Punk Kid, Do Your Knees Have a Grudge Against the Floor?

Luo Shao-jie found the courtyard quite ordinary, unlikely to be the place where Mu Rong-xue and the others gained insights.

But there might be clues inside, so he decided to investigate further.

However, the moment he stepped in, he regretted it.

Bang! Bang!

A jolt of pain shot through his knees and into his mind.

When he saw the scene before him, he was dumbstruck.

He became completely oblivious to the pain in his knees from kneeling down so abruptly.

This...!!

Looking ahead, his mind was like a mighty dragon thrashing in turmoil, waves crashing violently.

What is this place?!!

The sight before him made him re-evaluate his perception of this world.

This was definitely not the mortal realm!

At that moment, he felt as if hundreds of ferocious beasts from the primordial era were glaring at him hungrily!

Powerful auras pressed in on him from all sides.

Witnessing everything around him, his sweat glands went into overdrive, drenching his body.

He felt like he was in a blazing furnace.

Apart from sweating profusely, his spirit also felt under intense assault.

However, after the initial shock wore off, his face suddenly flushed red.

The surrounding divine artifacts and peach trees, sensing Luo Shao-jie's abnormal state, were equally dumbfounded.

"Wait, do I sense his blood surging?!"

"He... he's not getting excited, is he?"

"Oh my, this kid doesn't have some special fetish, does he?!"

"Then... should we still torment him? Wouldn't that just excite him more?"

Hiding in a corner, a celestial tool overheard the discussion between the brooms and others, finding it quite bizarre.

It also glanced at Luo Shao-jie.

This fellow was truly talented, able to provoke such a discussion among divine artifacts.

But that fetish, ahem, was quite awkward indeed.

Just as the artifacts unanimously decided not to let Luo Shao-jie indulge himself any further and were about to let him leave, two figures suddenly approached from outside the courtyard gate.

It was Chen Ping'an and Su Ling.

At that moment, Chen Ping'an was holding some tools, his right hand fingers stained by yam juice that had splashed onto them. Since yam juice can cause itching when it gets on the skin, he was walking and scratching his middle finger with his thumb intermittently.

Su Ling, on the other hand, held a basket and bounced along merrily, clearly satisfied with their yam-digging excursion.

As they neared the gate, Chen Ping'an noticed the kneeling Luo Shao-jie.

"Hm?"

Seeing this familiar scene, Chen Ping'an felt a sense of déjà vu.

He quickly approached and glanced at his door threshold.

It's not that high, yet someone tripped again?

"Hey kid, what happened to you?" Chen Ping'an asked as he helped Luo Shao-jie to his feet.

Luo Shao-jie was breathing heavily, covered in sweat.

Awkwardly, his face was also flushed red.

When Chen Ping'an touched him, that unbearable sensation instantly dissipated, allowing Luo Shao-jie to stand back up.

He then looked up at Chen Ping'an, wanting to express his gratitude.

But upon seeing Chen Ping'an, his legs nearly buckled again.

Chen Ping'an paused for a moment. Seeing Luo Shao-jie about to kneel again, he reached out to steady him.

Luo Shao-jie stared dumbly at Chen Ping'an.

In his eyes, Chen Ping'an seemed to have a special effect applied to him, his body radiating light and enveloped in profound rhythms of the Dao.

An...an immortal?!

His mind was in turmoil.

He looked between Chen Ping'an and the courtyard, recalling how the oppressive pressure on him had vanished the moment Chen Ping'an arrived. He became convinced this courtyard belonged to the immortal before him.

"Greetings...senior!" Luo Shao-jie hastily cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, bowing deeply with his head lower than his hands. His voice boomed, as if afraid Chen Ping'an wouldn't hear him.

Hearing Luo Shao-jie's words, Chen Ping'an's expression turned strange again as he scrutinized the young man.

A cultivator?

And like Mu Rong-gong and the others, he respectfully addressed Chen Ping'an as 'senior'...

Chen Ping'an pondered, scratching the itch on his middle finger with his thumb as he asked, "If I'm not mistaken, you know Mu Rong-gong, Mu Rong-xue, and the others, right?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Shao-jie's expression changed slightly.

How did the senior know?

Did they mention him during their visit?

But that doesn't seem right...

As Luo Shao-jie wondered, he noticed Chen Ping'an scratching his fingers and immediately understood.

The senior deduced it!

"That's correct," Luo Shao-jie nodded quickly.

Seeing his admission, Chen Ping'an's expression became even more peculiar as he continued, "Then you must be their relative, am I wrong?"

Luo Shao-jie nodded vigorously again like a chick pecking at grain, stunned by Chen Ping'an's deduction.

So incredible!

Who could have any privacy before such an insightful senior?!

With Luo Shao-jie's confirmation, Chen Ping'an felt assured of his previous conclusion.

"Indeed, mental issues seem to run in the family. Alas, they're beyond help."

Here was another foolish child.

He wondered what the foolish kid had been up to earlier – flushed face, profuse sweating, heavy breathing.

Was he exercising vigorously?

Or...like Mu Rong-yun-hai and the others, depleting his essence?

Ugh, at such a young age.

It seems he would need to educate them on nourishing life.

He didn't understand why cultivators were all like this.

Or perhaps...cultivation involved expending kidney essence to advance?!

Chen Ping'an felt he had seen through the path of cultivation.

"Don't just stand there. Since you're Mu Rong-gong's relative, come in and have a seat."

The guest had already arrived and even tripped over the threshold. He seemed unsteady on his feet earlier, so Chen Ping'an didn't feel right dismissing him outright.

Otherwise, he might fall to the ground again.

The courteous thing would be to offer him tea.

Though when he thought of offering tea, Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment.

But then he figured perhaps this young man's mind could still be saved.

He would take a chance that this youth wouldn't be like Mu Rong-yun-hai and the others.

With that, Chen Ping'an smiled at Su Ling, instructing her to go wash the yams.

Luo Shao-jie also followed Chen Ping'an's gaze toward Su Ling.

Upon seeing her, his legs nearly buckled again.

Good lord!

Chen Ping'an noticed Luo Shao-jie's unsteadiness and frowned, quickly reaching out to support him.

It seems the fall was quite serious. He should apply some medicine later.

These cultivators are really that frail, tripping over a threshold and becoming this unbalanced from a single fall? What use is their cultivation then?

Chen Ping'an sighed helplessly, no longer daring to let Luo Shao-jie walk on his own. "Come, I'll help you inside."

In a daze, Luo Shao-jie found himself following Chen Ping'an into the house.

Just now, he had been intimidated by Su Ling's overwhelming aura.

What sort of profound cultivation level was that?!

At such a young age to possess such terrifying power, it defied common sense!

As Luo Shao-jie sat down inside, he sensed numerous gazes fixated on him from all around, causing him to sit upright nervously.

Su Ling didn't seem to take a liking to Luo Shao-jie, not uttering a word as she took the yams into the kitchen to wash them.

Chen Ping'an went to brew tea, not forgetting to grab some goji berries as well.

This youth appeared even more depleted, so a tonic supplement wouldn't hurt.

After preparing the tea, Chen Ping'an poured him a cup and said, "Wait here, I'll go get you some medicine and help apply it in a bit."

With that, Chen Ping'an returned to the bedroom.

Luo Shao-jie eyed the teacup, picked it up and took a small sip.

After sweating so profusely earlier, he was rather thirsty.

He assumed it was just ordinary tea.

But after drinking it, he was dumbstruck once more.

"This...this is a treasure! My spiritual root level has actually increased!!"

Luo Shao-jie was so shocked his eyes nearly popped out.

He then furtively glanced around like a thief.

Without hesitation, he downed the rest of the tea and reached for the teapot to refill his cup.

But just as his hand neared the teapot, an immense pressure fell upon him.

Bang!

He was knocked off the chair, kneeling on the floor again.

Luo Shao-jie was stunned once more.

This...

At that very moment, Chen Ping'an, who had returned with medicine in hand, witnessed the scene.

He held two bottles - one of medicated draught for treating falls, the other a pill called Six-Flavor Rehmannia.

Seeing Luo Shao-jie kneeling on the floor again, Chen Ping'an's face twitched in exasperation.