216: There's more to this than meets the eye.

"Revered Master, your face can't be touched by other women."

As Luo Ximei spoke, she deliberately used her fingertips to rub the sugar crumbs near Su Lin's lips.

"Especially the saliva left by this idiot who only knows how to eat."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Su Hongling's mouth was stuffed with Dragon Beard Candy, her cheeks bulging like a hamster's as she protested indistinctly.

"The Old Man didn't even mind me! You Old Hag, mind your own business!"

"Enough."

Su Lin helplessly caught Luo Ximei's increasingly restless hand while also holding down Su Hongling's arm as she prepared to draw her sword.

"We're on the street; mind your image."

"Cold Moon, what is that place ahead?"

Su Lin pointed to a tall building draped in colorful silks and bustling with noise, trying to divert the attention of this group of powder kegs.

Cold Moon glanced over, the corners of her mouth curling slightly into a meaningful smile.

"To answer Revered Master, that is Jinxiu Pavilion, the largest clothing store in Nanyu Imperial City. The seamstresses' craft there is unparalleled, and they use Spirit Silk and Mer-silk."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the Starlight Dharma Robe on Su Lin's body, which was divine but slightly monotonous.

"Although Revered Master's robe is extraordinary, it is ultimately a manifestation of magical power."

"Now that we are in the Mortal World, why not... change your outfit?"

"Change clothes?"

As soon as those three words were uttered, the ears of the other four disciple instantly perked up.

Changing Revered Master's clothes = getting to see Revered Master change = getting to put their hands all over Revered Master.

This equation was instantly established in their minds.

"Go! We must go!"

Chu Weiwei was the first to raise her hand in agreement, playing with the silver needles in her hand, her eyes sparkling.

"Revered Master's figure is so good; only tailor-made clothes can truly bring it out."

"Weiwei just happens to have learned how to measure and cut clothes; I can help Revered Master measure..."

She specifically emphasized the word 'measure'.

"I want to go too!" Ye You licked her lips.

"Shut up."

With a darkened face, Su Lin took the lead and walked toward Jinxiu Pavilion.

He suddenly felt that this might have been a wrong decision... Inside Jinxiu Pavilion, colors flowed and light glowed.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged beauty who still possessed great charm. Upon seeing the group's bearing, especially the Young Master walking in front surrounded by five peerless beauties, she immediately knew that distinguished guests had arrived.

"Dear customers, are you looking for ready-made clothes? Or custom-made?"

"Both."

Cold Moon waved her hand grandly and tossed a glittering gold token onto the counter.

"Bring out all the best men's clothing you have."

Dozens of attendants tremblingly carried out over a hundred sets of magnificent robes, lining up in two rows for selection.

"Revered Master, try this one."

"Wear this, and you will be the male Revered Master of Southern Yu."

"Too vulgar."

Mu Qingxue said coldly as she picked out a snow-white, spotless wide-sleeved robe. The material was as thin as a cicada's wing, exuding a cold air of detachment from the world.

"Revered Master has a noble temperament; this robe woven from Snowfield Ice Silk suits Revered Master best."

"Noble my ass, that's for a funeral!"

Su Hongling pulled a black outfit from the rack, embroidered with flame patterns in red thread; it looked blood-boiling just to see.

"A man should wear this! It looks spirited! And it's dirt-resistant, making it easy for fighting!"

"Fighting and killing is so unromantic."

Luo Ximei shook her fan and hooked out a semi-transparent, soft-textured black gauze robe from a corner. The neckline was extremely low, even revealing the skin beneath.

"Revered Master, this is Dark Night Flowing Light. When you wear it, it's peek-a-boo, most alluring..."

She leaned close to Su Lin's ear, her breath like orchids.

Su Lin: "..."

He looked at the gauze robe, which was more like erotic lingerie than clothing, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"And this! And this!"

Su Lin looked at these five outfits of vastly different styles, representing the twisted aesthetics of his five disciple, and let out a long sigh.

"I'll pick for myself."

He bypassed everyone, walked to a corner, and picked up a moon-white scholar's robe.

The fabric was high-quality cloud brocade, the cut was fitting, and there were no flashy decorations, only a few elegant orchids embroidered on the cuffs.

Simple, clean, and refined.

"This one."

Su Lin carried the clothes toward the fitting room.

"I'm going to change; you all... wait outside."

He specifically emphasized the words 'wait outside' and gave a warning glare to those disciple who were eager to follow him in.

"Yes..."

Although they were reluctant, they could only nod obediently under Su Lin's imposing pressure.

However.

The moment Su Lin walked into the fitting room and pulled the curtain.

The atmosphere outside instantly changed.

*Sssk.*

An extremely faint sound of fabric rubbing came from the wall next to the fitting room.

Su Lin's movements paused.

The fitting rooms in Jinxiu Pavilion were made of special Materials that isolated Divine Sense. Logically, those outside shouldn't be able to see inside.

But he keenly felt that this wall... seemed a bit thin?

"Revered Master..."

A soft, waxy voice, like a ghost, drifted through the wall panel.

On that wooden wall panel, a small hole suddenly melted away silently.

A pale purple eye was pressed against that small hole, staring straight at Su Lin as he was unfastening his belt.

"Chu Weiwei!!"

Su Lin abruptly pulled his robe tight and struck the wall with his palm.

*Bang!*

The wall panel vibrated.

That small hole was instantly sealed by Su Lin's Spiritual Qi.

"Ouch! Revered Master is so fierce!"

Chu Weiwei's cry of pain came from next door. "I just wanted to see if the clothes fit... and incidentally see if Revered Master has gained weight..."

"I want to see too!"

With a *crack*, a large hole was forcibly gouged out of the wall panel on the other side by a violent little hand.

Su Hongling squeezed her entire face in, her eyes wide and round.

"Old Man! Take them off! Just take them off! Why did you stop?"

"Second Senior Sister, you are too crude."

Luo Ximei's voice came from overhead.

Su Lin looked up.

He saw that the ceiling had become transparent at some point. Luo Ximei was lying on the roof beam, her heterochromatic eyes flickering with the light of X-ray vision, a dangerous smile hanging on her lips.

"Shameless."

Mu Qingxue's voice came from beneath the floor.

The ground froze, becoming like a mirror that reflected Su Lin's figure.

On the other side of the mirror, Mu Qingxue was watching coldly. Although her expression was indifferent, her gaze didn't shift away for even a second.

"You all..."

Su Lin was driven to laughter by this all-encompassing, dead-angle-free observation.

Was this a fitting room?

This was clearly a spider's den!

"Everyone, get out!!!"

Boom!

A vast surge of Star Power erupted from within the fitting room, directly shattering the fragile wooden structure into pieces.

Amidst the flying wood chips.

With a dark face, Su Lin walked out wearing that moon-white scholar's robe with the belt not yet tied.

"If anyone dares to peek again, I will Seal her eyes!!"

*Gulp.*

That sound was uniform, echoing throughout the Jinxiu Pavilion.

Su Lin: "..."

He quickly tied his belt, adjusted his clothes, and restored his appearance as a dignified Revered Master.

"Pay the bill, let's go."

He didn't want to stay here for another second... After leaving Jinxiu Pavilion, the group continued to stroll along Vermilion Bird Street.

Only this time, Su Lin had learned his lesson.

He set up a spatial barrier around himself that distorted light; besides himself, no one could see his specific expression, and no one could easily get close.

But this still couldn't stop those persistent pests.

"Revered Master, eat candied haws!"

Su Hongling bought a stick of candied haws and insisted on feeding them into Su Lin's mouth.

"Not eating."

"Eat it, eat it! I've licked it; it's very sweet!"

"Get lost!"

"Revered Master, look at that performance!"

Luo Ximei pointed to a fire-breathing artist ahead, full of interest.

"That fire is too weak. How about I go spray some Demonic Fire to liven things up for him?"

"Don't go! Do you want to burn the entire street down?"

"Revered Master, there's a medicine seller over there!"

Chu Weiwei's eyes lit up, and she rushed toward an Old Man with a street stall.

The Old Man was so scared his beard almost fell off. "Young lady... this is a proper medicine stall; I only sell liniment..."

"Useless!"

Chu Weiwei kicked over the stall.

Su Lin facepalmed.

He felt like he wasn't strolling through the streets but was instead taking a group of severe patients from a mental asylum out for air.

Just then.

The crowd ahead suddenly became rowdy.

Accompanied by a burst of crude shouting and the dull sound of whips hitting flesh, a ragged figure exuding a foul stench was kicked out of an alley like a football, falling heavily onto the bluestone slabs in the middle of the street.

"Get lost! You stinking beggar!"

Several servants dressed in fine clothes cursed as they retracted their whips, even spitting on the person in disgust.

"If you dare to loiter around the Prince's Mansion again, we'll break your... oh, forgot, you don't have legs anymore!"

The surrounding commoners pointed and whispered, mostly with pity in their eyes, yet no one dared to step forward to help.

It was an extremely miserable person.

He lay on the ground, his hair as disheveled as weeds, his face covered in filth and scars, making his features completely unrecognizable.

Most shocking of all was that his legs were severed from the knees down; the stumps were not clean cuts but rather displayed a strange, twisted state.

He didn't scream or beg for mercy.

He only used his remaining movable left hand (his right hand also appeared as a withered, branch-like limb) to death-grip the cracks in the stone floor, inching forward little by little with great difficulty.

His movements were very slow. Every inch he moved required immense effort, dragging a trail of dust mixed with blood behind him.

"So dirty."

Luo Ximei covered her nose and mouth with her fan, her brow furrowed, and she subconsciously shrank into Su Lin's embrace.

"Revered Master, should we take a detour?"

"How pitiful..."

Although Chu Weiwei said it was pitiful, her eyes flickered with the light of a professional habit.

"Reconstructing severed limbs is a major project. If I use Bone-Growing Creation Ointment... but these wounds..."

She narrowed her eyes, seemingly sensing something was wrong.

"These wounds... don't look like they were caused by weapons."

Su Hongling, on the other hand, couldn't stand such scenes of the strong bullying the weak. She threw away the candied haws in her hand and rolled up her sleeves, ready to rush forward.

"These things that rely on their Revered Master's power! See if I don't break their legs too!"

"Wait."

A hand pressed down on Su Hongling's shoulder.

Su Lin stood in place, not stepping forward immediately, but his deep eyes were locked onto the crawling disabled man.

His Divine Sense silently covered the area.

In the next instant.

Su Lin's pupils shrank slightly.

"Spiritual Qi?"

Within the body of this disabled person who seemed as lowly as an ant and even worse off than a Mortal beggar, there actually flowed a trace of extremely weak Spiritual Qi, like a flickering candle in the wind!

Though weak and intermittent, it was undoubtedly Spiritual Qi.

Moreover, judging by the trajectory of that Spiritual Qi running through the broken Meridians, the Cultivation Technique this person practiced was not low-level.

"Qi Refinement Stage level three... no, his Realm has fallen."

Su Lin instantly made a judgment in his heart.

"This person's original cultivation was at least at the Golden Core Stage, or even higher. But someone destroyed his Dantian, pulled out his Spiritual Root, and even... sealed his Divine Soul with some kind of power."

A Golden Core Stage Cultivator, reduced to this?

And in this Nanyu Imperial City where imperial power is supreme and Loose Cultivators are few?

There's more to this story.

"Bring him over."

Su Lin ordered calmly.

"Ah?"

Su Hongling, who was about to rush up and hit someone, was stunned for a moment, then nodded excitedly.

"Got it! Old Man, watch closely!"

Her figure flashed, bringing a red whirlwind, and she instantly appeared before the servants who were about to leave.

"Hey! Stop right there!"

The servants hadn't even reacted when they felt a blur before their eyes, followed by a suffocating, terrifying aura washing over them.

"Where did this wild girl come from? Daring to meddle in the Prince's Mansion's business?" The lead servant hadn't realized the severity of the situation and habitually raised the whip in his hand.

"Snap!"

Before the whip could fall, Su Hongling caught it in her hand.

With a slight exertion of force, the cowhide whip instantly crumbled into powder.

"Prince's Mansion?"

Su Hongling grinned, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth.

"In this Southern Yu, isn't that old woman the greatest? What kind of thing is your Prince's Mansion?"

"You... how bold! How dare you insult Your Majesty!"

"Get lost!"

Su Hongling didn't bother wasting words with them and lightly stomped her foot.

The ground instantly collapsed into a large pit.

The servants didn't even let out a scream before they were sent flying, hanging from tree branches dozens of meters away, knocked unconscious.

Having dealt with the small fry, Su Hongling turned and walked to the disabled man.

The man seemed frightened by the commotion just now; his body was curled into a ball, trembling uncontrollably.

"Hey! Don't be afraid!"

Although Su Hongling's actions were rough, she meant no harm. She bent down and, like picking up a chick, grabbed the man's back collar with one hand and lifted him up.

"My Revered Master wants to see you! Consider yourself lucky!"

...Deep in a quiet alley.

Su Lin looked at the disabled man who had been tossed onto the ground by Su Hongling and was now looking at them in terror.

"Feed him a Medicinal Pill."

Su Lin said to Chu Weiwei.

"Okay!"

Chu Weiwei immediately pulled out a Rejuvenation Pill emitting a fresh fragrance. Regardless of whether the other party was willing, she directly pinched his mouth open and stuffed it in.

The pill entered his stomach and turned into a warm current.

The man's originally ashen face finally regained a trace of color, and his cloudy eyes gradually regained focus.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over these extraordinary men and women before finally fixing on Su Lin.

Suddenly.

His body trembled violently, and an unbelievable light erupted in his eyes.

"Cul... Cultivator?"

His voice was raspy and harsh, like two pieces of rusted iron rubbing together.

"You are... a Cultivator?!"

"You are too."