Second Senior Brother, if you went to the Hehuan Sect, you would definitely be very popular!
Zhai Shuo seemed to understand the meaning behind her words. His eyes curved slightly in a smile, and his hands tightened around her waist.
Why would I go to the Hehuan Sect? You are the only one who can make me act like this.
Shushu, I am only like this for you!
...
Night fell over the main courtyard of Medicine Cloud Peak.
A cool breeze blew gently through the window, sweeping away the stifling heat brought by the alchemy furnace in the room.
Yao Qianci put down the ancient pill recipe in his hands. Glancing up inadvertently, his gaze fell upon a small, exquisite medicine bottle on the desk in front of him.
The bottle was made of transparent glazed glass with a smooth surface. Aside from the material being perfectly suited for holding medicinal liquids, there was nothing particularly special about it.
A smiling face suddenly appeared in his mind. He remembered how its owner had looked when speaking to Lu Guichen—calm, composed, neither humble nor arrogant.
Soon, he recalled that same face in the woods, cheeks flushed, looking charming and captivating!
It had only been a fleeting glance before he hurriedly looked away.
Even so, that moment, that scene, and that person still appeared vividly in his mind.
Yao Qianci reached up and rubbed the space between his eyebrows.
Could it be that he had been single for too long, and that was why... he was so affected by it?
He took a deep breath to calm his restless heart and reached out to pick up the medicine bottle.
After a slight hesitation, he opened the bottle and poured out a little of the liquid.
Yuan Shu was right. His right wrist had indeed been injured.
Not only did he avoid relying on his right hand too much when controlling the precision of his alchemy, but even writing for a little too long would cause him pain!
However, recalling Yuan Shu's words from that day, he applied the medicinal liquid to his wrist as if driven by some unseen force.
When he finally realized what he was doing, Yao Qianci smacked his forehead. A medicine of unknown origin really shouldn't be used so carelessly.
Just as he was about to get up and wash it off, threads of a cooling sensation seeped through his skin and into the meridians of his wrist.
In just a moment, his wrist, which had just been aching and uncomfortable, suddenly felt much better.
Yao Qianci's eyes widened slightly.
This medicine...
...
Five days later, at the sect's open-air martial arts arena.
Today was the Luoxian Sect's annual grand competition. It was still early, and the competition had not yet begun, but many disciples were already waiting around the arena stages.
This was solely because, over the past few days, Su Lingxi had people heavily publicize her bet with Yuan Shu.
Discussions about who would get the ten million spirit stones and the spirit sword, as well as how Su Lingxi would completely crush and beat up the low-level Qi Condensation stage Yuan Shu, spread rapidly throughout the sect.
Su Lingxi had even publicly promised that if she truly beat Yuan Shu and won the ten million spirit stones, she would take out one million spirit stones and distribute them among every fellow disciple who came to watch the match!
This caused many people to pay close attention to the outcome of this match, arriving early this morning to wait.
With one million spirit stones being handed out, each person could still receive hundreds or even thousands of spirit stones.
That was quite a nice sum of income!
Senior Sister Su, could it be that Yuan Shu heard you advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage and is too scared to show up?
A junior sister from the inner sect craned her neck to look around for a long while. Unable to find Yuan Shu in the crowd, she couldn't help but speak up.
Other disciples immediately chimed in.
I heard that Yuan Shu hasn't broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage even after being on the mountain for ten years. She's still just at the low-level Qi Condensation stage, while Senior Sister Su reached Foundation Establishment after only half a year. It's perfectly normal for Yuan Shu to be afraid to come!
It looks like Senior Sister Su has that ten million spirit stones in the bag! Senior Sister Su, don't forget about us when the time comes!
That's right, Senior Sister Su, don't forget us. We've been working hard to help you spread the word these past few days!
Exactly, exactly!
The crowd surged, everyone waving and greeting Su Lingxi. The match hadn't even started, but they had already figured out how to spend the spirit stones Yuan Shu was going to lose.
Su Lingxi smiled gently and waved to everyone, raising her voice to say, Since I promised you all, I naturally won't go back on my word!
However, when I win later, you brothers and sisters will have to help me demand those ten million spirit stones. Otherwise, I won't have the spirit stones to pay everyone.
Of course! If you win and Yuan Shu dares to withhold the spirit stones, we won't let her off the hook!
Senior Sister Su, you can focus on the match with peace of mind. When you win, we've got your back. I doubt that Yuan Shu would dare go back on her word!
Exactly, exactly!
The noisy chatter of the crowd rose and fell. Everyone looked excited, acting as if they had already won the bet.
Standing in the middle of the crowd, followed by the junior brothers and sisters she had won over recently, Su Lingxi basked in the feeling of being admired by everyone.
Her eyes curved as she smiled very happily.
It was not in vain that she had painfully offered to share one million spirit stones with everyone. The promotional effect was excellent!
The area around the arena was packed with people.
Not only was she going to drive Yuan Shu out of the Luoxian Sect, but she was also going to make her lose all face today.
She was the one with the golden finger; she should be the one who gets the last laugh!
Two streaks of green light flew in from the distance and landed above the crowd, drawing everyone's attention.
Lu Guichen and Yao Qianci arrived together. The moment they landed, Su Lingxi led her people forward to pay their respects.
Greetings, Master. Greetings, Senior Yao.
Lu Guichen nodded lightly, his expression softening a bit when facing Su Lingxi.
I promised you before that I would preside over this betting match for you. Has that Yuan Shu not arrived yet?
A smile appeared on Su Lingxi's face as she replied obediently, To answer Master, Senior Sister Yuan Shu might be busy and unable to come. She still hasn't shown up.
Busy? More like she knew she couldn't win and ran away at the last minute, right? I heard she hasn't even returned to the core disciple courtyard these past few days.
Lu Guichen scoffed, his tone growing increasingly disgusted. He added, I have already expelled her from Azure Cloud Peak. She is no longer your senior sister. You don't need to call her senior sister anymore!
Standing to the side, Yao Qianci frowned upon hearing this but said nothing. He simply swept his peripheral vision through the crowd.
After leaving the forest that day, to avoid any further awkward encounters, he had sent people to Yuan Shu's courtyard a few times, but they had never seen her in person.
But he didn't believe it. He didn't believe that Yuan Shu was the type of person to be afraid of a match.
She even dared to boldly engage in dual cultivation with someone in the forest!
Thinking of something unknown, Yao Qianci's gaze deepened slightly.
On the other side, upon hearing Lu Guichen's words, Su Lingxi lowered her eyes and hurriedly replied, Yes.
But Master, if Yuan Shu doesn't show up today, what should we do about our bet?
Lu Guichen sneered, Don't worry. If Yuan Shu doesn't dare to show up today, then you win. As your master, I will naturally seek justice for you!
Since she dared to propose such a bet that day, she should know the consequences!
This Luoxian Sect is not a place where one can just spout nonsense carelessly!
Su Lingxi's eyes lit up. This was exactly what she had been waiting for Lu Guichen to say.
With Lu Guichen backing her up, Yuan Shu would have to hand over the spirit stones whether she wanted to or not!
Thank you, Master!
Lu Guichen waved his hand. There is still the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before the agreed time. If she still hasn't arrived by then, I will directly declare you the winner.
With that said, Lu Guichen turned and walked over to sit on a chair brought over by a young disciple.
Yao Qianci furrowed his brows slightly. His usually calm and steady heart felt inexplicably anxious. He couldn't help but look toward the entrance of the arena.
If Yuan Shu came, she would probably come through the entrance, right?
As time ticked by minute by minute, the discussions in the crowd grew louder and louder.
"Yuan Shu definitely doesn't dare to show up. It's almost time."
"If I were her, knowing that Su Lingxi has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, would I still dare to come as a low-level Qi Refining cultivator? Wouldn't she be beaten to a pulp?"
"True! With Peak Master Lu here, she'll absolutely have to cough up those ten million spirit stones. I wonder how much of a share I'll get?"
"You should get at least a few hundred, right? Senior Sister Su is so generous, giving away a million spirit stones just like that."
"Exactly, exactly..."
As the agreed time approached, several figures appeared on one side of the martial arts arena, their anxious gazes sweeping the surroundings.
"Yuan Shu hasn't arrived at the arena, and she isn't in the disciples' courtyard either. Where on earth did she go?"
Shu Linyuan's face was full of anxiety. They had originally wanted to help Yuan Shu.
Ever since Lu Guichen suddenly announced her expulsion from Qingyun Peak that day, his heart had been in his throat. He and Shen Qi had been searching for her for days.
They had waited at the disciples' courtyard for days as well, but still hadn't seen a single trace of Yuan Shu.
According to what Lu Guichen said, once the grand competition ended, she would be driven down the mountain!
Shen Qi's expression was equally grim. His master was missing, and he couldn't find her anywhere.
Was she... going to abandon him again?
"Enough, you two. Junior Sister Seven knows what she's doing. She must have been delayed by some urgent matter. She'll be back once she's handled it!"
Standing to the side, Long Yunhui couldn't stand their bitterly miserable expressions any longer and couldn't help but complain.
"Is it really worth getting this worked up over? If people didn't know better, they'd think you lost your Dao companions!"
"Huh? No, why are you looking at me like that? It's not like I'm the one who lost Junior Sister Seven. What... do you want to pick a fight?"
