Chapter 71

In the small courtyard behind Tongtian Peak, Lishui sat alone. During the day, Amu had gone to Luorishan, and upon returning, he insisted that Lishui stay in the back courtyard.

The enemy is in the dark, while we are in the light. During the day, the opponents of Beihan Sect would not dare to make a move, but the most dangerous time is at night. After the assassination attempt on Amu failed, they might target Lishui. Because everyone in Beihan Sect knows the relationship between Amu and Lishui, and when Lishui offered to die in place of Amu at Luoyun Cliff, it moved many people.

The back courtyard is relatively safer. Lishui recited another Beihan technique for Amu, who was now meditating and cultivating inside the house. In recent days, Amu felt that he was about to break through to the ninth level from the eighth level of initial cultivation.

In the courtyard, Lishui was left alone, gazing up at the starry sky, but his heart was filled with deep sorrow.

"I am ultimately a failure, unable to do anything!" Lishui thought to himself.

When Amu was forced to go to the life-and-death platform, the only thing Lishui could do was to kneel and beg to die in Amu's place. Now, with the sect leader in seclusion and Amu surrounded by danger, even the middle-level cultivators were trying to assassinate Amu, and he still couldn't help. Even worse, Lishui felt he had become a burden to Amu!

"Let those who look down on us forever bow at our feet!" Recalling Amu's words, Lishui couldn't help but sigh deeply. It seemed that only Amu could achieve this.

Lishui once again felt his own uselessness and helplessness. A failure in the immortal sect is even more useless than a failure in the secular world.

Last time it was Li Ruo, this time it is Amu. This sense of powerlessness made Lishui feel even more painful, even though no one asked him to do anything, he couldn't let it go.

At heart, Lishui and Amu are the same kind of people, always longing to live proudly. They value emotions and gratitude, and when their loved ones are in danger, they can fight and struggle without hesitation, even at the cost of their lives.

Lishui sat cross-legged and instinctively circulated the Root Nourishing Technique, which he had practiced for thirteen years. If it came to the cultivation of the Root Nourishing Technique, no one in the entire Beihan Sect could surpass him.

But at this moment, Lishui still felt that his dantian was empty and the spiritual energy was thin, as if his dantian was a sieve, unable to retain spiritual energy, or a dead sea, devoid of any vitality.

Thirteen years, nine failures in Root Nourishing, Lishui almost had no courage to attempt the tenth time. Each failure was like cutting open a wound and then sprinkling salt, cutting again, and sprinkling salt again!

"Failure! I am a failure!" Lishui fiercely pounded the green stone beneath him, producing a dull thudding sound.

"If heaven has eyes, I should cultivate immortality! If heaven has eyes, I should cultivate immortality—"

Tears welled up in Lishui's eyes, and he bit his lower lip hard, drawing blood. He hated heaven for its injustice, but he was unwilling to accept it!

"Ah—" At this moment, a long sigh reached Lishui's ears.

"Huh!" Lishui listened carefully, thinking he might have heard wrong.

"If you are a failure, then no one in the entire Beihan Sect is not a failure!" A somewhat hoarse voice floated over.

"Ah!" Lishui heard clearly and couldn't help but jump up, shouting, "Who?"

Could someone be trying to assassinate Amu again tonight?

But when he turned around, Lishui was even more shocked to see a thin, black-clothed old man standing in the middle of the dark courtyard, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

Just a moment ago, Lishui was the only one in the courtyard. How did this black-clothed old man appear as if out of thin air?

The thin old man was dressed in a black robe, with a black gourd hanging from his waist. Most peculiarly, he was floating about a foot above the ground, giving off a ghostly aura, making him seem unreal, like a ghost.

"Who are you, man or ghost?" The black-clothed old man didn't look like an assassin, but the sudden appearance of a ghostly old man in the middle of the night was enough to make Lishui feel frightened.

"I am, of course, a man!" The black-clothed old man's voice was unpleasant, but his tone was gentle. He took a sip from the gourd at his waist and said, "Don't be afraid, I am not here to kill, but to help!"

"How did you get in here?" Lishui asked, sensing that this old man was no ordinary person, certainly not a cultivator of the cultivation realm. But wasn't this courtyard supposed to be inaccessible to cultivators above the spiritual realm? And floating a foot above the ground, he couldn't be a mortal.

"Oh, hehe!" The black-clothed old man laughed, "If I can't get into this courtyard, then no one in the world can!"

"Huh?" Lishui was quite puzzled, this old man had a big mouth.

The black-clothed old man looked around the courtyard and its surroundings with interest, then nodded slightly and said, "This is my place, can't I come back to take a look? Not bad! It's rare to maintain such a state!"

"What? This is your place, can't you come back to take a look?"

Lishui is not a blockhead. Hearing this, he was startled, "Are you a senior of Beihan who once lived here?"

"Hehe!" The black-clothed old man neither confirmed nor denied, but turned to Amu and asked, "Have you been cleaning this place for years?"

Although the black-clothed old man didn't directly admit it, Lishui, with his intelligence, knew the truth and his heart raced.

This courtyard is said to be thousands of years old, so who could this black-clothed old man be? Lishui felt a dizziness in his head and his mouth went dry. This black-clothed old man must be an old immortal! Has he encountered an immortal? Lishui felt like he was in a dream.

"Pay respects to the senior!" Lishui composed himself, bowed deeply, and said, "I have been cleaning this place for almost ten years!"

At the same time, Lishui偷 glanced at the room, thinking, "Amu, why didn't you hear? Why don't you come out and take a look!"

"No need to look, the little guy in the room, I made him sleep! And I helped him a bit!" The black-clothed old man smiled.

"Uh?" Lishui was taken aback, feeling somewhat awkward. What does it mean to be a little guy he can't see through, and to help him a bit?

"Senior, what guidance do you have for me?" Lishui was now completely calm.

The black-clothed old man looked at Lishui carefully and said, "You are Lishui, right? Do you consider yourself a failure?"

"Um!" Lishui nodded helplessly, "Thirteen years, nine failures in Root Nourishing, what else could I be?"

"Ha ha!" The black-clothed old man suddenly burst into laughter, but the laughter seemed to echo only within the courtyard, not spreading outside.

Lishui felt his eardrums swell, but the birds in the ancient trees outside the courtyard were not startled.

Lishui knew he had likely encountered an extraordinary master and blushed, saying, "Senior, please don't mock me!"

"Mock? Hehe! Didn't you and the little guy in the room go to an unnamed mountain in the north of Beihan?" The black-clothed old man ignored Lishui's words and suddenly asked this.

"An unnamed mountain in the north?" Lishui was puzzled, not knowing why the black-clothed old man asked this, "I did go with Amu to select wood! How did you know, Senior?"

"Hehe! That day, I saw your extraordinary nature, but I was just too lazy to pay attention to you." The black-clothed old man took another sip of wine, looking like someone who enjoys life.