Let me try first

At the stone table beside the pond on Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge.

"Without Third Senior Sister's tea... life suddenly feels a little meaningless," Cui Hao set down his teacup and sighed. "Master, do you think Third Senior Sister hasn’t considered returning after being away for so long?"

Chu Xingchen calmly read the message Xu Jin had sent back.

After embarking on the path of cultivation, time indeed seemed to contract in a way.

In the past, a year felt long—enough to cram in countless tasks. But after cultivating, a year now passed in the blink of an eye, and many matters required years to complete.

For instance, the investigation into the Righteous Sound Temple had only just yielded a rough report.

By now, five snowfalls had come and gone since Bai Xuanling returned from the Righteous Sound Temple, and Bai Xuanling herself had been in secluded cultivation for five years.

As for Yuan Kong, he hadn’t lingered long on Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge either. After staying just a few days—even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he indulged in several hearty meals—he bid his farewells and departed.

Yuan Kong’s reason for leaving was clear: his path no longer lay in austere cultivation, but in moving forward.

The answers provided by the Righteous Sound Temple hadn’t satisfied him. He wanted to seek out—or perhaps confirm—the answers in his heart, something he’d never understand if he stayed on Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge forever.

Those answers might lie in valleys, deserts, bustling crowds, or towns.

Step by step, inch by inch, Yuan Kong would search—for the answers in his heart, and for the fulfillment he sought.

Truthfully, Chu Xingchen wasn’t particularly moved by Yuan Kong’s reasoning. But since Chu Xingchen wasn’t a Buddhist cultivator, he couldn’t say whether this was the right approach. So, he could only respect the decision.

Besides, as long as a person had purpose, whatever they did couldn’t be considered a waste of time—at least the joy was real.

Before Yuan Kong left, Chu Xingchen had asked him: "You’re alone and adrift. Why not join my sect as my disciple? Sweeping the mountain gates would suit you."

Yuan Kong’s reply was straightforward and unceremonious: he was both his senior brother’s junior and his senior brother’s disciple. He carried not only his own beliefs but also his senior brother’s ideals. Joining another sect now would feel strange.

As for sweeping the mountain gates, that task could be reserved for him. Once he found his answers and achieved fulfillment, he’d return to sweep Chu Xingchen’s gates in repayment.

Chu Xingchen’s response was equally blunt: "Get lost."

This time, Yuan Kong didn’t set out with just a backpack. Chu Xingchen gave him a spatial ring stocked with emergency supplies, spirit stones, and even some of Chu Xingchen’s own emergency pills—though they doubled as interrogation pills.

No longer a child, his skin now dark and his frame lean, Yuan Kong set off for the Southern Continent—he wanted to visit his senior brother’s resting place before continuing his journey.

Yuan Kong knew the path he wanted to walk and where he wanted to go.

Chu Xingchen didn’t add further obstacles. If he’d truly insisted on keeping Yuan Kong, the young monk wouldn’t have had a chance to leave.

But when a person treads the path they’ve chosen, even the wind around them feels free.

A heart unrestrained is like flawless jade—priceless beyond measure.

Apart from Yuan Kong, the others hadn’t been idle either.

Li Xingtian had entered seclusion to prepare for his breakthrough to the Golden Core realm. Lin Luoyu was also progressing well, living up to her reputation as a prodigy. Though she couldn’t match the brilliance of the eldest and second senior disciples, she was already approaching the peak of Foundation Establishment.

In fact, Chu Xingchen suspected Lin Luoyu might reach the next realm before Li Xingtian, though she still needed more time in cultivation.

Chu Xingchen had deliberately slowed Lin Luoyu’s progress, ensuring her foundation was as solid as possible.

After all, the time required for breakthroughs beyond Golden Core would stretch far longer, while the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages were relatively brief. A strong foundation now would pay dividends later.

The Green Snake had also reached the Foundation Establishment realm and awakened an innate divine ability. This time, Chu Xingchen thought he’d have no choice but to personally guide the serpent, given that his brilliant eldest disciple and well-read third disciple were both away on their journeys.

The second disciple was busy breaking through to Golden Core, while the fourth and fifth were still struggling with their own cultivation. Only Chu Xingchen remained to teach.

But... the Green Snake proved surprisingly self-sufficient. It possessed inherited memories and claimed its divine ability felt familiar and simple.

Within days, it had grasped the basics—surpassing even Li Yingling’s early progress.

At this point, Chu Xingchen had to admit: this snake was worry-free.

With a flick of his hand, Chu Xingchen dissolved Xu Jin’s message into nothingness and turned his gaze to Cui Hao.

"If you’re itching for a beating, you don’t need to wait for your third senior sister. I’ll do just fine."

Cui Hao propped his chin on one hand, his expression deflated. "I don’t want a beating—I just miss Third Senior Sister’s tea."

"At your current cultivation speed, tea might be out of reach, but you’ll definitely get to experience her... motivational methods."

Chu Xingchen’s face remained calm, but he suddenly looked up at the sky as snowflakes began to drift down. Only then did it strike him—another year’s snow had arrived.

Cui Hao followed his gaze and, after a quick mental calculation, remarked:

"This year’s snow came earlier than usual."

Chu Xingchen nodded slightly. "You’ve gotten good at tracking time."

"Ah, just a minor talent." Cui Hao grinned. "This disciple may lack skill, but his memory is sharp."

Chu Xingchen’s smile warmed. "In that case, I have a question for you."

"Ask away, Master!"

"Then calculate this: in a few days, when Lin Luoyu breaks through, how long will it take you—at your current mid-level Foundation Establishment—to catch up to where she is now?"

Cui Hao’s face stiffened. After a moment, he muttered with a pout:

"All my senior brothers and sisters are geniuses, and I’m just the big fool, alright? I’ve been cultivating hard these past years, but the gap only widens... Talent is talent. Teasing me won’t turn me into a prodigy."

Chu Xingchen sighed softly. "If I despised your lack of talent, I wouldn’t have taken you as a disciple in the first place."

Cui Hao thought for a moment, then whispered:

"...Master, do you have a secret method for me?"

Chu Xingchen’s expression turned approving. "Take a page from your second senior brother’s book. He treats my pills like meals. Now his Golden Core foundation is even steadier than your eldest senior sister’s—so solid it’s almost excessive. If he can handle that many pills, surely you can manage two a day?"

Cui Hao shook his head vehemently, his voice mournful:

"Master, be honest—is Second Senior Brother even human?"

"Fine. Then stay on Ten Thousand Flowers Ridge until you reach Golden Core. Only then will you be allowed to travel. By now, your eldest and third senior sisters have made names for themselves—even the Central Continent has heard whispers of them."

Cui Hao took a deep breath. He couldn’t deny his master had struck a chord.

He too wanted fame! To walk with the wind at his back!

With weak resolve, he conceded:

"...I’ll try one pill a day first."

As soon as Cui Hao's voice faded, a surge of intense blood qi erupted from the Ten Thousand Blossom Ridge, instantly staining the sky a deep crimson.

It was as though a heaven-reaching blood demon had descended, heralding the beginning of a living hell on earth.