Li Zhibai had already figured out how to treat Xu Chang’an, so she started to discuss serious matters. However, what she did not expect was that Xu Chang’an was not as anxious as she thought. Instead, he quietly looked at her without saying a word.
"What’s wrong?" Li Zhibai was surprised.
"It’s enough that you remember this matter, teacher."
Xu Chang’an sighed gently. He had just thought it was because he was too dull to grasp the teacher’s meaning, so she didn’t mention solving the problem for Yun Qian.
"If you have any dissatisfaction, just say it directly." Li Zhibai heard Xu Chang’an’s somewhat puzzled tone and gently tapped his hand twice with a ruler.
"I wouldn’t dare, as a student." Xu Chang’an looked at Li Zhibai, completely stunned.
The woman in front of him chuckled softly, revealing teeth as white as jade. Her lips curled into a faint smile, and her eyes changed from the previous gloom to one filled with brightness and hope.
Teacher... seems different somehow.
The usually serious and solemn Daoist nun, who rarely joked with him, had now softened her demeanor. Her gaze was warm, an elder’s kindness that made it difficult for Xu Chang’an to look away.
He thought about Li Zhibai’s sudden change, considering that this might be the acknowledgment he should receive from his teacher.
Yes, he used to be just a temporary student in Li Zhibai’s eyes. Now that he was acknowledged as a junior, things would naturally be different.
"What are you looking at?"
Li Zhibai shook the ruler in her hand and slammed it onto the table with a snap, causing ripples in the ink: "Let’s talk business."
With Li Zhibai’s words, a faint chart of human meridians slowly appeared in the air.
Xu Chang’an followed Li Zhibai’s guidance and looked over.
Li Zhibai’s finger traced a meridian and said slowly, "In this world, there is a physique that integrates Spiritual Qi but leaks in many places, known as the Hundred Leaks Body. Disliked by the Heavenly Dao, such individuals can never enter Qi Cultivation throughout their lives."
Xu Chang’an listened attentively, and upon hearing "never enter Qi Cultivation," his expression showed a slight change.
"However, when I applied makeup earlier, I saw that Ms. Yun’s meridians are not like the Hundred Leaks. It’s just that the Hero Jade Spring Acupoint has a deficiency," Li Zhibai said with a touch of regret. "You should know how important the Hero Jade Spring Acupoint is for women. She was born with this deficiency, causing the meridians at the Guanyuan Acupoint to be blocked and unable to absorb even a trace of Spiritual Qi. She’s been since childhood, and her Lower Elixir Field... has long been unable to open naturally."
"Born with deficiencies." Li Zhibai continued, "It seems to have a hint of Divine Soul deficiency, and I’m afraid her body has never been well since childhood. Did she suffer any calamities when she was young?"
"Answering teacher... I don’t know either," Xu Chang’an replied truthfully.
After Yun Qian picked him up, the girl was always in a state of severe illness or constant minor illnesses.
"Forget it, if you don’t know, you don’t know," Li Zhibai frowned. "With congenital deficiencies and the Guanyuan being long sealed, wanting to open the Lower Elixir Field on her own... is almost impossible. Years of frailty—even if the original source is replenished—opening the source is hopeless."
Xu Chang’an listened to Li Zhibai’s words without speaking, only sighing quietly.
He was well aware of this.
In fact, he had examined Yun Qian’s body long ago, but he determined that Yun Qian was congenitally deficient, so her entire body was weak in every aspect. Now that she has begun cultivation, the blockage of the Lower Elixir Field is the first manifestation. Who knows what other troubles may arise in the future.
Xu Chang’an, being a smart person, could see the hint of amusement in Li Zhibai’s eyes.
"Teacher, is there a solution?"
Li Zhibai replied without thinking, "Hmm, let me think about what method to use."
After she spoke, she pretended to fall asleep as if in thought.
In reality, she was giving Xu Chang’an some time to think.
What congenital deficiency and blocked meridians might genuinely be difficult for ordinary cultivators... Even for someone with a certain foundation, dealing with Yun Qian’s body, which is partially akin to the Hundred Leaks Body—and that part being the "Elixir Field" position—solving it wouldn’t be simple at all.
But she was Li Zhibai, renowned as the "Hidden Immortal" and "Pill Master" in Qing Province.
Just earlier, she examined Yun Qian’s body. With a Yuqing Pill and her aid in resolving the medicinal power, her meridians would all open, shedding the mundane and stepping into Qi Cultivation.
But she had no intention of doing that.
The preciousness of the Yuqing Pill was not the reason; it was just the Sect Leader’s words still lingered in her ears.
After a long while, Li Zhibai opened her eyes and suddenly asked, "If Ms. Yun truly cannot cultivate, what do you plan to do?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Chang’an shifted his gaze from the meridian chart and said calmly, "Beisang City is a nice place; by then... I’ll probably have to trouble Steward Zhu from time to time."
Li Zhibai heard this and her gaze focused.
If Yun Qian cannot cultivate, would he also give up cultivation...?
No one in the entire Chaoyun Sect should understand Xu Chang’an’s obsession and yearning for cultivation more than she did.
She shook her head and said, "Child, I am your teacher. When you encounter trouble, why don’t you think of me and always think of Miss Zhu?"
"If I go to Beisang City, can I still be considered your student?" Xu Chang’an asked.
"Of course," Li Zhibai sensed the fluctuation in Xu Chang’an’s heart, and finally became serious, earnestly explaining to Xu Chang’an the connection between cultivation and the Elixir Field. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
With Li Zhibai’s seriousness, Xu Chang’an listened attentively.