At night, Chen Juenian took out ink and a spirit stone to set up a Spirit Gathering Array.
After briefly possessing controllable spiritual energy, Chen Juenian released his spiritual consciousness and went to Mu Qiu Ying’s room.
Knowing that his spiritual consciousness seemed unchanged, Chen Juenian felt somewhat confident in this aspect.
At least in his spiritual form, he was still that ‘Immortal’ Chen Juenian and didn’t need to fear being discovered by Mu Qiu Ying too much.
Then he found that Mu Qiu Ying wasn’t sleeping at all.
She was sitting at her desk, completely absorbed in reading the martial technique manual before her.
Knowing she was in a poor state, a normal cultivator would definitely choose to rest.
Since that was the case, Mu Qiu Ying must have her own reasons for doing this.
For example…
Chen Juenian slipped into Mu Qiu Ying’s spiritual consciousness and forcibly pulled the plug on her body.
—
“Immortal, can you take me as your disciple?”
“?”
Chen Juenian suddenly realized and looked down at Mu Qiu Ying.
In her child form.
He was standing in that small courtyard from back then, with Mu Father behind him, and the mother and daughter pair catching up.
This was a dream?
Alright.
Having helped many girls interpret their dreams, Chen Juenian quickly got into character:
“Of course. Later, you and your sister will follow me up the mountain—”
Before he could finish, Mu Qiu Ying suddenly frowned and, with a thought, turned the entire dream into nothingness.
When Chen Jueinian could see again, he heard that childish, cute voice once more:
“Immortal, can you take me as your disciple?”
“…”
Chen Juenian twitched the corner of his mouth.
What did this mean?
Had he said something that greatly dissatisfied Mu Qiu Ying?
Since she said such a thing, she must wish for this to happen in her heart.
After all, in reality, Mu Qiu Ying had never seen him again after this point.
In that case, there seemed to be only one kind of answer left.
“Of course. But if you become my disciple, your sister will stay here. Are you truly willing?”
“Yes! I am willing!”
“……Alright.”
Not good.
Something was very wrong.
Having secretly helped this girl for nearly a hundred years, Chen Juenian knew exactly what kind of person Mu Qiu Ying was.
She couldn’t possibly have such thoughts.
Thinking this, Chen Juenian seemed to understand something.
To investigate further, Chen Juenian continued acting, from Mu Chunxiang agreeing to let her sister go up the mountain in her place, to Mu Qiu Ying seeing the scenery of Juenian Mountain for the first time.
To be honest, seeing that still-pure-hearted Mu Chunxiang made him feel a little apprehensive.
If this were reality, he would have already been locked in a dungeon by that crazy girl.
“Is this where the Immortal lives?”
“That’s right.”
“Then where did sister sleep before?”
Chen Juenian pointed to a wooden hut on the mountain.
Influenced by him, Juenian Mountain truly allowed Mu Qiu Ying, who had never seen it before, to see it once.
“Then I want to sleep in the bed sister used to sleep in! Also, I want to learn all the martial techniques sister learned, and eat all the immortal elixirs sister ate!”
“Of course… you can.”
Jealousy.
This was very obvious jealousy.
Jealousy often makes the jealous person want to replace the envied one and enjoy everything they possess.
But, why?
Mu Qiu Ying was such a strong, diligent, and ambitious girl.
While constantly climbing higher, she never forgot to look after her parents, bringing them from the Mortal Realm to a place they never dared imagine.
Chen Juenian’s initial impression of her couldn’t have been better.
Therefore, someone so excellent and with a sense of justice couldn’t possibly be jealous of her own sister, let alone have such a shameful dream.
Chen Juenian released his perception.
A powerful spiritual force instantly swept over the surface of Mu Qiu Ying’s spiritual consciousness.
No soul mark, no one meddling.
All of this… originated from Mu Qiu Ying herself.
Chen Juenian could hardly believe it.
“This is what your sister studied. She didn’t learn any martial techniques.”
Chen Juenian handed the Commerce Law that Mu Chunxiang had studied to Mu Qiu Ying.
Then, with a wave of his hand, he drew over several heavenly materials and earthly treasures from somewhere on his mountain.
In his hands, those heavenly materials and earthly treasures transformed into immortal elixirs in mere moments.
“These are the immortal elixirs your sister ate.”
“My sister really didn’t learn any martial techniques?”
“Mm.”
As everything before his eyes turned to nothingness, Chen Juenian, after a brief period of blindness, heard the question again:
“My sister really didn’t learn any martial techniques?”
Alright.
He probably really needed to hand over a peerless martial skill to get past this part of the ‘plot’.
“There actually is one martial technique. It’s called the ‘Sealed Dust Bow,’ a peerless martial skill related to the bow.”
Back then, Chen Juenian had actually placed a martial technique manual next to that bow and reminded her about it.
However, after shooting the demon beast chasing her, that girl forgot what he said and just took the bow and left.
So, this martial technique originally belonged to her.
As the ‘Sealed Dust Bow’ was engraved into Mu Qiu Ying’s spiritual consciousness, this so-called dream immediately came to an abrupt halt.
Mu Qiu Ying woke up.
Chen Juenian immediately concealed his spiritual consciousness, silently returning it to his body.
Then he removed the spirit stone from the array’s core and wiped away the ink marks.
—
Under the bright moon, Mu Qiu Ying woke up.
Sealed Dust Bow?
The peerless martial skill related to the bow that the Immortal in the dream mentioned… it actually appeared in her spiritual consciousness?!
Shocked and suspicious, Mu Qiu Ying immediately went to her sect’s weapon vault, took a longbow, flew dozens of miles to a mountain peak, and drew the bowstring, aiming at the peak.
With just one arrow, the mountain peak was instantly sheared flat.
A sky full of dust mixed with wood chips slowly scattered to the ground…
This peerless martial skill was real.
To reach this level just upon beginner mastery… if this wasn’t a peerless martial art, then such a term wouldn’t even exist in this world.
Having an utterly despicable dream, and then obtaining a peerless martial skill?
She couldn’t believe it herself!
Moreover, the Immortal in the dream behaved with incredible realism, as if he were truly standing before her, handing her a peerless martial skill and personally refining immortal elixirs before her eyes.
Could it be him?
Mu Qiu Ying returned to her palace at the fastest speed and gently pushed open Chen Juenian’s door.
Extending her hand to channel her spiritual energy, she repeatedly confirmed Chen Juenian’s cultivation level from a distance—Qi Refining Late Stage… he couldn’t even achieve spiritual projection.
After quietly leaving, Mu Qiu Ying began to recall everything that happened in the dream.
The small courtyard matched her memory, but the mountain where the Immortal lived was something she had never seen.
She had never imagined what the place where an Immortal lived might look like, but in the dream, she saw it.
She saw something she didn’t know, and it felt incredibly real.