After sending away the unwelcome guests, Li Ye revealed a slight smile and turned to Luo Feibai and the others.
"You remained firm, prevented anyone from intruding during my seclusion, and ensured it was undisturbed. You have all done well and earned merit."
"This is not worthy of the Mountain Master's praise it was simply our duty," the four immediately bowed and replied, not daring to claim any credit.
Li Ye, however, waved his hand dismissively. "If I say you have merit, then you have merit. Don't interrupt me needlessly."
Their expressions stiffened slightly, a cold sweat forming on their backs.
It seemed even their humility was misplaced at the moment!
Fortunately, Li Ye appeared to be in a good mood and didn't mind, continuing,
"Since you've earned merit, you deserve a reward."
Tapping his slender fingers lightly against the armrest of his chair, four jade bottles were immediately lifted by a wave of his spiritual power and floated toward the four of them.
"Take these pills and use them well. Now that the demon tide is rampaging, if your cultivation is lacking, you might fall on the battlefield at any moment."
"While the situation is still relatively calm, hurry and strengthen your cultivation. When war breaks out, don't bring disgrace to the name of Pingyang Mountain!"
The four opened their jade bottles to find pills perfectly suited for their cultivation needs.
The quantity was enough to save them over a decade of arduous training.
If they could refine and absorb them all, reaching mid-foundation Establishment would no longer be far off.
For someone like Luo Feibai, who had been stuck at the early stage for years, it would even give him a real shot at breaking through to the mid-stage!
These pills were mostly the payment Li Ye had accumulated over the years from refining alchemy for others.
Now that he had broken through to the Golden Core stage, they were of little use to him. Strengthening his subordinates posed no threat to him anymore; instead, it would make them more effective, so he bestowed them generously.
Receiving such an enormous reward all at once, the four's faces immediately lit up with joy.
"Thank you for the Mountain Master's grace! We will not fail your expectations!"
Even Elder Yu, standing aside, couldn't help but show a flash of envy in her eyes.
Even back in her Purple Profound Sect, she had never once seen such lavish rewards given out so casually. Yet Li Ye had done it without a second thought.
Her gaze grew even more complicated as she watched.
Just then, she heard Li Ye chuckle and turn to her.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, shall we find a quieter place to talk?"
........
Inside the pavilion, a few delicate snacks and a pot of spirit tea were neatly arranged. Elder Yu still appeared somewhat tense.
She couldn't quite figure out why Li Ye had asked her to stay behind.
Considering her glamorous appearance and the way things often unfolded, she even thought it wasn't impossible that Li Ye might be interested in her in that way.
If that were the case... should she just accept it directly? Or should she at least put up a modest resistance first?
But if she accidentally offended him, what then?
Maybe just agreeing right away would be safer…
"Fellow Daoist Yu, there's no need to be so stiff. We're old acquaintances, after all,"
Li Ye said with a smile.
"This is a spirit tea I brewed called Bitterness Before Sweetness. Please, try it."
Li Ye lifted the teapot and poured her a cup of tea that was a clear green, like a pool of spring water.
Elder Yu lifted the cup and took a careful sip.
At once, a strong surge of wood-attribute spiritual energy bloomed in her mouth, along with an overwhelming bitterness.
Unbidden, painful memories and scenes of bloodshed surged back into her mind. Her emotions sank, weighed down by sorrow.
Yet amid it all, the wood energy grew stubbornly, pushing upward, unwilling to yield.
Before long, at the peak of the bitterness, a gentle sweetness rose, washing away the gloom.
A sense of relief filled her heart, and bright memories from her life surfaced, giving her newfound hope for the future.
"Bitterness Before Sweetness... What an extraordinary tea."
Gently wiping the glint of moisture from the corner of her eye, Elder Yu smiled, visibly more relaxed.
"There's no need for Li Zhenren to address me as 'fellow Daoist.' My name is Yu Lijun you may call me by my name."
"Fellow Daoist Yu, you've helped me in the past. There's no need to fuss over formalities,"
Li Ye said with a small laugh.
"I only asked you to stay because I wanted to catch up a bit... and to hear about the current situation."
"I will answer all your questions without reservation!"
Yu Lijun responded immediately.
Realizing that Li Ye had no other intentions, she couldn't help feeling a slight twinge of disappointment deep down.
But she was careful not to show it, fearing it might invite ridicule.
Now that she understood his purpose and attitude, she finally relaxed.
Thus, the two of them sat and chatted in the pavilion, exchanging words back and forth.
Most of the time, it was Yu Lijun speaking and Li Ye quietly listening.
She recounted the changes within the Purple Profound Sect over the past few years, the fall of their sect, the death of their ancestor, and the scattering of their disciples.
Then she moved on to the current situation regarding the fight against the demon tide.
"At present, the states of Jingwu, who have taken in many refugees from Huan and Yue, still have enough military strength to face the demon tide head-on..."
"But the biggest problem is that, with the death of the Purple Profound Ancestor and the betrayal of Daoist Feiyu, we now only have the black flood dragon of Thousand Isles Water City to contend with the two demon lords, Feiyu and White Bone."
As she spoke, she glanced at Li Ye, whose expression remained calm and unreadable, and continued cautiously:
"But now that you've broken through to the Golden Core stage, Li Zhenren, it truly feels like divine timing.
If you are willing to step forward, we may yet have a chance to defeat the demon tide and reclaim the Four Kingdoms..."
Li Ye, however, just gave a faint smile.
"Heh... That matter can wait. We'll see how Thousand Isles Water City behaves when they come to apologize."
Then he shifted the subject,
"Fellow Daoist Yu, do you remember the Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique you gave me?"
His tone grew a little more serious.
"This secret art for cultivating divine sense is quite profound. It's been especially useful for advancing my skills in various arts.
I wonder... do you happen to have more parts of it?
I'm willing to trade pills for it you won't lose out."
The Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique complemented the Heavenly Crafts Scripture beautifully.
Li Ye had coveted the higher levels for some time.
Now that Yu Lijun had come to him voluntarily, he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.
"The Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique..."
Yu Lijun looked a little surprised, then said cautiously,
"Although I did say so at the time... the truth is, I only managed to retrieve a few more incomplete layers from that strange cultivator."
"But the text is not in the usual language used for the first three layers.
It's obscure, distorted, and difficult to decipher.
I spent years trying to understand it but couldn't reconstruct a complete version."
"The part I gave you back then was all that could be cultivated directly."
She watched Li Ye carefully, worried he might hold her past words against her.
"Is that so?"
Li Ye didn't seem to mind.
After a moment's thought, he pulled out a bottle of pills and pushed it toward her.
"I'm still interested. See if this is sufficient."
Yu Lijun picked up the jade bottle, uncorked it, and peeked inside.
A flash of joy immediately lit up her face.
"This is more than enough! Thank you, Li Zhenren!"
Without any hesitation, she took out two jade slips, one black and one white.
"The black slip contains the original text of the Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique, and the white one holds my attempt at a translation and notes I compiled over the years."
Li Ye swept his divine sense over them, and at once, the unfamiliar yet vaguely recognizable characters resonated with his spirit.
Satisfied, he nodded.
"No mistake this is indeed the continuation of the Thousand Thoughts Divine Refinement Technique."
He browsed through them briefly but realized that fully understanding them would take time, so he put them away for now.
"In fact," Li Ye said, smiling slightly,
"There are a few other old matters I'd like to ask you about as well…"
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