Chapter 41: The Noble Spirit Resents

Only now was Qin Xi able to see the full extent of the cave dwelling.

The entire place was decked out in festive decorations; ribbons and banners were everywhere, all inscribed with "Welcome." Even the woman who was about to become his master was holding a party popper that sprayed streamers. The sound he had heard earlier was from that very device.

Although the aesthetic was a bit peculiar, it was clear that his master took the task of accepting him as a disciple very seriously.

"Let me introduce you. This is your master, the Seventh Elder of the Daqian Sect, Fairy Taiyi, Liu Yi."

Without him noticing when she had approached, Fairy Si-Jiu suddenly drifted in from behind. Qin Xi hadn't even realized she had followed them.

"From now on, we'll be neighbors."

Fairy Si-Jiu, accompanied by Jiang Baiqiu, gave Qin Xi a playful smile before heading toward another room in the cave.

"Wait? The Sect Leader lives here too?"

"Mm-hmm, we built this dwelling together. The space is certainly large enough—it could be a secret realm on its own—so isn't it perfectly normal for two people to live here?"

Once Fairy Si-Jiu left, only Liu Yi and Qin Xi remained.

...

Awkward.

The prolonged silence left Qin Xi not knowing how to strike up a conversation. Liu Yi simply sat there, radiating a faint, cold aloofness on the surface that made it hard for others to approach her. However, when Qin Xi shifted his gaze downward, he could see her hands fidgeting nervously, revealing how anxious she actually was. She didn't know how to handle this newfound disciple.

Perhaps her mind was racing with internal monologues, but since Qin Xi couldn't read her thoughts, he decided to try initiating:

"Master?"

"Eh? Oh, yes! I'm here!"

Liu Yi straightened up instantly, her expression turning serious.

Qin Xi scratched his chin, wondering who was the master and who was the disciple here—was she really that nervous? Never mind, since that was the case, he would have to take the lead.

"Master, I heard you are a Confucian cultivator?"

"You could say that... I know a little bit of everything..." Liu Yi said, fiddling with her fingers, her voice soft.

"That's right, Yiyi knows everything. She’s a genuine genius." Fairy Si-Jiu passed through the wall behind Qin Xi and popped out suddenly. "Confucian cultivation, physical cultivation, artifact forging, array formations, medicine, Daoist arts... she knows it all. That's precisely why we didn't have a Confucian teacher and had to ask her to instruct you."

*Good grief, where did you pop out from?*

Before Qin Xi could react, Jiang Baiqiu also walked through the wall.

"Wall-passing is so useful!" Jiang Baiqiu exclaimed excitedly.

"Heh, you think so too? Let me tell you, once you master this trick, we can enter and exit imperial treasuries as if we were walking into our own homes." Fairy Si-Jiu stood with her hands on her hips, laughing heartily.

"I learned it on the first try. I’m liking this disciple more and more!" Fairy Si-Jiu was even happier that Jiang Baiqiu had learned the technique than if she had mastered it herself.

"I haven't even formally accepted you as my master yet!"

"Fine, fine, we won't call it that for now. In a few months, once the lockdown on the Great Qi Imperial City is lifted, we're going to steal the old Emperor's treasures!"

Jiang Baiqiu jumped up, her face full of excitement: "Yay!"

*Yay your head, you realize you're basically one of the treasures inside, right?*

Fairy Si-Jiu then led Jiang Baiqiu through the wall to another room.

Though he grumbled internally, Qin Xi turned back to Liu Yi. "Master, my talent is no lower than Jiang Baiqiu's. Since she could learn a technique so quickly, I feel I can too. Why don't you teach me something now?"

"Alright, what would you like to learn?" Liu Yi felt a sense of relief, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she thought that the conversation could finally proceed.

"How about teaching me the 'Rite' mantra? Otherwise, I can't control the Haoran Righteous Energy within me," Qin Xi said, scratching his head. His version of the Six Arts was a bit different from others; the 'Rite' mantra he was supposed to learn had turned into an 'Urgency' mantra instead.

"Eh? You have Haoran Righteous Energy in your body even at the Qi Refining stage?" Liu Yi was slightly confused, but she nodded. "Very well, I will teach you."

"'Rite' is a means of governing one's own speech and conduct, as well as the sacrificial methods for honoring heaven, earth, gods, humans, and spirits..." Liu Yi recited fluently. "In other words, when you feel that you are restraining yourself and holding reverence for heaven, earth, nature, and all things, the Haoran Righteous Energy will naturally manifest from within you."

Qin Xi reflected on how he hadn't exactly been polite to everything, nor had he restrained himself much, which explained why he couldn't summon the energy at will. It was quite difficult for him to maintain reverence for everything, so he pondered for a moment and decided... to fake it.

*If I can't feel genuine reverence, can't I just pretend?*

Qin Xi closed his eyes and entered a state of unity between himself and his surroundings. He clearly felt wisps of white energy flowing from his pores; the Haoran Righteous Energy he couldn't control before now swirled around him like mist.

He had succeeded on his first attempt. It seemed his acting was quite convincing.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Qin Xi. If restraining one's conduct and respecting nature and all things constituted "Rite," then what would happen if he completely indulged himself, despised everything, and disregarded all the laws of the world? Would he be able to pull back the Haoran Righteous Energy he had just released?

He began his experiment.

Liu Yi, seeing that Qin Xi had successfully learned the "Rite" mantra, felt a great sense of accomplishment and joy. Could someone like her really be a master and teach a disciple something?

But just as joy welled up in Liu Yi's heart, the situation took a sudden turn.

The Haoran Righteous Energy swirling around Qin Xi rapidly retracted, absorbed back into his body, and vanished completely in an instant. But it didn't stop there. Dark, eerie energy began to emerge around him, like thick, black smoke from burning coal, which then faded into a dim, murky light.

"...Th-this is?" Liu Yi froze for a moment, her face changing abruptly.

*He’s suffering from Qi Deviation!*

But could the most basic move of the Confucian Six Arts cause Qi Deviation?

In his heart, however, Qin Xi was experiencing unexpected ecstasy! The "Rite" character he had just learned was slowly morphing into "Music."

To despise everything, to care nothing for the meaning of anything, to view all things—the noble, the great, the ugly, and the insignificant—as a joke, and to respond to all with "Music."

This was the Qin family's "Music" mantra of the Six Arts!

Qin Xi’s eyes lowered, leaving only a playful smile on his face. He felt the wonderful sensation of making everything meaningless. The black energy around him expanded, and Liu Yi, standing to the side, was stunned, her red lips slightly parted in sheer astonishment.

*Should she stop him?*

Just as she prepared to blast him into the wall, Qin Xi shouted, "Master, wait! I'm having an epiphany!"

Liu Yi hesitated, and that moment of hesitation was all Qin Xi needed to master it. He exhaled a long breath, the black energy expanding and contracting at his will; he was in complete control.

"You... did you not suffer from Qi Deviation?" Liu Yi asked, worried.

"Of course not, I just drew inferences from the facts!" Qin Xi hurriedly explained the process of discovering his new skill to his master, preventing her from entertaining the thought of "cleansing the sect."

Liu Yi had never heard of anything so outrageous, but upon careful thought, it actually seemed to make some sense. If respecting everything could produce Haoran Righteous Energy, then it stood to reason that despising everything would produce the exact opposite.

The black energy on Qin Xi was the polar opposite of the Haoran Righteous Energy; while the latter had a blinding white light, this black energy could swallow all light.

"Then let's call it..." Qin Xi wanted to give it a cool, domineering name.

Liu Yi spoke up, "Haoran Negative Energy?"

"Huh?"

"It is the complete opposite of Haoran Righteous Energy... isn't that Haoran Negative Energy?"

"...I suppose?"

Qin Xi couldn't really argue with that. *Haoran Negative Energy? That’s way too hasty.*

Just then, Fairy Si-Jiu, dragging Jiang Baiqiu along, passed through the wall again and bumped straight into the black-energy-shrouded Qin Xi.

"......?"

"Holy crap, a Demonic Cultivator! Take this!"