Chapter 14: A Thousand-Year Iron Tree Blooms, A Demon Beast Lurks Ahead

Even the maidservant, Little Yue, felt her worldview collapsing.

She had originally assumed her young master was a heaven-blessed genius, a favored son of the heavens. As it turned out, his aptitude was actually worse than her own.

Yet, the Mistress’s protective affection for Xiao Yifeng was undeniable. In response to the nasty rumors circulating through the sect, Lin Ziyun had gone out of her way to comfort him and had sent a steady stream of cultivation supplies to his room.

Such doting care made Little Yue speculate wildly about Xiao Yifeng’s true identity. The way she looked at him became increasingly strange. However, she was a smart girl. She continued to serve him with the utmost diligence, never daring to show the slightest disrespect despite the mockery from the outside world.

As for Xiao Yifeng? aside from blushing with embarrassment at the very beginning, he had ceased to care.

He had developed the thick skin of a dead pig—scalding water could no longer hurt him. He ignored the judgmental stares of outsiders, caring only for the opinions of the few people within Wuya Hall who mattered.

Xiao Yifeng knew his aptitude was trash. But he believed in the old saying: Diligence can compensate for clumsiness.

More importantly, he held a secret weapon. He was cultivating the True Explanation of Stars alongside the Nine Scrolls of Asking Heaven, fusing the two opposing forces with the Formless Heart Sutra. The foundation he was building was terrifyingly solid—far denser and more stable than anything he had achieved in his previous life.

This kind of foundation wasn’t built in a day. He was accumulating power slowly, preparing to unleash it all at once.

With the Third Senior Brother’s iron-fisted suppression of the rumors, and the seclusion of his residence, Xiao Yifeng had no distractions. Apart from attending classes, he devoted every waking moment to cultivation.

Finally, after three grueling months of non-stop effort, he successfully broke through to the First Layer of Qi Refining.

That evening, at a dinner gathering attended by all the disciples of Wuya Hall, Xiao Yifeng stood up. With a slightly awkward expression, he announced his breakthrough.

The disciples of Wuya Hall sat frozen, staring at him with eyes wide and mouths agape.

It was a miracle as rare as a thousand-year-old iron tree suddenly blossoming.

Then, the silence broke. The hall erupted into laughter and cheers. Everyone was genuinely overjoyed for him.

Lin Ziyun immediately offered words of encouragement, urging him to keep pushing forward, reaffirming that Heaven rewards the diligent.

Su Miaoqing stuck her tongue out at him, making a funny face before dissolving into giggles.

Only Su Qianyi, sitting at the head of the table, watched the celebration with cold eyes. He massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“A bunch of fools…” he muttered under his breath, snorting in disdain.

Time flowed like water, slipping away unnoticed. In the blink of an eye, 2 years passed.

Xiao Yifeng was now twelve years old.

Since that first breakthrough, his cultivation speed remained astonishingly slow. It took him a year and a half to struggle his way to the Third Layer of Qi Refining. Now, after 2 full years, he had just reached the Fourth Layer.

Despite the slow progress, his body had grown sturdy from daily training and the nutrient-rich spirit food provided by the hall. Although he was a year younger than his Senior Sister Su Miaoqing, he now stood at the same height as her.

His childish features had begun to mature. Dressed in the flowing robes of the Wentian Sect, he looked—as his Senior Brothers put it—”quite presentable, even if he couldn’t fight to save his life.”

Su Miaoqing, meanwhile, had blossomed from an eleven-year-old girl into a stunning thirteen-year-old maiden. Her beauty was already breathtaking, her laughter bright and clear.

Her aptitude was terrifying. In 2 years, she had reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining and was on the brink of the Eighth.

In fact, she could have been even stronger. Su Qianyi and Lin Ziyun believed that progressing too fast was detrimental, so they had forcibly suppressed her realm multiple times, forcing her to compress her Qi and build a flawless foundation. Without their intervention, she likely would have reached Foundation Establishment by now.

Naturally, she never missed a chance to brag about this in front of Xiao Yifeng, usually followed by a patronizing round of encouragement.

Su Miaoqing found the other Senior Brothers and Sisters boring; they were too old, too serious, too stodgy. She preferred the company of her Junior Brother. He looked a bit silly, but he bore her whims without complaint and knew exactly how to coax her when she was upset.

Over the last 2 years, they had become inseparable.

Of course, Su Miaoqing always held the upper hand. Xiao Yifeng, having lived two lives, had no interest in competing with a teenage girl for dominance. He let her order him around.

In exchange, whenever a Senior Brother teased him, Su Miaoqing was the first to jump out and defend him. She was fiercely protective, shielding her “calf” from any perceived slight.

One evening, Xiao Yifeng and Su Miaoqing walked out of Lin Ziyun’s palace after finishing their lessons in the Four Arts.

Xiao Yifeng bid her farewell, intending to return to his room.

Suddenly, Su Miaoqing grabbed his arm. She pouted, looking displeased.

“Little Feng, are you going back to cultivate again? Isn’t it boring doing that every single day?”

Xiao Yifeng smiled wryly. “Senior Sister, isn’t this just me making up for my clumsiness with diligence?”

“But I don’t see your cultivation reaching the heavens, do I?” she retorted. “Missing one session won’t make a difference. Come on, go out and play with me.”

Xiao Yifeng looked at her unhappy face and paused. It was true—he hadn’t spent much leisure time with her recently.

He sighed, relenting. “Alright. I’ll listen to you, Senior Sister.”

Su Miaoqing’s face instantly lit up, her smile blooming like a flower. She grabbed his hand and took off running.

“Let’s go!”

They sprinted out of the palace complex, heading toward the wilderness. Su Miaoqing hated playing inside the sect walls; she had explored every corner of the buildings and was too easily caught by her mother there.

She ran ahead, with the snow-white fox, Little White, bounding at her heels. Xiao Yifeng followed in the rear.

They raced toward the back mountain.

The mountain range behind the palace was vast and ancient. Lush greenery covered the peaks, layer upon layer stretching into the distance. When the mountain wind swept through, the forest canopy undulated like a massive green ocean. It was a spectacular sight that instantly broadened one’s spirit.

Su Miaoqing loved exploring this “unknown” world.

Reaching a wide clearing, she stopped to play with Little White, but soon grew impatient with Xiao Yifeng’s running speed.

Suddenly, a flash of multicolored light erupted behind her.

A long, radiant ribbon materialized, floating behind her head. It weaved under her arms and coiled around her wrists, fluttering in the wind. Bathed in its glow, Su Miaoqing looked like a celestial fairy descending to the mortal realm.

Laughing like silver bells, she spread her arms and gently lifted off the ground. She turned back to Xiao Yifeng and Little White.

With a wave of her hand, the ribbon extended like a living spirit snake.

One end wrapped gently around Little White, pulling the fox into her arms. The other end shot out and coiled snugly around Xiao Yifeng’s waist.

“We’re flying!” she cheered.

Whoosh!

She shot into the sky, dragging Xiao Yifeng with her.

This was the flight-type Dharma Treasure Su Qianyi and Lin Ziyun had bestowed upon her after she reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining.

It was a rare item, functioning as both a flight tool and a defensive shield. Her parents had spent a fortune upgrading it with rare materials, pushing it into the rank of a Top Grade Magical Artifact. It was the perfect treasure for her current level.

Since getting it, Su Miaoqing had been obsessed with flying. Technically, a cultivator could control objects to fly at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refining, but her parents had withheld such tools fearing she would neglect her studies. Now, she had this ribbon and a Low Grade Dharma Treasure.

But why stand on a boring sword when you could float with a beautiful ribbon? For Su Miaoqing, aesthetics were the most important stat.

She soared through the air, looking ethereal and divine. Xiao Yifeng, on the other hand, dangled from the ribbon like a sack of potatoes, a mortal dragged along by a goddess.

It wasn’t the first time she had carried him like this, so he resigned himself to the indignity. If a mortal on the ground saw this scene, they would likely create a new legend about a fairy kidnapping a villager.

Su Miaoqing reveled in the sensation of freedom. She laughed, flying faster and faster, pushing beyond the perimeter she usually explored.

This was the deep wilderness of the Wuya Hall back mountain. While there were Demon Beasts here, they were mostly low-level creatures raised in captivity for training purposes. The strongest was only equivalent to Qi Refining Level 6, so her parents allowed her to roam relatively freely.

“Senior Sister,” Xiao Yifeng called out from below. “Don’t fly any further. We won’t make it back for dinner, and Master and Mistress will scold us.”

Su Miaoqing puffed out her cheeks. “Little Feng, you foodie! All you think about is eating. It’s not like the food goes to your muscles anyway!”

Xiao Yifeng, hanging helplessly in mid-air, could only smile bitterly.

Despite her retort, Su Miaoqing slowed down and began to descend toward a patch of forest not far ahead.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, Su Miaoqing frowned. She clamped her hand over her nose.

“Ugh! What is that? It stinks!”

In her arms, Little White squirmed uneasily, whimpering.

Xiao Yifeng frowned as well. The stench of rot was thick in the air. He followed the scent, stepping carefully through the underbrush.

A few yards away, hidden in the tall grass, lay the carcass of a wolf.

Xiao Yifeng pinched his nose and squatted down to examine it.

It was a Gale Wolf, the most common low-level Demon Beast in this area. The carcass was already decomposing, suggesting it had been dead for some time. Its bones were shattered, and its belly had been ripped open with brutal force.

“The Demon Core has been taken,” Xiao Yifeng noted, peering into the gory cavity. “But the fangs—which are valuable—were left behind.”

He looked at the grass nearby. A wide, heavy trail flattened the vegetation leading away from the body.