“Fellow Daoist Lin, you’ve met my disciple as well. She’s doing very well here at the Questioning God Sect.” Xu Guan only sauntered out after Shu Xin had angered Lin Jian into coughing blood. “Don’t you think it’s time to call off your people? If they injure any of my disciples, I’ll have no choice but to pay a visit to your Longevity Dao Sect and see how your so-called top-tier sect bullies us poor, defenseless old men and women.”
Lin Jian cursed himself for his carelessness. He had never imagined that Xu Guan would have such a trick hidden up his sleeve, allowing his magic treasure to be defiled.
Now that Xu Guan had successfully advanced, and there was not the slightest sign of an unstable foundation, Lin Jian could only feel that the two of them were simply at odds by nature. Whenever anything related to her came up, everything went wrong.
His cultivation foundation was already inferior to Xu Guan’s, and now he had fallen victim to a hidden attack as well. If he truly fought Xu Guan, it would be difficult for him to make it back alive.
Xu Guan might have nothing but this barren mountain and a few inept disciples, but he also had a glorious clan and countless descendants. How could he continue clashing head-on with Xu Guan at a time like this?
“Stop.”
Lin Jian swallowed down another mouthful of blood and could only order his subordinates to halt. There was no point in continuing the fight.
“I have long heard that Fellow Daoist Shu is exceptionally gifted. Just now, I merely became excited at the sight of such talent, and my actions may have been somewhat lacking in restraint. I hope Sect Master Xu and Fellow Daoist Shu will forgive me.”
Lin Jian quickly put his atrocious mood in order and once again assumed the air of a kindly, benevolent elder.
It was as if the man who had just been shouting for bloodshed had never been him at all.
The disciples of the Questioning God Sect had witnessed Lin Jian’s transformation from beginning to end, and they were filled with wonder.
Putting everything else aside, cultivators from these major sects truly knew how to bend without breaking. Their control over their emotions was so precise that it was downright frightening.
They had learned their lesson. From now on, whenever they encountered a seemingly amiable cultivator from one of the major sects, they would be sure to keep several extra eyes on them.
“I don’t really mind,” Shu Xin said with a smile, her voice gentle and soft. “After all, you are my former fiancé’s master. Ancestor Lin, you are my senior, and we also share such a connection. This junior has been fortunate enough to break through and become a Grotto-Heaven realm cultivator, and you happened to be here to witness it. Surely you have some gift you’d like to give me?”
Very good. The Eldest Senior Sister was every bit as shameless as her master.
The disciples of the Questioning God Sect all declared that they had learned something new.
Demanding a gift from one’s enemy to his face—such a style truly befitted their Eldest Senior Sister.
The smile on Lin Jian’s face nearly collapsed. In an instant, the murderous aura he had suppressed so perfectly threatened to leak out once more.
“Disciple, are you looking down on Fellow Daoist Lin?” Xu Guan chimed in from the side. “He has a vast family fortune and is famous for his generosity and willingness to help others. Surely he wouldn’t begrudge you such a small meeting gift?”
“I’m not lacking a meeting gift,” Shu Xin replied, “but my junior brothers and sisters still seem to have empty hands. Alas, it’s also my fault. I occupied the sect’s resources to achieve the Grotto-Heaven realm, so now my junior brothers and sisters can only continue slowly saving up resources.”
“I’m sure Fellow Daoist Lin wouldn’t show favoritism, would you?”
Xu Guan turned toward Lin Jian once more, smiling warmly.
These two master and disciple had truly taken shamelessness to its absolute extreme.
For a moment, Lin Jian nearly wanted to fling his sleeves and leave.
“Of course.” Only after silently reciting several times in his heart, *One day, I will personally send this thieving master and disciple pair to the Yellow Springs,* did Lin Jian force a smile and reply. “Naturally, I have brought a gift. Since this humble Daoist has come as a guest, I naturally understand proper etiquette.”
“Ah, Master, perhaps my eyesight has worsened after my recent breakthrough, but why has our sect’s mountain been damaged? And the spirit flowers and herbs I only just planted—how were they destroyed before I could even harvest them?” Shu Xin pointed at the area wrecked during the fighting between the Lin family members and Li Qinghe’s group, crying out in alarm. “I searched so hard for them, intending to give you a surprise, Master.”
“Of course I know of your filial devotion, my disciple. But Fellow Daoist Lin has come from afar, and his subordinates merely sparred with your junior brothers and sisters. They accidentally damaged a few things. How could your master possibly have the nerve to ask Fellow Daoist Lin for compensation?”
“Master, that’s not right. Public matters are public matters, and private matters are private matters. Surely Ancestor Lin wouldn’t damage someone else’s property without paying for it?” Shu Xin stared straight at Lin Jian, her gaze never wavering.
Lin Jian nearly lost his composure.
You might ask: this mountain of the Inquiry Sect was bare and barren, not even a blade of grass growing upon it. Where could there possibly have been any spirit flowers or herbs?
“Was it truly only a spar?” Lin Jian asked again. “Wasn’t Sect Master Xu planning to march on our Longevity Dao Sect and demand an explanation?”
That had certainly been the plan. But since his eldest disciple was so plainly—and yet indirectly—asking for compensation, Xu Guan could hardly go against her wishes.
“Naturally, it was merely a spar,” Xu Guan nodded.
“Regarding all compensation, the Lin family will send someone to deliver it later.” Afraid that Shu Xin and Xu Guan would devise yet another excuse to extort him, Lin Jian hurriedly added, “This humble Daoist has overstayed his welcome, and there are many matters awaiting me at home. It is time for me to take my leave.”
Then Lin Jian looked at Shu Xin again. “My disciple has yet to forget Fellow Daoist Shu. Had I known you possessed such abilities, I would have stopped the two of you from dissolving your engagement, no matter what.”
“Ancestor Lin flatters me.” Shu Xin’s voice was light and airy, yet her words carried enormous weight. “If not for Ancestor Lin’s far-reaching reputation, how could I possibly have given up?”
Lin Jian clenched his teeth inwardly, but he did not bother competing with this female cultivator in a war of words.
If he wanted to kill Shu Xin, he could no longer rely on such simple, brutish methods.
He had thought she was merely a biting ant. Who would have expected her to turn into a vicious dog?
“Fellow Daoist Shu, Sect Master Xu, cultivation knows no passage of time. We have a long road ahead of us.” Lin Jian looked at the two of them, his meaning impossible to discern.
Today, he simply had not come sufficiently prepared. Once he returned and mobilized the Lin family’s resources, he would naturally find a way to make them beg for death while being denied it.
In this world, there were far too many ways to destroy a talented cultivator.
And talented cultivators who flared briefly like epiphyllum blossoms before vanishing into the currents of history were countless.
Yet only great clans and sects endured forever.
With that, Lin Jian did not linger. He turned decisively and returned to his carriage.
His attendants began playing music again, sending him off with drums and wind instruments in a grand procession. They departed without the slightest hesitation.
“Master! Eldest Sister!”
“Eldest Sister, congratulations on emerging from seclusion.”
“Eldest Sister, were those cultivators from the great clans? They… really are terrifying.”
All the junior brothers and sisters gathered around. They each bore a few minor injuries, but none were seriously hurt. Their eyes were shining instead, as though they had rather enjoyed the battle.
“Remember this: if you ever meet righteous cultivators like that—polite, smiling, and friendly—you’d better keep your guard up. Those are the people who’ll sell you out without even blinking.” Xu Guan shot them several sharp looks. “I saw how you fought just now. What have I always taught you? Don’t go throwing around flashy nonsense. What were all those unnecessary movements for? Later, every one of you will go back and train from scratch.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Eldest Sister, those two sword strikes of yours were incredible! How did you hide the blood qi of those Blood Demon Sect cultivators?”
“Eldest Sister, did you see Old Man Lin’s face when you demanded compensation? It went completely green! Hahaha!”
“Off you go, off you go. Your master needs to have a word with your Eldest Sister. And while you’re at it, check on your Second Senior Brother. He’s at a critical stage in secluded cultivation—don’t let this mess disturb his focus.” Xu Guan put on a stern face and drove his disciples away.
The disciples scattered at once.
Still, Xu Guan was inwardly pleased by how they had performed just now.
When it mattered, they had not shrunk from battle. Instead, they had united against a common enemy. That temperament alone was quite commendable.
What one had to fear was disciples who, when faced with a powerful enemy or a group attack, lowered their heads before the fight had even begun. No matter how high their cultivation, that would be useless.
Xu Guan turned back and studied Shu Xin for quite some time before nodding repeatedly in approval. “Your foundation is exceptionally solid. If I didn’t know you had only just emerged from seclusion, I would have thought you were a cultivator who had been deeply established in the Cave Heaven Realm for years. You broke through in only ten days, which shows that your breakthrough was merely a matter of time. In truth, you had already tempered your Dao Heart to a state of perfect harmony long ago. Back in my day, I considered myself one of the most gifted of my generation, yet it still took me a full fifteen days to break through into the Cave Heaven Realm.”
【Don’t get cocky, do you hear me? Don’t get cocky!】the Sword Spirit hurriedly warned when it saw Shu Xin’s face blossom into a grin.
“I know, I know. What’s wrong with being a little proud?” Shu Xin retorted. “Go play by yourself. And don’t rain on my parade for the next few days.”
When I don’t rain on your parade, you already think you’re invincible. Praise you a few more times and you’ll practically fly into the heavens!
The Sword Spirit was miserable inside. Its master was excessively cautious whenever it was time to be bold, yet whenever it was time to lie low, she wanted to soar straight into the sky.
She always did the exact opposite of what it expected.
People were simply too difficult to understand.
“Thank you for the praise, Master. It was only the culmination of a century’s work in a single day.” Shu Xin sounded modest, but in reality accepted every bit of Xu Guan’s praise without hesitation. “Next, the Longevity Dao Sect will probably quiet down for a while. And my deeds will likely begin to spread throughout the world.”
“You mean they’ll try to praise you to death?” Xu Guan had made considerable progress recently and more or less understood the implication behind Shu Xin’s words.
“Exactly.” Shu Xin spoke with conviction. “If I were one of the Lin family, I’d go back and praise myself to the heavens, claiming there was no one like me under the sky. Then I’d announce that they were willing to grant me some position or honor, and elevate me to the rank of the foremost figure among my generation. Better yet, I’d take the opportunity to disparage the disciples of every leading sect in both the Immortal and Demonic paths.
“Yet I come from a loose cultivator background, and our Wenshen Sect is scarcely more than a humble little sect. Those who want to prove themselves, and those who want to challenge me, will come to the Wenshen Sect in an endless stream. By then, either I’ll be run ragged and die in one challenge after another—or I’ll step upon others’ corpses and reputations, becoming someone whose ambitions soar higher than the heavens.”
“And how do you intend to deal with that?” Xu Guan asked.
“Master, aren’t you curious why I took the initiative to give Lin Jian a way out, smoothing over his attack on our sect and turning hostility into peace?” Rather than answering at once, Shu Xin posed a question of his own.
“It was probably to protect our Wenshen Sect.” Xu Guan laughed bitterly. “Even if we went to confront them, the Changsheng Dao Sect would merely reprimand Lin Jian a few times and call it a misunderstanding. They might even seize on the matter of your using demonic cultivator techniques to distort the truth and accuse you instead.”
“That is only one reason.” Shu Xin smiled. “The other, more important reason is that Lin Jian does not have long to live. Why should Master be so angry with a dying man? Better to strip him of resources while he is still alive and use them to strengthen ourselves.”
“Oh?” Xu Guan’s interest was piqued. “Although Lin Jian has taken an unorthodox path, he has still reached the Wugou Realm. His foundation may be weak, but he has cultivated in the Wugou Realm for many years. He should still have another one or two hundred years of lifespan left. In our exchange just now, his magic treasure was merely tainted; he need only refine it anew when he returns. Why do you say this, disciple?”
“Master, it is a secret for the moment. I cannot tell you yet.” Shu Xin shook his head. “Within fifty years—no, within ten years—Lin Jian will surely die.”
Because he was even more impatient and arrogant than they had previously imagined.
Moreover, for some unknown reason, his lifespan had already been damaged.
When they had fought just now, Shu Xin had clearly seen strands of white at the roots of Lin Jian’s hair.
That was a sign of a cultivator’s lifespan being impaired, of life itself beginning to wane.
No wonder he had acted with such urgency before—so eager to take Situ Jian as his disciple, yet also intent on killing her.
Thus, his death would arrive even before the consequences of his stupidity and arrogance.
[That’s right, that’s right. With a mind as devious as Situ Jian’s, who knows who will end up making a wedding dress for whom?]
[He isn’t like you. He doesn’t have an immortal sword like me to suppress and stabilize his fortune. If he wants to improve his cultivation quickly, he can only resort to other methods.]
[Just so we’re clear—you are not allowed to imitate him. You have me, after all.] The Sword Spirit repeatedly warned Shu Xin.
Shu Xin smiled and cupped his hands toward Xu Guan. “Master, to prevent cultivators from coming to trouble me one after another, and to grant the sect some peace and quiet, I would like to descend the mountain before long and travel the world. I should gain proper experience and prepare for my next step: advancing to the Wugou Realm.”
Though Xu Guan was somewhat reluctant to let him go, he knew that Shu Xin had always been a person of strong convictions. Moreover, he deeply agreed with Shu Xin’s reasoning.
“To reach the Flawless Realm, your body, heart, and mind must all become untouched by the dust of the mortal world. The more complete these three aspects are, the greater your future breakthroughs in cultivation will be. Otherwise, you’ll end up like that old bastard from the Lin family, relying on crooked paths and unorthodox methods to advance. Traveling down the mountain is indeed the best way to temper your Dao Heart. Before you leave, tell your master whatever you need.”
Watching the high-spirited Shu Xin, Xu Guan could not help but feel a touch of melancholy at the thought that each new generation surpassed the last.
For the vast majority of cultivators, the step from the Grotto-Heaven Realm to the Flawless Realm was a chasm beyond measure.
Most Flawless Realm cultivators would not travel down the mountain. Instead, they remained within blessed lands and cultivation sanctuaries, slowly accumulating spiritual power and severing karmic ties.
As a result, among cultivators traveling the world to gain experience, the highest cultivation level was generally only the Grotto-Heaven Realm.
And the process of wandering the world to temper one’s Dao Heart could take as little as eight or ten years, or as long as a century.
Yet for a Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivator, such spans of time were no more than passing clouds.
A Grotto-Heaven Realm cultivator could live for as long as nine hundred and ninety years.
At Shu Xin’s age, she was truly in the bloom of youth.
“Thank you, Master.” Shu Xin smiled as she cupped her hands in salute.
When she had originally chosen the Wenshen Sect, part of her motivation had been to borrow the sect’s name while remaining free to roam the world as she pleased.
But after spending these days together, she had also come to realize that Xu Guan truly was a rare breath of fresh air in this cultivation world.
Her luck really was quite good.
Perhaps the immortal sword had been helping suppress and stabilize her fortune. As her cultivation rose, her luck had gradually begun to improve as well.
As for the other disciples of the Wenshen Sect, hearing that their Eldest Senior Sister would soon be leaving the mountain to travel felt like a bolt from the blue.
What?
Eldest Senior Sister was leaving so soon?
How long had she even been in the sect?
But they had no reason to stop her. After all, she was going down the mountain to improve her cultivation and temper her Dao Heart, not to indulge in food, drink, and pleasure.
No matter how reluctant they were, they could only bury those feelings in their hearts.
No—perhaps not necessarily.
Three months later.
Another unusual phenomenon appeared in the back mountain of the Wenshen Sect.
Yi Renjie, formerly the eldest disciple and now the Wenshen Sect’s second disciple, finally succeeded in attaining the Nascent Soul Realm. He became the third most powerful cultivator in the Wenshen Sect and received congratulations from all his junior brothers and sisters.
The reason Shu Xin had remained at the Wenshen Sect instead of setting out was that she wanted to wait until Yi Renjie had successfully broken through before leaving.
After all, she had no interest whatsoever in inheriting the Wenshen Sect. It was better to build a good relationship with its future sect master.
When Yi Renjie emerged from seclusion and saw that Shu Xin had already become a newly advanced Grotto-Heaven Realm master—and had done so long before he emerged—he could only sigh in amazement.
There was simply no logic to the speed of cultivation in this world.
Fortunately, his master Xu Guan’s cultivation speed was equally unreasonable. Yi Renjie therefore accepted it quite readily, and even felt relieved. Other than their master, their sect finally had another formidable cultivator they could present to the outside world with confidence.
Over the past three months, meanwhile, Shu Xin’s name had quickly begun to spread through the Nine Sects and Ten Schools, aided by the “helpful promotion” of the Changsheng Dao Sect and the Lin family.
For instance, some disciples of the Xiaoyao Dao Sect were dissatisfied, believing that the Changsheng Dao Sect was deliberately trying to disgust them. Knowing that several of the Xiaoyao Dao Sect’s young Dao heirs were in the midst of breaking through, they had used a female cultivator who had betrayed her sect to disturb the Dao heirs’ state of mind.
Wasn’t she just a cultivator of the Grotto-Heaven Realm?
Their sect had long since produced Dao Disciples who had successfully broken through as well.
For instance, among the countless Daoist sects, some cultivators saw through the Lin family’s sinister intentions, claiming that Shu Xin had most likely offended the Lin family and was therefore pushed out as a scapegoat.
Cultivators from other sects also came up with one conspiracy theory after another.
Yet when the news reached the Blood Demon Sect, Xue Wang—who had only narrowly escaped with his life from the hands of the demonic sect elders after shifting all blame for his crimes onto the orthodox Immortal Dao sects—felt something entirely different.
So that female cultivator from the Divine Inquiry Sect was Shu Xin?
Of course. It could be no one else.
She had actually become a Grotto-Heaven True Person?
It seemed that his decisive choice to abandon his magic treasure and flee for his life back then had been absolutely correct.
If he ever encountered her again, he would be better off running as far away as possible.
He knew all too well just how powerful that female cultivator was. Now that her cultivation had advanced, she would only be even more difficult to deal with.
One morning.
Shu Xin simply packed a small bag, said farewell to Xu Guan and her junior brothers and sisters, and headed down the mountain to travel the world, lighthearted and unburdened.
Staying on the mountain all the time had never been her style.
Even when she had been an elder of the Longevity Dao Sect, she would occasionally go out to get some fresh air.
Xu Guan glanced at his disciples and openly warned them, “You should all learn more from your senior sister. If you can achieve even one or two tenths of her ability in the future, I’ll have nothing to worry about.”
The disciples all nodded in agreement.
But when night fell, Xu Guan discovered that his disciples had each packed their bags and were sneaking down the mountain, clearly intending to follow Shu Xin.
Those fools—did they not know that a cultivator of the Immaculate Realm possessed spiritual awareness powerful enough to cover the entire mountain gate? He knew every little thing they did.
Sigh.
Children grew up and could no longer be kept at home.
Sure enough, they were going to look for Shu Xin.
Xu Guan closed his eyes and simply chose not to watch.
He had guessed it long ago, anyway.
His disciples had appeared far too calm about Shu Xin’s departure. It was obvious something was up.
“Master, forgive us. We’re going to find Senior Sister. We’ll definitely work hard and learn at least thirty percent of Senior Sister’s skills.”
Yuan Dawei held the brush while Cao Ru dictated. After much deliberation, they still decided to tell their master where they were going in the simplest, most straightforward way possible.
Only then did they exchange glances and quietly sneak down the mountain one by one.
Xu Guan sighed.
When he turned around, he saw that his second disciple, Yi Renjie, had actually cooked several dishes and brought them over for him.
“Master, why not try your disciple’s cooking?” Yi Renjie said respectfully, his eyes filled with the affection and admiration of a devoted student.
“Not bad. At least you’re filial. Unlike your junior brothers and sisters, who picked up their bags and ran off. I raised them from childhood—how could I not know what they were planning from the slightest little movement?”
Xu Guan said angrily, “In the future, you must help your master keep those little brats in line. Shu Xin is not as soft-hearted as I am. I already told her not to be polite—she should discipline those little brats as harshly as she sees fit. Heh. Do they really think their senior sister will treat them the same way off the mountain as she did on it? How naive!”
Shu Xin was clearly the sort of person who was ruthless toward herself—and even more ruthless toward others.
On the mountain, she had only been showing him some respect.
“Down the mountain? Ha! I only hope those little brats still have all four limbs intact when they come back.
After all, the Questioning God Sect can’t afford the miraculous elixirs that can revive the dead and restore flesh to bare bones!”
Yi Renjie wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet.
Seeing how happy his master was, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he had actually wanted to go down the mountain and learn from Senior Sister as well.
He supposed he’d hold off on packing for now.
At the foot of the Questioning God Sect’s mountain.
“Where’s Senior Sister?”
“Cao Ru, are you sure your formation is accurate?”
“Shut up. Call me Senior Sister.” Cao Ru glared at him. “My formation is absolutely accurate. Senior Sister accepted my parting gift, so I can definitely locate her.”
“…Cao Ru, stop staring at that lousy compass. Senior Sister’s here.”
“What nonsense are you—Ah… Senior Sister.”
Cao Ru nearly tripped over her own words.
Yuan Dawei, Li Qinghe, Qi Feiyang, and Meng Wenrui also stood there in terrified silence, not daring to move an inch.
Senior Sister was walking toward them at a leisurely pace, sword in her arms.
“S-Senior Sister, this was actually all of our idea. We just wanted to come down and learn a few things from you.” Yuan Dawei was shoved forward, and he gave her an ingratiating smile.
“I know. Master knows too.” Shu Xin held up a hand, signaling that they could stop making excuses.
“You can follow me, but I have a few conditions.” Shu Xin looked at the group of little bunnies with a smile. She had already made plans for them.
“Since you’ve come, you’ll have to listen to me. You’ll drive the carriage, arrange lodging at inns, order fine food and wine, and cheer me on. If I go east, you don’t go west. You are to obey me completely, and you are not allowed to act on your own.” Shu Xin laid out the terms calmly.
“Don’t worry, Senior Sister. We’ll definitely listen,” the five of them said in unison.
“Up on the mountain, you can call me Senior Sister. I won’t hold it against you. But down here, I’m a Dongtian cultivator, while you’re merely ordinary Core Formation cultivators. You should address me respectfully as ‘Perfected One.’” Shu Xin raised one finger. “Also, since you’re coming down the mountain to travel with me, you can no longer refer to yourselves as my junior brothers and sisters.”
“Then… what are we?” Li Qinghe asked curiously.
“Obviously, servants and attendants. Servants from my own sect are naturally better than ones I buy from outside.”
They were more trustworthy, after all—and she could save a considerable amount of money.
Otherwise, as the former outer-sect elder of the Everlasting Dao Sect, a rising star among the Nine Sects and Ten Schools, the Senior Sister of the Questioning God Sect, and an outstanding Dongtian Perfected One, how humiliating would it be for her to have no attendants at all? If she ran into some stray cats or dogs, she would even have to fight them herself.
It was much better to find a few junior brothers and sisters from her own sect to serve as attendants.
Since Xu Guan wasn’t here and hadn’t objected, that meant he agreed.
“Al-Alright, then. We’ll listen to Senior Sister.”
“Hmm?”
“We’ll listen to the Perfected One.”
“Don’t think being my servants is such a bad thing,” Shu Xin said earnestly. “At the very least, it’s much better than being my junior brothers and sisters. Think about it carefully: if you were traveling with me and we ran into enemies, and they knew you were my junior brothers or sisters, they’d do everything they could to capture you and use you to threaten me. But if you’re merely my servants, they’ll give up on that foolish idea.”
Well... that did seem to make some sense. But somehow, something about it felt wrong.
For a moment, the five servants could not quite figure it out.
