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“Junior brother, you should have already heard what that elder said. Just wait until your spiritual power recovers before we talk about anything else.”
Chu Li clenched her fist gently, her gaze darkening. If possible, she hoped this matter would end here.
As long as neither of them mentions the matter again, she can attribute it all to the effects of the elixir, which caused her junior brother to act so outrageously.
But clearly the person sitting opposite him didn't think so. Nan Yi lowered his eyes and said slowly but firmly, "Senior sister, I heard everything you were saying outside."
At that time, the elder thought he had knocked him unconscious, but in reality, due to some experiences in his childhood, he was more resilient than the average person, so he actually woke up after a short while.
Moreover, he also heard the entire conversation between the elder and his senior sister within the domain.
Before his senior sister could think carefully about the meaning behind his words, he immediately said, "I know the effect of that pill is to amplify my desires—that's all, it doesn't create desires out of thin air. Senior sister, you should understand what I mean."
He raised his head, his eyes fixed on Chu Li, hoping to see a hint of relenting in her expression.
Chu Li covered her forehead helplessly and waved to the person opposite her: "Go back first, think it over carefully, and come find me again when your spiritual power recovers."
She was also thinking that the effects of the pills were still present, and arguing with him about these things would be pointless. It would be better to wait until he had fully recovered before discussing the matter.
But if he continues to insist on this, then she...
"Senior sister, can I...?"
"No way." Chu Li refused outright. Just by looking at Nan Yi's expression, she knew what he was going to say. It was one thing that she didn't understand his thoughts before, but how could she possibly agree to let him cultivate with her now?
"But I have no spiritual power..."
"This is the sect, it's very safe."
Knowing that Chu Li would not budge this time no matter what, Nan Yi got up and left with a somewhat gloomy expression.
Night was falling.
Chu Li unusually did not cultivate today, but instead lay on her back on the bed, her mind still racing with the events of the past few days.
She sighed for the umpteenth time. How did things turn out like this?
She had lived for quite some years, but had never sought a partner, though some monks had previously been fond of her.
But most people only dared to follow silently behind her, not daring to come forward. And as her cultivation level continued to rise, no one dared to get close.
Why is he so reckless when it comes to his junior brother?
Could it be that the elixir is so potent?
She wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping tonight; the fox next door also had trouble.
But what he felt most was excitement and longing.
Perhaps the pill was really effective. I hadn't felt it before because I was always with my senior sister in the secret realm, but now that we're separated, I really crave contact with her—any kind of contact would be fine.
The pill seemed to release all the desires he had been suppressing deep within his heart.
Any worries he had before now seemed insignificant to him.
The next morning, Chu Li arrived at the Wuxiang Palace.
"Did you gain anything from this trip?" the sect leader asked casually.
But when he saw Chu Li's hesitant expression, he couldn't help but change his expression. Could it be that their Wanxiang Sect's patriarch was bullied when he went out?
She silently mourned for the cultivator who bullied Chu Li. He was truly blind to have offended her master. Her master might regain his memories soon, and who knows if she would remember this incident then?
Even if her master hadn't recovered his strength, she wasn't worried at all that anyone could take advantage of this time to harm him. After all, her master was still covered in a protective golden light, which made him someone that just anyone could attack.
Chu Li briefly spoke with the sect leader about what happened in the secret realm. Of course, she skipped over the part about her and Nan Yi, only mentioning that her junior brother had lost spiritual power due to forcibly increasing his strength and now needed to recover.
"I have now ordered him to remain in seclusion until he is fully recovered before he can come out—I just wonder if Master has been a little freer lately?"
It took the sect leader a moment to realize that the "master" she was referring to was her. She laughed and tried to brush it off, as she hadn't heard the woman call her "master" in so long that she was momentarily stunned.
Then I focused my attention on her question, somewhat puzzled: "It's about the same as before."
The sect leader is responsible for handling sect affairs on a daily basis, and she's always very busy, especially lately when she needs to take care of disciples. I wonder where the previous disciples went; they didn't even bother to be considerate of her and help her with that noisy disciple.
She definitely wouldn't dare ask this person to help her raise the child; otherwise, what if her master regained his memories and remembered this incident along the way?
Tsk, she's a coward.
"Do you have time to take on another apprentice?"
"Huh? What?" The sect leader indicated that she hadn't heard clearly, and after Chu Li repeated it, she wished she hadn't heard it at all.
"Take on another apprentice... Could you be referring to Nan Yi?"
Chu Li lowered her eyelashes and did not speak, but simply nodded slightly.
Now that this has happened, even if she still treats him as her junior brother, it's not appropriate for her to personally guide him anymore, lest he develop more ideas later.
The sect leader's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the two of them had a falling out? That's why they were so eager to return him.
They must have just returned from the secret realm yesterday.
Could something unexpected have happened in the secret realm?
But no matter what the real situation was, she breathed a long sigh of relief after she came to her senses. Fortunately, it was this person, and this person was not here to learn anything.
Moreover, this time it was Chu Li who took the initiative to distance herself from him. She remembered Nan Yi's less-than-ideal intentions, but fortunately, the outcome wasn't too bad.
The room was dimly lit, with all sources of light blocked out, leaving only the faint glow of a candle burning by the door.
Nan Yi sat on the cushion, pressing hard against his abdomen. A few traces of pain slowly appeared on his face, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent, waiting for the expiration date to pass.
After a long while, the sudden force seemed to subside, and he slowly straightened up.
The alchemists in the Myriad Manifestations Sect may be quite skilled, but she probably doesn't know much about the pills of their fox clan.
The elixir he used this time was specially made for him by the clan.
On the surface, it seems to be a simple pill that enhances spiritual power, but in reality, its hidden effects are far more than that.
This is also related to his original situation; his original spiritual veins have been expanded to the width that the Nascent Soul stage can accommodate.
Therefore, the fox clan gave him an enhanced version of the elixir to protect him.
If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, consuming such a pill would likely cause them to explode and die immediately. However, due to his previous cultivation level, his situation was much better.
However, the side effects of this elixir are far more severe than those of ordinary elixirs.
During the period between swallowing the pill and fully recovering spiritual power, there will be a stinging sensation in the spiritual meridians near the abdomen from time to time.
But that wasn't what Nan Yi was really concerned about. He remembered that the fox clan's alchemist had told him that this substance should not be used too often.
Once used three times or more, his body will become completely useless, and no amount of treatment will be able to restore it.
Therefore, the alchemist only made one pill for him, in order to prevent him from swallowing multiple pills at once.
But now, Nan Yi ruthlessly pulled his tail close to him. Looking at the faint shadows around the tail, his hand holding the tail began to tremble slightly.
The candlelight stretched his shadow long, and his slightly swaying reflection was faintly visible on the wall behind him.
He still remembered the alchemist's last words: "With each pill you take, your cultivation level will regress."
This is the biggest side effect of this pill.
"Junior brother, have you thought this through?"
Chu Li did not expect that Nan Yi's recovery would take a whole month.
If you really think about it, they haven't seen each other this month. Nan Yi has been very obedient and has been staying in his room in seclusion.
Chu Li couldn't help but turn her head to look at his room. The room was different from the original one. Sometime later, the few windows that were already there had been sealed up.
"Senior sister," Nan Yi seemed to sense where her gaze was directed, and subconsciously shielded her with his body, a pale smile appearing on his face, "Do you wish to come to my room as a guest?"
Distracted by this, Chu Li's gaze returned to Nan Yi, her brows furrowing slightly. Why did she always feel that her junior brother was a little different?
It was as if he had covered himself with something, and she couldn't quite grasp his aura at that moment.
She was about to take a few more steps forward to take a closer look, but the next second Nan Yi raised her head and said, "Senior sister, I'm going to answer your question now. I didn't do anything wrong. Even if you make me think about it a few more times, my answer won't change."
His reply immediately made Chu Li forget what she had just been about to do.
"Junior brother, have you completely cleared out the contents of your body?"
If there are any residues, the alchemist will have to take another look.
Seeing the worry on his senior sister's face, Nan Yi felt a pang of sadness. Did she still prefer to doubt that it was the effect of the pill rather than his true feelings?
"Senior sister, don't worry. I made sure I was perfectly fine before coming out, so my words this time were not affected by anything."
He seemed oblivious to Chu Li's momentary daze, and continued speaking to himself, "Senior sister, this is the real me now. I don't think there's anything wrong with falling in love with my senior sister. Perhaps the only thing that could be considered wrong is that I kissed you without asking your opinion—"
"But...I'm your senior sister..."
"Senior sister, so what? I don't remember that you humans have a rule that senior and junior brothers can't fall in love."
"If there isn't one, why should I go against my own heart?"
Nan Yi took two steps forward, instantly closing the distance between them. Chu Li was momentarily at a loss for what to do, and could only instinctively try to back away.
But he grabbed her arm: "Senior sister, why are you backing away? I don't expect you to give me an answer right now, but I still hope you can think about it seriously, put aside our relationship, and think about it. I can accept that you will no longer teach me, but I will always be your junior brother."
It turns out he already knew, and that his master would take over his duties after he found out.
Chu Li returned to her room somewhat dejectedly. Although she hadn't exchanged more than a few words with her junior brother, the amount of information and emotions conveyed were too intense for her to process for a while.
My junior brother actually told me to think it over carefully.
She was stunned by his actions and words; had she been prepared, she would have refused him on the spot.
She's his senior, much older than him, and should understand things better than him...
But what should she understand more about? Chu Li felt somewhat lost. A voice seemed to whisper in her heart, "You are all the same."
In the days that followed, the other person seemed to have given up all hope, staring at her with an undisguised, intense gaze.
Chu Li felt uncomfortable being stared at and instinctively wanted to hide from him, but the entire sect was only so big, where could she hide?
Moreover, although she had been in the sect for some time, she seemed to have no close friends at all. Whenever she occasionally saw a disciple, she would subconsciously avoid further contact with them.
Aside from her master and eighth junior brother, whom she was relatively familiar with, she wasn't even very familiar with the other junior brothers and sisters.
In her still somewhat hazy memory, she had only been brought back to the sect by her master a year or two ago.
It was at that time that she met her current eighth junior brother.
So it turns out that she actually spent most of her time at the Myriad Manifestations Sect with her eighth junior brother.
"Senior Sister?"
Nan Yi knocked on the door of the next room, but no one answered.
He'd gotten used to it. Lately, his senior sister had been avoiding him. He lowered his head and thought to himself that when he saw her again, he'd have to talk to her about it; running away wasn't a good solution.
Chu Li wasn't deliberately hiding like she had been a few days ago. Instead, she went to the Wuxiang Palace. After much deliberation, she realized that the only person she and her junior brother were familiar with was her master, so she came here.
But when she faced her master, she began to hesitate, feeling that it was inappropriate to disturb him with such a private matter between disciples.
She hesitated for a moment before asking her master, "Master, is there anything that Eighth Junior Brother dislikes?"
She was just asking casually; after all, having come to the Wuxiang Palace, it wouldn't be right to sneak away again.
But to her surprise, she saw her master deep in thought.
"Him?" The sect leader stroked her chin, seemingly deep in thought, but in reality, she kept glancing at Chu Li's expression out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed their unusual behavior over the past few days. Could it be that they had a disagreement or something?
If that's true, it's actually quite good news. Before, Chu Li's deep affection for Nan Yi had made her somewhat apprehensive, fearing that Chu Li might one day remember and regain her memories.
If they find out she secretly helped the fox clan to seek her out for treatment, she'll be the one in deep trouble. Master doesn't really like this kind of favoritism.
"He probably hates it most when people mention his cultivation level."
After returning home, Chu Li pondered to himself, "How is my cultivation level? Wasn't I already at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage? I should be able to reach the Golden Core stage soon."
Perhaps he feels his cultivation level is too low, which is why he doesn't like it...
Regardless, since her master said so, she must have her reasons. She would give it a try next time, and only hoped that her junior brother would not devote too much energy to her anymore.
The next morning, I saw my junior brother again. He must have just gotten up and came straight over. His long hair was a little messy, but it did not detract from his overall good looks.
If she weren't his senior, perhaps... it wouldn't be so bad.
In fact, in the cultivation world, there are indeed many couples who fall in love, and most of them can become a beautiful story.
After all, since both sides are under the same master, their own aptitudes are not too different.
Such a situation makes it easier to stay together for a long time, rather than one party abandoning the other once they have achieved higher levels of cultivation.
However, when this situation actually happened to her, she felt a strange sense of rejection. It wasn't that she rejected her junior brother as a person, but rather that she rejected having any closer relationship with any of the Wanxiang Sect disciples, or even the elders.
Sometimes when I look at them, I always feel that they are still very young.
She didn't know why she had this feeling, even though she wasn't that old.
When Nan Yi saw her, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, as if he hadn't expected to find her here at this time.
This time, Chu Li didn't wait for him to speak. Instead, as she had planned, she asked a question first: "Junior brother, shouldn't you also prepare to advance to the Golden Core stage? I've noticed that you've been stuck in the Foundation Establishment stage for quite some time."
She thought that her junior brother would probably make up some excuse to brush her off, or he would just laugh it off and skip the topic.
But to her surprise, her junior brother froze on the spot after hearing her words, as if he had lost his soul.
He no longer greeted her as he used to, nor did he excitedly tell her about his daily adventures.
Instead, he remained silent for a while before disappearing without a trace.
What on earth happened? It was just a simple sentence, how could he suddenly...
The topic of cultivation has been discussed before—
Something's not right.
Recalling her junior brother's dejected expression, Chu Li felt her own mood sink. She had no mind to think about anything else now, she just wanted to know what her junior brother had been thinking about that made him look like that.
No, this isn't right...
When she came to her senses, she was already back in the Wuxiang Palace.
She wanted to ask her master for clarification.
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