Demoness, Stop! - Chapter 33 - Chapter 33 – Elder Sun’s Gift

Kunlun Mountain.

At the gate of the Kunlun Sect, disciples came and went. At one moment, a figure in white stepped out from the gate and flew down the mountain, riding the air.

This was Li Yu’s first time going down the mountain since entering the sect. Although the Kunlun Cave Heaven was rich in spiritual energy, staying there for too long inevitably made him feel stifled. He needed to get out, breathe some fresh air from the outside world.

This was what he told Elder Han.

But the real reason was that he had been scammed into buying a fake pill and had become the laughingstock of the entire sect’s disciples. Every time he went out, he felt the disciples from Danding Peak looked at him strangely. He planned to come out to lay low and wait for the matter to pass before returning.

Elder Han approved his leave. After all, Li Yu had already fulfilled this month’s quota of low-grade pills for him. He only needed to hurry back to pill refining by the end of next month.

During this time, Li Yu planned to visit Baiyun Temple.

He hadn’t seen the little tiger for over a month and missed it somewhat—especially the feeling of petting it.

Before leaving the sect, he asked Elder Han if it was possible to bring a spirit pet into Kunlun Cave Heaven. Elder Han said yes, as long as he obtained a token for it outside. With a token exclusive to spirit pets, it could pass through the sect’s gate formation.

For now, this was just Li Yu’s wishful thinking; he didn’t know if the little guy would be willing to come along.

Before leaving, Li Yu also took some tasks—all related to ghosts and spirits.

Handling malicious spirits was the most common task assigned to Kunlun’s lower-stage disciples when they went out. Mortals in the secular world sometimes died from accidents and became wandering spirits. Most would dissipate over time naturally.

But some, by coincidence, found places dense with yin energy and kept absorbing it, growing stronger.

These spirits were new at being ghosts and didn’t know the rules. Once they had some strength, they became unruly, frequently disturbing the lives of ordinary people. Some, extremely rampant, tasted the sweetness of cultivation and devoured many mortal souls in a short time. That was when Kunlun disciples had to step in.

Recently, because of the incident involving disciples from the demonic Soul Refining Sect, Kunlun assigned all ghost-related matters to formal disciples. Li Yu happened to be going out this time, so he took some tasks along.

Other tasks required risk assessment, but catching and purging ghosts was his specialty.

…

Ten days later.

Baiyun Mountain Range.

A figure swiftly flew along the mountain path. Passersby heading to Baiyun Temple to burn incense looked up and exclaimed, “Look, it’s an Immortal Master…”

Li Yu was riding a flying sword, hands behind his back, speeding along the ridge. The silhouette of Baiyun Temple was already visible.

After all, he wasn’t a sword cultivator; flying this way consumed a lot of his spiritual energy, and he had to concentrate to control the flying sword. But Li Yu thought it looked cool. After all, who didn’t have a dream of flying on a sword?

Because of the tasks, Li Yu had delayed a lot on the way and spent ten days to arrive here.

Not every trip had unexpected troubles. Li Yu completed more than a dozen tasks very smoothly, without encountering even a single Qi Refinement stage ghost. They were basically resolved easily.

While dealing with those ghosts, Li Yu also discovered that the incense burner actually returned a small amount of soul power to him when it absorbed the ghosts’ souls.

The soul power of cultivators increases with their cultivation level. Refining pills requires concentration and relies heavily on soul power, which is also connected to their spiritual awareness.

For cultivators, spiritual awareness is even more important than the five senses. It acts like their eyes, allowing them to sense everything around them.

Li Yu had opened fourteen acupoints in total. His spiritual power was equivalent to the first stage of Qi Refinement, approaching the second stage, but his spiritual awareness was already comparable to someone at the third or fourth stage of Qi Refinement, enabling him to perceive a wider range than a typical second-stage cultivator.

This seemed to indicate that the pill furnace knew how to share. No matter what it absorbed, it would give Li Yu a portion instead of keeping everything to itself.

Soon, the familiar buildings of Baiyun Temple appeared before Li Yu’s eyes.

He flew down and landed on a plaza in front of the main hall, where many figures had gathered. Li Yu didn’t recognize most of them; it seemed a new batch of disciples had arrived at Baiyun Temple.

Looking at their faces full of energy and hope, Li Yu felt a bit sentimental.

Compared to ordinary people, these disciples with cultivation talent naturally stood out, but two years later, how many of them would actually be able to enter Kunlun…

Among the crowd were a few familiar faces — those at the first stage of Qi Refinement who had not been selected last time and were waiting for another chance.

Li Yu nodded to them in greeting and walked straight toward Elder Sun’s small courtyard.

At that moment, the disciples on the plaza were whispering and speculating.

“Who is that person? I’ve never seen him before.”

“I don’t know. That senior brother looks very handsome. Is he also a disciple of Baiyun Temple?”

“That’s Senior Brother Li Yu. He’s already an official disciple of Kunlun.”

…

When the new disciples expressed their curiosity, a few senior disciples spoke up to clear their doubts. The moment those words came out, it immediately caused an exclamation among the crowd. Becoming an official disciple of Kunlun was their greatest dream. Instantly, the young disciples looked up to Li Yu’s retreating figure with admiration.

The senior disciples, on the other hand, were full of envy.

Before Li Yu entered Kunlun, they could feel that he was slightly stronger than them, but not by much. Yet in just two months, Li Yu had already become unfathomable in their eyes…

When Li Yu arrived at Elder Sun’s small courtyard, he found the elder, as usual, lying in a rocking chair soaking up the sun.

The noon sunlight fell on him but gave no warmth. He looked much older than when Li Yu had last seen him. His face was covered with wrinkles, and the skin on his exposed arms was withered and stuck tightly to the bones.

“Back already…”

Elder Sun lay in the chair, eyes closed, his voice hoarse.

Seeing Elder Sun like this, Li Yu was stunned for a long moment before speaking, “I went down the mountain to do some tasks and stopped by to see you, Elder Sun.”

Elder Sun opened his eyes, his cloudy pupils moving slightly, and asked, “You opened another spiritual vein? So among those unlucky ones who got scammed by fake pills in the sect, you’re one of them too?”

“…”

Good news doesn’t travel far, bad news travels a thousand miles. Unexpectedly, even Elder Sun knew about this incident.

Li Yu had actually been careful, but who would have thought someone dared to sell fake pills in Kunlun, and that the fakes looked more authentic than the real ones…

Li Yu was embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond. Elder Sun then added, “Two months gone, and your cultivation has improved so much. Looks like you received quite a bit of fortune in the sect.”

Li Yu realized that although he was wearing a magical robe that concealed spiritual awareness, it seemed to have no effect on someone like Elder Sun, who was at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Even though they were both Foundation Establishment cultivators, Elder Sun’s cultivation was far deeper than Elder Han’s.

When Elder Sun asked, Li Yu could only say, “I’m quite talented at pill refining. I’ve been helping the steward elder refine pills within the sect, saving a lot of materials. I took the pills I made myself out to sell and earned quite a bit of spirit coins, all of which I exchanged for Meridian Clearing Pills…”

Elder Sun said slowly, “You have three spiritual veins, and your soul is exceptionally strong, so your pill refining success rate should be quite good. However, now that you have an additional spiritual vein, taking pills to establish your foundation will become more difficult. It’s best to rely on your own cultivation—first bring one spiritual vein to Foundation Establishment before doing anything else.”

Li Yu nodded and said, “Thank you for your guidance, Elder Sun. I understand.”

With multiple spiritual veins, taking Meridian Clearing Pills is like opening a blind box, but cultivating actively lets you focus on a specific vein. The downside is that it requires steady cultivation. With Li Yu’s talent, it would probably take about thirty years to reach Foundation Establishment.

After sharing some experiences from the sect, Elder Sun silently listened. After a moment, he took something from his bosom and handed it to Li Yu.

It was a silver, spindle-shaped object. Li Yu recognized it as a flying boat artifact. He had asked about the price at the market on Zixiao Peak. Such a flying shuttle cost ten thousand spirit coins—ten times the price of a Meridian Clearing Pill.

Li Yu did not reach out immediately, his eyes filled with doubt, unsure what Elder Sun meant.

Elder Sun tossed the flying shuttle to him and said calmly, “I have lived over two hundred years without ever finding a Dao companion or having offspring. My worldly relatives have long been lost. Among the many disciples who have left Baiyun Temple, you are the first to come back and visit me. You’ve been coveting this flying shuttle for a long time—consider it a gift…”

The first time Li Yu saw Elder Sun just now, he had roughly guessed that Elder Sun had failed at forming a Golden Core, otherwise he wouldn’t have aged so quickly.

He was silent for a moment and said, “Elder Sun has been kind to me. I came back to see you with no other intentions.”

He spoke sincerely. Elder Sun was not related to him by blood but had given him a great deal of guidance in cultivation, gifting him high-level talismans and recommending him for admission to the sect. Li Yu had always remembered this kindness.

Elder Sun looked at him and slowly said, “The path of immortality is long and difficult. I know you are loyal and compassionate, but in cultivation, attachment is not a good thing. All attachments and ties will become your burden. The loveless are free, the detached become immortals. I hope you remember my words today…”

Li Yu remained silent. Elder Sun chuckled and said, “Of course, I’m not giving you this for free. You still need to do something for me.”

Li Yu said, “Please tell me, Elder Sun.”

Elder Sun gazed at the drifting white clouds and said, “My path of immortality—over two hundred years—began and will end at Baiyun Temple. After I die, burn my body and bury my ashes behind Baiyun Temple. Whenever you think of me, come here and pour a cup of spirit wine at my grave. That will be your way of repaying me.”

Li Yu was silent for a moment, then nodded, “I will.”

Elder Sun chuckled a few times, then beckoned. A wooden box flew out from the house behind him. He handed the box to Li Yu and said, “We come into this world naked, and we leave it naked. These things I leave to you. Don’t forget what you promised me…”

After saying this, he closed his eyes and lay back in the chair. Before falling asleep, he reminded Li Yu again, “After I die, be sure to burn my body to ashes before burial. I don’t want those demon brats stealing my corpse to turn me into a zombie. In death, I want peace…”