Watching the sunrise and sunset every day, Cheng Qian had been living in rare peace and comfort lately. Across both his lifetimes, these were the most relaxing days he had ever experienced.
Unfortunately, that peaceful time was now over.
"Fellow Daoist Cheng, this is a local specialty from Yanbo Market, a first-grade Silver Star Spirit Fish. It's incredibly delicious and helps restore vitality. I noticed some damage to your essence the other day. This fish can help a little with that."
"Ah, well, I really can't accept something so precious. But... thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu."
This man was Liu Xingzhi, one of the top ten inner disciples. Qi Refining stage, peak level.
Ever since the news broke about Xu Luoshui reaching Qi Refining second layer in just one month, he had been the first to come visit Cheng Qian.
He claimed he came on behalf of Junior Sister Xu, who was focused entirely on her cultivation, and wanted to help take care of her only relative.
Busy? As if Cheng Qian didn't know whether his clone was actually busy.
It was clear now that he was slowly drawing attention from those with deeper motives.
In everyone's eyes, this cousin of the sect's rising star was completely useless. Weak spiritual roots and damaged origin essence. A waste of space.
But that kind of person was perfect. He had no ambitions, wouldn't live long, and definitely wouldn't hold Xu Luoshui back.
If he could somehow reach Qi Refining sixth layer, that would already be a miracle. Live to a hundred and twenty or thirty? Not a chance, especially not with a damaged origin essence. Even a hundred would be a stretch.
For anyone dreaming of being Xu Luoshui's future Dao Companion, this kind of relative was a blessing.
Over the past few days, Cheng Qian had received a few gifts, but none as generous as Liu Xingzhi's.
A storage bag, one thousand spirit stones, and now a rare spiritual fish just to help with his damaged essence. Although the fish couldn't really heal it, not even close, it was the thought that mattered. That fish alone was worth five to six hundred spirit stones.
"Is Luoshui doing well in the inner sect?"
"Very well. She's been training hard every day, which is why she hasn't had time to visit you."
"That's good. No real cultivation comes without hardship. Her talent is better than mine. As long as she keeps working hard, she'll definitely reach Foundation Establishment."
Liu Xingzhi looked at Cheng Qian's sincere and serious face and couldn't help sneering in his heart. 'What a bumpkin. He really thinks Foundation Establishment is some kind of big deal.'
He had heard of earth-grade single spiritual roots before, but this was the first time he had seen one in person.
It was insane. The speed of cultivation was shocking. Everyone had underestimated the true power of an earth-grade single root.
At this pace, forget Golden Core. Even Nascent Soul was within reach if the resources were there.
Nascent Soul! A realm most didn't even dare dream about.
As such, Liu Xingzhi had also started taking action. He had a low-grade single spiritual root and never had much hope of becoming sect leader.
The cultivation world was brutally realistic. Even though the Liu family wasn't small, with four late-stage Foundation Establishment elders, without a Golden Core backer, they were still considered insignificant.
They had tried competing for sect leadership before, but always got eliminated in the first round. Why? No Golden Core expert to support them.
The Liu family once had a connection to a cultivator of that level, the master of their family's old ancestor, but that person vanished years ago while exploring a secret realm.
Over time, the Liu family gave up on aiming for power. Instead, they started expanding their influence among the sect's mid-level ranks. They used the support to extract resources from various markets, all to eventually gather the ingredients for a Gold Formation pill.
After three generations of effort, they had collected almost everything. All the supporting herbs were ready, and they had also obtained one of the main ingredients at a great cost. Only two key ingredients were missing now.
Liu Xingzhi had always believed he was just a link in this long chain. Maybe his children or grandchildren would become a Golden Core cultivator in the future.
But now, an opportunity had appeared.
Xu Luoshui. That uniquely elegant junior sister.
At first, knowing he had no real chance with her, he didn't plan to embarrass himself by trying. His goal was to find a Foundation-stage partner, someone practical to build a future with. He admired women like Xu Luoshui but didn't aspire to reach that high.
However, the news—reaching Qi Refining second layer in just one month—had shaken him to the core.
He had no choice now but to get closer to her, by any means necessary. And his family was fully behind him.
Not just the Liu family. Other influential families within the sect were all trying to find ways to get close to Xu Luoshui and win her favor.
Why were these families and sect forces going to such lengths to support a future Golden Core or even Nascent Soul cultivator?
It all came down to the structure of the cultivation world. The higher the peak of the pyramid, the higher everyone beneath it could rise.
A Golden Core cultivator, for example. At best, they could dominate a single prefecture. In a larger domain, they were nothing special. And that meant their followers could only reach a certain ceiling too. Their progress would always be capped.
But if someone broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, whether due to luck or talent, they could unify a prefecture's strength and reach far beyond, drawing in far greater resources from the wider domain.
Once one person ascends, everyone around them would soar.
So if Xu Luoshui was that one destined to ascend, who would benefit the most?
She had only one blood relative left, a useless cousin who likely wouldn't live to see her rise. No real family to rely on.
That left only one role with true benefits: her Dao Companion.
Liu Xingzhi and the others understood this perfectly. That's why he had canceled his arranged marriage, which had been planned for after Foundation Establishment. He was now fully committed to the "pursue Xu Luoshui" mission.
"Fellow Daoist Liu, do you think you could pass a message to Luoshui for me?"
When Liu Xingzhi heard that, he grumbled internally, 'Finally, took you long enough to get to the point. Talking with these clueless country folk is exhausting.'
Coming straight to Xu Luoshui would've done him no good. Everyone sees her cultivation speed and suddenly wants a piece. But coming through her cousin, with family ties, that's a much smoother approach.
"Of course. I'll stop by and visit her when I return to the inner sect."
"Thank you. Just tell her I'm doing well and she doesn't need to worry about me. She should focus all her energy on cultivation."
"How touching. You two must share a deep sibling bond."
"Sigh. She's the only family I have left. As long as she's doing well, that's enough for me. I've got no future anyway."
Liu Xingzhi offered a few half-hearted words of comfort, then left in a hurry.
Now that the door had been opened, the stepping stone had done its job; there was no need to stick around.
******
Meanwhile, Inside Xu Luoshui's Cave Dwelling.
The clone had dressed up.
Today's style was relaxed and lazy, with a hint of charm. She'd also picked a subtly seductive perfume, sweet and soft, yet dizzying.
Her appearance was innocent and cute, but the scent added a layer of intoxicating allure.
"Junior Sister, your cultivation progress has been too fast. You really should slow down a little. The Qi Refining stage is all about building a solid foundation," Xiao Wenchuan said, standing across from her.
"You're right, Senior Brother. But it just happened without me realizing. I don't know if something's wrong... maybe you could take a look?"
As she spoke, Xu Luoshui extended a fair, delicate arm wrapped in a sheer white sleeve.
Xiao Wenchuan's breath hitched as her pale skin hovered in front of him.
"Then... let me check. Forgive the intrusion." He reached out and placed his hand around her wrist.
A light blush bloomed across Xu Luoshui's face, soft and perfect like a peach blossom.
Her skin was cool, smooth, full of elasticity. Xiao Wenchuan took a deep breath to steady himself and focused on examining her energy flow.
"Hmm... Your spiritual energy is stable and firm. No problems at all."
Then he thought to himself, 'An earth-grade spiritual root... terrifying.'
Looking at Xu Luoshui's shy expression, her intoxicating scent, and her lazily seductive aura, he felt dazed.
"Senior Brother, you're hurting me." Her voice was like a mosquito's hum.
"Oh! Haha, sorry, sorry."
"You're the first person who's ever been this close to me. And yet you're so rough. Look, you even left a mark." Her tender voice drifted into his ears again.
A red handprint was clearly visible on her pale arm.
In that moment, Xiao Wenchuan's mind blanked out. Only one thought remained—could Junior Sister Xu possibly have feelings for me?
The clone watched the inner disciple in front of her, lost in delusion, and quietly laughed to herself.
Just then, a voice called out from outside the cave.
"Junior Sister Xu, are you inside?"
It was Liu Xingzhi.