Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sudden gust of mountain breeze dried the thin layer of sweat on his palms.
Don’t stop? What a horrendous line!
Nevertheless, his master had the commanding voice of a queen. It was icy with a sense of authority that could not be defied. There was no teasing tone.
Xiao Ran deeply understood the saying “to be the master’s company is to be a tiger’s companion”. Come to think of it, it made sense.
Powerful people had insatiable urges, like Wu Mei-Niang, who was empress regnant. His current master was no exception.
It was fortunate that Xiao Ran still intended to conduct a devotion experiment although his hands were sore. His master’s body was relaxed and soft to the touch, so the task was not exactly insufferable.
Xiao Ran let go in a flash and said frankly, “This disciple isn’t strong. Can I go somewhere else to continue the massage?”
Lingzhou Yue took a sip of wine with closed eyes.
“Up to you.”
Xiao Ran carefully moved to the front of his master. His left foot stepped securely on a hole between the pine tree’s roots, while his right foot was perched on a low branch.
This was Xiao Ran’s first time observing a cultivation master from such a close distance. What was more, it was a woman.
Her sword-like eyebrows had been left to grow without any trimming. Her eyelashes were long but rather limp, as they lacked care, looking slightly messy as a result. There was no sense of sensuality on display, but she was beautiful in an unrestrained way.
Her skin was incredibly fair with some green stains from leaves, probably because she had been flying in the forest.
From afar, her hair had looked coarse, but up close, it was smooth and soft. It had only seemed unruly because twigs and weeds, as well as dust, were hanging off the strands.
She was still a woman anyhow…
Xiao Ran sighed inwardly.
Suddenly, his master spoke up coldly. “What are you looking at?”
As a transmigration traveler, Xiao Ran was not easily scared.
“This disciple wants to remember what Master looks like.”
Lingzhou Yue was puzzled.
“Then why did you stop?”
Ah, um…
Xiao Ran could only explain himself honestly.
“This disciple’s hands are sore. I wish to take a short break.”
He was a mortal after all…
Lingzhou Yue sighed and made a hand incantation.
“I shall give you a little spiritual energy. It’s guaranteed you won’t feel sore even after a whole day of massaging.”
‘You really skip being courteous with your own disciple, huh!’
Xiao Ran turned down her kindness immediately.
“No, thanks. This is part of my cultivation too.”
Cultivation…
The corners of Lingzhou Yue’s eyes twitched slightly, and she breathed in a sigh of relief after confirming Xiao Ran’s lack of talent once more. She then said, pretending to be cryptic, “It’s difficult for everyone in the Dao-Ending Period. Everyone is under their own pressure. Even I’m held back by illness. Don’t you complain about having sore arms again.”
She then stretched her legs straight at Xiao Ran breezily. The movement was so natural that Xiao Ran questioned her claim that she was unwell.
“Yes, Master.”
He had to go on despite his sore hands.
His master was extraordinary and felt quite manly but was a woman after all. Xiao Ran knew his own limits. Firstly, one could never touch a woman’s feet. After all, he and his master were not like Zhang Wuji and Zhao Min or Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian1.
That would mean his filial devotion was debauched. How would he earn Devotion Points then?
Secondly, one could never touch a woman’s thighs. One might accidentally touch the base of a woman’s thigh and be slapped to death on the spot. It was too dangerous.
With that thought in mind, Xiao Ran gently picked up his master’s long legs, which were covered by her oversized robe, and narrowed his area of work to the space above and below her knees, repeatedly massaging and rapping the skin there. His rhythm was controlled, and the pressure he applied felt nice.
Lingzhou Yue quickly relaxed her expression of feigned profoundness as her features rolled out in comfort, soothed by the soft breeze as well. She had not expected her disciple, whom she had simply picked up, to be so well-behaved. He seemed forward and brash but he knew his place and stayed there.
Xiao Ran received a system notification.
“Congratulations, you’ve earned 1 Devotion Point!”
Ah, there was still value to be explored on his master’s body! Suddenly, Xiao Ran did not feel the soreness on his arms anymore. An explosion of boundless energy seemed to charge his fingers, but he could not even stop it.
It was about two hours into the massage that the system rang with a second notification.
“Congratulations, you’ve earned 1 Devotion Point!”
Then, Xiao Ran went on massaging his master for two more hours. Unfortunately, the system went silent after that. It looked like seven DP was his limit. To go past that, he probably had to involve a core and two basic points, something a disciple like him was not qualified to do.
Xiao Ran guessed that the maximum DP he would obtain from massaging his master given his current level was 10 points. It was considerably decent that he could squeeze seven DP out now.
He would see if he could continue tomorrow…
“You’re done?”
Lingzhou Yue was not satisfied, as she wanted more.
What did she mean? Xiao Ran thought that he was being wrung dry.
Lingzhou Yue heaved a long sigh, her exhale smelling of a faint wine aroma.
“Sigh… You’re a mortal after all. It’s not easy for you to do so much. Never mind. This is the first step of your cultivation journey. You’ll continue to work hard tomorrow. I’m going to bed.”
Her half-hearted comment was obvious to Xiao Ran. All she lacked now was a drunk burp.
Toiling hard and keeping a low profile was perhaps not the way to impress this master, as she might really not plan to teach him anything… Xiao Ran decided to test the waters.
“If Master could teach this disciple a small cultivation method, I’d surely be more efficient with the same amount of work.”
Lingzhou Yue was reminded of her promise.
“The cultivation method for someone blessed in all Five Elements, right? Me and my memory…”
She racked her brains for a long moment, but there was no cultivation method suitable for a mortal available. Since that was the case, she could only turn to mental cultivation methods.
Suddenly, it seemed like an idea struck her and she instantly retrieved an incomplete mental cultivation method from her wide sleeves.
“This is the mental cultivation method that I created on my own when I was younger. Some of it was burned while I was lighting a fire at home. It’s incomplete now. Go through what you can.”
Xiao Ran accepted it and took a glance. Good lord, the thick material and aged scripture were evidence that it was more than a millennium old. It seemed ridiculous that his master had created it on her own!
“What’s this cultivation method called?”
“This is a mental cultivation method. A mental cultivation method is the foundation of all cultivation methods. The name isn’t important. Look, it says ‘Resonance’ here. Just call it Art of Resonance… I think it’s meant to resonate with everything in heaven and earth or something.”
“You think?”
“Cough… My cultivation base is too high. This isn’t for me. You get unfamiliar with it with time. You’re equally gifted in all Five Elements. Theoretically, you’re the best candidate for this mental cultivation method. It doesn’t require a cultivation base either. A mere mortal can try it.”
“Really?”
‘I don’t believe it.’
Xiao Ran looked hesitant.
Lingzhou Yue narrowed her brows.
“I’m not bluffing. The lower the cultivation base you have when you start cultivating this mental cultivation method, the better. You won’t use spiritual energy to fuse yourself with the Dao and the force of nature to perceive everything in this world. Even if you fail to cultivate, it can strengthen you and enhance your longevity.”
There was no way Lingzhou Yue was going to say that this was a mental cultivation method with a hellish difficulty level!
Not using spiritual energy did not mean that it did not require a cultivation base. It was the opposite. Said mental cultivation base demanded strictly the cultivator’s talent and temperament. Although 1,000 years had passed, she had rarely seen anyone successfully cultivating it—even she was just half-baked.
With that, Lingzhou Yue got up with a yawn and stretched before hopping off the pine tree root, taking a swig of her wine, and moving toward the straw hut.
The silhouette of her leisurely back exuded a breezy air.
Xiao Ran, who was worn out, rested for a bit by sitting on the pine roots.
The first day of his cultivation journey in a sect was vastly different from what he had been picturing every day for three years.
The sect was not a small sect like he had imagined. His master was not a traditionally proper master as he had thought. The cultivation location was not even a deep cave or a scenic mountain. It was just a barren mountain. At least, the mountain was tall enough with layers of clouds and cranes flying past. The soft wind blew with refreshing spiritual energy, more or less satisfying Xiao Ran’s anticipation for an immortal land.
Now that the system had been dropped, the path was paved for him to suck up to his master.
As for the cultivation method his master had tossed his way, Xiao Ran did not have high hopes for it. Out of boredom, he flipped through the incomplete mental cultivation method.
Yup… It was like he had expected. He could read every word but he understood nothing when the words were all stringed together.
Out of the blue, a notification came from the system.
“Heaven-Tier mental cultivation method Incomplete Myriad Resonance detected. This mental cultivation method is still sealed in the store, but you can learn it (mortal level) with 10 DP since you have the original incomplete item.”
A Heaven-Tier mental cultivation method?
Sealed?
Xiao Ran sprang up despite his fatigue and gasped. Feeling surprised and excited, he looked at the straw hut.
‘Master actually does cherish me?’