Chapter 31: I, Cao Xuan, Despise Those Obsequious Fools Most of All!

They say that when your mindset changes, so does your perspective on the world. This was true for Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru, and just as true for Cao Xuan. In his previous life, he was a downtrodden ox, but this time, things were different. To cultivate the Dao and become immortal, to enjoy longevity and freedom—this was the true meaning of his path.

If it weren’t for the number of people present, he would have imitated the Great Love Immortal Lord and recited in a loud voice:

“In youth, I already knew the hardships of cultivation, yet I resolved to pursue the immortal peak!
Facing chilling winds, my body like drifting catkins, I lick the path to immortality, treading it alone!”

Cao Xuan’s desire for immortality, given his current talent and lack of resources, was an impossibility. This meant there would be no end to his “licking” the path, and it was impossible that, in the future, Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru would be the only women by his side.

If he failed here, how could he hope to gain resources from even more remarkable female cultivators in the future?

Thus, this scoundrel had resigned himself to play the role of the heartless man. He wanted both women—forget the so-called love triangle! He wasn’t just devoted to one woman; he was a war wolf, devoted to a whole group of celestial maidens!

A famous founder once said, “A man must know how to package himself—money is to be shown to women, not spent on them.”

Cao Xuan agreed with this. Spend too much on women, and you became their devoted lackey. A man must cherish himself, cultivate himself, and when he excels, women will naturally be drawn to him.

In his past life, Cao Xuan despised such lackeys the most—spending all their money on women, surviving on instant noodles, working several jobs, appearing disheveled, only for their goddess to run off with someone else, and then blaming fate.

He once thought that was love, but it was a twisted affection—merely moving oneself and benefitting others.

But—on the other hand! Cao Xuan swore he was not a lackey. He had upgraded the founder’s philosophy. He spent one share on women, but ten times that on himself (tenfold returns), and in the future, he would invest even more in himself!

And see, wasn’t he already improving? His strength was growing rapidly.

Frankly, if he wasn’t worried that Lin Miaoxuan’s messages had a hint of obsession and instability, he would have immediately gone to refine the Cleansing Spirit Pill to enhance his spiritual roots.

He wanted to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage as soon as possible—after all, a hundred-year lifespan at the Qi Refining stage was little different from a mortal’s inevitable death.

At this thought, Cao Xuan paid no further heed to the two women’s quarrel. To him, whether it was Lin Miaoxuan or Chen Qianru, they were but passersby on his path of cultivation.

Though there had been thrilling encounters and sweet memories wandering through the Spirit Herb Valley, in truth, he had only known them for a few months.

Love arises mysteriously, but often it is only a fleeting emotion. For long-lasting enjoyment, one must seek the immortal path.

From the moment he crossed over, Cao Xuan understood there was no turning back.

This was a world where the strong preyed on the weak, even more ruthless than his past life.

In ancient times, emperors kept harems of three thousand beauties; in modern times, those tycoons and princelings all left trails of romantic debts.

Now that he was a cultivator, as long as he became stronger, none of this would matter.

As for the other male and female cultivators nearby, Cao Xuan glanced over them indifferently. Not only were the female cultivators on par with the men, he even sensed that some women’s cultivation was more solid than their male counterparts.

While these men were lost in pursuit of women, the women might have quietly surpassed them.

Again, this was a world where the strong ruled. No matter how deep your affections, if a woman’s cultivation outstripped yours and your status gap became too great, she could abandon you in an instant.

At the sixth layer of Qi Refining, Cao Xuan’s senses were sharp and his mind quick. At first, he hadn’t realized—he had only taken out two storage pouches, prepared some well-rehearsed lines, and hadn’t yet recited the classics about “choosing only two among three thousand beauties.” But Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru had already shifted from finding fault with him to nitpicking each other.

Soon, though, Cao Xuan understood the founder’s philosophy. The two storage pouches and his own excellence were enough to reverse the power dynamic.

Seeing Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru still quarreling, Cao Xuan finally spoke in a cold, calm voice, “Enough!”

The place fell silent at once.

Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru both stared wide-eyed at him, making him feel a little guilty.

He cleared his throat, and no longer concealed his inner aura—Qi Refining, sixth layer!

Now, not only Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru, but even the surrounding outer and prospective outer disciples stared in astonishment.

There was a stark difference between a fourth-layer and a sixth-layer Qi Refining disciple. The former had just entered the outer sect, while the latter was already close to becoming an inner disciple.

Looking at Cao Xuan’s youthful features—even though cultivation delayed aging, the Qi Refining stage only offered a hundred years at most—he appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen, at most his early thirties.

And even if he was already in his thirties, to reach the sixth layer at that age was proof of future potential for Foundation Establishment.

Young and wealthy—at this moment, not only Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru, but even some of the surrounding female disciples’ eyes shone. Someone even blurted out, “Senior brother (or junior brother), let’s break up.”

They didn’t even consider whether Cao Xuan would choose them!

In that instant, they were like the mothers in his past life’s kindergarten parent chat group: when the teacher asked for car plate numbers, and a tycoon mother posted her luxury car, others immediately changed their chat status to “Single—So-and-so’s Mom!”

Whether there was a chance or not, being single was the first step!

After Cao Xuan revealed his sixth-layer cultivation, the mood in the valley changed again.

Who could have guessed that half a year ago, he was a useless disciple, struggling at the third layer after two and a half years of cultivation, likely to be expelled from Azure Cloud Gate.

Now, he was a genius who had risen to the sixth layer in just half a year.

Cao Xuan spoke calmly, “So I haven’t contacted you in three months—must you make such a fuss?”

“I was cultivating. Can’t I go into seclusion?”

“Lin Miaoxuan!”

Lin Miaoxuan immediately perked up, gazing at him with bright, watery eyes.

“Three months ago, didn’t we rest together in the Yellow Maple Pavilion?”

“Chen Qianru!”

Chen Qianru also looked at him, surprised to see this confident side of her senior brother.

“Three months ago, didn’t I tell you in Spirit Herb Valley that I wanted to help you become a pill-refining disciple?”

His assertive words made both women’s eyes light up. So Senior Brother Cao really had been in seclusion, not ignoring them because of some other woman.

They conveniently ignored the fact that he’d been juggling both of them three months ago, and instead got the answer they wanted: Senior Brother Cao hadn’t deliberately neglected them.

Cao Xuan cleared his throat again to hide his awkwardness. “Moreover!”

“Did I ever say I wanted to become either of your Dao partners?”

“I like you both, but what does that have to do with you?”

What a line: I like you, but what does that have to do with you? The male cultivators present could only marvel.

But thinking it over, they found no fault. Yes, I like beautiful women, but what does that have to do with them? They’re free not to like me.

Though it sounded odd, combined with Cao Xuan’s sixth-layer cultivation and his righteous tone, everyone found his words oddly convincing.

He then took out some high-grade pills, planning to use the opportunity to amass more resources. Once the Cleansing Spirit Pill was refined and his spiritual roots purified, he’d advance again.

“Look at you two—I was at the fourth layer with you!”

“But now I’m at the sixth. What about you?”

“Have I given you too few pills? Why aren’t you training hard instead of thinking about all these strange things?”

“Here, these are Gathering Qi Pills, Condensing Qi Powder, Clear Mind Pills, Focus Pills—take them all!”

“If you want to be my Dao partner, at least match my cultivation.”

“If you need resources, just ask—would I withhold them from you?”

…

Some time later, the male disciples of Moonwatch Valley watched, dumbfounded, as the two top beauties leaned shyly into Cao Xuan’s embrace.

“Damn! Incredible!!”

“Absolutely right, brother—you win the beauties with all these pills. You’re the champ!”