Chapter 948 - 448: Zhiwei, Earth Spirit Root!

"These were all earned through my sweat..."

Chen Ye quickly took stock.

This generous gift covered a wide range.

It included treasures of heaven and earth, as well as divine weapons.

If simply converted to spirit stones, it would be about sixty to seventy thousand spirit stones!

Chen Ye planned to only keep items beneficial for his disciples’ current cultivation.

As for the others, he would sell them all at the Tansha Vein, exchanging them for alchemy materials needed for future pill refinement.

...

Since he came, he would settle.

In the days that followed, developments took Chen Ye by surprise.

Qin Jiaming seemed to have forgotten him completely, as for more than half a month, Wuyang Palace didn’t send a single summons.

But the turmoil outside Cold Scale Mansion had never quieted.

Many demon cultivators from the Tansha Vein loitered near Cold Scale Mansion every day, intentionally or not.

Wealth moves hearts.

Not to mention, Chen Ye outwardly seemed like an old man in the early-stage Foundation Establishment.

They drooled over the mountain of gifts from the Divine Son with extreme greed, yet not a single person dared to take a step beyond the bounds.

After all, these treasures carried the name of the Duqing Divine Son.

And amidst the Cold Scale Mansion perimeter, several obscure auras from the Mei family secretly guarded Cold Scale Mansion.

Indeed.

Qin Jiaming really did consider Chen Ye greatly, arranging things for him perfectly.

With this layer of protection, Cold Scale Mansion was surprisingly quiet this month.

And Chen Ye temporarily held back his thoughts of investigating the Soul-Locking Abyss.

Now, he was the focal point of the entire Emotion Crossing Sect.

To forcefully enter the Golden Core Divine Venerable’s forbidden area while in the limelight was akin to seeking one’s own doom.

He had to wait.

Wait for the storm to pass, and more importantly, wait for Zhiwei to wake peacefully.

During this time, Chen Ye used his disciples’ cultivation reserve funds, directly investing over twenty thousand low-grade spirit stones into the major medicine pavilions of the Tansha Vein.

What he got in return was a pile of precious spirit grass for nurturing.

Chen Ye shut his doors to guests, spending all day in the pill room.

Amidst the rise of spiritual fire, furnace after furnace of top-grade elixirs were seamlessly refined, which Jin’er then carefully administered to the comatose Zhiwei.

Under such costless elixir nourishment,

Zhiwei’s complexion gradually improved, her aura becoming increasingly stable.

Cultivation knows no years.

In a blink, a month passed.

"Bang!"

The door to the pill room was pushed open.

"Master! Master!"

Qing Jun rushed in headlong, her small face flushed from running too fast,

"Senior Sister is awake! Senior Sister has finally opened her eyes!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye waved his sleeve, his figure disappearing from the pill room, reappearing within the next breath holding Qing Jun at Zhiwei’s bedroom door.

Qing Jun blinked her big eyes,

The little dragon who hadn’t yet reacted realized she was already sitting on Master’s arm, having arrived at Senior Sister’s room.

How annoying!

Master was getting more skilled at holding people.

On normal days, he must be secretly hugging girls when Qing Jun wasn’t paying attention!

Leaving aside Qing Jun’s wild thoughts,

Chen Ye pushed open the room door, suddenly pausing his steps.

The atmosphere within the room was very unique.

Deep and heavy, like soaring mountain ranges spanning thousands of miles occupying the area.

Yet amidst the heaviness was a coolness capable of purging all impurities from the world.

"This... could it be the Earth Spirit Root?"

Chen Ye quickly walked to the bedside, pressing his two fingers lightly on Zhiwei’s smooth jade wrist at her veins.

"Indeed, it’s the Earth Spirit Root!"

"Combining with the previous Water, Fire, and Wood, Zhiwei now has four spiritual roots!"

But why did it awaken as the Earth Spirit Root?

Generally speaking,

body constitution awakening is somewhat related to the cultivator’s mental state.

What does the Earth element emphasize?

It represents carrying weight through virtue, embracing myriad rivers, bearing the weight of all things without faltering!

"That’s right, worthy of being my good disciple!"

Chen Ye felt internally touched, deeply satisfied,

"During my absence, you’ve worked hard holding the family together with fear and concern."

The senior disciple was practically the most reassuring little cotton-padded jacket in the world, deserving all his doting.

The girl lay silently on the bed, due to the awakening of the Purity Glaze Body once again, her demeanor appeared increasingly indifferent and distant, her aura ethereal and peerless.

As if nothing in this world, neither life nor death, decay nor prosperity could stir even the slightest ripple in her heart anymore.

Dark eyes, like an ice-cold pond.

Perhaps only intense emotional stimulation could cause this ice pond to crack.

But, when the girl’s eyes slightly shifted and fell upon her master’s face.

A miracle happened.

Like a spring breeze passing over a glacier, the ice and snow instantly melted away, and a hundred flowers bloomed in an instant.

"Master..."

The girl didn’t even bother to put on her shoes, stepping barefoot off the bed.

Under Jin’er and Qing Jun’s surprised gazes, she rushed into Chen Ye’s embrace, her slender arms wrapping around his waist, her voice trembling,

"Your disciple has been unfilial..."

"Letting Master suffer such humiliation in this den of tigers and wolves of the Demon Sect, and even having to toil day and night for the disciple’s injuries..."

Humiliation?

Chen Ye was taken aback.

When had he been humiliated?

During those eight days in the thunder pool, he had gained so much, his cultivation power rising rapidly.

But seeing Zhiwei’s previously pale face.

Chen Ye understood.

Now he couldn’t reveal the truth to his disciple, otherwise, it would further upset her.

He gently patted Zhiwei’s thin and frail back, pushing her slightly away from his embrace, and said seriously:

"Silly girl, what nonsense are you thinking about? Did you hear some nonsensical talk from Qing Jun and them?"

"I am the dignified Peak Master of Baopu Peak, with such a cultivation and disposition, how could a mere Divine Son of the Demon Sect humiliate me?"

"The Thunder Pool of the Tempering Heart Hall is a holy place of cultivation. I was there these eight days just meditating in seclusion, and incidentally giving some guidance to that Duqing Divine Son’s cultivation."

"Think about it, that demoness, after witnessing my profound Daoist techniques, was utterly amazed, revering me immensely. She sent those flowing treasures as an offering for learning the Dao. How could this be called humiliation when I am there to teach and lecture?"

Chen Ye spoke with conviction, unfazed and unflustered.

Zhiwei’s long lashes trembled slightly, her heart throbbing.

Guidance in cultivation?

Teaching and lecturing?

She was always smart, and after hearing Master’s lie, she realized Master knew nothing of it.

Master had no idea she had already seen the Memory Stones and knew the whole truth.

The reason Master fabricated such a flawed lie in front of her was all to protect his disciple, willing to bear all the bitterness rather than let his disciple worry.

At this thought, Zhiwei’s heart ached as if it would bleed.

The girl bit down on her soft lower lip, biting until a vivid line of blood appeared.

How much she wanted to disregard everything, hold Master tightly, and tell him she knew everything, to tell him not to endure and pretend any longer.

But she couldn’t.

If she revealed the truth now, how embarrassed would Master be?

The pride and dignity Master painstakingly maintained to protect them, would they not shatter completely?

"So... it was like this..."

Zhiwei took a deep breath, forcefully swallowing the towering hatred back into her stomach.

When she lifted her head again, she wore an obedient expression full of admiration and reverence.

"It was my foolishness, concern caused confusion."

"I always said, Master is the most powerful person in the world, how could he be bullied by that demoness. It turns out Master subdued her, and made her obediently pay the offering."

Chen Ye, pleased: "Of course, hmph, don’t underestimate your Master."

"..."

Seeing the proud Master,

In the girl’s mind, the image of Master suffering thunderbolts’ torment from the Memory Stone surfaced again.

She raised her hand, gently wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, revealing a sweet smile in cooperation:

"As long as Master is fine. As long as Master is safe and sound, I’m not afraid of anything."

"That’s more like it."

Chen Ye seeing his eldest disciple was deceived by his seamless words, felt immense comfort.

No wonder she is his most worry-free eldest disciple.

Unlike that little dragon brat, always getting into a sulk!

"You’re recovering from a severe illness, it’s the critical moment to stabilize the Earth Spiritual Root, don’t be too emotional. Jin’er, quickly help your senior sister back to bed."

Chen Ye instructed with a cheerful smile.

"Mm-hmm!" Jin’er quickly stepped forward to help.

Zhiwei obediently was helped back to her bed, her gaze never leaving Chen Ye’s back.

Chen Ye turned around, humming a little tune, happily going to organize the alchemy room’s ingredients.

After Master left,

The girl lowered her eyes, her fingers tightly clenching the brocade quilt beneath her.

"Qin, Jia, Ming..."

Zhiwei chewed over this name word by word in her heart, as if chewing on bloody flesh and bone.

Master’s endurance, Master’s lies, Master’s humiliation borne for their sake.

She remembered this account fully.

Since Master wants to pretend nothing happened, as his disciple, even if her heart breaks, she will accompany Master to the end, feigning ignorance.

But,

some grudges absolutely cannot be ignored!