"You and Xiaobao together?"
"Right."
"Jump into the cauldron?"
"Exactly."
Looking at Li Mo’s dead-serious expression, Elder Xue’s face gradually darkened.
He turned his head:
"Xiaobao, go fetch your Second Senior Sister. She specializes in treating mental and brain-related issues."
Old Xue was worried that Li Mo might be suffering from prolonged mental stress or perhaps a deviation in his cultivation.
What kind of mental state would make someone think of jumping into a cauldron to be refined alongside the elixir?
This skips the whole funeral banquet step—straight to cremation, huh?
"Oh, got it."
Tang Xiaobao wiped his face and was about to head out.
"Wait!"
Li Mo grabbed Tang Xiaobao’s head and spun him back around.
"Elder Xue, I’m serious."
"That makes it even worse!"
Xue Jing’s expression was grave:
"Us martial artists are prone to wild thoughts. Sometimes, we don’t even realize we’ve strayed down the wrong path."
"For example, when I was young, I always looked for shortcuts."
"Back then, I failed a few times trying to condense my Profound Core. So I thought, why not just forge a ‘Profound Core’ and shove it into my dantian? Wouldn’t that be the same as a real one?"
"Sounds pretty clever to me."
Li Mo thought Elder Xue’s idea was highly creative—fitting for a master alchemist.
A genius no less brilliant than himself.
But Xue Jing sighed deeply.
Clearly, his plan had failed.
"How did it fail?" Li Mo asked.
Xue Jing’s lips parted, but no words came out. After a moment, he sighed heavily again.
Tang Xiaobao smacked his forehead, remembering:
"Master flushed the Profound Core down the latrine and even searched for it with a lantern—"
"Shut your mouth, you little brat!"
Even at his age, being reminded of such an embarrassing incident made Xue Jing’s thick-skinned face flush slightly.
Li Mo: "........"
After a long silence, he looked up at the sky as if just snapping out of it:
"Wow, look, there’s a really pretty bird over there. Oh, Elder Xue, what were you saying earlier?"
Li Mo’s performative personality kicked in.
After hearing something like that, he’d better sleep lightly tonight.
"Hmm, it is quite pretty."
Xue Jing nodded.
"Where—"
Thwack!
Tang Xiaobao got a flick on the forehead from his master.
He pouted—there was clearly nothing in the sky.
"Ahem, back to the main topic."
Li Mo cleared his throat and straightened his expression:
"Elder Xue, my willingness to enter the cauldron isn’t some wild fantasy."
"First, my body-refining techniques are fairly solid."
With that, he casually pulled out a sharp weapon and flicked it with his finger.
The blade immediately chipped.
Xue Jing raised an eyebrow, impressed by his disciple’s body-refining prowess.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
Li Mo continued:
"I’ve also done some research on my own physique."
"I’ve found that I’m impervious to extreme heat and cold."
Xue Jing shook his head:
"Martial artists naturally withstand some degree of temperature extremes, but—"
"I slept with Ying Bing for a month," Li Mo added.
Silence fell over the courtyard.
"You..."
Xue Jing’s eyes widened in shock, as if a tidal wave had surged in his heart.
"Exactly."
Li Mo nodded firmly.
"You two have gone that far?"
"...Elder Xue, maybe focus more on the part about my physique."
A vein throbbed on Li Mo’s forehead.
"Well... if you can endure that level of heat and cold..."
Xue Jing collected himself.
After a long deliberation, he finally took a deep breath:
"Fine. Let’s give it a try."
"But the moment anything goes wrong, we stop immediately."
......
Meanwhile.
Qingyuan Main Peak.
"Your progress in the Inner Breath Realm has broken the sect’s records. And to slay a Perception cultivator while still in Inner Breath..."
"Even in Qingyuan’s long history, there’s never been a disciple like you."
Shangguan Wencang smiled with satisfaction.
"You flatter me, Sect Master."
Ying Bing gave a slight nod.
To this day, she had never called Shangguan Wencang "Master."
And he had never demanded it.
"Once you reach the Profound Core Realm, none of Qingyuan’s Perception-stage elders or disciples will likely be your match."
Shangguan Wencang spoke plainly.
Elder Su of Luoxia Peak, Qian Bufan, and Han He—none of the elders objected.
Even in the Central Divine Continent, Ying Bing would shine brilliantly.
"You’ve always forged your own path in cultivation."
"Today, I called you here to ask."
"What do you intend to use as your Perception?"
Shangguan Wencang’s tone was solemn.
"The Moon."
Ying Bing answered without hesitation.
By perceiving the Moon, she could further control the lunar power within her.
Shangguan Wencang wasn’t surprised by her answer.
As if prepared, he said:
"If you succeed, the Moon would indeed be a divine form. But it hangs high in the heavens—forever distant and untouchable for us."
Perception wasn’t just about seeing.
The Moon, the Sun, the stars—observing them was naturally superior to observing mere birds or beasts.
But those who could grasp their essence and truly imprint them into their ‘hearts’ were vanishingly rare across history.
After a pause, seeing no change in Ying Bing’s expression, Shangguan Wencang continued:
"Qingyuan has another path to Perception—one no lesser than the Moon."
"It suits you just as well, and it’s far easier to walk."
"Gather the forms of a hundred birds and condense the Phoenix Spirit!"
"Would you... consider it?"
As he spoke, a fierce light flickered in Shangguan Wencang’s eyes.
The elders seemed to hold their breaths.
This was Qingyuan’s greatest secret, known only to each generation’s sect master.
"I won’t abandon the Moon as my Perception."
Ying Bing’s voice was soft but firm.
The light in Shangguan Wencang’s eyes dimmed slightly.
"In that case, I won’t force you..."
"But the Phoenix Spirit—I will condense it as well."
Ying Bing added.
Huh?
The elders exchanged confused glances.
What did she mean?
The next moment.
Twin radiances burst forth simultaneously.
One, born of lunar essence, freezing all in its wake; the other, shimmering like illusion, rippling with iridescence.
They framed Ying Bing’s flowing black hair, making her seem almost otherworldly.
"Two types of inner breath?"
Qian Bufan was the first to realize.
"You plan to... condense two Profound Cores? Perceive both the Moon and the hundred birds, manifest dual divine forms, and possess two realms?"
Han He asked quietly, as if afraid his heart might leap out if he spoke too loudly.
"Yes."
Ying Bing nodded.
The elders couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
After several encounters with Ying Bing, their shock tolerance had improved.
Who could gasp in amazement every single day?
Yet today, even their wildest imaginations fell short.
This path was difficult.
But looking into the girl’s serene, fathomless eyes, they found no urge to dissuade her.
Instead, they felt she knew exactly what she was doing—and had every confidence in success.
If she succeeded...
The Moon and the hundred birds, both as divine forms.
Perception forms were ranked by complexity and profundity:
Lower Form, Middle Form, Upper Form, Supreme Form, and the Great Dao Divine Form.
Dual Divine Forms?
They’d never even heard of such a thing.
"Very well. Since you possess such boldness, it would make me seem petty to refuse."
Shangguan Wencang set his pipe down on the table with a decisive tap:
"If you can refine two Mystic Pills, I will take you to the ancestral hall on Qingyuan Main Peak."
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
