Nangong Xiyun had no choice. While Elder Yan Xi's personality and behavior could be imitated, his alchemical techniques could not.
Although she had discovered his experimental records, all the notes seemed to be something only he could understand.
Nangong Xiyun dared not act recklessly either, as this was no joking matter.
So, she decided to proceed with her own methods. After all, the question was whether it could enhance Su Luo's strength.
Would Su Luo dare to turn hostile?
Nangong Xiyun wasn’t afraid of that. Go ahead and turn hostile—she almost wished he would. But she made it clear: if he did, it was his own doing, and she bore no responsibility.
Su Luo, however, had no intention of turning hostile.
He had to continue playing his role obediently.
The entire alchemical process was surprisingly painless. In fact, it was so comfortable that he almost felt like falling asleep.
When he left Elder Yan Xi's quarters, his steps were light and unsteady, as if floating.
Su Luo was still savoring the sensation when someone called out to him.
"Su Luo."
"What is it?" Su Luo looked at Li Siyi.
"How have you been lately?"
"Pretty good."
"I recently learned a massage technique. Want to give it a try?"
Li Siyi's sudden offer left Su Luo puzzled. Why would she suddenly learn massage?
"Why are you learning that? No thanks, I don’t have much confidence in you."
"Come on, it’ll be relaxing. I learned it from my master."
"Pass. I just had a very comfortable experience."
Even Nangong Xiyun’s reputation didn’t sway him, as Su Luo had never tried her massage either.
Comfortable? Li Siyi was confused. That wasn’t what the diary said—it mentioned extreme pain.
Ah, it must be his male pride at play.
"Leave it to me. I’ll make you forget all your troubles."
"Huh?"
Before Su Luo could react, he was dragged into a nearby pavilion, seated on a chair, and subjected to Li Siyi’s massage.
To his surprise, her technique, combined with the use of spiritual energy, was quite effective.
Having just been replenished at Elder Yan Xi’s place and now receiving a massage, Su Luo finally couldn’t hold on any longer and fell asleep.
When he woke up, he found himself lying on Li Siyi’s lap.
"How did I fall asleep?"
Su Luo glanced around—it was already dark.
"Who knows?" Li Siyi chuckled.
"You didn’t do anything strange, did you?"
"Hard to say."
Su Luo checked himself but found nothing amiss.
"Anyway, thanks. Your technique is good. I’ve changed my opinion of you."
"See? I told you. Feel free to come to me next time."
"We’ll see."
After bidding farewell to Li Siyi, Su Luo finally returned to his residence.
As soon as he entered, a fragrant aroma greeted him.
"Su Luo, you’re back. Dinner is ready."
Little Yu was already waiting for him, with a table full of delicious food laid out.
At that moment, Su Luo reflected on the day’s events.
Why did it feel like the world was suddenly showering him with affection?
......
Still, there were things he needed to investigate.
Elder Yan Xi was acting too strangely. How could he have forgotten his own experiments?
Early-stage dementia?
Su Luo couldn’t accept the idea of such a disease existing in the cultivation world.
Thus, he decided to investigate Elder Yan Xi.
With his current strength, as long as he was careful and leveraged his familiarity with Elder Yan Xi, it shouldn’t be a problem.
However, no matter how much Su Luo investigated, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
Of course, Nangong Xiyun noticed Su Luo’s presence every time. No matter how well Su Luo hid, absolute strength rendered his efforts useless.
What could Su Luo do? After a period of fruitless investigation, he gave up.
He simply tried to extract more information during his conversations with Elder Yan Xi.
Nangong Xiyun, too, was exhausted. She had to come up with various methods to deal with Su Luo and carefully choose her words during their interactions.
It was mentally draining.
Of course, Nangong Xiyun knew Su Luo was suspicious, but as long as there were no major issues, Su Luo wouldn’t turn hostile.
At the same time, with Elder Yan Xi’s intervention, Su Luo’s situation was resolved, and he managed to retain his position in the sect.
According to the original plot, Su Luo would visit Elder Yan Xi periodically and return half-dead each time, forcing him to maintain a low profile within the sect.
Thus, Su Luo gradually faded into obscurity within the sect.
Although Su Luo now felt vigorous and full of energy, he still chose to keep a low profile and avoid going out much.
......
Three months passed quickly.
"Su Luo, you seem to have gained some weight," Little Yu observed.
"It’s fine. I’ll just exercise more."
Su Luo’s enhancement period had ended, and he was somewhat resigned to it.
During this time, Elder Yan Xi truly treated him like one of his own, adding all sorts of precious ingredients to his concoctions.
Su Luo’s cultivation even advanced a level, reaching the peak of the Golden Core stage.
Tears welled up in his eyes—this was the first time he had improved his cultivation without relying on the diary.
Still, Su Luo followed the script and displayed his strength as if he were only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
In any case, this chapter had come to an end, but the next plotline was already on the horizon.
Over the past three months, Lin Xuan had been diligently cultivating while also boosting his reputation.
He had been teaming up with various senior disciples to carry out sect missions.
Through these efforts, he further solidified his standing within the sect.
Everyone who had teamed up with Lin Xuan spoke highly of him, deeply impressed by his strength and character.
Lin Xuan’s reputation was soaring.
After three months, his reputation had nearly reached a plateau, making further improvements difficult.
Thus, it was time to expand his influence beyond the sect.
Coincidentally, the Sect Exchange Conference was about to begin.
The Sect Exchange Conference was a joint event organized by the ten major sects of the South Continent’s cultivation world.
The main activities included sparring matches among disciples, collaborative missions, and sharing cultivation insights to strengthen ties between the sects.
While the event was framed as a friendly exchange, the reality was far more intense—participants fought as if their lives depended on it.
It wasn’t that they held grudges; they simply refused to back down, each striving to elevate their sect’s reputation by outshining the others.
As was well known, the protagonist’s sect was one of the top-tier sects.
However, among the top-tier sects, it was at the bottom.
The three major sects of the South Continent were the Seven Stars Sword Sect, the Heavenly Light Sect, and the Cloud Mist Sect. The Seven Stars Sword Sect ranked last and was even at risk of being pushed out of the top three.
In terms of top-tier cultivators, the Seven Stars Sword Sect was on par with the other two sects.
But when it came to disciples, they lagged behind.
The Seven Stars Sword Sect had only four Golden Core disciples, while the other two sects each had at least ten.
The Seven Stars Sword Sect was clearly facing a generational gap, and a sect’s overall strength heavily relied on its disciples, as they represented the sect’s future.
To make matters worse, a rising sect, the Moon Star Sect, was gaining momentum.
As the name suggested, they aimed to replace the Seven Stars Sword Sect as one of the top three sects in the South Continent.
If the Seven Stars Sword Sect performed poorly in this exchange conference, their prestige would take a significant hit.
Even worse, Qin San, the top disciple among the four elites, was a mole from the demonic path. The other three elites, according to the plot, had their strength severely diminished.
Although the situation wasn’t critical now, their condition was clearly not optimal.
Thus, the sect was deeply concerned but had no choice—they had to participate.
To add to their woes, the conference was being held on their own turf, leaving no room for excuses if they performed poorly.
Now, disciples from other sects had begun arriving at the Seven Stars Sword Sect.
The pressure they brought was immense.
While the sect had high hopes for Lin Xuan, the opposing sects’ top disciples were at the Golden Core stage. Even Lin Xuan, as talented as he was, fell short at this point.
Thus, the sect was rather pessimistic about the upcoming exchange conference.