Chapter 6: The Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art

Slowly, a faint look of appreciation surfaced on Lu Liqian's exquisite, jade-like face.

"Hmph. Catch."

Lu Nanling's eyes flickered. He glanced at the young woman, then gave his robe sleeve a light flick. A thin paper booklet flew out from his cuff and landed gently in Li Qingyun's raised hands.

"Hmph. Wanjin, take your Junior Brother and get him settled. Hmm — put him in a second… hmm, second-class room."

Lu Nanling, seated at the head of the grand hall, smiled with calm indifference and waved Li Qingyun and Lin Wanjin away, dismissing them.

Li Qingyun tucked the thin paper booklet into his breast pocket. A trace of joy crossed his pale, handsome face. He bowed once more to Lu Nanling and his daughter, then turned and walked out of the hall.

The soft afternoon sunlight crept through the main doors and fell upon the young man's figure — slender and upright as a spring sapling. It cast a brilliant golden halo around his shoulders, lending him an air of elegance and vitality that, for a moment, eclipsed the frailty he usually carried.

Lu Liqian's eyes brightened ever so slightly. She found herself following his retreating silhouette until Li Qingyun disappeared from the hall alongside Lin Wanjin.

Once the rather dull formalities were concluded and the attending disciples dismissed, Lu Nanling lifted his teacup and took a slow sip, lost in thought.

He looked toward Lu Liqian, his smile carrying a note of fond indulgence.

"Don't tell me you've taken a liking to that boy?"

"His background is decent enough, and he's reasonably handsome, I'll grant you that. But he has not a trace of Dao Bone or Spiritual Root. And just now, looking at him, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were all dim and listless — clearly a man of no self-restraint, frivolous by nature. He's entirely unworthy of you, even as a mere cover…"

As he spoke, Lu Nanling's gaze drifted involuntarily toward the young woman's abdomen, his expression growing complicated and unreadable.

Beneath her loosely draped moon-white Daoist robe, Lu Liqian's belly appeared flat and unremarkable — nothing outwardly amiss.

Yet both father and daughter knew full well that it would not stay hidden for much longer.

"Word has come from the Sect. Young Master Yan finished his travels last month and, upon returning, successfully achieved Foundation Establishment in one attempt. He has since been elevated to Inner Sect Disciple. Both the Sect and the Yan family hold him in the highest regard and intend to cultivate him as a priority."

"How could I burden Young Master Yan at a time like this? It would only distract him and ruin his bright future. So I must do as he said — find someone to serve as a cover first…"

Her long, ink-black hair swayed gently. When Lu Liqian spoke of "Young Master Yan," her delicate features seemed to glow, her eyes brimming with tender admiration and longing.

Her expression grew distant, as though she were lost in the memory of the two months she and Young Master Yan had spent together, day and night.

"Alas. But now that you are with child, there is no time to waste."

Lu Nanling let out a helpless sigh, a faint undercurrent of regret in his voice. He had been too indulgent with his daughter over the years — and now it had come to this.

He turned the jade ruler over in his hands, then gave a slight nod. "That Li Qingyun is a waste — he cannot cultivate Dharma Power and has no hope of walking the Dao path. And he seems honest enough, even a little soft-natured. He'd be easy to manage."

"Since you've taken some interest in him, try getting to know him. If it doesn't work out, find someone else quickly. Personally, I think that Gu Zijian would do nicely — he's honest and simple-hearted, and he's clearly besotted with you. He'd make a good backup candidate…"

"Gu Zijian?" Lu Liqian's face immediately twisted with distaste. "That stocky, coarse-looking oaf? How could he possibly be worthy of me! Even if I'm just looking for someone to play the part, the least I can do is find someone as refined and handsome as that Li Qingyun!"

"Fine, fine. Do as you wish. Your father only has one thing to say — don't drag your feet."

A long, drawn-out sigh echoed through the bright hall once more.

* * *

"Junior Brother Qingyun, that's about all there is to know about the temple! I'll take my leave now — if you have any questions in the future, feel free to come find me!"

A row of bamboo cottages nestled among maple trees and lush greenery. Lin Wanjin settled Li Qingyun into Room Bing-Seven, gave him a brief rundown of daily life on the rear mountain, then bid farewell with a cheerful grin.

"Take care, Senior Brother!"

Li Qingyun, now dressed in a fresh set of cyan Daoist robes, stood at the doorway of the bamboo cottage and watched as Lin Wanjin took a few steps, flickered, and vanished without a trace. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

A cool mountain breeze swept past, carrying a faint chill that brushed against him — yet somehow, it left his heart feeling more settled than before.

He lifted the swaying door curtain and stepped back inside.

The cottage was not particularly large. Two beds were arranged on either side of the room, with a clear division down the middle. Each side had a writing desk and a wooden cabinet for clothes and miscellaneous belongings — clearly a double occupancy room.

He walked toward the bed on the left — his assigned bunk at Lingbao Temple.

Compared to the right side, his spot was noticeably dimmer. The right side not only faced the cottage door but also claimed the only window in the room — prime real estate.

He glanced at the desk by the right-side window. His roommate had apparently rushed out without tidying up: two half-finished Talisman Papers lay scattered on the surface, along with droplets of Cinnabar and gold powder, a brush rest, and other odds and ends.

"This roommate of mine, He Xiao — it looks like he's set his sights on the path of Talisman Arts…"

From Lin Wanjin's introduction, Li Qingyun had learned that he was actually being treated rather well. Most newcomers to Lingbao Temple were placed directly in third-class rooms upon arrival. He had been given a second-class bamboo cottage right from the start.

A third-class room, as it turned out, was a communal bunk hall.

One room packed full — at least seven or eight people crammed in together, the air thick with the smell of feet, and nights spent enduring a symphony of snoring from every direction.

He couldn't help but recall the moment back in Lu Nanling's courtyard when Keeper Lu had changed his mind at the last second and assigned him to a second-class room.

"It seems I've benefited a little from Senior Sister Lu's favor after all…"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of the young man's lips.

Without further delay, Li Qingyun set about tidying up. He changed the bamboo mat and bedding, then swept the desk and the entire cottage clean.

He was a tidy person by nature — he simply could not abide a messy room.

He also carefully rewrapped the gold and silver valuables from his pack in several layers and locked them away in one of the cabinet compartments.

For the time being, he wasn't particularly worried about theft.

Lin Wanjin had told him that while the rear mountain was generally loosely managed, Lingbao Temple took an extremely dim view of stealing from fellow disciples. Anyone caught would be severely punished and expelled from the mountain without exception.

In the temple's eyes, stealing from a fellow disciple was no different from severing their path of cultivation — an unforgivable offense.

Besides, the gold and silver he carried were mundane goods by any measure. They weren't Spirit Stones. No one would risk their standing here to steal something so ordinary.

After finishing his tidying, Li Qingyun wiped the sweat from his brow and finally sat down to read through the introductory Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art booklet.

"From here on, it truly will be nothing but a lone lamp for company — that old slave Yin Xunshan wasn't wrong about that."

"Well, no matter. Let me first take a look at this Treasure Furnace Qi Absorption Art. I'm the type who won't give up until I've hit a wall…"

With that thought, he quickly composed himself, his entire being settling into stillness.

The booklet was thin — fewer than ten pages of content beyond the cover — yet it represented the supreme transcendent power of this world.

He opened it. A fresh, clean scent of ink drifted out — clearly the finest and most expensive ink, and the text had been copied not long ago.

"What is Dharma? It is the manifestation of the Great Dao. What is Power? It is the revealed might of Dharma…"

The moment he read the opening line, his eyes blazed with light — and from that point on, his gaze was as if glued to the words on the page.