Chapter 91 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City): Who am I? Where am I? Am I catching someone cheating...?

Yao Sisi and Tang Yan soon arrived at the peach grove. This area was not purely peach blossoms; other fruit tree flowers were interspersed among them. It was only because there were more peach blossoms that it looked like a peach grove.

They walked on the soft ground, the ground covered in pink, a truly relaxing sight.

Yao Sisi said to Tang Yan, "You've chosen a good place."

The two walked deep into the peach grove. She used her divine sense to survey the area and found no one nearby. She then randomly chose a spot with a pile of stones, sat down in front of it, and set up a soundproof barrier around them so that no one outside could hear what they said inside.

Yao Sisi stretched out her hand and said to the obedient disciple beside her, "Let me see your hand. This time I'll go slowly and use the wood elemental energy I've drawn from the surrounding area to probe it. It shouldn't hurt too much."

Tang Yan nodded and slowly extended his palm upwards. Seeing his pale face and thin figure, Yao Sisi comforted him, "Tell me if it hurts too much, don't try to tough it out."

Qi Mu, who flew in from the other side of the mountain, originally wanted to go up and say hello, but in his eyes there was only Yao Sisi, and he didn't care who was beside her.

But he noticed that the boy was following her closely, so close that he had to notice him. They walked for a while, then stopped and said something, but he was too far away to hear.

The smile that had been lingering on her lips slowly faded away in this situation.

"Where did this disciple come from? So unruly, walking alongside a Golden Core cultivator without falling behind by even half a step, and even showing signs of surpassing him."

He saw the two of them walk towards the peach grove, and the purple bamboo leaves at their feet rose into the air. He didn't intend to leave silently. He wanted to find her. They hadn't seen each other for many days, and he couldn't let others interfere.

Purple Leaf Bamboo moved quickly, but it twisted and turned through the dense peach grove. Just as it saw the person it was looking for, the boy stretched out his hand to it. It pursed its lips and, somewhat unhappy, knocked away the peach blossom branch that was blocking its view. The person inside said something and then disappeared from the spot before it could get close.

When Yao Sisi saw the junior disciple reach out his hand, she imagined that the scene that was about to happen might resemble her bullying her disciple. She quickly threw a concealment array outside the soundproof barrier. This was a ready-made array plate that she had bought, and the array could be set up instantly.

"I've set up a concealment array outside, so no one can see us. I'll check your cultivation technique later to avoid being discovered by others. Is that alright?"

Tang Yan nodded: "Disciple will listen to Uncle-Master."

Yao Sisi transformed a wisp of wood spiritual energy and probed it into his meridians. Wood spiritual energy was much gentler than her own spiritual energy. She saw that although the boy's expression was somewhat painful, he could still endure it, which was much better than before.

After she used her wood-elemental energy to travel through his meridians, she told him what she had found: "Your meridians are all strained and damaged. No wonder you're in so much pain. Show me your cultivation technique so I can see what's wrong."

Tang Yan's originally pale face turned slightly red from the pain, and the mole on his face made him look somewhat striking. When Yao Sisi saw him obediently take out the cultivation technique jade slip, she probed into it with her spiritual sense to check the technique.

Before reaching the Golden Core stage, cultivators usually prefer to hold the jade slip to their forehead when examining it, because their spiritual sense is relatively weak at that time. Only a very few people who have deliberately cultivated their spiritual sense can directly examine it with their spiritual sense when their cultivation level is low. Yao Sisi could do this before, and she can do it now.

After probing with her spiritual sense, she discovered that the technique was quite good; if it wasn't Heaven-rank, it must be Earth-rank. No wonder this disciple was so cautious. Her spiritual sense was strong, and because of her high cultivation level, unlike the junior disciple who could only read the first half of the jade slip, she could quickly flip through the rest.

About fifteen minutes later, Yao Sisi figured out what was going on. She frowned, which made Tang Yan, who was standing next to her, tense up, afraid that he would hear some bad news.

Yao Sisi opened her eyes and said to him, "Your technique is good, but it's not suitable for you."

Tang Yan's eyes dimmed, and he felt extremely disappointed. This was the best cultivation technique he had obtained so far.

Even though he can enter the library, there are still restrictions once inside. The areas for inner and outer disciples are completely different, and depending on their aptitude, they won't be allowed to get close to the Heaven-rank cultivation techniques, let alone make copies of them.

He really didn't want to give up this skill.

Seeing his distress, Yao Sisi quickly said, "Don't worry, I haven't finished yet. This technique is indeed quite powerful, even comparable to the Heavenly Rank. The reason it's not suitable for you is because it comes from a half-demon senior. He has demon blood in his body, so his meridians are inherently stronger and thicker than ordinary people. If you want to learn this technique, it's not impossible."

Tang Yan's eyes lit up. If he could learn such a technique, his future would be very bright.

Yao Sisi praised, "Your cultivation method advances faster than ordinary methods because the meridians are stronger and absorb spiritual energy more effectively and efficiently. If you want to cultivate it, you need to equip yourself with a special method for cultivating meridians to make them more robust. Then, you can slowly combine it with the cultivation method. Don't rush to cultivate the method before your meridians are fully repaired, or you will suffer again."

Tang Yan nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with admiration: "I'll listen to whatever you say, Uncle-Master!"

Yao Sisi coughed lightly. She appreciated the admiring looks from these younger disciples, but she also felt a little embarrassed.

"It's not just the methods for cultivating meridians; body cultivation techniques also have an effect. In fact, it's best to cultivate both body and techniques to unleash their true power. However, body cultivation is a bit arduous. But I also cultivate my body. Go to the library and look for body cultivation techniques first. If you really can't find them, come back to me!"

How could Tang Yan dare to bother her again with matters concerning the law?

He was already very satisfied to receive guidance.

He was probably happy from the inside out; his whole being was filled with a light and joyful aura.

Yao Sisi beckoned to him: "Your meridians are injured. I'll use my wood spirit energy to soothe them first. Then you can buy a bottle of meridian-nourishing pills yourself. You'll probably need to keep these pills on hand from now on. Meridian issues are no small matter, so don't delay."

Yao Sisi wasn't a pure wood spirit root, so the wood spirit energy she extracted still caused Tang Yan some pain. She had slowed down the healing process, but he was still sweating on his forehead, and his lips were bitten so badly they turned red and started to bleed. He looked miserable and pitiful.

She couldn't bear it any longer and handed him her sleeve. "If it hurts, bite my sleeve. Just bear with it a little longer, we're already halfway there."

Tang Yan's eyes were a little moist. Seeing how considerate this exceptionally talented junior uncle was, he was so moved that he almost cried, but...

He didn't want to get her cuffs dirty.

Seeing that he was in so much pain and still didn't know what he was worried about, Yao Sisi sometimes really didn't understand why these teenagers were so awkward, what their little brains were imagining. She directly pulled her sleeve to his mouth and forced him to bite it.

She let out a long sigh and focused once again on nourishing his meridians. His meridians were already severely damaged, and she had no other effective medicine on hand, so this was the only way to help him repair them as quickly as possible.

She was also concentrating rapidly, afraid of accidentally using too much force. Not only was Tang Yan covered in sweat, but she herself also had fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead.

"Although the Meridian Nourishing Pill can repair your meridians, it's more effective for a high-level cultivator to use spiritual energy to repair them. The last wave might be more painful, so just bear with it!"

The Meridian Nourishing Pill can only restore his meridians to their original state, and it may not be able to fully restore them. There may even be some pill poison left. However, using spiritual energy to infuse his meridians ensured that his meridians were not injured in vain. At least the meridians that were stretched open during his previous cultivation were preserved.

The spiritual energy circulated throughout his body one last time, leaving almost no spot untouched. In fact, Yao Sisi could have stopped right now, which would have prevented any problems with his meridians for the time being. But since she had already gone this far, she might as well continue to help him infuse his meridians.

This is something only the closest people, such as teachers or mentors, would do. It is not only time-consuming but also energy-intensive, and other people would not have such good intentions.

Tang Yan clearly realized that his martial uncle was actually wasting his time to infuse his meridians, and his heart felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer, making him buzz.

Isn't he incredibly lucky?

In the final stage of the meridian infusion, he not only felt swollen and painful but also numb and itchy. This was because his meridians had been damaged before and were now being nourished by spiritual energy and slowly healing, which brought about the itchy feeling. He bit her sleeve, and his groans gradually changed.

As darkness fell, Yao Sisi spent several hours completing the meridian infusion procedure, and both of them looked somewhat disheveled.

She herself was fine; apart from her sleeve being bitten to pieces, she felt pretty good afterward. She didn't have to concentrate as much, and she felt much more relaxed. Tang Yan, on the other hand, was in pain for a long time, and her whole body felt weak.

Yao Sisi removed the concealment formation and said to him, "There is a young master Qi on my peak. He has a wood spirit root and it is extremely pure. If he is here, you will suffer less."

Tang Yan breathed slowly, having just recovered from his previous experience. He nodded upon hearing her words. He had heard of her, but not much; he only knew that she was an alchemist with excellent aptitude.

Yao Sisi noticed that he was in much better condition, so she decided to leave. She had wasted too much time here. She put away the soundproof cover and left with him. However, she did not expect that after taking only a few steps, she saw a familiar figure not far away. He was quietly leaning against the peach tree, his eyes closed in deep thought, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Yao Sisi was taken aback. "Huh? What brings you here?"

Seeing the spiritual light shimmering around him, she realized he had recently broken through and was still adjusting to containing his spiritual energy. "Late Foundation Establishment stage! That's fast!"

Qi Mu glanced at her, his gaze lingered on her sleeve, then turned sharply to the boy behind him.

Tang Yan had just realized there were outsiders present, and they were even acquaintances of his martial uncle. Realizing that he had just been somewhat disheveled and his disheveled appearance was extremely impolite, he hurriedly straightened his clothes and Obito's hem while the two were talking.

The Dust Removal Technique can only remove surface dust, but it cannot smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes; some marks on his body simply cannot be removed.

Qi Mu's body was a little unsteady, especially when he saw the disciple's panicked expression. He wished he could stab him through with his sword. He heard his own voice was stiff and unpleasant, "Why did you come to such a remote place?"

Just as Yao Sisi was about to answer, she suddenly remembered her promise to this disciple to keep the secret of the cultivation technique. She couldn't very well bring it up in front of him, so she said, "I took him to take care of some things, and now that we're done, let's go back!"

Tang Yan bowed to him, and realizing he wasn't feeling well, he bowed again and said, "Please take your leave, my two senior uncles."

Yao Sisi waved her hand at him: "Go on, go on!"

Even after everyone else had left, Qi Mu was still not over it. He found his mind blank and didn't know how to ask about it. His mind was filled with resentful questions: Why can he do it but I can't?

Where did I go wrong?

He felt that the peach orchard in front of him had become extremely hateful, and he wished he could uproot them all.

Seeing that his spiritual energy was unstable, Yao Sisi quickly comforted him, "Young Master, you should go back to seclusion and consolidate your cultivation."

Qi Mu looked at her, a hint of accusation flashing in his eyes. Was this about consolidating his cultivation? His unstable spiritual energy was entirely due to anger, anger, you know!

Yao Sisi sensed that something was wrong with his mood and quickly asked, "What's wrong? Could it be that you've encountered a mental demon tribulation while breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage?"

Qi Mu was so angry that he choked on his words, and said in despair, "Yes, I just went through a tribulation of inner demons, a very big one!"

Yao Sisi thought to herself: So that's how it is. No wonder he has such a bad temper and seems to want to destroy the entire sect. What kind of inner demon tribulation is this? It's so terrifying!

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

Author's Note: The story is gradually heading towards a chaotic and tragic situation...