9: The Fantasy of the Cute Little Apprentice

Early the next morning, Li Haotian slowly opened his eyes; to his surprise, he had achieved a Breakthrough to the Early Stage of the Yin and Yang Realm in just one night.

After comprehending the Great Dao Domain, his Cultivation speed advanced by leaps and bounds. All the Spiritual Qi within his Domain could be instantly absorbed into his body and converted into his own foundation.

Such Cultivation speed was hard for ordinary people to compare with. Having broken through these Realms before, now he only needed sufficient Spiritual Qi for things to fall into place naturally.

If it weren't for that great battle, he would be a Nirvana Realm Expert now, but unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world.

Stretching his body, Li Haotian pushed open the door and walked out. His little Disciple's Cultivation speed wasn't bad at all; in just one night, she had actually reached the Peak of the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

He walked straight into the kitchen and checked the place where he usually stored ingredients. Li Haotian felt a headache coming on; he wanted something light to eat today, but unfortunately, he had eaten all the vegetables.

Just as he was picking up a basket, preparing to go to the back mountain to pick some vegetables, Su Yao let out a huge yawn and walked out of the Immortal Cave while stretching.

"Good morning, Revered Master!"

After Su Yao began to Cultivate, she no longer looked weak and sickly as before; instead, she was full of the vitality of a young girl.

Li Haotian smiled slightly and handed the basket in his hand to her.

"Go ahead. That direction leads to the back mountain of Spirit Gathering Peak. Go pick some vegetables. Make sure to pick those that are tender and have just grown; don't take the old ones. Don't pick the wrong ones."

Su Yao was full of question marks. With her current Foundation Establishment Stage strength, she could barely abstain from eating by absorbing large amounts of Spiritual Qi every day; why did Revered Master still need to eat?

Could it be that she was wrong before, and Revered Master did not possess the strength of a Saint?

Although Su Yao was a bit confused, she did not refuse Li Haotian and carried the vegetable basket to the back mountain.

After wandering around on the mountain paths, Su Yao soon discovered a Spirit Field.

The soil here was extremely rich in Spiritual Qi, and it was generally used as a place to Cultivate Spirit Medicine.

But now, it was planted full of radishes and vegetables.

Before, Li Haotian could not Cultivate and could not absorb Spiritual Qi, so he had to rely on eating ordinary food to survive. No matter how many Spirit Medicines he grew, he had no way to consume them to improve his Cultivation.

The growth cycle of these Spirit Medicines often took years, so it was more practical to grow some vegetables.

A towering tree stood beside the Spirit Field. Humming a little tune, Su Yao carried the vegetable basket into the vegetable patch.

Just as she reached out to pick the vegetables, a black shadow fiercely whipped the back of her hand.

"Ah!"

Su Yao cried out in pain. Looking up, she saw that the willow tree beside the Spirit Field had begun to wave its branches at some unknown time.

This willow tree had been planted here for over ten thousand years and had long since developed sentience.

This tree was personally planted by Li Haotian's grandmaster. It loved quietness the most and would not let any living creature near it.

It recognized Li Haotian. When Li Haotian first joined the sect, he was tasked with the heavy responsibility of coming here to collect medicinal herbs. Over time, the willow tree became familiar with Li Haotian and did not resent his presence.

Therefore, when Li Haotian, who was at the Foundation Establishment Stage, came here to grow vegetables, it would not attack.

However, in its eyes, Su Yao was a complete stranger.

For a little one it had never met before to want to get close to it, it naturally did not agree.

As a tree with sentience, it also had its own pride.

"So that's it. It seems Revered Master asked me to pick vegetables to train my combat skills!"

Su Yao muttered to herself. Indeed, experts never do things according to conventional logic.

Revered Master hadn't told her that she would encounter a powerful enemy just by coming to the back mountain to pick vegetables. Now it seemed this was specifically to prevent her from preparing in advance.

No wonder when she came to the back mountain, Revered Master repeatedly urged her to make sure to pick green vegetables. It seemed that if she didn't defeat this willow tree today, she wouldn't be able to pick these vegetables!

Su Yao's eyes lit up. She took a deep breath and stared intently at the willow tree waving its branches in front of her.

Her Divine Phoenix Exquisite Body possessed ultimate flames, which naturally countered all kinds of plants. Full of confidence, Su Yao opened her small mouth and blew forward with force.

This was an ability innate to her Physique: Divine Phoenix Breath.

A large amount of flames gushed out. Seeing this, the willow tree shook its leaves in disdain. It was no pushover; usually, even Nascent Soul Cultivators found it difficult to get close to it, let alone a little girl at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Swish! Crack!"

The willow branches whipped quickly, striking Su Yao fiercely on the shoulder. Instantly, her Daoist Robe burst open, and blood flowed out.

Su Yao grimaced in pain. As she dodged, the Disciple Token at her waist was revealed.

The willow tree paused for a moment. For so many years, no Disciples had appeared on Spirit Gathering Peak. Could this little girl, carrying that Inner Sect Disciple Token, be Li Haotian's Disciple?

It seemed that was the only answer.

The speed at which the willow tree waved its branches slowed down significantly. Although it understood the identity of the person in front of it, it still wanted to spar with her. Even if it let her barely win in the end, it couldn't just stop fighting immediately.

It was a proud and aloof willow tree; even if it was in the wrong, it had to keep fighting for a while longer. In any case, it would absolutely not admit its mistake.

Su Yao's flames stuck to the branches, instantly igniting a raging fire. The willow tree didn't care about this and extinguished the flames with a gentle wave.

Seeing that she had caused damage to the willow tree, a smile immediately appeared on Su Yao's face, and she then used fire-attribute attacks against the willow tree again.

The two of them exchanged blows for over a hundred rounds. The willow tree was going extremely easy on her, but it didn't want to lose too embarrassingly, so the person and the tree kept at it for a long time.

Finally, the willow tree stopped waving its branches, relaxed, and let all its branches hang straight down.

Su Yao panted heavily, looking completely disheveled and covered in dust.

Revered Master had indeed found her a sparring partner. Su Yao knew very well how strong the willow tree was just now, but for her to be able to exchange over a hundred rounds with it, the other party must have been going easy on her.

After this battle, she found that her combat ability had indeed improved a lot.

Su Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead, cautiously approached the Spirit Field, picked a few green, succulent vegetables, and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Su Yao turned back and bowed deeply to the willow tree.

"Thank you, Senior Willow Tree!"

Afterward, Su Yao ran happily back to the Immortal Cave, while the willow tree remained in place, its willow branches swaying in the wind.

Li Haotian frowned tightly, staring at the iron pot in front of him with a profound look in his eyes.

If it were someone who didn't understand him, they would definitely think he was contemplating the Dao or thinking about combat techniques.

In reality, Li Haotian was thinking that the pot had already boiled dry twice; what on earth was his cheap Disciple doing?

Wasn't she just picking vegetables? Why was it taking so long?

Clearly, Li Haotian had forgotten about that willow tree, which was comparable to a Nascent Soul Powerhouse. If not for that Inner Sect Disciple Token, Su Yao would probably have been whipped to death already.