Ping Zhuo stopped in his tracks instinctively.
He looked at the two girls who were as exquisite as carved jade and instantly widened his eyes: "Chen... Taoist Friend Chen, how do you have two disciples?"
Chen Ye’s heart was alarmed, and he laughed, "Uh... I haven’t had the chance to introduce them to you. The black-haired one is my eldest disciple, Lu Zhiwei. The white-haired one is my youngest disciple, Xu Qingjun."
As he spoke, he casually stepped forward to greet his disciples, blocking Ping Zhuo’s view.
The man sucked in a cold breath.
"Heh, Taoist Friend Chen, your fortune truly is... enviable."
Ping Zhuo muttered under his breath, his voice not loud but laced with a kind of indescribable sourness and envy.
He was alone, spending every day with furnaces, hammers, and cold, hard metal.
Returning to a cold, lonely house, without even a person to talk to.
While this Taoist Friend Chen...
Ping Zhuo was insanely jealous; he too wanted to come home to soft, fragrant disciples waiting for him!
Ping Zhuo couldn’t stay any longer. He waved his hand casually at Chen Ye, "Taoist Friend Chen, I’m heading back first. We’ll chat another day!"
With that, he shouldered his Red Hammer and walked toward his courtyard without looking back, his figure stretching long in the sunset, exuding a sense of desolation.
This Cultivation Realm, in the end, is still too cold!
The eldest disciple quickly glanced at Chen Ye through the scattered bangs on her forehead.
It was obvious that Chen Ye’s face showed vigilance...
Lu Zhiwei couldn’t quite understand.
Did Chen Ye not want others to come into contact with them?
Or was that big guy not a good person?
Just as the black-furred ball was pondering, she suddenly felt her body lighten.
The next moment, the man picked up each ball in one arm: "Good disciples, don’t wait for your teacher at the gate in the future. It’s too dangerous outside."
"Goo!"
The two balls puffed their cheeks in unison, sulking.
Master (Chen Ye), why does he hug them as soon as he comes back?
If they had known, they wouldn’t have waited for him!
They inadvertently ignored the fact that they had thought the same thing the last time...
"Especially this neighbor!"
Chen Ye reiterated with worry.
Qing Jun tilted her small face, asking softly, "Why?"
Chen Ye indeed was mischievous.
He deliberately scared Qing Jun: "Because... he likes to eat children! Otherwise, how could he grow so tall?"
The two balls were shocked.
"!!!" Qing Jun shivered.
"!??" Zhiwei pursed her small mouth.
Even the little girl couldn’t help but cling to Chen Ye’s arm.
Too terrifying!
Someone actually likes to eat little girls!
Even more terrifying than the previous neighbor, Taoist Zhang!
...
A certain mysterious golden-furred ball looked at the trio from afar.
She was clad in moon-white fox fur, her golden hair cascading like a waterfall, making her skin look fairer than snow, and her appearance as exquisite as a fairy in a painting, proud and distant.
At this moment, her eyes lingered on the side profile of the man.
Indeed, there was a familiar feeling.
Appearance alone wouldn’t cause her heart to ripple.
In this world, who knows how many people resemble each other.
But to cultivate Geng Metal Qi to such an artistic level as her father, was indeed a rarity.
Especially upon seeing Chen Ye tease his disciples, she couldn’t help but sigh.
The next moment.
The proud and noble girl suddenly faded away, replaced by a shorter golden-furred ball with long hair down to her legs.
A pair of big amber eyes, round and innocent, looked at the courtyard.
The golden-furred ball hesitated to hop forward.
But after just a few steps, she abruptly stopped, as if suddenly awakened.
She mumbled lowly, with a hint of frustration, almost swallowed by the wind and snow:
"I must be stuffed full..."
"Just a flower that happens to resemble another... Once we part today, perhaps there will never be another chance to meet."
After this Inner Sect trial, she would return to the Lingyin Sect to cultivate in seclusion, not easily venturing outside again.
When her cultivation bears fruit, this man and his disciples would likely have perished in the battles of cultivators.
Meeting by chance, destined eventually to part ways.
Thinking of this, her fingertips moved slightly, revealing a small, exquisite flying sword beneath her feet.
Carrying her, it transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the vast snowstorm.
...
"Another Foundation Establishment Cultivator has left? Looks like this Inner Sect trial is really coming to an end."
In the cultivation room, Chen Ye heard the sound of a flying sword cutting through the sky, filled with envy.
In these past few days, the once rare Foundation Establishment cultivators were appearing with increased frequency, flying through the sky with their swords now and then.
The gap between sect disciples and loose cultivators is like a chasm.
In Yunxi District, Luo Heng is considered a top-notch loose cultivator, but despite his age, he remains struggling at Qi Cultivation Perfection.
Chen Ye calmed his mind, sitting cross-legged on a mat, with the slightly shabby book of "Qi Concealment Technique" spread open before him.
The proficiency panel would allow his cultivation to advance rapidly.
For instance, in less than a month, he broke through the Fifth-Layer.
But because he had long been at the Fourth-Layer of Qi Cultivation, he did not attract attention at this time.
Based on his current progress and resources, in another two to three months, he might break through to the Sixth-Layer of Qi Cultivation.
By then, it would certainly draw a lot of attention to him.
This Qi Concealment Technique, although unremarkable, is precisely the protective charm he needs now.
Chen Ye closed his eyes, guiding his internal spiritual power according to the spell.
The Qi Concealment Technique, unlike the sharp external release of the Geng Metal Technique, emphasizes internal collection, concealment, and harmony.
It requires gathering the scattered aura around the body, smoothing out the fluctuations of spiritual power like calm deep water, revealing nothing.
However, his newly Fifth-Layer spiritual power was at its most lively and vigorous.
Like a rushing river, trying to constrain and conceal it was no easy task.
At the first attempt, the circulation of spiritual power felt sluggish, and the aura around him fluctuated, hard to stabilize.
The sensation was like trying to cover a blazing bonfire with a thin veil, focusing on one thing to the detriment of another.
"Different magic techniques have certain similarities in the control of spiritual power... especially low-tier spells like this."
Chen Ye calmed his mind, recalling the subtle and profound control he had when performing the Perfection-level Three Spirit Plant Skills and the Limit Break Geng Metal Technique.
Patiently guiding the spiritual power, compressing it repeatedly, sorting it out, making it flow more smoothly and covertly through his meridians.
Gradually, the fluctuations of spiritual power around him began to weaken, becoming indistinct.
Though he was far from achieving perfect concealment, compared to the initial lack of cover, there was significant progress.
[Qi Concealment Technique Minor Achievement: 1/100]
It was a direct Minor Achievement!
And this was not achieved by forcibly stacking breakthroughs via the panel.
It was achieved through his own insight!
Chen Ye felt invigorated, after simply practicing the Qi Concealment Technique.
Without hesitation, he took out a Qi Nourishing Pill from his Storage Bag and began cultivating.
Cultivation is the foundation of everything!
...
Ping Zhuo, only twenty-five years old, though he seems affable, his cultivation has already firmly reached the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer.
His talent surpassed even Li Qiuyun, who, at the age of twenty-three, was only at the Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer.
Otherwise, how could he be an artifact refiner at the Spirit Treasure Pavilion?
Spirit Treasure Pavilion is one of the five major sects of the Yan Kingdom, an industry under the Spirit Treasure Sect.
All the artifact refiners and stewards in the pavilion are sect disciples from the Spirit Treasure Sect.
He lives extremely frugally, wishing he could split every spirit stone in half when spending.
Unlike other stewards in the market who socialize lavishly and indulge in enjoyment.
Ping Zhuo’s greatest wish is to save enough spirit stones to return to the sect and marry the junior sister he dearly loves, with grand ceremony.
She is the only light in his gloomy life, and the greatest motivation for his diligent cultivation and hard work to save money.
However, Ping Zhuo has an unknown secret.
He has always loved everything cute, whether it’s the lazy cat napping in the corner or the fluffy puppy chased by the neighboring kids.
Worth mentioning, the name Miu was given by him...
Likewise, this affection also includes cute and charming female cultivators—especially his junior sister.
Yet he is always too embarrassed to mention it to outsiders, fearing they would mock him for being "sissy" despite being a grown man.
Until today, he inadvertently discovered that the newly moved-in Taoist Friend Chen next door, who seems mature and steady, surprisingly shares the same inclination.
This gave Ping Zhuo a slight sense of kinship, as if he had found his group.
However...
Ping Zhuo couldn’t help but touch his rough face, recalling his unimpressive, even somewhat fierce face in the bronze mirror.
Alas, it must be because of his ugly appearance?
Ping Zhuo sighed inwardly.
He noticed that every time he tried to show a friendly smile to the two delicate little girls, they would hide fearfully behind Taoist Friend Chen.
Indeed, it must be his ferocious appearance that scared them.
Unlike Taoist Friend Chen, whose demeanor is clear and features handsome.
But...
Why do his two disciples also seem somewhat afraid of him?
Especially the black-haired girl, why does she always look at Taoist Friend Chen with a hint of... caution?
Ping Zhuo was puzzled, only finding the hearts of people in the Cultivation Realm to be even more unpredictable than the fires of the artifact refining furnace.
"Boom!"
At this moment,
a deep, soul-shaking rumble came from the depths of the Three Thousand Great Mountains!
"This is..."
Ping Zhuo rushed out into the courtyard, his pupils immediately narrowing.
Only to see the thick leaden clouds above the distant mountains being torn apart by an invisible force.
A massive, slowly rotating ice-blue vortex occupied the entire sky!