"Stop changing the subject. I see that you have excellent talent, worthy of being cultivated. That's why I am willing to take you as a disciple. Are you willing to accept me as your master?"
Zixia seemed to do this in order to clarify the secret hidden within Li Ping'an, thus intentionally trying to recruit him, to follow him day and night, so as to observe him secretly.
"What a joke, you've been cultivating for more than a decade, yet your cultivation is barely equivalent to mine after half an hour here. Such a stupid waste, and you still have the face to take me as your disciple?"
Li Ping'an muttered under his breath.
"You fool, what are you muttering about? Remember, after today, even if you kneel down and beg me, I won't agree!"
"Then would you be willing to take me away from here, to a place where there are more people and it's safer?"
Li Ping'an beseeched earnestly.
Zixia looked towards the direction of Chang'an and shook her head helplessly:
"You fool, more people doesn't mean safer, it's actually more dangerous. Nowadays, people can be far more vicious and terrifying than demons and monsters."
"So, are you willing or not? Wherever you go, take me with you and always protect me."
"If you truly and sincerely wish to accept me as your master, then naturally I am willing to protect you for a lifetime!"
"Thank you, Master!"
Having received Zixia's promise, Li Ping'an was ready to lay low and grow in this world as if he had hired a bodyguard who did not require payment, an additional bodyguard equated to more safety, someone to stand up for him in everything.
When Li Ping'an bowed to Zixia to show his gratitude for accepting him as her disciple, he acted very thankful, but in truth, he was calculating to his own advantage.
Zixia helped Li Ping'an up with satisfaction, feeling very pleased, and immediately put on the master's dignity, instructing him:
"Ping'an, my disciple, our Qingyun Sect has an unwritten rule that before taking a disciple, we must observe their character for at least half a year. Therefore, for the moment, I cannot officially include you into our sect's records, and you can only be considered a nominal disciple."
"It's all up to you, Master!"
Li Ping'an agreed to join under the Qingyun Sect and Zixia's wing—firstly, because he did not know where to go, secondly, because Zixia had saved his life, and thirdly, because he wanted to learn the cultivation method to absorb Spiritual Essence into his body; fourthly, he was seeking a helping hand.
As for whether he could learn any real skills from Zixia, he didn't hold out much hope.
The two sat down again, and with their new master-disciple relationship, they sat very close, the atmosphere relaxed considerably, and they spoke more familiarly.
"Master, can you teach me our Qingyun Sect's cultivation method now?"
Zixia questioned with doubt:
"Why are you so eager to learn this technique?"
Li Ping'an spoke frankly:
"I wish to channel the Spiritual Essence into my body and cultivate my mana, so I can have some skills by my side. In the future, if any situation arises, Master wouldn't need to take action personally."
"To be honest, but..."
Zixia gave a bitter smile:
"But... it's embarrassing to say that ever since Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Monk Sha, and White Dragon Horse went to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven five hundred years ago, I don't know what catastrophe befell the White Jade Capital and Western Heaven Spirit Mountain. It caused all Taoist Sects under Heaven and the Buddhist community to start decaying, and various profound cultivation methods have long been lost..."
"Take our Qingyun Sect, for example. The Sect Leader is sixty years old this year, but his cultivation is just in the Middle Three Realms' Li Yuan Domain. Even so, he is already considered a great power among the world's cultivators. Although not at the level to summon wind and rain, he still has a wide-reaching reputation."
"Even if I start teaching you our Qingyun Sect's cultivation method now, it would take at least three years to be able to absorb Spiritual Essence and channel qi into the sea, so don't be in a hurry."
"Alright then..."
Suddenly, Li Ping'an thought of something and quickly asked:
"Master, have you ever heard of the Yellow Court Classic?"
"The Yellow Court Classic? I have heard it's a precious cultivation treasure of the Taoist sect, lost for over four hundred years."
The Yellow Court Classic is so common in the real world; you can find it everywhere online. Zixia actually hasn't seen it and even calls it a precious cultivation treasure?
Li Ping'an seemed to understand something, a bold guess forming in his heart, feeling secretly delighted, but with a tone of regret, he said:
"So, does that mean the Taoist heritage has been interrupted? Only low-level and incomplete cultivation techniques are available, leading to the generally low cultivation of cultivators around the world?"
Zixia nodded:
"Exactly, and you are still under observation. After some time, your teacher will pass on our own family's cultivation methods to you."
"Then why bother passing anything down, for all you know, by that time, my cultivation might surpass you and the entire Qingyun Sect..."
Out of disappointment, Li Ping'an muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?"
Facing Zixia's questioning and fearing that his master, prideful and always wanting face, might become angry, Li Ping'an quickly changed the subject, pointing to the six ghosts outside:
"Please, Master, hasten to liberate these six souls. Otherwise, your disciple will be too scared to sleep at night."
"Not only are you slick of tongue and shameless, but you are also a craven wretch. Fine, I will grant your wish."
Zixia stood up, walked out of the temple, and deployed a Teleportation Technique, transporting all the prisoners' bodies into the Corpse Peeling Well. She then placed a large stone over the well, serving as a simple mass grave.
After burying the corpses, Zixia straightened her robes and recited the rite for liberating souls:
"By the decree of the Supreme One, I liberate you lost souls, all ghosts, and spectres, grace touches all beings, an order to save the masses, swiftly transcend, an order to save the masses, swiftly transcend."
The six ghosts bowed to Zixia and Li Ping'an and then completely disappeared.
Having liberated the souls, Zixia took out a Demon-Alerting Bell from her bag and hung them around the temple's eaves. After doing all this, she lay down on a pile of straw with Li Ping'an and fell asleep.
"Save game!"
Before saving, Li Ping'an opened the lid of his storage gourd and looked inside with wide eyes. The gourd seemed palm-sized, but it contained a vast universe within.
There was a unique world inside, like a galaxy, boundless in every direction, fathomless above and below, its full extent unknowable. It's like the universe's vast expanse in a jar, days and months stretching endlessly in a pot.
He then stored all his equipment and weapons inside it; they maintained a floating state within, and merely calling the name of an item of equipment or a weapon would cause it to fly out immediately—truly marvelous.
When Li Ping'an returned to reality from the game, it was already noon the next day (September 2nd), his body not only exhausted, but he was also extremely hungry.
First, he checked that the storage gourd was still at his waist, then glanced at the attribute template:
Cultivation: Qi Gathering Realm 8%
Divine Skills: communicate with spirits, expel spirits
Spell: Hundred Plays Stick Technique (1/500)
Survival Time: 0.
"My cultivation has increased again, seems like the subsequent survival time has been automatically converted into cultivation. But can these Divine Skills actually be used in reality?"
With this doubt in mind, Li Ping'an put away the storage gourd and was about to leave the dormitory to get some food when his three roommates came in, each rolling in their luggage.
The first to enter was the dorm boss Jiang Liuer; being the oldest among the four, he was honest but talkative, hence he was the dorm leader.
The second to arrive was Zhu Ganglie, the third eldest in the dorm; he looked tall and robust, appearing very upright, but deep down, he had a lecherous streak, indiscriminate in his desires, not even sparing the canteen auntie.