Mysterious mirror hanging high

Seeing Jing Yu's expression, Qiu Xu felt a little smug and clapped his hands, laughing, "Fellow Daoist Bai Yuan, you flatter me. Although my Qingqiu lineage is not a direct descendant of the true dragon, we have inherited some of the habits of pure-blooded dragon descendants and cannot live without the nourishment of this water. Our residence is simple, and I hope you will not find it offensive."

"Fellow Daoist Qiu is too modest. The Water Palace is magnificent and in harmony with the way of nature. How can it be considered simple?" Jing Yu smiled slightly and answered calmly, but his vigilance remained undiminished.

He glanced sideways and saw that the honest young man beside him was also full of amazement, looking around, but without much fear. He was just holding the Wutu Cave Heaven tightly, as if he was really afraid that the cave heaven would fly away.

"Fellow Taoist, please!"

Along the way, they encountered many aquatic demon cultivators, some in human form and others in half-form. They all bowed respectfully to Qiu Xu, while casting curious and scrutinizing glances at Jing Yu and his companions. In particular, when they sensed the pure dragon might emanating from Jing Yu, they all changed color and lowered their heads.

Qiu Xu led the group to a secluded palace garden on the west side of the Water Mansion, with the words "Bibo Pavilion" inscribed on the garden gate.

“Fellow Daoist Bai Yuan, this… fellow Daoist from the human race.” Qiu Xu paused slightly, clearly unsure how to address the honest-looking young man. “Please rest here for a while. You may use whatever you need here. The elders in the manor are currently in seclusion and will likely remain so for another day or two.”

"When our elders emerge from seclusion and hear of the arrival of a pure-blooded dragon descendant, they will surely be overjoyed. At that time, we will hold a banquet to welcome you, and we hope you will grace us with your presence."

His words were sincere and his manners impeccable, almost flawless.

Jing Yu's mind raced. Knowing that it was not advisable to refuse at this time, lest it arouse suspicion, he cupped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist Qiu is too kind to refuse. It would be disrespectful for Bai Yuan to refuse."

"Haha, how could I be bothering you? It is an honor for Qingqiu Mansion that you would stay." Qiu Xu laughed and gave away many more rare treasures from the Water Mansion before taking his leave.

As Qiu Xu's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, the pavilion door slowly closed, and the light of the restriction flickered, isolating the inside from the outside.

Jing Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Azure Dragon Water Palace is, after all, a true immortal power, and the dragons within it are prominent figures even in the Second Heaven. It would be almost impossible to place surveillance devices in such a guest hall, but Jing Yu would not slack off because of this. Instead, she continued to maintain her true dragon form, constantly radiating a faint dragon aura.

The two demons, one bull and one horse, went to tour the scenery of the Water Palace together, leaving only Jing Yu and the human youth behind. After they sat down, Jing Yu slowly asked, "May I ask how to address you, fellow Daoist?"

The honest-looking young man cupped his hands in greeting: "My surname is Guo and my given name is Tingshu. My parents were both servants working in the mansion of a wealthy merchant. When my mother was pregnant for ten months, she still had to work. One day, while sweeping the courtyard, a bolt of lightning struck down in broad daylight, hitting the century-old tree in the courtyard."

"My mother was so frightened by this that she almost lost her life along with her unborn child. Fortunately, both mother and child were safe. My father felt that this calamity was destined to happen, and that the old tree had taken the blame for my mother and child. So he named me 'Tingshu' (庭树)."

Jing Yu asked in surprise, "Fellow Daoist Guo is of mortal origin? I wonder if you are from a mortal kingdom in the First Heaven, or a star region in the Second Heaven?"

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu shook his head: "No, I ascended from the lower realm."

"What?" Jing Yu was stunned.

"May I ask how many years you have been cultivating, Fellow Daoist Guo?"

Guo Tingshu scratched his head: "Uh, you're asking how old I am? Let me think... I should be over four thousand one hundred?"

"Someone born in the early 2000s of the Longevity Era, wouldn't that mean they're exactly 1,500 years younger than me?" Jing Yu was shocked.

"He was born shortly after I became a deity."

What moved him most was his amazement at Guo Tingshu's youth.

At just over four thousand years old, in the major powers of the immortal realm, there are quite a few cultivators who are capable of opening up their own grotto-heavens.

However, if this is an ascended cultivator from the lower realm, this speed of cultivation is enough to be called a prodigy!

Jing Yu then asked, "Fellow Daoist Guo, you have exceptional talent. You opened up your inner cave heaven at just over four thousand years old... This speed is extremely fast even among human cultivators in the Immortal Realm, let alone considering that you are from a resource-scarce and spiritually deficient lower realm. It is even more remarkable... I wonder if you have reached the Nine Apertures stage?"

Logically speaking, the matter of how many orifices a baby has formed is a relatively private topic, and in serious cases, it could be considered prying into someone else's path of cultivation. However, Jing Yu was indeed too curious, which is why she asked this question.

He even specially wore a "handsome and refined" life bead to reduce his "aggression," just in case Guo Tingshu turned against him.

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu appeared completely without any guile and answered honestly:

"To my shame, I am dull-witted and have little talent in cultivation. I barely managed to form a three-aperture nascent soul back then."

"A three-aperture nascent soul!" Jing Yu's eyes widened.

To be honest, if Guo Tingshu had said that he had achieved the Nine Apertures stage, Jing Yu would not have lost his composure like this!

"Having formed three apertures in the infant stage, capable of transforming into a spirit and reaching the grotto heaven? And cultivating so rapidly?" Jing Yu found it truly incomprehensible.

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu took out a jade slip from his storage bag and handed it to Jing Yu:

"Fellow Daoist Bai Yuan, to be honest, the reason why I have been able to make such rapid progress is largely due to this cultivation technique."

Seeing Guo Tingshu simply hand over his fundamental cultivation technique, Jing Yu asked blankly, "What does Fellow Daoist Guo mean by this?"

Guo Tingshu hesitated and said, "Fellow Daoist Bai Yuan, aren't you curious about why I've cultivated so quickly? I was thinking of showing you this technique... I've reached my current level by relying on this technique."

"No, what I mean is that a cultivator's main cultivation method is always a secret. Why, Fellow Daoist Guo..."

Guo Tingshu laughed and said, "It's alright. I've shown this technique to many people, so one more won't make a difference."

"However, fellow Daoist, you should only observe and not attempt to practice it, otherwise you may very well suffer from qi deviation."

The honest-looking young man wearing a felt hat muttered, "I'm the only one who has mastered this technique; it seems that others can't grasp its essence."

But the more Guo Tingshu said this, the more it fueled Jing Yu's competitive spirit. He thought to himself:

“I, Daoist Xuanjing, am a prodigy personally selected by several Dao Venerables as having the potential to become a Dao Venerable. My aptitude, foundation, and comprehension are all top-notch. Guo Tingshu looks dull and simple-minded, yet he has mastered extraordinary skills. Could it be that I am not as good as him?”

So he probed into it with his divine sense and carefully studied the cultivation techniques in the jade slip.

"【Yin Yang Classic】? That's such an ordinary name..."

Jing Yu shook his head and carefully studied the technique for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. He discovered that this technique was a miraculous skill that could quickly hone one's magical power and increase one's true essence, and even had some effect on breaking through bottlenecks.

So he sat cross-legged and began to breathe and exhale according to the breathing techniques described in the exercises.

At first, there was nothing unusual, except that I felt my spiritual energy was flowing a little faster. Compared to other techniques, the efficiency seemed to be no more remarkable.

However, before half a cup of tea had been brewed, a strange change occurred!