Chapter Sixteen: Questioning the Mastery Recognition

“Every young lady understands such simple truths; it’s just that some people refuse to see them,” Ao Qing said with satisfaction, admiring Wen Yue’s clarity.

Suddenly, a white light shot into Wen Yue’s mind. She was stunned for two seconds before collapsing to the ground.

This scene was just witnessed by Little Golden Silk inside the Water Mirror. “Ao Qing, what’s wrong with my master?”

“Have you accepted a master? You’re calling her your master already?” Ao Qing sounded a bit jealous.

“Anyway, she’s the master. Her cultivation aura smells so good. Ao Qing, what exactly happened to her?” Little Golden Silk climbed up Ao Qing’s sleeve.

“She’s receiving a cultivation technique.” Ao Qing was at a loss for how to explain further.

“Is that not all?” Little Golden Silk pressed on.

“No, besides the cultivation techniques, I gave her many other things—everything she might need in the future. Others only get the techniques.” Ao Qing was blatantly biased, but giving Wen Yue more was essentially giving it to Little Golden Silk too. After all, what could a mind the size of a mung bean hold? Fortunately, the extras were things Wen Yue would use as well. This was Ao Qing’s oversight, though he would never admit it.

In truth, Ao Qing had been somewhat reckless. If Wen Yue were an ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivator, she probably would have been dumbfounded by now. But Wen Yue’s spirit sea was vast due to her two lifetimes of experience; otherwise, Ao Qing might have truly overwhelmed her.

Of course, neither Ao Qing nor Wen Yue understood this yet. Wen Yue would only realize it once she gained a deeper understanding of the cultivation world—and by then, all she could do was admit how right Ao Qing was.

At that moment, Wen Yue regained consciousness and hurriedly checked what she had received.

“Let me see… What do I have here? With my aptitude, I should at least get a decent cultivation technique!”

“There’s the ‘Ten Thousand Things Technique’ for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, but why can’t I see some of it? There’s also alchemy, artifact forging, talisman making, formations, planting, breeding... Wait, there’s even a comprehensive guide to spiritual plants? And precautions for plant transformations? I’m not a tree!”

“Sigh! Never mind, something is better than nothing.” Wen Yue had no other way to access this knowledge, so getting it now saved her a lot of trouble.

Gathering her thoughts, Wen Yue prepared to find a way out. She felt good—no longer would she worry about cultivation techniques.

“Master, master, I’m here!” A cute, milk-toned voice rang softly in her ear.

Wen Yue looked carefully but could not see where the voice was coming from.

“I’m here, on the ground.” Little Golden Silk bounced on the floor. She had intended to jump onto Wen Yue’s body but, since they hadn’t formally met, she feared frightening her master. Such thoughtfulness was typical of Little Golden Silk.

Near Wen Yue’s feet lay a tiny plant, no bigger than half her palm.

Wen Yue picked up Little Golden Silk and held her in her hand. “Is that you calling? Little one?”

“I’m Golden Silk,” came the adorably childish voice.

Wen Yue found the plant vaguely familiar. It resembled the dodder vine from her past life—though this one hadn’t bloomed yet, with five or six stems forming a fuzzy ball. The stems indeed resembled those of the dodder.

“So you’re the kind that doesn’t root in the earth but instead clings to trees or other plants, with your little tendrils growing long, right?” Wen Yue gently touched the stems.

“Yes! Master, you’re so smart,” Little Golden Silk praised in a soft, endearing tone.

“I’ve seen one, a long time ago.” Indeed, it was long ago. In her previous life, the dodder was usually a metaphor rather than the plant itself, often referring to women who lacked independence and clung to men.

Wen Yue had once looked it up online and discovered it was a common vine in rural mountains and even used medicinally.

“How did I become your master? I don’t remember having a plant companion.”

“I chose you because your cultivation aura smells so good,” Little Golden Silk answered honestly.

Ao Qing watched this exchange through the Water Mirror and rubbed his forehead. But thinking about it, he couldn’t expect too much from Little Golden Silk; it was already good she could express herself clearly.

“What can you do? What benefits do I get by accepting you as my plant companion?” Wen Yue was already tempted. Now that she was in the Heavenly Demon Sect with no one she could confide in, having this little adorable creature to chat with would be comforting. After all, humans are social beings.

“But I only know how to eat and sleep. I can’t do anything else!” Little Golden Silk fretted, worried that her incompetence would cause her master to abandon her.

“Oh!” Wen Yue pretended to think deeply.

“I can’t do much, but Ao Qing can!” Little Golden Silk said with confidence.

“Oh! What does this have to do with me?” Ao Qing said, slightly annoyed. Little Golden Silk was far too casual.

“Who is Ao Qing? Your friend?” Wen Yue guessed he was a spiritual plant companion of Little Golden Silk.

“Ao Qing is just Ao Qing.” As if that needed explaining. Ao Qing was that incredibly powerful person—though he claimed he wasn’t human.

“Alright then.” Wen Yue wasn’t that curious about Ao Qing and just followed the little one’s words.

“I’ll take you to see him! He’s really amazing and can do everything.” Little Golden Silk had already forgotten she was supposed to formally accept Wen Yue as her master.

“Okay! But you have to wait while I find a way out.” The room had no doors or windows, so leaving wasn’t easy.

“I know. I’ll take you out.” Little Golden Silk led Wen Yue, turning left and right until they left the room.

Before Wen Yue stood a young man dressed in green.

Wen Yue didn’t recognize him and instinctively checked for any merit or sin marks, but there was nothing—he seemed like a newborn soul. Little Golden Silk was still young, but this man couldn’t be that new, right?

“Young lady, don’t look so closely. This isn’t my body; it’s a newly split soul body,” Ao Qing explained with a smile.

“Huh?”

“You can think of it as an external incarnation.”

“Got it.” Such an external incarnation wasn’t something a mere Qi Refining Stage novice like Wen Yue could possess. Anyway, he was far stronger than she was.

“Ao Qing, you’re here! This is my master,” Little Golden Silk proudly boasted to Ao Qing.

“You’ve accepted a master?”

“Yes, I called her master!”

“That’s not acceptance! Let me tell you how it really works,” Ao Qing patiently explained to Little Golden Silk the proper way to acknowledge a master.

Wen Yue quietly listened from the side, gaining insight. She also understood where all that knowledge about plant transformations in her spirit sea had come from.

The two discussed animatedly, without once asking for the soon-to-be master’s opinion. Wen Yue didn’t mind; she found it rather amusing.

When they finally finished their discussion, Wen Yue spoke up: “Can’t it be an equal relationship? Why must it be master and servant? I accepted Little Golden Silk only because I wanted a companion to talk to in the Heavenly Demon Sect, not to enslave her.”