Seeing the confused look on Li Sheng's face, Bai Ye spoke firmly:

"This is the only way. Now that my Inner Strength Realm is close to perfection, I can use this opportunity to hone myself against the beasts. If I break through, I might even be able to try hunting seventh-grade beasts. A seventh-grade beast is worth fifty to a hundred spirit stones. Killing just two would be enough to gather the resources."

Sensing the determination in her tone, Li Sheng sighed inwardly. If it weren't for the sect being bound to him, he would have handed over the sect leader position to her. But it seemed Bai Ye had no intention of taking on that role.

With this thought, Li Sheng shook his head slightly and decided it was time to lay all his cards on the table.

Seeing Bai Ye's unwavering gaze, she spoke first: "I've made up my mind, Senior Brother Sect Leader, you don't need to persuade me any further."

"There's no need for that. I have a better solution. If you take on all the hard work, wouldn't that make me, the sect leader, seem useless?" Li Sheng's face displayed a confident smile.

At this, Bai Ye was momentarily stunned, giving Li Sheng a strange look, as if to say, Aren't you already useless?

Feeling a bit awkward, Li Sheng scratched his head, silently complaining, "Damn, she understands too quickly."

Then, he pulled out the Turtle-Snake Body Refining Technique from his pocket and casually tossed it over.

Bai Ye raised her slender hand, catching the manual precisely. She looked at it with curiosity.

As soon as the two spiritual shapes of the turtle and snake appeared before her eyes, Bai Ye's pupils shrank abruptly, and her delicate face filled with shock. She quickly flipped through the pages.

Moments later, Bai Ye lifted her head in confusion, seeing Li Sheng's intentionally profound expression. She felt as though everything was too surreal.

"This is a spiritual-level martial art, and it even has two spiritual shapes. If this martial art were to be made public, every grandmaster in the world would come rushing." Imagining such a scenario, even with her typically cool demeanor, Bai Ye couldn't help but feel her heart race, her ample chest rising and falling rapidly.

Her once-useless senior brother now seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious veil, making her unable to see through him.

"Se... Senior Brother Sect Leader, are you planning to sell this spiritual-level martial art?" Bai Ye asked softly, her expression dumbfounded, looking unusually adorable. Her cold demeanor had completely vanished.

"Not at all!" Li Sheng shook his head.

Seeing this, Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Even if someone offered tens of thousands of spirit stones for such a martial art, there would be forces vying to buy it. However, Qingling Sect wasn't big enough to handle such wealth.

"Tuantuan."

With a word, a small fist-sized ball of light, like a white cloud, quietly appeared and began to circle around Li Sheng before affectionately nudging him.

Feeling the soft touch against his cheek, Li Sheng smiled and spoke to the ball of light:

"This girl is my junior sister. Don't harm her in the future."

"Chirp chirp chirp..." A happy sentiment flowed out.

The white ball of light began circling around Bai Ye.

Bai Ye, curious, reached out her jade-like hand, and the ball of light gently settled on it. The two of them—human and spirit—quietly observed each other, creating a beautiful scene.

"Senior Brother Sect Leader, what is this?" Bai Ye asked, her red lips slightly parted, curiosity evident. It was clear she was fond of the little creature.

"It's a spirit of the array."

"A spirit of the array?"

Bai Ye was startled once again. Array spirits were rarely seen, even in renowned sanctuaries and royal dynasties. Their scarcity was greater than that of dual-spirit martial arts.

"Senior Brother... this..." Bai Ye was beginning to doubt reality.

Looking at the dumbfounded beauty before him, Li Sheng felt pleased and said:

"I've studied array formations for some time, and this little one was created when I upgraded the mountain protection array last night."

"And the spiritual-level martial art?"

"As for the martial art, I have some aptitude in martial arts and gained some insights. I just happened to deduce it last night."

"Just happened?" Bai Ye rolled her eyes, feeling that her senior brother's words were becoming more and more far-fetched. She was more inclined to believe that her senior brother had stumbled upon an ancient ruin, where he acquired these things.

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Seeing her disbelief, Li Sheng didn't bother explaining. He stood up and said, "Follow me."

Moments later, the two of them arrived at the back mountain, where five ancient-looking stone chambers stood.

"Senior Brother, what is this?" Feeling the spiritual energy emanating from the stone chambers, Bai Ye's heart raced once again.

"These are spirit-gathering chambers I've created. Their effect is similar to cultivating in a mid-tier spiritual vein," Li Sheng replied nonchalantly.

"Senior Brother, may I cultivate in one of these?" Bai Ye looked at Li Sheng expectantly. At this moment, she began to believe his claim of having profound knowledge in arrays.

"Of course. It's just the two of us in the sect, so you can cultivate whenever you want. No need to ask for my permission. You can also cultivate that spiritual-level martial art."

Seeing how she stayed with the sect during its crisis and even contributed over two hundred spirit stones, Li Sheng had no doubt about her character.

Thanks to his experiences in his previous life, the concept of repaying kindness with even greater kindness had become deeply ingrained in him. If someone treated him like an honored guest, he would treat them the same in return.

Seeing Bai Ye's dazed expression, Li Sheng smiled. He knew that throwing out all these things at once was overwhelming for the young woman.

After a moment, Li Sheng said softly, "Junior Sister, I have something for you to do."

Hearing there was a task, Bai Ye returned to her senses, her expression calm once more.

"Please tell me, Senior Brother."

"It's like this..." Li Sheng handed her a list.

The list contained the necessary medicinal ingredients for alchemy, ordinary martial arts manuals, and food items.

Before she left, Li Sheng gave her serious instructions:

"Once you leave the sect, keep your eyes and ears open. Don't get involved in anything. If you see a lone traveler, don't engage. If you see a group, avoid them. If you encounter a fight, go around it by at least three miles. If there's danger, run first. If someone tries to strike up a conversation, avoid them. If you can't, lead them back to the sect. If you see..."

In short, it was all summed up in one word.

"Caution."

Seeing Bai Ye's confused expression as she left, Li Sheng clapped his hands with satisfaction.

This was his two lifetimes' worth of survival wisdom. Not something easily taught to others.

See, after just a little demonstration, the girl already saw him as someone extraordinary, full of admiration.

Back at his place, Li Sheng made himself some porridge. After several bowls, his hunger was gone.

Feeling full, he headed out into the courtyard to continue practicing the Nine Forms of the Turtle.

Li Sheng assumed a stance, and a warm current rose within him, circulating along a specific path, tempering his body.

...

Time passed slowly, and before he knew it, it was the third day.

At the Spirit Pool.

Leaning against the stone pavilion's railing, Li Sheng watched the golden fish swimming in schools below, a faint smile on his face, though his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

Over the past three days, apart from the first day of dedicated cultivation, he had been completely idle.

It wasn't because he was lazy, but the consumption of spiritual-level martial arts was too great. Without blood food or elixirs to support him, forcing himself to cultivate would only harm his body.

"Three days have passed. Is Bai Ye in trouble...? I can't keep waiting like this. The daily chances in the treasure vault and alchemy room are going to waste..."

Thump!

A soft sound interrupted Li Sheng's thoughts. Turning around, he saw a giant turtle, about the size of a millstone, slowly crawling, and beside it, a stone stool had been toppled over.

"The turtle woke up?"

Li Sheng was surprised. In his ten years at Qingling Sect, it was the first time he had seen the turtle come out of the Spirit Pool for a stroll. The previous sect leader had mentioned that the turtle was at least three hundred years old.

"Chirp chirp chirp..." The array spirit appeared, chirping joyfully.

"Junior Sister Bai has returned?" Li Sheng's face lit up with joy. Finally, she was back.