At the summit of Yunfeng Peak lay a hidden grotto-heaven, a dilapidated Daoist training ground and the dwelling of an Immortal.
"This humble maiden is unworthy. I beg you, my lord, please be more… considerate… ah!"
Looking at the girl in front of him, pitifully gasping after biting her tongue, Ye Ling felt his mind turn into a mess. This Immortal was definitely not normal.
Her wine-red eyes, clear to the extreme, were already brimming with tears. That bite must have hurt badly. Had she gone so long without eating meat?
Snow-white hair was gathered into an elegant phoenix-facing bun, fixed in place by a Xuántian hairpin inlaid with rare Tianji Stones. The soft white strands flowed down like precious silk, faintly glowing with divine light.
Her skin was fair, translucent, and lustrous. Her delicate, graceful face, though utterly lacking in dignity because of that foolish expression, looked so adorable it could easily stir the most primitive impulses in any man.
A pure white dress woven from Ice Domain Sky Silkworm Silk wrapped around her petite yet proud figure. With those enticing curves and her current silly look, no one could guess that she was in fact a great expert at the Nascent Soul Stage.
Besides—
Please, I came here to take you as my master. Could you show me a little respect? Those lines are obviously wrong.
Sure, I can accept that older women have their charms, but with you acting this unreliable, how am I supposed to feel safe being "kept" by you?
This is the perilous cultivation world, not some romance-raising simulation game.
System, I'm new to cultivation, don't lie to me. This disgraceful thing is really a Nascent Soul Stage expert?
Ye Ling had followed the system's beginner guidance here. The girl was named Bai Yiyi, and according to the system, she was a great expert who had reached the Nascent Soul Stage.
Yet the moment he reported his name and explained that he had come to take her as his master, Bai Yiyi's face flushed red and she blurted out that line. It made him feel as if he had walked straight into an Immortal scam.
That said, Bai Yiyi's white hair and red eyes were undeniably striking. They perfectly matched and activated Ye Ling's XP System. On top of that, he had arrived in this world penniless, so he wasn't afraid of being cheated out of anything.
Poverty makes me fearless!
The only thing giving Ye Ling a headache was the thought that he might have to take care of this adorably foolish master in the future. Just thinking about it made him feel exhausted.
After the system brought him to this world, it had already fed him some basic common sense about it.
In this world, killing people and seizing treasures were everyday occurrences. With a master as clueless as his, wouldn't she end up being sold and still help count the money?
Just as Ye Ling started to worry, a line of small text appeared before his eyes.
[Detected host has completed taking a master. Reasonable Cultivation System officially activated.]
Reasonable cultivation?
So cultivation could be reasonable or unreasonable?
[Beginner Gift Pack has been issued. Please check, Host.]
[System Shop is now open.]
The next two lines of text finally gave Ye Ling a bit of confidence. Although he had taken on a master who looked utterly foolish, with the system as his golden finger, things should not turn out too badly.
"Sorry! Sorry!"
While Ye Ling was still dazed by the system messages, Bai Yiyi finally seemed to realize how inappropriate her words had been. She hurriedly said, "I said it wrong! It should be… it should be…"
She pulled out a roll of white cloth from her long sleeve, with something written on it.
"I was originally a courtesan… pfft! That's wrong too! Wait a moment…"
Watching Bai Yiyi flustered and at a loss, Ye Ling sighed inwardly. He took the initiative to bow and said, "Master above, please accept this disciple's salute."
No matter what, if he wanted to survive in this world, he had to rely on the system. First the system. Second the system. Third, damn it, still the system.
Even if he didn't know whether this disgraceful thing was the system's own daughter, since he had obtained the system through her, this bit of respect was only right.
But expecting him to perform a full kneeling kowtow to such an embarrassing thing? That was something he simply couldn't do.
Unless she knelt with him and performed this grand ritual of heaven and earth together.
"M-Master…!?"
The moment she heard that word, Bai Yiyi flushed bright red as if jolted by a powerful shock. Her legs clamped together instinctively, and her wine-red eyes, hazy with moisture, fixed tightly on Ye Ling's handsome face. Her entire body felt as though it had reached the crest of a surging tide.
"S-Say it again… say it again!"
It was probably because this was the first time she had ever been addressed that way in this lifetime. Bai Yiyi pressed Ye Ling to repeat it.
"Master."
Ye Ling felt utterly helpless inside, but faced with Bai Yiyi's foolishly adorable expression, he could only comply.
That single word seemed to flip some hidden switch in her. Bai Yiyi planted her hands on her hips, lifted her chin slightly, nodded in satisfaction, and said in an exaggeratedly dignified tone, "Mm-hm, good disciple. Good disciple."
"..."
Give her an inch and she wants a mile.
Watching this Master who looked ready to open a dye shop the moment she was praised, Ye Ling felt a wave of resignation. He even began wondering if, in a few days, he should apply to the System to switch to a different Master.
But at that moment, a flying sword suffused with divine radiance drifted into view before him.
"This is the Small Formless Sword. It's the reward your Master won when she first took first place at the Sect Tournament."
Bai Yiyi narrowed her eyes and lifted her delicate face, pride written all over it, as if she were silently shouting, "Praise me! Hurry up and praise me!"
As if you were the only one at the Sect Tournament.
Ye Ling complained inwardly as he accepted the flying sword.
Based on his current impression of Bai Yiyi, he simply couldn't imagine her winning first place. High cultivation could be chalked up to talent and good fortune, but a Sect Tournament selected geniuses among geniuses, elites among elites, the so-called people above people. No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't see his bargain-bin Master having that kind of pedigree.
Yet the moment his grumbling ended, he was completely stunned by the flying sword in his hand.
[Sword Name: Small Formless Sword (High-Grade Spirit Artifact)]
[Description: Small and formless, leaving no trace. Hidden in the void, moving like thunder.]
[Ability: Only those two realms above the wielder can detect this sword.]
Ye Ling didn't bother reading further. Just the words "High-Grade Spirit Artifact" were enough to set his heart racing.
From the foundational knowledge the System had force-fed him, he knew that weapons and magical treasures were divided into five tiers:
Mortal-grade Weapons, Extraordinary Treasures, Rare Spirit Artifacts, Heaven-Earth Artifacts, and Dao Artifacts.
Above those were Immortal Artifacts, but those were nothing more than legends. Even Heaven-Earth Artifacts and Dao Artifacts were hoarded by major sects as ultimate trump cards. Ordinary cultivators would never see one in their entire lives. Some Nascent Soul Stage experts were still using mere Treasures.
As for Spirit Artifacts, they occasionally appeared on the market, but were effectively priceless. For a Golden Core Stage cultivator to own one was like Ye Ling wearing a Rolex in his previous life, a clear symbol of standing above the crowd.
And now, Ye Ling hadn't even started cultivating yet. He had just taken a Master, and he was already being handed a High-Grade Spirit Artifact. With this kind of start, how could his cultivation not soar?
After all, a High-Grade Spirit Artifact was only one step away from becoming a true magical artifact. In a mid-to-lower-tier sect, this alone could serve as the sect's treasured heirloom.
Damn. I've really struck gold.
Looking at Bai Yiyi again, Ye Ling felt as though a halo of divine light had gathered around her.
Even if this master seems unreliable, I'm definitely going to live off her.
"Thank you, Master!"
Ye Ling bowed deeply to Bai Yiyi. This time, his gesture was far more sincere than before.
Whether it's a Spirit Artifact or not doesn't matter. What really matters is respecting my teacher and honoring the Dao.