With a gentle spring breeze, Qin Luo and Zhu Xian walked across the wisteria-covered bridge and returned to the farmhouse courtyard.

Zhu Xian put the wild vegetables she had picked into a bamboo basket. "Brother Gou, I'm going to the river to wash the vegetables. You go and help me feed the chickens. There's corn in the warehouse."

How much should I feed it?

"A bowl of corn is enough."

Qin Luo arrived at the warehouse, where there was a granary. He found the bag that contained corn and filled a bowl with corn.

The chickens in the coop were all clucking. Qin Luo walked into the coop and poured the corn into a round plate. The chickens that were originally lying under the eaves all ran outside to eat the corn.

Qin Luo saw a few eggs in the henhouse. He went over and picked up an egg, which was still warm. He then put all the eggs in a bowl.

Aww~

The little white dog followed Qin Luo to the chicken coop. It wanted to taste the corn, but was pecked hard by the rooster next to it, and howled in pain.

The rooster continued to chase and peck at the little white dog.

The little white dog could only tuck its tail between its legs and escape from the chicken coop. Qin Luo smiled and shook his head when he saw this.

Qin Luo left the chicken coop carrying a bowl of eggs, while Zhu Xian returned to the yard carrying washed wild vegetables.

They went into the kitchen together.

"Brother Dog, put the eggs in the cupboard."

Zhu Xian put the washed wild vegetables into a pot to blanch them. Qin Luo opened the cupboard on the wall, which contained two porcelain basins, one filled with eggs and the other with lard.

"Brother Dog, could you please chop up the wild vegetables?"

How finely chopped do you want it?

"The more fragmented, the better."

Following Zhu Xian's instructions, Qin Luo picked up a kitchen knife and chopped the wild vegetables into small pieces.

Zhu Xian cleaned the wooden basin, then put the chopped wild vegetables Qin Luo had prepared into the basin, along with glutinous rice flour and water, and kneaded them into evenly sized green dumplings.

Qin Luo watched intently from the side. He had eaten many wild vegetable dumplings, but this was the first time he had seen how to make them.

Zhu Xian placed the wild vegetable dumplings in a steamer and steamed them over water. She casually wiped her hands with her clothes and said, "They'll be steaming for about half an incense stick's time. Let's go play in the yard for a while."

Qin Luo asked with a smile, "What games?"

"Let's have a good exchange of blows!"

"OK."

In the courtyard, Zhu Xian rolled up her sleeves, and the moment she clenched her fist, it resembled a towering peak.

Qin Luo extended his hand, "Please!"

Bang!

Zhu Xian moved with the speed of thunder. Her movements were agile, and as she clenched her fist and slammed it down, the surrounding space distorted and had a powerful suction force, crushing the fallen leaves around her.

Qin Luo remained calm as he parried with his palm. The ground shook the moment they collided.

Zhu Xian then kicked Qin Luo in the head with such speed that the sonic boom was like thunder.

Qin Luo reacted quickly, grabbing Zhu Xian's ankle and throwing her into the air.

Zhu Xian stomped through the void, shattering the space beneath her feet. Like a falling meteor, she threw another punch, her fist blazing with intense heat, causing ripples to spread through the air.

The firelight was reflected in Qin Luo's eyes. He threw a punch to meet the attack. When the two fists collided, the area within a ten-mile radius shook. The people in the mountains thought it was an earthquake.

Zhu Xian fought with increasing ferocity, and they continued to exchange blows, with no clear winner after many moves.

Zhu Xian stopped attacking. She looked at Qin Luo and said forcefully, "I don't need you to give way."

Qin Luo smiled slightly and said softly, "I'm not telling you to go all out. If we go all out, the world will probably be in chaos. Sparring is fine, but we should stop when we've reached a point."

"That's true."

Zhu Xian continued to stretch and loosen his muscles.

Qin Luo could sense Zhu Xian's powerful physical strength. Such terrifying power reminded him of Senior Brother Li, who had carried away the cauldron from Longhu Temple.

Senior Brother Li is born with superhuman strength.

I wonder if Zhu Xian was born that way.

"You're quite impressive. You can spar with me without using any magic. There are very few senior experts in the entire kingdom who can withstand two of my moves," Zhu Xian praised with a smile.

"A'Zhu, do you cultivate immortality?"

"I don't cultivate immortality."

Qin Luo remembered that the Prince of Zhenbei was also a very powerful martial artist with extremely high martial arts cultivation. With their resources, cultivating immortality should be a very simple matter. "Martial artists have much shorter lifespans than cultivators. Why don't you cultivate immortality?"

Zhu Xian stood with his hands behind his back, his handsome face radiating confidence. "My father told me to look inward, to seek the truth through my own actions, and not to rely on external forces. True strength lies in one's own inner strength."

"That makes sense."

Qin Luo nodded. "I share similar thoughts with your father. I believe that true strength lies in inner strength."

Zhu Xian looked at Qin Luo with great interest, "Then is your heart strong enough?"

Qin Luo clutched his chest. He could feel the five fragments of the Heavenly Dao within his body, an extremely terrifying power. "The power within me is beyond your imagination."

Zhu Xian didn't question it. She continued, "In my father's eyes, I'm a child who never grows up because he feels my heart isn't strong enough."

"Parents are all like that."

"no the same."

Zhu Xian's eyes narrowed slightly. "My father said that only when I can calmly accept everything that happens can I become a true strong person. I still can't do that now because many things affect my mood. Brother Gou, can you calmly accept everything that happens?"

"cannot."

Qin Luo answered truthfully.

"To be neither elated by external gains nor saddened by personal losses—only true sages can achieve this."

“My dad can do it.”

"Therefore, he is the emperor."

Zhu Xian stared into Qin Luo's eyes and said meaningfully, "Ying'er cultivates the Supreme Ruthless Path. If she succeeds in cultivating it, she will not only be able to calmly accept everything that happens, but also gain the ability to sense the connection between heaven and man, and become that one."

"That one?"

Qin Luo frowned slightly. He knew that the Imperial Advisor was also interested in the unity of heaven and man, and Hua Ying was very likely a product of the unity of heaven and man. He just didn't know the Imperial Advisor's ultimate goal.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!