The Unknown Legend of Dan Feng

Li Shiwen returned alone.

He came and went in haste, taking nothing with him except a beating... Oh no, he also took a bottle of Live Blood Flesh Mending Pill, which he didn't really want but the effects were too tempting to resist.

But he had been here, he had existed, and so he left some impact behind. Especially for Li Shiyin, because after his arrival she lost the heart to keep digging the lake.

Li Shiyin went back to her room, took a bath, changed into a nice dress, then climbed onto the eaves of the second floor and sat there gazing into the distance.

From here, looking out along the little river next to the house, she could see grassy banks on both sides, and in the middle of the grass a deep pit suddenly came into view...she had gradually dug out this pit with her own hands. Further out was the forest, where the little river disappeared into the lush shadows of the trees. Beyond the vast forest, in the very far distance, mountain peaks intersected...Qin Ran's station of the Heaven Strategy Army was among those mountains.

She didn't know when, but Qin Ran came up and sat down next to Li Shiyin, holding Pursuit of the Wind. He looked out towards the distant horizon, following her gaze.

Pursuit of the Wind jumped out of his arms and stepped around on the tiles, happily fooling around like a cat.

"Master, is my brother's stationed troops over there?" Li Shiyin asked Qin Ran without turning her head.

"Probably around there, but I've never been so I'm not very clear on the specifics." Qin Ran always answered Li Shiyin's questions.

"Master, is it really necessary to sever ties with the mortal world when cultivating?" She asked again.

Qin Ran sighed before replying:

"If cultivation does not involve self-cultivation, then cultivators are no different from ordinary people with powerful abilities. You don't know about people from your homeland, but you should understand clearly that if an ordinary person gains great power it becomes extremely dangerous. You can imagine his desires will be countless times greater than his abilities."

"A powerful cultivator is too dangerous in the mortal world. It's not just dangerous for himself, but even more dangerous for ordinary people, especially his loved ones."

"Why would I ever harm my own parents?" Li Shiyin didn't understand. "Even in the mortal world, I make efforts to cultivate my heart. Is that not acceptable?"

"A cultivator's enemies can only be other cultivators..." Qin Ran said. "You won't harm your loved ones, but your enemies will. At that time, your loved ones will become your greatest weakness. You will only hurt others and yourself."

"Then what if I don't reveal my abilities?"

"That involves the stories of a crane standing among chickens and a needle hidden in a pocket," Qin Ran replied. "A crane standing among chickens will be spotted at a glance. And a needle hidden in a pocket will quickly poke through the fabric and reveal itself."

Qin Ran explained it simply and understandably. Li Shiyin understood his point. She drew her legs in and hugged her knees, resting her chin on them.

"Master, have you severed your own worldly ties?" She suddenly asked. "Master, you're only 24 years old. Your parents must still be young too."

This question made Qin Ran sigh. His parents in this world were naturally still alive. However, he was a lonely wild ghost from another world. He had left home to cultivate at the age of five, so his parents meant far less to him than his deceased master from five years ago.

Of course he had severed worldly ties...

"Mm," he murmured in reply.

Li Shiyin glanced at him and shook her head. "I don't believe you."

Qin Ran didn't try to defend himself.

"Master, where are you from?"

"The North Chu Country."

"Master, you're from North Chu too?!" Li Shiyin became interested. "Where exactly? Is it far from Danyang?"

"Very far from Danyang..." Qin Ran said. "Not too far from the Hengduan Mountains Range though."

Li Shiyin's melancholy came and went quickly, effortlessly led astray by Qin Ran towards Yunmeng Marsh.

They sat on the eaves for a long time, watching the sun set behind the mountains.

The orange glow filled the sky, coloring the ground, the grass, the tiles, and their own bodies red, as if splashed with red ink. Qin Ran's hair turned red, and Li Shiyin's dress turned red.

It was about time to make dinner.

Qin Ran patted his bottom and stood up, preparing to go downstairs, but before descending he suddenly remembered something and turned back to Li Shiyin to say: "I saw how smoothly you controlled your strength when hitting your brother earlier..."

He stopped mid-sentence, for some reason. Li Shiyin was curious and raised her head to look at him, just in time to see him turn his head awkwardly.

"Hm? What happened?" She looked left and right, only seeing Pursuit of the Wind rolling around in the sunset glow.

The thought flashed through Qin Ran's mind that his disciple had grown up. She hadn't transformed into the muscular Barbiedoll he was expecting, but instead the parts that should be developing had rapidly developed...her figure was much more shapely than when he first saw her in the Hall of Questioning Dao.

"Ahem!" He hurriedly rid himself of those dirty thoughts and continued, "Your level of attainment should be quite stabilized now. You can start practicing mystic arts."

"Can I learn to fly on a sword now?"

Li Shiyin didn't realize that squatting there with her clothes bunched up, when Qin Ran turned around he could see a flash of white down her front. She was just happy she could start learning mystic arts.

"Mm, yes, flying sword is a must..." Qin Ran nodded with his back to Li Shiyin. "The world of cultivation is too dangerous. Escape techniques must take first priority."

"Huh?" Li Shiyin was puzzled. She thought flying sword was a combat technique.

"So you should learn Concealment Arts first. Since you like Flying Sword Arts, you can start with that first. Then you still need one combat mystic art, so you should also practice a sword technique at the same time." Qin Ran said. "A person's energy is limited, and our time is limited. You can't be greedy."

Li Shiyin understood the limit on energy, but she didn't know why their time was also limited. Puzzled, she nodded her little head blankly.

"Okay, that's it." Having explained, Qin Ran leapt up and jumped down from the roof.

But halfway down he seemed to recall something. He quickly flew back up to the tiles and stared at Li Shiyin pensively without speaking.

"Master, what's wrong?" Li Shiyin didn't understand. She stood up and walked over, intending to check Qin Ran's temperature to see if he was sick.

Qin Ran shook his head. Having finally made up his mind, he said, "Since this is the case, I will pass this mantra on to you."

"What mantra?"

Qin Ran didn't reply. He raised his hand and tapped Li Shiyin's forehead, imprinting with his divine sense and transmitting a mantra into her sea of consciousness.

Li Shiyin suddenly froze. Closing her eyes, she saw some golden words before her:

When chaos was first differentiated, the universe was vast and endless. Heaven and earth evolved, sun, moon and stars were born. All things come to life, the body is like the universe. When chaos was first differentiated...

"Master, what is this?"

"The method of refining the soul..." Qin Ran said. "Dan Peak's inherited method of refining the soul."

This was why Qin Ran already had a soul consciousness in the Foundation Establishment stage.