Two years later.

Qingluan Peak Cave House, beside the lotus pond.

On the back of the Xuan Shui Turtle, Lu Changan sat cross-legged and meditated, lingering with a sense of tranquility that had accumulated over the years. The turtle breathed in and out of water vapor, absorbing the invisible aura, and its irritable and depressed emotions were relieved.

"Elder Xiang, Master Yumei is here to visit."

A stooped white-haired old servant stood in the outer palace of the cave, and a voice came from across the invisible barrier.

Lu Changan divided Qingluan Peak Cave into outer and inner mansions.

The inner palace is where he and his spiritual pets practice, including specializing in the cultivation of immortal arts. Outsiders are not allowed to enter without permission.

There is a fourth-order phantom formation hidden here, and it is difficult for the True Lord to spy on it.

The outer mansion is used to receive guests, servants live and work, and continues the original third-level formation of the cave mansion.

"Well, a certain family already knows."

Lu Changan slowly finished his work and came to the main hall of the outer palace of the cave.

Master Yumei was the Taoist companion whom Sect Leader Hu had arranged for him some time ago.

She is a rare female cultivator in the middle stage of pill formation in Yunxia Sect.

"I've kept Master Yumei waiting for a long time."

In the hall, there sat a female alchemy cultivator who was about forty or fifty years old. She had a slender figure, a thin face, and fair hair on her temples.

Although he is not young, he has beautiful facial features, clear and deep eyes, and a temperament like the breeze and the bright moon.

"I have just arrived."

Yumei Zhenren has a smile on her face and a soft and honest voice.

Having met before, Lu Changan expressed his intention not to become Taoist lovers in a subtle way.

However, Master Yumei was somewhat interested in him as a major alchemy cultivator and maintained normal social interactions within the sect.

After chatting for a while, Master Yumei explained the purpose of his visit and took out a storage bag containing materials.

"The materials provided by fellow Taoist Yumei are not enough to refine a third-level mid-level puppet. Moreover, Xiang himself has a sect mission and needs to practice, so his energy is limited. A normal third-level puppet commission can take at least one year and more

Then two or three years."

Lu Changan looked embarrassed and shook his head slightly.

In the past two years, he has built many puppets for the Yunxia Sect, including a third-level puppet, which has won praise at Shanmen.

Although normal monks cannot exert the full power of puppets, they are still a rare means of protecting the Tao.

For example, if a fake elixir master obtains a third-level puppet, he will have the capital to compete with the real elixir.

However, puppet refining has obvious constraints.

First, the cost is high and the skills are unpopular.

Second, the output is low, and it takes a lot of time and effort to refine a puppet.

"Then entrust Master Xiang to build a high-quality third-level low-grade puppet. As for the reward, I have finally collected the materials. I am very tight on money and cannot afford 20% of the fee for the time being..."

The real person Yumei pursed her lips and smiled, her face blurred and changed, and her temperament changed drastically.

Suddenly, she transformed into a young woman with a rosy face, mature beauty and plump figure.

Lu Changan was stunned for a moment.

Her face transformed into a pure and shy girl.

"Zhenren Xiang should know that I am one of the most skilled female cultivators in Yunxia Sect's yin and yang cultivation. Even the major cultivation of alchemy has been slightly promoted."

Master Yumei smiled sweetly and suggested.

The meaning of a transaction is self-evident.

Lu Changan secretly thought that Yunxia Sect was indeed a sect that favored side sects for cultivating immortals. It was a sect that cultivated both Yin and Yang, so its atmosphere was more open.

"Xiang pursues the great path, is not fond of women, and has no interest in dual cultivation."

Lu Changan's tone was decisive and he refused righteously.

Due to the time limit of the Evergreen Gong, there is an upper limit to the daily and monthly cultivation progress.

The Yin and Yang dual cultivation method is of little significance to Lu Changan.

Lu Changan will not be able to use the ancient secret method "Dragon and Phoenix Double Cauldron" obtained from Patriarch Tianluo in this life.

"That's all, I can only wait for a few more years of hard work."

Master Yumei returned to her wind-like simplicity and put away the storage bags on the desk without any reluctance.

If the deal fails, although there is no enmity, there will be some gaps.

After sending Master Yumei outside the cave, Lu Changan secretly laughed:

"You want to create a third-level high-quality puppet with this little material? Do you want to use the craftsmanship fee of this real person for free?"

…

Master Yumei walked out of the cave so that Lu Changan didn't have to send him away anymore.

At this time, she caught a glimpse of a familiar young foundation-building monk from the corner of her eye.

The young man is handsome and tall. He is directing his servants to repair the garden on the mountain.

"Xiao Qingshan?"

Master Yumei was a little surprised, but didn't take it to heart.

She had an impression of Xiao Qingshan not because the latter came from the Xiao family, one of the four great aristocratic families.

There are many descendants of a large family, and a commoner with average qualifications and marginal status has a low status.

Because Xiao Qingshan was engaged to one of her female disciples "Yi Shuzhen" in their early years.

The marriage was arranged by Xiao Qingshan's mother for her son during her lifetime.

At that time, the Jiedan family where Xiao's mother belonged did not encounter any disasters and was still in good times.

Yi Shuzhen's family of cultivators is a middle-class fake elixir family. This girl has been known as a natural beauty since she was a child.

During Yi Shuzhen's Qi refining period, she met Xiao Qingshan in private. The two had a good impression of each other and formed a relationship.

Back then, one of the reasons why Xiao Qingshan chose to join the Yunxia Sect was for Yi Shuzhen.

But later, Xiao's mother's family suffered a disaster and fell into the foundation family.

On the other hand, Yi Shuzhen became more and more outstanding after arriving at Yunxia Sect. She became a disciple of "Yumei Zhenren", a veteran alchemy monk, and gained a strong backer.

Regarding the down-and-out Xiao Qingshan, the Yi family wanted to regret their marriage.

If they become a Taoist couple, Xiao Qingshan will hinder Yi Shuzhen's practice.

Because he was wary of the Xiao family, one of the four great aristocratic families, he negotiated privately with Xiao Qingshan to give him a compensation.

In order to persuade Xiao Qingshan, Yi Shuzhen was even asked to come forward in person to impress him.

Xiao Qingshan was disheartened, and finally agreed with Yi Shuzhen and accepted a peaceful break-up of the engagement.

"Meet Elder Yumei."

Xiao Qingshan noticed Master Yumei's gaze, took a deep breath and bowed.

Master Yumei didn't respond, didn't even look at him a second time, and flew away from Qingluan Peak.

Xiao Qingshan felt bitter and became the steward of Xiang Zhenren's cave. His status and salary were improved, but there was an insurmountable gap between him and the senior elders of Yunxia Sect.

Whether Yi Shuzhen can take a look at her is still unknown.

Unless you can become a confidant of Danjie Daxiu, you can be considered to be outstanding in the sect.

Xiao Qingshan has no hope in this.

Half a year ago, he was spotted by Xiang Zhenren because of a chance encounter outside the mountain gate and the other party asked him to run errands.

Master Xiang saw that he was doing his job down-to-earth, so he sent him to Qingluan Peak.

Not only him, but also several other servants on the mountain were all strong men that Xiang Zhenren captured at will when he went out.

The outside world interprets it that when Xiang Zhenren came to Yunxia Sect for the first time, he lacked trust and was wary of the list in the sect newspaper, so he behaved like this.

"Strange! There are only male servants in charge of the huge Qingluan Peak, but not a single female nun maid."

Master Yumei flew some distance and suddenly noticed something abnormal.

In Lu Changan's main peak cave, the servants selected include young people, young adults, and old people, all of whom are male cultivators.

"Sure enough, Mr. Xiang is not close to women, could it be possible..."

Master Yumei thought of something and a chill ran down his spine. No wonder Master Xiang refused to practice dual cultivation so decisively.

Thinking of the handsome Xiao Qingshan, who thought he had found a backer, a trace of pity filled her eyes.

…
To be continued...