Chapter 9: Rapid Progress

As for Xiao Mian, he slept for three days and three nights before waking up.

With his eyes blurred, Xiao Mian felt that his whole body was warm, as if he was soaking in a hot spring.

Curious, Xiao Mian opened his eyes wide and looked around.

This place is indeed a hot spring. Although it is not very big, there is mist lingering back and forth, which seems to be real and illusory.

"Are you finally awake? Humph! Let's see if you dare to do such a thing in the future!"

"Master?"

Xiao Mian looked in the direction of the voice and saw Yuanxu Zhenren standing by the hot spring, looking down at him.

Xiao Mian was about to stand up and salute, but was stopped by Yuanxu Zhenren.

"Forget it! You are seriously injured, so there is no need to be polite. You are such a fool! I only asked Chengfeng to tell you to perform well in the Shenglong Fight and not to tarnish the reputation of your master, but I didn't ask you to fight so hard? You swallowed two explosive pills at once. Do you want your body to be blown up by the runaway true qi on the spot?"

"This..., it's all because of my incompetence!"

"Yes! You are indeed incompetent! Since you know you are incompetent, then start a new practice with a more diligent attitude! But there is no need to rush. This time you kid also It's a blessing in disguise. If your body hadn't been severely injured and the effect of metal and stone was not great, I would really be reluctant to put you in this 'Earth Fire Dragon Spring' to heal your wounds!"

"Earth Fire Dragon Spring? Thank you for your kindness, Master!"

It turned out that this Earth Fire Dragon Spring was a kind of Earth Core Spring, and it was a high-grade one among them. It is said that it contains a trace of the power of the Fire Dragon bloodline...

Xiao Mian naturally didn't feel the Fire Dragon bloodline, but soaking in this Earth Fire Dragon Spring made him feel warm all over. Not to mention the injury, his cultivation seemed to have improved a level.

After another seven days and seven nights, Xiao Mian left the Earth Fire Dragon Spring.

Yuan Xu Zhenren seemed to be in a very good mood. In the cave, he not only patiently answered some of Xiao Mian's doubts about cultivation, but also gave Xiao Mian a lot of elixirs - this made Xiao Mian very happy. He really had very few elixirs left.

But when he walked out of Yuan Xu Zhenren's cave, Xiao Mian unexpectedly met someone.

The tenth level of Qi training——Shao ​​Siyuan!

The two were a little embarrassed when they met.

Fortunately, Shao Siyuan was admitted as an inner disciple by exception. He has been in a good mood these days, and Xiao Mian has also gained a lot of benefits. The two smiled at each other and had no grudges.

But even so, neither of them had any intention of talking in depth.

After nodding and greeting, Shao Siyuan passed by Yuanxu Zhenren's cave, and Xiao Mian walked towards his own courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

Suddenly, a figure flashed out of thin air.

Holding the folding fan in his hand, the man chuckled—he had laid out a delicate trick, and he didn't believe that Xiao Mian, a rookie who had just debuted, would not take the bait!

But Xiao Mian didn't know that he had been set up.

Xiao Mian's original intention was to continue practicing immediately after returning to his own courtyard, striving to improve his cultivation as soon as possible, so as to live up to his master's support.

Although Xiao Mian won two games and drew one in this Shenglong fight, he won the palace perfectly.

But none of the three duels was won by Xiao Mian's own strength.

That's not all. Before the Shenglong Dou started, the rumors Xiao Mian heard were enough to make this self-confident young man blush.

Thousands of outer disciples came to participate in the Shenglong Dou for him, Xiao Mian.

It turned out that in the entire Five Elements Sect, he, Xiao Mian, was regarded as a laughing stock!

This was because the Shenglong Dou stipulated that each inner disciple only needed to accept three challenges. Otherwise, how could Xiao Mian handle it so easily?

That's it, and he wasted all kinds of talismans and three explosive pills!

Get stronger!

Only by getting stronger can you gain a foothold!

It was with this mentality that Xiao Mian's heart for the Tao became stronger.

He didn't expect that when Xiao Mian returned to his courtyard, someone was already waiting for him.

Looking at the elegant woman sitting in the hall, Xiao Mian's eyebrows unconsciously gathered.

"May I ask this senior sister..."

"I'm not your senior sister!" The woman interrupted Xiao Mian's words coldly, put down the teacup in her hand, raised her head and looked at Xiao Mian, and said expressionlessly: "My surname is Fu Qingqiong, but I am an outer disciple of the tenth level of Qi training. I am ordered by Master Yuanxu to teach you all kinds of Qi training methods from today!"

"Master's order? Teach me Qi training methods?"

Looking at the woman who claimed to be Fu Qingqiong with some inquiry, Xiao Mian felt that although this woman was not absolutely beautiful, she had a different kind of elegant style.

Thinking that Xiao Mian had practiced Taoism for several years, he was at the age of blood and vigor, and was nourished by Master Yuanxu's various tonics on weekdays. When he saw the young opposite sex, he couldn't help but lose his mind.

Seeing this, Fu Qingqiong's beautiful eyebrows couldn't help but gather.

Hum!

This Xiao Mian is so young, can't he be a playboy?

However, the Tianyang Bone-Transforming Pill had been applied to him, so he could only counter the attack...

"Brother Xiao? Brother Xiao!"

"Ah? Oh! Is Sister Fu okay?"

"I'm asking you: Can we start practicing now?" Glancing coldly at Xiao Mian, Fu Qingqiong said decisively: "Although Qingqiong is just an outer disciple, she also wants to successfully build a foundation and needs to practice on her own. Even if I have the order of Yuanxu Zhenren, I can't waste too much time on you and neglect my practice!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

After realizing his own gaffe, Xiao Mian tightened his mind, suppressed the surging blood, and led Fu Qingqiong into his quiet room.

From that day on, Fu Qingqiong would come to Xiao Mian's courtyard once every ten days. Every time she came, she would check Xiao Mian's progress, and then specify the most reasonable practice steps for him according to Xiao Mian's progress, such as which meridian to open first, and the tricks to open each acupoint on the meridian.

It was not until then that Xiao Mian realized that opening the acupoints was not just a matter of charging with the true qi all at once, but could be done in a variety of ways. There were different ways of running the true qi for different acupoints, and some acupoints could only be opened at specific times, while other times would be half the effort.

This opened Xiao Mian's eyes and benefited him greatly. In just half a year, he opened the fifth meridian, and a year later he opened the sixth meridian, and was promoted to the sixth level of Qi training again.

During this period, under Fu Qingqiong's teaching, he even mastered some simple spells.

Among them was the Pushing Wind Palm used by Li Gu that day.

Xiao Mian's cultivation speed may not be fast for people with excellent qualifications like Lu Chengfeng, but for him with all five elements and mixed spiritual roots, this is even more vigorous than taking elixirs.

What made Xiao Mian even happier was the change in Fu Qingqiong's attitude towards him. At first, Fu Qingqiong had a preconceived impression and was inevitably cold to Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian was also ashamed of himself and didn't dare to say much.

Gradually, the two of them got to know each other better. Xiao Mian realized that Fu Qingqiong was not taciturn because she looked down on him, but because her parents died when she was young, and she only had a younger brother who was born with a disease. Fortunately, he was taken in by the sect and lived with Fu Qingqiong.

Fu Qingqiong was not good at communicating with others by nature.

After understanding this, Xiao Mian often made small talk, often racking his brains to make the beautiful woman smile.

But every time he thought of Fu Qingqiong's cultivation level that was much higher than his, Xiao Mian felt depressed - although Xiao Mian opened up six meridians after a year and a half, Fu Qingqiong opened up the last two meridians in her body in the same time and successfully cultivated to the great perfection of the Qi training period. This also made Xiao Mian realize that the time he and Fu Qingqiong would spend together might not be too long.

Sure enough, his premonition was verified today.

"What? You want to go to the Trial Valley to find herbs for refining the 'Foundation Building Pill'?" After hearing Fu Qingqiong's reason, Xiao Mian asked in surprise: "Foundation Building Pill? Doesn't the master give it to you? Why do you have to find spiritual herbs to refine it yourself?"

After hearing Xiao Mian's question, Fu Qingqiong's originally cold face became even colder.

"Do you think everyone has an elder who is good at refining pills as a master? Do you think every master has the ability to prepare foundation building pills for his disciples? Do you think... Forget it! Why am I telling you this!?"

Fu Qingqiong became more and more angry as he spoke, and later he was too lazy to pay attention to Xiao Mian.

Xiao Mian was speechless. Thinking carefully, it seemed that this was indeed the case. At least as far as he knew, one of the conditions for being an inner disciple of the Five Elements Sect was to build a foundation, and he, Xiao Mian, was an exception - and that was why Huangfu Ying lost his composure that year.

Seeing Fu Qingqiong turn around and leave after finishing her words, Xiao Mian blurted out in a hurry: "Let me go with you!"

As soon as he said this, Xiao Mian regretted it: With Fu Qingqiong's cold personality, it was impossible for him to go with her, not to mention why he should go with her, to be a full-time burden?

However, Fu Qingqiong's answer was beyond Xiao Mian's expectations.

"..., if you want to follow, just follow!"