"I've taken you everywhere in Xuan Qing Sect that can be visited. I don't want to accompany you anymore," Bei Xinghan said gloomily, standing beside Xu Yi.
"Then what do you want to do?" Xu Yi asked with interest.
"I..."
He wanted to practice swordsmanship.
Bei Xinghan didn't finish his sentence, his eyes full of confusion.
Practicing swordsmanship had become a part of his life, integrated into his very being. He didn't know what else to do besides practicing swordsmanship.
Play?
He had no interest.
But even if he achieved mastery in swordsmanship, his father wouldn't approve. So, what was the point of practicing?
Bei Xinghan fell into struggle and entanglement once more.
Xu Yi, accustomed to the tremors of the ground, wondered how many days had passed outside.
This was Bei Xinghan's sea of consciousness, and the flow of time was surely different from the outside.
Since she hadn't been forcefully removed from his sea of consciousness, that incense stick was likely still burning, and she should have enough time to make it to the secret realm expedition.
As Xu Yi lost herself in thought, the ground tremors gradually subsided.
Bei Xinghan's eyes brightened, as if he had figured something out.
"Sister, I've made up my mind."
Xu Yi instinctively straightened her body, anticipating that Bei Xinghan, having overcome his inner demons, would soon expel her from his sea of consciousness.
"I'm not practicing swordsmanship anymore. I want to learn formations from you!"
Bei Xinghan clenched his fist tightly, looking proud, as if he had come up with a brilliant idea.
When Xu Yi had guided him in swordsmanship, she had casually mentioned that she knew formations, and Bei Xinghan had remembered it.
Xu Yi: ...
Xu Yi was speechless for a moment, then quickly nodded in agreement.
He wanted to learn formations? Of course, she could teach him.
Xu Yi immediately took Bei Xinghan to a spacious and secluded place to teach him the basic principles of formations.
Bei Xinghan learned very earnestly and very quickly.
After a few days, he learned to use stones to set up a simple Maze Array.
A month later, Bei Xinghan threw a stone to the ground in frustration, saying, "I don't want to learn formations anymore!"
The knowledge of formations was dry and boring!
It wasn't fun at all!
"Alright, then we won't learn anymore. What else do you want to learn?"
Xu Yi glanced at the stone he had thrown to the ground, not getting angry, and asked with a half-smile.
"Artifact refining?"
Bei Xinghan's eyes flickered as he gauged Xu Yi's expression, cautiously asking this question.
Xu Yi clapped her hands decisively, "No problem."
Xu Yi directly approached True Person Qinglian to borrow a refining room and began teaching Bei Xinghan artifact refining.
Bei Xinghan had only made a casual inquiry, but he didn't expect Xu Yi to actually know artifact refining. He could only frown and learn artifact refining from Xu Yi for seven days.
After seven days, he was unwilling to continue learning artifact refining.
"Artifact refining isn't suitable for me. I, I... I want to be an alchemist!"
Bei Xinghan declared loudly, with his neck stiff.
"It's just alchemy, I can do that."
Xu Yi once again approached True Person Qinglian, borrowed an alchemy furnace and some common spirit herbs, and piled them in front of Bei Xinghan.
"You said it yourself. I'll teach you now."
Bei Xinghan looked at the pile of spirit herbs, which were taller than him, and felt like crying without tears.
How could she know everything!
Seeing his crestfallen expression, Xu Yi let out a soft hum.
You want to stump me? Dream on.
Finally, after Bei Xinghan had tinkered for seven or eight rounds, he presented Xu Yi with the idea that was most difficult for him to utter.
"I... I still want to practice swordsmanship."
After two months of not practicing swordsmanship, he felt as if his body was like a dry branch, breaking with a single touch.
He was now gradually recalling the joy and delight that followed the arduous practice of swordsmanship.
"Isn't practicing swordsmanship very hard? Why do you still want to practice?"
Bei Xinghan looked up at Xu Yi, and an answer blurted out.
"Because I like it!"
Practicing swordsmanship was hard.
But he enjoyed it.
Yes, he finally realized he loved practicing swordsmanship!
Not to gain the approval of others, but to pursue his true heart!
Bei Xinghan's eyes sparkled with brilliance, like a sharp sword finally breaking through the obscuring clouds.
Boom!
The scenery before Bei Xinghan shattered like a mirror. Large swathes of the scene suddenly collapsed, the ground cracked, revealing a dark, abyssal void.
He looked around in a daze, memories gradually surfacing in his mind.
The scene of being rejected by Bei Canghai.
The scenes of practicing swordsmanship day after day without rest.
The scene of True Person Qinglian sighing and shaking his head.
And the scene of his crushing defeat in the sect competition.
He remembered.
"Xu Yi."
His throat was dry, and he managed to call out Xu Yi's name with difficulty.
"Bei Xinghan, I'll be waiting for you outside."
Xu Yi smiled slightly. The Soul Stabilizing Needle in her divine soul flashed, and a powerful pulling force permeated her entire body, forcefully dragging her divine soul outward.
Xu Yi did not resist. She closed her eyes, letting her divine soul drift outward.
After an unknown amount of time, she felt as if her entire body was immersed in a warm spring. The familiar and reassuring sensation made her realize she had returned to her body.
She slowly opened her eyes and indeed saw the old face of True Person Qinglian before her.
"Oh~"
Xu Yi couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.
The disparity between the True Person Qinglian in Bei Xinghan's sea of consciousness and the True Person Qinglian in reality was too great, and she found it difficult to accept at first.
True Person Qinglian looked at Xu Yi with confusion. He hadn't missed the fleeting look of disdain in Xu Yi's eyes just now.
"Why are you out? Did you succeed?"
True Person Qinglian's face revealed a rare hint of tension.
Less than a quarter of the Soul Guiding Incense remained, which was not enough to support Xu Yi's next action. Therefore, this was the last opportunity.
Xu Yi sighed softly.
Why didn't anyone notice how good True Person Qinglian was to Bei Xinghan?
Xu Yi reached out and patted True Person Qinglian's shoulder comfortingly, "You've worked hard all these years."
True Person Qinglian: ...
True Person Qinglian's gaze swept over, and Xu Yi quickly withdrew her hand sheepishly.
She had gotten used to joking with True Person Qinglian in his sea of consciousness and had momentarily failed to adjust. My fault, my fault.
"It should have been successful. He should wake up soon," Xu Yi said with a smile.
"Really?"
True Person Qinglian's eyes lit up. He ignored Xu Yi's previous impolite behavior and couldn't help but stand up and walk around the room twice.
"How long was I inside?"
"Twenty days."
Xu Yi thought, "Twenty days isn't too long."
She stood up, walked to the door, and said to True Person Qinglian, "In that case, I'll go back and rest. After all, Bei Xinghan probably won't want to see me when he wakes up."
"What did you do to him?" True Person Qinglian looked suspicious.
"Hehe, I didn't do anything. It's all for his own good anyway. If you want to know, you can ask him yourself when he wakes up. I'm leaving."
Xu Yi chuckled dryly, then waved at True Person Qinglian and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
True Person Qinglian chuckled wryly.
The more he interacted with Xu Yi, the more he felt she possessed a different temperament from others.
Ordinary disciples were always respectful and orderly when they saw him, but Xu Yi was informal, treating him as an equal and showing no restraint.
It was truly strange.
He pondered for a moment and then stopped thinking about it. He turned to look at Bei Xinghan and met a pair of eyes as dark as ink.