Chapter 1034 - 478: The Three Realms of the Golden Core; Returning to the Cold Pool

The music ends, the crowd disperses.

"Hic..."

Zhiwei let out a satisfied burp, her little belly round and full, even her steps had turned a bit wobbly.

At this Golden Core feast, she had truly pushed the phrase "stuffing herself silly" to its limit, forcibly emptying nearly half the delicacies laid out on the table before her.

"Master, it feels like Zhiwei ate so much I can’t walk anymore..."

The little girl rubbed her belly, scuffing her toes against the floor, gazing at Chen Ye with wide, hopeful eyes as she tried to spread her arms for a hug.

Seeing his disciple’s expectant look,

Chen Ye simply couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He sighed, bent slightly at the waist, slid his hands under the little lass’s armpits, and with a light lift, steadily scooped this well-fed White Furred Ball into his arms.

"Ah!"

Zhiwei cheered, promptly wrapping her arms around Chen Ye’s neck.

The girl rested her little head, still covered by a soft cap, comfortably against her master’s broad, warm shoulder. Her body carried the lingering fragrance of Hundred-Flower Snow Toad Soup; soft and toasty, holding her was like cradling a tiny living heater.

"You little brat, are you really too full to walk, or just being lazy and wanting someone to carry you?"

Chen Ye teased,

"Your master’s truly raised a gluttonous little piglet. You weigh a fair bit more than before we came to Dragon Sleep Mountain."

"Zhiwei is not a little piglet! I’m clearly a little dragonling!"

The little girl twisted restlessly in Chen Ye’s arms, muttering a soft protest,

"It’s all those Spirit Beast meats’ fault for smelling so good, they seduced Zhiwei first... And besides, Master’s arms are the most comfortable. Zhiwei loves it most when Master carries her!"

Listening to such righteous, unabashed wheedling, Qing Jun couldn’t help but shake her head helplessly.

She drew a clean white handkerchief from her sleeve and gently, carefully wiped the pastry crumbs from Zhiwei’s cheeks:

"Xu Zhiwei, you’re getting more and more capable. Now you even need your master to serve you by carrying you, is that it?"

"Uu... Senior Sister is the fiercest."

Zhiwei shrank her neck in fright and quickly buried her little face deep into the hollow of Chen Ye’s neck, playing dead.

That hateful Senior Sister

must be jealous of her!

"Enough, stop fooling around."

Chen Ye chuckled softly and patted Zhiwei’s back, then turned to Qing Jun and Jin’er with instructions,

"There were many people at today’s grand ceremony, eyes everywhere. You two follow the Xu Family Steward back to the guest courtyard to rest first, and keep a bit of vigilance. Qing Jun, Jin’er, keep an eye on this girl. Don’t let her cause trouble."

Hearing this, the little girl kicked her short legs twice in the air in grievance, looking at her master with great displeasure:

"Taoist Chen, what nonsense are you spouting! What do you mean ’don’t let me cause trouble’! You’re looking down on me!"

Chen Ye narrowed his eyes dangerously:

"Hmm? What did you just say?"

The little girl felt her scalp prickle under that dangerous gaze from her master,

but the problem was,

she was currently in her master’s arms. The lower-level code had been triggered; her sense of security was overflowing, and her courage swelled again. She pouted and yelled:

"Master, you complain every day that I’m not growing taller, but the moment I can’t walk, you still happily pick me up! You... you’re clearly an old codger!"

Zhiwei stuck out a fair, chubby little finger and righteously poked Chen Ye’s chest, even giving her master a disdainful once-over.

Chen Ye’s face darkened, especially when he noticed his other two disciples sneaking glances at him; it made it impossible for him to keep up his dignified front. He snorted coldly:

"Qing Jun, take this loose-tongued lass back to the guest courtyard. Her assignments for tonight are doubled; you supervise her personally. If she dares slack off and shortens her meditation by even one incense stick, tomorrow’s Spiritual Cuisine will all be replaced with Huanglian Grain-Avoiding Pills!"

With that, Chen Ye shoved the still-trying-to-wheedle-and-play-act White Furred Ball into Qing Jun’s arms.

"Uu uu uu... Master’s a big tyrant, Master doesn’t love Zhiwei anymore..."

Amid the little girl’s tearful whimpers and Jin’er’s faintly sympathetic gaze, Chen Ye flicked his cyan sleeves, gladly reclaiming some peace for his ears, and turned to stride toward the rear hall.

This girl,

she was getting more and more out of hand!

If others heard her, wouldn’t his spotless reputation be ruined?

...

The night was clear as water, and the clamor on the front mountain had faded to stillness.

The Water-Cloud Pavilion behind Dragon Sleep Mountain’s rear hall was built above a deep, tranquil pool suffused with rolling Spiritual Qi, with a sophisticated Concealing Array laid out all around.

As soon as Chen Ye stepped inside, the Array behind him silently closed, sealing this little pocket of heaven away from the outside world.

Inside the pavilion, Xu Henshan had changed into a simple, loose coarse cloth Daoist robe.

He sat cross-legged on a Dharma couch, with a small red-clay brazier in front of him, warming a pot of Spirit Tea.

"Little Friend Chen, please sit."

Seeing Chen Ye enter, Xu Henshan smiled and pointed to the cushion opposite him.

"This junior is disturbing Senior’s quiet cultivation." Chen Ye sat down at ease, not standing on ceremony.

"There were too many people in the main hall during the day, all sorts of powers intertwined; there were some things this old man could not conveniently say."

Xu Henshan set down his teacup and went straight to the point,

"Little Friend Chen, your foundation is so extraordinarily deep and your Spiritual Power so unfathomable that you are truly the most remarkable I have seen in my life. But do you know, the deeper the foundation, the more terrifying the backlash from heaven and earth will be when you attempt Core Formation?"

Chen Ye grew thoughtful.

He had heard that the Heavenly Tribulation faced by Nascent Soul cultivators was related to their underlying strength.

Most Nascent Soul cultivators, when crossing their tribulation, only drew down the most ordinary three-times-nine Heavenly Lightning.

Yet those peerless prodigies throughout the ages often attracted all sorts of legendary tribulations.

Though Core Formation did not require facing a tribulation, in a certain sense, the operation of heaven and earth and the balancing Laws of the Great Dao were the same.

If one wished to ascend to the extreme, one had to bear its weight.

If one wished to polish their Tao Foundation to a finer edge, one inevitably had to pay a harsher price.

"It seems Little Friend Chen has already thought through the pros and cons within."

Seeing the pensive look on Chen Ye’s face yet the clarity in his eyes, Xu Henshan smiled and stroked his long beard,