Chapter 15: Lin Xian’s Test

Yun Hao carried another food box as he headed toward Lin Xian’s cave residence.

He felt as light as if he were floating.

Every step was quick and breezy like the wind.

Senior Sister’s praise earlier had truly made him happy.

For the first time he felt he finally had something he could do to help her.

This time when he went down the mountain he did not feel lost like before.

Because fifteen days ago Yun Hao had already asked around and learned exactly where Lin Xian’s cave residence was located.

He moved without the slightest pause and soon arrived.

Yun Hao straightened his clothes took a deep breath suppressed the excited look on his face and put on a respectful expression.

He gently knocked on the large door of the cave residence.

“Disciple Yun Hao has come to pay his respects in accordance with Elder Lin’s previous instruction.”

Creak.

The moment Yun Hao finished speaking the cave residence door slowly opened.

From inside came Lin Xian’s slightly weary voice.

“Come in child.”

Yun Hao straightened his clothes once more.

After confirming everything was in order he picked up the food box and stepped into Lin Xian’s cave residence.

The interior was completely different from the outside.

Lin Xian lived halfway up the western peak where there was mostly no vegetation only gravel and yellow earth.

That was the scene outside the cave.

But inside it was entirely different.

Green spiritual grasses swayed in the soil their leaves still glistening with dew.

In the middle of the entire cave residence stood a simple bamboo house.

The aura of Void Condensation swirled all around.

At the very back was a patch of evergreen bamboo forest.

Even though Yun Hao was still quite far away he could smell its fresh sweet fragrance.

Now that he had stepped onto the path of cultivation he could sense that the spiritual qi inside the cave residence was only slightly thinner than that on the Sect Master Peak.

If the spiritual qi on the Sect Master Peak was like a jar of thick honey then inside Lin Xian’s cave residence it was like a clear shallow pool of water.

Both were far richer than the spiritual qi in the areas where ordinary disciples lived and both were in liquid form.

Yun Hao inwardly marveled that Elder Lin truly deserved to be a sect elder.

The outside of the cave residence looked desolate and cold yet the interior was full of vitality.

He must have used great magical power to transform it.

Seeing Lin Xian already seated on a bamboo chair ahead Yun Hao quickened his steps.

Before long he stood before Lin Xian.

“Elder Lin this disciple Yun Hao has come to pay his respects.”

He gently placed the food box on the table and bowed to Lin Xian.

Lin Xian looked at the youth bowing before him.

His aura was already much stronger than when they had first met.

It was obvious he had stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Then he examined him more closely and showed some surprise.

“Not bad.

You have already reached the mid Qi Refining stage so quickly.

You must have been cultivating day and night these past days.”

Hearing Lin Xian praise him like this Yun Hao felt a little embarrassed.

He nervously tugged at his sleeve and said

“This disciple was simply lucky and managed to break through to the Qi Refining stage.

Compared to the other senior brothers and senior sisters in the sect it is nothing.”

“There is no need to be overly modest.

To go from a mortal to the mid Qi Refining stage in just half a month means your talent is even stronger than I imagined.”

Lin Xian glanced at the food box Yun Hao had brought and asked

“What is inside this food box?”

Yun Hao gently opened the food box on the table.

Inside lay more than ten neatly arranged pieces of osmanthus cakes.

Although their appearance was not quite as perfect as the ten he had given Luo Shuiling they were still an excellent batch.

“Elder Lin these are osmanthus cakes.”

“Elder Lin has shown great kindness to this disciple yet this disciple currently has no good gifts to offer.

I thought I could not come to your cave residence empty-handed.

I happened to make some osmanthus cakes the day before yesterday so I selected a few of the best pieces to bring over.

I hope you will try them.”

Lin Xian looked at the ten or so well-made osmanthus cakes.

He picked one up tasted it carefully and after a moment raised his head to say to Yun Hao

“Good child you have put your heart into this.”

Hearing Lin Xian suddenly speak to him like an elder Yun Hao felt a little shy.

Since childhood aside from his mother he had always been alone.

Especially after his mother passed away when he was twelve the blow had been enormous.

Yet the people in the prince’s mansion had continued to beat and scold him.

Until Luo Shuiling rescued him no one had ever shown him any care.

Now that he had come to the Proud Sword Sect for just twenty short days he had constantly been cared for and experienced concern he had never known before.

He was moved yet still somewhat unaccustomed to it.

This was also why he was gradually developing feelings for Luo Shuiling.

Because she was the first person besides his mother who had treated him so well.

She had saved him from captivity and led him onto the immortal path.

In the depths of his heart he had already begun to place Luo Shuiling just below his mother.

“It is nothing Elder Lin.

Compared to the great kindness you have shown me these small matters are far from enough to repay you.”

Yun Hao looked at Lin Xian with extremely sincere eyes.

Although his experiences since childhood had made him self-conscious and sensitive they had also shaped a heart that knew how to be grateful.

He knew how rare genuine kindness was.

So whenever someone treated him with true sincerity he would respond with the greatest sincerity in return.

Lin Xian looked at the sincere young man before him.

He gazed directly at the increasingly handsome face and felt countless emotions surge inside.

In this cultivation world full of deceit and scheming people who could keep their original heart were far too rare.

In Yun Hao’s eyes he saw only thick gratitude.

There was no mixture of any other desires.

It was clean pure and held no sense of wanting to gain anything from him.

Perhaps he really can become that person!

Lin Xian thought inwardly.

His expectations for Yun Hao grew even greater.

“I only tested your immortal aptitude.

I have not done anything else for you.”

“Even so Elder Lin your affirmation means far more to this disciple than the spirit-testing stone itself.

It is the final support that allows this disciple to keep going.”

Lin Xian argued with Yun Hao a little longer but eventually realized he could not change what was in the youth’s heart and gave up.

Since he believes I have shown him kindness it may be easier for him to agree to that matter.

Lin Xian thought this way.

Afterward Lin Xian taught Yun Hao some things to pay attention to during the Qi Refining stage.

Seeing that the time was about right he said to Yun Hao

“Child there is still one matter here that I need your help with.”

Yun Hao was startled.

Although he did not understand what a small Qi Refining stage disciple like himself could possibly help a sect elder with he still nodded and agreed.

“If there is anything this disciple can do to be of service I will do my utmost.”

Then Lin Xian carefully explained the matter he needed help with.

Afterward he said to Yun Hao with great solemnity

“These twenty pills are very important.

Later put them into a jade bottle and whatever you do do not lose them.

You must deliver them safely into that person’s hands.”

Yun Hao saw how serious Lin Xian was.

He immediately accepted the white cloth bundle with both hands and said earnestly

“Elder Lin please rest assured.

This disciple will definitely deliver them safely.”

He then bid farewell to Lin Xian carefully carrying the pills as he left.

After Yun Hao had gone Lin Xian slowly stood up.

He walked into the bamboo house and looked at the graceful young woman sitting by the window.

“Yu’er what do you think of that child?”

The graceful young woman remained silent for a moment.

She blinked her listless eyes and said

“From the way he speaks he seems like a good person.”

Lin Xian sighed when he heard this.

“That child is the Yun Hao I mentioned to you last time.

Both his parents passed away while he was still in the mortal world.”

“He only arrived at the Proud Sword Sect a short while ago and has no ties or burdens.”

“Because of what he went through before his personality is soft but he is pure-hearted and has no intention of harming others.”

“His features have not fully matured yet but he will grow into a handsome young man.”

Lin Xian paused then continued

“Most importantly he has talent but no ambition.

In the future he can protect you for a lifetime.”

Lin Shengyu listened to Lin Xian say so much but did not reply.

Her listless eyes moved slightly.

No one knew what she was thinking.

“If he passes this test you should try spending some time with him.

After all Grandfather’s time is truly running out.”

Seeing her reaction Lin Xian did not say anything more.

He closed the bamboo door and returned to sit on the bamboo chair.

Lin Shengyu had once been a heaven’s pride of the Proud Sword Sect.

At only twelve years old she had already reached the early Core Formation stage.

Her immortal aptitude was second only to Luo Shuiling who had been eighteen at the time.

But three years ago during the battle to exterminate the demonic cultivators the sect camp where Lin Shengyu was stationed had been ambushed by demonic cultivators.

Most of the hall masters had died in battle and countless disciples had been killed or wounded.

In that ambush Lin Shengyu had her meridians shattered by the demonic cultivators and her eyes had been blinded by the shock.

Her entire cultivation had been destroyed and she had become a cripple.

The once proud little martial sister of the sect had fallen from the ninth heaven.

Some disciples whom Lin Shengyu had once surpassed began to mock and ridicule her.

Gradually Lin Shengyu stopped going out.

Although Lin Xian was extremely anxious he himself had been surrounded and hunted by two Void Condensation Realm demonic experts in that great battle.

Although he had been rescued in time by other Void Condensation Realm friends from the sect he had still suffered severe injuries.

From then on he had retired to the western peak.

Lin Xian had tried to find heavenly materials and earthly treasures to repair Lin Shengyu’s meridians.

He had even asked the Great Vehicle Realm Jiang Shu’er to help but all efforts had been in vain.

Because the demonic poison inside Lin Shengyu’s body continued to destroy her.

If Lin Shengyu were still a Core Formation cultivator it would have been manageable and she could have endured the impact of spiritual power.

But with her meridians shattered her body was now that of an ordinary person.

She was being tormented by the demonic poison and growing weaker by the day.

She could not withstand the impact of spiritual power.

This created a vicious cycle.

The only option was to use gentle spiritual power to comb through her body every three days and suppress the recurrence of the poison.

Lin Shengyu had changed from her former proud confident outgoing and smiling self into a silent expressionless sick beauty.

After trying for a full year Lin Xian had given up.

His own time was running out.

He could feel that he was close to death but Lin Shengyu could not be left without someone to care for her.

So he had decided to find a husband for Lin Shengyu.

Although Lin Shengyu was now crippled and could only live as a frail ordinary person he still possessed a large amount of cultivation resources that could serve as her dowry.

This still made her someone people would be willing to accept.

But the choice of husband required extreme caution.

He could not bully Lin Shengyu after Lin Xian was gone.

After all the current Lin Shengyu was only an ordinary person with no power to resist a cultivator.

Therefore Lin Xian’s standards were very high.

The person still needed some talent—not necessarily enough to reach Void Condensation but at least Soul Division Realm.

Only then would he have some power to protect himself within the Proud Sword Sect and be able to shelter Lin Shengyu in the future.

His background had to be clean with no ties to either the mortal world or sect factions.

Lin Xian did not want Lin Shengyu’s future husband to become involved in sect power struggles.

That was the most dangerous thing.

His character also had to be good and kind so he could treat Lin Shengyu well.

According to these requirements Lin Xian had been searching for suitable candidates for the past two years.

Yet after testing them they were either greedy for his cultivation resources had insufficient talent or even with massive resources could only barely reach the Dao Integration Realm with no guarantee of breaking through.

Others appeared gentlemanly on the surface but were actually petty scoundrels underneath.

As time grew shorter Lin Xian became more and more anxious.

Until the day he tested Yun Hao’s immortal aptitude heard about his background and saw his genuine filial piety toward his mother.

Lin Xian felt that Yun Hao might be a final gift from the heavens—a last chance for him to resolve his final regret.

Although Yun Hao might currently like Luo Shuiling Luo Shuiling was after all someone ordinary people could not reach.

As long as Yun Hao could pass this test Lin Xian would definitely find every way possible to change his thinking.

Although he could sense that Yun Hao was very stubborn about certain things he still had methods.

Even if he could not change his mind right away he could first use external force to arrange a betrothal between Yun Hao and Lin Shengyu.

Later as Yun Hao slowly grew he would come to understand that some people were simply not his most suitable Dao companion.

In the end he would cherish Lin Shengyu.

At that time Lin Xian would be able to rest in peace.

Lin Xian felt he might be doing Yun Hao an injustice.

After all this meant Yun Hao would be destined to care for Lin Shengyu for a lifetime and would never have a powerful Dao companion.

But people were selfish.

He was not a saint.

For the sake of his granddaughter he could only—and was willing to—do this once and play the villain.

I failed to protect my own child but my granddaughter… I must protect her and keep her safe for the rest of her life.

Lin Xian’s heart held both hope and anxiety.

He prayed that Yun Hao would definitely not be blinded by the temptation before him.

If he gave up that temptation he would have a better future.