"You and Xiaobao together?"
"Jump into the cauldron?"
Looking at Li Mo’s dead-serious expression, Elder Xue’s face gradually darkened.
"Xiaobao, go fetch your Second Senior Sister. She specializes in treating mental and brain-related issues."
Old Xue was worried that Li Mo might be suffering from prolonged mental stress or perhaps a deviation in his cultivation.
What kind of mental state would make someone think of jumping into a cauldron to be refined alongside the elixir?
Tang Xiaobao wiped his face and was about to head out.
Li Mo grabbed Tang Xiaobao’s head and spun him back around.
"Elder Xue, I’m serious."
"That makes it even worse!"
Xue Jing’s expression was grave:
"Us martial artists are prone to wild thoughts. Sometimes, we don’t even realize we’ve strayed down the wrong path."
"For example, when I was young, I always looked for shortcuts."
"Back then, I failed a few times trying to condense my Profound Core. So I thought, why not just forge a ‘Profound Core’ and shove it into my dantian? Wouldn’t that be the same as a real one?"
"Sounds pretty clever to me."
Li Mo thought Elder Xue’s idea was highly creative—fitting for a master alchemist.
A genius no less brilliant than himself.
But Xue Jing sighed deeply.
Clearly, his plan had failed.
"How did it fail?" Li Mo asked.
Xue Jing’s lips parted, but no words came out. After a moment, he sighed heavily again.
Tang Xiaobao smacked his forehead, remembering:
"Master flushed the Profound Core down the latrine and even searched for it with a lantern—"
"Shut your mouth, you little brat!"
Even at his age, being reminded of such an embarrassing incident made Xue Jing’s thick-skinned face flush slightly.
After a long silence, he looked up at the sky as if just snapping out of it:
"Wow, look, there’s a really pretty bird over there. Oh, Elder Xue, what were you saying earlier?"
Li Mo’s performative personality kicked in.
After hearing something like that, he’d better sleep lightly tonight.
"Hmm, it is quite pretty."
Tang Xiaobao got a flick on the forehead from his master.
He pouted—there was clearly nothing in the sky.
"Ahem, back to the main topic."
Li Mo cleared his throat and straightened his expression:
"Elder Xue, my willingness to enter the cauldron isn’t some wild fantasy."
"First, my body-refining techniques are fairly solid."
With that, he casually pulled out a sharp weapon and flicked it with his finger.
The blade immediately chipped.
Xue Jing raised an eyebrow, impressed by his disciple’s body-refining prowess.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
"I’ve also done some research on my own physique."
"I’ve found that I’m impervious to extreme heat and cold."
Xue Jing shook his head:
"Martial artists naturally withstand some degree of temperature extremes, but—"
"I slept with Ying Bing for a month," Li Mo added.
Silence fell over the courtyard.
Xue Jing’s eyes widened in shock, as if a tidal wave had surged in his heart.
"You two have gone that far?"
"...Elder Xue, maybe focus more on the part about my physique."
A vein throbbed on Li Mo’s forehead.
"Well... if you can endure that level of heat and cold..."
Xue Jing collected himself.
After a long deliberation, he finally took a deep breath:
"Fine. Let’s give it a try."
"But the moment anything goes wrong, we stop immediately."
"Your progress in the Inner Breath Realm has broken the sect’s records. And to slay a Perception cultivator while still in Inner Breath..."
"Even in Qingyuan’s long history, there’s never been a disciple like you."
Shangguan Wencang smiled with satisfaction.
"You flatter me, Sect Master."
Ying Bing gave a slight nod.
To this day, she had never called Shangguan Wencang "Master."
And he had never demanded it.
"Once you reach the Profound Core Realm, none of Qingyuan’s Perception-stage elders or disciples will likely be your match."
Shangguan Wencang spoke plainly.
Elder Su of Luoxia Peak, Qian Bufan, and Han He—none of the elders objected.
Even in the Central Divine Continent, Ying Bing would shine brilliantly.
"You’ve always forged your own path in cultivation."
"Today, I called you here to ask."
"What do you intend to use as your Perception?"
Shangguan Wencang’s tone was solemn.
Ying Bing answered without hesitation.
By perceiving the Moon, she could further control the lunar power within her.
Shangguan Wencang wasn’t surprised by her answer.
As if prepared, he said:
"If you succeed, the Moon would indeed be a divine form. But it hangs high in the heavens—forever distant and untouchable for us."
Perception wasn’t just about seeing.
The Moon, the Sun, the stars—observing them was naturally superior to observing mere birds or beasts.
But those who could grasp their essence and truly imprint them into their ‘hearts’ were vanishingly rare across history.
After a pause, seeing no change in Ying Bing’s expression, Shangguan Wencang continued:
"Qingyuan has another path to Perception—one no lesser than the Moon."
"It suits you just as well, and it’s far easier to walk."
"Gather the forms of a hundred birds and condense the Phoenix Spirit!"
"Would you... consider it?"
As he spoke, a fierce light flickered in Shangguan Wencang’s eyes.
The elders seemed to hold their breaths.
This was Qingyuan’s greatest secret, known only to each generation’s sect master.
"I won’t abandon the Moon as my Perception."
Ying Bing’s voice was soft but firm.
The light in Shangguan Wencang’s eyes dimmed slightly.
"In that case, I won’t force you..."
"But the Phoenix Spirit—I will condense it as well."
The elders exchanged confused glances.
Twin radiances burst forth simultaneously.
One, born of lunar essence, freezing all in its wake; the other, shimmering like illusion, rippling with iridescence.
They framed Ying Bing’s flowing black hair, making her seem almost otherworldly.
"Two types of inner breath?"
Qian Bufan was the first to realize.
"You plan to... condense two Profound Cores? Perceive both the Moon and the hundred birds, manifest dual divine forms, and possess two realms?"
Han He asked quietly, as if afraid his heart might leap out if he spoke too loudly.
The elders couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
After several encounters with Ying Bing, their shock tolerance had improved.
Who could gasp in amazement every single day?
Yet today, even their wildest imaginations fell short.
This path was difficult.
But looking into the girl’s serene, fathomless eyes, they found no urge to dissuade her.
Instead, they felt she knew exactly what she was doing—and had every confidence in success.
The Moon and the hundred birds, both as divine forms.
Perception forms were ranked by complexity and profundity:
Lower Form, Middle Form, Upper Form, Supreme Form, and the Great Dao Divine Form.
They’d never even heard of such a thing.
"Very well. Since you possess such boldness, it would make me seem petty to refuse."
Shangguan Wencang set his pipe down on the table with a decisive tap:
"If you can refine two Mystic Pills, I will take you to the ancestral hall on Qingyuan Main Peak."