Back at the place where Zhen Luoxian met Yue Ling, a powerful figure appeared in the sky, floating on his sword. It was an elder from the Chaos Sect, Hei Tian, who was in the [first phase of the Turbulence Realm].

"Tsk, she escaped again. For someone in the Golden Core, she’s really fast. Could it be because of the Void techniques she cultivates?" Hei Tian wondered.

"It doesn’t matter. She can’t have gone far. I’ll send some disciples to find her."

Back at Zhen Luoxian’s house...

"Food is ready. Come eat, Miss Ling."

Coming out of her room, Yue Ling was even more amazed, unable to contain her excitement upon seeing the courtyard, where the pure energy of life flowed as if it were part of the environment. Everything was meticulously synchronized: the pond, the tree, even the house; everything seemed to be one single entity, blending with the golden energy that reflected between heaven and earth. Her only thought was:

‘Immortal Land,’ Yue thought, confused. After all, there shouldn’t be Immortal Land in the mortal world; that had never happened before.

‘What level must this expert be to have such an incredible courtyard?’ Yue wondered.

‘If I could cultivate here... I would reach levels I could never dream of.’

‘But the senior wants to experience mortal life. He wouldn’t accept me as a disciple, would he?’ Yue was growing more and more confused.

"Aren’t you coming to eat?" Zhen asked Yue.

"Ah... yes, I’m coming," Yue replied.

Seeing the lavish table with various types of food, including a grilled steak that looked juicy and a very well-seasoned salad that would make anyone’s mouth water, what surprised Yue the most wasn’t the fact that the food looked delicious, but rather that... all the food contained the energy of heaven.

‘How is this possible? Is he a saint? It can’t be... what would a saint be doing in the mortal world?’ Yue thought, utterly confused.

As Yue took a bite of the food, an explosion of flavor, combined with pure energy, coursed through her body, making her feel every part of herself filled with that warm, comforting energy.

"Hnmn..." Yue moaned from the excess power in her body, her face blushing with embarrassment as her body felt hot, almost as if she had a fever.

"Are you okay?" Zhen asked, a bit embarrassed by the sudden moan Yue made. Zhen knew that moan didn’t sound like one of pain; it was more like... something else...

Even so, Zhen placed his forehead against hers to check her temperature.

‘I’m just checking her temperature, it’s not because I want to get closer to her and smell that sweet scent she has... on that smooth, white skin as if she uses expensive products... Focus, Zhen! You’re thinking the wrong things!’ Zhen thought.

"YOU’RE BURNING UP WITH A FEVER; YOU NEED TO REST!" Zhen said, surprised, not understanding why she still had a fever since he had taken care of all her injuries. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

"Ah, I’m fine... just a little overwhelmed," Yue said as Zhen carried her to the bed.

"No, you need to rest," Zhen insisted.

She agreed to rest and said:

"Sir, do you mind if I stay here until I recover?"

"Of course, stay as long as you like. Who wouldn’t want to have such a beautiful lady by their side? Haha," Zhen said jokingly.

‘I think staying here and cultivating for a while until I’m confident enough to return to the clan is the best choice right now,’ Yue thought, smiling.

Zhen then left to let Yue rest.

Soon, a month had passed since Yue stayed at Zhen’s house. Since Zhen had no missions from the system, he had no reason to return to the city during that time, but now he needed to go to buy some things since he had another mouth to feed.

Back in the city, two female cultivators were lost, searching every corner for the expert who had sold them a skewer filled with pure Dao energy. They were Ling Xueyu and her disciple, who had spent the entire month looking for Zhen. However, since they didn’t know his name and he changed stalls each time due to the system’s missions, they couldn’t find him.

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"Ah, he must have left this city already," Xueyu said, thinking that Zhen was an old hermit wandering the mortal world. Suddenly...

"MASTER, IT’S HIM! I’M SURE!" Mei said, pointing in the direction of a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties.

"What? Are you sure?" Xueyu asked, somewhat confused to see that it was a young man.

"Yes, master, I’m sure it’s him," Mei confirmed to her master.

"Two pieces of beast meat, please," Zhen said, making his purchases like any other mortal when suddenly...

"S-Senior, it’s a pleasure to meet you," Xueyu said, a bit confused because she couldn’t sense the cultivation of that person, but feeling an oppressive aura from Zhen without knowing why.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Senior, I’m Ling Xueyu, an elder of the Blue Sky Sect. You greatly helped my disciple, and I’m here to thank you," Xueyu said.

"Senior? Why would I be a senior to an elder of a sect? I’m just a mortal," Zhen said, confused about being called a senior by a cultivator since the system always told him he was weaker than a five-year-old child.

‘The senior lives an ordinary life to cultivate his mind, experiencing the mortal world?’ Xueyu wondered.

‘I can’t let the senior get angry,’ she thought.

"I’m sorry, I just greeted you poorly. Master," Xueyu said, already nervous and fearful of Zhen’s wrath.

"Huh?" Zhen was confused, thinking, ‘Master would also be a term for someone superior, right? Ah, forget it, it must be a different custom than on Earth.’

"Anyway, how did I help your disciple? I don’t remember doing such a thing," Zhen said, still somewhat confused by everything.

"The skewer you sold her helped her break through her limit, allowing her to reach the Refinement Realm," Xueyu said, remembering, ‘Oh no, I forgot, the master wants to live the life of a mortal. Talking about this might displease him,’ she was already very nervous.

‘Huh? My skewer helped her break through a realm??? What the hell is that? I know that certain elixirs can help people break through and improve their cultivation since I learned everything about cultivation in this world, including various cultivation techniques that the system made me learn by force due to the missions, even though I can’t cultivate,’ Zhen thought, completely confused.

"I see, but it’s okay, it was just a skewer... and she paid for it, so it’s fine."

"I can’t help but repay such gratitude to the master for helping her," Xueyu said, while pulling her disciple forward to introduce her.

"Ah, nice to meet you, sir. I’m Mei Lianxue, an external disciple of the Blue Sky Sect," Mei said, more nervous than her master.

"Ah, nice to meet you too, miss. And congratulations on breaking through a realm in your cultivation," Zhen said.

"I would like to give this as a token of gratitude to the master for helping her," Xueyu said, as she took out a bright blue jewel from between her breasts.

Zhen was perplexed, staring, thinking, ‘What size is that? GG? EXTRA G?’

"This is the Sea Pearl, master. It’s a gift as a sign of gratitude," Xueyu said.

"It wasn’t necessary, but since you insist, I won’t refuse. Come to my house for a meal one of these days. I live on the plains, a bit above the city," Zhen said, thanking her for the gift.

The Sea Pearl is a treasure of the Sea Pavilion of the Blue Sky Sect, which is divided into five pavilions: the Sea Pavilion, the Earth Pavilion, the Fire Pavilion, the Wind Pavilion, and finally, the Sky Pavilion. Each pavilion has its own masters, and the Sea Pearl is a treasure that helps cultivators who use water-based techniques, allowing them to advance significantly faster. But Zhen didn’t know this and didn’t care since such a treasure was of no use to him.

Zhen bid farewell to the two cultivators and returned home, ready to prepare the meal since Yue was waiting for him.

‘Ah, in one month, I managed to advance from the first to the third phase of the Golden Core. This doesn’t even compare to the geniuses of the generation; I’m progressing much faster. But something is wrong... Could it be my technique? I need the guidance of a master,’ Yue sighed, worried.

"What happened? Why are you sighing?" Zhen asked as he arrived with the groceries.

"Ah, sir, I’m having difficulties with my cultivation. I think I’ve stagnated, or maybe it’s my technique... I don’t know," Yue replied, with a worried air.

"What technique do you cultivate?" Zhen asked, curious.

"It’s the Void Technique, passed down from generation to generation in our clan."

‘Void Technique? I remember that this technique leaves the practitioner’s eyes with a deep void, at least for mortals like us. But why don’t I feel anything? Could it be because of the system?’ Zhen thought, before saying:

"The Void Technique is great for starting cultivation, but I don’t think it’s ideal for you at this moment..."

"WHAT? What do you mean, sir?" Yue exclaimed, surprised.

"Hmm, let’s see. The Void Technique is indeed a good technique to start with. It allows you to move through the void and bring your opponents to a painful end through it. However, reaching a truly powerful level where you can use the Void Dao at will is something you won’t achieve just with this technique," Zhen explained, with the vast knowledge the system had implanted in his mind, without him even realizing how valuable it was.

Yue, astonished by Zhen’s response, quickly asked:

"What should I do then, sir?" she asked, now enthusiastic.

"Hmm, have you thought about changing your technique?" Zhen suggested, confidently.

‘Change my technique? Abandon my cultivation after so much effort?’ Yue thought, confused. After all, in this world, abandoning a cultivation technique would be like starting from scratch, unless the techniques were of the same element and extremely compatible.

"Calm down, I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not suggesting that you abandon your cultivation. I’m just saying to learn a new technique and refine it together with your Void Technique, like, for example, the Eternal Void Technique, which is very compatible with your technique."

‘Eternal Void Technique? Why have I never heard of such a technique?’ Yue thought. It was obvious she didn’t know it because it was a technique the system itself had developed for Zhen to study, although he wasn’t aware of it either.

Upon hearing this, Yue quickly thought it over, and then, kneeling before Zhen, said:

"Please accept me as your disciple, master!"

[DING DING]

[THE SYSTEM HAS UPDATED AND EXITED HIBERNATION MODE]