*"Ah Yiii--"*
Not far from the pavilion, Ye Anping's excellent hearing that he had developed over the years helped him hear his father's screams, which seemed to be pained but somewhat satisfied.
Maybe by the time he reached the *Core Formation* stage, he would have a younger sister or brother.
Ye Anping looked at Xiao Yunluo, who was following behind him and seemed to have been peeking at him since they left the pavilion.
Seeing that he glanced at her, Xiao Yunluo hastily looked away.
Ye Anping shrugged helplessly and asked her, "Hey-- did my mother praise me much?"
"Ah... she said you are upright, gentle, smart, and spiritual." Xiao Yunluo nodded.
"Well, she is right."
"..."
"Today and tomorrow, you should rest well. I will take you to the house where my sister lived. There should still be a small potted plant that I gave her before, just let Xiaodie take care of it, and that's it. We'll go together to the Spirit Gathering Array on the back mountain the day after tomorrow and start the *Foundation Building* practice."
"Okay..."
"Remember to refine those *Foundation Building* materials."
"I know! You don't have to remind me!"
"That's good."
Ye Anping shook his head helplessly, took Xiao Yunluo to the small courtyard where Pei Lianxue used to live, and then returned to his own dormitory.
Although he hadn't been back for several months, it seemed that Xiaodie took care of the house regularly. The interior and exterior of the house were as neat as ever, and the bed was also neatly made.
He stretched his back, lay down on the bed, and thought about what would happen after the *Foundation Building*.
In the game, after Xiao Yunluo built her foundation, Si Xuanji sent her to the ***Dragon House*** on her behalf to celebrate the birthday of the ***Dragon House***'s Immortal King. Feng Yu Die also came along.
According to the protagonist's characteristics, wherever she went, things would collapse, and something was bound to happen. The ***Dragon House*** had also become the first official large-scale dungeon for players in the game. Not only were demonic cultivators involved, but that was also where Feng Yu Die got the first fragment of the "*Black Moon Routine*".
However, according to the current situation, after the *Foundation Building* retreat was over, Xiao Yunluo would definitely invite him or his sister to go with her, and he definitely had to refuse this invitation.
The one traveling with Xiao Yunluo had to be Feng Yu Die.
It was important to maintain the plot development in the game as much as possible so that he could predict what would happen next.
There were too many variables in the ***Dragon House***. If he and his sister were to participate openly, they could stir up a hornet's nest.
Ye Anping took out a pen and paper and roughly went through the plot of the ***Dragon House***.
"Well... my sister and I will go our way, while Xiao Yunluo and Feng Yu Die will follow the route in the game. Now, let's see if Father can get me two invitations to the Dragons' Convention. If not... then I have to find another way to get in, which is quite troublesome..."
After writing three pages, Ye Anping placed the pen back in the penholder.
He raised his eyes and gazed out the window.
Without realizing it, the moon had risen halfway.
At this moment, pieces of snowflakes were falling from the night sky. He thought that when he woke up tomorrow, the entire ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect would be a vast expanse of white.
"I wonder if sister's *Foundation Building* is going smoothly, but it should be fine... It's just *Foundation Building*. I taught her the method and prepared the materials and the cold sky sand. Elder Qin should also help her with it..."
Ye Anping inexplicably remembered the snowy days when he took his sister to train wearing only a thin undershirt.
At that time, every time she finished practicing, her hands and feet would be so cold that she couldn't move at all. Then, he would carry his little sister back to the house. While Xiaodie helped her take a bath, he would go to the house to light a charcoal fire and warm up her blanket.
"In the blink of an eye, it has been almost eleven years. By the time she reached the *Foundation Building* stage, she had also reached the age of maturity and had become a grown-up girl..."
With a sigh, Ye Anping, feeling a little tired, put on his pajamas, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
...
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
Snowflakes poured from the sky like goose feathers, and the mountainous region where the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect was located was now completely covered in snow.
Under Kong Yulan's arrangement, after bathing and purifying his body in the morning, Ye Anping went with Xiao Yunluo to a cave in the mountain behind the ***Hundred Lotus*** Sect.
Inside, there were two Spirit Gathering Arrays that could be used to condense the core.
It's just that...
These two Spirit Gathering Arrays were not ordinary. Generally, there was only one in an enclosed stone room, but here, there were two in the same enclosure.
Kong Yulan led them inside and said proudly, "Anping, this is where your dad and I went in seclusion when we first condensed the core. I cleaned it up for you yesterday. Whether it's the Spirit Gathering Array or the Feng Shui, there is absolutely nothing better than this within a hundred miles."
Ye Anping looked at Xiao Yunluo who was standing aside, blushing in embarrassment. She probably understood that this Spirit Gathering Array was exclusively used for cultivation couples to condense the energy.
After hesitating, he said, "Mother, this was not necessary. We are just building the foundation, not the core... This is too big and overqualified."
"Oh!" Kong Yulan patted Ye Anping's shoulder and smiled fondly at him. "The Spirit Gathering Array is not consumable. There's no problem if you can use a better one. It's our own thing anyway. Besides... Miss Xiao, don't you also need to build your foundation? If you use an ordinary Spirit Gathering Array, we will fail in our duty as a host."
"..."
Kong Yulan looked at Xiao Yunluo and asked, "Miss Xiao, what do you think of this place?"
"Ah... I..." Xiao Yunluo was startled and turned to look at Kong Yulan, then at Ye Anping, and took a deep breath. "I don't care. It doesn't matter where I build the foundation..."
"See, Miss Xiao agrees with me."
Feeling a little helpless, Ye Anping waved his hand and did not refuse anymore.
Then, after Kong Yulan arranged the array, she prepared to close the door of the stone room.
"Take your time, you two. We have set up a spell here to isolate the detection of spiritual sense. You won't be able to see or hear anything from outside. No matter how much noise you make, no one will bother you. Hehe~"
Kong Yulan dropped this sentence behind, glanced at the two with ambiguous eyes, then pulled the stone door shut with a "bang" and ran away.
Instantly, the stone room was as silent as a tomb.
Ye Anping could even hear Xiao Yunluo's heartbeat clearly.
Her heartbeat was as fast as if she were playing basketball.
After a pause, Ye Anping said to her, "Sister Xiao, get ready to build your foundation. It's not that bad to have a companion."
"...Um."
Xiao Yunluo pursed her mouth without responding, glanced at Ye Anping, then walked to the center of one of the Spirit Gathering Arrays and took off the lavender-colored, chested jacket, leaving only a thin, white garment.
Ye Anping also walked to the center of the other array and took off his clothes, leaving only a pair of loose pants.
Looking at the direction of the gathering arrays, they sat down cross-legged and realized that they had to sit face to face.
"..."
"..."
Ye Anping looked at Xiao Yunluo but found that her eyes were fixed on two points on his chest. His eyelids twitched, but he didn't say anything. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, he took from the storage bag the heavenly materials and earthly treasures for the *Foundation Building* and placed them at various convergent points of the Spirit Gathering Array.
Soon, his whole body was enveloped in an orange light, and he slowly floated into the air while maintaining a cross-sitting posture.
"Um..."
Xiao Yunluo, on the other side, watched him for a while before she realized what she was doing. Then, she followed his example and began to build the foundation.
In their minds, the sun and moon seemed to turn into two birds chasing and playing, drawing a trailing halo of light across the sky.
With every breath, dark and light alternated, and all those frosty days passed like flashes through their minds.
The bones that were once forged and refined were gradually disconnected from the meridians and then fused back together.
There was no feeling of 'emerging power'. Ye Anping only felt that he had a relatively long dream.
When he woke up from the dream and opened his eyes, he saw that the bangs that were just reaching his eyebrows had now covered his eyes.
After a moment, he quickly checked his meridians and was relieved to see that the excess yang energy was completely within control.
Ye Anping raised his hand to part his bangs and saw Xiao Yunluo sleeping on the ground next to his Spirit Gathering Array.
It seemed that she had finished building the foundation a while ago, but she chose not to leave and waited in the stone room instead.
"..."
Ye Anping walked up to her and said, "Hey--"
"Woo---"
"Get up, Sister Xiao."
"Hmmm...?"
Xiao Yunluo sat up with a dumbfounded face, rubbed her eyes, and looked at Ye Anping standing in front of her. She was so frightened that she slid on her butt several feet back.
"..."
"..."
After staring at Ye Anping for a while, she finally came to her senses and asked, "Have you finished building the foundation?"
"Yes." Ye Anping nodded. "How long have you been waiting for me here?"
"I waited for..." Xiao Yunluo counted on her fingers. "Half a month."
"..."
"Ah, no!! I wasn't waiting for you!!"
"Then, why didn't you leave?"
"This... this..." Xiao Yunluo looked around in a panic, saw the door of the stone chamber, and said, "I was afraid that the sound of pushing the stone door open would disturb your practice. What if you went insane?"
"Oh."
