Chapter 50

"Is this Luo Laozu's cave?" Xie Ruolan asked.

"You're right, Master lives on the island. Follow me!" Fang Jing said, and had already walked onto the long bridge.

Xie Ruolan immediately followed. The moment she stepped onto the bridge, she immediately felt as if someone was staring at her, giving her a sense of being watched.

Xie Ruolan didn't know why she felt this way. Although she observed that no one was watching her, she indeed had this feeling.

Although this feeling made Xie Ruolan somewhat uneasy, she still calmed herself and followed Fang Jing forward.

It didn't take long for the two to reach the island.

There were many pavilions on the island, and quite a few people, but most of them were ordinary people. The most prominent was a seven-story tower on a small hill in the middle, which was only a few dozen zhang high.

Each floor of the tower was at least ten zhang high, and with seven floors, it was over a hundred zhang tall, higher than the small hill.

"Master lives at the top of that tower!" Fang Jing said, then walked toward the small hill.

Xie Ruolan still followed behind. Upon arriving here, Xie Ruolan noticed that the placement of every pavilion, courtyard, tree, and stone had a profound meaning. It seemed that there were magical arrays everywhere on the island, making it difficult to navigate. If not for Fang Jing leading the way, she would probably have been unable to move an inch.

Xie Ruolan gradually developed a sense of reverence for this place. Soon, the two arrived at the base of the tower.

At this moment, Fang Jing took out something that looked like a seal. The seal emitted a beam of light onto the tower's door, and the door opened.

Following Fang Jing inside, Xie Ruolan discovered that the inside was identical to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion in the three-story market. The entire tower was a spatial magical artifact, with the widest part of the first floor exceeding five hundred zhang. It was lush and green, clearly a spiritual field.

Xie Ruolan recognized several types of spiritual herbs, all of which were extremely valuable, but here they seemed quite ordinary.

Xie Ruolan then realized how profound the cultivation of a golden core elder over five hundred years old must be. Perhaps she was indeed quite lucky.

Next, Fang Jing directly led Xie Ruolan to a teleportation array. Seeing the array, Xie Ruolan was somewhat surprised.

Fang Jing explained, "Master's Mystic Tower, besides Master herself, others must use the teleportation array to enter another floor!"

Hearing this, Xie Ruolan understood and followed Fang Jing inside.

When the teleportation light disappeared, Xie Ruolan found herself in a very ordinary room with only one exit leading to a corridor.

The corridor was short, only about ten zhang long. At the end of the corridor, she could see a circular pond, over a hundred zhang in diameter. In the middle of the pond, an old woman in black robes was floating on the surface, which was as dark as ink.

"Master, Xie Ruolan has arrived!" Fang Jing bowed to the old woman.

The old woman looked to be in her sixties or seventies, not as old as Fang Jing. Her gaze had already fallen on Xie Ruolan.

After sizing up Xie Ruolan for a few moments, she seemed satisfied and nodded, speaking in a surprisingly clear voice, "Fang Jing, you may leave!"

Hearing her master's command, Fang Jing immediately left, leaving Xie Ruolan alone to face the person who would soon become her master.

"Junior Xie Ruolan, pays respects to Luo Laozu!" Xie Ruolan bowed respectfully.

Luo Wanying looked at her actions and nodded again, saying, "Good, I don't have many rules here. Since you have bowed to me, I will consider it a formal apprenticeship. From now on, you are my disciple!"

"Yes, Master!" Hearing this, Xie Ruolan formally changed her address and bowed again.

This time, Xie Ruolan raised her head and found the old woman already in front of her.

"You have the资质 of three spiritual roots, with strong wood and fire roots, and a weak water root. The five elements generate and restrain each other. Wood can generate fire, and weak water encountering strong fire can also enhance the fire, making you a rare fire-dominant body. Your cultivation of fire attribute techniques is very strong, but the only drawback is that your cultivation speed won't be very fast. However, you have already reached the Foundation Establishment stage before the age of twenty, which shows that your mental fortitude is very strong. That's why I am willing to take you as my disciple. In my view, as long as your资质 is acceptable, the most important thing is your mental fortitude."

Hearing her master explain the reason for taking her as a disciple, Xie Ruolan understood. Her previous confusion was now resolved.

"Disciple will cultivate with all my heart!" Xie Ruolan directly promised her master, who valued her mental fortitude.

Luo Wanying nodded again and said, "Since you are entering the door today, as your master, I should give you some gifts. But before that, I need to ask you, do you want to cultivate the most powerful technique here?"

Hearing this, Xie Ruolan felt somewhat surprised. Normally, when entering a sect, one would naturally learn the most powerful techniques, but if this needed to be chosen, it must mean that the most powerful technique has something that ordinary people find hard to accept.

Looking at Luo Wanying's aged appearance and thinking of Fang Jing's old look, Xie Ruolan had a bad feeling.

But after a moment's hesitation, she firmly said, "Master, I naturally want to cultivate the most powerful technique!"

"Are you really sure? I can clearly tell you that this technique does not have the effect of preserving youth. I am at the peak of the Golden Core stage, and theoretically, I should have a lifespan of six to seven hundred years. I am already over five hundred years old, which is roughly equivalent to a woman in her seventies or eighties. As you can see, I indeed look this age. And you shouldn't think about taking any youth-preserving pills; they are useless!" Luo Wanying said directly.

"The physical body is just a shell. It's good to retain youth and beauty, but if it can't be retained, there's no need to force it!" Xie Ruolan said firmly.

"Good, very good. Your determination is even stronger than I imagined. You are very good! Here is a water bottle. Take three dou of water yourself!" Luo Wanying instructed.

Xie Ruolan took the water bottle and approached the pond. But when her fingers touched the water, a coldness that she couldn't resist made her entire hand freeze.

"Master, this... this... this is cold water!" Xie Ruolan said, stuttering after taking the water.

"Um! You're right, this is cold water. There are many types of cold water. The one here is called Black Yin Cold Water. The dou of water you just took is worth over a thousand spirit stones!" Luo Wanying explained.

"Thank you, Master, for the gift!" Xie Ruolan bowed again, looking at the pond and wondering how many dou it would take to fill it.

"This Black Yin Cold Water is for your cultivation. This is the Cold Yin Devil Fire technique I practice. Go back and study it on your own. Do not ask Fang Jing. I will test your comprehension in a month. Now, go find Fang Jing. She will give you some things and help you get familiar with the place and arrange your accommodation!" Luo Wanying instructed.

"Yes, Master!" Xie Ruolan didn't dare to say more, bowed respectfully, and then left.

Watching Xie Ruolan disappear into the teleportation array, a hint of madness appeared in Luo Wanying's eyes!