Faces Blackened
After being astonished, Luo Lan-qing bowed deeply to Chen Ping'an.
"Thank you for the opportunity, senior!"
Chen Ping'an had initially thought Luo Lan-qing would praise his formidable musical skills. When she said those words instead, he was puzzled for a moment.
Opportunity?
I didn't offer you any food.
Oh, perhaps she gained some insights from listening to my music?
Chen Ping'an smiled, "No need to thank me."
Seeing Chen Ping'an's gracious and kind demeanor, Mu Rong-xue and the others felt that the senior was truly benevolent.
Mu Rong-xue said, "Senior, we have no other matters, so we'll take our leave now."
Luo Lan-qing nodded as well. Her goal for this visit had been accomplished – she had met a true immortal. At this moment, Chen Ping'an's image was etched into her heart.
Immortals are indeed powerful!
The reason they were in such a hurry to leave was, of course, because of the sound-trapping stones! The two were eager to see if that piece of music had been recorded properly. Or rather, to listen to the music in the sound-trapping stones and see if they could gain any insights from it.
If so, they would be able to achieve immortality in one fell swoop. Gaining hundreds of insights in a single day would no longer be a dream.
Chen Ping'an raised his brows with a smile, "Be careful on your way back."
Mu Rong-xue and the other nodded again. Before leaving, they spent some time playing with Su Ling.
Finally, Mu Rong-xue remembered one thing and said to Chen Ping'an, "Senior, that strike in the secret realm was too powerful. It may attract many experts from the continents."
Hearing these words, Chen Ping'an was confused.
What does that mean?
After Mu Rong-xue finished speaking, she waved at Su Ling and left in a flash of light.
However, unbeknownst to them, as they departed, two streaks of light had silently entered their clothes from the courtyard.
Chen Ping'an watched the two disappear into the horizon, no longer pondering Mu Rong-xue's puzzling words. Instead, he felt envious.
"Cultivators are indeed formidable. But no use envying them. As for my system tasks, over a hundred remain, and who knows when the next one will trigger."
Chen Ping'an shook his head, took Su Ling's hand, and entered the courtyard.
After flying for some distance, Mu Rong-xue spotted a suitable mountaintop and landed there decisively.
The two women exchanged a smile.
"Come, let's listen to it first."
Mu Rong-xue took out her sound-trapping stone and began channeling spiritual energy into it, eager to activate it.
Since re-recording a sound would erase the previous one, the cultivation insights from the expert were now gone. As soon as it activated, a melody rang out.
Upon hearing the music, their eyes lit up with comprehension.
The state of insight had arrived!
Overjoyed, they hastily closed their eyes.
After one piece of music, Mu Rong-xue had gained two insights, directly breaking through to the peak of the Yuan Ying realm!
Just one more step, and she would reach the Separation of Avatar realm!
Thinking of this, she trembled with excitement.
To have such a young avatar soul, isn't that terrifying?
As for Luo Lan-qing, she gained four insights in total.
One insight, one realm breakthrough – the pattern continued.
In an instant, she became a peak Condensation realm expert!
Soon to join the ranks of the Yuan Ying realm!
The two women smiled at each other, faces flushed with excitement.
They prepared to listen again, hoping to break through in one go.
However.
Just as Mu Rong-xue channeled spiritual energy into the sound-trapping stone again, an accident occurred.
Bang!
The entire sound-trapping stone exploded!
A cloud of black smoke instantly enveloped the two of them.
After the mountain wind cleared, they finally saw a figure covered head to toe in black standing opposite them.
Their clothes were now covered in black ash.
Their faces had turned black too!
They stared dumbly at the other party.
Then they looked at the exploded sound-trapping stone and gulped hard.
Single-use?!
The two women smiled wryly.
It seemed they had been too ambitious.
To think they could ascend to immortality in a single step... how laughable.
Perhaps this was the senior's warning to them, or a way of pointing out their folly.
There is nothing in this world that can elevate one to immortality in an instant!
Luo Lan-qing wasn't discouraged, as she still had one more stone.
However, she didn't plan to listen to it now, intending to bring it back and listen with her father the King.
To see if it could help her father break through his current realm.
The two sighed and began cleaning themselves up.
However.
As they washed their faces, they realized in astonishment that the black stains simply wouldn't come off!!
The two were dumbfounded.
Disheveled by the mountain wind.
...
Atop the Leaning Mountain Sect's peak, Luo Shao-jie sat on a large boulder, biting his nails in boredom.
"Why aren't their positions changing?"
Luo Shao-jie was getting quite bored waiting. He had even stopped fanning himself, tossing the folding fan aside.
"Ugh, who knows when they'll be back."
Luo Shao-jie sighed repeatedly.
But just as he finished speaking, a beam of light flashed down behind him.
Seeing the flash, Luo Shao-jie whipped his head around instantly.
Upon seeing Mu Rong-xue and Luo Lan-qing, he glanced surreptitiously at the compass again.
That's strange!
Weren't they motionless just now?
Luo Shao-jie frowned.
His gaze fell on Mu Rong-xue's shoulder.
When he noticed the object was gone, he fell speechless.
It had dropped off?
He felt quite vexed.
But his vexation didn't last long, for he noticed that the two women had bound their faces tightly with cloth, leaving only their eyes visible.
"What's going on with you two?" he asked in puzzlement.
But before they could respond, he sensed their cultivation auras in the next moment, and his heart seemed to stop.
His whole body turned to wood.
This... this can't be possible!
I must be seeing things?
Definitely seeing things!
To confirm his doubts, Luo Shao-jie rapidly rubbed his eyes with his hands.
Yet, the scene before him remained unchanged.
Peak of Yuan Ying realm!
Peak of Condensation realm!
Gulping hard, Luo Shao-jie swallowed thickly.
Just a few incense sticks ago, his cousin was at the eighth level of the Yuan Ying realm.
But now!
She had become a Yuan Ying realm peak expert!
As for Luo Lan-qing, not long ago she was merely at the second level of the Condensation realm.
Yet now, she was a Condensation realm peak expert!
An entire eight levels of advancement!
Heavens, are you playing tricks on me?!
Is such a breakthrough even possible in this world?!
Luo Shao-jie could no longer hold back, "Cousin, Xiao Qing, I find the scenery around the Leaning Mountain Sect quite pleasant. I'll take a stroll, you two continue chatting!"
With that, he flew off.
Mu Rong-xue and the other watched Luo Shao-jie's hurried departure but paid him no mind.
Instead, they swiftly rushed toward a certain location.
They needed to find a way to remove those black stains!
At this moment, they both felt like crying!
Why did this happen?!
Meanwhile, Luo Shao-jie flew at top speed away from the Leaning Mountain Sect, hastily taking out his compass.
"I'll follow the path they previously took. I'm sure I can find it! I want to break through too. I want to become the number one genius of the kingdom!"
Luo Shao-jie's heart raced as he followed the flight path Mu Rong-xue and the others had taken earlier.
That breakthrough speed...it was terrifying!
He wanted to experience it too!
At that moment, in the town of Serenity Stream, Chen Ping'an was playing with Su Ling when he got a craving for some snacks.
The first thing that came to mind was french fries.
As good a chef as Su Ling was, she had definitely never tasted those.
This world, however, didn't have potatoes.
"I could fry some yams instead!"
Fried yams were also delicious.
And he remembered there were some wild yams growing in the small forest not far from town.
This was the perfect chance to take Su Ling on a little nature outing and dig some up.
The yams could also be used to make a yam soup later tonight.
Mind made up, Chen Ping'an grabbed some tools and had Su Ling carry a basket as they left the courtyard.
After walking for about the time it took to burn an incense stick, a figure suddenly descended from the sky in front of the courtyard's main gate.
It was Luo Shao-jie.
Luo Shao-jie examined the surroundings carefully.
"This is where that treasure disappeared..."
He narrowed his eyes, scanning the area.
Finally, in front of the large courtyard gate, he spotted the tiny rice grain-sized object.
He approached and looked at the courtyard before him.
The main gate was left open.
"The tracking bead dropped right in front of this open gate. Could they have entered here?"
Luo Shao-jie pondered briefly but quickly dropped the thought.
Pocketing the compass, he stepped into the courtyard...