Chapter 134: Effort Well Rewarded

The disparity in their cultivation levels was vast. Li Mu's disguise technique possessed virtually no efficacy in the eyes of Hao Dabmei, who saw through it instantly.

Sweeping the area with his spiritual perception, Li Mu checked back and forth before stepping into the restrictive formation.

"There is no need to be so cautious. I have already handled the surroundings; no one will be able to detect us."

Hao Dabmei slightly furrowed his brow, looking at Li Mu. "Young man, you went to such great lengths to track me down—what is your purpose? And where is your little sister?"

He truly was Hao Dabmei; his gaze was fixed solely on Li莹 (Li Ying), unchanged from the past.

Li Mu’s heart relaxed. He first cupped his hands in a formal salute. "Lord Hao, it is plain to see that you have not been having an easy time. It is indeed true that little sister found the black child, but I now have a matter of great importance to ask you concerning Li Ying."

"Ask away."

Hearing that it concerned Li Ying, Hao Dabmei immediately turned his full attention to the matter.

Li Mu said with utmost sincerity, "Does my lord know of the Delusionless Art?"

"The Delusionless Art?"

Hao Dabmei’s body gave a start, his thick eyebrows twitching a few times as he evidently recalled something. "The Delusionless Art is contained within that jade slip? Tell me everything in detail, and do not conceal a single thing."

Li Mu nodded in assent. He began from the projection within the jade slip, followed by Li Ying’s cultivation of the Delusionless Art, and subsequently her failure to grow, explaining the entire situation without omission. There was no point in hiding anything, and besides, the matter concerning his little sister now rested entirely in Hao Dabmei’s hands.

Hao Dabmei did not find it strange that Li Ying had stopped growing. When he had cast a divination for Li Ying back then, his calculations had vaguely revealed as much; it was extremely likely that Li Ying would remain a child for a long time. However, the revelation that the Delusionless Art was the root cause of this took him by surprise.

"Judging from the spiritual infant projection, that Delusionless Art can apparently only be passed down through oral transmission, which is why it managed to remain lost until now. Yet, unable as I am to use the jade slip, that little girl managed to utilize it upon first entering the path of cultivation—capable, truly capable."

Hao Dabmei gave a light, rueful chuckle, unsure whether he felt a sense of loss for the missing technique or something else entirely.

"My lord, is there any way to alter this? I wish for my little sister to grow and cultivate normally; I do not want her to remain a little girl forever." Li Mu's expression grew quiet and composed.

Before someone as unfathomable as Hao Dabmei, he dared not reveal too many fluctuating emotions, lest he incur the displeasure of a cultivator who held no particular attachment to him. If others chose to ignore him, that was their affair; no matter how monumental an issue was to oneself, it remained ultimately one's own burden.

Hao Dabmei glanced at him, a trace of mild disdain flashing across his features. "A method exists, but it is one you likely cannot accomplish."

"Please speak, my lord."

Li Mu’s voice was exceedingly soft, yet within his calm, water-like eyes lay a resolute and unshakable will. No matter what the method might be, he would find a way to achieve it.

"Do you know what kind of technique the Delusionless Art is?" Hao Dabmei's words carried a teasing undertone.

Without showing the slightest bit of displeasure, Li Mu replied slowly, "This humble subordinate truly does not know, and I beg my lord to enlighten me. My little sister has already suspended her practice of the Delusionless Art, so the condition should not worsen further."

"Suspended? Ha!

"Cultivators of the Delusionless Art remain eternally in a state of delusionlessness. Within this state, a cultivator can autonomously absorb and convert spiritual energy. Practicing the art may accelerate this process, but even when not actively cultivating, the absorption of spiritual energy never ceases."

"Ah."

Li Mu was momentarily stunned. Such a technique was truly unprecedented. This meant that anyone who mastered the Delusionless Art could accelerate their cultivation progress even without actively practicing.

As if remembering something, Li Mu asked anxiously, "Can Meditation Pills halt this?"

Hao Dabmei let out a sharp snort. "Pills of that caliber have no binding effect whatsoever on the Delusionless Art."

Li Mu stood dumbfounded, the hope that had just flared up within him instantly extinguished.

"Has that girl's cultivation progress been extremely rapid?"

Li Mu nodded helplessly. Li Ying's cultivation had indeed advanced at a startling pace; within a single year, she was about to step into the late realm of Qi Construction. Of course, this was partly because she had been consuming beast pills and top-tier medicinal elixirs, aided further by a spiritual energy vein, which naturally made her progress swift. Yet it was indeed frighteningly fast, and he had never suspected that the root of the matter lay in the Delusionless Art.

Hao Dabmei gazed into the distance, a hint of melancholy in his voice. "Thousands of years ago, relying on this Delusionless Art, the Delusionless Temple expanded so vastly that across dozens of realms, none could rival them. Yet later on, the Delusionless Temple was also destroyed because of the Delusionless Art. It brought them greatness, and it brought them ruin. The Delusionless Art was lost around that time as well. Who would have thought that a little girl would obtain its inheritance? No wonder her subsequent destiny defied my calculations—truly unreckonable."

Li Mu asked in puzzlement, "What wrong did the Delusionless Art and the Delusionless Temple commit? Why did the Sun-Qian Palace destroy them?"

"Wrong?"

Hao Dabmei laughed heartily. "What wrong did they commit? It was simply greed. The Sun-Qian Palace also coveted the Delusionless Art. When their overtures were rebuffed, they resolved to exterminate the sect. To pull the wool over people's eyes, they actually concocted a laughable excuse. How absurd that the reason they sought was that the Delusionless Temple constantly absorbed spiritual energy, committing an offense against the Great Dao! Heh, truly laughable. Which cultivator does not absorb spiritual energy? If that is an offense against the Great Dao, there are countless cultivators whose absorption of spiritual energy is even greater—why haven't I seen them exterminate themselves?"

Li Mu could only nod in silence. In the world of immortal cultivation, the powerful always dictated what was right, while the weak were fit only to be preyed upon.

"Is the Sun-Qian Palace one of the six major sects of the immortal cultivation world?"

"Indeed. And they are one of the most notorious. The other major sects would not stoop to such actions." Enjoying the conversation, Hao Dabmei casually took a sip of tea.

Li Mu stood quietly to the side, waiting for Hao Dabmei to continue.

"Those who cultivate the Delusionless Art cannot stop, and the cultivation level of that little girl will continue to rise indefinitely, while her physical form remains frozen at the stage when she practiced the art. To reverse this, there are only two methods." Hao Dabmei finally returned to the main point.

"This humble subordinate is all ears." Li Mu was overjoyed. The mere fact that Hao Dabmei mentioned two methods meant hope was not entirely extinguished. If there had been only one, his efforts would have been wasted.

"The first method is out of the question; I have no wish to see that little girl unable to cultivate. As for the second—it is something neither you nor I can accomplish." Hao Dabmei stared at Li Mu, pausing abruptly as a trace of sorrow surfaced on his face.

Li Mu nodded directly. "I still beg my lord to reveal it."

"Within the Delusionless Temple, everyone cultivated the Delusionless Art, and countless individuals practiced it from childhood. Could it be that they were all children? Of course not."

Hao Dabmei slowly explained, "They possessed a method to lift the restriction on physical growth. However, long after the destruction of the Delusionless Temple, that method was forgotten, and the hereditary texts were lost due to the Sun-Qian Palace, leaving no records of the Delusionless Temple anywhere. Coincidentally, however, I once visited certain ancient ruins and happened to learn of it. They used an extremely ordinary fruit—a very common grade known as the Heartless Fruit, which was once found almost everywhere within the Lin'an Realm where the Delusionless Temple was located. Each month leading up to adulthood, they would consume two Heartless Fruits to grow normally, and after reaching adulthood, they would stop eating them, maintaining their existing state."

"Just that single material—it sounds quite simple, doesn't it?"

"However, following the destruction of the Delusionless Temple, the Lin'an Realm was abandoned by the Sun-Qian Palace and subsequently seized by demonic beings. Thus, the Heartless Fruit became a product of the Demon Realm and can no longer be found in the immortal cultivation world. For you to obtain the Heartless Fruit now is an utterly impossible task—even I cannot do it."

Hao Dabmei sighed. "If we were close to the Lin'an Realm, there might perhaps be a way. But the Yunshan Realm is separated from the Lin'an Realm by an immense distance, and it cannot even be found on my realm map. Unless a divine miracle occurs, you can forget about it. My calculations rarely err: your little sister Li Ying will remain a child forever—always."

He continued speaking, completely unaware of the shifting expression on the face of the Li Mu standing beside him.

From his initial intense anxiety, Li Mu’s expression had now transformed into one of hidden joy.

"The Heartless Fruit—that's easy."

He muttered inwardly. For someone like him who possessed the Spirit Pagoda, obtaining materials was fundamentally a trivial matter, even for items of that grade.

A problem that had weighed heavily in his heart for so long was resolved after just a few sentences. The smile on Li Mu's face was simply beyond description.