"..."

Xu Yunfan’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly suppressed the heat rising from his lower abdomen and said calmly, "Thank you for your kind intentions, Senior Sisters. I appreciate the thought, but I have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave."

Before Cyan Simurgh and Peony could say anything, he stepped out of the courtyard and hurried away, carrying his damaged Thunderfire Qilin Hammer.

Peony said with a hint of regret, "What a shame. If we could latch onto Senior Brother Xu, we wouldn’t have to work so hard."

Cyan Simurgh didn’t speak. She just stared blankly in the direction Xu Yunfan had disappeared, not even blinking.

Cyan Pine’s teasing laugh came from the side. "Senior Sister Peony, you’ve got it all planned out. If I were a woman, I’d definitely throw myself at Senior Brother Xu. Unlike you two—if the Sect Leader hadn’t personally approved it, who would dare have you come perform the Nine Revolutions Palace-Advancing Hand?"

Peony feigned annoyance. "You little rascal. You’re not that old, but you talk like a world-weary old man."

Seeing Peony’s alluringly peeved expression, Cyan Pine shuddered and instinctively hunched over.

"Senior Sister, I... I have things to do! As a Daoist Child serving the Sect Leader, I can’t be away for too long..."

"..."

-----------------

’Those two sirens!’

Xu Yunfan exhaled. The graceful figures of Cyan Simurgh and Peony, their every frown and smile, still lingered in his mind.

He frowned slightly and formed the Linn Character Seal with one hand in front of his chest. After silently reciting the Supreme Kindness Heart Spell twice, he completely eradicated the emotions stemming from his body’s base instincts.

’I wonder what the purpose was in letting those two in.’

In Martial Dao cultivation, a Martial Artist’s physique grows strong and their Blood Qi flourishes. As a result, the body’s various instinctual desires are infinitely magnified.

After their flesh, muscles, and bones are tempered a thousand times, every drop of blood boils like lava, and the breaths drawn by their internal organs seem to churn with wind and thunder.

Such a powerful physique brought not only strength but also a hundredfold expansion of carnal desires, murderous intent, and the will to compete. When hungry, they could devour tigers and leopards whole. When enraged, they wanted to shatter mountains and split seas. Even their breathing could whip the surrounding air into a violent vortex.

Without the discipline of a Martial Arts Heart Realm, a Martial Artist is like an out-of-control weapon of destruction.

Xu Yunfan had seen many Martial Artists suffer a backlash from their own Martial Power, becoming mere slaves to their physical desires, soaking in brothels all day without moving an inch.

This state was all because they failed to control their power with their mind, and were instead enslaved by their Blood Qi.

The Linn Character Technique suppressed distracting thoughts, and the Supreme Kindness Heart Spell turned the hard into soft. This reflected the ultimate principle described in the Linn Character Technique: "Fierce fire forges the Golden Body, still water cleanses demonic thoughts." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Right now, although the golden paste-like Blood Qi in his sea of marrow was still surging, it was like a flood dragon entering an abyss—wild but not chaotic.

The Dragon and Tiger Hibernation Skill was even better at concealing his power, completely suppressing the various desires born from his supremely powerful physique.

After some thought, Xu Yunfan had a faint suspicion. Perhaps Bi Yuan thought he was too young and his strength was advancing by leaps and bounds, so he had secretly sent the two women over.

It was ostensibly to lend him a helping hand, but to put it bluntly, it was to alleviate the pressure of the various desires tangled within his body.

Xu Yunfan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If he didn’t have the Linn Character Technique and his Attribute Panel, if he had just broken through one barrier after another in his cultivation without letting each realm settle, the various desires in his body would naturally run wild like a horse that had broken its reins.

But in fact, every step he took now was far steadier than ninety-nine percent of the Martial Artists in the world.

When he reached the Guest Hall halfway up Qingwei Mountain and saw his master, Zhan Yan, again, the man was already packing his luggage.

Seeing Zhan Yan packing his things, Xu Yunfan grew anxious and hurried forward. "Master, you’re leaving already?"

Zhan Yan stopped what he was doing, a smile spreading across his face when he saw Xu Yunfan.

"I was waiting for you, kid. Otherwise, I would’ve left this morning."

"How could I possibly stay for a few more days?"

Zhan Yan clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "Silly kid. My business in the Taoist Sect is done. I’ve landed a huge order, enough to keep the Celestial Craft Cave fed and clothed for ten years."

A look of gratification flashed in his eyes. "You cultivating in the Taoist Sect is actually a blessing for the Celestial Craft Cave. With a Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm True Inheritor like you standing guard, once word gets out, not even the Profound Daoist Sect will dare to touch the Celestial Craft Cave."

Hearing this, Xu Yunfan’s tense expression relaxed slightly, but he was still reluctant to part. "But I’ve only just joined the Taoist Sect. I haven’t even had a chance to fulfill my filial duties..."

Zhan Yan laughed heartily and interrupted, "The path of the Martial Dao is long. Does the bond between us, master and disciple, depend on being together day and night? Sect Leader Bi Yuan treats you well. The Golden Locking Jade Twelve Formulas is a supreme secret teaching, and the Taoist Sect’s Divine Skills and Supreme Arts are all-encompassing. You just focus on your cultivation."

As he spoke, he pointed to the Tongxuan Order on the small table. "With this, you can return to the Celestial Craft Cave to visit anytime. Are you afraid I’m going to run away or something?"

Seeing that his master’s mind was made up, Xu Yunfan said no more. He cupped his fist in a solemn salute. "I will not fail to live up to your expectations, Master."

Zhan Yan nodded in satisfaction. Before leaving, he lowered his voice again. "The Taoist Sect’s waters run deep. Although Bi Yuan holds you in high regard, don’t tread lightly into places like the Nine Lock Heart Inquiry Formation or the Sword Burial Abyss. The bigger the Sect, the more entrenched and complicated the various factions become. There are many small cliques, so you must be cautious in your words and actions."

He glanced at the faint figure of a Daoist Child outside the hall. "If you run into trouble, send a message to the Celestial Craft Cave under the guise of forging. No one can decipher our ’Thousand Mechanism Secret Language’. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll come and help you!"

A warmth spread through Xu Yunfan’s heart, and he nodded heavily.

Xu Yunfan escorted Zhan Yan all the way to the mountain gate. He watched until his master’s figure vanished at the end of the cloud-wreathed plank road, where four Taoist Sect experts were waiting under orders to escort Zhan Yan back to the Celestial Craft Cave.

He rubbed the Dragon Swallowing Mouth on his back and stood there for a long time. The Thunderfire Qilin Hammer was so severely damaged that Zhan Yan had taken it with him to see if it could be repaired.

After a long while, Xu Yunfan finally turned around. He was about to head to the Langhuan Book Tower to find a mace technique, but he suddenly stopped.

As he turned, his feet froze.

On the cyan stone steps ahead, a tall man in a cyan, cloud-patterned robe stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The mountain wind stirred the hem of his Daoist robe, revealing an ancient longsword hanging at his waist.

The man had Sword Eyebrows that slanted up into his temples, and his eyes were as clear and bright as cold stars. He had a strong, straight nose and a grim set to his lips. He was like a sharp sword with its edge concealed—unsheathed, yet already exuding a soul-stirring presence.

The aura around him was as deep and still as an abyss, and with every breath, his internal organs rumbled like the roar of a dragon and the cry of a tiger. He had clearly cultivated the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm to its absolute peak. His golden marrow mercury paste had almost solidified, and he was just one step away from entering the Organ Cultivation Realm.

Even more astonishingly, within a thirty-foot radius of where he stood, fallen leaves swirled in a spiral without any wind. This was the anomaly that occurred when one cultivated the Golden Locking Jade Twelve Formulas to the realm of "Seven Decisions to Open the Heavenly Gate in the Body."

Xu Yunfan’s eyebrows rose slightly, and the leaves of his Dragon Scale Armor silently tensed.

This was none other than Chu Cangming, the first and foremost True Inheritor disciple of the Taoist Sect Leader, Bi Yuan. Known as the "Cyan Sky Sword Spirit," he had once, at the peak of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm, shattered the Profound Iron Heavy Rod of an Organ Cultivation Realm Elder from Mituo Temple with a single sword strike during the Various Sects Martial Arts Performance, becoming famous throughout the world.

His gaze flickered as he noticed the dark golden sheen of the Dragon Scale Armor leaves under Xu Yunfan’s robes, and a slight smile touched his lips.

"Xu Yunfan, Junior Brother Xu?"

(More to come later, currently typing)