*Chapter 15: Have You Ever Heard of the Pleasure Sect?**

The blue True Qi was like food, devoured entirely by the seven-colored True Essence, and Leo felt an intangible sword intent brewing within his dantian, which he was able to comprehend and absorb.

Sword intent is the ultimate pursuit of Taoist cultivators who use swords. Depending on their innate talents, those with an "innate sword body" can grasp sword intent merely by touching the sword hilt, whereas duller individuals might struggle for a thousand years and still not catch a glimpse of it. In his past life, Leo had never cultivated the sword and had, therefore, never encountered a strand of sword intent himself. His current discovery was a tremendous surprise.

He could hardly believe that this strand of sword intent, which had likely been nurtured in Wu Chi's True Essence for an extended period, had been directly reclaimed by Leo! This was indeed an unexpected windfall! With sword intent, Leo could unleash even greater power in any sword-related mystical techniques.

Leo couldn't help but marvel at his seven-colored "Divine True Essence." What kind of attribute was this? It was incredibly domineering! Did it evolve due to Reina's awakening of her celestial spirit talent?

He glanced at Reina, who was holding his hand. The little girl was happily munching on a candied hawthorn.

After a moment, Leo bent down to her level and said, "Reina, do you know what I was most afraid of when I was fighting on the stage?"

Reina looked puzzled. "What was it?"

"Take a guess."

"Um... are you afraid of dying? I was really scared too."

"I'm not afraid of dying."

"Then what are you afraid of?" Reina looked confused.

Leo squatted down to meet Reina's gaze.

"I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of never seeing you again."

"I'm worried that after I'm gone, you'll be all alone and bullied by others."

"Thinking of this, I immediately woke up."

"So, actually, I need to thank you, Reina." Leo said, resting his hands on her shoulders earnestly.

Reina listened to Leo's words, her expression blank at first. Then, visibly, her eyes quickly filled with shimmering tears!

"Woo... Brother!"

She opened her arms and rushed into Leo's embrace, crying out loud!

"I don't want to be separated from you either! Boo hoo..."

Leo's heartfelt words shattered her psychological defenses!

"Okay, okay... How could we be separated? Don't cry, don't cry..."

He gently patted Reina's back, comforting her, feeling immensely pleased.

That evening, Leo simply prepared a meal for the two of them, and after eating, they went to bed. Leo needed to rest and heal, and Reina, who had been on edge all day, was also tired.

Now that the "Jueyun Anti-Qi Array" was in place, they were just waiting for Reina to awaken her legendary celestial spirit talent.

Leo found himself filled with anticipation.

At six years old, she would awaken and gain the support of the laws of the Dao; what kind of technique would be worthy of her?

Leo thought it was also time to teach Reina some cultivation knowledge so she wouldn't be frightened when she awakened.

With that in mind, he lifted the covers, put on a robe, and sat up. Reina, unsure of what was happening, sat up slightly confused.

"What's up, Brother?" Reina asked. She was wearing a set of children's pajamas as she sat in the dark across from Leo.

"Reina, do you know what cultivation is all about?"

"Cultivation... I know a little." Reina thought for a moment before answering.

"Hmm? Tell me, what do you know?" Leo was a bit surprised; this wandering child actually knew about cultivation?

"My grandpa told me that on the day I was born, there were strange sounds from the sky, like someone was chanting scriptures. My mother's belly became transparent because of me. When I was born, my whole body glowed with strange white characters that danced around me."

"My grandpa said I have celestial spirit talent... Brother, what is celestial spirit talent?"

Reina tilted her head up, her big bright eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Uh... Celestial spirit talent is a very strong talent for Daoist cultivation, Reina. In the future, you will be very powerful on your cultivation path."

From Reina's simple description, Leo could envision what extraordinary phenomena occurred at the time of her birth.

Hearing what Leo said, Reina's big eyes lit up with excitement. She asked eagerly,

"Then when I awaken, will I be able to protect you?"

Leo gently ruffled her hair, feeling gratified. "Yes, I'll be counting on you to protect me in the future."

"What else do you know?"

"Nothing more. Grandpa only said I have celestial spirit talent, just like what you said, that I'll be very powerful in cultivation in the future."

"He doesn't understand it either; it was an old Taoist priest who mentioned it to him."

Leo nodded. It seemed that Reina indeed came from a humble background; her family had been disconnected from cultivation for generations. However, somehow, she was born with a remarkable celestial spirit talent.

Unfortunately, Reina's luck didn't seem very good. Before she could awaken, her family encountered a disaster, and she barely remembered anything from that time.

After becoming a wanderer, her beloved grandfather was killed in the Southern He Divine Kingdom.

At the age of six, she was drifting through the world alone, possessing a celestial spirit talent but knowing almost nothing about cultivation. Heaven knows what she had experienced.

No wonder she later went dark, establishing the Holy Gate, considering herself to be on the path of evil, opposing all the Daoist sects of the Central Continent.

In stark contrast was the other star, Yani, born into nobility, who had a smooth journey with the help of powerful resources and supporters, shining brightly like the favored child of fate.

Leo gently patted Reina's little head, feeling a bit of heartache.

He felt sorry for the Reina of his past life and also for the naive version of himself from before.

"What's wrong, Brother?"

Reina immediately sensed that Leo was feeling a little down and moved a bit closer, wrapping her small hands around his big hand.

"It's nothing, Reina. I'm going to teach you some basic cultivation knowledge. You'll be using it soon, so you have to listen carefully."

"Okay!" Reina nodded obediently, finding it very novel that Leo was giving her a lesson.

For half the night, Leo taught Reina what spiritual energy was, what True Qi was, the positions and functions of various meridians in the body, the role of the dantian's Qi Sea, and tried to guide her to sense the spiritual energy from the surrounding heavens and earth.

"So this is spiritual energy! I wondered what was running around in my body every day. Is this something I need to refine too?"

Reina asked curiously.

Celestial spirit talent would allow the body to resonate automatically with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth; with just a thought, she could transform the energy for her use...

The more Leo taught, the more he found himself questioning his own life...

On the third day, Leo was awakened by the sun shining through the window, and Reina was still sound asleep beside him, one leg resting on his stomach.

Last night, the laws of the Dao had surged again, but Leo needed to heal and could not cultivate for safety, merely watching them burrow into Reina's brow.

Fortunately, thanks to the pills given by Elder Xuanji, the lowest-grade ones were spiritual-grade, and Leo was nearly fully recovered today.

Last night, Reina had also experienced nightmares; the laws of the Dao had twisted like a furious snake, reflecting her inner turmoil. Leo had heard her muttering in her sleep, uttering words like "Brother" and "Grandpa."

She still feared losing her loved ones.

At this moment, she had calmed down completely, her plump and lovely little face glowing delicately like porcelain during the day, her petite nose gently twitching, and her long dark lashes catching the sunlight, her eyelids fluttering occasionally as she dreamt.

Leo wished she could always remain this quiet, adorable, and obedient little girl and never awaken that haughty empress persona within her.

But that was merely his wishful thinking. In the end, he would have to take it one step at a time.

He stepped outside and splashed some well water on his face.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

*(Knock, knock, knock)*

Three extremely respectful and polite knocks, as if the visitor was very humble.

Leo quickly went to the door, not wanting to wake Reina.

They were in the Hidden Valley, where, besides Master Wuyuan, there were many older, more experienced, and higher-level Daoist practitioners living in seclusion.

They were the foundation of the Hidden Valley, maintaining the regulations of this self-cultivation base, so Leo was not worried about Wuyuan seeking revenge.

At least, not so soon.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see a young man and woman who appeared to be slightly older than him.

The man was tall with somewhat delicate features, while the woman was strikingly beautiful, her voluptuous figure exaggerated and dressed in revealing clothing, exposing large areas of her snowy white skin without any concealment!

Both wore expressions of delighted surprise and beamed with smiles.

"Daoist friend Leo, I've heard much about you," the man said, cupping his fist in a deep bow.

"Leo, indeed a remarkable talent! So handsome!" the woman covered her mouth, giggling lightly, her peach blossom eyes filled with flirtatious affection, almost lewd in their expression.

"The two of you are…" Leo's mind had already guessed what sort of visitors had come upon seeing their appearances.

The man grinned mischievously and got straight to the point: "Brother Leo, have you ever heard of the Pleasure Sect?"