Ningning Mu seemed to have left, yet also as if she never left.
Li Ping'an entered seclusion when she became his disciple, and when Li Ping'an exited seclusion, she had already pleaded with her master to visit Liuyun Observatory for a 'family visit'.
An absolute "as if she never left".
Li Ping'an, concerned about delaying Ningning Mu's cultivation, admonished her to focus on Zen meditation and understand the Dao, and told her not to run around when it wasn't necessary.
Ningning Mu naturally agreed, and even made a bold and ambitious declaration that she would break through to the realm of immortals within a hundred years.
Her master, who went by the Taoist name Qing Xu, was a Qi Cultivator of the True Immortal Realm from Caiyun Peak, renowned for her low-key demeanor and not well-known, but it was fortuitous as she had just considered taking disciples, and Ningning was her first disciple.
This True Immortal had a very gentle disposition and was especially fond of Ningning, her eldest disciple.
Li Ping'an was, of course, extremely envious of this.
He beat around the bush and found out that there were three other peer sisters of Qing Xu Daoist who had also reached the True Immortal Realm, it's just a pity...
They of Caiyun Peak did not accept male disciples.
This time, it was Ningning Mu who implored her master to bring her back to see Li Ping'an, planning to stay for just half an hour before leaving.
At the moment of parting, Ningning Mu counted on her fingers:
"My master said that as long as I reach the mid-stage of the Spirit-Gathering Realm, about after the fifth stage of Spirit-Gathering, I can manipulate objects and fly. My master will refine some flight artifacts for me, and then I can come and visit my senior brother anytime!"
"My master also said that in cultivation, it's not the speed that matters, but stability. Who knows how many prodigies are stuck at some insignificant bottleneck, brooding to their demise."
"My master also said..."
"That's enough, Priest Sister!"
Li Ping'an squinted and smiled, the muscles at the corner of his mouth twitching slightly:
"Now that you've become a disciple, stop hanging 'master' on your lips all the time."
"Hmm, I'm not intentionally showing off my master!"
Ningning Mu giggled:
"I've heard from my master. It was difficult for you to become a disciple because your father's status is too high, and the immortals within the sect also consider the issue of conflict of interest, to avoid accusations of relying on your father."
"Otherwise, if you encounter something you don't understand in your cultivation in the future, you can secretly tell me."
"I can go and ask, my, Master!"
Li Ping'an pretended to threaten her.
Ningning Mu deftly dodged, her small mouth bursting into a string of silvery laughter.
Before she left, she said she would come to visit Li Ping'an when she could fly. Li Ping'an didn't take it to heart.
Just as Weixiaor Child said, Liuyun Observatory was just a transit point for young disciples who would find new environments and new friends as they left.
What was different, though, was that some found their chance to become immortals while others returned to the mundane world.
But to Li Ping'an's slight surprise...
Ningning Mu was indeed someone who did as she said.
About seven months later, Ningning Mu, who had grown much taller, dressed in a light blue disciple's robe and stood on an Immortal Sword, carrying two boxes emanating a fragrant aroma, called out to the celestial formation outside Li Ping'an's wooden building.
She had returned.
Since then, Ningning Mu would appear at Liuyun Observatory every few days, sometimes bringing some treasures and Elixir Pills, other times, some of the 'delicious delicacies' she made herself.
According to Li Ping'an's incomplete count, in the two and a half years since Ningning Mu took a master, she had visited Liuyun Observatory more than thirty times, and her recent visits were becoming more frequent;
Even more diligent than his own father!
It wasn't that the two of them had sparked a romantic connection; over these two years, it could only be said that there was the beginning of a spark, but no full flame yet.
Rather, Ningning Mu gradually discovered...
Whenever she had a difficult cultivation question she couldn't understand, or when her cultivation progress slowed slightly, she could come to Liuyun Observatory to seek advice from this Senior Brother Ping'an.
With just a word or two from Senior Brother Ping'an, she would have a moment of enlightenment, effortlessly resolving her troubles.
Li Ping'an was also very generous with this playful little junior sister, his only companion.
Since he had created a self-sufficient Zhou Tian, Li Ping'an had ample time to read books, ponder on the ways of artifacts, elixirs, and formations. He had not spared any effort in the past two years to refine some playthings for Ningning Mu.
Of course, he had also taken the opportunity to use Ningning Mu as a 'test subject' for his concoctions.
The days of cultivating in the mountains were generally peaceful, and the Wanyun Sect's usual tone was one of moderation and tranquillity.
The thirty-sixth time Ningning Mu returned to Liuyun Observatory happened to be after Li Ping'an had spent three full years there.
The three-year period had elapsed;
According to the sect rules, Li Ping'an had not yet secured a master at Liuyun Observatory and needed to pass the external disciple trial to become an outer sect disciple in order to continue his cultivation within the sect.
Li Ping'an had proactively applied for the trial half a month ago, but the Mundane Affairs Hall had not yet given him a response.
This afternoon.
In the back courtyard of Liuyun Observatory, the brother and sister sat in the shade of the trees, drinking tea and chatting.
Li Ping'an dressed simply, with a loose and soft bright white inner garment and a green overlay on top.
His lean body was enveloped in a faint spiritual energy, giving him an ethereal quality.
Or perhaps it was because he had read a vast number of Wanyun Sect's scriptures over these three years, his arched brows didn't add sharpness, his starry eyes didn't lure dust, and his lips were always curved in an almost imperceptible smile, appearing utterly harmless.
Li Ping'an held a small carving knife, whittling away at a spirit stone the size of an egg.
A bamboo slip floated open before him, its text ancient and abstruse; most of Li Ping'an's attention was in fact on this bamboo slip, and the carving was just something he did idly.
Compared to Li Ping'an's 'homeowner' appearance, Ningning Mu was much more meticulous in her attire.
Ningning Mu was now sixteen or seventeen, grown from a tender and slim girl to one slender and graceful.
At full moon, her figure was voluptuous; her curves, exquisite.
Today, she was still dressed in her plain white disciple's skirt with a jade belt tied around her slender waist, and soft, translucent silk trousers beneath the hem. Her delicate feet were clad in 'flip-flops' made by Li Ping'an, her ten toes clear and lustrous, like peeled, succulent lychees.