Chapter 6: No, You're Too Young
Chapter 6: No, You're Too Young
The Heavenly Dao Sect's immortal arts could complete a full circulation cycle in just twenty breaths!
What did that even mean?
In this world, two hours equaled two thousand breaths — meaning in two hours, one could complete one hundred circulation cycles!
One hundred circulation cycles in two hours!
What did that even mean?
On the surface, it seemed less than double the Lingxiao Formula — but in reality, the gap was more than tenfold!
Because the higher the grade of an immortal art, the purer the Spiritual Energy it absorbed and converted, the fewer the impurities, the less time needed to process those impurities afterward, and the faster one could advance in cultivation.
Processing impurities was far, far more difficult than simply cycling through cultivation.
After all, one only required absorption, while the other demanded repeated tempering to purify the Spiritual Energy — only then could it flow through the meridians without causing harm.
Therefore, the more circulation cycles an immortal art could complete per two hours, the better its quality. At higher levels, even a single extra cycle made an enormous difference, and its value became all the more precious.
The Lingxiao Formula, with sixty-one cycles per two hours, was already enough to sustain a top-five-hundred sect. So just how powerful was an immortal art capable of one hundred cycles per two hours?
He had thought the Lingxiao Formula was already unbeatable — yet before the Heavenly Dao Sect's immortal arts, it seemed like nothing more than a joke.
To Xiao Lingxi, such an immortal art was like the most beautiful dress in the world — possessing an incomparable allure.
"Immortal Master, are you still accepting disciples?"
Xiao Lingxi walked up to Su Bai's side, blinking her beautiful wide eyes, gazing at him with burning intensity, her face full of hope.
Su Bai let out an amused laugh. "Little girl, you were just suspecting me of being a fraud — and now you want to join a fraudster's sect?"
Xiao Lingxi's pretty face flushed slightly with embarrassment, but she quickly composed herself and said sincerely, "Immortal Master, Lingxi knows she was wrong. I hope you can forgive me."
"Oh? Then tell me — where exactly did you go wrong?" Su Bai studied Xiao Lingxi with great interest.
This little girl had quite the chivalrous streak, and plenty of nerve too — she'd dared to talk back to him, and had even come out to this remote wilderness alone.
"Lingxi shouldn't have doubted the Immortal Master, and even less should I have spoken so rudely to you..." Xiao Lingxi lowered her eyes and bowed her head, the picture of a well-behaved child who had made a mistake.
That demeanor made Su Bai burst out laughing despite himself.
He held no ill will toward Xiao Lingxi — he had simply been teasing her a little. What was the point of bickering with a little girl?
"These are trivial matters. I can't be bothered to hold them in my heart, and there's no need for me to get worked up over a little girl like you."
Su Bai waved his hand, signaling that he hadn't taken it to heart.
"Thank you, Immortal Master! You're so kind!"
Hearing Su Bai say that, Xiao Lingxi immediately expressed her gratitude, her beautiful eyes curving into two crescent moons, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"So, Immortal Master — does that mean Lingxi can join the Heavenly Dao Sect now?"
She batted her big eyes, looking at Su Bai with eager anticipation.
Su Bai's gaze swept over her from head to toe, and he shook his head. "Not yet."
"Ah, why not?"
Xiao Lingxi pouted, saying with a hint of grievance, "Immortal Master, Lingxi can wash your clothes, pour your tea, and even give you a back rub and leg massage — I can do anything. Won't you please take me in?"
"No. You're too young." Su Bai looked her over once more and shook his head again.
"Young?" Xiao Lingxi looked down, following Su Bai's gaze toward her own chest.
It wasn't exactly voluminous, but it wasn't small either.
Or did the Immortal Master prefer... bigger?
"They're not small at all, okay!" Xiao Lingxi raised her head and proudly puffed out her chest, with a touch of pride unique to young girls.
"Ahem, ahem..." Su Bai gave two light coughs to cover his awkwardness. "That's not what I meant. I mean your age is too young — this sect does not currently accept minors."
"Age too young..." Xiao Lingxi murmured blankly, then her pretty face flushed red. So it seemed she had misunderstood the Immortal Master.
"Immortal Master, let me correct that — three days ago I already came of age, so I am an adult, thank you very much!"
Xiao Lingxi puffed out her cheeks and argued with complete seriousness.
"Oh?" Su Bai was taken aback.
This little girl — she was already an adult?
Ah, right. He had forgotten.
In this world, adulthood wasn't at eighteen — it was at sixteen!
"Little girl, it's getting late. Aren't you going home? Won't your family worry?" Su Bai reminded her.
Xiao Lingxi pursed her lips and muttered, "As if I'd want to go back home."
"Oh?"
Su Bai raised an eyebrow, seeming somewhat intrigued.
Goodness.
A rebellious runaway girl?
Then he definitely couldn't take her in!
If he did, and her parents came looking for trouble in a few days, what then?
"If you want to join the Heavenly Dao Sect, that's fine — have your parents come with you. Otherwise, I have no desire to become a kidnapper!"
Su Bai said with a straight face. Then, with a single Spatial Step, he strode into the main hall and slammed the door shut with a bang.
"Hey, hey... you..."
Xiao Lingxi was left standing there, rooted to the spot like a wooden statue.
* * *
"Sleep at midnight, wake at six — the King of Hell himself admires my constitution."
Early the next morning, Su Bai stretched lazily, loosened his limbs, and prepared to check on his disciple's overnight cultivation progress.
But the moment he opened the door, he was startled by the sight before him.
The entire hilltop had been swept spotlessly clean — not a single withered blade of grass, not a fallen leaf in sight. The buildings gleamed so brightly they could reflect light, without a trace of dust anywhere.
In many spots across the hilltop, pots of fresh flowers had been arranged as decoration, and a fragrant floral scent drifted through the air — mingled with a peculiar, mouthwatering aroma.
"Braised pork!"
Following the scent, Su Bai spotted a full spread of food laid out on a small wooden table nearby — a good seven or eight dishes, each one wafting an enticing fragrance.
Most notably, the large bowl of braised pork in the center: the meat glistened with rich sauce and plump fat, and at a single glance it stirred the hungry beast in Su Bai's stomach.
"Immortal Master, you're awake?"
Xiao Lingxi appeared from out of nowhere, and upon seeing him, she immediately ran over to Su Bai's side with a beaming smile, saying in a fawning tone, "I made this myself — won't you try some, Immortal Master?"
Waking up to a delicious meal already waiting for you — what kind of experience was that?
Before transmigrating, Su Bai — a homebody who had survived entirely on takeout — felt that happiness had come far too suddenly.
He picked up his chopsticks and popped a piece of braised pork into his mouth. The moment it touched his tongue, Su Bai froze as if time itself had stopped.
"How is it? Is it good?"
Xiao Lingxi asked with a grin, two shallow Dimples appearing on her cheeks.
She was supremely confident in her own cooking!
Her mother always said: the best way to attract a man is to first capture his stomach.
"Delicious. Absolutely delicious. Don't bother making it again next time."
Su Bai flashed away in an instant, making a decisive escape.
Water, water — where was the water!
"So good it made you fly?"
Watching Su Bai vanish with a single leap, Xiao Lingxi scratched her head.
Was it really that good?
Skeptically, Xiao Lingxi picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
The moment it entered, her expression became identical to Su Bai's from moments before.
The savory richness of the meat, the sweetness of the sugar — none of it could be tasted. Only one flavor echoed through her mouth.
It was as if she had gulped down a mouthful of salt all at once — the salt relentlessly assaulted her taste buds, refusing to subside.
Xiao Lingxi's eyes immediately turned red.
It was like going to a northeastern restaurant and telling the owner the portions were too small.
Like blindfolding a Cantonese person and making them take a bite of a ghost pepper.
Like ordering bubble tea with no bubbles but extra salt, thank you very much.