Li Ping'an turned around, smiling at this fellow.
What's with all the fuss?
Ningning Mu had just finished washing up, about to fetch some spring water with her bucket, her dark hair hanging loose, her fair cheeks tinged with a faint blush, and her long eyelashes making her peach blossom eyes appear even brighter.
Her little shirt and long skirt were slightly damp, exposing large patches of her fair skin on her shoulders and chest.
Li Ping'an turned aside and said softly, "Junior sister, perhaps you should change your clothes. I have some questions I'd like to ask."
"Oh! Okay! Brother, wait for me a moment!"
Ningning Mu turned and ran, banging the wooden door shut behind her.
Li Ping'an's figure floated up lightly, stepping across several walls to fetch an empty bucket from his room to help Ningning Mu fetch a bucket of water.
If one seeks help from another, Li Ping'an naturally couldn't afford to put on airs as a senior brother.
When he returned to Ningning Mu's courtyard with the bucket of water, she was already neatly dressed.
She had changed into a simple and elegant long dress, with sheer long trousers beneath the hem of her skirt, and her long hair was simply tied into a ponytail, making her slender neck particularly eye-catching.
Recalling the scene from before, Ningning Mu felt a bit embarrassed and whispered, "Senior brother, please come in."
"I have delayed your water fetching."
Li Ping'an carried the bucket inside, then went straight to the point:
"I have a bit of a puzzle, junior sister, and I wonder if you can help me solve it."
Ningning Mu nodded eagerly, "Of course, brother! Ask anything, I'll tell you all I know!"
"When I was in the mortal world, I also dabbled in the martial arts. I noticed that the qi within you seems to always circulate in the Lesser Circulation. Could you tell me how this is achieved?"
"The Lesser Circulation," Ningning Mu was a bit muddled, "what's that?"
She knew about the Great Circulation, but had never heard of the Lesser Circulation.
"Each cultivation technique corresponds to a simplified Great Circulation method."
Li Ping'an briefly explained:
"Let me put it another way, how do you manage to keep the qi inside your body circulating in tune with your sword moves while you're practicing swordplay?"
"That..."
Ningning Mu turned her back, her head bowed as if pondering.
"Brother, asking me all of a sudden, I don't quite know how to answer.
"When my mother taught me swordplay, she taught me move by move. For each move, I needed to direct the qi to a certain spot, and then for the next move, the qi had to change position accordingly.
"This explanation seems unclear. Brother, perhaps I should teach you a few sword moves and demonstrate!"
Li Ping'an quickly asked, "Is this something that can be taught to outsiders?"
"Why can't it be taught? These are just minor martial arts techniques that can't compare to Immortal Spells."
Ningning Mu said with a smile:
"My family doesn't have many rules; my mother often teaches some moves to hunters and farmers too.
"Of course, brother, you're nothing like a hunter or anything..."
"Then, may I try using the moves you just performed, and you can correct me?"
Ningning Mu blinked, a bit puzzled.
Her sword moves?
Li Ping'an went to pick up a stick from outside the courtyard, and then in front of her, he repeated the set of sword moves she had just practiced.
Li Ping'an's initial sword moves lacked precision and grace;
but after a few moves, the form seemed to open up like a bright sky, the moves flowing like clouds across water, and the sound of tidal waves echoed within as he finished with a thrust, causing the stick to explode into splinters with a bang.
Ningning Mu gazed with a stunned look.
This?
Wasn't this her family's sword technique?
The aloof senior brother learned it just by watching once?
She had been taught hand-in-hand by her mother for three or four months... this was just too...
Li Ping'an turned his head and seeing Ningning Mu's frozen expression, asked in a soft voice, "Junior sister, is there something wrong?"
"Brother, um... have you practiced my family's sword technique before?"
"I remembered it just by watching you earlier."
Li Ping'an said with a smile:
"I have used a sword before in the mortal world too, although not very proficiently. Was there something wrong with the way I circulated my qi just now?"
"Brother, give me a moment to calm down, no, give me a moment to think carefully about how to explain this to you."
Ningning Mu turned silently, took several deep breaths, her slender body trembling slightly.
She refused to believe it!
How could there be such martial arts prodigies in the world who could learn by just watching once, and she so easily encountered one!
"Brother~"
Ningning Mu turned back, a slight smile playing on her lips:
"That sword technique was too simple, and the qi circulation too monotonous. Let me demonstrate a truly profound technique of exterminating demons for you, brother. Watch closely!"
Li Ping'an couldn't help but respect her.
This junior sister was so generous; he would definitely find a way to repay this favor later!
"Thank you, junior sister."
"Don't mention it, come sit over here."
Ningning Mu immediately adjusted her qi, took a sip of cool water inside the house, and retrieved two treasure swords from her jade bracelet before running back to the courtyard.
Li Ping'an had noticed earlier that this junior sister hadn't brought any bag or luggage;
clearly, Ningning Mu's cultivation level must be above the sixth stage of Qi Cultivation, allowing her to use Storage Magical Artifacts.
"Brother, watch this!"
Ningning Mu's peach blossom eyes sparkled brilliantly, her figure graceful and elegant as she unleashed a set of exquisite sword moves, now with many intricate variations.
Li Ping'an watched from the sidelines with growing interest, finger on sword, deeply contemplating, already almost grasping a flicker of insight.
Circulating the Great Circulation on his own, he was near a breakthrough.
...
But let's return to Li Ping'an, who was enthusiastically learning the sword art. Above Liuyun View, a white cloud slowly approached.
Atop the cloud stood a slightly plump Daoist, dressed in a gray and black Daoist robe, with a small Daoist bun, his flowing hair fluttering in the mountain breeze.
If this wasn't Li Ping'an's old father, then who else could it be?
Li Dazhi was proud of the spell he had just learned, reveling in the ease of his cultivation journey, and couldn't help but rock his head from side to side, reciting a poem in his heart:
"How wonderful it is to cultivate in the mountains, breaking through with ease.
"The teacher stares and the brother kicks; next year I'll ascend, an Immortal bird."
Brilliant... Hmm?
Li Dazhi suddenly squatted down, the white cloud slowing down as well.
He had entered the formation area of the front mountain, his Spiritual Sense now dispersing, enabling him to probe into the halfway up the mountain where Liuyun View was located.
"What's going on?"
Li Dazhi muttered to himself and decided to lie on the cloud, quietly drifting to a position above the Liuyun Observation, where he poked a hole in the cloud to look down.
In the spacious courtyard below, a male and a female figure were... engaged in an intimate interaction?
Li Ping'an assumed a sword stance, while a pretty young girl at his side gently instructed him, occasionally helping to adjust his posture, inevitably resulting in physical touch and eye contact.
"My mother taught me this way," said the beautiful girl, "I need to hold onto my senior brother's wrist."
Li Ping'an chuckled, "Junior sister, no need to worry, I'm not covered in poison spines; how could I not be touchable?"
The girl softly replied, "Then... then let me help to correct your posture."
Above the clouds, Li Dazhi's lips curled wildly upward, his eyes nearly melting, as three bubbles slowly appeared above his head, each revealing:
Big red "Xi" characters beside red candles;
A swaddled infant wailing;
Two little kids with pigtails shouting "Grandpa, Grandpa."
That's it!
That's right!
Why are young people in such a hurry to cultivate immortality?
Li Dazhi watched for a while and felt that the young girl had a pretty face with a lively charm, her figure not yet fully mature but already quite delightful, and her demeanor absolutely exceptional.
Li Dazhi nodded to himself with satisfaction.
He immediately sat up, his demeanor vastly changed from before.
'I also need to hurry and cultivate; I cannot be slack or negligent.'
'If Ping'an progresses quickly, perhaps by next year I might even be holding a grandchild. Wouldn't I need to set up a private dwelling with a courtyard in the mountains to ensure privacy and serve as their bridal chamber?'
'What are the conditions for someone within the sect to have an independent mountaintop as their dwelling again? Seems like it requires reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm? Sheesh, Heavenly Immortal, that's not easy to cultivate... Heavenly Immortal, they're all revered seniors in the cultivation world...'
The cloud lingered for a while before gradually drifting away.
Li Ping'an felt something, looked up briefly, but didn't think much of it and continued to immerse himself in his swordsmanship inspiration.
Achieving the circulation of qi on one's own is most important!
As evening approached, Li Ping'an bid farewell, contented with the day's work, and did not forget to give Ningning Mu a Daoist bow before leaving.
Ningning Mu promptly returned the gesture.
"Thank you for your guidance, junior sister," Li Ping'an said. "I have had an epiphany and may need to enter seclusion for a day or two. If there's any disturbance in the back courtyard of the Liuyun Observation, please call out to me."
"Yes! Senior brother, go into your seclusion without worries!"
Ningning Mu patted her chest, causing her long dress to tremble slightly, and laughed:
"I'll look after these senior brothers and sisters; there won't be any problems."
Li Ping'an also laughed at her jest.
After spending the day together, Ningning Mu's forthrightness and eagerness to help made a good impression on Li Ping'an.
She was a friend worth making.
After bidding farewell again, Li Ping'an lightly tapped his toes and floated up like a feather, returning to his wooden building in a few bounds and activating the formations around it.
Ningning Mu, with a somewhat stiff smile, turned and went back into her house, slamming the wooden door behind her with a bang.
She, who had been standing up straight, collapsed completely, looking disheartened at the two swords in her hands.
"This..."
Is Aloof Senior Brother a monster?
It was only half a day, just merely half a day! And all the martial arts insights her mother and aunt had generously imparted were taken by Aloof Senior Brother!
If Aloof Senior Brother asks about martial arts practice again, how should she respond? Just admit that she only has that much to offer?
The Mu family has utterly lost face!
But speaking of which, with such high comprehension, why does senior brother still reside in the Liuyun Temple?
With such intelligence, can't he be accepted as a formal disciple by Immortals?
Ningning Mu worried for a moment, then lightly blew the bangs from her forehead and moved to a bathing tub beside her.
The jade bracelet on her wrist flickered softly as she pulled out two screens with built-in shielding formations, hands on hips to encourage herself.
'Let it be, there will be a way through the mountain when the carriage arrives.'
'As a third-generation Wanyun Sect outer disciple from the Mu family, I am determined to pay respects to a master with dignity and become an official disciple of Wanyun Sect with honor!'
Splash!
Ningning Mu jumped into the tub, her close-fitting garments slowly floating up, long black hair dispersing left and right underwater as she began to meditate and cultivate.
...
After three cycles of days and nights.
'Done.'
Li Ping'an opened his eyes, a glint of sharpness within them.
He looked down at the vital energy circulating a fixed route within him, a small smile appearing on his lips, a deep sense of satisfaction welling up within him.
Having referenced the method of martial arts inner breath circulation, his self-circulating Zhou Tian cycle had initially been achieved, and the speed was nearly the same as when he meditated regularly.
His cultivation speed could now increase by about thirty percent!
Next were the considerations of how to enhance the amount of Spiritual Energy entering his body, and how to improve the efficiency of converting Spiritual Energy into Mana.
From this moment on, Li Ping'an could free himself from the endless meditative sitting, and engage in reading ancient texts, delve into cultivating the Dao, and also work on those 'little designs' he had long wanted to work on but never had the time.
No sooner said than done.
Li Ping'an got up and went to the first floor of the wooden building, taking out some tools he had previously collected in the backyard from a large wooden crate in the corner.
He wanted to give Ningning Mu some tokens of appreciation.
Using a few Spirit Stones to craft a handy homemade gift was certainly a good choice.
Li Ping'an busied himself for several hours, during which he consumed two Five Grains Pills, and a modified crossbow gradually took shape in his hands.
He purposely whittled some bamboo arrows into simple bolts.
For Qi Cultivators capable of flying and burrowing, such a crossbow was indeed a toy, but against ordinary Qi Cultivation or Spirit-Gathering Realm practitioners, if taken by surprise, it could serve for a sneak attack or two.
Unfortunately, his cultivation level was still low, lacking a sophisticated method for forging Magic Artifacts, and he had no Treasured Materials available.
Li Ping'an thought to himself:
'Once my cultivation is profound enough, I'll forge her several Magic Artifacts to repay this kindness.'
'Consider this a down payment.'
He stood and walked to the wardrobe, humming a tune from his past life that he was fond of, occasionally glancing at the Mana circulating on its own within him, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile once more.
Life is full of unexpected turns, and the occasions when effort is rewarded are not too many.
One should rejoice nonetheless.
Li Ping'an was about to step out the door when he heard the clear chime of a bell from the second floor window, his Spiritual Sense capturing someone entering the courtyard.
Shortly after, Ningning Mu's voice came from outside the gate:
"Senior brother! Have I interrupted your cultivation? There's something happening here."
"What is it?"
Li Ping'an, holding the small crossbow, stepped out of the house to see Ningning Mu with a trace of concern.
"The Five Grains Pills at the front courtyard have run out, and several junior disciples have been hungry for a whole day now!"