The sun shone brightly and the moon was lingering. For several days, the sun and moon alternated in this way, and Shu Tang stayed in the side hall, immersed in the spell, never wanting anything to disturb her concentration again.
The fire spells used by Taotie were of a higher level, and she couldn’t handle them with her current skills. In the past few days, she had been studying those basic spells, and in addition to fire, she had also learned simple spells of the other four elements.
The five elements were mutually exclusive, and although her spiritual root was fire, the elements; wood, earth, metal and water also had to be dabbled in a little bit. Just like her master, although her spirit root was earth, she had never seen her use earth spells. Most of them were still wood, fire, and water. The spells were in the essence, not the seed, and the fire spirit root merely gave her more room to develop in fire spells.
Shu Tang had never considered herself to be very diligent, even when she crossed, she traversed into a pig that should eat and sleep every day. However, now she was able to practice continuously, even when she had to take a break, it was all replaced by meditation.
The only problem was probably that her appetite had become extremely bad. For a person who is incredibly passionate about food, nothing is more painful than not being able to eat, and Shu Tang, right now, is in this state. Unsure whether it was because she was too enthralled by the training, or because of her emotions, she had no desire for food for seven days, and after the meditation was over, her stomach felt full and she didn’t need to eat.
On the seventh day, Fuyu Shangxian finally couldn’t stand it any longer and forcefully opened the door of the side hall. Shu Tang was sitting cross-legged, and when she saw her master enter, she collected her true qi in her dantian and slowly let out a breath of fresh air.
Fuyu saw that she was fine and was slightly relieved. Shu Tang stood up in confusion and walked over to her master’s side and asked, “Does Master have something to ask me?”
“No,” Fuyu shook her head and took out a book she had just prepared from her sleeve, “I have come to give you this secret book of the mind, I’m sure it will help you in your true essence cultivation.”
Shu Tang took it obediently and said, “Thank you, Master.”
“You and I don’t have to be so polite,” Fuyu reached out her hand to rub the bun-like hair bun on Shu Tang’s head, and after feeling her disciple’s subconscious resistance, she was surprised and lowered her hand, slowly saying, “You practice your skills, I won’t disturb you.”
Shu Tang’s entire body’s sense of touch was now gathered at the top of her hair, and her fingertips were slightly numb. After trying to adjust her state, she bowed and said, “Disciple will not see Master off, Master take care.”
When the side hall door closed, Shu Tang lost all her strength and grabbed her books and plopped|sat on the floor.
However, before she could stand up, the door was once again opened by Fuyu, “Huahua, you should eat some…” Without saying the last word, Shu Tang hurriedly got up from the ground under the gaze of her master.
“Why are you sitting on the ground?” After being unexpectedly asked by her master, Shu Tang held back for a long time before saying, “I heard that sitting on the ground can help ground the qi.”
The Fuyu Shangxian was silent for a moment and said, “Earth Qi is the strongest in the Demon Realm, if you need it, I can take you to the Demon Realm.”
While cursing herself for her stupid and blunt answer, Shu Tang said, “I… I was just curious, not…. cough, I mean…”
Fuyu interrupted her, “Huahua, have you had anything on your mind lately?”
“No!” She immediately denied it.
Fuyu pondered for a while, and said, “I know you have very few friends in the Immortal Realm, and you may be in a bad mood after the death of Qing Senyang. However, life is like that. Everything has its pros and cons. Your friends will come and go, and those who are important to you will keep leaving, and one day you will find that you are the only one left in the world. The world is prosperous, but that’s just passing clouds, these things will one day dissipate in the world, false and true, and in the end, only you yourself is real.”
Shu Tang half-understood what her master said, she secretly concluded that her master seemed to have misunderstood something, so she said, “Master, I did not have my mind clouded because of Qing Senyang, this disciple… just wanted to concentrate on cultivation.”
“Those who cultivate immortality may have obsessions, but not demons.” Fuyu seriously told her, “If you have anything you don’t understand, just ask your master.”
Shu Tang hastily nodded her head, “Disciple understands.”
Fuyu sighed lightly, “Then do you want something to eat?”
“Disciple has not been feeling hungry lately, so I won’t trouble Master.” Shu Tang was well-behaved.
Seeing that she was indeed not hungry, Fuyu nodded slightly and turned around to leave the side hall, leaving Shu Tang gasping for breath in place.
It was really too dangerous just now, she must be more careful in the future.
The rest of the day became much more peaceful, and even after her master knew that Shu Tang was concentrating on practicing her skills, she no longer came to see her, so she left all those nonsense behind and immersed herself in all kinds of exercises again.
After another twenty days, Shu Tang finally learned the various types of spells from the books and walked out of the side hall.
Due to Taotie’s more profound fire spells, she hadn’t practiced them yet. She had mastered all the other simple spells of the five elements, only needing to increase her proficiency in an actual battle.
This was the case with anything, if one wanted to truly master it, what was needed was not rote memorization, but more of proficiency in it. It is better to study hard on the books of war as much as to experience several times on the battlefield. A truly strong person must be someone who has experienced a hundred battles. Naturally, Shu Tang also understood this truth, and as soon as she left the side hall, she ran to find her master and asked her how she could experience a real battle.
For a Great Immortal, actual combat didn’t require finding real people to fight. They are so powerful that most of them can use their mind to conjure up an opponent, and when they get bored to a certain extent, they will use this method to pass the time. Fuyu could naturally conjure up an opponent for Shu Tang that would be most suitable for her to fight against. But when she saw her apprentice’s small face, which was already not very round, had become even thinner, she hesitated and did not tell her the method.
If Huahua knew that she could fight against phantoms, she would most likely go back to the side hall again and lock herself up to train hard, and if she continued like this, she would definitely become weak. Moreover, even regardless of her body, this phantom versus phantom method had certain limitations. You can only practice the moves, not the mind – this is a major taboo.
When truly fighting with others, what was needed was not only the mastery of the moves but more importantly, the ability to adapt to changes and a strong heart.
A little thought, Fuyu said, “You’ve been overworking recently. Take a few days off, and you’ll go to the human realm to practice for three months.”
“Go to the human realm?” Shu Tang was stunned, then immediately reacted. Most of the people who are comparable to her are in the human realm, and because there are all kinds of cultivation sects in the human realm, there are more opportunities for interaction.
But…. what Master said was not for them to go to the human realm together, but that she will go to the human realm alone… Shu Tang’s heart felt sour. Master really did not care about her as much as before. After all, she did it herself.
If she hadn’t distanced herself from Master first, how could Master have distanced from her?
Shu Tang tried to compose herself and then said, “Master, I understand. Then, is it alright if I depart the day after tomorrow?”
Fuyu looked at her pointed chin and shook her head, “Go after five days, don’t cultivate for a few days, I’ll prepare food for you to nourish your body.”
Shu Tang wanted to refuse, but then she saw her master’s serious expression and swallowed back her refusal. What her master had decided, she would just obediently obey.
Shu Tang who had resumed eating after a month didn’t have much of an appetite, and even though her master’s mushroom and jade dew soup were incredibly delicious, she only drank a small bowl of it. In the remaining days, she still had no appetite and almost had to force herself to eat the food her master had carefully prepared.
On the sixth day, the immortal maidservants packed her luggage early in the morning, and the Immortal Luhua came to join in the fun, bringing a small magic tool for her and telling her to be careful on the way. Shu Tang carried her luggage, received a small gift from Luhua, and softly thanked him.
Fuyu didn’t say anything on the way until the teacher and disciple reached the exit of the immortal realm, and then she said, “Huahua, be careful on the way.”
“Don’t worry, Master,” Shu Tang suddenly felt her throat burn, “When the disciple returns, she won’t be as weak as she is now.”
Fuyu gazed at her quietly, from her black and white almond eyes to her sharp and pretty chin, repeatedly looking at her several times before she heaved, “Be sure to return safely.”
Shu Tang’s nose became increasingly sour, her throat also hurt almost unable to speak, holding it for a long time, before saying one word, “Okay.”
Looking at the tip of the disciple’s reddened nose, Fuyu almost asked if she would like her master to accompany her, but thought of what Nantan had said, and remembered her own previous decision before she swallowed it raw.
Her Master didn’t say anything more to her. Realizing this, Shu Tang was aggrieved for no reason, and said a bit angrily, “Master, this disciple is leaving.”
As soon as the words fell, without waiting for her master to speak again, she had leaped into the sea of clouds at the exit and disappeared.
Fuyu looked at the endless sea of clouds and sighed slowly. As her right hand lightly lifted, she suddenly heard someone behind her ask, “Do you still want to go with her?”
Upon hearing the voice, Fuyu knew that the visitor was Nantan. She withdrew her right hand that was about to cast instantaneous movement and turned back, “I can’t be reassured.”
“Once you can’t be at ease, you’ll never be at ease again.” Nantan tidied the jade hairpin on his head, “You’ve secretly cast the magic spell on her, so if she’s in danger, you can go to protect her right away. Don’t think about her anymore, come back with me.”
Fuyu looked back at the vast sea of clouds, the thought of her disciple being at a loss for words in an unfamiliar environment, she could only feel her heart wrenching.
When Nantan saw her like this, he said helplessly, “You’re just taking in a disciple, why do I see it as if you’re raising a daughter?” He thought about it and said, “I remember a saying on earth – children travel a thousand miles and mothers worry.”
Fuyu Shangxian was quiet for a moment and said indifferently, “One day as a teacher, forever as a parent, a disciple is equivalent to half a child, why shouldn’t I worry about her?”
Nantan lost his smile and didn’t refute her strong words, instead, he asked, “Since you already fully consider her as your apprentice, why don’t you raise a real pig again, it will also relieve the bitterness when you are alone.”
He was right. Since Fuyu had an apprentice, she hadn’t experienced the feeling of being alone for a long time. She suddenly lost her apprentice, and she really couldn’t adapt.
However, even so, Fuyu still shook her head and said, “No need, it’s enough for me to have Huahua in my life. I don’t want to raise any other piglets.”
Nantan was preoccupied with his affairs, and after speaking with her about this, he saw that Fuyu was still a bit hesitant, and simply left her alone to think about it.
There are some things that you have to choose for yourself, and no matter what others say, it’s useless to talk to them about it.
On top of the sea of clouds, Fuyu Shangxian was floating alone, besides the occasional cry of cranes, everything was quiet. Suddenly, a flash of transparent light appeared in one place and then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Nantan, who had gone and returned, saw this scene in the shadows, finally sighed lightly, turned around, and left.
Thank you Val for supporting this novel! One more!!
Translator: I wonder what role and side both Luhua and Nantan are on. I mean, yeah, I know but Nantan is giving me weird vibes. Anybody else?? Like, does he like Fuyu (he wouldn’t be the first) or is he plotting something? Or is he genuinely a good friend who gives advices to others.
fuyu x huahua remind me a lot of alfra x byakuren – ice’s yearning ;_;
Oh I forgot all about ice’s yearning
Damn how sad they’re both just hurting cuz they can’t be honest about their hearts …..
Still maybe this is good ? It’ll break the master-disciple only relationship in Fuyus heart, maybe if this didn’t happen and Huahua just told her her feelings Fuyu wouldn’t have been aware of her own and rejected her?
I just hope this doesn’t last long I came here for fluffy Yuri god dammit lol.
Nantan to me seems like just a good friend that’s always swamped with work but still makes time to help her out, he seems like a good guy.
Luhua at first I thought would get in the way and be jealous but it looks like he already knows there can be nothing between him and Fuyu and he’s just an annoying friend that’s always coming to dick around, but if anyone’s smells fishy its him.
What was it at the end? Did Fuyu go with her disciple to shadow her?