Master, don't tease me, you can't handle three of them.

How could you be so pathetic! You took all the flowers, didn't you even think to pluck one from your own head and leave it for your master?

The more Yuan Ying thought about it, the angrier he became. He grabbed Jing Shu's collar and said through gritted teeth, "You really are something else."

Although Jing Shu felt guilty, he also noticed something amiss from the Nascent Soul. "You wouldn't happen to be like that too..."

"What do you mean 'also'! I was earlier than you! Who the hell is as slow as you!" the Nascent Soul roared, completely unaware that he was only a few days earlier.

Jing Shu's mind went blank for a moment. He could understand why young Jing Shu had fallen for his master, but why would a Nascent Soul cultivator also...?

"I am you! Isn't it normal to like him? Why are there so many questions!"

After Yuan Ying finished speaking, he released his grip on Jing Shu's collar, still full of anger.

The nascent soul merely severed the connection between him and Jing Shu. Jing Shu remained unguarded, and he could still hear Jing Shu's thoughts.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Jing Shu's sudden question silenced the nascent soul instantly.

But the silence only lasted a second before he immediately shouted, "How is that possible!"

"We've always shared a synesthetic connection before, so how come I didn't know you fell in love with Shizun? And now you're unilaterally severing that connection? Is there something you don't want me to know?"

Yuan Ying's words, "I am you," awakened Jing Shu, who discovered many loopholes in Yuan Ying's words.

"I've been keeping you from coming out, but when I was absorbing divine essence and falling into a deep sleep, didn't you come out?"

Jing Shu's gaze gradually sharpened, which made sense; no wonder his master had been giving him strange looks after he woke up that day.

Knowing he couldn't hide it from Jing Shu, the nascent soul said, half-truthfully, "I was able to sever the connection between us before, but it was only for a short time. If you knew I had fallen for Master, could you still face Master normally? Would you still give me a chance to leave?"

"Yes, I did come out of the Yao Guang Secret Realm. After you fell unconscious, I forced myself to stay awake and take control of my body. All for the sake of healing Master, and damn it, Master still treated me like a demon!"

At this point, Yuan Ying was truly aggrieved. He had finally tried to be a good person, but he was misunderstood like this, and it was even someone he liked.

"..." Jing Shu paused for a moment upon hearing this, and it seemed that, indeed, things were a bit tragic.

"Hmm... I'll let you out later, don't be sad." Jing Shu touched his nose, this was the only way he could comfort him.

Upon hearing this, the Nascent Soul cultivator's eyes lit up. There were benefits to playing the victim?

"Just tone it down and don't go too far." Jing Shu already knew about his rebellious thoughts towards Han Luo, and it wouldn't be right for him to keep the Nascent Soul from leaving.

Having benefited, the Nascent Soul cultivator naturally stopped causing trouble. "So when do you plan to confess your feelings? And how are you going to explain this situation to Master?"

Jing Shu felt utterly helpless listening to Yuan Ying's words, "Why do you keep thinking about confessing your feelings? Does Master like me? Does he know that his personal disciple harbors such feelings for him?"

The nascent soul touched its nose somewhat guiltily; it really did know…

"What if Master finds out and expels me from the sect?" Jing Shu thought more than a Nascent Soul cultivator. From the moment he realized his own feelings, he had been thinking about how to make Master like him too. But before that, he had to live.

Jing Shu didn't speak, but instead revealed all his thoughts to the Nascent Soul.

The Nascent Soul cultivator, who knew Jing Shu's thoughts, also fell silent. Yes, he needed to be alive first.

As a spirit gatherer, he might die any day, so what's the point of talking about liking him?

The Nascent Soul understood why Jing Shu chose to leave, and compared to him, he seemed really naive.

He casually let Han Luo know. If Han Luo really falls in love with him, wouldn't it be too irresponsible of him to lose control and self-destruct one day?

"Ten years," the Nascent Soul said. "You must complete your cultivation within these ten years." Otherwise, you won't even be qualified to like it.

The nascent soul raised its hand and changed its form, becoming almost identical to Jing Shu in the blink of an eye, except that its black clothing formed a stark contrast with Jing Shu's.

"Leave that kid to me, you just focus on your cultivation." The Nascent Soul cultivator knew there was still Zheng Hongliang, and that was all he could do for now.

Jing Shu chuckled and handed the storage ring and storage bag to the Nascent Soul cultivator. "Of course, you've done the work of pulling out spiritual roots, so you're the perfect person to handle this. He's not suited to cultivating what I'm learning now, so teach him that instead."

The nascent soul gave a light snort and took the item. "In the end, it was your idea to remove the spiritual root. I know that too, you don't need to worry about it, I will teach him myself."

After saying that, the Nascent Soul walked in the direction Zheng Hongliang had left.

Jing Shu sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

On the other side, Zheng Hongliang swallowed two Marrow Cleansing Fruits, took off his clothes, leaving only his underpants, and walked into the lake.

The Marrow Cleansing Fruit quickly took effect, and the impurities in Zheng Hongliang's body were expelled one after another, turning his entire body black.

The nascent soul sat quietly on a boulder by the lake, watching Zheng Hongliang continuously eliminate the impurities, and understood everything in his heart.

No wonder Jing Shu wanted him to learn that; his physical condition is just too poor! The water he's in is practically black! Didn't Zheng Hongliang's father ever clean out the impurities from his body before?!

The more Yuan Ying looked, the more he understood Zheng Hongliang's position in his father's heart.

Two hours had passed by the time Zheng Hongliang finished expelling the impurities from his body.

After cleaning the remaining impurities off his body, Zheng Hongliang went ashore.

Zheng Hongliang looked down at his hands, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease.

"What was your cultivation level before?" The Nascent Soul interrupted Zheng Hongliang's thoughts.

Zheng Hongliang looked up and saw Jing Shu dressed in black, sitting on a boulder and looking him over.

Why does it feel like your eyes have changed again?

However, Zheng Hongliang answered truthfully, "Perfected Qi Refining."

The nascent soul raised its eyebrows slightly. With such spiritual roots and physical qualities, it was remarkable that it had cultivated to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.

"Brother?" Zheng Hongliang asked tentatively. "You give me a different feeling again."

Jing Shu, dressed in black, seemed to have a sharper gaze, making him appear less approachable.

It seems their observation skills are quite good.

The Nascent Soul nodded. "I am the third Jing Shu. Don't worry, we are the same person. From now on, I will teach you cultivation."

“Okay.” Zheng Hongliang didn’t quite understand what it meant, but he still subconsciously trusted it.

The nascent soul rose and flew to Zheng Hongliang's side, raising its hand to press on Zheng Hongliang's dantian and carefully examining it.

"You really are something else, you have all sorts of spiritual roots," the Nascent Soul cultivator remarked. "And not only do you have them, but their purity isn't even that high."

Cultivators absorb the portion of spiritual energy that aligns with their own spiritual roots. The fewer spiritual roots one has, the higher the purity, and the faster the cultivation speed. Conversely, the more spiritual roots one has, the lower the purity, and the slower the cultivation speed.

Because cultivators with multiple spiritual roots need to divide their spiritual energy into several streams of different attributes for cultivation, and the lower the purity of their spiritual roots, the lower their affinity with the corresponding spiritual energy, and the slower their absorption speed.

"The degree of damage to the spiritual roots varies. Just as I said before, the spiritual roots need to be rebuilt." The Nascent Soul withdrew its hand and continued.

"Does it mean repairing all the spiritual roots?" Zheng Hongliang asked thoughtfully.

The Nascent Soul shook its head. "It's not about repairing, it's about reshaping. It's about reshaping your spiritual root, fusing all your spiritual roots together to create a new one."