Chapter 59: Master! Is Sister Yue Pretty?

In the courtyard, the three of them sat at the table.

The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment.

“Master, are you hungry?”

Lin Xiaoyu turned to look at Chen Ping.

Chen Ping nodded. “A bit.”

“Then I’ll cook something for you!”

“Good.”

Lin Xiaoyu tied on an apron, pulled pots, pans, and all sorts of ingredients out of her storage ring, and started bustling about in the corner of the yard.

The sounds of chopping, crackling fire, and sizzling stir-fry soon filled the whole courtyard.

Sitting on a stone stool in the courtyard, Chen Ping watched the girl’s busy silhouette and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Yue Qingshuang sat across from him.

A stone table stood between the two of them.

A cup of clear tea rested on the table.

The night breeze stirred the osmanthus branches gently; a faint sweet scent drifted through the air.

But the atmosphere felt… delicate.

*

Yue Qingshuang kept her head down, staring at the teacup, lost in thought.

Chen Ping leaned back in his chair and gazed at the stars in the night sky.

Neither of them said a word.

The air was filled with a quiet… awkwardness.

*

Chen Ping suddenly laughed.

“Who would have thought that the lofty Saintess of Tianyue would ever be at a loss for words.”

Yue Qingshuang lifted her head and looked at him.

In the moonlight, his smile was faint, yet somehow reassuring.

“Peak Master Chen jests,” she said softly.

“This junior is simply… not used to being alone with someone.”

Chen Ping nodded.

“I understand. A saintess is high above the rest, always surrounded by a crowd, so you hardly ever get a chance to be alone.”

He paused and took a sip of tea.

“You’ll get used to it.”

*

Yue Qingshuang watched him in silence for a moment.

Then she suddenly spoke.

“Peak Master Chen.”

“Hm?”

“How is your Taiyin Sacred Body now?”

Yue Qingshuang blinked in slight surprise.

She hadn’t expected him to ask that.

“Thank you for your concern, Peak Master Chen,” she said quietly.

“With the Profound Yin Bead, the Lunar Cold Qi has been suppressed.”

She paused, a complicated glint flickering in her eyes.

“But what truly benefited this junior was not the Profound Yin Bead.”

*

Chen Ping watched her without speaking.

Yue Qingshuang drew a deep breath and suddenly stood up.

Then she bowed deeply to Chen Ping.

“Peak Master Chen, thank you for lending a hand that day.”

“And even more… thank you for that strand of power you left inside this junior’s body.”

*

Chen Ping waved a hand dismissively.

“A trifle, no need for such formality.”

Yue Qingshuang shook her head and said seriously, “It may have been a trifle for Peak Master Chen, but for this junior it was a debt of rebirth.”

She straightened, gazing at Chen Ping with gratitude, respect, and a trace of… an emotion she couldn’t quite name.

“The Profound Yin Bead can only suppress the Lunar Cold Qi. It treats the symptoms but not the root cause. This junior knows that well.”

“But that strand of power Peak Master Chen sent into this junior’s body…”

She paused, as if searching for the right words.

“That power not only completely suppressed the backlash of the Lunar Cold Qi, it has been constantly refining my physique and rebuilding my Dao foundation.”

“Over the past month, I have felt clearly that my body is undergoing some kind of change. Subtle… yet profound.”

She looked at Chen Ping earnestly.

“May this junior boldly ask, what exactly was that power you sent into me?”

*

Chen Ping looked at her.

In the moonlight, her eyes were as clear as water, filled with genuine curiosity.

He smiled faintly and said,

“Primordial Violet Qi.”

*

Yue Qingshuang froze.

Primordial Violet Qi?

That legendary… Innate Creation Qi?

The Primordial Violet Qi recorded in ancient texts, the one that can reshape one’s Dao foundation, elevate comprehension, even alter destiny?

Her mouth opened, but for a moment no words came out.

Peak Master Chen said… Primordial Violet Qi?

That strand he sent into her body was Primordial Violet Qi?

*

“Peak Master Chen…”

Her voice trembled slightly, disbelief clear in her tone.

“You… you’re saying it was Primordial Violet Qi?”

Chen Ping nodded.

“Yes. It should be of some benefit to your cultivation.”

*

Yue Qingshuang fell silent.

Some benefit? It was nothing short of a heaven-sent fortune!

Primordial Violet Qi, something that only existed in legends.

The very thing countless cultivators dreamed of but could never obtain.

A single strand of Primordial Violet Qi was enough to transform an ordinary cultivator completely, enough to send a genius soaring to the heavens.

And Peak Master Chen just… gave it to her?

*

She drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the shock in her heart.

Then she turned her sight inward.

Inside her body, that strand of violet-gold power still circulated slowly.

It had settled deep in her dantian, blending with her Taiyin Origin, each nourishing the other.

Every cycle was subtly changing her body.

Her meridians had become tougher and broader, her dantian more stable and condensed.

Even her Taiyin Origin was growing purer and stronger, nurtured by that power.

And the result of all this:

She raised her head and looked at Chen Ping.

“Peak Master Chen, over the past month, this junior’s cultivation… has broken through from Golden Core peak to Nascent Soul peak.”

*

Chen Ping raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? Not bad. Worthy of a genius saintess.”

Yue Qingshuang looked at him, a complex emotion in her eyes.

Not bad? That was far more than not bad.

One month. From Golden Core peak to Nascent Soul peak, an entire major realm crossed.

Such cultivation speed was not just rare in the Southern Region; even across the whole continent, it was one in a million.

If word got out, who knew what kind of sensation it would cause.

How many would covet it, how many would burn with envy.

How many would try to unearth the secret within her.

And the source of all this, that strand of Primordial Violet Qi that this young man before her had so casually placed into her body.

“Peak Master Chen…”

She spoke softly, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Do you know what this means?”

Chen Ping looked at her and smiled.

“It means you have talent and you cultivate quickly.”

He paused, then added:

“And it also means you need to be more careful from now on. Don’t let anyone discover your secret.”

*

Yue Qingshuang froze.

He hadn’t said, how will you repay me.

He hadn’t said, remember my kindness.

He hadn’t even said, I may need your help someday.

All he said was:

“Be careful. Don’t let anyone discover your secret.”

As if everything he had done was simply to make her better.

Nothing more.

*

Yue Qingshuang looked at him, a sudden sting in her eyes.

She lowered her head, drew a deep breath, and suppressed that inexplicable surge of emotion.

“Peak Master Chen.”

She spoke softly.

“This junior will engrave your kindness in her heart. If there ever comes a day when this junior can be of service to you, please do not hesitate to ask.”

Chen Ping waved his hand dismissively.

“Alright, alright, enough about kindness this and kindness that. Sit down and talk.”

*

Yue Qingshuang looked at him, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

She sat back down.

That faint barrier between the two of them seemed to have dissolved considerably.

*

In the corner of the courtyard, Lin Xiaoyu was hard at work.

She glanced up at the two sitting in the courtyard, a sly smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Then she lowered her head and continued cooking, pretending she hadn’t seen a thing.

Soon, Lin Xiaoyu came over carrying steaming hot dishes.

“Master, Sister Yue, hurry and try these!”

She set out the bowls and chopsticks, looking at them expectantly.

Chen Ping picked up a bite of stir-fried fiddlehead ferns and put it in his mouth.

“Mm, not bad.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she turned to look at Yue Qingshuang.

Yue Qingshuang picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece of grilled fish, and savored it carefully.

“Delicious,” she said softly.

The smile on Lin Xiaoyu’s face deepened.

*

The three of them sat around the stone table, eating and chatting.

The night breeze blew gently, and the faint fragrance of osmanthus drifted through the air.

Even Yue Qingshuang’s perpetually cool and distant face had softened considerably now.

Occasionally Lin Xiaoyu would make her laugh, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

Though it was only a faint curve, it made her whole being come alive.

“Master.”

Lin Xiaoyu suddenly spoke.

“Mm?”

“Do you think Sister Yue is pretty?”

*