The flying sword beneath his Junior Sister’s feet looked exceedingly small, a delicate blade crafted specifically for her petite frame. Li Meng watched as she soared into the sea of clouds, her figure dwindling to a speck before vanishing entirely within the mist.

Only then did he withdraw his gaze.

“Alright. Time to prepare for Foundation Establishment.”

Li Meng looked up at the full moon, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had to refine the Dustfall Pill before attempting his breakthrough. There was a world of difference between refining it before Foundation Establishment and after. In the eyes of outsiders—and especially in Senior Qu’s eyes—his chances of success were slim to none. He had to maintain the facade of desperate preparation. It felt hypocritical, but survival required such masks.

“Time to visit Senior Qu.”

Li Meng stepped onto his sword and soared into the air, flying toward the Inner Sect.

Inner Sect, Cloud Peak.

Li Meng hovered outside the swirling mists that guarded the summit.

“Disciple Li Meng pays his respects to Senior Qu!” he called out, his voice carrying over the wind as he bowed respectfully.

Several strands of Divine Sense swept over him, cold and probing. Moments later, the clouds atop Cloud Peak stirred, parting sluggishly to reveal a path leading upward. Li Meng guided his sword through the gap.

Atop the peak, within a pavilion on the second floor, Li Meng pushed aside a beaded curtain. The soft chime of colliding jade announced his entry. His lips curved into a faint smile as he saw the graceful figure meditating on the bed platform. He approached quietly.

He hadn’t taken two steps before Qu Rou opened her eyes. She stared coldly at the sneaky figure of her Junior Nephew drawing near.

Li Meng chuckled and sat down beside her, ignoring the chill in the air. “Senior Qu, has your Junior Nephew come at an inopportune time?”

“What do you think?” Qu Rou shot an annoyed glance at the little old man beside her. Who paid visits in the dead of night unless they were up to no good?

With a grin, Li Meng reached out and took Senior Qu’s delicate hand in his. Her skin was cool to the touch.

“Senior Qu, your Junior Nephew plans to enter Death Seclusion in one month to attempt Foundation Establishment. In this final stretch of time, I wish to spend more moments by your side.”

His cultivation had advanced too rapidly over the past few months, leading to an unstable foundation and slight leakage of Spiritual Power. He needed a period of Root Strengthening and Foundation Consolidation before he dared to take the final step.

Qu Rou gave him a sidelong, icy glance. “Why so many words?”

Li Meng chuckled again. Though Senior Qu maintained her frosty exterior, she could be quite endearing at times.

“Senior Qu, then your Junior Nephew will not stand on ceremony.”

Saying so, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

The night deepened, and the moonlight outside the window watched in silence.

…

No night lasts forever, and eventually, dawn arrived.

Early the next morning, Li Meng rose from the bed. “Senior Qu, your Junior Nephew must return to Little Bamboo Peak for a while to settle some affairs.”

By the stone platform, he took flight on his sword and vanished into the morning clouds.

Seated on her meditation cushion, a trace of melancholy flickered in Qu Rou’s eyes. She watched the empty sky where he had disappeared.

She had never “lived together” with anyone before. In the past, Senior Brother Chen had merely been her “Dao discussion” partner. Their relationship was strictly limited to Dao Exchange—a transactional intimacy for the sake of cultivation. They would only be together during closed-door sessions. Although they undertook missions together occasionally, their relationship never progressed beyond professional courtesy. From the very beginning, they had established three rules: they were fellow travelers on the Great Dao, nothing more.

Who would have thought she would now be cohabitating for a month with an Outer Sect Qi Condensation disciple whose Lifespan Limit was fast approaching?

Outer Sect. Little Bamboo Peak.

Li Meng arrived by sword, descending lightly outside the fence gate of his courtyard. He looked up at the characters on the wooden nameplate, stroking his beard with a smile.

After a moment’s thought, he waved his hand. Spiritual energy rippled over the wood, and the characters instantly changed.

They now read: “Moved to Inner Sect Moon Gaze Peak. Do not disturb for one month.”

Having done this, Li Meng turned and flew away.

If he moved to Moon Gaze Peak without a word, Junior Sister Yuan and Junior Sister Chen wouldn’t be able to find him. The same went for Junior Sister Shui’er and Junior Sister Zi’er. He couldn’t leave them worrying.

Flying amidst towering peaks and plunging ravines, Li Meng passed mountain after mountain, piercing through cloud after cloud.

“Should I go see Junior Brother Xue?”

He hesitated, then shook his head.

“Forget it. I’ll visit after Foundation Establishment and make up for little Yuer’s greeting gift then.”

The main reason he hadn’t given a gift last time was simply poverty. Xue Ruyu was a True Disciple of Masked Moon Peak, while he was just a dying old man from the Outer Sect. Although he knew Alchemy, he couldn’t produce anything truly valuable back then—his pockets were empty.

A slight smile touched Li Meng’s lips. With the moment of Foundation Establishment approaching, he felt a small thrill of excitement.

One month wasn’t long at all.

Inner Sect, Cloud Peak.

“Senior Qu, your Junior Nephew has returned!”

Li Meng pushed aside the curtain of the second-floor pavilion and entered.

“You’re back? No need to announce it,” came the cool voice from the bed platform. Qu Rou opened her eyes, gazing frostily at the approaching figure.

Li Meng sat down beside her with a cheerful laugh, about to speak, when Senior Qu cut him off.

“Come up here. Cultivate with me.”

A faint blush colored Qu Rou’s cheeks. This was the first time she had actively invited a man for “Dao discussion”… and that man was an Outer Sect Qi Condensation disciple nearing his end.

Li Meng’s expression froze momentarily. He gave an awkward smile.

“Well… Senior Qu, your Junior Nephew hasn’t cultivated our sect’s Yellow Emperor Inner Canon Fragment.”

“And also, Senior Qu, have you forgotten? Your Junior Nephew is a Five Spirit Roots waste body.”

Qu Rou fell silent.

She had indeed forgotten.

A perfect Five Elements constitution meant that within his body, a delicate, self-contained cycle existed: Wood fed Fire, Fire fed Earth, Earth fed Metal, Metal fed Water, and Water fed Wood. Simultaneously, the cycle of conquest held it in check: Wood parted Earth, Earth dammed Water, Water quenched Fire, Fire melted Metal, and Metal chopped Wood. The Yin and Yang energies were held in a precarious balance point within this complex system.

Any external energy introduced through Dual Cultivation risked disrupting this internal equilibrium.

This fundamental incompatibility was why Five Spirit Roots waste bodies were considered utterly unsuited for Dual Cultivation arts.

She truly wondered how Junior Nephew Li had even been accepted into the Joyous Union Sect in the first place. By all logic, their sect wouldn’t accept any cultivator with less than Three Spirit Roots aptitude.

“Then what cultivation art do you practice?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“The Qi Refining Art.”

The Qi Refining Art?

Qu Rou stared at him.

She considered this alongside his Five Spirit Roots waste body constitution.

The more profound and powerful a cultivation art was, the greater the demands it typically placed on specific elemental affinities. The Qi Refining Art, however, was the common fare of the cultivation world—widespread precisely because it was mediocre. It was easy to learn and required no specific talent, unlike esoteric methods that could take decades just to grasp.

While easy, it came with significant drawbacks; otherwise, everyone would practice it. Although it could build up exceptionally deep reserves of Mana compared to peers at the same stage, the cultivation speed was agonizingly slow as a trade-off.

For someone like Junior Nephew Li, already burdened by the sluggishness of Five Spirit Roots, wasn’t this adding slowness upon slowness? It was practically suicide.

“Junior Nephew Li, why did you choose the Qi Refining Art?”

The sect’s Transmission Pavilion held many suitable cultivation arts for Outer Disciples. Disciples of the Joyous Union Sect never cultivated just one art; besides the Dragon Attraction Art and the Yellow Emperor Inner Canon Fragment, they always practiced complementary methods.

The reason was simple: Dual Cultivation arts required a partner. While immensely beneficial for breaking through minor realms, they became somewhat useless when attempting major realm breakthroughs, which relied entirely on personal Epiphany. Being disturbed by the presence or foreign energy of another during such a critical moment easily led to Qi Deviation—or worse.