The moon was bright, stars sparse. Points of starlight shone through the bamboo window, scattering upon the bamboo bed.
Deng Tianyu’s head was buried in his Shizun Ning Wan’s broad bosom, emitting even breaths.
Ning Wan also had her beautiful eyes closed, holding her precious disciple’s head. A charming, gentle smile curved at the corner of her lips.
At the same time, in a place as dreamlike and illusory as it was real.
An endless stretch of flower sea extended flat to the horizon. Colorful flowers swayed, their fragrance overflowing.
Standing in the center of this flower sea, Deng Tianyu felt an unprecedented peace in his heart.
Warm breezes blew past. A figure wearing a veil appeared.
She was wrapped in an ink-black long skirt. Three thousand strands of silky black hair reached her waist. Her figure was graceful, curvy, and well-proportioned. Even with the veil covering her, it couldn’t conceal that quality of peerless, refined elegance.
“Fourth Aunt!” Seeing this figure, Deng Tianyu called out affectionately.
The woman called Fourth Aunt nodded slightly, a form of acknowledgment.
“Condense!”
A clear, secluded sound like a winter cicada’s flowing water emerged. Sky-filling flower petals condensed into a long sword that appeared in her hand.
Deng Tianyu similarly clasped his hands together. Instantly, black and white Sword Intent condensed and formed into a constantly vibrating, three-foot-three-inch sword rainbow.
He didn’t say much. He simply raised his sword and slashed. A myriad of sharp, fierce sword lights burst forth, sweeping across. All flowers in their path were ground into powder.
To this, Fourth Aunt merely gently waved the long sword in her hand. A simple, unadorned sword stroke was delivered. All the sharp, fierce sword lights instantly dissipated, as if they had never appeared.
At this moment as well, Deng Tianyu transformed into trail after trail of afterimages. Sky-filling sword light suddenly appeared, but all were effortlessly dissolved by Fourth Aunt.
The two purely clashed through the Sword Dao, but the residual waves of Sword Intent that erupted grew increasingly intense.
After an unknown time, as a figure was sent flying by a collision of Sword Intent, the clash ended.
Deng Tianyu stood up, silently perceiving what he had just comprehended. Fourth Aunt stood quietly to the side, making no sound to disturb him.
“Phew…”
After a long while, Deng Tianyu exhaled a breath of stale air, revealing a smile.
“Fourth Aunt, I’ve just about mastered the Solidifying Sword Art.”
“Starting tomorrow night, I will teach you the Drawing Sword Art!” Fourth Aunt sat with her legs bent in the flower sea, beckoning him over.
Deng Tianyu understood and came to her side, resting his head on her lap in a relaxed, sprawling shape.
Fourth Aunt was an existence akin to both a teacher and a mother who had accompanied him growing up. In this aspect, she was similar to Shizun Ning Wan. The difference was, Shizun was in the real world, while Fourth Aunt only existed in dreams.
Deng Tianyu didn’t know Fourth Aunt’s real name. He only knew that from their first meeting, she had told him to call her “Fourth Aunt.” He even sometimes wondered if Fourth Aunt was an existence similar to a dream immortal.
Most importantly, he felt a very close, familiar feeling from Fourth Aunt. If he had to describe it, it was like his Mother Consort.
Deng Tianyu had previously suspected that his birth mother hadn’t passed away, her fragrance fading, but was alive in this special form.
However, he quickly dismissed the idea. Whether in voice or in the outline of her appearance, she differed greatly from his Mother Consort.
At this moment, Deng Tianyu voiced the doubt he had always kept buried in his heart: “Fourth Aunt, can you only appear in dreams?”
“What do you think?”
Fourth Aunt’s phoenix-like beautiful eyes rippled with light. Her voice was soft, like a wisp of warm breeze brushing past the heart field.
Deng Tianyu pondered for a moment before saying, “I feel it shouldn’t be the case!”
“Don’t overthink it. Sleep!” As if not wanting him to agonize over it, her white, slender jade finger gently tapped his nose.
Not getting an answer, Deng Tianyu didn’t dwell on it further. Just as he was slowly closing his eyes, he suddenly froze.
He was currently dreaming. Sleeping inside a dream—how weird was that? Could there be a dream within a dream in a bit?
Just like an infinitely nesting story: There’s a temple on the mountain. Inside the temple, there’s a monk. He tells his disciple, there’s a temple on the mountain. Inside the temple…
The next day, early morning!
Deng Tianyu awoke very early in the fragrant embrace. He gently moved away his Shizun’s lotus-root-like arm, put on his clothes, then began washing up and, by the way, making breakfast.
In truth, after stepping onto the path of cultivation, one only needed to take a Fasting Pill to solve the problem of hunger. And if one reached the King-Sealing Realm, one could completely fast.
But he still had the habits from his previous life. Coupled with being able to use this opportunity to earn Filial Piety Water Drops, he had kept it up.
In under an hour, the bamboo table already had two small stir-fry dishes, steamed buns, and a pot of fragrant congee made with Spirit-Tail Chicken.
Shizun had also finished washing up by now. She was propping up her smooth chin, legs crossed, softly gazing at him.
“So fragrant~~!”
Just then, a girl in a yellow dress, with an oval face, entered with a completely snow-white little fox perched on her head.
The little fox, upon seeing Deng Tianyu, immediately turned into a flash of white light and burrowed into his arms.
“Despicable! Yesterday I secretly took you out to eat tasty things. You don’t keep your promises.”
“I’m never taking you out to play again!”
Seeing this, the girl in the yellow dress was so angry her pretty face puffed up, grinding her teeth.
“Yingying…”
The little white fox wasn’t afraid in the slightest. Her soft face nuzzled Deng Tianyu’s hand, and she even ingratiatingly licked it with her tiny pink tongue. That appearance was exactly like a bitchy, two-faced green-tea fox.
The girl in the yellow dress was also Shizun Ning Wan’s disciple, his Junior Sister, Li Shishi!
And this little white fox was one Deng Tianyu had picked up in the herb field a year ago. At that time, the little white fox was stealing and eating Spirit Fruits and was lured away by him using Purple Jade Marrow.
After checking its gender, and coupled with the fact that the little white fox could only cry “yingying”, it was named Yingying and kept.
“Rwoar…”
Li Shishi looked with eyes as if seeing a love rival. Her cute, puffed-up cheeks ate a steamed bun with stir-fried papaya, fiercely glaring at the little white fox. Then her gaze drifted back to Deng Tianyu.
She remembered her Senior Brother saying that eating more papaya could make little suckling piglets grow faster.
When they were even bigger than Shizun’s, he would definitely look at her with new eyes. Then, taking advantage of the night, she could secretly sneak into Senior Brother’s room. At that time, Senior Brother would definitely not be able to control himself.
Thinking of this, Li Shishi’s pretty face was full of excited, blushing crimson, and her jade legs even squeezed together.
Ning Wan looked at her second disciple with a smiling expression: “Were you sneaking out to play again last night?”
“Mmmph… cough cough…”
Li Shishi’s body stiffened, nearly choking on the steamed bun.
Fortunately, the understanding Deng Tianyu handed over a cup of water. She quickly gulped down several mouthfuls before managing to swallow with difficulty.
Little face bright red, Li Shishi hurriedly waved her hands: “Shizun, listen to this disciple explain, actually…”
“An excuse, you mean?”
“How does Shizun know… burp?”
Having her thoughts seen through, she was dumbfounded on the spot. Even the meticulously prepared explanation was forgotten on her lips.
Ning Wan expressionlessly said: “You are punished to face the wall at the Rear Cliff for one month!”
Hearing this, Li Shishi was like an eggplant hit by frost. She pitifully looked towards Deng Tianyu: “Senior Brother…”
She absolutely did not want to face the wall at the Rear Cliff for a month. There wasn’t even a single person there, and she couldn’t see Senior Brother. It was worse than cultivating.
“Shizun is angry because your cultivation has fallen behind. If Shishi can guarantee diligent cultivation…” Deng Tianyu sighed, implying something more.
“As long as I don’t have to go face the wall at the Rear Cliff, I guarantee I can break through to the Divine Ability Stage within a year!”
Before he even finished speaking, Li Shishi immediately slapped her not-insignificant chest and loudly declared, afraid her Shizun couldn’t hear.
