Volume 1 Chapter 80: Senior Brother, Time to Form the Foundation

Volume 1 Chapter 80: Senior Brother, Time to Form the Foundation

Tn: Edited at 6 / 5 / 2025

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The streets of the marketplace bustled with noise and excitement. Wandering cultivators and merchant caravans crowded every corner, all here to make deals or trade goods.

Ye Anping strolled leisurely along the street, half-lost in thought as he recalled what Sima Xuanji had said to him earlier.

Sima Xuanji had told him, quite bluntly, that right now he was riding on the back of a golden dragon named Feng Yudie.

It wasn't a hard metaphor to understand. It was like the story of the twelve zodiac animals racing—where the rat, originally incapable of winning on its own, managed to come out ahead by clinging to the back of the ox. A creature without power had gained a place among the contenders through clever hitchhiking.

In this context, the "power" she referred to was likely the luck and fortune unique to cultivators.

Ye Anping wasn't particularly superstitious. He'd grown up a hardcore atheist in his previous life, and even after living over a decade in this world, he still found the ideas of fate or fortune hard to take seriously.

But when he really thought about it… almost every opportunity he and his Junior Sister had gotten so far was, in some way, thanks to Feng Yudie.

That Grand Elder from the Poison Gu Sect—Wu You—had only been injured because Feng Yudie struck him with her Immortal Emperor Dragon Body. Without that, Ye Anping and his Junior Sister would have had zero chance against him, and the torn fragment of the Mysterious Yin Art would never have ended up in his hands.

If not for Feng Yudie, his Junior Sister never would've joined the Profound Star Sect, never met Xiao Yunluo. And if she hadn't met Xiao Yunluo, then he wouldn't have caught Sima Xuanji's attention either.

And perhaps most importantly, Sima Xuanji said his sudden leap in cultivation was also because of Feng Yudie.

Truth be told, Ye Anping hadn't wanted to get too involved with Feng Yudie. His plan was simple: wait for a good time, take his Junior Sister, and quietly go somewhere remote to cultivate in peace.

But maybe Sima Xuanji had seen through that very intention of his.

Her words—"If she dies, you'll only fall into another, deeper pool of water."—sounded almost like a warning.

Trying to sever ties with Feng Yudie might just land him in an even more dangerous and unpredictable situation.

Ye Anping had to admit… that Sima Xuanji had a point.

As long as he stayed by Feng Yudie's side, at least he'd have some foresight into the storm ahead—and could prepare for it.

If he left, he'd be flying blind.

Thinking of all this, Ye Anping suddenly felt like… Feng Yudie had become his "boss."

Even though, strictly speaking, he and his Junior Sister were probably the ones profiting the most from this arrangement.

He gave a little shrug, then looked up at the plaque hanging over the auction house in front of him, exhaling lightly.

"Well… First things first. Let's form my foundation."

With that, he stepped over the threshold and entered.

"Shopkeeper, do you have any Sand Burial Bone, Morning-Evening Dew, Vermilion Fruit, Frost Dragon Jade, and Sun-Warm Jade? I'll take two sets of each…" Ye Anping hesitated. "No, make that three sets."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up hearing those items and quickly hurried over with a beaming smile. "Little Daoist, are you preparing for Foundation Establishment? Would you like some Foundation Establishment Pills as well? I just got a new batch in—top quality, I guarantee it. Want to take a look?"

Ye Anping gave a quick glance at the pills and nodded. "Hmm… not bad. Alright, I'll take three bottles."

"Excellent choice! One full set costs twelve thousand five hundred spirit stones—three sets will come to thirty-seven thousand five hundred."

Ye Anping thought for a moment, then tried to bargain. "I'm the owner of that Ye Therapy Pavilion on Jia Street. We're both in business, and I plan to drop by often in the future. How about giving me a little discount?"

"Oh? So you're that Young Master Ye?" The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, tapping on his abacus. "Senior Bai from the Profound Star Sect mentioned you before. Alright then, I'll give you a 20% discount—ten thousand spirit stones per set. Deal?"

"…Alright, deal."

———

In the blink of an eye, Sister Autumn was kicked flying by the arriving General Winter.

The Profound Star Sect greeted its first snowfall of the year.

As always, Xiao Yunluo woke up early. Still half-asleep, she washed her face, changed into her training outfit, and got ready to go out for a morning sword practice.

But the moment she opened the door, a blast of icy wind slammed into her, and her courtyard lay blanketed in snow.

She immediately shivered, slammed the door shut, and rushed back to her wardrobe to dig out her thick winter robes.

"It's snowing already? Another two months gone by… and that jerk Ye Anping still hasn't come looking for me… tch…"

Xiao Yunluo couldn't help but blurt out a sigh, but the moment the words left her lips, she froze.

"Wait—hold on! Why am I thinking about him coming to see me?! Hmph!"

She gave her head a vigorous shake, trying to physically fling Ye Anping out of her thoughts, then stomped off to the bamboo grove beside the sanheyuan courtyard to chop some bamboo.

Ever since their "sparring match" at the Therapy Pavilion, she hadn't gone looking for Ye Anping again.

Ye Anping had clearly been trying to kill her back then—she wasn't stupid. Why would she seek out someone who tried to take her life?

And yet...

Shua—!

A blade of wind sliced through the bamboo forest.

With a single sweeping slash, Xiao Yunluo spun her heavy iron longsword in a full circle around her, felling all the dry bamboo within ten feet in an instant.

Then she held her breath, steadying her breathing as she scanned the area around her.

There was no doubt—ever since that near-death battle with Ye Anping, she'd felt… like she could finally keep up with the likes of Pei Lengxue and Feng Yudie.

She was confident now. If she were to face that Seven Killers Sect group again—like the ones they met in the rear mountain—there's no way she'd panic and fumble her sword like before.

But... she still didn't quite understand what had changed in her.

All they'd done was spar once… so why did she feel so different?

And more importantly… why did Ye Anping's stupid face keep popping into her head every time she practiced swordsmanship?!

Sure, he was… objectively handsome, she supposed…

But…

But…

"I absolutely, definitely, do NOT like him!!"

She let out a furious yell, swinging her sword with all her strength and slicing a decorative stone in half with a clean, brutal slash. Her chest heaved as she gasped for breath.

"Huff... haah… huff..."

After a while, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath, forcefully shoving down the confused, burning feeling in her chest—half fury, half… something else she refused to name.

It was then that a silver streak flashed across the sky.

Xiao Yunluo instinctively looked up and spotted Pei Lengxue returning from somewhere, flying in on her sword. A red scarf was wrapped snugly around her neck, and her face was glowing with joy.

Xiao Yunluo blinked.

Now that she thought about it… for the past month or two, Pei Lengxue had been flying back from somewhere every few days in the early morning.

At first, Xiao Yunluo hadn't thought much of it—just figured Lengxue liked waking up early to run errands on the main peak.

But…

Who the heck sells scarves on the main peak?

She'd never seen Lengxue wear one before.

"… …"

After hesitating for a moment, she immediately turned and followed.

By the time she reached Feng Yudie's courtyard, Pei Lengxue had just landed inside.

"Lengxue!"

"Ah?!"

Pei Lengxue nearly jumped out of her skin, startled by the sudden voice. She turned around, flustered. "Y-Yunluo?! What are you doing here so early…?"

Xiao Yunluo walked up to her, eyeing the red scarf. "…Where'd you get that scarf?"

"This?" Pei Lengxue beamed and pulled on one end of the scarf proudly. "My Senior Brother made it for me! It's super soft—want to touch it?"

Xiao Yunluo stared for a beat, then asked again:

"Your Senior Brother made it? When did he give it to you?"

"Just this morning."

"You… went to see him this early?"

"Uh…" Pei Lengxue's cheeks flushed a rosy pink. She hesitated for a moment—then seeing it was Xiao Yunluo, she decided to be honest. "Actually… Yunluo, I stayed at my Senior Brother's place last night."

"…"

"Hehe~ Senior Brother said I should sleep over every two days. We've been doing that for the past two months."

Xiao Yunluo's jaw dropped in disbelief, and at the same time, her chest twisted with a strange, bitter tightness.

"S-Sleep over?! Don't tell me you two—"

"Mm…" Pei Lengxue gave a shy little nod. "I'm only telling you, okay? The truth is… I already had my bridal night with him two months ago."

"...Wha—WHAAAAT?!!!"