“… The thing I hate the most after evil are liars and cowards. Now disappear from my sight, or I’ll make you disappear.”

Lie Zheng spoke with coldness in his voice, and the threat was clear to the man who had abandoned his friend and was trying to be recruited into the sect.

Nearby, Cang Song, who had been calm until that moment, completely froze upon hearing that sentence and feeling the powerful aura of the fiercest-looking elder of the sect.

Cold sweat couldn’t help but run down his back.

Beside him stood Elder Zhao, the elder responsible for the outer disciples, who couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Cang Song’s panic and quietly approached.

“You don’t need to worry, he’s talking about true cowards.”

He spoke suddenly as he arrived beside the disciple, who looked a bit terrified.

“Huh?!!”

Startled by the elder’s sudden and silent approach, Cang Song immediately looked to the side with frightened eyes and was met with Elder Zhao smiling calmly at him.

His face couldn’t help but look very awkward as he tried to process what the elder had said.

‘What do you mean by true coward?! You don’t think I’m a coward? I’m an authentic and absolute coward! The only reason I’m not king of the cowards is because I’m too afraid of the responsibility and of someone wanting my life for the throne!’

He wanted to scream that at the elder, but could only force a smile more pitiful than crying at the elder, who calmly observed him with a smile.

Elder Zhao shook his head at the sight of his expression, as if he could read his thoughts.

“You underestimate yourself, Cang Song. You passed Elder Lie Zheng’s test and entered the sect, which shows your heart is good. You may be fearful and cautious, but you are by no means a coward who would abandon someone who truly needs you. Your heart is good—you just haven’t realized it yet.”

Elder Zhao spoke gently and gave a warm smile to the disciple who had no idea how courageous his heart might truly be.

‘Uuhhh… Elder Zhao, I think there might be a misunderstanding…’

Cang Song forced a crooked smile, not knowing how to respond, but was screaming in panic inside his heart.

“Cang Song, I heard you joined the Pill Pavilion. I’m very familiar with Elder Dan Hong. Later, I’ll have a word with him and recommend that he consider taking you as a direct disciple. I know you’re a good and reliable man, and you’ll be a responsible senior brother to all disciples of the sect. Expect good news from me.”

Elder Zhao spoke with an encouraging and confident smile.

And without giving him a chance to respond, he turned around with his hands behind his back and walked away.

This time, Cang Song completely froze, his face turned pale, his body trembled, and his gaze filled with despair.

‘No, no, not that, not a promotion!!!! Please, Elder Zhao, don’t punish me like this!! NOOOOOOO!’

…

“How is this possible?!”

The old man looked at Rihai in disbelief as he exclaimed out loud.

‘Master?! What happened?!’

Shen He was startled by the sudden shout echoing in his mind.

But upon hearing his new student’s question, the old man snapped out of it and took a deep breath.

“It’s nothing. This matter is far beyond you.”

He didn’t answer and made it clear the matter was closed.

‘Uh… yes, Master.’

Shen He felt a bit awkward but nodded secretly to his master.

He didn’t dare insist or let his thoughts run wild, still unfamiliar with his new master enough to know what was acceptable and what wasn’t.

While Shen He felt a bit embarrassed, his master had already stopped paying attention to him, fully focused on Rihai.

‘It’s a divine physique, I’m certain of it. But how could another divine physique be born so quickly? My grandson was born with one not many millennia ago. Divine physiques should take millions of years before reappearing—only in rare cases do they appear sooner! And even more, of all places, born in the desert! I don’t know if it’s luck or misfortune.’

The old man pondered with a serious look.

Divine physiques were no joke. Though his spiritual energy as a peak cultivator was extremely powerful, he couldn’t analyze her physique and was repelled by the mysterious energy in her roots.

Fortunately, he had been subtle, and it hadn’t alerted her. He only knew it was a divine physique and not a protective artifact because he recognized the sensation coming from her roots—the same one he had felt from his grandson’s physique in the past.

‘Could the sense of familiarity come from the fact she has such a physique, like my grandson? Uhmm… that must be it…’

The old man finally understood where the unknown sense of familiarity and closeness was coming from and calmed down.

He then followed her a bit more with his eyes before shifting his gaze to Bao Wuji in the sky.

‘That man is still up in the heavens watching us. I doubt he’s completely unaware of the girl’s physique. In fact, it now makes sense why a Soul Formation cultivator is here. He’s either a guardian… or a jailer.’

The old man thought with narrowed eyes and a bit of anger in his heart toward Bao Wuji and the people behind him.

His thoughts only grew more resolute when he saw Bao Wuji following Aotian and Rihai, giving more attention to protecting them than to the rest of the sect.

‘Sending Xiao He to approach her will only bring problems. Even though I could take down that cultivator, I would fall into deep sleep and become vulnerable if I did—something that wouldn’t help her or Xiao He.’

He sighed and looked at the girl with pity.

‘Sorry, girl. I’m still too weak to protect you from the greed of these people. Without a strong background, a divine physique can only become food for the strong in this world.’

He thought, powerless.

His grandson had a divine physique, just like her, and he believed that because of this shared condition, his heart felt pity for the girl and a desire to protect her, rather than becoming greedy for her physique like other cultivators of the same level would.

‘No, I can’t give up on her so easily. I must protect her and take her to my son. Only then can she grow in safety and at the same time strengthen the Liu family by earning her loyalty.’

The old man thought firmly.

His heart clenched just thinking about leaving the girl alone and in danger.

‘I feel like I’ll regret it forever if I leave her to her fate. No, I can’t do that. Xiao He needs to become stronger. He’s the only one I can count on right now.’

The old man clenched his teeth as his heart raced, and for some reason, a fighting spirit was born in his gaze.

Without hesitation, he spoke to his disciple:

“Xiao He, the observation period is over. Find a place to cultivate. I’m going to pass on the technique that will change your destiny from now on. But in return, I need a favor from you.”

The old man spoke firmly, abandoning his aura as a master and directly requesting a favor.

Shen He’s eyes lit up with emotion upon hearing that, but he forced himself to stay calm.

‘Master, no matter what it is. Even if I have to cross mountains of blades and seas of fire, I won’t hesitate.’

He responded mentally with determination.

“Good. Do you see that blonde girl from the Infinite Dao Sect? Walking hand in hand with the black-haired boy?”

The old man asked, taking a deep breath.

Shen He quickly searched, and when he found her, he couldn’t help but be stunned by her beauty. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Shen He! Wake up! Don’t stare at her too long, it’ll raise suspicion.”

Annoyed, the old man shouted at him, making his eyes dart away.

The old man quickly looked toward Bao Wuji in the sky and saw him watching Shen He with a furrowed brow and an expression filled with anger.

He couldn’t help but feel helpless with his disciple, who ended up drawing the guardian’s attention with that look — especially considering he had already been wary of them before.

“Walk away calmly, don’t look again, and pretend to be casual.”

The old man ordered with a serious and heavy tone.

A bit embarrassed, this time Shen He acted properly before leaving, distancing himself enough and without drawing suspicion so that Bao Wuji averted his gaze.

Secretly sighing in relief, the old man finally relaxed.

“Very good, Xiao He. He looked away.”

The old man said, recovering his majesty.

“Uhmm, master, what about that girl?”

Shen He couldn’t help but ask, a little confused and secretly blushing as he remembered the beautiful woman.

“You don’t need to know right now. Just know that she’s probably in danger in that sect, and if we don’t save her, she’ll end up becoming just a pill to help others ascend.”

The old man explained, with a grim look.

‘So… what you want me to do is save her?’

Shen He was stunned and asked with a strange look, forgetting her beauty and focusing on the situation.

Cultivators usually don’t get involved in matters that don’t bring them benefit, so it was strange that his master wanted to save a stranger.

“It’s complicated, but that’s basically it.”

The old man nodded but didn’t want to explain that he only wanted to save her because she reminded him of his grandson and he felt bad leaving her defenseless, left to fate.

“Uhm… well, if that’s what master wants, I’ll do it. Master, what kind of technique will you teach me?”

Shen He, not understanding much, gave up on asking further and simply promised to do what his master wanted, then changed to the subject that interested him most.

“… Your five-element roots are your greatest challenge on your path. So, I’ll pass on a technique I created with great effort, after facing countless hardships. Although it’s useless to me, it may still be extremely useful to solve your problem.”

The old man explained, but his face and voice showed no pride in the accomplishment. On the contrary, he seemed somewhat distant.

The boy, in a way, noticed that his master was showing complex emotions and asked gently, trying to shift the focus from past sadness to the present.

“What’s the name of the technique, master?”

He asked softly.

“It’s a Taboo-tier technique created by me…”

The old man took a deep breath, and his gaze steadied.

“Its name is…”

“… Enlightened Mind.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep