Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 460 446: From This Day On, Abstain from Lust, Practice the Sword

Pei Yuhang rode his sword through the clouds, landing in the bamboo forest beside the main gate of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.

A complex look flickered in Pei Yuhang's eyes as he gazed upon the lush, snow-covered bamboo forest around him.

This was where Chen Tiansheng had entrusted Ji Xichan to him all those years ago.

And so began his tangled history with that chosen daughter of heaven.

But now, all of that was in the past. Just moments ago, before the Ancestral God Pavilion, he had witnessed Ji Xichan's transformation.

The pathetic, groveling girl who once desperately pleaded for a single glance from him had now truly blossomed into a Cold Fairy.

After he had her move out of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, both her Dao Heart and her Cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds.

'Perhaps I was the tribulation on her path of cultivation. Only by overcoming the trial that I represented could Ji Xichan grow. This might even be why Chen Tiansheng sent her to my mansion in the first place.'

Feeling a surge of emotion, Pei Yuhang decided to share this story with his disciples, hoping to inspire them to forge ahead on their long path of cultivation.

He walked into the courtyard, his sharp gaze sweeping across the area. He then spotted Yu Xiaoyan in a pavilion, enjoying the warmth of a brazier while roasting a sweet potato and reading a novel.

The girl was curled up on a soft cushion, her fair cheeks flushed red in the firelight. Her almond-shaped eyes were glued to the pages in her hand, a dazed smile playing on her lips.

"Ah, Master, why are you back so early—"

'Oh no,' Yu Xiaoyan thought. Forgetting all about the sweet potato in her hand, she let it drop to the ground as she hurriedly put her novel away.

Pei Yuhang's expression darkened. His sharp brows furrowed as he walked sternly up to her.

"Xiaoxiao, you should be doing your morning practice right now."

As he spoke, he glanced at the warm brazier and the still-steaming sweet potato on the ground.

Yu Xiaoyan flinched, then gave a sheepish smile and said in a small voice, "Master, I was hungry~ I'll have more energy to practice my sword once I'm full..."

"Then what were you just reading?"

"A sword... a Sword Manual. I was reading a Sword Manual."

Yu Xiaoyan said, handing a yellowed booklet to Pei Yuhang. The title on the cover read: *Cyan Lotus Sword Technique*.

But Pei Yuhang's senses were incredibly sharp. How could he be fooled by a little girl's cheap trick?

"You just pulled this Sword Manual from your Jiezhi Storage Ring. Now, give the ring to me. I want to see what kind of indecent books you're reading instead of properly practicing your sword!"

"Please don't, Master..."

Yu Xiaoyan tried to get away with it by acting cute. She bit her lower lip, her large, watery eyes filled with pleading, her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment.

Unfortunately, she finally caved under Pei Yuhang's stern gaze. She had no choice but to place the Jiezhi Storage Ring in his hand, her posture slumping in defeat like a frostbitten eggplant.

Pei Yuhang's Divine Sense swept inside, and he quickly found a pile of books. Their lewd covers all featured a handsome man in white robes, bound in various ways or looking alluringly battle-damaged.

*The Demon Dao Junior Sister Ties Up Her White-Robed Master for Three Days and Nights!* *The Master's 'Special' Cultivation!*...

"..."

Pei Yuhang's face instantly turned livid, and his hand holding the Storage Ring tightened unconsciously.

Yu Xiaoyan knew she was in deep trouble. She immediately shrank down and kept quiet, trying her best to look meek and harmless.

Looking at this disappointing younger disciple, Pei Yuhang couldn't help but compare her to Ji Xichan, who had advanced by leaps and bounds after leaving his side.

'Could it be... that I'm the obstacle preventing them from stabilizing their Dao Hearts and making progress? Can they only achieve enlightenment after they leave me?'

Pei Yuhang felt a headache coming on. In the end, the hand he had raised didn't come down on his disciple.

He was reminded of the words of that old man from the Celestial Secret Pavilion—that the bond between him and his disciples would someday be unexpectedly severed.

He didn't put much stock in such things. After all, while the Divination Technique was mystical, it wasn't a perfect form of prophecy.

Still, after careful consideration, he decided to be as gentle as possible with his disciples to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

This was especially true for his younger disciple, who was full of schemes and not particularly magnanimous. Compared to his steady, sensible elder disciple who never caused him any trouble, this little one was his biggest worry.

"Where's your Senior Sister? She should be practicing swords with you right now."

Pei Yuhang confiscated the indecent books with a deadpan expression, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of his elder disciple, the one who was usually so sensible.

"Senior Sister is still sleeping in! She's been way more sluggish than me lately. She doesn't even practice her sword anymore, she just sleeps all day!"

Seeing her Master looking for her Senior Sister, Yu Xiaoyan quickly snitched, laying out all of her "crimes." That way, her Master would surely go punish the slacker Qing Yueqiu first!

"Sleeping in?"

Pei Yuhang raised an eyebrow.

In his mind, Yueqiu had never been one to slack off. 'Why would she suddenly stop practicing her sword and start sleeping in for no reason?'

"It's true!"

Seeing that her Master didn't seem to believe her tattling, Yu Xiaoyan's voice turned plaintive.

Pei Yuhang shook his head.

"Yueqiu wouldn't sleep in for no reason. Something must be physically wrong. I have to go check on her."

With that, Pei Yuhang headed toward Qing Yueqiu's chambers. Behind him, Yu Xiaoyan's almond-shaped eyes went wide.

'Seriously, Master!'

'Are you going to be this blatant with your favoritism now? How come when Senior Sister is lazy, it means something is wrong with her, but when I'm lazy, it's unacceptable?!'

"Sigh, Master confiscated all my spiritual sustenance... Hmph. He even called them indecent books. It's your fault for not visiting me, so I had to find a substitute in my books..."

Yu Xiaoyan silently used her Spirit Sword to skewer a piece of sweet potato, complaining faintly as she roasted it.

'Alright, Xiaoxiao, your Master is right. You and your Senior Sister have both been too lax recently. But your Senior Sister and Mistress have both reached the Nascent Soul realm, while you still haven't...'

Yu Gu Nan's voice echoed in her Sea of Consciousness.

"I'm still young. I'm only thirty years old. Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm in the next ten years is more than enough time. When Senior Sister was my age, her Cultivation was nowhere near mine," Yu Xiaoyan retorted, pouting.

But at this, Yu Gu Nan's voice turned much graver.

'No, things are different now...'

'Judging from your Master's increasingly frequent business trips and the general state of the world, something big might happen in the future. Xiaoxiao, if we don't want to hold Master back, we have to get stronger.'

'Hold Master back...'

Hearing this, Yu Xiaoyan's almond-shaped eyes narrowed.

She remembered the days before her Master brought her home, back when she lived with her "parents" in the mortal world—days filled with contempt, without a shred of dignity.

'A burden... No!'

'I absolutely cannot let Master think I'm a burden, a worthless piece of trash!'

'I refuse to hold Master back and become a burden!'

Yu Xiaoyan flung the sweet potato off her sword with a flick, gripped the hilt tightly, and said:

"Starting today, no more smut! Only sword practice!"