura he exuded was no longer the leisurely demeanor of someone lounging on a soft couch drinking tea, nor was it the impatient look on his face when the elders surrounded him arguing about the lack of spirit stones.