Xiao Qingpei, what are you doing here too?!

Moonlight streamed down like silvery threads, as if to wash away the veneer of worldly things. Amidst the vast fields and rivers, a solitary figure stood bathed in this moonlight, performing an ancient ritual to collect the moon’s essence—a practice lost for thousands of years.

Suddenly, as a flame of azure gold devoured the moon’s essence, a strange pill appeared within the fire: its color dark and dull, yet it seemed to pulse with immense vitality.

This was the Lunar Life Pill.

Xiao Qingpei swallowed the pill in one gulp, and at once felt a change within himself. His skin grew noticeably smoother, his appearance refined from unremarkable to strikingly handsome.

Sweeping his spiritual sense over himself, he observed these changes with perfect clarity.

"Is this beautifying effect real?" Xiao Qingpei was astonished, for none of the ancient texts ever mentioned such an outcome after refining the Lunar Life Pill.

The pill was primarily known to extend one’s life by thirty years, and secondarily to restore the body instantly when grievously injured.

"Could it be because I elevated the spirit of the Profound Moon True Fire too much?" he wondered.

Turning his hand, the azure-gold flame leaped into his palm, gathering itself into a lively ball that hopped about as if it possessed life.

After the Profound Moon True Fire gained sentience, Xiao Qingpei, to ensure perfection, had used it to slay three specters he had summoned and let roam for seven days. Each victory granted the flame another spark of sentience.

Originally, Xiao Qingpei intended to continue enhancing the fire’s spirit, but recalled the old adage from before the world was suffused with Pure Yang Immortal Qi: that cultivation should avoid excess. After some thought, he refrained from further infusing the fire with spirit.

Beyond this, Xiao Qingpei sensed vaguely that one more infusion—or perhaps several—might bring disaster upon himself.

"I am now at the second layer of the Lower Foundation Stage. One Lunar Life Pill is my current limit. If I wish to take another, I must reach the third layer at least."

With this thought, a misty cloud surged beneath his feet, lifting him skyward.

Cultivation required the aid of the world’s spiritual energy. Relying on his unique talent, "Better Me Than My Fellow Daoist," Xiao Qingpei had long reached the threshold of breakthrough. Yet, the spiritual energy in this land was scarce, and while his dual talents allowed him to cultivate steadily, he felt the deficiency acutely when attempting to ascend.

This restriction, though, could be remedied by a single pill rich in spiritual energy.

However, Xiao Qingpei had no such pill.

Thus, he could only seek out a place where the world’s energy was abundant.

Fortunately, as he journeyed onward, he sensed the spiritual energy ahead growing denser. It seemed that, if he pressed on a while longer, he might find a place conducive to his breakthrough.

After three days riding the clouds, Xiao Qingpei felt a sudden surge of energy in the land. In his sight appeared a walled city.

He descended from his cloud and noticed that the city was teeming with cultivators. Among those who landed alongside him, he saw three others at the Foundation Stage.

Of the three, two glanced at Xiao Qingpei and went their own way, but the last approached warmly, greeting him, "Why aren’t you with your sect elders, fellow Daoist?"

"And how do you know I am a sect disciple? Could I not be a wandering cultivator?" Xiao Qingpei, far from relaxing his guard at such warmth, grew even more cautious. After all, who greets a stranger so eagerly without cause?

"You jest, fellow Daoist. At fifteen or sixteen, what wandering cultivator breaks through to the Foundation Stage? In truth, talent is less important here," the man replied with a wry smile.

He himself was a wandering cultivator, but thanks to a good master, he lacked neither cultivation methods nor guidance. Though his master’s abilities and teachings were only mediocre, they nevertheless allowed him to reach the sixth layer of the Upper Qi Refining Stage by age fifteen.

Such rapid progress owed much to the omnipresent Pure Yang Immortal Qi, which made cultivating the Pure Yang path easier, but it also spoke to his own talent.

Yet he did not achieve Foundation until he was thirty.

Before that, he had broken through several times, only to be denied by the heavens for lack of passing the Immortal Examination—his immortal power forced to regress to Qi Refining each time.

He finally received a qualification for the Immortal Examination at thirty, persuaded by his master to marry a daughter of a noble house.

Though his wife was only a concubine-born daughter, her family name was Ye and her clan was powerful, so as Ye’s son-in-law, he easily acquired an examination quota.

He now recounted these origins to Xiao Qingpei.

Then, looking at him, he said, "I am Dan Hengyu. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"

"Xu Jiansheng, greetings, Dan Daoist," replied Xiao Qingpei, using the name he had always kept close to heart.

But to his surprise, Dan Hengyu’s expression turned to shock. "You’re Xu Jiansheng as well? How remarkable! Just days ago, several Daoists from Cloud Palace arrived, and one among them was named Xu Jiansheng."

Xiao Qingpei was equally stunned. He hadn’t expected the world to be so small; despite being transported so far by the Reversed Yang Spring, he would still encounter Xu Jiansheng.

As he prepared to bluff his way through, a voice rang out in utter astonishment, "Xiao Qingpei? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the Reversed Yang Spring?"

Xiao Qingpei turned and saw several Foundation Stage cultivators—among them, Xu Jiansheng.

When Xu Jiansheng realized he wasn’t mistaken, his shock intensified, and he cried out in anger, "Xiao Qingpei, did you just use my name?"

Caught red-handed, Xiao Qingpei was speechless.

How could fate be so bizarre?

Though he grumbled inwardly, his face betrayed nothing. Smiling, he greeted, "Senior Brother Xu, what a coincidence! How are you here as well?"

"You should be the one answering that!" Xu Jiansheng, recalling the power of Xiao Qingpei’s casual sword aura, suppressed his rage and spoke through gritted teeth.

That was the quota for the Reversed Yang Spring—he’d given it up, and yet Xiao Qingpei was not there cultivating! Did this mean Xiao Qingpei still had a chance at the Pure Yang teaching?

The thought nearly made Xu Jiansheng cough up blood.

"Senior Brother Xu, would you believe me if I said the Reversed Yang Spring from Cloud Palace grew legs and ran away?"