273: Genius is merely the threshold to my understanding.

"Liu Xuan has successfully forged his dao foundation? Impossible! He's only in his early forties!"

"Is this the power of a Spiritual Body? Even a Third-grade Spirit Root can't compare!"

"I joined the Sect the same year as him. I even mocked him during the outer Sect's Illusion Heart Platform assessment. Who would have thought that in just over twenty years..."

"Hmph! That's because you are short-sighted. Senior Brother is exceptionally gifted; I saw it a long time ago! Our Lin Family..."

...

Cultivation represents everything. Once the news of Liu Xuan achieving his dao foundation broke, there was not a trace of slander or jealousy left among the Disciples; only admiration and praise remained.

Achieving Foundation Establishment in his forties—even in the Heavenly Sword Sect, he would be considered the most talented Disciple. They, as Disciples of the Red Pine Sect, could only look up to him. When the gap is large enough, jealousy doesn't even have room to grow.

It's no wonder True Person Xiao values Liu Xuan so much. If given another hundred years, he might truly have the possibility of inheriting the Red Pine Sect!

The news of Liu Xuan's successful Foundation Establishment spread quickly. He was already a prominent figure, and now that he had achieved his dao foundation, all major forces within the Red Pine Sect were considering the impact.

The Liu Family is too strong now. They have five Foundation Establishment Cultivators. If you add Su Wan, Wang Qiao, and that Gong Wang from White Crane Lake, that's a full eight!

Even if True Person Xiao doesn't step forward, the Liu Family is already the number one Family of the Red Pine Sect. Every move they make can affect the entire Red Pine Sect.

Furthermore, Liu Xuan has nearly three hundred Concubines, meaning he is connected to almost every immortal cultivation Family in the Red Pine Sect. The network of forces gathered by the Yongning Merchant Alliance is terrifying!

Such a cohesive organization was something even the previous Xiao Family couldn't achieve. Only Liu Xuan, with his 'Stud Horse Spiritual Body', could genuinely care for every Concubine and father hundreds of children.

...

Halfway up the mountain.

Nameless Daoist Temple.

In the Talisman room, sandalwood incense curled. On the four walls, talismanic lines like worms and snakes twisted and moved, flickering with spiritual light.

"You brat, you finally decided to reveal your Foundation Establishment cultivation?"

Liu Xuan's hand, as he poured wine, paused slightly. "Revered Master could tell?"

"You think you can hide things from me when you can hide them from others?" Lin Qingyun wore an expression that suggested everything was under his control. "You have been hiding your cultivation since you became my Disciple; how could I not know about you?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you reached Foundation Establishment back when you were at White Crane Lake, right?"

Liu Xuan chuckled softly and used his Divine Thought to push the filled cup of Spirit Wine toward him. "Revered Master has a Wisdom Eye like a torch; of course, my little tricks couldn't hide from you."

In reality, Liu Xuan hadn't overly concealed his Foundation Establishment cultivation. Starting with Su Wan, and later Xiao Ran, Zi Ling, including Lin Xue'er, Lin Anqi, Xia He, Lu Ping... even some clever maids could guess that Liu Xuan had long since broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Rumors that Liu Xuan was hiding his Foundation Establishment cultivation had appeared two years ago, so it wasn't surprising that Lin Qingyun could guess it.

"Little Xuan! Revered Master knows your talent is peerless, and Foundation Establishment is definitely not your limit, but..."

Lin Qingyun's expression was serious. "You must plan for the future. The Red Pine Sect is not a place to stay for long!"

"Don't look at how glorious you are now; True Person Xiao only has a little over ten years left in his lifespan. If you are still in the Red Pine Sect by then, everything will just be making wedding clothes for someone else!"

"Also..."

Lin Qingyun hesitated, but finally spoke out:

"True Person Xiao is by no means a kind person. He indulges you in every way, so he must have his own purpose. You must be on guard. Do you understand?"

To be honest, Liu Xuan was a bit moved that Lin Qingyun could say something to this extent.

"Disciple understands!"

Liu Xuan took a sip of the self-brewed Wutong Spirit Wine and set down the cup. "Does Revered Master still remember what I told you before about True Person Xiao's injuries recovering?"

"True Person Xiao's injuries have recovered. If nothing unexpected happens, he can live for another hundred years, which is enough to protect me while I attempt Core Formation!"

"Are you really sure?"

It wasn't that Lin Qingyun didn't believe Liu Xuan, but he felt this might be false information deliberately given to him by Xiao Changfeng.

How could Liu Xuan know so clearly about a Golden Core True Person's injuries involving their Origin?

Liu Xuan nodded. "Disciple is sure!"

"It's not convenient for me to explain the specific reasons for now, but Revered Master just needs to know that the news is true."

"If I weren't sure, how would I dare to manage my Family in the Sect with peace of mind? I'm not stupid!"

Xiao Changfeng's injury was to his Physical Body Origin; the parasitic Puppet Gu could not cure him.

However, once Liu Xuan broke through to Golden Core and his Green Wood Longevity Art natal technique advanced into a Divine Ability, even if he couldn't completely heal his injuries, he could at least extend his life by a little.

Even if he couldn't do that, by then Liu Xuan would already be at the Golden Core stage. He could then use the illusory god treasure robe to create a new persona, claiming to be a Golden Core Disciple secretly cultivated by Xiao Changfeng, and still occupy the Red Pine Sect. It would just be a bit more troublesome.

Lin Qingyun picked up the Wutong Spirit Wine to savor it, but he still didn't quite believe it.

He knew exactly what kind of person Xiao Changfeng was. Liu Xuan's talent was indeed high, but he was young after all, and he didn't think Liu Xuan could play better than Xiao Changfeng.

"Revered Master, don't worry too much. The world is fickle, and there is no such thing as a foolproof plan. There's no point in overthinking it; let's continue researching the way of Talismans!"

Liu Xuan came here partly to catch up with his Revered Master, and partly to discuss the way of Talismans, and to guide his Revered Master to draw more Talismans...

Talisman Drawing is hard work. Liu Xuan was too lazy to draw them himself; he preferred to guide others and let them work for him.

"Research my foot!"

"When is it not you, brat, guiding me? Am I the Revered Master or are you the Revered Master?"

Lin Qingyun felt very annoyed whenever this was brought up. It wasn't a good thing for a Disciple to be too talented.

He was most proud of Talismans, but Liu Xuan could crush him in the way of Talismans with ease, which severely damaged his self-confidence.

If Liu Xuan had devoted himself entirely to the study of Talismans, that would be one thing, but he had heard that Liu Xuan hadn't really drawn Talismans for a long time, and his attainments in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Formations were even higher...

At first, he didn't believe it, thinking Liu Xuan was bragging, until he personally went to listen to the various courses Liu Xuan offered and personally saw him refine second-tier Spiritual Artifacts, second-tier Medicinal Pills, and second-tier Formation Plates.

Since then, he had never lectured Liu Xuan about neglecting his proper work, nor had he continued to urge Liu Xuan to spend more effort studying Talismans.

Because he didn't know what Liu Xuan's highest talent actually was; perhaps drawing Talismans was the thing he was neglecting.

Sometimes Lin Qingyun really didn't know how Liu Xuan had learned so many immortal cultivation skills!

Alchemy, Artifacts, Talismans, Formations—being proficient in everything was one thing, but he also dabbled in spirit plants, beast taming, sword Dao, and even some crooked paths, and his achievements in all of them were better than ordinary people.

"Revered Master, you joke!"

"You will always be my Revered Master. I'm not guiding you, but researching and discussing together!"

Lin Qingyun's expression softened a little, but he still couldn't help saying: "I have seen many Geniuses, but I have never seen someone as omnipotent as you. How exactly did your brain grow?"

"Genius?"

Liu Xuan flicked his sleeves and acted cool: "A Genius is just the threshold to meet me!"